The Person and Work of Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about the person and work of Christ?

The Bible reveals that Christ is the mediator and Son of God who purged our sins and was glorified by the Father. The person and work of Christ are central themes in Scripture, particularly emphasized in John 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples and speaks of His mission. He identifies Himself as the Son of God who has come to reveal the Father and to provide eternal life to those given to Him by the Father. The work of Christ includes purging our sins and completing the redemptive plan ordained from the foundation of the world, as reiterated in Hebrews 1. In His role as mediator, Christ intercedes for His people, demonstrating His authority over all creation as the rightful heir and King.

Q: How do we know Jesus Christ is the mediator?

We know Jesus is the mediator because He prays for His people and intercedes for them before the Father. Jesus Christ's identity as the mediator is illustrated clearly in His high priestly prayer in John 17, where He specifically states that He does not pray for the world but for those whom the Father has given Him. This emphasizes His unique position as intercessor and advocate. As our mediator, He fulfills the divine will by representing His people before God, ensuring their eternal life and sanctification. His authority as the mediator is rooted in His obedience and finished work, which allows Him to effectively plead the cause of His people before the Father.

Q: Why is eternal life important for Christians?

Eternal life is crucial for Christians as it is defined as knowing God and is rooted in the salvation accomplished by Christ. Eternal life holds significant importance in Christian faith as it is not merely about duration but quality of life—specifically, the relationship with God through Christ. John 17:3 states, 'This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.' This highlights that eternal life is defined by intimate knowledge and communion with God, initiated by His choice to reveal Himself to His people. The assurance of eternal life stems from Christ's redemptive work, ensuring that believers are saved and united with Him forever.

Q: Why does Jesus pray for His disciples?

Jesus prays for His disciples to maintain their faith, protect them from evil, and help them be one as He and the Father are one. In John 17, Jesus offers a profound prayer for His disciples, appealing to the Father to keep them in His name and to protect them from the evil one. This prayer reflects His deep concern for their spiritual well-being amidst a hostile world. He seeks their unity, aiming that they may be one as He and the Father are one, emphasizing the significance of community and shared faith among believers. Jesus's intercessory prayer underscores His role as our mediator who actively engages in the spiritual protection and growth of His followers.

I came from the Father, the Father,
into this world, and I'm going back to him. Paul, I noticed
this in Hebrews 1, I noticed Paul, if Paul's a writer of Hebrews,
I think he is, but he begins this book of Hebrews when he's
saying three, not identical statements, but he infers these three things. Hebrews 1 verse 1, this God,
who at sundry times and in different manners spake in time past unto
the fathers, but the prophets hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the world, who being the brightness of his
glory, and express image of his person, upholding all things
by the word of his power, when he by himself purged our sins,
sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high." The Father
would speak to us, and he said his son. And his son purged our
sins and went back and sat down at the right hand of God. But the best commentary, I believe,
on the person and work of Christ in its greatness and fullness
and beauty. He's John 17. I want you to turn
there to John 17. Who he is, what he did, where
he is. John chapter 17. And let's look
at it for a little while. Now it says that these words
spake Jesus. Now, the apostle here is not
referring to the words he's about to speak, but the words he's
already spoken. I told you about that this morning,
chapter 13, 14, 15, and 16. He's speaking to his disciples,
comforting them, instructing them, giving them certain promises. He's speaking, and these words
spoke Jesus. And then, he lifted up his eyes
to heaven. Now, God is everywhere. A person
doesn't have to look up to pray, or look out to pray, or look
down to pray, because God is everywhere. And
yet, our Lord, when he taught us to pray, he said, Our Father,
say, Our Father which art in heaven, because in heaven his greater
glory is manifested. heaven is his abode. And our Lord lifted up his eyes
to heaven, and he said, Father, the hour is come. Oh, how often he referred to
this hour. From the very beginning of his
ministry, when he began to preach at the wedding feast in Cana
of Galilee, Mary came and said they're out of wine. That's the
first time he said woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine
hour is not yet come." And then he said to the disciples, for
this cause came after this hour. And then he cried, Holy Father,
the hour is come. The hour is come. This is the
hour designated, ordained, appointed by the Heavenly Father from The
very beginning, as John referred to, our Lord's death, the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ,
and I know there's not a doubt in your mind about this, but
I'll just rehearse it briefly. He chose his mother, the woman
from which he would be born. He chose the place he would be
born, out of Bethlehem, root of Jesse, tribe of Judah, house
of David. He chose the hour when he would
be born. God marked the place with a star. He chose the day he would die,
the hour he would die, the means by which he would die, the people
for whom he would die. This is all ordained of God. And when our Lord lifted his
eyes to heaven, he said, the hour is come. The hour portrayed
by Abel's sacrifice, by the Passover. by every temple sacrifice. This
is the hour. This is the hour. Now, he said, watch this, glorify
thy son. Now, as God, he needed no added
glory. There's no reason for God to
pray for glory. All glory is his. But he's not praying here, and
it's hard to say these things, but he's praying as our mediator. He's praying as man. He's praying
as our representative. He's praying as the Son. You see that? So he's saying
here, Father, as man, as mediator, I pray to be upheld. I pray to be sustained. I pray to be supported. As I glorify your virtues and
your attributes, I pray for your power." The Lord Jesus Christ
is a man. I don't know exactly how to explain
that. I know he's perfect God, and as God, he needs no added
glory. He can have no added glory. All
glory is his. But he came into this world and
took on himself to redeem his people, our flesh and blood, and human nature. And in this
character and in this office, he has to have the sustaining
power and health of the Spirit of God and of his Father. And
that's what he's praying. Now, in all of this, glorify
thy son, that thy son may glorify thee. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only man who ever effectually, perfectly glorified God. And I'm praying here, he's praying
as the mediator, as the redeemer, as the representative of his
people, as our surety. Now Father, uphold me, sustain
me, support me, help me in this work. that in all of it I may
glorify your name, your virtue, your attributes, your righteousness,
your holiness, and your justice, that in all things you may be
glorified. Verse 2, As thou hast given him,
this Son of man, this Son of God, this Mediator, thou hast
given him, me, power over all flesh, authority over all flesh,
I told my Sunday school class this morning that this world
and universe and everything in it belongs to Jesus Christ. It's
his first of all by creation. He made it. It's his by creation. Secondly, it's his by decree. The Father has given all things
into the hands of the Son. It's his by divine decree. God
hath made this same Jesus whom you crucified Lord, Lord and
Christ. Thirdly, it's his by purchase. He died that he may be Lord of
the dead and the living. And it's his by administration. It says, by him all things consist. Now, all men belong to Christ. If they're sheep, they're his
sheep. If they're goats, they're his goats. If they're sons, they're
his sons, but if they're servants, they're his servants. If they're vessels of wrath,
they're his vessels of wrath. If they're vessels of mercy,
they're his vessels of mercy, but they're his. That's why thou
hast given me authority over all flesh. Now, I know that's
not the character in which the Lord Jesus Christ is preached
from the Abba's pulpit today. But that's what he says here
in this priestly prayer. He told his disciples when he
sent them out, he said, all authority is given unto me in heaven and
earth. You go preach the gospel. All
authority. And our Lord says, I have all
power over all flesh. There's not anybody anywhere,
any son of Adam that's not under the dominion and the power of
Jesus Christ. He belongs to Christ. In all
of that, now watch this, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. The way he can give eternal life
to his sheep if he's not in control of all flesh. And he uses this
statement, as many as thou hast given him, six times in this
part. You might want to look at it,
underscore it. Verse 2 says, that he may give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. He says in verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me. In verse 9 he says,
I pray for them, I pray not for the world, I pray for them which
thou hast given me. In verse 11 he says, Now I am no more in this world,
but these are in the world. I come to thee, holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me." In
verse 12 he says, while I was with them in the world, I kept
them in thy name, those that thou gavest me I kept. In verse
24 he says, Father, I will, this is my will, that they also whom
thou hast given me be with me where I am. Well, here are six
times the King, the Lord, the Supreme, Son of God talks about
those that the Father hath given him. He said in John 6, 37, All
that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will 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 my Father's will. which hath sent me, but all which
he hath given me, those whom thou hast given me. I have all
authority over all flesh." I don't know what the problem is
with the pulpit, with preachers, with religious people. I don't
know what the problem is when they read verses like this, and
this is holy ground, this is sacred territory, this is the
Son of God identifying himself, this is his person. This is his
work, this is Christ. He's not who I think he is, he's
who he says he is. He's not who the tradition declares,
handed down, that I thought, never mind what you thought,
this is what he said. I have all authority over all
flesh. Nothing changes that, that I
should give eternal life as many as God's given me, and this is
life eternal. This is life. Eternal life is
not reformation. Eternal life is not religion.
Eternal life is not having an experience of accepting a doctrinal
creed or joining a church and we say, well, I'm saved. Who says so? Well, I'm going
to heaven when I die. Who said so? You? I can say anything I want to.
I can say I'm a millionaire if they don't make me one. I can say that I'm 29 years old,
but I'm not. I can say that I can reach up
and pull the moon down, but I can't. Say what you want to. And all
these folks are laying claims to eternal life and claiming
they're going to heaven, you know, everybody. But our Lord
said, this is life eternal. You see, we're not talking about
just how long a man's going to live. Eternal life is the quality
of it, the nature of it. Eternal life is spiritual life.
Eternal life is the life of God. Eternal life is the new life. Eternal life is to know God. This is eternal life. that they may be the only true
God. That's eternal life. It's divine
life. It's spiritual life. It's to
know God in Christ. Paul says something real interesting
over here in Galatians. Turn over there a minute. This
is real interesting right here. Real interesting. Our Lord, Jesus
Christ. Now this is life eternal. It's
to know God. It's to know the only true God,
not a God, some God, to know Him. Not to know He is a God,
not to know about Him, but to know it. But now watch Galatians
4 verse 9. But now, after that you have
known God, or rather, or rather, are known of God. Oh, oh, Oh, that's different. You don't know God because you
decided anything. You know God because you are
known of God. You know, nobody knows God because
he decided to know God. He, also, now that you know God,
or rather, are known of God. And this I tell you, if you know
the God, God painstakingly, on purpose, through Christ, reveals
himself to you, that's eternal life. Eternal life is not all these
religious fellows stomping up and down entertaining people,
waving Bibles and talking about religion and heaven and hell
and blood and all these things. Eternal life is Almighty God. Almighty God from the foundation
of the world. Setting his affection and love
on an object like Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and you. God has chosen the foolish things
of this world. The base things of this world
are things that are despised. He knows them. And he deliberately,
on purpose, through the coming of his son into this world, through
the revelation of Christ, through the words of Christ, through
the work of Christ, through the person of Christ, through the
death of Christ, and through the preserving of the scriptures
and the preaching of the gospel through some faithful pastor
or preacher, he made himself known to you. And he's making himself known
to you, and he will continue to make himself known to you,
until you, and you'll see full glass dimly, and you'll know
him part, and prophesy him part, but one day you'll know as you
have been known. Now I'm on something here. Don't
really want to get off of it, because this is, this eternal
life is to know God, or rather, to be known of God. And if you're
known of God, you're going to eventually know God. Because
He's going to make Himself known. Just like you did Saul of Tarsus.
Saul of Tarsus was 40 years old. Rambled around, fooled around,
played around in tradition and custom and heritage and ancestry
and everything else, thinking he was somebody, making his decisions
and studying his theology Lambasted, everybody didn't agree with him.
One day, God who knew him, let him know him. One day, God who
knew him all the time. Saul! Who are you? Well, you don't know me, but
I know you. And because I know you, you're gonna know me. That's
right. That's eternal life. And this
is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. You can't know God without knowing
Christ. And that's how you know Christ
as he's revealed. Let me ask you to turn to a scripture,
1 John 5. 1 John 5. Listen to this now. 1 John 5. And it's not really important
who he is, it's important things to know him. 1 John 5, now listen,
1 John 5, 20, And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. And this is the true God, and
this is eternal life. Now there's no need for me to
stand up here after the service now and invite you to come down
here and shake my hand or sign a card or go to a room or do
anything else. This is God work. This is spiritual
work. This is God revelation. This
is eternal life. And I don't know that it's right
this moment or that moment or any other moment. I just know,
I know that if you're known of God, you're going to know God.
You're going to know God. And it's not going to be an argumentative
thing, or a traditional thing, or some reason for you to brag
about it over somebody else, or holier than thou, or this
sort of thing, or use it as leverage, or anything else. It's just you're
going to come to know God. Now verse 4, I'm glorified beyond
this earth. He's the only one who could.
He literally loved God with all his heart. You know, we read
this morning in John 15 about, herein is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit. Our Lord glorified God in perfection. He loved him perfectly. He obeyed
him perfectly. He honored him perfectly. He
glorified God's law. He glorified God's justice. He glorified God's will. Father,
I have glorified thee on the earth. And I tell you, there's
not any human being that's ever walked on this earth that can
make that statement but Christ. And what's this? And I have finished
the work you gave me to do. I have no doubt this is kingdom
work. I have no doubt. I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians
15. I'm just certain here is a summary
of what he's talking about. In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24,
Then cometh the end, when he, Christ, shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put
down all rule, all authority, and all power. For he must reign
until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. And the last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death, for he hath put all
things under his feet. But when he says all things are
put under his feet, it is manifested that the Father is accepted which
did put all things under him. Now when all things shall be
subdued under him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all
in all." Our Lord was given a task as a surety, a mediator of the
kingdom, as king of the kingdom. And he says here, in coming down
to this earth, I have finished. Now, we don't see all things
put under him yet. We don't see it yet. We will
when it's done. The work's done. The price is
paid. The ransom has been paid. And
everything's under Christ. We don't see it yet. But we will,
because he says here, I finished what you gave me to do. Totally
finished it. And now, holy Father, O Father,
glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I
had with thee before the world was." Now, two things are here. Now, Father, glorify thou me
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Christ
Jesus is God. Was God with God? To return to
that presence and that glory is his chief delight. Let me
show you that over here in Proverbs 8. Proverbs chapter 8. That's his chief delight. Proverbs
chapter 8. To return to that glory. Glorify
me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Can you imagine before the world was? The glory which was his. Proverbs 8.27. Listen. Now I'm
going somewhere here. When he prepared the heavens,
Proverbs 8, 27, I was there. When he set a compass upon the
face of the depth, I was there. When he established the clouds
above, I was there. When he strengthened the fountains
of the deep, I was there. When he gave to the sea his decree
that the waters should not pass his commandment, I was there.
When he appointed the foundations of the earth, Then I was by him
as one daughter, with him I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him." Now then, here's the second thing. The
Lord Jesus here in this prayer, in this character, is no private
person. He's the second Adam. He's our
great high priest. He is the surety of a people.
He's a mediator over people. And what he is doing, and what
he's accomplished, and what he's praying, is not for himself alone,
but for those people. And he's saying, Father, glorify
me and these with the glory I had with thee before the world was.
That's hard even imagining. That's right. He's the heir,
but we're joint heirs. We're one with Christ. There's one mediator between
God and men, and that's the man, Christ Jesus. That's right. Look down at verse
22. And the glory which thou gavest
me, I've given them. That same glory. That's what
he says. that they may be one as we are.
Verse 23, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one. Verse 24, Father, I will that
they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory, behold it and share in it. Boy, I tell
you, that's staggering to me. In verse 5, now, Father, now,
Now that I've accomplished the work and glorified your name,
glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. And he prays to be returned and
to be received in the glory of his Father in the chariot and
office which he had before. And I'll tell you, he is, and
we're accepted in the beloved. And when he sat down, we're seated
with Christ. You see how this is so much greater
than this religion of today, this decisionism, this easy-believerism. It's a union. It's a vital, living
union with the Son of God. It's not just going to church. It's not just joining up. It's
not just turning over a new leaf. It's not just memorizing some
doctrine. It's not just saying, I believe
on Jesus. It's to be in Christ. eternally impressed by a divine
decision, by a divine decree, by a divine obedience, by a divine
gift, by a divine operation. And that's what makes it so silly
to sit around and argue about one thing. They always say, this
is all junk. In the light of what we're talking
about here, it's all foolishness. Most religion is utter foolishness. And most of them, most listen,
whoop your soul, raise your hand, raise both hands, give Jesus
a big hand. That's all just, it's a commentary
on the times. They don't know God. Verse 6, I have manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. These
men who have known of you, and known of me, and loved of you,
and loved of me, and redeemed. I've manifested your name. I've
redeemed yourself. God's name is God himself. God's
name is his character. God's name is who he is. Each
one of us here tonight has a name. When I mention Mike Belpray,
that name is him. That name is identified and associated
with him. He is that name. That name reveals
the person to whom I'm referring. And you think of all of his attributes,
his character, his personality. And Christ said, I literally,
I literally, to these men whom you've given me, reveal your
name, your character, your attributes. Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will
provide. Jehovah-Wafer, of the Lord that
healeth thee. Jehovah Nisa, our banner. Jehovah
Shalem, our peace. Jehovah Leah, our shepherd. Jehovah
Sidkenu, our righteousness. Jehovah Shema, God is present. I've revealed your name. There are 10,000 denominations
and there's 10,000 gods. But there's one true God. And those people know him. I
have manifested by such thy name to the men which thou gavest
me, not to the whole world, but to them. Thine they were, they
were yours. And you gave them to me. You
put them in my hands. Every time I think of this, I
think of, I think of Judah. You remember Joseph was down
in Egypt, and he kept Simeon. You know the story. And he sent
these other brothers back, ten of them, and told them to go
down to their father's house and get Benjamin and bring him
up there. You know the story. Get Benjamin.
And the father said he's not going. There were nine brothers,
because Joseph, he didn't know, was alive. He said, Joseph's
dead, see me in his night, and now you're going to take Benjamin?
No way. So Judah, and Judah is the king
of the tribe, and Judah is the tribe of Christ. And Judah came
one day to his father, and he, I'm sure he knelt beside the
old man, and he said, now father, you turn Benjamin over to me.
Give him to me. And I'll take him. If I don't
bring him back, you hold me responsible. I'll be surety for it. I'll bring
him back. And that's what old Jacob did.
Turned him over to Judah. And right here, Our Lord said
that same thing. I've manifested your name to
the men which you gave me, verse 6, they were yours and you put
them in my hands. And they have obeyed thy word.
They've received it and they have obeyed it. I've manifested
it to them. Now they have known that all
things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee." Do you know
that? I know that. The Father and the
Son are one, and our confidence is in this. My hope of eternal
life is in this, that all that Christ did, said, is, will do,
is from the Father. And this confidence we must have.
God was in Christ. for I have given them their Savior.
I have given unto them the words you gave me." He speaks as a
mediator, as the Redeemer. And they have received them.
We haven't just received words as words, we have received them
in our hearts, obeyed them, and loved them. And they have known
surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that you
did send me. All right, now verse 9. Now I
understand who he is. He's the God-man. He's the mediator. He's the surety. He's the one
designated by the Father and sent. I understand he came into
this world, and I know why he came into this world, to fulfill
the purpose and will of the Father. He says, I finished the work
you gave me to do. Now you glorify me with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was, and receive me
as a mediator to these people. I know where he is now. He's
finished the work. He's sat down. And understanding
that, I can understand this ninth verse. I plead for them. I pray for them. I intercede
for them. I ask for them. I don't ask for
the world. I don't pray for the world. I
don't plead for the world. I pray for them which thou hast
given me." I'll tell you this, what he asked always must be
done. If he prayed for the world, the
whole world would have been his. Those for whom he prays must
be blessed. He cannot pray contrary to the
will of God. He cannot pray contrary to the
purpose of God. He cannot pray contrary to his
priestly office. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world. I pray for them which thou hast
given me. Now, when I pray, I have to pray for
everybody, because I don't know who they are. You don't either. That's the reason he said for
us to pray for all kinds of men, kings, magistrates, whomever.
You don't know. You say, well, he's not a brother.
I won't pray for him. You don't know that. You don't know that. There's only one whose prayers
are always heard and always answered because he knows all things and
he never prays contrary to the Father's will. I pray for them. And verse 10, all mine are thine
and all thine are mine. And I'm glorified in them. I'm
glorified, I'm made glorious, effectually glorified in their
redemption. Do you know in redeeming us,
Christ glorified himself as well as the Father? I tell you, in
heaven the song's going to be unto him who loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood. He glorified himself. Ephesians
1, three times, says it's all to the praise of the glory of
his grace. I'm glorified in them. All right,
verse 11, I'll move quickly. And there are no more in this
world. But these are. He was no longer in the world
in the flesh. He's in the world, but not in
the flesh. But these are in the world. They're in the world in
an unfriendly, hostile, unbelieving world. And I pray, Holy Father,
that you would keep them through thine own name, those whom thou
hast given me. Keep them. Keep them from the
evil one, as John read. Keep them that they may be one
as we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them. When I was with them, I kept
them. And the only one lost was the son of perdition, that the
Scriptures might be fulfilled. That's Judas. Christ would ascend to the Father
in six weeks from this time, and now come I to thee. And these
things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves." His word is our joy, his promises. Verse 14, I have given them thy
word. As I said before, not just preaching
it to them, but they have received it, and they have believed it,
and they have embraced it, and they love it. Therefore, the
world hates them, because they're not of the world. They're different
from the world, even as I'm not of the world. I pray not that
you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep
them from the evil one. They're not of the world, even
as I'm not of the world. How is Christ not of the world?
He's the Son of God, and we're sons of God. He was of the world. He was down here in this world.
Now watch this. Christ was in this world in the
flesh. They said this is a carpenter.
He earned his living in the flesh. He ate what the other people
ate. He looked like the other people.
He ate what the other people ate. He even went to their weddings
and their feasts. He slept like the other people
slept. His hair grew like other people. His fingernails had to
be trimmed. He had brothers and sisters. Well, how is he not of this world?
He's not of this world in that he's the son of God. And we're
not of this world in that we're the sons of God. He was not of
this world in spirit. He had a holy nature. And we
have a holy nature. He was not of this world in his
attitude. In his attitude, he was not like this world. He was
not of this world in his conduct. His conduct and conversation
was different from this world. He was not of this world in his
walk. He walked with the Father. And
we're not of this world, even as he's not of this world. And
the world hates him, and they'll hate those like him, who love
him. All right, look at verse 17.
And verse 17, verse 19, I want you to look at this. Verse 17,
sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. The picture,
we're already sanctified. You've said so many times, those
who are justified are sanctified. Every believer is a saint. Every
believer is sanctified perfectly and wholly, righteous in Christ
Jesus. That's true. Legally, before
God. We're sanctified. Then he goes
on and says, Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.
All right? Down here in verse 18, As thou
hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into
the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they
also may be sanctified through the truth. All right? Now watch this. We're sanctified,
first of all, by the Father in election. Look at Jude 1. Jude chapter 1. Now this is important. I hope I can make good on this. Jude verse 1. We're sanctified
by the Father. Jude the servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God the
Father. Sanctified. Set apart. Declared
holy. Accepted by God the Father. Well,
that has to be an election, doesn't it? If we're sanctified by God
the Father? Alright. We're sanctified by
the Son. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians
1 verse 2. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 2. Now listen to this. 1 Corinthians
1 verse 2. Unto the church of God which
is at Chora to them who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. The Father elected
us, accepted us. Loved us, received us, the Father.
The Son came and obeyed the law for us and made us holy. Died
on the cross and sanctified us, washed us. And then in 1 Peter
1.2 it says this, 1 Peter 1.2, we are sanctified by the Holy
Spirit. 1 Peter 1-2, elect according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerates us
and sanctifies us. And here the Lord Jesus Christ
is praying that the Father would sanctify us through the truth. And he sanctified himself, now
that's not made himself holy or already holy, but he set himself
apart as our righteousness. and as I sin often and as I justify
that we might be sanctified. You see, Christ's righteousness
makes us holy. Christ's death makes us clean.
But God's truth sanctifies us in that we grow in grace. We
grow in the knowledge of Christ. We grow. Someone said to me after
the service this morning, Bruce, that fruit of the Spirit, I want
to grow in that. I want that to be manifested
more and more in my life. That's what the truth does. That's
what the Word of God does. It sanctifies us. It sanctifies
us. Alright, let me move on. Now
watch verse 20. Neither pray I for these alone,
not for these eleven here that were with him, but I pray for
them also which shall believe on me through their word." That's
you and me. We shall believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ through the words of the Apostles. "...that they
all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me." This oneness This oneness, it really gets on talking about
one. And the glory which thou gavest
me, I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one. I
in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect and one. That the world may know you sent
me, and love them. Not the world, but them. as thou
hast loved me in the same way. Father, I will, that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world. O righteous Father, the world
hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known
that thou hast sent me. They do, and I have declared
unto them thy name, and I will declare it, that the love wherewith
thou hast led me may be in them, and I in them. And in closing,
I want you to turn to Ephesians. This is the oneness he's talking
about. Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians the fourth chapter.
Here is that oneness. Ephesians 4 verse 4-6. There's one body. Ephesians 4
verse 4. Ephesians 4-4. There's one body. There's one spirit. even as you're
called in one hope of your calling. There's one Lord, there's one
faith, there's one baptism, there's one God and Father of all, who's
above all and through all and in you all, and that's eternal
life. Isn't that a tremendous commentary
on the person and work of Christ? All just summed up right there
in John 17. the glorious, sufficient, effectual work of our Redeemer. Do you believe that? Are you
one of those ones that he talks about here, I know God sent him,
I know why he came, I know where he is now, I know what he did,
I know why he did it. Not all now, a whole lot about
just millions of things I don't know, but that which is essential
to the redemption of this soul's soul, I know.

The Person and Work of Christ

What does the Bible say about the person and work of Christ?

How do we know Jesus Christ is the mediator?

Why is eternal life important for Christians?

Why does Jesus pray for His disciples?

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The Person and Work of Christ

What does the Bible say about the person and work of Christ?

How do we know Jesus Christ is the mediator?

Why is eternal life important for Christians?

Why does Jesus pray for His disciples?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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