I Pray For Them

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus' intercession for believers?

The Bible reveals that Jesus intercedes for His people, assuring us of His ongoing advocacy before the Father. In John 17, Jesus explicitly states, 'I pray for them' (John 17:9), indicating His active intercession for His disciples and all who would believe through them. The intercessory role of Jesus is also echoed in Romans 8:34, where it affirms that Christ, risen and seated at the right hand of God, is continually interceding for us. This emphasis on intercession is a source of great comfort, as it signifies that our relationship with God is maintained through the advocacy of the sinless Savior, who pleads our case before the Father.

Q: How do we know that eternal life is a gift from Jesus?

Eternal life is given by Jesus to those the Father has given to Him, as explicitly stated in Scripture. In John 17:2, Jesus states that He has the authority to grant eternal life to those whom the Father has given to Him. This is supported by numerous passages, such as John 10:28, where Jesus says, 'I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.' This affirms the belief in sovereign grace, where eternal life is not earned but freely given as a gift to the elect. Our understanding of this doctrine emphasizes that salvation and eternal life are rooted in God's sovereign choice and the completed work of Christ.

Q: Why is Christ's finished work on the cross important for salvation?

Christ's finished work on the cross is essential as it fully satisfies God's requirements for our salvation. The significance of Christ's finished work is encapsulated in John 17:4, where Jesus proclaims, 'I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.' This signifies that Jesus completed the necessary obedience and atoning sacrifice required to reconcile us to God. Hebrews 10:14 states, 'For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.' The doctrine emphasizes that salvation is fully accomplished by Christ, and no additional work is required from us, as His sacrifice suffices to pay the penalty for sin and secure our status before God.

Q: What does it mean that God has given a particular people to Christ?

God has chosen specific individuals to belong to Christ, known as the elect, who receive salvation through Him. In John 17:2 and verse 6, Jesus notes that those the Father has given to Him are a distinct group, referred to as the elect. This concept of God's particular choice emphasizes the doctrine of election, which is foundational in Reformed theology. Ephesians 1:4 states that believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, illustrating that salvation is not random but divinely appointed. Understanding this doctrine assures believers of their predetermined inclusion in God's redemptive plan, emphasizing grace alone as the basis for their salvation.

Q: How do we experience the love of God in Christ?

We experience God's love through our union with Christ, who is the mediator of God's love to His people. The love of God is fundamentally expressed through Christ. Romans 5:8 states, 'But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' This highlights that God's love is not a general sentiment but is experienced through our relationship with Jesus Christ. As John 3:35 says, 'The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand,' it implies that all expressions of God's love and grace are channeled through Christ. Therefore, to know the love of God fully, one must be united with Christ, who mediates that love and makes us acceptable in God's sight.

If you please, this morning,
turn back in your Bibles to the Book of Saint John, the Gospel
of Saint John, Chapter 17. If you have your Bibles open
before you, I'd like to read the first four verses. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come glorify
thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. As thou hast given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
Let us pray the Lord's blessing on the service. Father, in that
lovely name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask your
blessing upon this meeting today, and we ask that the Lord Jesus
and his work might be exalted here in this service, that his
name would be greatly lifted up and honored in our midst today. Father, we ask that you will
use the word as it is proclaimed today, our Father, to solve the
problems that exist in the souls of those that are before me this
morning. Thou knowest each and every heart. The scripture says
that all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with
whom we have to do. And I pray today, Father, as
you look upon each one of our hearts, that there will be a
word from the Holy Spirit, a word from you today that would meet
the needs of our lives. I do pray that salvation would
come Father, to those of your sheep that have not yet been
brought into the fold, may it please you today, our Father,
to encourage believers and to edify believers and to build
them up and to challenge the souls of those that believe thee,
that trust thee. And I do pray that thou will
raise up out of our midst those who will be able to go forth
and proclaim in the power of the Spirit the gospel of redeeming
grace. We ask that your spirit would
work mightily in enabling each one of us to, as we would put
a seed into the ground, that we would die ourselves as the
seed must die in order to come forth and bring forth life and
fruit, that each one of us might die to ourselves and that we
might truly live unto you. Forgive our shortcomings, our
weaknesses, our frailties, and bless this morning this preacher
for the glory of Christ, for the honor of his name. We pray
it in Jesus' name. Amen. Charles Haddon Spurgeon
said that we ought, as we approach this chapter, to take off our
shoes. This is a tremendous chapter
and one which I think as we listen this morning to the study of
the Word of God will greatly enrich our lives. I trust that
it will fill us with awe as we look and meditate this morning
upon this chapter. There's two things that I will
attempt this morning to do. Number one is to give a few introductory
remarks to this chapter and then I want to try to give you six
things that the Father has given to the Son, in order that you
might fully appreciate the fact that God has delivered all things
into the hands of His Son, and that if we are going to have
anything from God as poor sinners, that we must have it as we stand
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must have it through Him.
Now then, a few introductory remarks. I'd like to say that
this is indeed our Lord's Prayer. Now, this chapter reveals to
us a very intimate conversation that our Lord Jesus Christ had
with His Father. It reveals something of the soul
of the Lord Jesus as He came to the Father in this period
of time right before His crucifixion. Our Lord Jesus is praying to
the Father. Now in Matthew chapter 6 beginning
with verse 9, we have what men call the Lord's Prayer. But that's
not the Lord's Prayer. That's not really what it is.
That is the Disciples' Prayer. This is the Lord's Prayer that
we have here before us in John Chapter 17. After this manner,
therefore, pray ye, Jesus told the disciples. And so he gave
them a prayer, and now here he prays himself unto the Father. In this chapter, Jesus lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, Father. Now Jesus had
been with the Father before he came into the world. But Jesus
now is addressing His Father. There are some other things that
are interesting in this chapter. In this chapter we have a specimen
or an example of our Lord's intercession on the behalf of His own. Look
in verse 9. Jesus says, I pray for them.
While he was praying and addressing the Father and discussing with
the Father some great and marvelous things that had taken place and
was about to take place, Jesus says, I pray for them. Now he's
praying for a specific people. He says, I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. So the Lord Jesus is interceding
on the behalf of his people here in this prayer. And not only
is he praying for his disciples that were right there in his
company, but he says in verse 20, he says, neither pray I for
these alone. I'm not only praying for these
right here, but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word. I'm praying for those that are
going to believe on me as they go out and preach, and then as
others are sent out and they preach, Even down until the last
one of the elect are brought into the fold, He said, I'm praying
for all of them too. So this is indeed an example
here of our Lord's intercession on the behalf of all of His elect. And in Romans 8 and 34, the Scripture
says, Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. The Lord Jesus is now sent
into heaven, and he's at the right hand of God, and he's continuing
this work of intercession on the behalf of his people. Now
this is a tremendous thought to me, that Jesus is praying
for me. Now, I love it when you say,
I've been holding you up in prayer. I've been praying for you. I
love to hear that. Because I know if there's any
success in the ministry of the Word of God in this place, it
will be due to the fact that you were praying for me and praying
as the Word of God went forth. And so, but to have the Lord
Jesus to pray for me, The one that always did that which pleased
the Father. The one who obeyed the Father
and fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law. He says, I pray for
them. I pray for them. That one who
was holy without sin. That one whom men could not convince
of sin. No man could pin a sin on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Say what they would, They could
not prove Him to be a sinner. He was without sin. He says,
I pray for them, and I'm praying for them. I'm at the right hand
of God, and I'm making intercession for them. In Hebrews 7 and 25,
the scripture says, Wherefore He is able to save to the uttermost
them that come unto God by Him, seeing that he ever liveth to
make intercession for them. So the Lord Jesus is continuing
to pray for us today. I pray for them. Next, I notice
here that all of these things which our Lord mentions in this
chapter are things that are eternally decreed. They're things that
are divinely predestinated. things that are divinely purposed,
things that are unchangeable, things which cannot be altered,
and yet the Lord Jesus, He prays about these things, and He prays
and talks to the Father about these things. There is a harmony,
a great harmony between the Spirit-led prayer in this world and the
absolute sovereignty of God. Believe it, my friend. God has
predestinated the prayer that brings down the decreed blessings
from God. And God has breathed prayer in
His people by His Spirit, and then they return that prayer
unto God. There is harmony, beloved, between
the sovereignty of God and the prayers of the Lord's people. The Lord Jesus prayed. Now, the
Lord Jesus believed in sovereignty, I think, with probably more conviction
than any believer that's ever lived in the world. He believed
in sovereignty. I remember on one occasion in
John 11 where Jesus prayed and said, Father, I thank Thee, O
Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hid these things from
the wise and prudent and You've revealed them unto babes. The
Lord Jesus believed in divine sovereignty And when he prayed,
he prayed about everything, and we ought to do the same. And
we're wrong if we say, well, God's sovereign, he'll do what
he wants to anyway, so there's no need for us to pray about
it. That's wrong. That's a misconception. of the
Word of God. Next we want to notice that Christ
glorified God. Now this greatly interests me
because I'm a firm believer in the fact that if anybody ought
to be glorified, if anybody should be glorified, It should be the
eternal, the thrice holy God that is glorified. And it's a
wonderful thing to read in the Bible how that the Lord Jesus
honored His Father, and how that the Lord Jesus glorified God,
how He honored the law of God. Because you know, the Lord Jesus
is our substitute. He is our substitute. And when
I read in verse 4, Jesus said, I have glorified thee on the
earth. Now you see the life of the Lord
Jesus as it was lived out on this earth, it was a vicarious
life. It was a life that was lived
on the behalf of his people. It was a life that was lived
in order that that life might be reckoned to, that it might be
given over, signed over as it were, imputed unto the elect. His life is imputed to every
believer. And so when Jesus said, I've
glorified Thee on the earth, in Him, all of His people have
glorified Him on the earth. Jesus told the Father here, in
this chapter, in verse 10, He says, I'm glorified in them. I'm glorified in them. I've glorified
You, and I'm glorified in them. In that I have given unto them
a righteousness That is absolutely perfect. They're holy and without
blame before you in love. Having on that garment of my
own righteousness and holiness. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
then, beloved, glorified the Father here on this earth. Now,
I want us to think a little bit about this. How did he glorify
God? Well, he glorified God by his
person. Hebrews 1 and 3 says, "...who
being in the brightness of his glory, and the express image
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the majesty on high." The Lord Jesus was
the express image the person of God Almighty. Those that looked
upon Jesus when he was in the world, they saw all of God that
there was to see. Jesus said, if you've seen me,
you have seen the Father. And Jesus is the fullness of
the Godhead. It dwelt bodily in Him. And so
He is the image of the very person of God. This is the way He glorified
God on the earth. He was God, and He bore the very
image of God. And then by His life and perfect
obedience, we mentioned that He was without sin. In John chapter
8, in verse 46 through 50, let me just read these verses to
you. Jesus said, Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I
say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God
heareth God's words, ye therefore hear them not, because ye are
not of God. Then answered the Jews and said
unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast
a devil? And Jesus answered, I have not
a devil, but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me, and I
seek not my own glory. There is one that seeketh and
judgeth. The Lord Jesus said, I honor
my Father, and he said, and I seek not my own glory. The Lord Jesus
was no glory seeker. But He glorified the Father by
Him being perfect and Him being perfectly obedient unto the Father. And then by His miracles, the
Lord Jesus glorified the Father. In Matthew chapter 9, in verses
6 through 8, I'd like to read these verses to you at this time. Matthew chapter 9, verse 6 through
8. But that ye may know that the
Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then saith he
to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into
thine house. And he arose and departed his
house. And when the multitude saw it,
they marveled. and glorified God, which had
given such power unto men. And so here, after the Lord Jesus
spoke to this man who was sick of the palsy, healed him, and
said, get up and take up your bed and walk, the multitudes
glorified God. And so the Lord Jesus, through
the power that had been given to him, healed the man, and did
many miracles, and brought glory unto God out of the hearts of
men. Now, John Calvin said some things
about this chapter that we ought to keep in mind this morning
as we approach these truths that are laid out for us here in the
chapter. The first thing that John Calvin
said is that when a man comes to the 17th chapter of John,
He ought to recognize that he, as a poor sinner by nature, he
standing in the first man Adam, that he is utterly destitute
and empty of spiritual blessing and good. And that no man has
the life of God in him by nature, having been born into this world.
Now that prepares you if you're in that kind of condition this
morning. And you say, well now I know and recognize that there
is no spiritual good in me. I know that I have not the ability
or the desire to be saved. I have no ability to save myself. I don't even have the desire
to be saved. I'm lost. I know that my condition
is one wherein I am depraved before God. I'm dead in sin.
And you come to this chapter this morning. Now this chapter,
what it will do for us, it will show us that all that we need,
that all that the sinner needs, that everything that God demands
of the sinner, there is an abundance of in the person of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, beloved, there is an abundance
in this chapter to supply our deficiency. There's enough here,
as we will find in the Lord Jesus this morning, to relieve our
poverty. There's enough here to satisfy
the hunger and the thirst of our souls. Whatever degree of
hunger and thirst there is in our souls today, there's enough
here in this chapter to satisfy our hearts. We see in this chapter
that Jesus Christ is the reservoir of all that God has for sinners. That Christ is the reservoir
of all that God has for you today. Ephesians 1.3 says, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Christ now he is the channel
Listen to me very carefully. I don't have time to repeat what
I'm saying And I want you to get this before we get into giving
you the six things that God has given to Christ I want you to
I want you to understand that the Lord Jesus is the channel
He's the fountain, and he's the source He's the conduit and the
father has invested everything in Christ The Father has invested
all. Listen to John 3 and 35. It says,
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his
hand. In Matthew 11 and 27 it says,
All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth
the Son, but the Father neither knoweth any man. The Father saved
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. What does that all mean? It means
that God has determined that whatever is His, God has determined
that whatever is His to give, and whatever He has purposed
and decreed to give to sinners, that it shall reside in one place,
in one person, it shall reside in the Lord Jesus Christ. What
is given to Christ is given to us as we're made joint heirs
with Christ, it is given to us through Christ. So listen carefully,
what is given to Christ is given to us through the Lord Jesus
Christ. God has never given you anything
that wasn't given to you through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's
so very important. for us to understand. Because
we're living in a time when there's a great deal of confusion about
what God is doing and what God is giving to people. God has
never given you anything that He has not given you in the person
of His Son. God gave us Jesus, and in giving
us Jesus, He's given us all that He has for sinners. That we need
to understand. Even the love of God, the Bible
says, is in Christ Jesus. It's in Christ Jesus, God's love.
Listen, we are unlovable out of Christ. God cannot, an absolute
God, a perfect God, a holy God, an absolute God cannot love a
sinner, apart from a mediator, apart from one standing between
that holy God and that unholy sinner, and fixing that sinner
up so that sinner can be accepted by that holy God. And everything
that God has given to Christ, He has given to us in the eternal
covenant in order that we may be accepted of God in Jesus Christ. And God gives you nothing apart
from His Son. And so don't go out here saying,
oh God did this for me and God did that for me. He had done
anything for you except what He's done for you through the
person of His Son. Now that's what we learn here
in this chapter, that Jesus is the reservoir of all things and
what we have, we have through Him. John Calvin said, we're
to understand that as soon as we have departed from Christ,
that it's a vain thing for us to seek happiness. It's a vain
thing for us to seek forgiveness once we've turned our backs on
Christ. He goes on to say, accordingly
we shall find angels and men to be dry, heaven to be empty,
the earth to be unproductive, and in short all things to be
of no value if we attempt to partake of the gifts of God in
any other way than through the Lord Jesus Christ. There's just
no way to get what you need, poor sinner, from God except
to get it in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus. This chapter
assures us that we have no reason to look elsewhere or to fear
the word of anything provided that we draw from the fullness
of Christ, which is in every respect so complete as to be
inexhaustible. Everything that we need is in
Christ. And sinner, don't fear. There's
enough for you. There's enough for you. There's
enough for any man, any woman, any boy or girl, anyone who can
trust Christ. In Colossians 1 and 19, Paul
said, For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness
dwell. And so he's full. And the supply
is inexhaustible. And so my friend, this morning,
whatever you need to fix you up, so that you're presentable
unto God, so that you're acceptable unto God, whatever you need,
It's to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's enough.
There's enough. There's enough for every sinner
out of hell that will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
there are six things that I want to call your attention to in
this chapter. I intend to be brief. I don't mean to speak very long
to you this morning. We've got a lot of things today
to do, but I want to give you these six things that are mentioned
in this chapter here that God has given to Christ. I want you
to honor the Son. The scripture says that if a
man don't honor the Son, he don't honor the Father. The only way
you can honor the Father is to honor the Son. And so we're here
this morning in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're
telling you that God loves the Son. He loves Him. And we're
telling you that God delivered all things, put all things, A-double-L,
all things into the hands of His Son. That's where it is.
It's in Christ. You need a relationship. You need a union. with the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what you need. You need
to be in union with Him. You need to be joined to Him.
They that are joined to the Lord are one spirit. You can't get
anything from God unless you're married to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And when you marry Him, then everything He's got is yours. It's yours. It's yours. Okay,
there are six things. The first is this, we find it
here in verse 2, and I'm going to take it in the order that
I believe it ought to be presented to you. And the first thing that
I find here is a people. And we find it in verse 2, As
thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. The Father has
given to the Son a particular people. 11th chapter of John, the year
when Capias, I believe is the way it's pronounced, Capias,
some people pronounce it, he was high priest, and he prophesied
that there should be one, he prophesied that Jesus would die
for the nation of Israel. And he said even beyond that,
he said, that God should gather together in one all the children
of God scattered abroad. We remember when Paul was in
Corinth and he was preaching and he was suffering persecution
and the Lord came to him, an angel of the Lord came to him
and said, Paul fear not, I have much people in this city. Now all throughout this chapter,
notice in verse 6, It says, I have manifested thy name unto the
men which thou gavest me out of the world. You see, there
was a people that the Father loved, that he chose in eternal
election, that he gave to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, I manifested your name
unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, they've kept thy word. Look in
verse 9. Look in verse 9. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me. There they
are. There's this people which the
Father has given to the Son, for they are thine, and all mine
are thine, and thine are mine, and I'm glorified in them. Now
look in verse 11. And now I'm no more in the world,
but these 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. There is a people that is given
to the Son. They are called the elect of
God, the chosen of God. They're those that God set His
love upon before the foundation of the world and He loved them
and He joined them savingly in His mind and soul unto the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
There is a people in the world that has been ordained to eternal
life. The Bible says as many as were
ordained to eternal life believed, a people God has given to His
Son. And if you're saved today, you're
one of those people. And if you're one of those this
morning that says, well, I don't know whether I'm one of those
people or not. Are you a believer? Have you believed on the Lord
Jesus? Have you sworn your allegiance to Christ? I mean, have you received
Christ in your heart, in your soul? Have you received Him? If you have, then you are one
of His. And if you believe on Him, you're
one of His. You're one of these people that
the Father has given to the Son. The Father has given a people
to Christ. You can't get... Listen, in the
Scriptures, if you read the Word of God, listen to this verse,
John 6 and 37. Jesus said, All that the Father
giveth Me. shall come to me, they that come
to me I will in no wise cast out. The Father has given to
the Son a people. Now secondly, we notice in this
same second verse that the Father has given him power over all
flesh. Power over all flesh. In Matthew
chapter 28 and 18, Jesus says, all power is given to me in heaven
and in earth. It's all been given to me. It's every bit in my hands. Have
the power over all flesh now in John chapter 19, and I would
like you to just turn over there It's not very far from where
we're studying today John chapter 19 I want you to look with me
if you will at verse 10 and 11 look what it says then said Pilate
and Unto him speakest thou not unto me, knowest thou not that
I, listen to this, here's flesh and blood, here's a man who is
flesh, and he says, knowest thou not that I have power to crucify
thee, and I have power to release thee? And Jesus answered, Thou
couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given
thee from above. Therefore, he that delivered
me unto thee hath the greater sin. The Lord Jesus says, Pilate,
I've got power over you. You think you can crucify me
if you want to. You can't do anything. You'd
have no power except to be given to you from heaven. God will
have to give it to you if you have the power to do it. You
don't have the power by nature to do that because all power
has been given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now this is very
important for us to see this. Because we, of course none of
us here, I don't think in this room this morning, would doubt
the power of our sovereign Lord Jesus Christ. We believe Him
to be Lord. And we know and believe that
He has the power to give life to whomever He will. He has the
power. Now I want you to listen to the
next verse. The Father can raise the dead
and make them live, quicken them, give them life. But it says,
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. He has power over all
flesh to the end that he might give eternal life to as many
as the Father has given to him. Now then look at verse 26. For
as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself. And so the Lord Jesus has life
to give. Life is in Him. The scripture
says in 1 John chapter 5 in verse 11 and 12 that he that hath the
Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. Life is in a person. It's in
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why he must dwell, abide,
live in our hearts. He must be made flesh to us. He must come into our hearts.
He must live in us. The Lord Jesus, His very nature,
be implanted into us. We must be married, joined to
Him. Okay? Eternal life. Jesus said
in John chapter 10, He says, I give unto them eternal life.
They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out
of My hands. I give it to them. I give it
to them. I give them eternal life. I've
got the power to give it. I've got the power to give Him.
And then in the fourth place, I said there was six things I
wanted to mention. We find in verse 4 that the Lord
Jesus was given a work to do. Look at it in verse 4. He says,
I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do. Now the work here that is mentioned
is first of all a finished work And the work was not started
by Jesus and finished by you. The work was finished by the
One who started it. and the work was started by Jesus
and finished by Jesus, that's why the Bible says, by the obedience
of one shall many be justified. By and through the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ are all the elect justified through what
He did. He finished it. And I'll tell
you it's blasphemy for anybody to imply that they are working
on their salvation or that they are trying to make a contribution
to that work which our Lord Jesus finished. When He received the
vinegar, He cried out from the cross, it is finished. It's a
work that He finished. And now everything has been done
that must be done to satisfy a thrice holy God and to put
Him in, as it were, a position where He can justify you, give
you a standing before Him just as if you'd never committed a
sin. The work is done. The work is finished. There's
nothing else to be done. It's all been done by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, beloved, listen to me. I
know that all of you are zealous. You all want to be holy. You
all want to be better and all of that. But you start right
here. Jesus finished the work that satisfied God on your behalf. And our acceptance is in Him,
that's where it is, who started and finished the work. He's the
author and finisher of the faith. The author and the finisher of
our salvation. Fifthly, we notice in verse 8
that the Lord Jesus gave these people the word, these disciples
the word which had been given to Him. He says, I've given unto
them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them. I want you to look in John 12,
quickly, look in John 12, and I read verse 48, well let
me read verse 47 and down through 49. And if any man hear my words,
and believe not, I judge him not. For I came not to judge
the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth
not my words, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken
of myself, but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment,
what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment
is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. Now beloved, the very words of
our Lord Jesus, we read in John 6 and 68, that these words are
words of life, words of life, eternal life. These words were
given to him by the Lord Jesus. I must hurry on. The sixth and
last thing is found in verse 22. It's the glory of God. Look at verse 22. And the glory
which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be
one, even as we are one. Now the Father gave the Son glory. Glory. The Father was glorified
in the Son. The Son of God will be glorified
and we'll be glorified together with Him as we stand in Him.
The glory of being one with God. Think of it. I said that our
salvation had to do with a union. It had to do with us being joined. Life eternal is that we might
know the one true and living God, that we might know, be intimately
joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the glory of God, we will
have it as we're one with God, as we have the one nature, the
divine nature implanted in our very souls. The glory of being
in His family, we have that. Somebody says, well, you know,
this is my family. The beloved God's family is my
family. I'm in the Lord's family. I'm
in the living family, and that is God's family. And to be in
His family, look at the glory! It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know when He shall appear we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is, and that is because we're
right now the sons of God. We are God's children in Christ. We are members of God's family. The glory of being in His family
as child, the glory of being holy and without blame before
Him in love. Think of it. You know, everyone
here, most everyone I would say, is probably convinced of original
sin and convinced of their need of God providing what He demands
of them. But think of it, you, the likes
of you and I, we stand before God and we're holy without blame,
spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Holy, fixed up to where not even
God can find a fault with us. Where not even God can say, well,
there's a flaw there. God's fixed us up and we're holy
and blameless. The glory of being involved.
in the program of God and the eternal purpose of God. The glory
of God having, in our generation to our day, having laid hold
of us. You see, as Paul stated in Acts chapter 22, it was stated
to Paul, but he didn't start this thing. God started it with
us. We didn't start it with Him. And there's a glory being born
in a generation, and God visiting us in that day that we live on
the earth, and doing a work in our souls, joining us to His
Son, and involving us in His eternal purpose. There's a glory
in that, a great glory in that, that God's said now, it may not
be the part you want, but it's a part that He's given. And there's
a glory in that. And may God be pleased to show
us this tremendous truth of the gospel that we've been discussing
with you out of John 17 this morning. That Jesus is the reservoir
of everything God has. And you only have it as you stand
in Him. May God join you to His Son. Mike, would you lead us in two
verses

I Pray For Them

What does the Bible say about Jesus' intercession for believers?

How do we know that eternal life is a gift from Jesus?

Why is Christ's finished work on the cross important for salvation?

What does it mean that God has given a particular people to Christ?

How do we experience the love of God in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

I Pray For Them

What does the Bible say about Jesus' intercession for believers?

How do we know that eternal life is a gift from Jesus?

Why is Christ's finished work on the cross important for salvation?

What does it mean that God has given a particular people to Christ?

How do we experience the love of God in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

More from John R. Mitchell

Same Scripture

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book