May the Lord be pleased to bless
us together this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn
to the Gospel of John, chapter 17, and we'll read verse three. The Gospel of John, chapter 17,
reading verse three. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent." This is, of course, a very wonderful
chapter, a very wonderful prayer that the Lord Jesus offered up
to his Father just that very short time before he was to enter
into the final stage of his life upon this earth. And as he was
really right at the end, he speaks and he says, I finished the work
thou gavest me to do. And what a work that was and
how willing was Jesus to die that we fellow sinners might
live. Well, the wonderful favour is
that we have this prayer for our encouragement. And as we
read it together, you will no doubt have noticed there were
so many important things that it contains. It speaks about
the Lord only praying for those of his people, not for the whole
world. And also, he speaks of that time
before the world began. when he was with his father.
And he also speaks of those people who his father has given him,
not all of mankind. And all of these things are so
important and so relevant to our understanding of the scriptures. And it is really a wonderful
summary in this prayer that the Lord speaks to his father of
our faith. and how it directs us completely
and utterly to none other than God, God the Father and God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit. And so we have this statement
here, and this is life eternal. Well, we live in a day when most
people disparage any thought of life after death. I think
it's all Just a hoax, and it's a myth, and it's a fairy tale,
and there's nothing true about it. But the truth is, as this
Word tells us, Thy Word is truth. There's no doubt about it. We
do have an eternal life. Once we're born into this world,
we possess an eternal soul, which will never die. And that soul
will live forever. either in glory with the Saviour
or in hell with the devil. There's no middle ground. There's
no alternative. It's a very real and very solemn
consideration. And how important it is that
you and I have the evidence in our hearts that we are amongst
those for whom Christ has indeed died. And the evidence of this
eternal life is in these words that they might know thee the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Now this
is eternal life and what it will do is direct us to this great
and only true God. There is only one God, one true
God, There are many so-called gods. There are many idols that
people bow down to, so-called gods. But there is only one true
God, and he is an eternal God, and he is a holy God. And the
truth is that they might know thee the only true God. And the
people of God, the church of God, know this true God as a
holy God. They know him as a just God.
They know him as a God of judgment. And they know that he is a God
who rules and reigns. And therefore there is that concern
and that reverence upon the hearts of God's people to come before
God in a right way and not treat him just as somebody on their
own level, but to realize like Isaiah did, this God, this mighty
God, this true God, is high and lifted up and inhabiteth eternity. Well, if we are to be the possessors
of eternal life, we will have some true realisation of the
powerfulness and the greatness and the holiness of Almighty
God. and that faced with that God,
you and I by nature will never be able to stand. We shall be
cast out, we shall be cut off because of our sins. Now as the Spirit of God may
direct us, it will indicate to us who we are and what we are. We won't think of ourselves as
any self-righteous person. We won't think that we're qualified
to inherit eternal life. We will realise that because
of our sins, they have separated us between ourselves and our
God. And those sins do separate. And we will understand then by
the Spirit's leading and teaching that that prayer that we read
over the publican is really so very suitable. O God, be merciful
to me, a sinner. This is life eternal. They might
know thee the only true God who directs us to our sinful condition,
to our lost condition, to our ruined condition. And as the
Spirit of God teaches us, we will observe that that which
we perhaps at one time thought was good within us will be shown
that sin is mixed with all we do. All our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. Now this is because the Spirit
works in our hearts and directs us to this only true God. God is holy, God cannot look
upon sin and therefore how are we to be delivered? How are we to be saved from our
sin? Because here we are before this
holy and righteous God and we are utterly unworthy and sinful
beings of this earth. No good thing within us. How
are we to receive any forgiveness. However, will our sins be taken
away? Well, that is when, again by
the Blessed Spirit's work, we are directed to this, and this
is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. To know the Lord Jesus
Christ, then, as our Saviour. that one who the Lord God sent
into this world. Remember in the third chapter
of John those words which we read when the Lord was speaking
to Nicodemus and he spoke those words and he said to him, for
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son But
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. And this was, of course, in answer
to those questions by Nicodemus. Nicodemus couldn't understand
the situation. He'd come to Jesus by night,
and the Lord had spoken to him. He'd come and said to the Lord,
we know that thou art a teacher, come from God, for no man can
do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him." Now,
the Lord answered him so very well, perhaps not in the way
which he expected, but the Lord gave him those important words,
very, very, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. And so how true that is in relation
to these words here. And this is life eternal. If it's not for the saving grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we just stand condemned before a
holy and this true God. And so how necessary it is that
we understand and receive this great gift of eternal life and
know what it means to be born again. to be born again. Natural man can't understand
it. Nicodemus couldn't understand
it, because he said, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb and be born? And Jesus answers and said,
I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. He cannot be amongst
those that will have this blessing of eternal life. And they will
not know the true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent,
unless this is granted to them. So as we look at ourselves tonight,
it's always important, isn't it, to consider ourselves. We
can always look around, but you know it's when the word is applied
to our soul. that it does us good, in whatever
way that may be. And so the Lord speaks to Nicodemus
and tells him, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and
that's where it stops. And that which is born of the
Spirit is Spirit. If we're not born again of the
Spirit of God, then there is no life within us. We are dead. We remain dead. We were born
dead in trespasses and in sins. And we remain dead until the
great work of the Holy Spirit comes upon us and that we are
then born of the Spirit. But how are we born of the Spirit? It's the Spirit's work. It's
the Holy Spirit's work. We don't have any hand in that
work because we are dead. We are impotent of anything.
We are helpless. We are defiled. Yes, we are under
the curse of sin. The soul that sinneth it shall
die. We are spiritually dead. We need the enlivening of the
Holy Spirit of God. Well, what a blessing then if
we have been granted that inestimable favour of the life of God in
our soul. That new nature. Well, the Lord
spoke to Nicodemus and told him, marvel not that I said unto thee,
ye must be born again. There are so many things, aren't
there, in our life that we think we need. Many things that we
perhaps go after. But here is that great important
consideration. Ye must be born again. There's no alternative. There's
no other way. We must be born again. Nicodemus
was told how it comes about. He said, The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and there hearest a sound thereof, and canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that
is born of the Spirit. It comes sovereignly. the work
of God, and as the Apostle says, quickens us, makes us alive. And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and in sins. Well, if we are to be amongst
those, and this is life eternal, they might know thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. It will be this
way. It will be through the blessed work of the Holy Spirit. And we will be, as it were, without
any consideration ourselves of being able to grant ourselves
any life at all. But we are dependent upon this
gracious Spirit of God, blowing upon us in that spiritual way. And Nicodemus asked the question,
how can these things be? To a natural mind, of course,
is not something tangible. We cannot really understand it. But, bless God, those who have
received this work, have received this Spirit in their hearts,
they do know how it's occurred. It's occurred through the work
of the Holy Spirit of God. And Jesus asked him, are thou
a master in Israel? And no, it's not these things.
It doesn't matter how. educated we are, how knowledgeable we
might be, even in the historical accounts of the Word of God.
The truth is that we need the application of His Spirit. We
need the power of the Spirit of God, the power to come upon
us, to grant us life within. Well, that's how we come then
and the Lord speaks and He gives Nicodemus, a wonderful illustration,
and he tells him, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. We see the Gospel here, those
days in the wilderness when those Israelites were bitten by those
serpents and they were dying. And there was no cure. And Moses
was commanded to fashion that serpent and put it onto a rod
and hold it up. And everyone that looked at that
serpent were blessed with life they lived. Now, Nicodemus, a
master in Israel, he would have known that account. He would
have known the truth of it. And that's why the Lord Jesus
directs him and directs us tonight to that occurrence and speaks
of it in this way. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that
whomsoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. Well, it means looking unto Jesus. It means looking unto Jesus,
not looking to ourself, looking unto Jesus. And as we look unto
Jesus, it's because the Lord moves our heart by His Spirit
to look unto Him. And therefore we can then enter
into the truth of these words. For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. The Lord Jesus speaks in
this high priestly prayer of those who believe, those who
will believe. I neither pray I for these alone
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Those are they for whom the Lord
prayed, those who would believe, those who believed at that time
and those who would believe throughout the history of the world right
down to the end of time, that they all may be one as Thou,
Father, art in me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in
us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. There's
a wonderful unity here, isn't there? Unity between Christ and
his people. Unity between God the Father
and his people. And it is brought about through
the work of the Holy Spirit in our souls as we are blessed with
that faith to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and to believe in
his finished work The Lord Jesus speaks about this finished work
and how necessary it was. If the Lord Jesus had not died
upon Calvary's cross, the work would not have been finished.
He had to suffer. He had to bleed. He had to die
so that you and I might receive this great and glorious gift
of eternal life. And this is life eternal. This
is life eternal. Nothing less. If you and I are
to be possessors of life eternal, we shall know the true God and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. The Lord Jesus in an earlier
statement speaks about his sheep. He tells us My sheep, hear my
voice. If this is the truth, they might
know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. And if we are to know the Lord
Jesus Christ, we shall know his voice, his voice speaking to
us, perhaps through his word, through the words in the Bible,
the Lord Jesus speaking to us, perhaps arresting us, stopping
us perhaps. We may have been following not
the right way. We may have been following the
broad way. We may have read the Word of God and it may have arrested
us. And bless God if it has been
so. And Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent this Word the Word
coming into our souls and giving us that spiritual life as we
were dead and now we have been brought into this wonderful place
of life and this is life eternal. This eternal life, you see, for
those who are brought into this way by this knowledge of Christ,
this personal experience, This confirmation that the Lord Jesus
has died for them can look forward to a time of glory. Very much in this chapter, the
Lord speaks about glory. Glory, it's hard for us to understand
glory, because glory refers really to these spiritual things in
heaven. glory. But the Church of God,
those who possess this life eternal, will be found in glory. And there in glory, they will
behold this great and blessed Saviour who has prayed for them. Just think, it's very, very humbling. It's very hard for our little
minds to understand. that this great almighty God
prays for us. He prays for his people. He prays not for the words. He
says, I pray for them. I pray for them. Who are those? For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me. And they have received them. And they have known surely that
I came out from thee. And they have believed that thou
didst send me. These are those for whom the
Saviour prays. And he prays for those that the
Father has given him. Not everyone in the world. Those
for whom the Father has given him. And he's given unto them the
words which thou gavest me. I've given unto them the words
which thou gavest unto me." The words of truth which the Father
gave unto his Son, he's given unto his church, his people,
and they have received them. Our nature, our natural mind,
rejects the Word of God. People reject the Word of God
today, don't they? They are brazen against the truth of God's Word.
They have no concern to bow down before Almighty God. They do
not receive the Word of God. But those who are blessed by
the Holy Spirit's work and are within the compass of these words,
they might know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom
thou sent may receive the Word of God into their heart. It's
life and it speaks comfort and it's encouraging to them as they
realise their own lost and ruined state, to realise they have a
great and glorious Saviour who's prayed for them. If we think of ourselves ourselves
by nature, our sinful condition, the evil of our heart, and to
think that this great holy God, this blessed Saviour, who endured
so much on our behalf, He prays for us. And this is life eternal. This is entering in to the truth
of the Word of God. It's not something which is fictitious.
It's something which is graciously and blessedly true. To think
that Almighty God, in the person of the Saviour, has prayed for
us. Individually. Individually. You and me. Wonderful favour,
isn't it? Amazing blessing. To think we
have such a God. great and powerful as He is,
almighty as He is, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and
yet notices us, prays for us, that they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. This God,
you see, who sent His only beloved Son into the world, who so believeth
on him shall not perish, but have eternal life. This is Jesus,
who prays for his people. And as he says, I pray for them,
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given
me, for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are
mine, and I am glorified in them. To think that the Lord Jesus
is glorified in us. He's glorified in us because
of his great work of salvation. And that work of salvation which
has brought life into our souls. And that is the endless life
which the Lord Jesus gives And he says, I am glorified in them. These words are very great, aren't
they? They're really so difficult for our minds to understand that
we, as sinful mortals on the earth, are glorified. I am glorified in them. What do we read? Christ in you,
the hope of glory. That's what Paul said, didn't
he, when he wrote to the Colossians, and he said, Christ in you, the
hope of glory. And he tells us, he says, for
ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with Him in glory. Christ is our life. Is He your life and is He my
life? This is a great issue, isn't
it? The Apostle writes here to the Colossians in this way and
tells us that by nature we are dead but our life is hid with
Christ in God. And therefore he encourages us
in our life, if we are like this, to mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry. For which
things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience? Christ in you, the hope of glory. My friends, it must be so, mustn't
it? Our hope of glory is in Christ's
work, isn't it? Our hope of glory is not in ourselves,
in what we've done. Our hope of glory is in what
Christ has done. And how blessed it is to realise
that this truth is truth. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. There won't be any strangers
in glory. There won't be anybody in glory
who knows not the Saviour. We would have been blessed with
some evidence of His love towards us while on this earth, that
love which brought him from heaven into this sinful world to suffer
and to bleed and die. We won't come to become into
glory and find that we are meeting with a Saviour we know nothing
about. Because while on this earth we
would have been blessed with that spiritual evidence in our
hearts that this is the One who has loved us everlasting love. And as we receive that love into
our hearts, that love which was so great that caused the Saviour
to die in our place, our hard hearts will be moved to worship
Him and to bow down and to desire, to desire to be a true follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This eternal life, and to know
Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast
sent." Well, what a blessing if you and I tonight can recollect
in our little experience a time when we did meet with the Lord
Jesus Christ, when He met something to us. He meant something to
us. He wasn't just a name. name of
Jesus. It's a precious name, my friends,
when it means something to us. It brings joy to our heart. It brings thanksgiving to our
heart that the work of God has moved us to love the Saviour. Our love may seem to be so cold
so often, but what a blessing if there is that little love
towards the Saviour. Because He's loved us so much. So much. He loved us in eternity. He loved us before we were born.
He loved us when we were born. He watched over us in our unregeneracy. His love was still the same. his love changes not. And my friends, then when we
came and blessed with that evidence of life in our souls, then we
observed then something of this great love, amazing love, that
brought the Saviour into this sinful world to die on Calvary's
cross that you and I might possess this wonderful privilege of eternal
life. This is life eternal. Outside
of this knowledge is not life eternal. That they might know
Thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.
Well, have we prayed and do we pray that I might know Thee? We might know more of Christ. We can never know enough of Christ.
We can never have enough union and communion with him, but there
will be that time and eternity when we shall be forever with
the Lord. No separation. No sin to drive
us away. Sin separates between us and
our God. Sin separates between our God
and us as we desire to love him, we find sin separates. In glory,
no separation, no sin. Perfect happiness and joy and
union and communion. And to be blessed then in that
heavenly throng of like-minded saints, all of which who have
been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. The Church of
God know the Saviour as their Redeemer. Yes, not just as a
man, but as their Saviour, as their Redeemer. As that great
and glorious One who has died in their place, that sin-atoning
death, Sin atoning death. You see, without that sin atoning
death, there was no remission. There was no forgiveness. But
as that was typified throughout the ages of those many sacrifices
which are often up, bloodshed. Bloodshed signifying death. Christ's bloodshed signifying
his death. As he gave his life, that one
complete sacrifice for sin, for the sins of all his people, from
the beginning of time to the end of time. Yes, we see that
great and glorious sufficiency of the blood of the Saviour that
satisfied the demands of a holy God, the holy law of God, and
washed away the sins of all his people. in that great and blessed
flood of his blood, washed in the blood of the Lamb, to be
white, whiter than snow, no sin. And this is life eternal. You
see, the Church of God will be perfectly pure in glory. will be clothed, not in their
righteousness, but in that great gift of that robe of righteousness
which Christ has given to all his church. And all will be joined
together in that heavenly throng, in that eternal state, and Christ
will be the song. Know this, the only true God
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." What a blessing for us
today to know that Christ Jesus was sent. He was sent into this
world as we read further on, as thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I also sent them into the world that for
their sakes I sanctify myself that they might also be sanctified
through thy truth. We have been sent into this world
and God's people are sent into this world to live in this world,
to be a light in this dark world, to show forth his praise in this
dark world and then at the appointed time to be received up into glory,
that where he is, there shall we be also. Indeed the Lord Jesus
speaks, in that way, where I am there, they may be also. See
the unity, the desire for his people to be with him. We perhaps
think, well, how wonderful to be with Christ, And you see,
really, the Lord loves to have his people with him. Yes, there
won't be any strangers there. There won't be any outcasts there. There will be all those who have
been received, received into glory. Those for whom he's laid
down his life. Those with whom he has blessed
them. with some little knowledge of
that union with Him, union with the Lamb, from condemnation free. That really is this knowledge. They might know Thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. We don't learn
this. We are blessed with this heavenly
teaching. We don't learn it naturally.
School boys learn their task. It's what God gives to us, and
he gives it to us by his power. The second verse in this chapter
reads, As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he
should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.
It's the power of the Spirit of God. The power of God comes
into our heart and brings us into that condition of spiritual
life, eternal life. It's His power. Power belongeth
unto God. God is a sovereign. That power belongs to Him alone.
No one can give spiritual life, it's only as God comes and gives
that life, this eternal life, this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. So there will be then, for those
who are blessed with this great gift of eternal life, this knowledge,
this personal knowledge of God the Father and also this personal
knowledge of God the Son. You know the Apostle John in
his epistle he speaks to us about this and he tells us in the fifth
chapter he says, and this is the record that God has given
to us eternal life and this life is in his Son. He that hath the
Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. These things have I written unto
you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may
know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God. These things, my friends, are
to be known. They are to be coveted. We are
told to covet earnestly. The best gifts, and surely this
is the greatest of gifts, to know that we are a possessor
of life and that eternal life, that life which will never be
taken away. We come towards the end of this
fifth chapter. The Apostle says, and we know
that we are of God. and the whole world lieth in
wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that means a spiritual understanding,
that means an understanding to the new nature, and has given
us an understanding that we may know him that is true. And we are in him that is true,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. It's very clear, isn't it? John,
in his epistle, really expounds on these things in the Gospel
and confirms to us the necessity of realising in our soul that
we have passed from death to life and that we possess this
knowledge that we read of here, and this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent." Well, my friends, may we not bless God? Bless God
for his great and glorious work. We read of that great and glorious
work in the Old Testament, of course, there's so much of it
really as spoken of and what a blessing it is to know that
the Word of God is complete from Genesis to Revelation. And in the ninth chapter of Jeremiah,
Jeremiah tells us, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom. This is of nature. Neither let
him, the mighty man, glory in his might. Let not the rich man
glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth, glory in this,
that he understandeth and knoweth me. Ah, you see, that's the secret,
isn't it? Understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness. in the earth, for in these things
I delight, saith the Lord." Wonderful unity there is in that. And then
also in the 31st chapter of this Jeremiah, again we read in the
31st verse, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring
them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant may break,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.
After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts. And I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of
them." So that picks up all of us, doesn't it? From the least
of them. We may feel perhaps like the
Apostle Paul, less than the least of all saints. Well, here's the
encouragement. less than the least of all the
saints, yes, from the very least of them they shall all know me,
from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord,
for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin
no more." Because it's all washed away, it's all taken away in
the precious blood of the Saviour. Well, may the Spirit of God lead
us into all truth as it is in Jesus. and rejoice in what he's
done, in his great, glorious, finished work. Be thankful for
his wonderful prayer that he made to his father, recorded
here, and to be blessed with that gracious anticipation that
one day, through his grace, because of his mercy and his great love
toward us, we should be found with him around that throne of
God in heaven, singing his praises. throughout eternity. Amen.