the seventeenth chapter of John,
is emphatically and without question the Lord's Prayer. Now that which
is commonly called the Lord's Prayer, the one He taught His
disciples to is not the Lord's prayer. It was never used by
the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm talking about the prayer
that begins, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy
kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
That was the model prayer which he taught his disciples to pray. He never prayed that prayer.
He couldn't, because the Lord Jesus could never pray, forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Christ never
sinned. He was without sin. He could
not have prayed that prayer. He never prayed it. He never
prayed with his disciples. Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed
alone. He prayed in the mountain. He
prayed to the Father. He taught his disciples to pray,
but he never prayed this prayer that we call the Lord's Prayer.
This is the Lord's Prayer, John 17. This is the Lord's Prayer. This is the prayer of the great
high priest himself. Now, the Last Supper was over.
The Lord Jesus Christ had observed the Last Supper with his disciples. He had given them the bread and
the wine, and he had instructed them to often gather together
and take this bread and wine and show forth his death until
he come, and to show forth their union with him, their union with
him through his death. And our Lord left this prayer,
John 17, this is the priestly prayer, this is the Lord's prayer,
this is the great high priest praying, and he left this prayer
as a specimen of the intercession which even now he carries on
for us at the right hand of God. You can read John 17 and you
can know what Christ is praying for you right now. This is the
prayer of our great high priest. Now look at John 17, verse 1,
just a moment. The first four words, these words
spake Jesus. Now the reference here is to
the words he had already spoken. It says, these words spake Jesus,
and he lifted up his eyes to heaven. These words spake Jesus
refer to the words he had already spoken, not to the prayer he's
about to pray. Now, what words had he spoken?
Well, first of all, turn back to John 14 for a moment. He had
told them who he was. In John 14, verse 8, Philip said,
Lord, show us the Father. Show us the Father, and it sufficeth
us. And Jesus said unto him, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show
us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me?" The Lord Jesus had told
His disciples who He was. These words spake Jesus. He told
them who He was. And then he told them that he
would leave them. Back in verse 2 of John 14, he
said, In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not
so, I would have told you. I go. I go to prepare a place
for you. I'm leaving you. And then he
told them that even though he left them, he would still hear
them. They would still be in communion
with him. In verse 13 and 14 of John 14, he told them this,
"...if you ask anything, and whatsoever you shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If you ask anything in my name, I'll do it." And then he
had told them that he would return. He said, "...if I go," verse
3, "...and prepare a place for you, I will come again." These
words speak Jesus. He told them who he was. He told
them that he would be crucified, that he would leave them. He
told them that even though he left them, that he would still
be with them and still hear them. They would still be in communion
with him. He told them that he would come
back again. He told them that he would give
them the Holy Spirit. In verse 16 of John 14, he said,
I'll pray the Father and he'll give you another comforter, that
he, the Holy Spirit, may abide with you forever. He told them
that he loved them. In John 15, 9, as the Father
hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. He told them that they were one
with him, whether he was present or absent. Look at verse 5 of
John 15. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Without
me you can do nothing. He warned them of the difficulties
that were ahead. Look at verse 15, "'I call you
not servants. The servant knoweth not what
his Lord doeth. I have called you friends for
all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known
unto you. You have not chosen me, I have chosen you and ordained
you that you should go and bring forth much fruit, that your fruit
should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in
my name, he may give it you.' And these things I commend you,
that you love one another. Now if the world hate you, you
know 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 the
world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you. Now you remember that the word, remember the word
that I said unto you, the service not greater than his Lord, if
they persecuted me, they'll also persecute you. These words speak
Jesus. He told them who he was. He told
them that he would leave them. He told them that he would still
be with them, though he had left them. He told them that he would
return. He told them that he would give
them the Holy Spirit. He told them that he loved them,
and that they were one with him, whether present or absent, they
were one. And then he warned them of the
difficulties ahead. Now, these words spake Jesus
with what object? I think I can show you verse
11 of John 15. John 15, verse 11. These things
have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full. First of all, he spoke these
words to them that their joy might be full. And then in chapter
16, verse 1, "...these things have I spoken unto you, that
ye should not be offended." I don't want you to be offended. I don't
want you to be hurt. I want you to understand what
I'm doing, and I've spoken these words that you might not be offended. And then verse 33, he said, "...these
things I have spoken unto that in me you might have peace. In
the world you're going to have tribulation. But be of good cheer,
I've overcome the world." Now then, after giving them the comfort,
the instructions, the encouragement, after giving them the warnings
of the difficulties which were ahead, and having expressed to
them his love, these words spake Jesus. the words that he had
spoken in chapter 14, 15, and 16, instructing them that their
joy might be full, that they might not be offended, that they
might have peace through all of these difficult times. After
speaking these words, verse 1, John 17, then he lifted up his
eyes to heaven. Then he lifted up his eyes to
heaven. Earth had been a wilderness for the Son of God. Earth had
been a desert, a dry place. The earth had been a place of
difficulty, suffering, trial, temptation. And now He was about
to walk the winepress of God's wrath alone. The agony of Gethsemane's
garden was ahead. The agony of Pilate's the torment,
the persecution, the false witnesses, the crown of thorns, the scourger's
whip, the nails of Calvary. Substitution was about to begin,
and he lifted up his eyes to heaven, for his rest was there,
his throne was there, his angels were there, his glory was there,
he lifted up weary, longing, holy eyes to heaven, and he said,
Father, the hour is come. Father, the hour is come. Now, my friends, eternity itself
could never fathom the depths and the length, and the breadth,
and the width, and the meaning of this prayer. I have a book
in my study, some four or five hundred pages, on the Lord prays
for His own, John 17. And that book doesn't begin to
commence to get started to touch the depths of this prayer. Nobody
can. impossible. I don't even hope
to. We could stay on these words
spake Jesus for the rest of the week. We could stay on these
words he lifted his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has
come. Oh, what that contains! The hour
has come. For this cause came I to this
hour. Woman, what have I to do with
thee? Mine hour has not yet come. What shall I pray? Father, deliver
me from this hour? for this hour I came here. We
could stay there for weeks. But I want us to look this morning
at seven things given to Christ, given to Christ, seven things
given to Christ, upon which he places great importance in this
prayer, in this priestly prayer, in this prayer of our Lord. I
cannot emphasize how important it is. This is the personal prayer
of the Redeemer. This is the personal prayer to
the Heavenly Father of the great High Priest." This is the prayer
that preceded substitution on Calvary. This is the prayer that
is a specimen of the prayer he prays right now. This is it. You could stay here forever.
This is his prayer. And these seven gifts are given
to Christ, and they're ours through Him. They're given to Christ. They're
given to one, someone said, who can take care of them. They can't
be trusted to anyone else. They couldn't be given to an
angel. They couldn't be given to a man. These seven gifts are
given to one who can make no mistake in the use of them. These gifts are given to one
who can properly dispose of them. Now here's the first one in verse
two. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. Christ uses this phrase six times
in this one prayer, those thou hast given him. He says in verse
two here, as many as thou hast given him." The first gift the
Father gave to Christ a people. He gave to Christ a people. Our
Lord has a people, a people out of every tribe, kindred, nation,
tongue unto heaven. Our Lord has a people among the
whites and the blacks and the yellows and the reds. Our Lord
has a people in the tribes of Africa, behind the Iron Curtain,
over in the country down under, in the countries of Asia, our
Lord has a people. Our Lord has a people back in
Adam's day. Our Lord will have a people when
he comes to this earth again. He has a people. Those people
were given him by the Father. He says in verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me. He says in verse 11,
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. I
come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those
whom thou hast given me. He says in verse 12, While I
was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name, those that
thou gavest me. He says in verse 24, Father I
will that they also whom thou hast given me. Thank God for the everlasting
covenant of grace. Thank God for the love that drew
us to Him back before the foundations of the world. Thank God for the
grace and mercy that was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. We didn't love Him. He loved
us. We didn't choose Him. He chose
us. We didn't seek Him. He sought
us. We didn't die for Him. He died
for us. Mephibosheth summed it up when
he was there before King David, and he'd been told of David's
love for him, and David's grace to him, and David's mercy upon
him. And Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan, from the house
of no bread and no pasture, there on crippled legs before the powerful
King David, Mephibosheth, worthy of death, Mephibosheth, worthy
of exile. Mephibosheth, worthy of banishment
from the presence of the king. Mephibosheth, enemy of David's
throne. And yet David said, Mephibosheth,
you're going to be my son and sit at my table, and all your
land that you lost is going to be restored to you. And Mephibosheth
said, King David, what is thy servant, that thou shouldest
look upon such a dead dog as I am? And David said, Fear not,
Mephibosheth, I show you mercy for Jonathan's sake. And our
Lord Jesus Christ in this great high priestly prayer of intercession
prays for the people that the Father gave him. and the gift
of a people to Christ shall be fully realized and fully revealed
when he calls them forth from the tomb and presents them before
his Father in eternal glory. For he said in John, chapter
6, verse 38, I came down from heaven, not to do my own will,
but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but I shall raise it up again at the last day."
He says in verse 9, I pray for them, I pray not for the world,
I pray for them which thou hast given me. John 17, 9, for they
are thine. for they are thine." Turn to
Ephesians chapter 1. In Ephesians chapter 1, it says
here in verse 10, in Ephesians 1 verse 10, that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ. both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth, even in him." All right, back to John 17. Now
here's the second gift given to the son. He had a people given
to him by the Father, and then in verse 2 it says again, "...thou
hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life." My friends, eternal has been given to Christ to give
to whom he will. Eternal life is spiritual life. Now, the reference here is not
to how long it'll last. So many people are confused and
misunderstand the term eternal thinking that it means that a
man's going to live forever. Well, it does mean that, but
that's not the primary meaning of eternal life, for everybody's
going to live forever. Scripture tells us that even
the wicked are going to live forever, even the unbelievers
are going to live forever, even the Christ-hater will live forever,
Everybody's going to live forever, either in heaven or in hell,
but all men are going to live always. The soul will never be
annihilated. So eternal life is not how long
it lasts. Eternal life is what it is. It
is the life of God. It is divine life. It is the
nature of God. It is spiritual life. It is that
which Adam lost in the garden when God said, in the day you
eat, you'll die. Adam didn't die physically. He
went on living physically. He died spiritually. He went
on living physically in darkness. He went on living physically
separated from God. He went on living physically
in evil. Eternal life, which Christ gives,
is spiritual life. And then eternal life is a gift.
It's in Christ, and it's through Christ, and it's owing to the
merits of Christ, and not owing to man's work. Christ purchased
it. Christ removed the difficulties
in the way of it, and Christ has the right to bestow it, for
he said, I am the life, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I give my sheep eternal life. Eternal life is the very life
of God. That's what it is. If a man has
eternal life, he has God. If a man has eternal life, he
has Christ. If a man has eternal life, he
has a divine nature that has been regenerated in him by the
Holy Spirit. Eternal life is more than the
difference between hell and heaven. Eternal life is the difference
between living spiritually and not living spiritually. We do
not receive eternal life at the judgment, we receive eternal
life when we are redeemed. Right here on this earth, we
have eternal life. He that believeth on me shall
never die. He may lie down and sleep, his
body may be put in the grave, his body may go back to the dust
from whence it was taken, but he never dies, for God can't
die. And eternal life is God in us. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye appear with him in glory." Christ is
our life. That's what eternal life is.
It's Christ. It's divine life. It's spiritual life. There is
mineral life, plant life. There is animal life. There is natural life. And then
there's spiritual life. And then there's spiritual life.
And that spiritual life is what we lost in the garden. That's
what we lost in Adam. That's what men don't have out
of Christ. And when God redeems a man, he
not only has physical life, natural life, but he has spiritual life. He walks with God. God lives
in him. Here's the third gift given to
Christ. Verse 2, Thou hast given him power over all flesh. I wish I could preach this from
every pulpit in the world right here, what I'm about to say.
This weak, bewildered, and feminine Jesus that is being preached
today is not the Christ of the Bible. He is not the Christ of
the Bible. Listen to Christ as he prays
here, facing the cross, facing an exhibition of the worst type
of weakness. When the soldiers slapped him,
he never raised a hand. When they spit in his face, he
never uttered a word of protest. When they plucked out his beard,
He never resisted. When he stood before Pilate and
the false witnesses lied against him and about him, he answered
not a word. When he went to the cross and
they drove the nails in his hands, he didn't strike out at anybody.
He was led as a sheep, dumb, before his slaughters. An exhibition
of the worst type of weakness. submissive in all things to the
humiliation and agony of the cross. And that's where they
get this idea of poor little Jesus. Poor little Jesus, this
little weak, bewildered, feminine Jesus. that had tried and failed. He'd come to do something and
struck out. He couldn't do it, but that's
not the Christ here who's facing this hour. Before he ever went
to Pilate's hall, before he ever went before Caiaphas and Herod,
before he ever went before these soldiers, he prayed, Father,
Thou hast given me all power over all flesh. Peter pulled out his sword and
cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. Our Lord said, put your
sword up, so that I could call on my Father, and he'd send a
legion of angels down here. I don't need your sword. I don't need your sword. He has
all authority. He said in Matthew 28, 18, he
said, All authority is given to me in heaven and earth. One
time. from that soldier's hall to the
cross, he spoke. One time, when he stood before
Pilate, these soldiers had slapped him and scoffed him and mocked
him and spat upon him and mistreated him, put a crown of thorns on
his head, stripped him naked and covered him with a scarlet
mocking robe, ridiculed him. They'd done all these things
to him, scourged him. He stood before Pilate And Pilate
said, Are you a king? The Lord Jesus Christ said, You
said it. Why, he said, Who are you? And
the Lord never answered him. And Pilate said, Don't you know
I have the power to crucify you and let you go? One time our Lord answered. He
said, Let's set the record straight, Pilate. You don't have any power
over me at all, except it be given you from above. You don't
have any power. You little puny, weak, your very
throne is in my hands. All authority. The Lord Jesus
Christ will let you send your way to hell. The Lord Jesus Christ
will let you hate the gospel, fight it, war against it. He
lets you do anything you want to. But He's not going to let
you encroach upon His power. He's got the power. And He's
going to set the record straight right here. You do what you want
to do, that's all right. But He's not going to share His
glory. He said, I've got the power. I've got the power. All power is His by creation. Look at Colossians 1, 16. Let's
set the record straight. In Colossians 1, verse 16, it
says here, in Colossians chapter 1, verse 16, for by him were
all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or powers
or principalities. All things are created by him
and for him, and he's before all things, and by him all things
consist." There's the power right there. I wouldn't waste my time
if I were you feeling sorry for Jesus. even facing the agony
of Calvary. His prayer is, All authority,
all power has been given to me. Has been given to me. It's in
Him. It's in Him by creation. He created all that. It's in
Him by royal decree. Turn back to Philippians, verse
9, chapter 1, Philippians. Listen to it. God hath also highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven, in earth,
and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that he
is Lord to the glory of God the Father." All authority, all power,
all power. I'm not out here this morning
candidating for Jesus. He's already got the throne.
He's already been elected. He's already owned the throne.
He already has all power. It's his by creation. It's his
by royal decree. It's his by royal decree. I'm
just talking to you this morning to see if you would like a little
share in that glory. You can have it. You can have
it. You can own Him as your Lord,
or you can do it in hell, either one you want to. But we're not
trying to candidate for Jesus. Our Lord's already enthroned.
It's His by purchase. Turn to Romans 14, verse 9. Listen to this. We're just telling
you who He is. We're just telling you who He
is, and what is His. In Romans chapter 14, he said,
Thou hast given me. It's been given him by the Father.
God's not an Indian giver. He's not going to take it back.
He's vested all authority in the Son. In Romans 14.9, part
to this end, Christ both died and rose again and revived, that
he might be Lord both of the dead and the living.
Do you know the Bible says that Jesus Christ has the keys of
hell and death? You know what keys mean? Keys mean government. Keys mean
control. If I got the key, brother, I
run the place. If I got the key and you hadn't,
you know who's boss, don't you? I'll open it if I want to. And
if I don't want to, I'll leave it shut and you stay out. I got
the keys, he said. He's got the keys. To Him belong
the keys, both of hell and death. He's got the key, and there's
no duplicate. It's His by purchase. In John
chapter 10, listen to it, verse 27, Christ said, My sheep hear
My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal
life. I give it to them, and they shall
never perish, and neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand." I've got the power. The power is His by creation,
the power is His by royal decree, the power is His by divine purchase,
and the power is His to give it to whomsoever He will. I'm
telling you the truth. This is the Lord's prayer. Father,
you've given me all power over all flesh. Here's the fourth
gift. There was a work given him to
do. Verse 4, listen, I have glorified
thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me
to do. This work was to redeem every
believer by his obedience and by his death. In Luke 19, verse
10, our Lord said, The Son of Man is come to seek and to save
that which was lost. That's why the Son of Man has
come into this world. Jesus Christ didn't come because
everything else had failed. Jesus Christ did not come into
this world because God, through other dispensations, couldn't
get the job done. Jesus Christ came into this world
to save the lost. That's why he came. That was
his mission. That was the work given him to do. He said, I finished
the work you gave me to do. What was that work? The Son of
Man has come to save the lost. That's why he's come. Turn to
John chapter 12. Listen to him in verse 23. John
chapter 12, verse 23, And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour
is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground
and die, it abideth alone. The wages of sin is death. Christ
got to die. Without the shedding of blood,
no remission, Christ has to die. But if it died, bringeth forth
much fruit. Now he that loveth his life will
lose it. He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto
life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me, and where I am there shall also my servant be. If
any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul
troubled. And what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour. Father, save me from this humiliation. Father, save me from this suffering.
Father, save me from this death. Father, save me from this baptism. Father, save me from the grave.
What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour,
but for this cause came unto this hour. This is why I came. This is the climax of the whole
thing. This is the very heart and essence
of the whole purpose. This is the hour. Now is the
hour. Now is the hour. Father, glorify
Thy name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it. fifth thing given to Christ,
John 17. God the Father gave him a work
to do, and he did it. I finished the work. In verse
6, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest
me out of the world. It was given to Christ. Now listen
to this. It was given to Christ to make
known the Father's name. That was his business. That's
what the Father sent him to do. What do you mean, pastor? It
was given Christ to make known the Father's name. It was given
to Christ to make known the Father himself. That's what Philip said,
Show us the Father. That's what Moses cried, Lord,
show me your glory. And Christ said, He that hath
seen me, had seen my Father. He that hath
known me hath known my Father." Now listen to me a moment. Moses
talked with God. The Bible says face to face,
yet Moses never did see God. Moses never did see God. For
Moses as well as for others, The words of Job 11 are true. Can you, by searching, find out
God? Can you find out the Almighty
unto perfection? Now, people come on, you folks
that claim you know all about God. Really? God talked to me,
did he now? I saw God in a vision, did you
now? You saw the devil, that's who
you saw. You didn't see God. No man had seen God at any time. Uh-uh. God has, God's invisible. God
is spiritual. Moses didn't even see God. No
man can look on me and live, God said. Well, that's talking
about, you're talking about something high as the heaven, Job said.
You're talking about something deeper than hell. What can you
know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth. David said, I'm going to build
you a house. God said, a house? Why, the heaven
won't contain me. You're talking about building
me a house? No one has ever physically seen
God, because God is spiritual and God is invisible. We do not
see God himself. We see God revealed in Christ. In Christ. That's where God's
revealed. The scripture says Jesus Christ
is the express image of God's person. He's the very image of
God's nature. Christ reveals God to the believer. Everything we know of God we
learned in Christ. Everything we've seen of God
we've seen in Christ. Everything revealed of God to
us is revealed in Christ. That's the reason those who admire
Jesus Christ Superstar are idolaters. That's right. They're idolaters. Because their God, Jesus Superstar,
is not the God of the Bible. That's right, they are idolaters,
that's what they are. Is this God, this little frail,
weeping character, is this God? Is this your God? Jesus Christ
is the image of God. He's the image, He's the express
image of God. And what you preach about Christ,
that's what your God is. Now think with me. What man,
you listen to a preacher, and what he says about Jesus Christ,
he says about his God. Because Jesus Christ is God. He's the express image of God. He's the revelation of God. He
reveals God. Nowhere else is the glory of
God seen, or the mercy of God seen, or the character of God
seen, or the redemption of God seen, except in Christ. Then what your preacher, if your
Jesus is leaning over the banisters of heaven, crying his eyes out,
that's your God leaning over the banisters of heaven, crying
his eyes out. Verse six, look at it. I have
manifested thy name. I have manifested thy person. I have manifested thy self. Jesus Christ is the express image
of God the Father. Now, you be careful what you
say about the Lord Jesus Christ. You be careful what you preach
about Him, because what He is, God is. And then the sixth thing
quickly given to Christ, verse 8, I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me. When our Lord speaks of the words
which thou gavest me," he speaks of the testimony concerning himself
written in the Scriptures. The testimony concerning himself
written in the Scriptures. John 14.10, listen to this, "...believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words
that I speak unto you I speak not of myself." I have given
them the words you gave me." That's what Christ said. How
important is the Bible? The Father conceived the way
of salvation. The Father purposed and promised
and planned salvation and gave it to Christ. And Jesus Christ
came down here to fulfill the Father's words and to give these
words to the people. And the Holy Spirit revealed
these words to the apostles, and holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and the apostles gave them to
us. Look at John 20, verse 31. And these are written, that you
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing you might have life. through his name. These words,
all these words. It troubles me so much that we
make in this day so little of the Word of God. That troubles
me. Our Lord said, You've given me
power over all flesh. You've put eternal life in my
hands. You've given me a people. and
you've given me some words to give them. I've manifested your
name, and I've revealed your word to them." Christ said, This
book will judge you. This book will judge you. These
words are the words of life. When he said to his disciples
one day, Will you go away? They said, To whom shall we go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life. the words of eternal life. And
then last of all, verse 22, and I'll close, And the glory which
thou gavest me, Father gave him glory, I have given them. Here the Lord Jesus Christ tells
the Father in our hearing the amazing fact that He has bestowed
on us that glory, that glory given him by the Father. Every
believer is one with Christ in God, and the glory that the Father
gave to the Son, he's given to us. What is that glory? All the glory arising from his
Sonship.