What Christ Came to Do

Q: What does the Bible say about what Christ came to do?

Christ came to glorify God, finish His work of redemption, and manifest the Father's character. According to John 17, Christ's primary mission was to glorify God on earth by fulfilling the work given to Him by the Father. He declares, 'I have glorified Thee on the earth' (John 17:4), indicating that His life and actions were meant to reflect God's glory. In fulfilling His mission, Jesus also manifests God's name and attributes, revealing the Father to those whom the Father had given Him (John 17:6). Ultimately, He came to save sinners, as highlighted throughout the New Testament, notably in the declaration that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Q: How do we know that Christ's work of salvation is finished?

Christ confirmed the completion of His redemptive work with His declaration 'It is finished' on the cross. In John 17:4, Jesus states, 'I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.' This assertion is crucial in understanding that Christ's work of salvation is complete and perfect. When He cried 'It is finished' on the cross (John 19:30), He sealed the fulfillment of the law and the prophecies concerning redemption. This completion means that there are no further payments or actions needed on our part for salvation; Christ's sacrifice is sufficient and perfectly accomplished, satisfying God's justice and providing righteousness for believers.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand Christ's role as mediator?

Understanding Christ as our mediator emphasizes the sufficiency of His intercession and advocacy before God. In John 17:12, Jesus mentions, 'I kept them.' This statement highlights His role as our mediator, affirming that He protects and keeps His people. Furthermore, Romans 8:34 states, '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.' This function is vital because it reassures believers of His ongoing spiritual support and advocacy before the Father. As the one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), Christ ensures that our relationship with God remains secure, showing that salvation is not only about our initial belief but also about His continuous intercession on our behalf.

Now, I'm going to be speaking
to you today from the book of John chapter 17. I would just like it very much
if you would find your Bible. Maybe you have one there close
by the television. Go into the other room, find
one. But I'd like very much for you to follow along as I read
some of the Scripture from John chapter 17. I'm going to use
several verses in this message. Here's the title of the message.
what Christ came to do. What did He come to do? Jesus
Christ came into this world, and He did something. Now, what
did He come to do? Now, I'm going to be using John
17, and while you're finding the passage, let me make some
introductory comments. First of all, back in the preceding
chapter, just a few moments before, He prayed this prayer in John
17, just a few moments before. In John 16, verse 28, our Lord
speaking to His disciples, and He said this to His disciples. He said, I came forth from the
Father. I came forth from the Father.
Now, you can't say that, and I can't either. We didn't exist
before we were born. When we were conceived in our
mother's womb, that was the beginning. When we were born and came into
this world, that was it. But Jesus Christ said, I'm here
on this earth, and I came from somewhere. I came from the Father. You see, He's declaring His deity
here. I and my Father are one. I can't
explain the Trinity. You can't. Nobody else can. But
Father, Son, Holy Spirit. When God created man, He said,
Let us make man. When He talked to Isaiah, He
said, Whom shall I I sin, who will go for us? And when our
Lord was baptized, the Father spake from heaven, said, This
is my beloved Son, sent the Holy Spirit. John said there are three
that bear record in heaven, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. So
I can't explain the Trinity. I just know that Jesus Christ
is God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And here He says, I came forth
from my Father. And He declares His preexistence.
He said in John 17, glorify me with the glory which I had with
thee before the world was. Before Abraham was, I am. Jesus Christ has always been. And then he declares his covenant
character. He said, I came forth from the
Father. I came forth. I came, I was sent. I came on a mission. You see,
the whole Old Testament, the entire Old Testament, Genesis
to Malachi, is full of promises, promises and prophecies and pictures
of a coming Messiah, of a coming Redeemer, of a coming One called
the Christ. It's all the way through the
Old Testament. In Deuteronomy, Moses said, the Lord said, I'll
raise up from the midst of you a prophet like unto Moses, him
you shall hear." And then he said, I'll raise up a king, a
son of David. And he said, I'll raise up a
priest like Aaron, or after the order of Melchizedek. And Isaiah
7, 14 says, Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth
a son, and you'll call his name Emmanuel, God with us. And Jeremiah
23 says, I'll raise up a king, a branch, and he'll execute justice
and judgment in the earth, and his name shall be called the
Lord our righteousness. So Jesus Christ is saying to
the disciples here, I'm He. I came forth from the Father
in the fulfillment of every promise, every prophecy, every picture. Christ is that rock. Christ is
that bread from heaven. Christ is that serpent lifted
up. All right, notice the next thing he said in this same verse
now. He said, I came forth from the Father and I'm come into
the world. I am come into the world. He's
here in the world. He was in the world. Think about
this now. He was in the world and the world
was made by him. Isn't that something? That's
hard to comprehend. It's a mystery. That's what Paul
said to Timothy. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
How could God make something and be in it? And yet He did. How could God make? He said He
was in this world and the world was made by Him. And the world
didn't even know Him. But He said, I'm coming to the
world. John 1 says, In the beginning was the Son of God, the Word,
and He was with God, and He was God. And all things were made
by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. And that Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father." God was in Christ. I came forth from the Father,
and I came into this world. Now watch this next line. I now
leave the world and go back to the Father." Now, actually, there's no way
the Lord Jesus can leave anywhere. He's omnipresent. That means
all-present, present everywhere. David said, "...whither shall
I flee from thy presence? If I take, if I ascend into heaven,
thou art there. If I make my bed in the grave,
thou art there." If I take the wings of the morning and dwell
in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall
hold me. The night shall be light about
me. Christ said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Lo, I'm with you always. So what does he mean here? I
leave the world. He said, I came from the Father.
I came into the world. I now leave the world. He speaks
here. What I've been telling you, as
the Christ, He speaks as the second Adam. He speaks as a representative
man. Jesus Christ came into the world
as the representative of His people. He came flesh of our
flesh, bone of our bone, tempted in all points as we are, made
of a woman, made under the law, circumcised under the Levitical
law, He lived as a carpenter. He worked. He sweated. He toiled.
He wept. He knew pain, thirst, hunger. Man of sours, acquainted with
grief, all of these things. He was in this world. And as
that representative, the second Adam, the first Adam is of the
earth, earthy. That's the name Adam means, red
earth, taken from the earth. That's the first Adam of the
earth, earth. Second Adam's the Lord from heaven.
I came from the Father. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we're going to bear the image of the second
Adam, the heavenly. And by one man's sin, Adam's
sin, many were made sinners. By the obedience of the second
man were many made righteous. And the Scripture says there's
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So
you see, he said, I came from the Father. I came into this
world. Now I go back. But my point today is this. The
Son of God came from the Father. He came into the world. He left
the world and went back to the Father where He entered as our
forerunner within the veil and is seated as our mediator. Why
did He come? What did He do on this earth?
What was He doing here? I hear preachers say, well, he'll
solve your financial problems, he'll solve your marriage problems,
he'll take you off drugs, he'll solve the alcoholic problem,
he'll buy you, he'll get you another job. Is that why he came
into the world? Is that his office work? Something
so, of such pittance and smallness and all temporary to perish with
the using thereof? Why did he come? What did he
do? Well, let's look at John 17 and let Him tell us what He
came to do. In verse 1, John 17, you have
it? It'll be worth your while to read it. Now, these words
speak Jesus. That's talking about the preceding
words, some of which I just quoted, John 13, 14, 15, 16. These words speak Jesus to His
disciples. And then He lifted His eyes to
heaven. And He said, Father, now here the Lord Jesus Christ,
the second person of the Blessed Trinity, our Redeemer, is talking
to the Father. And He says, Father, glorify
Thy Son that Thy Son may glorify Thee. He's facing a terrible,
terrible, agonizing death. He's facing a monumental battle,
bearing sin and shame and death, and He's asking for strength.
Glorify Me. strengthen me, give me power,
help me to glorify you." That's what he's praying. Now, glorify
me in death that I may glorify thee. And then he said this in
verse 2, Thou hast given him, your son, power, authority over
all flesh. Jesus Christ is not the weak-kneed,
pitiful, impotent, feminine character that he is He's made out to be
by most preachers. Jesus Christ is King of kings
and Lord of lords. He's the mighty king and the
conqueror and the great warrior and the victorious Lord who has
all authority over all flesh and in heaven and earth. He said,
listen, thou hast given me power over all flesh that I should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. In verse 3, he says this, And
this is eternal life. This is eternal life. That they
might know Thee, the only true God. To know God, that's eternal
life. Not to adopt a form of worship
or a form of religion or a creed or a catechism. It's to know
God in the heart and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Now then,
he tells us what he came to do in the next verses. He tells
us, this is mighty. This is the Son, the Redeemer,
the Messiah talking to the Heavenly Father. And He says in verse
4, here's what I've done. Here's what I've done. I've glorified
Thee on the earth. I have, Father, I have glorified
Thee on this earth. That's what Christ is saying.
The Lord Jesus is God. And as God, He has all glory.
He said, Glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. But here he speaks as the man,
Christ Jesus. And he said, As a man, I have
glorified you on this earth. That's the work God gave him
to do. He sent forth from the Father and came to this earth.
And one of the things he came to do was to obey God, to fulfill
a righteousness. He was manifested that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. And he speaks here
as a man in human flesh. He glorified God on this earth. What is it to glorify God on
the earth? No man's ever done it except
Christ. To glorify God on the earth is
to love Him perfectly, to obey Him perfectly, to live in perfect
submission to His purpose and His will. And this only Christ
did. Oh, it's required of all men.
It's required of all men, but no man's ever done it. But Jesus
Christ as a man, representing the people that God had given
Him, knew no sin, did no sin, had no sin. And He's the only
person of whom the Father ever said, I'm well pleased. I've glorified you on the earth.
That's what he came to do. Secondly, look at verse four. I have finished the work you
gave me to do. What's this work that he came
to do? He says he finished it. He didn't
make a down payment. He didn't make an installment
payment. He didn't set it up so you could wind it up. He finished
it. That's what he cried when he
died. It's finished. It's finished. I finished the
work you gave me to do." Well, let's see if we can find out
what that work is. Well, the angel who announced his birth
described his work. The angel said to Joseph, call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
That's his work. John the Baptist identified his
work. He said, behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world. That's his work. Paul identified
his work. He said in I Timothy 1, this
is a faithful saying and worthy of acceptation by all people,
Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. Our Lord said, I've come to seek
and to save the lost. That's what I came to do. I'm
come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
John said, the Son of God was manifested to take away our sins. That's what he came to do. He
didn't come down here just to set an example. He didn't come
down here as a great reformer to try to straighten the world
out. He appeared, Paul said, to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Peter said he died, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That's why he
came. That's his work. He who knew
no sin was made sin for us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. That's what He came to do. And
so when He came to this earth and lived here 33 1â�„2 or 34 years
and died on that cross and buried and rose again, He said, I've
finished the work you gave Me to do. I finished it. Now, don't listen to some preacher
tell you God's done all He can do now it's up to you. That's
foolishness. Christ finished finished the
work. All right, thirdly, look at verse
6. He says, I have manifested thy name. Now, he's talking about
what he's done. He's talking to the Father. I've glorified you on this earth.
That's what I came to do. I finished the work you gave
me to do. And I have manifested your name, the name of God, unto
the men which you gave me out of this world. What is it to
manifest something? Manifest. He said, I've manifested
your name. Well, it's to reveal it. Make
it manifest. Reveal it. It's to make it clear. It's to make it plain. It's to
show what it is. And Christ said, I've done it.
Nobody else could do it. No man knows the Father but the
Son. He to whom the Son will reveal Him. No man has seen God
at any time. The Son hath declared Him. God's
name is His attributes. God's name is His character. God's name is His glory. God's
name is who God is. And Christ said, I've manifested,
I've made it clear, plain. I've revealed who God is. I have declared unto them Thy
name. And listen, He says in verse 26, and I will declare
it. I have declared Your name and
I will declare it. That's the reason You can't go
to church and find out who God is. You have to go to Christ
or to a church where Christ is preached. You see, the name of God, you
ever looked at the name of God in the Old Testament? The New
Testament is the Old Testament revealed. And in the Old Testament,
God has a sevenfold name. Let me show you. Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord will provide. That's what Abraham said to Isaac.
The Lord will provide. He'll say to it, Christ is that
lamb provided. Jehovah-Rapha, I'm the Lord that
healeth thee. He healeth our sicknesses and
our diseases. That's spiritually, mainly. Jehovah-Neesa, he's our
banner. He reigns over us. Jehovah-Shalom,
peace. Christ is our peace. He made
peace by the blood of His cross. Jehovah-Raya, the Lord's my shepherd. Jehovah-Sidkenu, the Lord our
righteousness. Jehovah-Shamma, the Lord be with
you. That's all revealed in Christ.
I've manifested Your name. Show us the Father. And Christ
said, He that has seen Me has seen the Father. Now verse 8. Now listen to this. What our
Lord came to do. He said in verse 8, I have given them thy words,
the words you gave me, and they have received them. I have given
them thy word. My friends, God's Word is the
doctrine of God. God's Word is the testimony of
God. God's Word is the gospel of God. God's Word is the Word of Truth.
Now tell me, who can reveal God's Word better than the one who
himself is called the Word of God? In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God. See, the
Word spoken, and here's what most folks miss. They talk about
the good book and the Bible and the so forth and so on. Let me
tell you something. The Word written, And the Word
spoken and the Word incarnate cannot be separated. Christ is
the Word of God. And when He said, now listen
to this, He said, I have given them thy Word. I have given them
thy Word. He meant more than just preaching
it to them. Most people make fun of preaching, and most preaching
ought to be made fun of. But our Lord preached the Word
to a lot of folks who never heard it. who never believed it, who
never received it. I've preached the Word to a lot
of people who've never heard it, never believed it, never
received it. But when he says here, our Lord
says, I have given them your Word. Meaning by that, I've given
them ears to hear it. Oh, how blessed is the person
who has ears to hear the Word of God. How I've given them eyes
to see it. You know that a lot of people
can sit right while a man's preaching the gospel and pay no attention
to him and not listen to him. And you know why? They don't
have ears to hear, eyes to see, nor a heart to understand. God's
never given them spiritual interest or inclination. That's right. And when he says here, I have
given them your word, he says, I have given them ears to hear
it, and eyes to see the beauty and glory of your promises, and
a heart to rejoice. Pity the person who has no ear
to hear, and no eye to see, and no heart to rejoice. I've given
them thy word." Anybody can quote Bible. You say, I can quote John
3, 16. I can quote Psalm 23. I can quote Psalm 100. Anybody
can quote the Bible. It's another matter to believe
it, to receive it, to experience it, to walk in it. And that's
what Paul said about the Thessalonians. He said, I know you are the elect
of God because our gospel didn't come to you in word only. It
came in power, power and much assurance in the Holy Ghost. Whoo, whole new ballgame there. And that's something your mama
can't do for you and your daddy can't do for you, that only Christ
can do. I've given them your way. And it's more than a rabbit's
foot, and it's more than a four-leaf clover, and it's more than a
good luck charm, and it's more than something to fall back on
at a funeral. It's the life of God in the soul. Now watch verse 9. What did he
come to do? I pray for them. Verse 9, I pray
for them. I pray not for this world. I
pray for them which thou hast given me, thine they were, and
thou gavest to me." I pray, Father. You notice our Lord said in these
preceding verses, He said, I have glorified thee. I have finished
the work. I have manifested your name.
I have given them the word. But when He came to praying for
them, He didn't say, I have prayed for them. You know why? Because He never quits praying
for us. I have prayed for them, I am praying for them, and I
shall pray for them." So he just says, I pray for them. You see,
that's what Romans 8, 34 tells us. Christ died, is risen again,
who is at the right hand of God, who ever liveth to make intercession
for us. And in Hebrews 7, 25, he says
this, he's able to save to the uttermost them that come to God
by him, seeing he ever liveth. to make intercession. I John
2, 1, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous. He prays for us. My, my. Look at verse 12. And while I was with them in
the world, I kept them. I kept them. Those that thou
gavest me, I have kept. None of them's lost except Judas. son of perdition from the beginning,
but I've kept them." You see, my friends, this salvation of
Christ, this salvation which He purposed, which He purchased,
which He wrote out with the sacrifice of Himself is an eternal salvation. Whom He foreknew, He predestinated
to be conformed to the image of His Son. Whom He predestinated,
He called. Whom He called, He justified.
Whom He justified, He glorified. He that hath begun a good work
in you shall finish it." We're not talking about a temporary
salvation. We're not talking about joining the church and
leaving next month. We're not talking about coming
to Christ and leaving next year. He said, My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life.
And no man's able to pluck them out of My hand. My Father gave
them to Me, and no man's able to pluck them out of My Father's
hand. I and My Father are one. Now
unto Him that's able to keep you from falling and to present
you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy
to the only wise God our Savior be glory and dominion and power
both now and forever." I kept them. I kept them. The power of the blood of Christ
keeps His people. Intercession of Christ keeps
His people, and none of them is lost. None of them. All that
my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I'll in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven not to
do my will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the
will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me
I'll lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day." Plenty
of room in heaven, but no vacancies. Plenty of room. There's room
for you, but there's no vacancy. Every place card has a name on
it. None will be lost. There won't
be a one missing. And then in verse 18, he says, As you sent
me into the world, I sent them into the world. You see, our
Lord Jesus didn't take this office upon Himself. It was given Him
by the Father. And those who preach the gospel
of God's grace and the power of God's Spirit, they don't take
that office. Paul said, God put me in the
ministry. We preach the gospel. He sent
us. And then the last thing, he said,
and the glory which thou gavest me, that unspeakable, immutable,
infinite, eternal glory, I have given them. I have two messages. What is it to confess Christ
and what did Christ come to do? Send two dollars and we'll mail
you this tape, this tape with two messages. Here's the address.
Till next week, God bless you.

What Christ Came to Do

What does the Bible say about what Christ came to do?

How do we know that Christ's work of salvation is finished?

Why is it important for Christians to understand Christ's role as mediator?

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What Christ Came to Do

What does the Bible say about what Christ came to do?

How do we know that Christ's work of salvation is finished?

Why is it important for Christians to understand Christ's role as mediator?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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