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John 17:25
ESV O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
NIV Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
NASB Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
CSB Righteous Father, the world has not known you. However, I have known you, and they have known that you sent me.
NLT O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.
KJV O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

What does John 17:25 mean?

In general, biblical context, "the world" is a reference to all humanity, or all of mankind. Therefore, "the world" also implies a belief system which rejects God and denies Christ (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). This is why Christians are called on to be influencers "in" the world (Matthew 5:13–16; John 17:18, 23), but not be "of" the world (John 17:16; Romans 12:2–3). Here, Jesus highlights that idea by noting that "the world," in a broad sense, does not know Him or accept Him (Romans 1:18–20).

This lack of personal knowledge makes it impossible for non-believers to fully understand truth (1 Corinthians 2:14). They cannot "see" or understand God, which is why Christians are meant to represent God's truth to the world (1 Peter 2:12). Some will violently reject this truth (John 16:1–4); others will properly respond by coming to faith (1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Titus 3:5; 1 Timothy 1:16). Those who truly follow Christ are not perfect, but they accept that He is who He claims to be (John 17:6–8).
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