Let us all open our Bibles today
to the Gospel of John chapter 17. John chapter 17. These words
spake Jesus. That refers to the words our
Lord had spoken in chapters 14, 15, and 16 of this gospel. These words speak Jesus. And lifted up his eyes to heaven
and said, and now begins his prayer. Father, the hour has
come. Glorify thy son. that thy son
also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him 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, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And
now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the
glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested
Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, and Thou gavest them me, and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all
things whatsoever Thou hast given me are of Thee. For I have given
unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received
them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they
have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray
not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for
they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine,
and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world,
but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father,
keep through thine own name whom thou hast given me, that they
may be one as we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have
kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that
the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves. I have given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into
the world. And for their sakes I sanctify
myself. that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word,
that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. and the glory which Thou
gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one even as
we are. I am them, and Thou and me, that
they may be made perfect and one, and that the world may know
that Thou has sent me, and has loved them as Thou has loved
me. Father, I will that they also
whom Thou has sent me be with me where I am, that may behold
my glory, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me, 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, and I
have declared unto them thy name. and will declare it, that the
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
When we read this prayer, we realize that it is one like no
other. And as an introduction to my
message this morning, I want to mention four things quickly
about this prayer. First, this prayer is not only
that of a sinless man, for you will not hear him confessing
sin, asking for forgiveness of trespasses, as in the model prayer
that he taught us to pray. But this prayer is not only of
a sinless man, this is the prayer of a man who is God in the flesh. Because here is one who says,
father, I will. He expresses his will to the
father in verse 22. And second, this prayer is to
his father to whom he at this point stood as God's righteous
servant. He came into this world as God's
righteous servant. A servant serves, and the Lord
Jesus Christ declared he came not to be served, but to serve,
and give his life a ransom for many. And third, this prayer
was prayed on the eve of him leaving this world. If you look
back in chapter 16, at one verse, chapter 16 in verse 28, He said
to his disciples, I came forth from the Father and am coming
to the world. Again, I leave the world and
go to the Father. This prayer prayed on the eve
of his leaving this world to go back to the Father. And fourth, this prayer is for
a particular group of people. They are identified all through
the prayer as the men thou gavest me out of the world. Even though this term especially
applies to the twelve apostles, it cannot be limited to them. Because the Lord Jesus declares
in verse 20, if you look there again. He said, neither pray
I for these, that is the 12, neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Do you believe on Christ this
morning through his word? or their word rather, the word
of these apostles. They're the ones who God inspired
to write the scriptures that speak to us of Christ. Christ the Lord Jesus Christ,
he prayed for them also, for you, for me, for all of those
who believe on him through their word, the word of God that was
given through the apostles. But this must also, not only
the man which thou gavest me out of the world, it not only
refers to the twelve, but it also refers to all the election
of grace. All of the election of grace
were given to Christ out of the world, and they were all given
to Him to be His bride. to be members of His body, to
be sheep of His hand, and to be His portion. So there's four things that I
wanted to mention about this prayer, and what a wonderful
prayer it is. I read through it again this
past week, and I counted nine times that the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I have. Two of these are in the same
verse, and we will look at them together. So I have eight points. We'll look at the eight verses
where the Lord Jesus Christ said, I have. You see, the gospel is
all about Him and what He has done. He is the gospel. He is the good news. I have. The first two are found
in verse four. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. Why did God create man? Why did God create man? He created man for his own glory. for God's glory. God created
man for His glory. The first man, Adam, that He
placed upon this earth, we know that he disobeyed God. He failed to glorify God. God created him perfect, but
mutable. Immutability is an attribute
that is peculiar to God. Only God, He's the only being
who is immutable. He cannot change. Man was created
perfect in the image of God, but not immutable. And we know
that he failed, he sinned, he disobeyed God, He did not glorify
God. And the scriptures tell us, as
by one man's disobedience. And that's what it was. It was
disobedience. He disobeyed his maker. He disobeyed
his kind benefactor. He disobeyed him who had provided
everything for him. Everything that he could need,
want, or desire. And yet in the face of that,
man disobeyed God. And by one man's disobedience,
the apostle tells us, meaning all that he represented were
made sinners, and he represented all men. So by the obedience
of one, and that one is Christ who is the second Adam, the second
man, so by the obedience of one shall the many be made righteous. I have glorified Thee on the
earth. The Lord Jesus Christ lived,
He moved, He did everything for His Father's glory, everything.
He never entertained a thought. He never spoke a word. He never
went anywhere, never did anything that was not all for His Father's
glory. He said, for I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. Did you know the first recorded
words that we have of the Lord Jesus Christ? He spoke them at
the age of 12 in the temple, and this is what he said, I must
be about my father's business. I must be about my father's business. He came into this world to glorify
God. In the prophecy, it was written
of him, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And in John chapter
8 and verse 29, he said, I do always those things that please
Him. We were singing that hymn just
a few moments ago. Like a river glorious, stayed
upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed. And I could not help
but think to myself, would to God I could be stayed on Jehovah. always, always stayed upon Jehovah. Then I wouldn't have the worries
and the cares and things that I experience if I could truly
just stay upon Jehovah. That's where hearts are fully
blessed. But the Lord Jesus Christ did.
He did. He said, I do always the things
that please Him. And he glorified the Father.
This verse says, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished
the work which thou gavest me to do. He glorified the Father
in finishing the work which the Father gave him to do. He did
not try to glorify the Father. He glorified the Father. He did not try to finish the
work which the Father gave Him to do. He finished the work which
the Father gave Him to do. He did not try to save those
that the Father gave unto Him in that eternal covenant of grace. He saved those that the Father
gave unto Him. Every precept of the law every
command of God's holy law, perfect law, He absolutely, perfectly
obeyed it. And the night now had come when
He prayed this prayer, the night now had come in which He must
suffer for the sins of those given to Him, and His payment
was complete. His payment was complete when
He cried upon the cross, it is finished. And you and I today,
we either believe him and rest in his finished work or we suffer
from a guilty conscience as a rebel trying to pay our own way. One or the other, we either believe
him What he said here, or calling to question his truthfulness,
he said, I finished the work. And if we believe him, we rest
in that finished work on our behalf. All our salvation, Jesus
Christ and what he has done. Now look, if you will, in verse
number six. I have finished, I have manifested
thy name. I have manifested thy name. The word which is here translated
manifested is the one also In 1 Timothy 3, in verse 16, where
the apostle said, and without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. The word means to render apparent. To render apparent. Now, when
we read, I have manifested thy name, God's name, of course,
means God's being. I have manifested Thy being. The Lord Jesus Christ manifested
all there is to know about God. To see Him is to see the Father. To know Him, and that's the only
way men may know Him. That's the reason He said this
is life eternal, that you might know Him. that is the Father,
and know Him through Christ. There is no knowing God in any
other way. Old men may know He's the Creator,
but I'm talking about knowing Him as God and Father. It's only through Christ. I have
manifested Thy name, the goodness of God. He has manifested the
goodness of God, which includes His love, His grace and His mercy. I have manifested Thy name. His being here, His being in
this world is a manifestation of the goodness of God. I have manifested Thy name. He
manifested the truthfulness of God. that God is faithful to
keep His word. Did He promise of old, the seed
of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent? Then the
Lord Jesus Christ is here to do that very thing. And He is
the seed of the woman. He was born of the Virgin Mary.
He was not in that covenant with Adam. In Adam, all die. He was not represented by Adam.
He's the seed of the woman. He's manifested God's faithfulness,
God's truthfulness, and he's manifested the righteousness
of God. His holy law, he magnified, he
honored through his perfect obedience and God's justice. God's justice was satisfied by
suffering unto death on the part of the surety of the everlasting
covenant. God's justice can ask for no
more. When the Lord Jesus Christ said,
it is finished, God's justice was completely, perfectly satisfied
for all of us that he represented, all of his people. All right,
notice, if you will, in verse eight. For I have given unto
them the words which thou gavest me." This is the fourth time
he says, I have. I have given unto them the words
which thou gavest me. Now, keep your places here, but
let's look back to the book of Deuteronomy and see what this
has reference to. In Deuteronomy chapter 18. These are the words of Moses
and the words that God spoke to Moses beginning in verse 15,
Deuteronomy chapter 18. The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee and of thy brethren. Like unto me, unto him you shall
hearken. Those are the words of Moses.
according to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb
in the day of the assembly, saying, let me not hear again the voice
of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire anymore,
that I die not. This is when God came down on
Mount Sinai and appeared there as a burning fire and lightning
and thunder And the people said, let us not hear that voice again,
lest we die. No animal could touch that mountain
and not die. No man could touch that mountain
and not die. Why? Because the holy Lord God
came down upon that mountain. And to show the distance, not
in miles, but the distance between God and men. The holy, holy, holy God and
sinful men. And they asked Moses for a mediator. They asked Moses for one who
would go between and represent them to God. And that God might come to them
through him. The Lord said unto me, they have
well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet
from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words
into his mouth. What did the Lord say? I have
given unto them the words which thou gavest me. I will put my words in his mouth,
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command, all
that I shall command him. Don't be looking, and I know
that you probably don't, but don't ever be fooled by people
who say they've got a new revelation from God, they've had a dream
or a vision. No, we have all right here in
the written word of God, amen. All. He shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him and it shall come to pass that whosoever
will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name
I will require it of him. This points out to us that the
Lord Jesus Christ is not only our great high priest who atoned
for our sins, but he also is our prophet. He is the spokesman
of God to us. And we must hear him or God will
require it at our hands. He is the one in the Psalms who
is described with these words. Thou, speaking of Christ, thou
art fairer than the children of men. Grace, grace, unmerited
favor. Favor, not only for the ill deserving,
but favor for the hell deserving. Grace is poured into thy lips,
therefore God hath blessed thee forever. Well did Peter the apostle
say unto the Lord Jesus, thou, thou hast the words of eternal
life. I have given them the words which
thou gavest me. All right, now look in verse
12. In verse 12, while I was with
them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou
gavest me, I have kept. I have kept those that thou has
given me. Judas, you know, some people
like to read this in a way it's not to be read as though he kept
everyone. But Judas, that's not what our
Lord is saying. He is saying clearly he has kept
every one of those that the Father gave unto him in that eternal
covenant of grace. Judas, the son of perdition,
he did not keep him because he was never given to him as one
of his sheep. He was never given to him as
one to keep. He was chosen to be one of the
twelve apostles, that's true, but he was never chosen to grace
and glory. And everyone chosen to grace
is also chosen to glory. Those two words are connected,
aren't they? And they are connected in every
believer's experience. Grace first and glory to come. And it's never only grace and
not glory to follow. No, I have kept them which thou
hast given me. Those kept by the Lord Jesus
Christ are well kept. Did you hear what I said? Those
kept by the Lord Jesus Christ are well kept. He said, they
shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. And listen to this promise, this
Old Testament promise concerning those that he keeps. Pictured
as a garden, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in
Isaiah 27 and verse three, I, the Lord, I, Jehovah, do keep
it. I will water it every moment.
Why is it that a person is saved, he doesn't lose his salvation?
Because of that water, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit who comes
to live in every child of God. I will water it. Every moment, lest any hurt it. Not only keeps
it, but protects it. I will keep it night and day. Night and day. Father, I have
kept them that thou hast given me. The psalmist said, behold,
he that keepeth Israel As God's church, God's people, shall neither
slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper. All right, look now, if you will,
in verse 14. I have given them thy word. This, I believe, refers to the
gospel which he gave to his disciples. And he commissioned them to preach. This is a reason for the world's
hatred of them. The world hates the gospel. Look
at what he said in verse 14. I have given them thy word and
the world hath hated them. Why would that world hate them?
We know for a fact that some people were healed miraculously
healed through the ministry of someone like Peter and John and
Paul. Why would anyone hate them? It's a message. It's a message. Just like they told the Lord
Jesus Christ when he asked, for what good work do you stone me? They said, no, not a good work.
Not a good work. But thou, being a man, makest
thyself equal with God. That's the reason we want to
stone you, because you profess to be God in the flesh. And that's
the reason the world hates the gospel preachers, hated these
disciples. Not for their good works, no,
but for the gospel which he had given unto them. The gospel magnifies
the grace of God. And the gospel will not allow
man any share in the glory of salvation. It just won't do it. Oh, but my free will. Forget
about it. It's your free will that got
you into trouble. That's right. When Adam had a
free will. It's your free will that got
you into trouble. And my friends, it will be God's
sovereign will that will get you out of trouble if you are
gotten out of trouble. No, it's the Word of God, the
Gospel that men hate. And because they hate the Gospel,
they hate those who preach the Gospel. All right, notice in verse 18,
I have This is worded a little different
here, but he said, as thou hast given, as thou hast sent me into
the world, even so have I sent them into the world. So we could
read it, I have sent them into the world. He sent them into
all the world. He did not send them into the
world to reform the world. so that the world would get better
and better, and God's kingdom would come upon this earth? No,
no. He sent them to preach the gospel,
to teach all nations. And he told them, you are to
begin at Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then the uttermost
part of the earth. And we read about that in the
book of Acts. The Lord Jesus Christ sends his
people into the world, a world that hated him and hates them. But he knows how to keep them
in this world and to save them from it. He sends his own into
the world to be lights. He said, you are the light of
the earth, the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth.
You know, in about the second or third century, those who profess
to be believers, they got this strange idea, and I believe Satan
no doubt had a part in it. The thing they needed to do was
separate themselves from the world. Let's move out here into
these caves and monasteries and separate ourselves. No, the Lord
Jesus Christ sends his people into the world, as Paul told
the church at Philippi. that you may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst, not apart
from, not separate from, but in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. The darker the place, the greater
a small light is. You've been down in those caves,
some of you have, where they turn off all the lights and it's
pitch black. Just a little match about that
size. There's a lot of light in that
place. And you may, God may have placed
you where you work or your situation, whatever it is, where you live,
in a darkest place. But you are there as a light.
And men see, maybe they don't hear a sermon, but they see a
sermon. When they see that you have principles
and they're based upon your relationship to God, to God. You're like Joseph, I cannot
do this great evil and sin against God. I notice 7th and verse 22,
I have given them the glory. What is it that the Lord has
given to his church that may be called the glory? Well, I'm
convinced that this again refers to the gospel. Because in 1 Timothy
1 and verse 11, Paul said, according to the glorious gospel of the
blessed God, which was committed to my trust. The gospel is glorious. Never entertained, by God's grace,
let us never come to the place, any of us, that our hearts are
so cold and so dead and so far away from God that we begin to
think that the gospel is just commonplace. The gospel is good
news! Good news! And I tell you, there's
a lot of people in this world who have never heard it. And
God has blessed you and me time after time after time to hear
the gospel. It's a glorious message. The gospel is glorious for it
has God the Father as its planner. It is glorious for it has the
Lord of glory as its subject. And it is glorious for it has
the Spirit of glory who applies it. And one last thing in verse
26, I have declared thy name. God has many names. God has many
titles. And His names, His titles, they
all reveal something about Him. Our Lord said, I have declared
thy name. And I think about how many times
in the Gospel of John He says, I am. And we know that's the
way Moses was told his name, Jehovah I am. I have manifested
thy name, I have declared thy name, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord
will provide. And he provided the Lord Jesus
Christ as our savior. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that
healeth thee, and he heals us from all our diseases. Jehovah
Shalom, the Lord our peace. And he is our peace. He made
peace through the blood of his cross. Jehovah Nissi, the banner
to which we are all brought. We're all drawn to him. Jehovah
Tiskanu, the Lord our righteousness. And the Lord Jehovah Shama. The
Lord is there. And he said, where two or three
gather in my name, there am I. But I want to settle on one title,
one name. Father. Father. I have declared thy name unto
them. Father. You search through the
Old Testament and with a few and a very few exceptions, you
will never find anyone there calling God his father, her father. But all my friends, you and I,
he told that woman that day after his resurrection, go to my brethren
and say unto them, I send unto my father and unto your father. He has declared God's name unto
us and we, we call him Father. Father. What a wonderful name
is that? What a wonderful title. I pray that the Lord would bless
the message. I received an email this past
week asking for The second part of a message that I preached
in 2018 on this prayer. So I know I've
preached from this prayer many times. But that's the first time
I've used this outline. And it was a blessing to me.
I have. I have. I hope and pray it's
a blessing to you. The whole prayer is a blessing.
Let's sing this hymn, Only a Sinner Saved by Grace, number 474. 474.
Let's stand as we sing. What have I gotten, but what
I receive? Grace hath bestowed it, since
I have believed.