Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the Gospel according to John
and chapter 10. We have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 993. The Gospel according to John
chapter 10 and verse 10, it is the latter part of that verse,
that is, upon my spirit I am come that they might have life
and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10 verse 10,
the whole verse reads, the thief cometh not but for to steal and
to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. Our Lord in this verse draws
a contrast, a comparison between those that have come before the
Lord, those that were not the promised Saviour, the promised
Messiah, those that made out that they were, those that made
out they could offer to the people some way of salvation, and yet
actually robbed them and took from them that which They even
had. And so there's a big contrast
here. The thief cometh not but for
to steal and to kill and to destroy. And may we always remember that
any... Are not the Lord Jesus Christ
and do not point to the Lord Jesus Christ. They are not neutral. They're not just something harmless. Our Lord is very clear, and John
is, when he writes in his second epistle, if any bring not this
doctrine, the doctrine of Christ, receive him not into your houses. Those that come as an imposter,
those that come to take away from the Lord, they steal, they
kill, they destroy. May we have very clear views
of error and of Antichrist, those that are not Christ. But the
contrast is what the Lord has come for. It has not only come
that His people might have life, but that they might have it more
abundantly. And it's looking at the word
here, before us is Jesus Christ is come that his
people might have. So I want to look firstly at
those spoken of in the text and really confining remarks to our
text rather than the whole verse. And then secondly, the reason
the Lord came. Now, text says, I am come. And then thirdly, the gift of
life, because the life is not just life, but it is that they
might have that life more abundantly. But firstly, those spoken of
in the text. I am. Right the way through this
beautiful parable of our Lord and the Lord's discourse on her,
the parable of the good shepherd and of his sheep, we have the
words, I am. In verse seven, we read, I am the
door of the sheep. In verse nine, I am the door
And verse 10, our text, I am come. Verse 11, I am the good
shepherd. And verse 14, again, I am the
good shepherd. All the way through, we have
the I am. We can't help but be reminded
of that which the Lord answered Moses in the fiery bush in the
wilderness, where Moses asked the name of the Lord. And our
Lord gave the answer, I am that I am. And he was to tell the
children of Israel that I am that I am hath sent me, that
is, sent Moses. And here is our Lord Jesus Christ
speaking of himself in these same terms. He is the eternal
God. He is true God and true man. The Jews, they accused Him of
being a man and making Himself God, and yet He testifies in
this very chapter, verse 30, I and my Father are one, and
that union with His Father He testifies that he does the works
of the Father. The Father is in me and I in
him, verse 38. And the truth of the one who
is speaking, unique, never before, never after, never will ever
be, another one, that is this God's provision. One in the Trinity,
the eternal Son of God, made manifest in the flesh. Emmanuel,
God with us. The seed of the woman that should
bruise the serpent's head. Jesus of Nazareth. He is the
one that is speaking here. He is the one who testifies that
he is the door testifies that He is the Good Shepherd, testifies
that God is His Father, and that His Father gave to Him a people,
a sheep, and that is the others that are mentioned here, the
they. I am come that they might have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly. They, who
is They is not put, I am come, that everyone in the world might
have life and that they might have it more abundantly, every
man, woman and child, but they who are the they, those that
he is speaking of here as his sheep. those that were given
him of his father. In verse 27, my sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them
those same they eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And he's very
clear, these are the they, these are those that he's speaking
of. given him of his father, his sheep, those that hear his
voice. So is there a contrast of those
that are not they, not his sheep? There is, because there are those
that are spoken of here that the Lord says clearly that they
are not of his sheep. In verse 26, but ye believe not
because ye are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I follow them, and I know them, and they follow
me. The reason why they could not
hear, they did not hear, was because they were not of his
sheep. Some people are God's sheep,
and some are not. Even in this assembly around
our Lord here, The Lord makes a distinction in His hearers
and with those that He is talking to. He says in verse 15, As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down
my life for the sheep. And He makes it clear it's not
just of the Jews, but Gentiles also. The other sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. They shall
hear my voice, there shall be one fold and one shepherd." So
Gentiles, they must also be brought and there shall be one fold. And we see that in Ephesians
chapter 2, especially when the Apostle makes it very clear that
they which were far off The Gentiles are made known by the blood of
Christ, and there is now that joining together of those two
folds. And there's one shepherd, the
Lord Jesus Christ. So it is important when we have
a text like this, the Lord is speaking, I am, and then he is
speaking specifically of a people and people described here. So it's very important that we
realize God does not say that when people are born into this
world, he marks them, those that are his and those that are not.
We are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity. There is no difference
by nature at all. The difference is what the Lord
has come to do for His people and to do for His sheep. Salvation belongs and begins
firstly with God. The Kingdom of God standeth sure,
having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. And so, He
begins with them. He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And so,
our Lord then says the reason why He came. And He gives the
reason why He came. I want to look at this in the
second place. I am come that they might have
eternal life that they might have it more abundantly. We could put it this way, if
the Lord had not come, they might not have life, they could not
have life. The giving of life is bound up
with the Lord coming. And so when we think of what
the Lord did upon this earth, the first is that He did come.
And remember, He is the one that is speaking here. He's not saying,
I will come, but I am come. I am here. I have already come. God manifests
in the flesh. made of a woman, the seed of
a woman, and made under the law to redeem them that are under
the law. So His coming, His very being
made flesh and dwelt among us, was vital for the giving of life. That the Lord Jesus should be
here speaking as He is, seen by them, viewed by them, that
were around about him. His whole life is bound up with
the giving of eternal life for his people, a life that was perfect
and pure and spotless and righteous in all that he did and all that
he said. Then we think of the witness,
that his father gave to him in all of the miracles that were
done. Our Lord is very clear on that, that the works that
I do, they bear witness of me. And they bear testimony that
our Lord was sent by God. And as the man born blind testified,
that if this man were not of God, he could do nothing. Those seals of the miracles were
a testimony that God was with him, that he was God, that the
blessing was upon him. And so then we have his death
and sufferings at Calvary, fulfilling the scriptures that our Lord
should be the Lamb, as John Baptist said, the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. The sacrifice had to be offered. Our Lord was the offerer. He
was the offering. He laid down His life for the
sheep. He had power to take it again. And He says in this same chapter,
this chapter is so full of the vital things of redemption. He says in verse 17, Therefore
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. So, very good for us. When we are looking for the blessings
of God and for the salvation of God and the gifts of life,
to think within ourselves that this must be inseparable to our
Lord's coming and to what He did upon this earth. It focuses our minds upon what
is vital. It takes away all of the controversies
of different doctrines and thoughts and teachings, and brings us
to our Lord Jesus Christ, to those 33 years that He had upon
the earth, to what was done there, what was accomplished, and the
Scriptures being fulfilled. It is that which we are to concentrate
on. The Apostle says, I shall pull
the determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ
and Him crucified." So it really is saying to God, manifest in
the flesh His life here below and His death and His sufferings. There is the secret. That is
what He has come to do, that they, His sheep, His people,
that are like all other dead in trespasses and sins, that
they might have life. It brings the possibility, it
enables them to have life. Without the shedding of blood
there is no remission, without his sufferings and his death
they could not be justly, righteously given life and they could not
be given it more abundantly. So it is in the Lord's coming
that makes that way that God is able to do this and it is
the Lord himself that gives eternal life. We have this spoken of
later on in the chapter, I give unto them eternal life and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of mine
hand. I want to look then thirdly at
the gift of life. You might say, well, the people
that he's speaking to and his sheep, they already have life,
they already are living. Those he's speaking to are adults
and they are living, they have life. But the way our Lord is
speaking of is that they don't have life and that they might
have life. But we are told that when we
are born we are spiritually dead. The sentence for our first parents
was in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And really what a illustration
we have of spiritual death in this chapter because we have
those that are hearing our Lord speaking and testifying of who
he is but they are not receiving it and we read that no man can
say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost and the natural
man receiveth not the things of God neither can he know them
Because they are spiritually discerned. Man dies, and we're all reminded
of that, especially of late, with many that we know have been
taken from this earthly scene. But it is more than just death
in the grave. We are spiritually dead. and
incapable of receiving, of believing, of knowing anything in a spiritual
way. God has given to man much wisdom
and understanding in many, many things. He can do many marvellous
inventions of many things. But God has withheld from him
the ability to find out God, to know Him, to enjoy Him, In
that, he has reserved that solely through the preaching of the
Gospel, through the Word of God, and through his own direct work. Man by searching cannot find
out God. The hymn writer says, we must
not learn God's truth as schoolboys learn their task. You cannot
set before people, natural man, a whole system of learn this
and that and be brought up and at the end you sign and say that
you're a Christian. The work is God's work. He gives
eternal life. He imparts that eternal life. Now when a child starts to go
to school, the reason why they can learn anything is because
they're living. You cannot teach someone something
when they are dead. And if they are to learn spiritual
things, they must be spiritually alive. That must be the very
first gift. And this is why we read the portion
in Romans, because Our Lord is speaking of that life and that
which He gives first in Romans chapter 5. God commendeth His
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. And it is while we are yet dead
in sins, He died for the ungodly. When we were yet without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. The Lord must give life. I pass
by thee when thou wast in thy blood, and when thou wast in
thy blood, I bid thee live. That is a gift. By grace ye are
saved. through faith and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God. And the giving of the new
birth, in John 3, you must be born again of the Spirit, and
the gift of faith, the Lord Jesus is the author and finisher of
our faith, that is an instantaneous gift from God. He uses His Word,
He uses the preaching of the Word, But it is a gift from God that life is given, justly and
righteously given, because Christ died. He suffered in our place. He rose again for our justification
and because He has paid the debt that we owe, so He can give life
to His people. And this is what He does do. why he came, not just for the
generation where he lived there, but all the Old Testament saints
and every one of his people right to the end of the world. They
shall come to the time that he gives them life, he begins a
work, he which hath begun a good work in you. And the beginning
of that work is to give life and to quicken into life. The Father quickeneth whom he
will. A sovereign quickening into life. So it's that gift of life. It
is spiritual life, but may we know that that is eternal life. And what is meant there is not
just for this life. Paul says to the Corinthians,
if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we have all men
most miserable. And our Lord's word in John 10
here is that what he gives to them is eternal life. Verse 28,
I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. That life that is
given also puts them in His hand and in His Father's hand, in
a place of security. It is all God's work, what He
is doing, what He is giving. And if you and I are given a
hearing ear to the Word of God, if we hear the Word, the Word
has authority with us. If the Lord speaks to us through We read in Acts, then, they that
gladly received his word were baptized. How do we receive his
word? How do we act with his word? Do we obey it? Do we feed upon
his word? Is his word the words of life
to us? Except ye eat the flesh and drink
the blood of the Son of Man, You have no life in you. The
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life. And so this is the gift, the
gift of life. But our Lord doesn't just say,
I am come that they might have life, but that they might have
it more abundantly. What does He mean when He says
more abundantly? There are several ways. The first
is more abundant than what Adam had before he fell. Adam was
capable of falling and he did. Adam, he dwelt on this earth. But those that are given eternal
life, they shall dwell with God himself in heaven in his throne. They shall be incapable of falling,
they shall be forever with the Lord, they shall be given a spiritual
and a body that is a celestial, eternal body, and they are no
more mortal at all, they are in a much better state and condition
than Adam was. Adam became mortal when he sinned. Sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so then he must die. But that gift that
is more abundant than Adam, and we've spoken of it, regarding
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks better things than
that of Abel. All the time there's those comparisons. But the gift that our Lord gives
in the Gospel gives back a lot more than whatever was lost through
Adam. And so as well it is the gift
of eternal life so that there shall be an abundant life above. You imagine If the Lord just
gave eternal life here below, and we just stayed in the body
that we have here, we lived like Methuselah, we lived 900 years,
but then we lived and lived and lived, but we still had all our
infirmities and sicknesses and weaknesses and what kind of eternal No, our first parents were driven
out of the Garden of Eden lest they put forth their hand and
touch the Tree of Life, almost implying that if they were to
continue living and have eternal life yet in a fallen state, what
a miserable state that would be. But in the gift of our Lord
Jesus Christ, We must go through death. This body must put on
immortality. This corruptible put on incorruption. This mortal put on immortality. And that gift, it gives not only
that eternal existence and with the Lord life, not eternal death,
but it gives a body, a body as thou made prepared for me, and
that's not only for our Lord, but for His people, raised again
like our Lord as the first fruits from the dead. And so that is
the more abundant. The Apostle says, if in this
life only we have hope in Christ, if all men most miserable, the
more abundant life is looking to that which is to come. that
which is eternally with the Lord in heaven, no more sickness,
no more sorrow, no more tempting devil, no more this fallen world
and fallen men and women. No, it is a more abundant life. But another aspect is more abundant
in that when the Lord begins His work, then there is to be
a growth in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we think of a natural birth
being given and a baby born into this world, we wouldn't think,
well, that's all there is to that baby life, that they just
have life. Because immediately then, with
that life, they begin to learn. learn how to use the faculties
that they have in hearing and speaking. They learn in seeing,
they learn. They learn to walk, they learn
to talk, they learn to do things. And all the way through our lives
we are learning. And there's that growth of life,
if you like. is not just remaining in a vegetative
state, it's not just remaining in ignorance, but it is possessing
a fullness of that life, more of that life. That life is being
used, it's being useful, and that person is benefiting from
actually having life. And so we have in Romans 5 again
where we read, that much more than being now justified, by
His blood we shall be saved from wrath through Him. He's saying,
if while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, how much
more now that we are saved, that we're quickened by God, we're
made alive, shall we be saved from wrath through Him. For if
when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death
of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And so, the prospect and expectancy
of those that are quickened into spiritual life is that God will
give for that life more life, more knowledge, more understanding,
more enjoyment, of God himself and of his people and that they
will live according to that life. The apostle says, by the grace
of God I am what I am. But he was very active, he was
very diligent and he used the knowledge and used the grace
and used the blessings that God had given him. Peter as well. restored he was to strengthen
his brethren. He was to feed them, his sheep.
Same parable as it were, same illustration as in John 10. The
Lord said, feed my sheep, feed my lambs. This was the commission
that was then given to Peter. And it should then be with us
that concern. Have this life that our Lord
is speaking of, that it won't just be a dormant thing, it will
be bubbling up, it will be growing, and in grace and in the knowledge
of the Lord, it will be that which is thriving. What would
we think of a baby naturally, that never grew, that never developed,
There are those that are like that. And they are counted as
afflictions, as trials, as disabilities, deformities. Those that do not
have the capability to learn or to do what others are able
to do. But in the spiritual realm, where
the Lord gives life, then it won't just be life on its own. There'll be those things that
accompany salvation. There'll be the fruits of the
Spirit. There'll be the love to God and
love to His people, a hatred to sin and a love of holiness. There'll be those things that
are nurtured by the Word of God, that is to be their meat and
their drink. The Lord uses the Word. We never
think that just because the Lord gives life, then it's just automatic. There's many exhortations to
those that have life through the Word of God in how they are
to walk, how they are to please God, how they are to act before
God, what they are to shun, what they are to embrace. All of these
things are set before us. where we have been given life,
we have it here. And in the letters to the Revelation,
he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches. Those that have an ear are those
that have spiritual life, that Lord has given life to. And so it is the will of God,
the whole purpose of Him coming, The text does not just say, I
am come that they might have life, but it is and that they
might have it more abundantly in this life by the grace of
God. And you know, I must make this
caution. There are some churches that
teach that, well, that they just embrace, accept the Lord Jesus
Christ, And then they live life to the full. And it seems that
their embracing of the gospel is an excuse for more embracing
of the things of this world with both hands. It's just casting
the name of the Lord into the scale in all of their hobbies,
pursuits, and worldly ways. And they bring the world into
the church and the world's music into the church. And they just
say that, well, we have life more abundant now. It's much
more enjoyable. It's much more better now. And all it is, is their conscience
is just pacified and they're just enjoying this world more. But it's not the life, not the
spiritual life that's in the Word of God. That which comes
by faith is clearly set forth in Hebrews, that those that embrace
the promises that see them are far off. They confess that they
were strangers and pilgrims in the earth. They that say such
things declare plainly that they seek a country. If our possession of or profession
of life brings us to more embrace and love the things of this world. It is not the life that our Lord
spoke of. The world for our Lord said,
away with him, away with him, crucify him. Our Lord says in
John 17, of these sheep, these they, I have given them thy word,
and the world hath hated them. The Word of God, by which the
life comes to the people of God, the words that I speak unto you,
that is what stirs up the hatred of this world. If we are the people of God,
we will use this world as not abusing it, holding it with a
loose hand, but seeking that country which is to come. This
is not your rest, says the Lord, it is polluted. And if we know
the blessing of what it is to have a spiritual life in Christ,
we'll long for that which is above. These are but shadows. That's another way in which it
is more abundantly. The life that he gives here is
a life of faith. We live a life of faith and prayer. But the more abundant life above
is a life by sight. and sing, then shall we know,
even as we are known, without a veil between. The work that
the Lord does in giving life, it doesn't just stay by faith
as it is now, toiling in troubles, in trials, in tribulation, the
trial of your faith being made much more than precious than
gold or silver. No, that is aimed for, Father,
I will that they whom Thou hast given me be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory. May we have that true reflection
of the life that the Lord has come to give to His people, and
that they might have it more abundantly, and have their sights
fully set on His Son coming again, coming from heaven, and to be
with Him forever with the Lord. A people weaned from the world,
a people separated unto the Lord, a peculiar people, a people that
are purchased people, a people that have what others don't have,
and they have it by the grace and mercy and sovereignty of
God. abundantly. We will know it more
abundantly in measure here, and there will be that anticipating
from this text, to have it more abundantly in heaven above. This, what we have of the life
of God in our souls here, is not the end view. In Psalm 84
we read, He shall give grace and glory. That is what the Lord
will do for His dear people. So may we desire that life, if
we have that life, seek that we might indeed grow in grace
and that we might know more of that life of God in our souls. I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more Abundantly. The Lord at His blessing. Amen.