I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

JOHN 17:6KJV
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John 17:6 (KJV)

What does John 17:6 mean?

John 17:6 describes Jesus telling God that he has made God known to the people God gave him. Jesus says these people belonged to God before they came to him, and that they have held on to what God said.

Jesus is speaking to the Father in prayer. The phrase “thy name” points beyond a name as a label: it refers to God as the one Jesus has made known. Jesus speaks of his followers as people given to him “out of the world,” setting them apart from the wider world around them.

The Greek behind John 17:6

  • “manifested” — φανερόω (phaneroō): This means to make something known or visible. Here Jesus uses it to describe how he made the Father known to his followers.
  • “kept” — τηρέω (tēreō): This can mean to guard, hold on to, or observe. In this verse, it describes the followers’ response to God’s word.
  • “world” — κόσμος (kosmos): This can refer to the world of human life. Here it names the wider setting from which the Father gave these people to Jesus.

Why John 17:6 matters

  • Jesus describes the followers as already belonging to the Father. “Thine they were” comes before “thou gavest them me,” showing the order in which Jesus speaks of them.
  • Jesus presents the followers’ response in relation to the Father’s word. The next verse adds that they have come to know that what Jesus has received comes from the Father.

Where else these words appear

“thine” Greek G4674 · used in 24 verses

  • Matthew 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
  • Mark 5:19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
  • John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

“manifested” Greek G5319 · used in 43 verses

  • Mark 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
  • 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
  • Titus 1:3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

“kept” Greek G5083 · used in 68 verses

  • Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
  • Acts 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
  • 2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

“me” Greek G1698 · used in 87 verses

  • Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
  • John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.