In John chapter 10, I'm entitling
the message from the profound and weighty words the Lord speaks
in verse 30. You see verse 30? The Lord said,
I and my Father. He's declaring that God the Son
and God the Father say we are We are one. I and my Father,
we are one. Now the Lord Jesus Christ had
plainly and boldly, without compromise, declared that salvation is of
the Lord. He said, I give unto my sheep
eternal life. and they shall never perish. He gives spiritual life, eternal
life. He raises his people up from
the dead, spiritual death, and gives us life in Christ Jesus. And he does this for those for
whom he loves. He said, my sheep, verse 27,
hear my voice, I know them. I love them. And I give unto
them eternal life. The Lord gives eternal life to
his sheep because he loves them. The Lord Jesus Christ gives eternal
life because he died for them, putting away their sin. You remember
he said, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life
for the sheep. And then he says, I give them
life, I give them all blessings in Christ Jesus, and then he
declares that these sheep of Christ shall never perish." They're
kept by the power of God. He's saying they shall never
be condemned. He's saying they shall never
be separated from the love of God, which is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. They'll never be separated from
God, nor from God the Son or God the Father. There is in Christ
Jesus between The Church and the Blessed Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, there is that inseparable eternal union we have with Christ
Jesus. Salvation is being found in Him. And this union cannot be dissolved. This union cannot be changed.
It cannot be diminished. Our Lord said this, being confident
of this everything, that God who has begun a good work in
you, He will complete it. He will finish it. And then I
like this scripture, if you want to jot this down and read it
later, Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 14 where it says, I know that
whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. No man can put anything
to it. No man can take anything from
it. God does this that men may fear Him. God doesn't start something
and stop. What he starts, he finishes,
he completes forever. And salvation that we enjoy is
a complete salvation. What enjoyment would half-salvation
be? What enjoyment would half-redemption
be? Well, half my sins put away.
That wouldn't give me any peace. All of our sins put away by the
blood of Christ and that gives us peace. This eternal life,
this Spiritual life we have in Christ this salvation is in Christ
Jesus God has given the Lord Jesus Christ unto us. I tried to emphasize that last
week from verse 29 my father which gave them me If you're in Christ and one with
Him, you have everything that God intended for His church to
have. All spiritual blessings in Christ
Jesus. Now hold your place there in
John 10, and I want you to turn to 1 John chapter 5. 1 John chapter
5. Look at verse 10, verse John
5, 10. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave
of his Son. And this is the record that God
hath given unto us, given to us eternal life. And this life,
where is eternal life? What I tell you last week, salvation
is in a person, not in a place or position. Salvation is in
a person, the Lord Jesus. This is eternal life. The record
I have given unto them, eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. Verse 12, He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God,
whatever else you may think you have, If you're not one with
Christ, you don't have salvation. If you're not found in Him, you
don't have righteousness, a justifying righteousness before God. He
that hath not the Son of God does not have life, does not
have salvation. You see, He's the Savior. These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and
that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Now stay right
here in 1 John chapter 5, look at verse 20. Verse 20, And we
know that the Son of God is come, and He's given us an understanding,
that we may know Him that is true, and we're in Him that is
true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? This is
the true God. And this is eternal life. You
see salvation in a person, he that hath the Son hath life. Turn to John 17. John 17, look
at verse 2 and 3. Thou hast given him, the God-man
mediator, John 17, 2, 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. Now who is Jesus Christ? He's
the only true God. What is eternal life? Being found
in Him. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent. Verse four says, the one Christ
of God that's glorified thee on the earth and finished the
work that God gave him to do. He's a successful Redeemer, the
successful Savior. Now, turn back to John 10, verse 28 and 29. No man can pluck
them out of my hand, no man can pluck them out of my Father's
hand, they shall never perish. The sheep of Christ shall never,
never perish. Just as certain and sure as there
is salvation only in Christ Jesus, there is nothing but condemnation
and judgment and wrath apart from Him. Just as sure as there
is salvation in Him, right? What is there without Him? wrath,
judgment, and condemnation. Those in Christ can never perish,
can never be condemned, never be damned, they're eternally
justified, but those not in Christ Jesus, those found not in Him,
shall forever perish under the just and holy wrath of God. Turn back to John chapter 3.
John chapter 3. The sheep of Christ, they can
never perish. Their sin has been put away. They're justified in
Christ Jesus. He gives them eternal life. They're
in the hand of Christ. He's in us. Christ in you. They'll
never perish. John 3, 36. What of those not
in Christ Jesus? John 3, 36. You got it there?
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the But the, what
does that say? But the wrath of God abides on
Him. Oh, I tell you the consequences
of unbelief are devastating, aren't they? Turn over to 2 Thessalonians
for a moment. I'm trying to show the contrast
between eternal life and salvation being in Him And what do we have
apart from Him? Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ,
our God is a consuming fire, who must deal with us in strict
justice. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 1,
where it says in verse 7 and to you who are troubled rest
with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with
his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them
that know not God that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power,
when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired
in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed
in that day, there is going to be great rejoicing of believers
in Christ Jesus in that day, and a terrible, terrible judgment
upon those who refuse to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. To those who are perishing, the
gospel is foolishness, right? Listen to this scripture. Jot
this down. You don't need to turn. I think
everyone knows this scripture, but 1 Corinthians 16.22. 1 Corinthians
16.22, it says, If any man love not If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let everything be okay. It really doesn't matter. That's not what it says. If any
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Let him be damned anathema, accursed
maranatha when the Lord comes. What a blessing to a believer
to see the Lord coming to receive us. He said, I go away to prepare
a place for you and if I go away I'll come again and receive you
unto myself that where I am there you may be also. Oh, there's
a flip side to that too, isn't there? Those who refuse to believe
and bow to the Lord Jesus Christ, a certain fearful judgment, judgment
to come. Thank God He delivered us from
the wrath to come, hasn't He? He took all of our sin, all of
our judgment, and took the wrath of God. Therefore, in Christ
Jesus there is No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, who says so? Turn back to
John 10 verse 30. Who says so? Well, God says so. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is
God, says so. He said, I and my father are
one. Then the Jews got angry again
and they took up stones to stone him. I and my father are one. All this salvation, all blessings
we have in Christ Jesus, all are according to God's eternal
purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus before the foundation
of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ stood as
a lamb slain before Adam ever sinned, the Lord Jesus Christ
stood as a surety of the covenant. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Before Adam sinned,
the Savior stood. Before mankind was ruined in
sin, the Redeemer stood as a surety of that everlasting covenant.
Who says so? I and my Father, we are one.
Now, let's work on that statement for a moment. God the Father,
God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son, these three are one. They are distinct persons in
the Trinity of the sacred Godhead, yet, Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
three distinct persons, but yet, one eternal God. The Old Testament says, here
of Israel, the Lord our God is one God. One God. Just above what we read a moment
ago in 1 John chapter 5, let me read this to you. For there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
capital W, which means God the Son, Father, Word, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three, these three
are one. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
God Almighty. God Almighty. God Almighty manifest
in the flesh. The Word that was with God, that
was God, that is God, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among
us. Now, is it really that important
that we believe the Lord Jesus Christ is God? Does it really
matter if we believe in what we call the deity of the Lord
Jesus Christ or not? Absolutely! Because He's God
our Savior. It's who He is. If He's not God, then we have no hope. Because
it's God our Savior that put away our sin. If He's not God,
come to redeem us, come to save us, come to execute all salvation,
then we have no hope of salvation. You see, He is God, our Savior,
who cannot fail. All the Godhead is involved in
our salvation. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. These three are one. They all
work to one eternal end, one eternal purpose, one eternal
goal, and that is the glory of God. Now let me show you this
in Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. The Father,
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, they don't
work. Differently, they work in unison
together, accomplishing one purpose. Now in Ephesians chapter 1, here's
what we see. In verse 3, Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, according
as He chose us in Him. before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy without blame before Him in love,
having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will."
Now here we see the blessed truth of election, God choosing a people. Remember our Lord said in John
6, 37, all that the Father giveth me, they will come to me, and
those that come to me will never perish. In no way shall I cast
them out. So God the Father did the choosing,
gave a people unconditionally, He chose them according to His
own sovereign will and purpose, not foreseeing anything good
in us, but according to His own will and purpose, He chose a
people, gave them to Christ Jesus. So we see God the Father choosing.
And then we see the work of the Son. Look at verse 7. And all
this works to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He
hath made us accepted in the Beloved, verse 6 of Ephesians
1, in whom we have redemption. Through His blood the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of His grace. So the Son redeemed
the people that God gave Him in that covenant of grace, wherein
He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known unto us the mystery of His will according to the
good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of time He might gather together in one all things
in Christ, "...both which are in heaven, which are on the earth,
and whom also we have obtained an inheritance," there's that
inheritance that we talked about, "...incorruptible, undefiled,
that fadeth not away, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his will." Redemption
is according to His will, isn't it? Election is according to
His will and purpose, isn't it? That we should be the praise
of His glory who first trusted Christ. You see, the Father choosing
works to what end? To the praise of His glory. The
Son making an effectual redemption of His covenant people works
to what end? To the praise of His glory. And
then we see the work of the Holy Spirit, calling and quickening
in verse 13, in whom you also trusted after you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after
that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
which is the earnest or token and pledge of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession. And again, the work
of the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the Holy
Spirit all work to the praise of His glory. God has so designed salvation
that everything He does, In the Father choosing, in the Son redeeming,
and the Holy Spirit quickening and calling, regenerating, the
Spirit quickeneth, the flesh profiteth, nothing all works
to this one glorious purpose and end to the praise of the
glory of His grace. I and my Father, we are one. We are one. Now turn back to
John chapter 10. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit
are one. One in unity of nature, Unity
of nature. God is holy. The central character
and attribute of God. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. That's Isaiah chapter 6, verse
1, 2, and 3, and 4. Wonder why it says three times,
holy, holy, holy. Why not one time? Why not four
times? Why not five times? Holy, holy,
holy. That covers the whole Trinity,
doesn't it? Father, Son, Holy Spirit. God the Father is holy. God the Son is holy. God the
Holy Spirit is. Well, He's holy, isn't He? The
Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
are one. One in unity of nature. Holy,
holy, holy Lord God Almighty. One in essence of principle.
Absolutely flawless. Perfection in every way we can
think of. Perfection. One in eternal purpose. God has an eternal purpose in
Christ Jesus, which He purposed in Him before the foundation
of the world. And it all works to this one end. What is that
end? His glory, isn't it? His glory. They're one in will, one in unity
of nature, one in essence of principle, one in eternal purpose,
His glory. One in will. God's will is absolute. He says, I will and you shall.
Salvation is according to His will, His will is absolute. He begat us with His own, of
His Word begat He us with His own will. If His own will, let
me get it straight, if His own will begat He us with the Word
of Truth. It's not of Him that willeth,
nor of Him that runneth, but God that would have mercy. You
see, His will, the will of the Father, can you change the Father's
will? No, we pray, Father, Thy will
be done. We bow to His will. The will
of the Father is absolute. His purpose will be done. The
will of the Son is absolute. No one can change His will, change
His purpose, change His salvation. And the will of the Holy Spirit,
It will be done. His will will be accomplished.
One in will. Absolute. So salvation is not
according to our will, is it? According to His will. One in
perfection. One in perfection of knowledge. God knows everything. He knows our thoughts afar off. He knows our heart. He knows
our ups and downs. Psalm 39. He knows everything
known unto God and all of His works from the beginning. One
in equality of power. The Father, the Son, the Holy
Spirit. One in equality of power. All
with absolute authority. Absolute power over all things. Equality of power. all power. He does according to His will
in the army of heaven among the heavens of this earth and none
can stay His hand or none can say unto Him, Lord God Almighty
what doest thou? I and my Father are one. Our great God and Savior who
died for our sin, God bought the church with His own blood.
Our God and our Savior is immutable Jesus Christ is the same yesterday
and forever. He does not change. Aren't you
glad He doesn't change? He's loved us with an everlasting
love. His love never changes. He's immutable in His character,
immutable in His love toward us, immutable in His salvation.
He's the same yesterday, today, forever. Our great God and Savior
is not only immutable, He's immense. He's not in the universe. The
universe is in Him. It's in Him. He's immense. God is big. He's big. He encompasses all things. God
inhabits, the Scripture says, God inhabits eternity from everlasting
to everlasting. Thou art God. I am the Father,
one, eternal, incomprehensible, infinite, past finding out. He's
most holy, most wise. He's a wise God our Savior, most
free, most absolute, working all things after the counsel
of His own will. I and my Father are one. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
absolute God, God our Savior. As such, He's sovereign over
all things. Turn to Psalm 115. Psalm 115. What's true of the Father is
true of the Son, true of the Holy Spirit. They're one in essence,
a purpose, eternal, glorious. Psalm 115, verse 1. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name. Give glory for
thy mercy, for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens.
and he hath done whatsoever he pleases." Sovereign in creation. Sovereign in salvation. Sovereign
in revelation. Turn over to Psalm 135. I and
my Father, we are one. You see, we have a great God
and Savior in the Lord Jesus. Psalm 135. Psalm 135 verse 4, For the Lord
hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
For I know that the Lord is great, that our God, that our Lord is
above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord please, that
did he in heaven. in earth and the seas and all
deep places he controls all things of him and through him and to
him Romans chapter 11 of him and through him and to him are
all things to whom be glory forever and ever and then you know what
it says it says amen you see our Lord is teaching here his
deity Can a person call himself a believer of the gospel and
deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ? No, that's impossible. And the consequences of not believing
that, our Lord said, if you believe not that I am, if you believe
not that I am, What's the rest of that verse? You'll die in
your sin if you believe not that Christ is God. God Almighty. I and my Father are one. Now
turn to John 14. I and Father are one. One. One in nature. One in principle.
One in essence. One in being. In John chapter 14, Thomas said,
verse 5, Thomas said unto the Lord, We know not whether thou
goest, how can we know the way? And the Lord said unto him, I
am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes unto the Father,
but by me, he's a designated mediator, intercessor, advocate. If you had known me, you should
have known my Father. Also, from henceforth, you know
him and have seen him." You've seen him, Thomas. Thomas, you've
seen him. Philip said unto him, Lord, show
us the Father, and we'll be satisfied. Reveal the Father unto us, and
we'll be satisfied. And the Lord said to him, Have
I been so long time with you? You've been with him three years.
And yet thou hast not known me, Philip, he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father. How sayest thou, Show us the
Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The word that I speak,
I speak not of myself, but the Father which dwelleth in me.
He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me. Or else believe me for the very
work's sake that I do. Who but God can command the wind
and sea? Who but God can command the dead
to live? Who but God can give sight to
those who are blind? Who but God can tell the crippled
man, as we studied in John chapter 5, to take up your bed and walk?
Can a mere man do those things? You see, our hope of salvation
is that the Lord Jesus Christ is not some mere man. He's God
Almighty. Turn back to John 17. My father
we are one John 17 like a verse 11 and Now I'm no more in the
world, but these are in the world. I come to thee Holy Father Keep
to thine own name, though thou hast given me, that they may
be one, as we are one, I and Father are one. Look at verse
22. And the glory which thou gavest
me, I've given them, that they may be one, as we are one. You see, the glory of God shines
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now turn back to the
text, John 10. Our Lord declares that He gives
eternal life to whom He will. He declares that He puts down,
that He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He declares that
He loves His people. He gives them all salvation.
They shall never perish. And He says so as God Almighty,
as His command, His decree, they shall never perish. Now don't
you rejoice in that? Don't you give thanks that God
purposed our salvation, He accomplished our salvation, and He gives us
salvation, and we can't ever be separated from Him. That's
the good news of the gospel. We have a Savior who saves, a
Redeemer who redeems, a Lord who accomplished all righteousness
for us. Gives us comfort, doesn't it?
My salvation completely rests upon Christ my charity, Christ
my substitute. Then, look at verse 10, John
chapter 10, verse 31. Then, they didn't think this
was good news. Then the Jews took up stones
again, again to stone him. as they did before. Turn back
to John chapter 8. John chapter 8. One thing we must say about these
Jews, they're consistent in their total sinful behavior, aren't
they? They consistently hate the Lord Jesus Christ. They consistently
reject the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you
why. The carnal mind is enmity against God. In John chapter
8, the Lord declared again His deity. Your father Abraham, verse
56 of John 8. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. John 8, 56. He saw it and was
glad. And they said unto him, the same
crowd now, Thou art not yet fifty years old. Abraham been dead
thousands of years. How can you say that Abraham
saw you? Has thou seen Abraham? Verse
58. And the Lord said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am the
eternal everlasting God. Well, that's good news. Look
at verse 59 now, John 8. Same response. Then took they
up stone to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out
to the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by." Again, he proved his deity. Like in Luke chapter 4, when
he declared his sovereignty and salvation, Elijah had mercy upon
God through Elijah. The prophet had mercy on one
Gentile widow woman during that three and a half year famine,
drought. Elisha, God's prophet, passed
by all the lepers in Israel and God sent one Gentile army soldier,
Nahum, and God had mercy on him. He healed him completely. God
will have mercy on whom He will. He's God. He's God. He'll choose whom He
will. He's Almighty. You remember what
they did there? In Nazareth, his hometown, in
his home synagogue, his home church, when he was through preaching
his first sermon, they rudely escorted him to the
brow of the hill, the cliff of the hill there in Nazareth, wherever
that was, and proceeded to throw him over the hill. They were
filled with, what does that scripture say? They were filled with wrath
and anger. That's not fair. God saving a Gentile? A vile
sinner? Passing by us good Jewish people? You see, God will have mercy
on whom He will. One thing we must say about these folks, as
I said a moment ago, they're consistent in their awful, sinful,
depraved action and behavior. They're consistently evil, aren't
they? They consistently reject the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see, in the flesh no man can please God. Now here's
the point. Don't be surprised. Now don't
be surprised now. When you declare the gospel of
God's sovereign grace, that the Lord Jesus Christ is absolute
God, that He'll have mercy on whom He will, that the Lord Jesus
Christ died for the sin of His covenant people, not for all
men everywhere without exception. He died for His covenant people.
The Holy Spirit will call on quick and whom He will. Don't
be surprised when your friend and your family, when they first
hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from God breaking
their heart and breaking their will, if their first reaction
is one of rebellion against God. It's to be expected. It's to
be expected. Turn to John chapter 15. John chapter 15. Scripture says
they hated him without a cause. They shouldn't have hated him,
but because the carnal mind is enmity against God. Look at John
15. Verse 18, if the world hate you,
John 15, 18, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love his own, but
because you're not of this world, I've chosen you out of this world,
therefore, the world of unbelievers, they hate you. Remember the word
that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they kept my
sayings, they will keep your sayings. But all these sayings
will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know
not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken
unto them, they had not sinned. But now they know covering for
their sin. He's saying, I told them the
truth. Look at verse 23 of John 15. Now look at this closely. John
15, 23. He that hateth me, he that hateth
me hates my father also. He that hateth me hates my father
also. Blessed are you if you're not
offended with the gospel of the gospel of God's grace. Blessed
are you if you're not ashamed of the blessed truths of the
gospel. And you can say with the Apostle Paul, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ for it's the power of God and the salvation.
Our Lord said in Matthew 11, blessed is he whosoever shall
not be offended in me and of me. The Jews took up stones again
to stone him. Now I'm going to end right there
and we'll pick up next week with verse 32. And they said, well
many good works have our Lord said rather unto them, many good
works have I showed you from my father, for which of these
do you stone me? And they said, For a good work,
we don't have any problem with good works. That's not the problem. But for blasphemy, that's evil
speaking because that you being a man, you just being a man,
that's all they saw in him, a man, despised and rejected of men.
They looked at him and there was no beauty in him that they
would desire him. You're a man! And you make yourself God. You
make yourself God. You make yourself God. No, he
declared himself to be God. He is the God-man mediator.