Go back with me now to John 17.
John 17. As you know, we have been studying through the Gospel of
Matthew and why we are looking at John 17 tonight. We really don't need a reason,
do we? Except that I was reading it and blessed by it, and I hope
the Lord will bless it to you. I wish the world could hear this
message tonight, but they are not what you are. Even if they could, if the world
could hear this, most would not believe it. As our Lord said earlier in this
gospel, He said, Why do you not understand
my speech? Even because you cannot hear
my word. He went on to say to some, they were of their father
the devil. And then he said, He that is
of God, heareth God's word. He that was chosen of God, he
that was called of God, he that is born of God, heareth God's
word and rejoices and believeth and receiveth. And this is the
word of God. John 17. John 17. These are the
words It says in verse 1, these words
fake Jesus, but more than just a man, this is the God-man. And so these are more than just
words, aren't they? He said to his disciples earlier,
he said, my words are spirits. Meaning that what he says goes
much deeper than just words, but spirit. He said, my words
are life. Life. They give life. Life. Look at it. Verse 1. These words
spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven. This is the only
one who could. The only one who could look God
in the eye because He is equal with God. He is God. We are to
bow our heads in humility, in shame-facedness, in reverence. And he looked into heaven, looked
into God's face, the only one who is worthy. And he said, verse
1, Father, now this is the only begotten Son of God, the only
begotten. God made man, Adam that is, from
the dust. But Jesus Christ is the express
image of God, came forth from God. He is God, the only image,
the only begotten of God, the only true Son of God. All else,
all other sons are adopted by God and born of His Spirit. But these words He said to His
Father, He's not talking to the world. The Lord Jesus Christ
is not talking to the world here. He's not talking to men and women.
He's not trying to convince anyone of anything. He never did and
He never will. Certainly not here. This is truly
the Lord's Prayer. Men like to call what He taught
His disciples the Lord's Prayer. That was not the Lord's Prayer.
The disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray. And he said, at this
manner you pray. That was the disciples' prayer.
This is the Lord's prayer. This is the great high priest's
prayer for his people. He's talking to God. This is
a conversation between the Son to the Father and the Father
to the Son. And he says this in verse 1, Father, the hour
has come. The hour, the time, purposed
by God from the beginning. The event, this purpose, which
Christ came, why Christ came, before there was time. This time,
this event, was ordered and predestined by God before the world began. And this very event which he's
speaking of is the event or the hour around which all time would
be measured. You understand? Our very calendar
bears witness to what the Lord is talking about here. B.C.,
A.D. The hour has come. The crucifixion,
exaltation, and glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
hour has come. And he says, look at verse 1,
glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. The reason, the purpose why God
Almighty invented or was the architect of this thing called
salvation. The reason why God Almighty purposed
to save worthless creatures called mankind. And that's what they
are. Worthless. The reason why he did that was
to the glory of his Son. And in spite of man's attempts
to dishonor the Son, in spite of man's attempts to bring down
the Son, in spite of man's attempt to shame the Son by putting him
on a cross, That which was meant for His greatest shame and dishonor,
God Almighty made it for His greatest glory. What man thought was the shame
and dishonor of the Son of God, Jesus, they called Him. God Almighty
crowned Him with glory and honor because of it. And man still attempts to bring
him down and dishonor him by putting him outside of every
man's heart's door. By thinking that he's in men's
hands to do with as they please, yet God hath highly exalted him
and put all things into his hands. And Christ says, glorify thy
son. And the Father always answers and grants the Son everything
that He asks for. And that's exactly what God has
done. He has highly exalted and glorified His Son. He has put
all things and all people into His hands to do with as He pleases. And in fact, in this thing of
the cross, it was God Almighty who put Him on that cross. It
pleased the Father to bruise him, Scripture said. It was God
who put him on the cross. It was God who put him in the
tomb. It was God who raised him from
the dead. It was God who sat him at his right hand at the
majesty on high. And it was God who declared him
Lord, not man. Man thinks he put him on the
cross. Man thinks he killed him. But
it was God who did all that. Because God said, I kill and
I make life. I, the Lord, do all these things. The man thinks he makes him Lord,
but God did that long before, before the world began. God declared
him Lord and sovereign over all. Father, he said, glorify thy
Son. And that's exactly what God purposed
to do and exactly what God has done and will do. Everything
redounds to the glory of the Son of God. And then he says, Father, glorify
thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. Jesus Christ came
to this earth to glorify God. Beginning with Adam in the garden,
the first man who sinned against God, who shook
his fist in the face of God, Adam and Eve, who said, we'll
have our free will, and man has been doing it ever since. rebelling
against, rejecting the authority of God Almighty, the sovereignty
of God, and he's been doing it ever since. See, this is the glory of God,
his sovereignty. God's right, God's will. This is the glory
of God. And beginning with that first
man, Adam, and all of his posterity, all the sons of Adam, all have
sinned against God. Primarily, chiefly, against his
chief glory. That is his will, his sovereign
right to be God. All have sinned and come short
of that glory. Well, not this man. He came to glorify the Father. And Romans 1, listen to this
carefully, Romans 1, you know these verses well. Scripture
says they glorified him not as God. Verse 23 of Romans 1 says they
changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like unto corruptible
man. Man has made God into a being
like man and made man into something more, made man into God. Limited the will of God and made
the will of man unlimited. Romans 1 verse 25 says they changed
the truth of God, this is the truth of who God is, all the
way from the beginning to the end, and worshiped and served
the creature more than the Creator. Worshiped and served man, his
honor, his glory, more than the Creator, who is God forever over
all and blessed. And in Isaiah 59, it says this
concerning Christ and prophecy. It says, He saw this, that there
was no man, that is, no man who glorified Him. And it says, He
put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon
His head. He put on the garments of vengeance and was clad with
zeal as a cloak. And in the volume of the book
it's written of Him. He says, I have come to do Thy
will, O God. I've come to glorify God. Nobody's
ever done it. I came to do it as a man. Glorify God. Father, glorify
Thy Son, He said, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. And He did. He glorified God's
will and God's Word and God's wisdom and God's power. And here
is how the Father glorified the Son. Here is the chief glory
of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at it, verse 2.
Glorify thy Son, he said, as thou hast given him power over
all flesh. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh. Now when folks argue against
this, they're not arguing against some man, they're arguing against
the Lord Jesus Christ who said this. You remember several years
ago, some of you were there, when we had the opportunity to
go and preach to a place locally that does not preach this gospel. And I wanted to preach from Romans
9, which would have been fine, really, but my motive maybe wasn't
right. And I called my pastor for advice,
and he gave me wise counsel. He said, no, don't preach Romans
9, preach John 17. You remember, you were there,
John. He said, if anybody takes issue
with this, they're taking issue with a son of God himself. If
anybody argues and debates, they're debating with the Son of God
Himself. What's there to argue? These are the words. These words
fake the Lord Jesus Christ. And He said, Thou hast given
Him power over all flesh. John Calvin didn't say that.
Jesus Christ said that. As thou hast given him power,
the word power means authority, it means rule, it means reign,
it means control. As thou hast given him control
over all flesh. How much control? How much power? In Matthew 28, 18, he said, All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. All power. Do you like this? I preached down in Kingsport
a few weeks ago. You were with me. Kelly was with
me. The Lord blessed us. Really blessed
us. One of the men said to me, I'm
just repeating to you what he said. You know, they're having
a Bible conference in a few weeks. A couple of months. And he said
to me afterward, he rejoiced over it. He rejoiced in the message. And he said to me, he said, you
should have saved that for the conference. I said to him, I said, there's
a whole book full of messages just like that. You might not
live till the conference, and this message can't wait till
Sunday, can it, huh? Is this not your favorite subject,
your favorite person? This is what heaven is doing
right now. This is what all the redeemed
are doing right now. This can't wait till Sunday. Power over all flesh. How much
power? All power given unto me in heaven
and earth. What kind of power? Go back to
John 5 with me. What kind of power? What kind
of control? Does he just control the lightning
and the thunder and the floods and so forth? No, no, no. John
chapter 5. Look at this. These are the words
of the Son of God. John 5, verse 21, he says, "...the
Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the
Son quickeneth whom He will." That means give life. He gives
life to whom He will. You see, they're dead. All men are born dead in sins. They must be given life. Christ
said, "...I am come that they might have life." And he gives
this life. He quickens whom he will. And
Ephesians 2 says of his people, his elect, he said, and you hath
he quickened who were dead. Right? And you hath he quickened. Who? He. He said he quickened
whom he will. The preacher didn't do it. The Son of God did it. What kind
of power? Verse 22, the Father judges no
man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. All judgment. He's the one that decides all
things. He's the one that determines
the destiny of all human beings. If you don't do it, I don't do
it, Jesus Christ does it. He says, I have the keys of hell
and death. I do. Nobody else does. I do. You know what he said? That's
what he said. All power over all flesh. I quote this to you all the time,
but I don't want to take it for granted you know it. Proverbs.
Go to Proverbs 16 with me. Proverbs 16. We quote these scriptures
all the time, but we need to look at it with our own two eyes.
I've said this quite often. If a person has never seen this,
it might If God is pleased, it will definitely change their
theology or change what they think they know about God. Proverbs
16. Several scriptures, but look
at this. Verse 1. Proverbs 16, verse 1. The preparations
of the heart in man. And the answer of the tongue
is from the Lord. Look at verse 4. The Lord hath
made all things for himself, even the wicked. Look at Proverbs 21. Here it
is. How much power? What kind of
power does Jesus Christ have? Proverbs 21. Look at it. Look
at it. Proverbs 21. The King's heart
is in the hands of the Lord. Like the rivers of water, he
turneth it whithersoever he will. The hearts, the minds, the will,
the mouth of man is under the control of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? He that
is of God believes it. What kind of power? All power. Name something. It's His power. Power over all flesh. Scripture
says, He doeth according to His will in the armies of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
His hand. Now that's power. That's God. That's Christ. There is no other. Now look at this, go back to
our text, John 17, that he, as thou hast given him power over
all flesh. Now look at this. What about
power over man's soul? I already said that. The heart, the will, the mind.
But here in verse 2 it says, God has given him power over
all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as God
has given Him. Here's God's glory, and here's
Christ's power and glory, His divine right, His will, His power,
His prerogative to give life to whomsoever He will. To save or damn, that's His power.
That's what makes Him God. That's the difference between
God and us. It's God's power. It's God's right. And man has
been disputing that, as we said, from the garden. Adam was the
first to do it, and God kicked him out. It's his right to save whom he
will. To give life. See, it's a gift. To give eternal life. Spiritual
life. John 1 verse 13 says, "...not
of the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but of God,
His will. Eternal life, to give eternal
life to whom He will. They don't have it. We don't
have it by nature. Look at verse 2. He goes on to say that he
should give eternal life to whom? To whom? To as many as thou hast
given him. to as many as thou hast given
him." This is something, you read this with me, I hope you
did, and noticed it all through here, didn't you? Them which
thou hast given me, those which thou hast given me. He started
saying this way back, John chapter 6, he said in verse 37, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to them. He said no man can come unto
them, except the Father which hath sent me draw them. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me." He said in verse 39,
this is the will, this is the Father's will which hath sent
me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing. He said in John chapter 10, listen
to this, this is his glory now and this is what we glory in,
his glory. This is what God's people glory
in. May glory in his glory. John chapter 10 verse 14, he
said, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep. How do you know them, Lord? Because
the Father gave them to me. Because the Father chose them
before the foundation of the world and gave them to me in
a covenant before the foundation of the world. And I wrote their
names on the palms of my hands and upon my breastplate and upon
my shoulders, and I went to Calvary to die for them. I lay down my
life for the sheep." He said in verse 27 of John 10,
he said, "...my sheep hear my voice, I know them." The psalmist
said, "...the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
the Lord knoweth them that are His." This is His glory. He said in verse 28 of this John
10, he said, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish. He said in verse 29, my Father
which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand. That sounds like power
to me, doesn't it? All power. John chapter 17, here
in our text, look down at verse 6. He said, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Those
thou gavest me. Verse 12, he said, while I was
with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that
thou gavest me, I kept. Verse 9, he said the same thing.
I pray not for the world, but for them that thou hast given
me. They are thine. He said in verse 10, All mine
are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. How
is He glorified in them? His power. His sovereignty. I am glorified in them. That's
how you know they're His. They glorify Him. They give Him
all the glory. Now look at this. In closing,
John 17. He says that thou hast given
him power over all flesh, all power, that he should give eternal
life. Eternal life is a gift. You don't
earn it. He must give it. He must bestow
it. It's not an offer. It's a bestowal. It's an act upon a dead person. As many as God has given him.
And this is life eternal, verse 3. Here it is. This is life eternal. The Son of God tells us what
eternal life is, that they might know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. This is life eternal. Would you turn with me in closing
to Isaiah 43? You know these verses well, but
I know you don't get tired of looking at them. Isaiah 43, Christ
said, this is life eternal that they might know thee the only
true God. Because men have, remember we
read Romans 1, they have a false conception of God. God said in
Psalm 50, He said, thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as
thyself. God said, you thought I was like
you. I'm not. I'm God. But all of God's elect
Christ's disciples then and now, they know who God is. How? How
do they know who God is? Well, no man can know God by
searching. The oldest book in the Bible
says that. Job says, can a man by searching find out God? No.
Christ said, now these are the words of the Son of God. He said,
no man knoweth the Son but the Father, and no man knoweth the
Father but the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal Him. Again, that's his divine prerogative.
He reveals himself to whom he will. We don't find this out. We don't know God. We're dead.
We're not looking for God, not calling upon God. None of the
disciples were. They weren't thinking on him. They were spiritually deaf, dumb,
and blind, and dead. But the Son of God came to where
they were because they were given to Him of the Father, and He
revealed Himself to them." Just like Abraham of old, just like
Moses, just like all of God's people, look at Isaiah 43. He says in verse 8, "...bring
forth the blind people that have eyes, and deaf people that have
ears." I'm going to open those eyes and open those ears. Verse
10, he says, You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant,
whom I have chosen. Remember how Christ kept saying
that? You did not choose me, I chose you. Remember that? These very things which Christ
has said, many hated and rejected and walked no more with Him,
like today, So many, if not most, hated it. And they went away
because they hated Christ, they hated God's glory, and they hated... Christ said, how can you... how can you believe who would
foresee honor one of another? And not the glory and honor that
comes from God only. How can you? And then our Lord turned to His
disciples and said, will you also go away? And they said, Peter, on behalf
of all of them said, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words
of life. We believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. And he said, flesh and blood
didn't reveal that unto you, but my Father which is in heaven.
And he said, you didn't choose me, I chose you. To do what? To reveal myself to you. These
went away because he didn't reveal it to them. He had hid these
things from the wise and the prudent, from the self-righteous,
from the religious, from the moral, and revealed them unto
the chief of sinners. Revealed them unto Baal. Revealed
it unto nobody. You see, you're calling, brethren,
don't you? Not many wise, not many mighty after the flesh are
called. You, he said, if you know this
true God, God who is God, not just trying to be God, but is
God, and the Christ whom he sent with a work to do, who finished
that work and is right now seated at the right hand of God's majesty,
reigning and ruling, controlling all flesh, this Christ. If you
know this God and this Christ, thou hast eternal life. It is because he chose you, verse
10, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.
God. Beside me there is none. But
I, even I am the Lord. We've got to read the rest of
this, don't we? He said, I have declared it, I have saved. He
gave commandment to save his people. I have showed when there
is no strange God among you. Therefore, you are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, that I am God. Before the day was, I am He.
There is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work,
and who is going to let me do anything?" Who is going to allow me to do
anything? Who is going to let me do anything? Who is going
to accept me? I am not the one up for acceptance or rejection
here. You are. Now, these are the words of the
Most High Son. of God, who said to the Father,
and he hath given us the privilege of sitting in on this, not to
sit in judgment of his words or debate them, but to bow to
them. And he said to the Father, Thou
hast given me power over all flesh, that I should give eternal
life. It's in my hands to give. It's
not in their hands to give. It's in my hands to give. That
he should give eternal life to whom? To as many as God gave.
And this is life eternal. That they might know the true
God. God who is God. What do you say
to these things? That they redeemed the Lord say
so. That those whom Christ hath redeemed say he did it. That
those whom God hath chosen say he chose them. That those whom
God hath revealed himself to, say, the
Lord revealed himself to them. Let the redeemed of the Lord
sing the song of Moses, which is unto him be all honor, power,
glory, wisdom, strength, and blessings, and everything. That
salvation belongeth unto the Lord. That's what the redeemed
of the Lord says. What a blessing if you know this
God. It's life eternal. Okay, stand with me. Our God, thank You, thank You,
thank You for Your Word which leaves no doubt as to who You
are and who Thy Son is and what salvation is. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for the blessed Gospel
of John, glorious seventeenth chapter, the Most High Priest,
the Chief High Priest, the Great High Priest, the Son of the Most
High God's Word to be. on behalf of His people. Thank
You, Lord. You have revealed unto us, we
believe, who You are and who Christ is, and we thank You.
We did not know Thee. We are not seeking Thee. Thought
we did, but didn't, until You in Your good time revealed Yourself
to us. Thank You, Lord. We know in part,
though, we just We preach in part. We know in part. We long
to know more. Grow in grace and in knowledge
of Christ. And Lord, we long to glorify
Thee in all that we do, all that we say. Every message that is
preached from this place, we want it to be for Thy glory and
Thy honor. And Lord, You save people for
Your glory. For Thy name's sake. That's what You said. Not for
thy sake, but for thy holy name's sake, you said. And so may everything
done here by these people be for thy honor and thy glory,
because you are worthy. That's in Christ's blessed name
we've met here tonight. Amen. You're dismissed.