Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the Gospel according to John chapter 17. John 17. I've looked at this chapter so
many times. I love this 17th chapter of the
Gospel of John. This is the high priestly prayer
of our Lord. And I know that to the believer,
precious, precious are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as He
speaks to His Father and gives us revelation concerning the
eternal security and salvation of His blessed people. I don't
know of another chapter that is more revealing of the Lord's
wondrous, sovereign glory than this particular one Himself. I'd like to read the first three
verses of this chapter, and I've entitled this message, What is
Life Eternal? What is life eternal? Let's read
verses 1, 2, and 3, and then we'll ask our Lord's blessing.
These words speak Jesus had 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." Let's pray. Our Father, how wonderful it is to look into
Your Book, Your Word, Your Scriptures, and Lord, to behold the wonder of Your mind. Lord, that You
would speak how blessed we are. Would You cause us to hear? Lord,
would You help us tonight? We are frail creatures. And how
desperately do we need to hear. Oh, help us to want to hear.
For Christ's sake. Amen. Our Lord had been speaking to
His disciples and giving them words of comfort, instruction,
direction. And He lifted up His eyes, the
Scripture said. After He had spoken, these words
spake Jesus. talking about the words that
he had previously spoken. And right after he spoke, he
immediately started praying. And I think about the insinuation
for sure that he allowed his disciples to hear what he had
to say. I think about the wonder of them listening to these precious
words as he spoke to the Father. He said, Father, the hour has
come. So many passages we've read where
many of his opponents, let's say it like that, would have
laid hands on him and would have taken him, but his hour was not
yet come. Almighty God allows only that
which is according to His eternal purpose. If Satan in this world could
get to God's people, they would, but they can't. Almighty God
restrains, holds back all that is not according to His will. The hour now has come. The hour
has come for Him to suffer and to die in the redemption of His
elect. Now is the time for Him to be
made sin. For this hour He came. For this
purpose He came into this world. Set His face, the Scripture says,
like a flint for this hour. Glorify Thy Son. that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee." Father, honor me. Glorify me as the mediator. Give to the world the demonstration
that I am Your Son, that I am Your Lamb, that I am the One. who lays down His life for the
sheep. Father, manifest Thy power in
my death, in my burial, in my resurrection, that the Son may
glorify You and the virtues of Your love and that which You
have eternally purposed to do in the putting away of the guilt
of those that you have everlastingly loved. Father, glorify me. I lay down my life according
to your will, according to your purpose, according to your direction
as your servant right here in this spot at this time. Mercy
and truth are met together and righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. He says, as thou hast given Him
power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given Him. Oh, I still think about those
disciples listening, hearing Him pray these words. According
to the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man Mediator,
now as being God, no power is ever given Him. All power is
His by right. He is one with the Father, one
with the Spirit. But as the servant of Jehovah
who took upon Himself the form of sinful flesh, who came in
the likeness of His brethren, who came as their representative,
who came as their substitute. Power was given Him by the Father. All power, not just some power,
but all power was given Him by the Father for this one purpose. One purpose. As thou hast given
Him power over all flesh, that, or in order that, for the purpose
of that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given Him. God the Father has given Him
a people. That's what He says. God the
Father has an elect. God the Father has chosen a people. Ephesians 1-4. God has a people. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
not going to fail. All power has been given the
Lord Jesus Christ for the purpose that He should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given Him. I've mentioned this before, but
I think of the wonder. Before the foundation of the
world, you know that God gave the Son a people. Out of every
kindred, that is, clan, out of every tongue, every language,
every people, and every race, every nation, God the Father
gave a people to the Son. A people that the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit has eternally known. I've known you. That's what He said. Before I
formed you in the belly, Jeremiah, I knew you. I've always known
you. And in order that every one of
God's elect be called out of darkness. Almighty God has given
the Son all power over all people, over all things, over all providence,
over everything. Thou has given me power over
all flesh that the Lord Jesus Christ might rule and reign in
the ordering of who came together in marriage How these orders
were done. How He predestinated. How He moved. How He moved this
clan, this nation. I raised up nations for your
sake. I put them down for your sake. Everything was ordered
before the foundation of the world that you might be born. You. The Lord Jesus Christ moves in
ways that we have no idea. Working all things after the
power of His own will. He must have absolute authority
over everything, over everybody that He might give eternal life.
Can you imagine? I mean, how people think of this
world and it's just kind of chaotic This person, they just happened
to meet. No, they didn't. No, they didn't. Almighty God may have been pleased
to cause your great, great grandparents, and then on back, and on back,
and on back, and left all of them in darkness that He might call you. And they
all perished, but He saved one. Thou hast given Him power over
all flesh that He might give eternal life to as many as Thou
hast given Him." Eternal life is a gift that He should give
eternal life. It's not earned. The Scripture
says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God. is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord. It's not merited. It's given. Now, here's the verse that I
want us to just settle on for just a moment. Verse 3. It says in verse 2 that He should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him. is life eternal. This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true or the only truthful God and
Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Now, I'm going to confess to
you Once we've looked at this verse
for a few months, we're going through the book of John. And
Lord willing, when we come to chapter 17, we'll look at it a little bit
more in depth. But I'm going to tell you, even
if we look at it a little bit more in depth, we're not really
going to be able to perceive the depth of what it says then. Let me ask you this. How much
do you know about physical life right now? Explain to me how
you can think. Explain to me how you can recall
instances back in your life, back, back, back, back, all the
way to maybe you were a little child and something is still
there. It's just something. You don't
remember all the deep, but there's something there that you can
remember. How you can perceive. How I can
think quickly enough to be able to put a sentence together and
how, as I'm speaking, you hear it and you're just understanding
it. Just explain to me the workings of this body that's marvelously
made. We can't even understand physical
life and life eternal. These things that are so wonderful
and so marvelous, our Lord is getting ready to open unto us
understanding, but oh, how much we don't understand. But according
to His Word, eternal life is not wrought by a profession of
religion or a reformation of manners. I know that. What is life eternal? Eternal life according to the
words of our Lord, is that they might know Thee, the only true
God, Jesus Christ whom Thou sent." Life eternal is being found to
know, to perceive by faith, though we see through a glass darkly.
But we see, God, to know God, this is life
eternal. Oh, how our little fickle understanding
of eternal life is so vague, is so frail, is so weak. But
our Lord said, and based on His Word, life eternal. is to know God. Know God. Therefore, I know this,
though we are weak, though we are frail, though we do see through
a glass darkly, God's people know Him. They know Him in part. They worship. They praise. Oh, how much they realize they
don't know. Upon His Word, we have the authority to conclude
that in the proper apprehension of the blessed triune God and
His threefold character, His threefold persons, and the blessed
person of our Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, that is life eternal. As I said, it's not that it leads
to life eternal. It's not that which directs to
life eternal. That is life eternal. Someone could say, what is your
hope? What is your hope? Well, you
say, this is my hope right here, that I know God and I know His
Son, Jesus Christ. by faith, that I trust Him, that
I know God Himself. Not that I understand Him, not
that I know the fullness of Him who is the I Am, but I know according
to that which He's been pleased to reveal about Himself. I know He's sovereign. I know
that. that He does what He wants to
do. I know according to the revelation
of Himself in His triune persons, I know that the Scripture sets
forth that God the Father is the electing God. I know that. I know according to His Word
that the Son is the redeeming God. I know that. I know that He was made sin. He who knew no sin, I know that
He is, that He was. He was made sin. I know that
God the Father is a just God. I know that He will in no wise
clear the guilty. I know that. I know at Calvary
that the guilt, the penalty, of the broken law of God for
all of God's elect, all that the Father had given Him, all
that Christ later on in verse 9 prayed for. He said, I pray
not for the world. I pray for them which Thou hast
given Me. They are Thine. I know this. God is going to save His people.
I know that. I know that He is all-powerful.
I know that the Spirit of God is the quickening God. I know
that everyone that the Father has chosen and the Son has redeemed,
I know that the Spirit of God is going to call them out. I
know that. I know that everyone that the Father has given the
Son, that not one of them is going to perish. I know that
for everyone the Father has everlastingly loved and Christ has redeemed,
that Christ is their atonement. The Spirit of God has quickened.
I know that they are going to be eternally with Christ. I know
that. I know that He's going to prepare
a place for them. He said in my father's house,
many mansions. If it wasn't so, it wasn't so. I told you. But
I go to prepare a place for you. And where I am, that's where
you're going to be too. Isn't that good news? I know. To know Him is not to know Him
by our intellect or our wisdom, I know that we've not searched
Him out and come to an understanding of His character and His persons
and His glory. If that's the case, we pride
ourselves in that. We glory in our wisdom. But to
know God is to, in regenerating grace, be taught by God's Spirit
that He's God. And in Him, there is none else. Acts 17-28 says, For in Him we
live, and we move, and we have our being. Someone might say,
How much do you know of God? I'm just a frail creature. But
I'll tell you this, He's given me some light. And I'm going
to walk in the light that I have. I know this, that I'm kept by
His power through faith. I know this, He's got to save
me or I can't save myself. This is life eternal. That they
may know Thee, the only true God. You know what this does
when a believer hears this? They want to hear more, don't
they? Tell me some more about Him. Tell me some more of Him
who everlastingly loved me. Tell me some more about Him.
Open the Scriptures, Lord, to our hearts tonight. And as we
remember God's Lamb this evening in the taking of these elements
of the Lord's Supper, let's remember Him who, as we just read, in
whom we live. Have our being for the glory
of our blessed Savior. Amen. God bless you. Amen.