I have manifested (better, I manifested) thy name unto the men which thou gavest me (better, Thou hast given Me) out of the world. — This manifestation of the name of God is the making Him known as the only true God, and the glorifying Him on earth of John 17:3-4. For the special form in which the thought is expressed (“Thy name”), comp. Note on Matthew 6:9.
He thinks of the disciples as a body separated from the world (comp. Note on John 15:19), and as given to Him by the Father. (Comp. Note on John 6:37.)
Thine they were, and thou gavest (better, hast given) them me. — The meaning of these words is that they were morally prepared by the earlier manifestation of God for the fuller manifestation in Christ. They were God’s in more than name, and therefore when Christ was revealed to them, they recognised Him of whom Moses and the prophets did speak. (Comp. John 1:37 et seq., and especially Notes on John 5:46; John 6:37; John 8:47.)
And they have kept thy word. — Comp. Notes on John 8:51; John 14:23. He says here, “Thy word,” not “My word,” because the thought of these verses (John 17:6-8) is that they were originally and were still the Father’s. They had been given to the Son, but this was only the completion of the revelation of the Father to them. Christ’s word was that of the Father who sent Him. (Comp. Notes on John 7:16; John 12:48-49.)