Now we're looking at the Lord's
Prayer again, in John chapter 17. And I usually give a title
to every message I bring, and I'm entitling the messages that
we'll be bringing from John 17, part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on
and so forth. And we get down to the end. This
will be the Lord's Prayer, Part 3. Part 3. I'm going to look
at verses 4, 5, and 6 this morning. Verses 4, 5, and 6 of John Chapter
17. Now, we've been studying through
the book of John, the Gospel according to John, for the last,
I think, almost two years. And if you look at the study
of John, as you would look at a mountain range, if you look
at a mountain range from a distance, you see valleys and you see peaks,
and valleys in high places and low places. If you look at the
book of John as a mountain range, this John chapter 17 would be
the high point, would be the pinnacle. would be the focal
point, would be the zenith, the high point of our study in John
is right here in John 17. This is special. This is a special prayer. The
Lord prays not for everyone. The Lord doesn't pray this prayer
for everyone. Look down at verse 9. He says,
I pray for them, I pray not for the world. The Lord Jesus Christ
does not love all men everywhere without exception, nor did he
die for all men everywhere without exception, nor does he intercede
and mediate for all men everywhere without exception. He prays for
his own. He died for his own. He calls
his own unto himself. Now again, I'm proceeding slowly. rather slowly through this high
priestly prayer of our blessed Redeemer and our blessed Savior. I want it to sink in. I pray the Lord's Spirit would
take this word and just engulf our heart, our mind, our soul,
and write it upon our heart. Now, I remind us again, what
our Lord prays for then is what He prays for right now. He ever lives to intercede for
us now. You see, with the Lord Jesus
Christ, there is no change. He does not change. Everything
He has done and is doing is perpetual. That is, it's continual. It is
eternal. He saves us with an everlasting
salvation. He obtained for us eternal redemption. So, the Word of God teaches that
everything that our great God and Savior does is not temporary,
it is eternal, with eternal consequences. Now listen to this scripture.
Chapter three, don't turn, let me just read it to you. I know
that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor
anything taken from it. God doeth it that men should
fear before him. Now in Hebrews chapter 13, verse
eight, we're gonna study that in a few weeks when we get over
there. But it says in Hebrews 13 verse 8, Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. Aren't you glad He does not change? We change all the time. We change
from morning to evening. He never changes. He's the constant,
faithful God. Great is thy faithfulness, O
God my Father. Now one of the key phrases that
caught my attention in this prayer is found in the words, I have. I have." Seven times we read
in this prayer what the Lord says, I have done. Look at verse 4, John 17 verse
4, I have glorified thee on the earth. The Lord Jesus Christ
says, I have finished The salvation of my people. I have finished
the work you gave me to do. Now look at verse 6. I have manifested
thy name unto those that you have given me out of the world. He redeemed the people out of
this world, out of every kindred, tribe, nation, tongue, and people. He chose the people, redeemed
them by the blood atonement of Jesus Christ, and one day He
will cross their path and call them out of darkness into His
marvelous light by His grace. So we can say with absolute confidence,
our salvation is totally dependent upon what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done for us. I have finished the work. Salvation is dependent upon what
the Lord has done for us, not what we have done for Him. But rather, all that He has accomplished
for us. Now, two scriptures that will
help us on this. Titus 3, 5, don't turn, but let
me see if I can quote it to you. Not according to our works, but
according to His mercy. Did you get that? Not according
to our works. But according to His mercy, He
saved us and called us by His grace. Here's another scripture
that teaches us that salvation is based upon what He has done
for us, not what we bring to the table. Not what we contribute,
it's all in His hand, His doing. 2 Timothy 1.9, it's God who saved
us and called us with a holy calling. Not according to our
works, but according to God's own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus. before the foundation of the
world. This is eternal mercy, eternal love, unchanging grace
that makes us to say with the Apostle Paul, thanks be unto
God for his unspeakable gift. It's an unspeakable gift. Salvation
is always determined by the Lord. We had on the radio broadcast
this morning Not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but it's God that shows mercy. Salvation is always determined
by the Lord. Salvation is always dependent
upon the Lord. Salvation is always accomplished
by the Lord Jesus Christ. And salvation is given By the
sovereign gift of His hand, He will have mercy on whom He will
have mercy. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift of salvation. Now let's take a good look at
verse 4, 5, and 6 in John 17. I would encourage you to get your Bible
and let's follow along together. Our Lord declares in His prayer
and mediation as the advocate intercessor for His people, He
said, I have, praying unto the Father, Father, I have glorified
Thee on this earth. Now did He? Did He glorify the
Father? in all things and everything.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only person that has ever done
so perfectly. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only one that could say this, I have glorified thee on the
earth. He did so in every will, His
will was to do the Father's will. He said, not my will, thy will
be done. He glorified the Father in every
act of will. All things work according to
His own will. He glorified the Father not only
in will, but in word. Everything he spoke was absolute
truth. He said, the words that I speak
are not mine, but my father. He glorified the father by everything
he did in will and thought and in word. How about deed? Every deed he did. Have you ever
done anything Now this is not a trick question, but be careful
how you answer. Have you ever done anything totally
to the glory of God? I haven't. The Lord Jesus Christ,
you see there's always an element of self involved somewhere. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the only one that has done everything
he has done totally and perfectly to the glory of God in will,
word, deed. How about in thought? How about
in thought? Everything the Lord Jesus Christ
thought. He never had a thought contrary
to the will of God, to the decree of God. I mean, we're talking
about a man who was perfect. We're talking about the Savior,
the Redeemer, God manifest in the flesh. He did have a real
human body, but not one tainted with sin. A perfect man. I have glorified thee on the
earth in will, in word, in deed, in thought. How about motive?
How about motive? What motivated him? He prayed,
not my will, thy will be done. I've never done anything with
a perfect motive. No sir, you haven't either. Come
on now. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only one that does all things with a perfect motive, without
exception, in perfect holiness, and in absolute obedience and
righteousness to the Father, obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. When God Almighty said, you must
die at the hands of justice, the Lord Jesus Christ said, I
will. Thy will be done. Aren't you
glad that he glorified God in all aspects? Now, how about us? How about you? Well, I'll tell
you what the Scripture teaches. The Scripture teaches all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. You've come short. You've never glorified God in
anything. I haven't either. We've come short because we're
sinners. Sinners before God. We've never
done anything apart from sin. I've never preached a sermon
apart from sin. That's right. Everything I think,
do, and say is tainted with what I am. I'm a sinner. I have a
sinful, rotten nature. that I inherited from my father,
Adam, and in everything I think, do, and say is tainted with what
I am. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves in the truth not in us. And we've called God
a liar if we say that we are not sinners. You see, the Lord
Jesus Christ is the only one who has glorified the Father.
The Lord had no sin. The Lord did no sin, the Scriptures
teach, and He knew no sin. You remember our study in the
book of Hebrews, verse 7, Hebrews 7, right at verse 26, for such
a high priest became us? who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
and separate from sin. This is the Savior that this
sinner needs. One who has glorified the Father
in every aspect, in every way, will, deed, thought, motive,
purpose. He loved God perfectly. I've
never done so. He believed God perfectly. I've
never done so. But thank God we have a substitute.
And he didn't come as a private man, but as a public man. By
one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of another shall many be made righteous. You see, what
he did is freely given and imputed unto his covenant people. In
Christ, we have glorified the Lord. In the Lord Jesus Christ. What's true of the head is true
of the body. You see, we're one in Him. Look at verse 22 of John
17. The glory which thou gavest me,
I've given them that they may be one, even as we are one. What Christ did for us, we did
in Him. You see what he's saying here?
I have glorified thee on the earth. And then he says, the
second part of this, I have. I have finished the work. I have finished the work that
somebody special gave me to do. I finished the work my father
gave me to do. Now, some of you are fathers
here, many of you are fathers, and you have a son, and you love
your son, and you give your son a task to do. Take out the garbage,
wash the car, mow the grass, Doesn't it delight you when the
Son does what He's told? Well, sure it does. That pales
in comparison unto what the Lord Jesus Christ, how He has so fully
accomplished redemption by the decree of God. God decreed salvation,
and the Lord Jesus Christ came here in time and fully did what
God told Him to do. As the obedient God-man mediator,
I have finished the work you gave me to do. Because He is
said of God to do the work of God by the decree of God and
the will of God, the Lord Jesus Christ cannot fail. He cannot fail to finish the
work. He's able to do the work, isn't
He? It says in Isaiah 42.4 that He cannot fail. He cannot fail. He is faithful in all things
unto the Father. He went forth conquering, and
to conquer, remember from Revelation 6 verse 2. Our blessed Lord was
most successful in finishing the work the Father gave Him
to do. Nothing need be added. Don't bring your works. Don't
bring your faithfulness. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
completed all of salvation for us. all of redemption for us. He left nothing undone and He
left nothing for us to do. We can say with the Apostle,
being confident of this very thing, God who has begun a good
work in you, He will finish it. God never starts something and
leaves it undone. That's the way we do things.
He doesn't do things that way. You see, He's the faithful servant
of the Lord. In Him dwells all the fullness
of a Godhead bodily, and in the Lord Jesus Christ we stand complete
in Him. He is that faithful servant,
Son of God. Remember Isaiah 42? Let's turn
over there and read these scriptures again. He's that faithful servant,
son of God, that righteous servant, son of God, to finish the work
God gave him to do. And my friends, he got the job
done. We'll see in just a minute. Look
at Isaiah 42 verse 1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I put my spirit upon
him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, a smoking flax shall he not quench. He
shall bring forth judgment unto truth. Look at verse four, he
shall not fail, nor be discouraged or defeated till he has set judgment
in the earth. And everyone shall wait for his
decree, his law. Now turn to Isaiah 52, Isaiah
52, Isaiah 52 verse 13. And let me read you this scripture
while you're finding that. It says, the Lord is well pleased
for his righteousness sake, he will magnify the law and make
it honorable. Isaiah 52, are you there? Look
at verse 13. Behold, my servant shall deal
prudently. And the word there, deal, means
prosper. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall be exalted and he shall
be exalted and extolled and be very high. This is that servant
that prospers. He completed the work God gave
him to do. Look at Isaiah 53 verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.
By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their Therefore will I divide a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil of the strong, because he hath
poured out his soul unto death. He was numbered with the transgressor.
He bared the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors."
Successful Savior. He knows nothing of defeat or
failure. Not at all. Now, the Lord Jesus,
as the conquering King, having glorified the Father on the earth,
having finished the work the Father gave Him to do, now the
Lord Jesus Christ calls unto His own, and He says, come unto
Me and rest. The work is all done. Come unto
me and rest, and you'll find that my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light." You see, our salvation is D-O-N-E, not D-O. Our salvation in the Lord Jesus
Christ is done. There's a track out on the table
written by an old preacher named Mackintosh. And if you get a
copy of it and read it sometime. Our salvation in the Lord Jesus
Christ because He has finished redemption's work, finished salvation. We spell it D-O-N-E. Done. Not do. Not do. It's done. It's done. Done. The Lord is saying what
I've spoken and what I've decreed shall come to pass. I have already
finished the work The Father gave me to do. He is yet to go
to the cross, but he speaks with such absolute authority because
it's spoken of God, decreed of God. He said, I've spoken, I've
commanded, and it shall stand fast. What I've spoken, what
I've purposed, it shall come to pass. Nothing shall fail.
I finished the work you gave me to do. Now, you remember back
in Luke chapter 2 verse 49, at the age of 12 years old, our
Lord said to his earthly mother and foster father, I must be
about my father's business. And then in John chapter 4 we've
studied, the Lord said, my meat, my satisfaction is to do the
will of Him that sent me and to finish that work. And then
at Calvary's tree, turn to John 19. John chapter 19, you see
verse 30? John 19 verse 30, I must be about
my Father's business? It's my meat, my satisfaction,
my delight to do the will of Him that sent me. And then in
John chapter 19 verse 30, when the Lord Jesus Christ is nailed
to Calvary's tree, as He bears the wrath of God, bearing our
sin in His own body on the tree, having accomplished redemption,
having brought in everlasting salvation, He says from the cross,
when He had received the vinegar, He said, it is finished. and he bowed his head and gave,
yielded up his spirit. It's done. Well done. Nothing need be added to what
the Lord Jesus Christ has done. Now remember the Philippian jailer
from Acts, recorded in Acts chapter 16? When he asked the Apostle
Paul this question, what must I do to be saved? Do you remember what the Apostle
Paul said? Don't do anything. He said, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You see,
salvation is received by God-given faith. Salvation is received. Salvation is not accomplished
by faith, but salvation receives the Lord Jesus Christ who accomplished
salvation for us. You see, we look unto Him to
do all things for us. Salvation is received by believing. Let me show you that in Scripture.
Turn back to John chapter 3. He doesn't ask us to do anything,
bring anything, accomplish or finish anything. He simply says,
believe me. John 3. Verse 15, whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, the
world of believers, the world of his elect, whoever this world
is that he prays for, that he died for, he gives them eternal
life. For God so loved His own, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but shall have everlasting life." Look
at John 3.36. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him. Turn a couple pages to John 5.24.
John 5, 24. You see, faith is the precious
gift of God. We believe only according to
the working of His mighty power. But salvation is received by
believing. John 5, 24. Not doing. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Let's see if
we can find another one. John 6, 47. Turn over there. John 6, 47. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. You got the idea? Trusting the
Lord Jesus Christ alone. Our dear departed preacher brother,
Brother Scott Richardson, used to say, lay your deadly doing
down. Lay it down. It's deadly. Don't
trust what you have done, what you have done, are doing, or
will do. Trust Him for all of salvation. Our salvation, see, is based
upon His faithfulness. His faithfulness, not ours. Let's
see if we can find that in Scripture. Turn over here to Galatians,
the book of Galatians, chapter 2. Galatians 2, 16. Based upon
His faithfulness, not ours. Knowing Galatians 2 verse 16,
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ, by the faithfulness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in him
that we might be justified by the faith of him. not by the
works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified by the faith of Jesus Christ." You see that? Talking about the faithfulness
of God. Our salvation is based upon His faithfulness. Our righteousness
before God is based upon His performance, not ours. I need
a justifying righteousness before God. I cannot produce it. I cannot Work it up, or work
it out. But listen to the truth of Scripture.
Blessed is a man to whom the Lord would impute, give, charge,
righteousness, without works, after blessed man. The righteousness
we have is the righteousness the Lord gives us, and that righteousness
that He gives us is Himself. He is the Lord, our righteousness. All of our salvation and forgiveness
from all sin, the mercy that we enjoy, sovereign mercy, sovereign
grace, are only found in the Lord Jesus Christ, who finished
the work of salvation for us. You see, He honored the law of
God for His covenant people. I read that to you in Isaiah
42, 21. He honored the law. He redeemed
us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. The
Lord Jesus Christ brought in an everlasting righteousness
for us. He established it for us. The
Lord Jesus Christ put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
The point I'm making is this. The work is done. Well done. Nothing needs to be added. Now,
I mentioned this last week, but I want to mention it to you again.
Many say, in fundamental religious circles, many say that I'm trusting
the finished work of Christ. You've heard that saying before?
That is not a good way to say that. That is not really a true
saying. Because saving faith doesn't
trust a work. Saving faith trusts the Lord
Jesus Christ who finished the work. You see what I'm saying?
So we're not trusting the finished work of Christ. Saving faith
is trusting the Lord Jesus Christ who finished the work for us. the work of redemption, the work
of the law being honored, justice being satisfied, everlasting
righteousness brought in. So it's much better to say that
I'm trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, who did indeed put away all my
sins by the sacrifice of himself. And we come back to what Paul
says in Philippians 3, oh, how precious to win Christ and to
be found in him. I have, John 17 verse 4, you
see why we must proceed slowly here? We can put up a caution
sign over this chapter. Caution, proceed, proceed with
caution. Proceed slowly. I have glorified
thee on the earth. Oh, I tell you what, what a blessing. Thank God for the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I have finished the work of salvation
is done. Now he says, come unto me and
rest. Are you thirsty for salvation? He said, come unto me and drink,
and you shall be satisfied. Now look at verse 5, John 17
verse 5, And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self,
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Now
here we see the eternality of the Lord, which I had with thee
way back yonder, before the world was. When there was nothing but
God, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
is none less than the eternal God. The eternality of the Lord. When He came here and was manifested
in the flesh, that is not His beginning. He is the eternal
God. He remained what He was, eternal
holy God, and became what He was not. The Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Now, Stay with me. Look at verse
5 again. "...O Father, glorify Thou me
with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before
the world was. The Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man
Mediator, went back to the Father, having finished the work the
Father gave Him to do, as a resurrected, perfect God-man Mediator." There's
a man in glory right now. A man in glory right now. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. The God-man mediator. You see,
when he came out of the tomb the third day, he came out with
a real body. A glorified body. When he ascended
back to the Father 40 days later and seated on the throne of glory
right now, he did so in that body that was prepared of God.
having put away our sin, his body was never tainted, his glorified
resurrected body was never tainted with sin. He put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself and he went back to glory as the
glorified God-man mediator. We're going to see him in glory.
We're going to see the God-man mediator in glory, and dwell
with Him forever, and see Him face to face, and enjoy Him forever. He lived with the apostles, the
resurrected Lord did, 40 days. 40 days. He ate with them, He
sang with them, He fellowshiped with them. And we will one day
forever. But think about this. What He
did. He did as a public representative
for His people. He didn't come as a private man.
He came as the Great High Priest representing a people unto God. What he did, think about what
he did, he did for us as our mediator, as our advocate. He
came here representing us, seeing we have such a great high priest.
He lived here representing us in perfect obedience unto the
Father. He died for us, representing
us, paying our sin debt in full. Deliver them from the pit, I
have found a ransom. He's resurrected for us, delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. What's
true of Him is true of us. I'm crucified with Christ. I'm
risen with Christ. I'm seated in the heavenlies
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He ascended to glory as the forerunner
for us. And we're seated in the heavenlies
right now. Wait a minute preacher, you're
right in front of us. I know I am, but in my representative,
I'm already seated in the heavenlies in Christ. Because we're one
with Him. When He came, we were one. When
He died, we were one. I'm crucified with Christ. When
He arose from the grave, we arose in Him. When He ascended back
to glory, we ascended in Him. When He sat down, having finished
the work, we sat down in Him. Aren't you glad we have a mediator
like that? His presence there. God, there's
a God there, there's a man in glory, the God-man mediator,
what does his presence there mean to me? Everything. Everything. Guarantees our salvation. Now lastly, I have, verse 6,
I have manifested thy name. unto the men which you gave me
out of the world. They were thine, and you gave
them to me, and they have received thy word. They have kept thy
word. Again, I read verse 26 in John
17, I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it,
that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them,
and I in them. I have manifested or revealed
God the Father unto you. Now, did you notice something
back here in John chapter 14? Turn over there. I have manifested
thy name, thy glory, thy person. The glory of God shines in the
face of Christ. In John 14 verse 8, Philip said
unto him, Lord, show us the Father. And we'll be satisfied. And the
Lord said, Have I been so long time with you, yet thou hast
not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. How sayest thou then, Show us
the Father? He hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes. Those who have
seen the Lord Jesus Christ with the eyes of faith have seen the
glory of God in His person. I have manifested, revealed Thy
name, the name of God Almighty, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Sidkenu,
all these different names that describe His character by a special
revelation and effectual calling that is extended only to the
elect of God, only to the sheep of Christ. There is that general
call of the gospel. Whenever the gospel is preached
publicly, there is that general call. that goes out to all men
that are hearing that call. But that general call is never
effectual, it's never invincible, it's never saving. But there
is that effectual call that goes out to the elect of God by the
power of God and the Holy Spirit that is effectual, that is irresistible,
that does draw them unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this calling,
that's the effectual call of God, having manifested or revealed
the name of God, who He is, unto His people. This calling is a
personal call. He said, Matthew, follow me.
Zacchaeus, come down. Lazarus, come forth. Our Lord
calls His people with the gospel of the living, true God. This gospel calling is a personal
call. This gospel calling is a powerful
call. He commands the light to shine
out of darkness, and he commands the light to shine in our dead
hearts. It's a powerful call, a personal
call. This call of the gospel is a
prevailing call. Knowing, beloved, your election
of God, for our gospel came unto you, not in word only, but in
power." And it prevails. It prevails. It overcomes our
stubbornness, our hard-heartedness, our sinfulness. And this call
of the gospel is not only personal, powerful, prevailing, but it's
perpetual. He's still calling us unto himself,
isn't he? Sure he does. The Lord continues
to call us unto himself, to whom coming as unto a living stone,
elect and precious, to you who believe he is precious, looking
unto the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of
our faith. I've manifested thy name unto
those men which thou gavest me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and those that come to me I will then know wise
cast out. You remember from John chapter
6. Now let us always remember. I'm
going to give you this and let you go. Let us always remember
that our Lord Jesus Christ ever lives right now. Right now. to intercede for us. He makes
our prayers acceptable. He makes our worship acceptable
unto the Father. We are only accepted in the Beloved. He ever lives, He's able to save
to the uttermost all that come to God by Him, saying He ever
lives to intercede for us. And let us always rejoice that
we have a Mediator with the Father. There is one God and one Mediator,
and that Mediator that we need is the Lord Jesus Christ, the
God-Man Mediator. He will never leave us he will
never forsake us he said lo I am with you always always even even
unto the end