John 17 is often read as a conversation between Jesus and the Father, but Neville Goddard teaches that it actually describes an inner dialogue within a single consciousness. In this framework, the “Father” is the deep I AM—the unconditioned awareness underlying all perception—while references to “disciples” or “believers” symbolise the inner faculties of mind—imagination, memory, will, emotion, and intellect—trained to accept the assumption, “the world” represents the outer realm of appearances and attachments that contradict it. This chapter becomes a psychological map for maintaining the fulfilled wish across every facet of the psyche, ensuring inner harmony despite external opposition — Love.
The Hour of Union
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you.”
—John 17:1
“Father” addresses the deep I AM, the unconditioned awareness. “Son” represents the conscious self, the perceiving “I.” There is no pleading here, but a confident assertion: the inner conviction of unity has matured. This is the conscious mind affirming to the subconscious: the fulfilment is now. The “glorify” exchange is a mutual recognition of wholeness, experienced in the mind as inner certainty.
Returning to the Original Glory
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
—John 17:5
The “glory” is not a future reward, but a return to the felt reality of oneness. Neville taught that all states are present—so this is a conscious descent into the state of unity. To say “before the world began” is to transcend appearances and identify with the eternal. It is a conscious claim: I dwell in the end.
The Inner Conflict Begins
“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.”
—John 17:14
“Them” refers to your mental faculties—imagination, intellect, will, emotion—that have accepted the new assumption. “The world” is outer perception resisting inner change. Any time part of the psyche shifts, resistance arises. To say “they are not of the world” is to anchor those faculties in truth despite appearances.
Not Escape—Preservation
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
—John 17:15
Ascension doesn’t require fleeing the world—it demands faithfulness in it. “Protect them” means preserving each mental function from doubt. “The evil one” is any internal voice of fear, lack, or contradiction. Neville taught that when the inner state is stable, the outer has no power to shake it.
Shielded by the Name
“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me… None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction.”
—John 17:11–12
“Name” means nature—awareness of being. The “power of your name” is the assumption itself. If a faculty (e.g. imagination) refuses to join in the assumption, it fragments the unity. This statement acknowledges that only what rejects the unity is “lost.” Everything else is preserved by the felt conviction of being.
The Transfer Begins
“I AM coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”
—John 17:13
Here, Jesus (the conscious “I”) announces a shift: from outer identification to inner wholeness. “Full measure of my joy” signals that this isn’t future happiness—it is joy as a now-state, a mood to be infused into every part of mind. Neville calls this “living from the end.”
Setting the Mind Apart
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
—John 17:17
To sanctify is to consecrate—to set apart each faculty to the one assumption. “Your word is truth” echoes like an anchor in the subconscious, dissolving contradictory beliefs. The conscious “I” repeats the truth until all of mind holds it. Neville described this as watering the garden of the subconscious.
One Mind, One Assumption
“That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.”
—John 17:21, 23
“All of them” refers to the inner functions of mind. Unity isn’t abstract—it’s psychological integrity. When imagination, will, memory, intellect, and emotion all reflect the same assumption, manifestation becomes inevitable. Neville called this the resonance of agreement: the subconscious and conscious reinforce each other in a loop of fulfilment.
Where I AM—Bring Them Also
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I AM, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me.”
—John 17:24
“Those you have given me” are the mental faculties again. “Where I AM” is a state of full awareness of union with the deep I AM. This is not about a place—it’s a level of consciousness. The goal is that imagination, memory, intellect, will, and emotion all dwell in this inner state, perceiving the “glory” of fulfilled being.
Summary of Nevillean Psychology in John 17
The Father as the Deep I AM
Each use of “Father” is a call to the subconscious—the foundation of reality. There is no duality; the dialogue is internal.
Prayer as Assumption, Not Petition
The statements are not requests but affirmations of what is. Saying “I have,” “I am,” “I know” establishes the fulfilled wish.
The World as Sensory Resistance
“The world” is the contradiction that outer appearances present. But faculties that abide in the assumption are shielded from this resistance.
Faculties as Aspects of Mind
“I in them” means that the assumed state transfers to all parts of self. This is how inner conviction spreads into full alignment.
Manifestation Through Inner Harmony
When every inner function holds the same belief, outer life must reflect it. Unity within guarantees expression without.
Conclusion
When interpreted through Neville Goddard’s teachings, John 17 becomes a step-by-step process of inner alignment. It teaches how to move from divided thought to psychological wholeness. The “glory” of the Son is the manifestation that results when every inner function abides in one truth: I AM that which I assume myself to be.
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