Turn with me to John 17. Look beginning with the first three verses of John 17. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. and this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."

These words speak the Lord. If you look back, that's what he's talking about. These words he spoke in these previous chapters. How often do we just skip over words of life? Look back with me. Just take a few minutes, but look back at verse 3. of John 14. First one. He said, let not your heart. Be troubled. These are the these are the words of our Lord. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place, I'll come again. and I'll receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also."

Skip down to verse 15. Verse 15, still in John 14, he said, if you love me, keep my commandments. And I'll pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. Because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him. For he dwelleth with you, and he shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I'll come to you. Aren't those comforting? Aren't those comforting words?

Look at John 15 verse 9. He says, As the Father hath loved me, We can't even enter into the love the father had for his son. But he says, as the father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. Verse 13, look on down there. More about this love. He says, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends. Read on there. What's He say next? Ye are My friends. If you do whatsoever, I command you. Henceforth, I call you not servants. For the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends. For all that I heard of My Father, I have made known unto you. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you. And I have ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you."

In a short amount of time, our Lord is going to go lay down His life He's going to lay down His life for His friends. And He says this to His disciples, You are My friends. I chose you. I ordained you. You're Mine.

And then look at John 16, look at verse 33. And these are just a few of these passages. We could just spend the morning just reading God's Word. Look at verse 33. Again, John 16. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have life. Life. Life in the Son. Life in Christ. These things have I spoken unto you that you might have peace. In this world, you're going to have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

All of these things He spoke. He spoke to His disciples. He continues to speak to His people to this day. That we might have peace. Peace in Him. Being justified. Being justified, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, we have peace of conscience. Peace in our heart knowing this, our sins are forgiven. Our sins have been put away. In Christ, we have peace in trouble, in trial, in tribulation. You know, we live in a world, is that surprising? We live in a world that hates God, hates His gospel, hates the gospel of grace, yet the believer in Christ has peace. He's overcome the world. He's conquered Satan, he's conquered sin, he's conquered this world, and his victory is our victory.

We have no cause. We still do, don't we, if we're honest. But we have no cause to fear. We have no cause to fear the men of this world or the forces of evil. God rules and reigns over all.

Well, back to John 17. Look here again. These words. These words spake Jesus, and He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and He said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.

And this is life eternal. That's the title of the message this morning. Eternal life. Eternal life. And just a few points here from this passage. And the first is this. Eternal life is the gift of God. It's what He said here in our text. He said that He should give eternal life. Men talk of an offer. They talk of a reward. They talk about something being earned. The wages, there's something to be earned. The wages of sin is death. But the gift, What's that? The gift. The gift of God is eternal life. And it's through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

In John 5.11, John writes, he said, this is the record. God hath what? Given. God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. It's the gift of God. This is the record. This is the sum and substance of it all. This is what we declare. This is what we believe. This is what we preach. God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. According to His pleasure, according to His will, He saved us. He took fallen Fallen men. Not all, but his sheep. And he saved them. He was merciful.

That spiritual life lost in the fall when Adam fell there in the garden. And that was severed. In Christ we have life. We have righteousness. Free from sin. Free from sorrow. Free from death. Eternal life. We're born spiritually dead. Born dead in trespasses and sin. We're deserving of death. We're deserving of eternal death. Eternal judgment. But God has decreed to give His elect. He hath given to us. Us, a particular people. Not everyone, a particular people. Those chosen in Christ for the foundation of the world, and He's given us a gift. And what is that gift? Eternal life.

Second, this eternal life, it involves a knowledge of God. Look at our text, John 17, 2. It says that they might know Thee, the only true God. Eternal life is not being religious. It's not getting religion. You said that, didn't you? Eternal life is to know the only true God. It's not just some reformation and cleaning up on the outside. It's to know the true and living God.

Eternal life is not following a man's doctrine. Man's tradition. There's so much of that. It's not to do what the preacher says to do, right? Not what you're supposed to do. It's to know God as he's revealed in Scripture, to know God, to love God, to trust God, to believe God. This is eternal life that they might know me. To know Him as He's revealed in His Word, as He is revealed in Scriptures. Again, not what man has to say. We could drive up and down these streets, and we could walk into the Baptist church, and the Presbyterian church, and the Methodist church, and every church under the name of the Son, right? And they'd all have something for us to do.

God's Word declares what's done. It's finished. We're not talking about the God of man's imagination. We're talking about the true and living God. God who spoke the world into creation. God who's all-powerful, almighty. And to see Him, we must look to the Scriptures. He must be revealed. In his word.

God, who said this, he said, your thoughts are not my thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways. Back in Isaiah, he spoke and he said, I am God and there is none else. I declare the end from the beginning. the beginning from ancient times, the things that are not yet done. My counsel shall stand. I'll do all. I'll do all my pleasure. A God who doeth according to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou?

The God of the Bible Sovereign. Absolutely sovereign. He bows to no one. Is that the God we believe and worship?

The God of the Bible is righteous. He's going to punish sin, even when it's found on His Son. Scripture says this, the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Sin, when it's finished, bringeth forth death. In Numbers 4 verse 18 we read this, that the Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy. Forgiving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and to the third and fourth generation.

He's sovereign. He's holy. He's righteous. He's merciful. He's also merciful. In Micah 7, verse 18, we read, Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He delights in mercy.

How else could a sinner approach unto a holy God apart from His mercy? How could that leper cry out and say, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole? How else could a publican cry out with any hope, God, be merciful to me, the sinner, or that thief? That thief, as he hung on the cross, just looked and said, Lord, remember me.

Eternal life is to know God. It involves a knowledge, third, a knowledge of the Son. Back to our text. That they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is King of kings and He's Lord of lords. He has all power. He has all authority. He said that in Matthew 28.18. Jesus came and said, All power, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

He is all-powerful. And God the Father has given Him an elect people out of every nation. And to save them, He must have all power and all authority without exception. In eternal life, listen, it's the free gift that He gives his son to give to his people. Philippians 2 look at verse 9. He must have all authority. He must be willing and able to save. Look here at Philippians 2.9. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, every knee should bow. Of things in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth, Every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

I don't want to have to say that with His foot on my neck.

Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And the Lord Jesus Christ, He was made a man. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. He's a perfect man. He's sinless. We don't even know what that means, do we? Sinless. Can you imagine never speaking an idle word? Our Lord never spoke an idle word. He never thought an evil thought. He never looked down on anyone with pride. He never lifted up His hands in anger. He never walked in sin. Perfect. We drink it like rainwater, don't we?

God the Father said this of His Son. He said, This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Tried, tempted in all points like we, yet without sin. He was numbered with the transgressors. He bare the sin of many. He bore our sin. Bore our sin in His body on a tree. There at Calvary, He died. suffering for the sins of his people. And Adam all died. By the disobedience of want, many were made sinners. But in Christ, in Him we have life. He paid the price. He redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. God made him to be sin. For us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the very righteousness of God in Him.

Don't we love those words? Jesus paid it all. All the debt I owe. Sin had left the crimson stain. He washed it. White as snow. God made Him to be sin for us. who knew no sin, that we might be made the very righteousness of God in Him."

Eternal life is to know the Son. I want to know Him. He's known by revelation. The Gospel is revealed. Christ is revealed. In 1 John 1-2 it says, "...that which was from the beginning." that which we heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we've looked upon, that which our hands have handled. The Word of life. For the life was manifested. And we've seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was in the Father was manifested unto us, made known unto us.

Again, it's not a profession of religion. It's not changing my manners. It's a knowledge of Him. It's a union. A union with Him. Paul wrote this to the Colossians. He said, Even the mystery which had been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints, to whom God would make known. God would make known. God would reveal. the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. What is this mystery? Christ in you. The hope. The hope of glory. Whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

To know the only true God, listen, it's not just knowing about Him. I could recite probably some facts about Abraham Lincoln, but that wouldn't mean I know Him, would it? Eternal life is knowing Christ, loving Christ, receiving Christ, believing Christ as He is revealed in God's Word. Paul wrote this to the Ephesians. He said, to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. That you may be filled with the fullness of God now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him. Unto Him be glory. In the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Fifth, eternal life involves the person and work of Christ. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should never perish, but have, have what? Everlasting life, eternal life. He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth for him." This is important, isn't it? This is critical, isn't it?

Our Savior said this. He said, I've come that you might have life. He came to save sinners. Peter wrote this, he said, Christ also once suffered for sins, but just. For who? For the unjust. That He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.

Six, eternal life, it's to be received by faith. Turn to John 3. John 3, verse 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not shall not see life. He that believeth on the Son. He that believeth. It's received by faith. He that believeth on the Son hath life.

Seventh, it's a result of election. David wrote this, he said, Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

And then last, eternal life is the promise of God. Turn with me to one more scripture. Turn to Titus chapter 1. Titus 1. Beginning with verse 1. Paul, Titus 1 verse 1, Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised. before the world began.

Eternal life. Turn back to John 17. Look one more time here at our text. These words, John 17, verse 1. These words speak Jesus. And lifted up his eyes to heaven, and he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The gift, the gift of eternal life. What are we to do with a gift? I had to be reminded of this just a couple of days ago. When you're given a gift, you receive it. I remember my father-in-law used to say that. He said, you receive a gift in the Spirit in which it's given.

The gift of eternal life. Don't let your pride, sometimes we let our pride keep us from accepting a gift, receiving a gift. I won't accept it. Maybe I'm too sinful. I'm too sinful to have that gift. Paul knew something of that, didn't he? He said, in this flesh dwelleth no good thing. My hope's not in my holiness, is it? My hope's in Christ.

Maybe we think this, well, my faith is just too weak. I could never have that gift. My faith is just too weak. Where's your hope? Is it in your strength? Or is it in His? Sometimes we think, well, I'll fail. I'll dishonor Him. I'll dishonor the Lord. I'll embarrass the church. It's not my life. It's His. We're hidden in Christ. We're in Him. We're dead. We're dead and our life is hid with Christ in God.

This is eternal life. That they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.