John 17:5-8

It is a return to former glory for which He prays. Are we to regard this petition as exclusively the author's addition, on the lines of his theology of the pre-existent Logos, or the real expression of Christ's consciousness of former life with God, expressed in language which could be used in speaking to the Father, though He could not have used it in teaching men; or as a real expression of consciousness of pre-existence, in the sense which it would naturally have to the Jews of our Lord's own time (cf. Jeremiah 1:5), which the author interprets in the terms of his doctrine of pre-existence? In John 17:6 He pleads the accomplishment of His appointed work for those whom the Father has given Him, into whose hearts God has put it to accept the message. To them He has made known the nature of God. God gave them to Him to shepherd, and they have received and made effective in their lives His word. So they have learned the Divine origin of His teaching and the truth that God sent Him.