Well we come back to John and
chapter 17 and verse 24 is our text this week. for thou lovedst me before the
foundation of the world.' This is Christ's prayer as a man,
as the man. God became man and Christ prayed
as a man for himself in his role as the Messiah of God, the Anointed
One of God, come for the purpose of redeeming a multitude that
the Father gave to him before the beginning of time. He prays
for himself as the Messiah, and he prays for those people that
the Father gave to him. And this is at the poignant moment,
the time just before, a few hours from this prayer, he's going
to the cross of Calvary to accomplish The purpose of the whole of created
history, which is the redemption of the people that God loved
from before the beginning of time. This multitude that was
chosen in Him before the beginning of time. As Paul writes to the
Ephesians, chapter 1 and verse 4, chosen in Christ before the
foundation of the world. This life eternal that was given
to his people before the beginning of time, as Paul writes to Timothy,
it's replete throughout the scripture. People make out that this doctrine
of election is some obscure doctrine for extreme theologians. It isn't. It's the truth of God. The whole
scripture bristles with this truth of God. The purpose of
God is to save a people, and the way that he does that effectually
is by sovereign grace. It's done by sovereign grace,
the people that were given to him. Read the Psalms. It doesn't
matter what you read. If you put the glasses on, the
spectacles, the lenses of the truth of God and the sovereign
grace, it's everywhere. The whole scripture rings with
the truth of saving grace. And he prays in this prayer in
John 17 for himself to be glorified in his redeeming grace. Why does
he pray for himself in that way? Because he has come Why did he
leave heaven's glory? To take on him human flesh, that
in human flesh he might die the death that was due to his human
people, his people whom he had, were given to him by the Father
before the beginning of time, to accomplish their qualification
for the kingdom of God, for eternal glory. Only in flesh as a man
could God, who is Spirit, accomplish the redemption of a people, and
thereby satisfy His own justice, so that the people for whom He
died, for whom He bore their penalty, are really, truly redeemed
from the curse of the law, and qualified, qualified, made fit
You know, they deserve eternal glory. Not in anything in themselves,
but in what He is and what He has done. And in the process
of Him being glorified, the whole Godhead is glorified. The Father
is glorified. The Spirit is glorified. He gives
eternal life. It's in verse 2. The Father has
given to the Son power over all flesh that He should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given Him. Eternal life is given,
it is the gift of God, it's not of yourselves lest any man should
boast, it is the gift of God, this eternal life. Divine justice
is satisfied, justice which says, the soul that sins it shall die.
It is satisfied because Christ has died in the place of his
people. Holiness is preserved. God, who is holy and changes
not, I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you are not consumed,
ye sons of Jacob. God who cannot change and God
who cannot lie, His holiness and His justice is preserved,
because God in the person of His Son has borne the penalty
of the sins of the people that He is determined to take to be
with Him in eternal glory. Sinners are justly saved from
their just condemnation. He doesn't just let them off
what they deserve, He saves them. He pays the penalty. God At this
time, God has walked the earth as a man for 33 years or so. He has experienced, in the flesh,
the assaults of Satan. the temptations of Satan, the
accusations of Satan, and of all demons and evil people associated
with what he has turned this kingdom of the world into. And
now he's about to return to heaven. Look at verse 11. And now, this
is Jesus praying, I am no more in the world. Well, of course
he was when he said the words. What he meant was imminently
he's leaving. But these, the apostles, the
11 with him, are in the world. And I come to thee, Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one as we are one. Verse 13. And now come I to thee. Jesus, the man praying, he's
going back to heaven. And these things I speak in the
world so that these people listening can hear me, so that generations
to come like us today, 2,000 years on, can hear what he's
saying, that he spoke in the world. that they might have my
joy fulfilled in themselves. The joy of Christ, the joy of
redemption accomplished, the knowledge of that redemption
accomplished, the good hope of eternal life in them. It's a
vast multitude of people which, when he prays this prayer, they
are yet to exist before the end of time. An innumerable multitude
among them must be called into God's kingdom. So the apostles
must stay here in this world after he's gone. His people down
the generations must stay and bear testimony to the Kingdom
of God. Verse 15, I pray not that thou
shouldst take them out of the world, No, keep them in the world,
but that thou should keep them from the evil, that they should
be preserved from the evil. And so we read that for the sake
of God's elect, the days of tribulation are shortened, are shortened,
are made more tolerable. They, his people, are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world. He's going away, but
the people are being left there, and they must work Christ's works. And greater works, verse 18,
as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent
them into the world. To do what? To do the works for
which he sent them. What are those works? Well, in
the case of the apostles, as we read in earlier chapters of
John, he said, you shall do the works that I do, the miracles.
And the apostles, because they were signs of the apostles, they
did miracles. They healed the sick, they raised
the dead. They did those things, but even
greater works did they. Because he said, you will do
even greater works. What works? They preached the
gospel. with Holy Spirit power, they
preached the gospel, and multitudes were called out of darkness into
the marvelous light of God. And that has gone on, because
as Paul wrote to Timothy, teach so and so that he may be able
to teach somebody else, that they may be able to teach others
also. There's that chain, and that chain has gone on from the
apostles right down to the present day. Sinners must be called by
preachers bearing the truth of God's gospel grace and brought
into the knowledge and experience of divine truth. Verse 20, neither
pray I for these alone, these eleven alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word. How does it please
God to save those who believe the gospel of grace? Through
the foolishness of preaching. through the foolishness of the
message preached, through the idea that sinners should be plucked
as brands from the burning into the kingdom of God by the means
of a sinful man preaching the truth of God and pronouncing
His grace. And Christ prays for them to
be kept and to be protected and to be preserved through this
hostile environment of this world, because this world is hostile
to the truth of God. But the objective is always eternal
heavenly bliss and glory, the triumph of God's kingdom. The
purpose of the gospel of grace that is revealed in this book
is not to make the world a better place. I say it so often. It
is not, as the phrase used to go, I don't know if it's still
rattling around, to make poverty history. That is not the purpose
of the Church. It might be a good aspiration
to feed those who do not have enough food, but the purpose
of the Church is not to make poverty history. It is to proclaim
the gospel of saving grace. This prayer reaches its climax
in verse 24. He states his will. We read,
whom he prays for, and the things that he asks for them. Father,
I will, that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where
I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
The will of Christ. Father, I will, that they also
whom you've given me, be with me. Throughout the earthly life
of Christ, He had sought to do the Father's will, not His own
will. In Psalm 40, we read about it. In Psalm 40, verse 7, we read
this, the Messiah, the Anointed One,
the One to come, the Anointed of God. Then said I, Lo, I come,
in the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to
do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. Christ came, the Messiah of God,
the Anointed One of God, to do the will of God the Father. He
says in John 6 and verse 38, I came down from heaven, not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Not
my will, he prayed, in a few hours time, not my, take this
cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. For
a while, as a man, God, though he was in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, yet he made himself of no
reputation. He who was fully God, made himself
of no reputation, made for a little while, thirty-three years or
so, made a little lower, he who is God supreme, that it pleased
the Father that in him should all preeminence dwell, that the
fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in him as he walked this
earth, but yet for these thirty-three years he's made lower than the
angels, as a man. That's why he said, my father
is greater than I. He didn't mean my father is eternal,
they're co-equal. But for his time as a man, he
confessed that he was restricted. He'd laid aside his glory. He'd
taken upon himself humanity for the purpose of paying redemption's
price for sin. It was all to serve the purpose
of God's glory. All of it. You know, when Moses
heard the voice out of the burning bush in Exodus chapter three,
and that was Christ, that was the word of God speaking to him.
And the message to him was initially, take your shoes from off your
feet for the ground you're standing on is holy ground. Don't you
feel when we come to reading things like this and contemplating
this, how holy is the ground that we're standing on. This
is holy ground. Can we earthbound mortals have
any idea what this really means? What this really means, this
humility of the Son of God, doing the Father's will, because what's
the Father's will? That of all that He gave to the
Son, He should lose nothing, that every one of them, every
one of that multitude, loved with an everlasting love, chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world, should be qualified.
Not one of them lost, for if one of them is lost, God, in
His triunity of persons, is a failure, and He cannot be a failure. He
must succeed. So it's all for the purpose of
the will of God. But yet now, as a man praying
to his Father, he expresses his will. His will. I will, Father. The Saviour. Who is it that we're
hearing speak? It's Jehovah Jesus. You know
Jehovah has all those names of his attributes, but supremely
Jehovah Jesus. Here on earth, He presents His
will to His Father in heaven. And His will is that His people
be with Him in heaven. That's it. That His people be
with Him in heaven. That's the objective. That's
the grand sum total of it all. That His people be with Him in
heaven. Who are these people? Answer,
the same as verse 2. As many as the Father had given
Him. This is the elect of God. This
is the children that the Father gave to the Son. Isaiah chapter
8 and verse 18. Clearly, this is the Saviour
speaking. This is God our Saviour. This
is Jehovah Jesus speaking. Behold I and the children whom
the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel
from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Sion. Let's
see in the best commentary that there is, let's see in Hebrews
chapter 2 how that's unfolded by the Apostle. In Hebrews chapter
2 and verse 9 we see Jesus We see Jesus, who was made for a
little while lower than the angels, or a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death, that's why he came, because only as
a man could God suffer the death that was necessary to justify
a people. We see him crowned with glory
and honour. that by the grace of God, he
by the grace of God should taste death for every man. That doesn't
mean everyone who ever existed, because you just read on and
it clarifies it. For it became him, it was appropriate
for him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things. Everything
was for him, this creation is the canvas on which God paints
the glorious picture of redeeming grace. in bringing many sons
unto glory, not everybody, many sons, to make the captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified, made holy, set apart
for the kingdom of God, are all of one. For which cause he, the
Savior, is not ashamed to call them his people, his brethren,
saying, I will declare thy name, the name of God, unto my brethren.
The Lord Jesus Christ declares the name of God to us. He calls
us his friends, his brethren. He declares the name of God to
us, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In the
midst of the church, I will sing praise unto thee. And again,
I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the
children which God has given me. This is Christ with his people,
I and the children, for as much then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same,
that through death, because only as a man with flesh and blood,
through death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil. This is the glorious message
that Christ prays for his people. You've heard me say it so many
times, but Psalm 24, and at the end of it, lift up your heads,
O ye gates, and lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and
mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. He's the one who conquered Satan
at the cross. And then it repeats it. Lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and lift up ye everlasting doors.
And the king of glory shall come in. Who is the king of glory?
Now, second time, the Lord of hosts. Behold, I and the children
whom he has given me. This is the elect of God. This
is the multitude that John saw in Revelation 19 verse 1. Lo,
I beheld, and in heaven Much people. Much people in heaven.
He's the Lord of hosts. This isn't an obscure doctrine
for extremists. Rather, this is the essence of
the effectual gospel of God. You know the words in that second
hymn, you know, what was it? Deep in the everlasting mind
the great mysterious purpose lay of choosing some from lost
mankind whose sins the Lamb should bear away. That's the effectual
gospel. The gospel that relies on you
deciding to do God a favor You know, when were you ever reliable?
Whoever you are, I don't care who you are. Prime Minister,
leader of industry, whoever you are, I don't care who you are.
Really, ultimately, always, you end up a failure. You end up
failing, but not God. not God. He accomplishes his
purposes. So he asks, he prays that his
people might be with him where he is. That's the title of the
message, with Christ where he is, that they should be with
me where I am. The apostles The eleven that
were left with him in this upper room on that night before the
crucifixion were sorrowful at the prospect of Jesus leaving
them. In verse 6 of chapter 16, he says to them, because I've
said these things to you, what things? That I'm going away.
Sorrow has filled your heart. Yes, they were sorrowful. They
were sorrowful. because he was going away, he
was going back to heaven, he was leaving them, they thought
on their own. Many mere professors of religious
faith, many what we might call easy believers, many as the parable
that Jesus taught of the sower, many stony ground, thorny ground
disciples, when the cares of this world had grown up, it choked
them. Many had gone away in John chapter
six, When he spoke about electing grace, when he spoke about the
sovereign purposes of God, many said to him, this is an hard
saying, who can bear it? And many of them walked no longer
with him. And he said to the ones that were left, the disciples
that were left, these that were left, he said, will you also
go away? And they said, to whom shall
we go? You have the words of eternal life. We can't go anywhere
else. Have you heard it? Do you know what that means?
I know what that means. Having heard it, where can you go? Where
else can you go? You can't. They're to stay in
this world. He's prayed that. To serve in
this kingdom of Satan for a while. But their destination is as in
Pilgrim's Progress, as John Bunyan wrote, it's the celestial city
is the destination. Don't worry, I'm not undermining
how joyful life can be in this world, but for the believer,
the true destination is the celestial city. And here is a narrow way,
and an uphill struggle of a journey to that glorious abode, as Bunyan
so graphically depicted it, and so accurately depicted it, in
accordance with the Word of God. Making this world as good as
we can is not the goal. The goal is sinless, perfect,
divine glory. That's the destination. Do you
desire it? Are you a believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ? Can you see how broken this world
is? You know, in spite of the good
bits, can you see how broken it fundamentally is? Exactly
as God's Word has testified that it would be. Exactly the tribulation
in this world. You know, all of the seven seals
of Revelation are all testified. The vials, the trumpets, they
all testify that this world is broken because it tries to establish
a utopian kingdom without any reference or subjection to the
justice and holiness of God, and that cannot be. Look at the
description of it. Turn with me to Revelation. Stephen
read Revelation 21 for us just before, but in Revelation 21
and 22 we have a description. Jesus says, my prayer is that
these who you gave me before the beginning of time will be
with me in eternity where I am and behold my glory. Let's see
what the Bible's description of that place is. Let's just
think about it for a few moments. I saw a new heaven in his vision,
says John. A new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.
This in which we live, they were passed away. And there was no
more sea. There was no more barrier to
separate the people. No more barrier. That's the way
to think of that. Don't think, oh, I mean, we love living by
the sea. It's only just down the road. We love it. But that's
just in our experience physically in this life. The sea is a symbol
of that which separates. In heaven there will be no more
separation. And I, John, saw the holy city,
the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband. You know, it's language that
we can understand as words, but it's struggling with the concepts
truly behind it. It's all symbolical. And I heard
a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, Listen, the tabernacle
of God is with men. I pray that they may be with
me where I am, and behold my glory. And he, God, will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall
be with them, and be their God. This is a picture that John saw
in eternity, that the prayer of Christ is totally, totally
fulfilled, is totally accomplished. They're there with him, beholding
his glory, and God with them. And not only that, not distantly,
not remotely, not unfeelingly, God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, for this is a veil of tears in which we live.
And there shall be no more death, whereas in this world, death
is all around us, on all sides. There shall be no more sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former
things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write,
for these words are true and faithful. Do you believe God?
This is the God of the universe, your creator, your sustainer,
your life giver, your judge, saying to you, this is true.
Do you believe him or will you call him a liar? And he said
unto me, it is done. I am alpha and omega. They are
the beginning letter and the final letter of the Greek alphabet.
I am the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst. Are you a thirst for this? eternal
life of God, I will give you of the fountain of the water
of life freely. What a blessed prospect that
is. Look in verses 22 to 27, we'll skip all the descriptions
of the stones and the gates in symbolical language. But there
in verse 22, John saw no temple in that glorious city. Why? Because
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. There'd
be no going to church to the temple in heaven. You're perpetually
in it with God. And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of
God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. and the
nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it,
and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into
it, and the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for
there shall be no night there, and they shall bring the glory
and honor of the nations into it, and there shall in no wise
enter into it anything that defileth. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life. Heaven's greatest joy, you might
wonder, what is the greatest joy of heaven? Heaven's greatest
joy is to be with Christ, to be with Him, without anything
getting in the way. Now, in the life of a Christian
on this earth, we experience glimpses of it, but there are
distractions of the earth. There, there will be endless,
intimate communion in glory. We experience tasters of it here. You know, you read the Song of
Solomon and you see the tasters, but then he's gone, and where
is my beloved gone, and search for my beloved. But then, it
will be endless and uninterrupted. This is the goal of God's people
down the ages. you know, as recorded in Scripture
throughout the Old Testament. Think of all of Abraham's spiritual
children. Do you have the faith of God's
elect? Do you have the faith of Jesus
Christ? Do you have that? Do you trust
that? Do you look to that? They which are of faith True
faith from God, the faith of God's elect, the same are the
children of Abraham. You are a spiritual child of
Abraham, a spiritual descendant of Abraham, if you have that
same faith as Abraham. It was symbolised by wider Israel. But they were not all Israel,
which were of wider Israel. But wider Israel did contain
the true Israel of God, as Paul calls it in Galatians 6.16. If
you're a believer today, the Church of Christ is the Israel
of God. those of true faith, the faith
of God's elect. They were all heading for the
celestial city. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse
8, we read about Abraham. By faith, Abraham. By the sight
of the soul. By that gift from God which is
not of yourselves, that which He, the Holy Spirit, gives. By
faith, Abraham. when he was called out of Ur
of the Chaldees to go into a place which he should after receive
for inheritance. He obeyed and he went out, he
heard the call and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith, by what he saw spiritually
of the eternal purposes of God to save a people for his glory,
by faith he lived in that land of promise, as in a strange country. He was a foreigner in that country.
He didn't even have the ability to put down foundations and build.
He dwelt in tents, tabernacles, with Isaac and with Jacob, the
heirs with him of the same promise. Why? Because what was he looking
for? Verse 10, he looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. That was it. That's what they
looked for, a celestial city. where he might behold Christ's
glory. I will that they may be with
me where I am and behold my glory. You know, you say, what's it
going to consist of? There's so much to do here in
this world and so many places to go, but what's it going to
be like in heaven? What's the experience going to
be like? What's the idea of there being
no time? It's hard for us to understand
in this time-bound existence. Think about A great museum or
a gallery, some of the great galleries and museums of the
world, most of us I think, most of us, we flip round a museum
or gallery in a very short time, don't we? Barely taking in what
we see. But there are others who spend
a lifetime studying in detail The treasures, for example, in
the British Museum. They're there every day. It's
their life's work to study the treasures there. And the more
they look and search, the more is revealed underneath it that
they then go and delve into. to the redeemed in heaven. I
know this is a very, very poor illustration, but to the redeemed
in heaven, if you are amongst those that Christ has redeemed,
the glory of Christ and the redemption he has accomplished will be an
unending delight and fascination. Grace is the greatest attribute
of God's glory, that God who is holy should be gracious to
sinners who deserve His wrath. That's Exodus 33, show me your
glory, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. God's
grace is supremely expressed and displayed in the redemption
accomplished by the death and the shed blood of His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is something that the sinless
angels of God, Peter tells us, 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 12, this
glorious redemption accomplished by Christ is something into which
the angels of God desire to look into. John on Patmos saw glimpses
of it, just, you don't have to turn to these, but Revelation
chapter 5 verse 9, and this is, he's in heaven, he's seeing this
vision in heaven. They sung a new song saying,
What's the theme of heaven? Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation and has made us unto our God kings and priests
and we shall reign on earth and I beheld and I heard the voice
of many angels around about the throne and beasts and the elders
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and
thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the
lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
strength and honor and glory and blessing and every creature
which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and
such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard i saying
blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne and unto the lamb forever ever in chapter
7 in verse 9 chapter 7 verse 9 after this I beheld and lo
a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and
kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before
the Lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands and
cried with a loud voice saying salvation to our God which sitted
upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And the angels stood round
about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts, and
fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying,
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor
and power. And so it goes on. You could
go right the way through the book of Revelation, all the way,
praises to God. Here in God's Word, we have testimony. of one who has seen, John in
Revelation, in heaven, out of time, that which is the state
of God's redeemed people, in heaven, with Christ, beholding
His glory. The prayer is answered. The whole
of scripture from creation, from the fall, through the types,
through the history of Israel, The reality of Christ coming,
the implementation in this world of God's seven-sealed plan of
salvation, they all testify to this objective of God's people
with Him where He is, beholding His glory. finally qualified
and made like him. You know we read in Revelation
21 verse 27, there shall no wise enter into it anything that defiles. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life. If Christ's people are to be qualified to be with him
and behold his glory, they must be made the righteousness of
God in him. If you look in Revelation chapter
19, And verse 7, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to
him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath
made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine
linen is the righteousness of the saints. The righteousness
of the saints is the righteousness of God that they're made in him.
By him who, though he knew no sin, was made sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. This righteousness
that she's arrayed in is not the filthy rags of her own righteousnesses,
but it is the garments of salvation. Praise to God, Isaiah 61 verse
10. He has clothed me with the garments
of salvation. This is the supreme accomplishment
of redeeming grace. A people deserving of wrath,
qualified for peace with God. How does it happen? What is the
result of it? We read it at the start in 1
John chapter 3 and verse 2. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. There's so
much we don't understand, but we know this. We know that when
he shall appear, for he is coming again to take his own to be with
him for eternity. When he shall appear, we shall
be like him. You know, he took our flesh and
blood that he might die to redeem us and to make us like Him. We shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is. Remember who prayed this prayer
in John 17. Remember who prayed it. It's
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's God, the fullness of the
Godhead dwelling bodily in Him. God must grant that prayer. It
cannot be denied. Do you believe the Gospel? Do
you trust Christ? Well, as Hebrews says, Hebrews
10.22, let us draw near with a true heart in the full assurance
of faith. That's the positive note. But
I think I have to finish with a warning note. For the unbelieving,
think on this. You who are without Christ in
this world are without hope. You have no hope of eternal bliss. And do you know something? I
think the greatest woe of hell, of all the woes that there will
be, the greatest woe of hell will be that you are deprived,
the knowledge that you are deprived of the bliss of heaven. And that's
because you would not believe in the Son of God. Amen.