All right, in John chapter 6,
37 through verse 40. This follows our Lord's feeding
of the multitude with a little boy's lunch. You remember that
miracle, how our Lord made a little young boy's lunch to feed multitude
with much left over and here's what he said all that the father
gives me shall come to me and him that comes to me I will in
no wise cast out But I came down from heaven, not to do mine own
will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will which has sent me, that of all which he hath given me,
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth
on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up
at the last day. Now look at verse 39 again before
we leave there, that I should lose nothing. Alright, flipping
to John 17, one verse, this is out of our Lord's high priestly
prayer, and it's verse 12. In verse 12 of John 17, while
I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition
that the scripture might be fulfilled. Then over in chapter 18, verse
8 and verse 9, for our final text, Jesus answered, I have
told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way. that the saying might be fulfilled
which he spake of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. And we'll be working from that
great text in John chapter 6 principally and the thought is I have lost
nothing. Now let's begin by taking notice
of the style and the manner and the content of the preaching
of our Lord while he were here in this world wearing the likeness
of our flesh as to the doctrine that our Lord taught among men. That is, that the God-man, I
mean Jesus Christ, proclaimed again and again the sovereignty
of God. Our blessed Lord did not shy
away from teaching and preaching the sovereignty of God. He also
taught what we commonly know and recognize as the doctrines
of grace, or known by the nickname of Calvinism. Now these doctrines,
I want to emphasize, were not invented by Augustine or by Calvin
or by Aspergian or by Gill, but they were taught by our blessed
Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ taught
the depravity of the race. And he often laid the emphasis
upon the total inability of man. You cannot come. You will not
believe unless my father draws you. You cannot come apart from
a special work of God. Therefore, very quickly, let's
certify our position that the Lord taught election, those the
Father giveth me. He taught special redemption,
I give my life for many. He taught the effectual call,
they shall come unto me. And he taught the preservation
of the saints of God, I will in no wise cast out, nor shall
any man pluck them out of my Father's hand." And these he
taught openly before the Pharisee and before the disciple and the
apostle. He also taught them in the face
of the self-righteous Pharisee, telling them such things as,
You are not my sheep, and therefore you do not hear my voice. He tells them, you are of your
father the devil, though you say that you are of Abraham,
and that they could not come unto him apart from a special
drawing of the father in heaven. He on the other hand taught that
some had been given unto him by the Father, and that they
would come to him. Some were given, and they would
come unto him, and that none could pluck them out of his hand,
or out of the hand of the father, and that he came to give his
life a ransom for many, and to keep them, and to raise them
up at the last time. Now, in our study today, we want
to focus upon the aspect that our Lord Jesus Christ will lose
none. He will lose none that were given
unto him by the Father. And this is clearly emphasized
in the passages that we read out of the Gospel of John. Shall we do it again? John 6
and verse 39. that of all that he has given
me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day." John 17 and verse 12. The God-man, our great high
priest at prayer, tells the Father, those that thou has given me
out of the world, I have kept and none of them is lost. saving or except the son of perdition. Now we'll deal with the case
of Judas later on in our study. But in John again, chapter 18
and verse 8, as he was being taken by the Jewish officers
and band of Jew who fell to the ground at his word, He tells
that band of vigilante Jews and renegades in verse 8 and in verse
9, If you seek me, for I am he, let these go their way, referring
unto his disciple, that the same might be fulfilled which he spoke
of them which thou gavest me, I have lost none. And let's not
forget to notice in the last two quotes, it is said that it
was a fulfilling of the scripture. By the way, it predicted the
defection and the treachery of Judas also in the Old Testament
scripture. So let's consider the verses
that we read in John chapter 6, working from them first of
all, and putting them in their proper context as they occurred. It grew out, as I said, of the
feeding of the multitude, or of the 5,000, using only that
little bit of food that was available, the small lunch of a small lad
there in the wilderness. and all ate to their satisfaction
as our Lord blessed it and passed it around. Plenty left over,
12 baskets if I remember correctly. When the people saw it, they
concluded that Jesus must be that prophet that was foretold
in their scripture. They said this must be that prophet
that Moses spoke about that should come into the world. And seeing
what he had done, they would make him a king by force. They thought in their mind, man,
this is the man we need. This is the man we need to be
our king, to rule over us, to throw off the Roman yoke, and
to establish us as the head of the nations again. He left them,
however, in their scheming, and went across the lake. And the
next day, he discourses to them on the bread of life that has
come down from heaven. that he himself is that bread
of life, that Moses did not give them that bread in the wilderness,
but the Father in heaven had given it unto them. And this
was a spiritual bread that our Lord had brought unto them. They wanted a king, though, to
free them from the Roman yoke. So in verse 36 of John 6, You
have seen me and believe not. He said this to that crowd. They
ate and were filled. They sought him the next day.
They wanted to make him a king. But our Lord says unto them,
you have seen me and believe not. They saw a mighty miracle. They heard the true bread of
life speak and saw him among them. And yet this did not make
them true and absolute believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. That
they sought him, they sought him for their belly and not for
their soul. And while verse 37 is a contrast,
you in verse 36 who saw the glory of the Lord in the miracle and
heard his claims and heard his teaching you Believed not get
the contract then in verse 37. It is a contract however this
put them in a bad light and it marked them who continue so as
Reprobate that they who don't do not believe in Christ for
all that, that is, all they, or all which the Father gives
me shall come unto me. Now, get it? You did not come
to me, you did not believe upon me, but all that the Father gives
me do come unto me. They will come, they will believe,
for his sheep hear his voice, and they will follow him. And they will not follow the
voice of a stranger that you have in John chapter 6. So let's take a closer look here,
if we might, at the expression that the Lord uses, and he uses
it multiple times in the scripture. He speaks of those that are given
unto him. All that the Father giveth unto
me. given to him by the Father. So we ask then, what is this
giving? What is this giving of them that
our Lord speaks about? Then the question, when were
they given unto the Lord Jesus Christ? And what is the significance
of this, that the Father hath given some unto him? Now, we
especially see this in the gospel from which we are reading, that
is, in the gospel of John. You see it in chapter 6 and verse
37 again, all the Father giveth me. You see it in verse 39, of
all which he hath given me. You see it in John 10 and 29,
my father which gave them me. In John chapter 17, you have
it in verse 2, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. In verse 6, he says again, the
men which thou gavest me out of the world. You will see it
again in verse 9 of John 17. I pray for them which you have
given me for thine they were. You see it in verse 11. Those
whom you have Given me you see it in verse 12 those you gave
me I have kept and you see it a final time in verse 24 of John
17 they also Whom thou has given me now, let's go back to the
question What is this giving that our Lord speaks about here? I? What you have given me, given
unto Christ, given to Christ by the Father. Because we read
there, it's in John 17 and verse 6, Thine they were and you gave
them unto me. Thine they were and thou gavest
them unto me. Now surely, this giving that
our Lord speaks about is part and partial of divine election. So then the question becomes,
when were they given? When did this election occur? Was it when the Lord called them
by his grace in their life? Was it when they believed and
accepted Christ and took him into their heart? Or was it before
the world had ever began? For if it was when they believed,
or when they accepted Christ, then they virtually gave themselves
unto Christ by those acts according to the Arminian. And then, in
effect, elected themselves, giving themselves over unto Christ.
Now this would be a position which would be agreeable to most
Armenians, and they would be comfortable with it, for that
we were given unto Christ when we believe, because you see,
this gives CPR to their idol of free will. They were given
to Christ before the world. They were given to Christ as
the elect. They were given to Christ in
the covenant of grace before time began. And for what purpose,
then, were they given over to Christ and put in his hand? They were first the fathers,
John 17 and 6, all souls are mine, he said. Thine they were
and you gave them unto me. How were they the fathers? In
what sin? Now this is pertaining in the
context to the apostles first, for he speaks of them in the
first verses of John chapter 17. They were the fathers of
the eternal purpose of election they were chosen under salvation
they were committed under Christ in the covenant that he might
bring them yea and many sons under glory Hebrews 2 and verse
10. So, let's switch for a bit over
into Hebrews chapter 2 and it would be verse 13. We're there,
we read this statement, Behold I and the children which God
has given me. Now, let that sink in, think
on it for a moment. Behold I and the children which
God has given me. Now, this is a quotation or reference
to Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 18, and is a reference to Messiah. That is a messianic passage in
Isaiah chapter 8. And as Owen wrote, It is quoted
as one more confirmation of the relation and union of Christ
and the elect. Because there in Hebrews chapter
2, very interesting along in that place where they are called
by different titles. They're called many sons, the
sanctified, his brethren, the children given unto him, the
seed of Abraham, the children having been chosen to salvation
from the beginning unto eternal life, and they were given unto
the Son in the covenant of grace. As John Brown put it, entrusted
by the care of God, to redeem and to preserve and to conduct
them into glory and everlasting life." They were given to him
by way of trust and by way of reward and by way of charge. In all these ways they were given
unto him, that he has them in trust as the chosen of God, by
charge, as he was their surety, that he might fully answer their
debt and their obligation, and as a reward for his obedience,
his suffering, and his debt. So they were given to Christ,
as the old-timer John Gill wrote, as the spiritual seed and offspring. Now, from a personal perspective,
we're not much of a gift. When we think about ourselves
and what we have been, what we still are, we do not consider
ourselves much of a gift personally. But being yet sinful, But He
loves us. He loves us with an everlasting
love. And the Father has given us over
unto Him. And He will, though we're yet
sinful, consummate our sanctification at the proper time. And just
think, just think of this. He is not ashamed to call them
brethren. We read that in Hebrews chapter
2. Wherefore he is not ashamed to
call them brethren. So here is the gist. Here is
the main point of the first half of our study today. The Lord
has given a people unto Christ And as he declares, they will
come unto him. For saith the Lord, John 6, 37,
all the Father giveth me shall come to me. John 10, 27, my sheep
hear my voice and they follow me. John 10 and 16, other sheep
I have which are not of this foal, them also I must bring. And Matthew 1, 21, the announcement
of the angel unto Joseph, naming Jesus, for he shall He shall
save his people from their sin. Now here's the end of the matter. Christ shall lose nothing that
the Father has given unto him, nor will he fail to accomplish
any work given unto him by the Father to do. So let the first
point be this. The Lord Jesus, by his death,
will save everyone elected in him and given to him, everyone
for whom he died, not one will perish of that great number,
a number no man can number, and not so much as one will be lost
that are given unto him by the Father. Excuse me for repeating
it again. But in Matthew 121, when the
angel said to Joseph, called his name Jesus, he shall save
his people from their sin. His name Savior matches his work. So call him a Savior, for he
shall save his people from their sin. Get it? He shall. He will save his people from
their sin. Now, some will say to us, no
doubt, well, what if they refuse to come to Christ? What if they
refuse and bow their neck and are stiff-hearted and will not
come to Christ? What if they will not believe? What if they will not repent? What if they stop their ears
at the gospel and will have none of it? Well, the Lord said in
one of our texts, All that the Father gives me shall come unto
me. So consider the early part of
the Lord's Prayer in John chapter 17, and that would be the first
three verses of this chapter and the great prayer of our Lord.
Shall I read them? John 17, 1 through 3. These words spake Jesus, lifted
up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. Thou has given him power literally
authority over all flesh that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou has given him and This is eternal life that
they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
thou has sinned and for the moment let's single out the second verse
three things that are here. Number one, he has been given
authority or power over all flesh, over all mankind. But remember
Matthew 28 and 18, all power is given me in heaven and in
earth. In John 3 and verse 35, the Father
has given all things into his hand. In Acts 2 in verse 36,
he hath been made both Lord and Christ, so that all are at his
disposal. Thomas Manton of Puritan said
this of this text, that by power over all flesh is meant a judiciary
power to dispose of them according to his pleasure including their
everlasting estate." But there's a second thing here in that verse. By the exercise of this authority
over all flesh, he bestows eternal life. He bestows eternal life. Listen to this carefully. He
needs not the permission of the person. They need not first open
their heart unto them. He acts in due authority bestowed
upon him by God. Let me give you a type of that.
And it would be Joseph in the Old Testament and in the book
of Genesis. When Joseph was given authority
over all of the storehouses that he might distribute the bread
that was stored therein under the people. Joseph had the key
to the storehouse to dispense the bread as he would. And when
he came by, all were In all we're commanded to bow down unto Joseph
as he passed by there's a good type of our Lord but then the
third thing here Christ does not give or Seek to give eternal
life to all but he does give it he gives it only to as many
as the father has given unto him and And that's why we read
passages like Acts 13 and verse 8, as many as were ordained to
eternal life belief. Well, let's go back to John chapter
6 again, where in verse 38 through verse 40, the Lord speaks of
the will of God in these matters. Verse 38, I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
Verse 39, this is the Father's will, all which he had given
me, and then we read it again in verse 40. This is the will
of him that sent me. that everyone who seeth the Son,
and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, I will raise
him up again at the last day. It is the Father's will, of all
which he has given, I should lose nothing." Now, let's zoom
in. Of all given, I should lose nothing. Everything of the will of God
would be done. Every person given unto him would
come and would be kept and he would lose nothing at all of
it. Linsky said here that the word
all in this passage or verse is neuter. It refers to all that
the Father has put in the hands of Christ and particularly of
the elect. And then the nothing refers back
unto the all. Not any part of the all would
be lost. Jesus would lose not a bit. Everything put into the hands
would be maintained. Every work would be done. Every soul would be saved. Every saved one would be kept. even under raising it up at the
last day. Now this is the doctrine of preservation. How could it be put? In any stronger
language or in any clearer terms, whether alive or dead, they are
in the charge of Christ. They're in his care. They're
in his hand. They're in his grace. They're
in his person and let it be said again and said loudly. Those given to Christ come to
him. Those that come to Christ are
preserved in Christ and let us not forget. It is their union
with Christ. It is their union with Christ.
that forms this unbreakable bond between him and his people. It cannot be torn asunder. They cannot be torn away from
Christ by any power. They cannot will themselves out
of Christ, even as they did not will themselves in, and he will
never, no, never cast them out. This is not to say that they
are perfect and that they are without sin, but it is to say
that though they be sinful, the blood of Christ cleanses them
from all sin, and they will be perfected in time, but not in
this world, not in this life, and not in this flesh. Nothing,
says Paul, can separate them from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord, not sin and not even their physical
death. I was reading J.C. Ryle. He opined
that these blessed words of the Lord here in John chapter 6,
express the truth that Christ would not allow any member of
his mystical body or church to be lost, not one. So let's put
our thoughts on the words, I will not cast out. and how it might
sound to a Jew hearing these words from our Savior. Now let me give you some examples
so the contrast will become clear. Remember in reading the scripture,
the Old Testament leper was put out of the camp for his uncleanness. He could not abide in, he was
put out among the lepers, Leviticus chapter 13 and verse 46. Remember again in the Old Testament,
some were cut off from the congregation of Israel. Remember they were
cut off for a certain transgression. And even at the present time,
of our Lord speaking these words, there were threats of casting
any out of the synagogue that did confess that Jesus was the
Messiah. You'll find that in John 9, 22,
12, 42, 16 and verse 2. Any that confess
the Lord was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
Some coming to Christ will never be cast out. Those who come unto
him will never be cast out. And it is not a valid distinction
that some make that though Christ will not cast them out, Yet they
may cast themselves out by their sin or by their unbelief or by
their free will. So let's consider the passage
in John 17 and verse 12. For it brings before us the case
of one Judas, which some take as a proof text for apostasy,
that one once in the Lord, one once in grace, may fall out of
grace. Remember that the Lord is praying
for the apostles. He's doing that from verse 6
to verse 19. and as he was about to leave
the world and put his ministry into the hand of the apostle. For this he had prepared them
for, having given them the word of God. They owned him to be
the Messiah and the Lord. And in verse 9, He prayed for
them, not for the world. You get that? I pray for them,
not for the world. And in view of his coming exodus
out of the world, he now is commending them to the father's care that
he had up to that point kept them, none of them were lost,
none had been killed, none had perished, and none had apostatized. And perhaps more importantly,
they had been spiritually preserved. And in verse 12, the Lord makes
an exception. None of them is lost but, none
of them is lost except the son of perdition this of course refers
to Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord though in here this
place the Lord does not mention him by name now how far-reaching
is the exception the ones given me except Judas, or the ones
prayed for except Judas, or the ones kept except Judas. And that also begs the question,
to which part of the verse does the last phrase apply, that the
scripture might be fulfilled? Is it the whole verse? Or is
it the words, those you've given me, I've kept, and none of them
is lost, that the scripture might be fulfilled? Or does it refer
to the case of the son of perdition, that the end of him fulfilled
the writing of the scripture? His betrayal of Christ, the 30
pieces of silver, Death all of that was foretold in the scripture
now. Let's make two points here about
Judas number one Judas is called a devil in John chapter 6 verse
70 and 71. He is pointed out as the betrayer
of Jesus in John 12 and verse 4, and the son of perdition. The second thing to point out
about Judas is his acts are predicted in the Old Testament. Our text
in John 17 and verse 12, he is lost that the scripture might
be fulfilled. The son of perdition that the
scripture might be fulfilled. John 13 verse 18, I speak not
of you all, I know whom I have chosen that the scripture may
be fulfilled he that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel
against me that fulfilled the scripture you have something
interesting in Acts chapter 1 15 through 20 if you ever want to
consider it Peter did discern that Judas did, he did discern
what Judas did, and the way that Judas died was a fulfilling of
prophecy. And you'll find that in Psalm
41 verse 9, Psalm 69 and verse 25, Psalms 109 and verse 8. Peter discerned that these things
fulfill the Scripture, just as he discerned that the pouring
out of the Spirit on Pentecost fulfilled the words of the prophet
Joel. Note how the Apostle Peter refers
in Acts 1 to Judas, not as brother, not as believer. But in Acts
117, he was numbered with us and obtained part of this ministry. Again in verse 25, of one to
take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas
by transgression fell that he might go to his own place. Now he fell not from grace, but
from apostleship. He was never a regenerate man. And when he took his own life,
he went to his own place, as it is said here in this scripture. Now, not to his house or his
home, as some seek to avoid it, not to the resumption of his
work as an apostle of the Lord, and not to boot heel purchased
by his treachery to bury the stranger in, which are some of
the views of these words that are held by others as looking
at this verse. So as to escape the thought that
Judas was never a true believer at all. But notice that he had
destruction befitting the son of perdition. and the deed done
to Jesus, and the direlection of his office as an apostle. Judas died an awful death, his
conscience raging with a fire, hanged himself and fell down
and burst open, and his bowel spilled out asunder. That's the
kind of death that the son of perdition died. So that Judas
is no exception to the truth, that all of the elect will be
kept. Neither does the Lord speak only
of physical life and of safety of body. but of the preservation
of the elect, all given him to come. The comers are received,
and they have everlasting life, and they are kept by Christ unto
that day of glory. In John 17, verse 24, he wills
they be with him. where he is. And this is speaking
not of the apostles only, but he moved along to speak to others
who will later believe according unto their word. He wills that
they be with him where he is. that they might behold his glory
this is his will this is the will of Christ all what you've
given me be with me where I am that is in my father's house
and that they might behold my glory Now he has all that the
father given unto him, all of the elect, all that he died for. They are regenerate, they are
saved, they're called, they're converted. And he will keep all
of them by his power until that great and final day. Raising
it up, he said twice in John 6, in the last day. Now I'll
just point this out in closing. There are Baptist Armenians who
believe in eternal security. There are Baptists, Armenians
who believe, once saved, always saved, as they express it. And yet they believe in free
will at the beginning, but not free will in the ending. So upon what ground or basis
do they stand the doctrine of eternal security? If not upon
the eternal will of God, if not upon the eternal counsel, if
not upon the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, then upon what
may they stand their doctrine of eternal security? Why may
they never be lost again? Why may they never be plucked
out of the Father's hand? Because it is according to the
will, the counsel, the purpose, the covenant of God Almighty. So we say, our blessed Lord Jesus,
of all given to him, of all that he died for, of all that had
been regenerated and called, None of them will be lost. They will be kept. They will
be kept by him under final glory. Thank God, hallelujah, for that
great truth of the Bible. And this is Bible truth. This is gospel truth. This is
not some strange doctrine. This is the norm of gospel truth. He will keep them.