Let us open our Bibles tonight
to John chapter 15. John chapter 15, and we will
begin reading in verse number 12. This is my commandment, that
you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do
whatsoever I command you. Henceforth, I call you not servants,
for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth. But 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, but I
have chosen you. and ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you. These things I command you, that
you love one another. Last time, we looked only at
verse 12, at the one commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ to his
disciples, that you love one another. Tonight, in these verses
that I've just read, we see that he repeated the same commandment. In verse 17, again, he said,
these things I command you, that you love one another. We thought
last time of how love is like the ligament or the bond which
holds the body of Christ together. The bond, the unity that exists
among the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to Matthew
Henry's comment on the Lord's repetition of this commandment,
and I quote, as if this were the most necessary of all commandments. As under the law, the prohibition
of idolatry was the commandment more insisted on than any other,
foreseeing the people's addictedness to that sin. So Christ, foreseeing
the addictedness of the Christian church to uncharitableness, has
laid most stress upon this precept, this commandment that you love
one another. Now tonight, I want us to consider
these verses, first, as they are applied especially to the
apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then second, as they may
speak to each and every believer, each member of the body of Christ. First, to the apostles of the
Lord Jesus. Remember, he was alone with the
11, and we know that the apostle Paul that he makes up the 12th
apostle. The first time that we have the
word apostle in the New Testament is in Matthew chapter 10 and
verse 2, and this is what we read. Now the names of the 12
apostles are these. The word apostle, the word itself,
it means messenger. He that is sent. Now in that list there in Matthew
chapter 10 of the 12 apostles, Judas Iscariot, his name is found. His name is found in that list
of the 12 apostles. But then in the book of Acts,
the church The gathered believers, the body of Christ, they declared
that He, by transgression, fell. That Judas Iscariot, He, by transgression,
fell. Now He did not fall from salvation. He did not fall from being a
member of the body of Christ to no longer being a member of
the body of Christ. He fell from the office, the
bishopric, the office that the Lord Jesus Christ had appointed
him to, to be one of the 12 apostles. We know then that the church,
by casting lots, they named this man Matthias to the office. But remember this in Ephesians
chapter 4. We read the Apostle Paul telling
us that the ascended Lord Jesus Christ, he ascended on high and
gave gifts unto men, and the first gift that is mentioned
in that list of gifts is apostles. That Christ, not the church that
was gathered there together in Jerusalem, who by casting of
lots named Matthias to be an apostle, and I assume he was
named to be a messenger of the church, but it was the Lord Jesus
Christ who gave gifts, apostles, to the church. And the apostle
Paul, we know, I believe at least, we know that he is the one who
was born out of due season. He was saved, we know, after
the Lord had ascended on high. And he refers to himself as one
born out of due season in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, where he confesses
himself to be the least of all of the apostles. But the Lord
Jesus Christ, I believe, appointed him to make up, as we might say,
the college of the apostles, the 12 apostles. And there were
other apostles, messengers of churches, but there's 12 apostles
of the Lamb. You say, why do you emphasize
that? I believe this is true, and I emphasize this because
look with me in Revelation chapter 21. I'm sure everyone here knows
where I'm going, but in Revelation chapter 21, We read about the church, the
bride of Christ. And it is presented to us here
as a city. A city. Verse 1 of chapter 21. And I
saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away. You know, people sometimes, and
preachers even, they say, God's going to burn this world up.
No, He's not going to burn this world up. He's going to purify
this world, both the world, the earth, and the heavens, purified
by fire. But He's not going to burn this
earth up. He's going to purify it. It's
going to be a new heaven and a new earth. And this is what
the Apostle John was enabled by the Spirit of God to see.
And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And I like to read these next
verses just because I like to read them. Because I look forward to this
time. not part of my message. But we
know that the day is coming when God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain,
for the former things are passed away. But now look down to verse
10. Then he carried me away in the
Spirit to a great and high mountain. and showed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having
the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone clears crystal, and had a wall great
and high, and had 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels, and names
written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of
the children of Israel. On the east three gates, on the
north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west
three gates, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
twelve gates. Each gate had the name of one
of the tribes of Israel. And the walls, the wall of the
city had twelve foundations, And in them the names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb. So I believe there were twelve
apostles of Christ, of the Lamb. Now I know the number 24 in Revelation
in chapter 4. Remember when John saw the throne
and there were 24 elders gathered around the throne. And we see
here the 12 tribes from the Old Testament, 12 apostles, the New
Testament. What we see here is the unity
of the saints of both dispensations. There's only one city. Christ
only has one body of which he is the head. And it is made up
of every one of God's chosen redeemed people. in Ephesians chapter 2, when
the church is represented as a temple in Ephesians chapter
2. You know, Paul, in that chapter,
as he writes, he pictures the church as a country, as a body,
and as a temple. And each illustration he uses
shows the compactness of the believers together. until he comes to the temple.
And then he tells us this, that the temple is built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. Every believer, no matter which
dispensation, old dispensation, new dispensation, Every believer
is founded upon Christ. He is the foundation stone. In Isaiah chapter 28, behold,
I lay in Zion a stone, a chief stone, a chosen stone, a precious
stone. Who is that stone? Christ our
Lord. and every believer is built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. Now back in John 15, I want you
to notice with me, if you will, four things that the Lord Jesus
Christ says in these verses about the apostles. Four things. First of all, Notice in verse
12, at the very end, he said, I have loved you. I have loved
you. Speaking to the apostles. Only
the 11 were with him that night when he first spoke these words.
I have loved you. Now this is stated in the past
tense. Have loved you. Look back to
John chapter one. John chapter one. Verse 35, Again the next day,
after John, that is John the Baptist, stood, and two of his
disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold
the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him
speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them
following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto
him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where
dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and
see. They came and saw where he dwelt,
and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. Now when the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I have loved you, we know From this passage here, John
chapter 1, one of these disciples, we're told two, one of them we
know was Andrew. But I'm almost positive the other
was John. Because all through the Gospel
of John, he never names himself. He refers to himself as he whom
Jesus loved. He never got over that, and you
will not either. when the Lord Jesus Christ speaks
to your soul as he did to these apostles. And he says, I have
loved you. I said this is in the past tense.
So from the beginning of these disciples following with the
Lord about three, three and a half years, I have loved you. But you and I know that his love
did not begin. when they followed him that day. No, no. As the scripture says
in the book of Jeremiah, the Lord hath appeared of old unto
me saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. That's the first thing I point
out that he said to these disciples. I have loved you. I have loved you. I have loved
you from before the foundation of the world. Before there ever
was a star twinkling in the sky, I have loved you. Now the second
thing we see here, I have chosen you. Turn back again to chapter
15. I have chosen you. In verse 16, he told them this. I have chosen you. When the writer of Hebrews said,
or what the writer of Hebrews rather said about the priesthood
is certainly true about the apostleship. He said, no man taketh this honor
unto himself. In other words, a man did not
just decide one day, I think I'd like to be a priest. I'm
an Israelite. He might have even been a Levite.
And he might just think, well, you know, I kind of like that.
Kind of like some people want to be a preacher, want to be
a pastor. Some of them look and they think,
you know, that's an easy job. Just get up there two or three
times a week and talk. I had a man tell me one time,
he said, well, you know, if a man's given to talk, you know, that's
an easy job. Just get up and talk. No, no
man, according about the priesthood, no man taketh this honor unto
himself, but he that is called of God. Had to be a son of Aaron,
had to be in the lineage of Aaron to be a priest. And the same
thing was true about an apostle. No man taketh this honor unto
himself, but he that is called of God. The Lord Jesus Christ
told these apostles, I have chosen you. Look with me in Luke, just
a moment, Luke chapter six. I have chosen you. Luke chapter 6 and verse 12 and
13 we read, And it came to pass in those days that he went up
into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer
to God. And when it was day, he called
unto him his disciples. Now notice, disciples. And of
them, we know at one time he sent out 70 disciples. Now this
tells us, at this time He called unto Him His disciples. I don't
know how many there were, but I do know that out of them He
chose twelve. No man taketh this honor. You
see what I'm saying? No man taketh this honor unto
himself but he that is called of God. I, the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I have chosen you. He chose them to be one of the
apostles. Now notice back in chapter 15,
here's the third thing that he said to these apostles. In verse
15, I have called you friends. I have called you friends. In chapter 13, in verse 13, He
told them, You call Me Master and Lord, and you say, Well. They called Him Master. They
called Him Lord. He said, I have called you friends. Friends. Let me mention three things about
a friend. A friend is someone that you
may share things with that you could not share with another.
Three things about a friend. And listen, you young people,
when you choose a husband or a wife, you need to choose someone
who is your friend. I mean, someone that is your
friend because this is a person that you will be the closest
to in this world. And you want this person to be
your lover, yes, absolutely, but your friend. And that's part
of love. But the first thing about a friend
is, a friend is someone that you may share things with that
you could not share with anyone else. The Lord Jesus Christ shared
with these apostles, as He tells them here, what He had heard
from the Father. Remember, He is God and as eternal
God, He had always been in the counsel of God and set up as
one mediator between God and man and what He heard, He conveyed
to these men a friend, I call you friends. He shared with them
what he had heard of his father. His father, all that the father
had delivered unto him as his servant, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the God-man as a servant of Jehovah, all that the Father had delivered
unto him as his servant, the mediator, concerning the salvation
that he came to bring, he had conveyed that unto these men. He called them his friends, and
told them what he had heard of his Father. There was more, and
we'll see this, God willing, in the next chapter. But there
was more that the Holy Spirit would reveal to them. But when
He sent them to preach, He had given them their message. The message that they went forth
to preach was given unto them by Christ. Second thing about
a friend, a friend is someone whose interest are your interest. A friend is someone whose interest
are your interest. And as I thought about this,
I could not help but think of the scripture in Isaiah 63, 9,
which says, in their affliction, he was afflicted. A friend is
someone who shares in your interest. In other words, your interests
are mutual. In their affliction, he was afflicted. Do you remember what he said
to Saul? Saul of Tarsus that day that he called him on the
road to Damascus. When he revealed himself to Saul,
he said, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Well, you're in heaven. You're at the Father's right
hand. But you're persecuting me, Saul. When you touch one
of my members, you touch me. When you persecute one of my
members, in all of their afflictions, he was afflicted. And third, a friend, is someone
whose company you enjoy. And he told his disciples, Lo,
I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages. Here's the fourth thing that
he said to them. First, I have loved you. I have
chosen you. I have called you friends. And fourth, I have ordained you. Notice that in verse 16. I have
ordained you. And if you will, follow the words
in that verse, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles. I have ordained you that you
should go. This is what I have ordained you,
that you should go, go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature. Someone said the first two letters
of the word gospel is go. Go. Go. I have ordained you that
you should go. I have ordained you that you
should go and bring forth fruit. Those whom the Lord Jesus ordains
will, now listen, in his hands bring forth fruit. Look at this
example, if you will, in Colossians. Or if you want to, just listen
as I read it. Colossians chapter 1. I have ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit. In Colossians chapter 1, in verses 5 and 6, the apostle said,
for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, where have
you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which
is come unto you, that is the gospel is come unto you. How
did it come unto them? Someone brought it to them. Paul
didn't. When he wrote this letter of
Colossians, he had never seen these believers. He didn't bring
the gospel. Someone brought the gospel to
him. And I think the minister is named here in the letter. But notice what it says. Which
is come unto you, that is the gospel, the truth of the gospel,
which is come unto you, as it is in all the world, and bringeth
forth fruit. Bringeth forth fruit, as it doth
also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace
of God in truth. And notice that's not the end
of what our Lord said. I have ordained you. I have ordained
you that you should go. I have ordained you that you
should bring forth fruit. I have ordained you that you
should go and bring forth fruit and your fruit should remain. Their fruit remains until tonight. Their fruit remains until tonight
in this building, you and I. Every one of us here tonight
who know the Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we do
so as a result of God, the Holy Spirit, and the sovereign grace
of God understand that But under God the man, these men that he
ordained who took the gospel, preached the gospel, wrote the
word of God, everything that I know, everything that I preach,
everything that I believe about the Lord Jesus Christ tonight,
I do so from the word of these apostles. Look in John 17, in
his prayer. what our Lord told these disciples.
Or in His prayer, rather. He didn't tell them. But in John
17, in verse 20, where He said, Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also, which shall believe on Me through their word. I believe on Christ. Do you? And I do so through their And just as He prayed for them,
He prayed for us who believe on Him through their word. Now,
just a few minutes. I want us to go back here to
John 17. We've looked at these four things that He said to the
apostles. Now, let's say that each of these
four things are also true of every child of God and of every
one of the members of His mystical body. First, I have loved you. Each one is loved with an everlasting
love. Second, each one is chosen by
God from before the foundation of the world. Look, I want us
to look at this. Turn with me to Romans 9. Romans chapter 9. I say the truth in Christ, I
lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
that I have a great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh, who are Israelites. to whom pertaineth the adoption,
and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and
the service of God, and of the promises, whose are the fathers,
and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over
all, God bless forever, amen. Now notice, not as though the
word of God hath taken none effect. It might appear to many that
This couldn't be true. This gospel couldn't be true
because the majority, it seemed like, who were being saved were
Gentiles. Where many of the Israelites,
who were the descendants, the natural descendants of Abraham,
Jacob, and Isaac, were being passed over. And Paul said, it's
not like the word of God has taken no effect. Don't misunderstand. Don't believe that. Not at all. Not at all. For, here it is, for they are
not all Israel, which are of Israel. In other words, every
man who was a natural descendant of Abraham, of Jacob, who was
called Israel, was not a true Israelite, was not of the spiritual
seed of Abraham. Not as though the word of God
had taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are
of Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they
all children But in Isaac shall thy seed be called, that is,
they which are the children of the flesh. These are not the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for
the seed. For this is a word of promise.
At this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. And not
only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by
her father Isaac, for the children being not yet born. neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. the purpose of God according
to election. Just like our Lord told his apostles,
I have chosen you, so this is true of every child of God. And the only reason any of us
tonight are children of God is because he loved us and chose
us. Third, each one is rightly called
his friend. Just like he told his disciples,
I have called you my friends. I say this because the Apostle
Paul tells us in Galatians, know you therefore that they which
are of faith, your faith, if you believe in Christ, they that
are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And James
tells us, Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness and he was called the friend of God. Children take
the name of their father, don't they? Our father Abraham, he
was called the friend of God. That's our name as well. I have called you friends. And
fourth, each one, just like the apostles, is ordained to bring
forth fruit. You know this passage in Ephesians
2. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. May the Lord bless his word to
all of us here tonight.