Jesus Eternal Life And You - [John 17:1-7]

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So, how far are we in S. Lewis Johnson, Basic Bible Doctrines?
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Some good stuff that Pastor Mike has encouraged us to be a part of. I always have a fun give -and -take with him because, as we know, that is his favorite expositor.
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Mine is Martin Lloyd -Jones, whom Pastor MacArthur has said will go down in history as the greatest expositor of the 20th century in reference to Martin Lloyd -Jones.
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Martin Lloyd -Jones' predecessor, G. Campbell Morgan, was primarily a preacher of the four
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Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Really didn't get into the epistles, especially the doctrinal epistles, like Romans or Hebrews or Ephesians.
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He wasn't a doctrinal preacher. So Warren Wisbee one time asked his successor,
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Martin Lloyd -Jones, about that, and Martin Lloyd -Jones said, he left them for me. I'm glad for it.
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Because Martin Lloyd -Jones was known as a doctrinal preacher par excellence. Typically, when
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I've had the opportunity to preach here, I've basically gone to the epistles. But I thought for tonight it would be great to look at the
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Gospels. So if you would, with me, turn to John chapter 17.
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John chapter 17. By the way, once you're done with the 41 basic Bible doctrines by S.
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Lewis Johnson, Martin Lloyd -Jones' website has over 1 ,600 sermons for free you can download.
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So that will cover you for a few years. John chapter 17. The synoptic
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Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, do not contain this portion of Scripture. It is unique to the
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Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. And it is nestled in a section of Scripture from John chapter 13 to John chapter 17, known as the
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Upper Room Discourse. And we've reached the climax of that discourse, the culmination of it.
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So let me read. I'm not going to read the entire chapter. We'll read from verse 1 down to verse 9 of John 17.
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This is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer. And as I highlighted briefly this morning, when people say the
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Lord's Prayer, our mind goes to Matthew chapter 6, Sermon on the Mount, which was a prayer that Jesus taught
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His disciples. But this is actually the Lord's Prayer, His High Priestly Prayer.
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There are many times in Scripture where the Gospel writers will say, in the middle of ministry and chaos, disciples and crowds crowding in on our
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Lord, where He will pull away, go to a lonely place up on the mountain and pray.
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Actually, in Mark 1, there's an incident where nobody can find Him. And the disciples came clambering for Him.
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Where were You? Everyone is looking for You. But yet this is the one time that the
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Gospel writer John records Christ's entire prayer. So it would behoove us to look at it a little bit tonight.
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So I'll read from chapter 17, of course, verse 1 to verse 9. When Jesus had spoken these words,
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He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify
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Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom
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You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know
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You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified
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You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now,
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Father, glorify Me in Your own presence, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.
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I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept
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Your word. Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You.
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For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You.
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And they have believed that You sent Me. I am praying for them, I am not praying for the world, but for those whom
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You have given Me, for they are Yours. This is the climax of this
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Upper Room Discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the last moments of intimacy that He spends with the
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Twelve. On His way to the cross, He knew what was about to come.
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That is why He said at the beginning of this prayer, Father, the hour has come. To understand a little bit of how
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He got here to this high priestly prayer, let's do a brief overview of the
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Upper Room Discourse. In chapter 13, of course, it begins with Jesus as a servant washing the disciples' feet.
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And, of course, in that time He predicts to them about Judas' betrayal. And, of course, they're all murmuring amongst one another who's going to betray
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Him. And, of course, He gave the morsel to Judas. And it is in that chapter that Jesus gives them the
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New Commandment, which, you know, is a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as I have loved you.
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By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you love one another. John chapter 14,
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He continues. Of course, the chapters are not inspired, but in this is one discourse. All these five chapters are one discourse, an interaction
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Christ has with His disciples. In 14, He talks about the fact that they need to trust in God and trust in Him, that they should not let their hearts be troubled.
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Why? Because He is going to prepare a place for them, that where He is, there
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He may be also. And He promises them that He will come back and take them to Himself. And, of course,
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He makes in verse 6 of chapter 14 the astounding statement, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
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No one comes to the Father but through Me. And, of course, that opened a can of worms for Philip, because Philip looked at Him and said, show us the
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Father. And I love this Christ response. Show you the
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Father, He says. He who has seen Me has seen the Father.
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Have I been with you so long? He also talked about in chapter 14, in verse 15,
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Jesus said, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Obedience is the manifest evidence of love for the
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Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in chapter 14 where He first introduces the
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Holy Spirit. Now, He says a lot about the Holy Spirit in this upper room discourse, which leads to this major intercessory prayer of His in chapter 17.
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And there's reason for that, because He knew He was leaving His own, the disciples. And He wanted to prepare them for what would happen after He left.
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The promised Holy Spirit. In chapter 14, He refers to Him as the Helper. It's a term referred to in this upper room discourse about three or four times.
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It's the term Paracletus. The Holy Spirit is one who comes alongside.
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Actually, it's the same word that the Apostle John used in 1 John 2, 1, when he referred to Jesus as Our Advocate.
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So, Jesus here is introducing to them the Holy Spirit and teaches them about Him. Chapter 15, of course, is the classic chapter of the vine and the branches, where Jesus says,
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Apart from Me you can do how much? Nothing. And He says to them in verse 16 of that chapter, in an astounding statement,
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He says, You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And He continues a little bit more about the
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Holy Spirit. And in that chapter, He introduces them as the Spirit of Truth. So, not only is
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He our Paraclete, our Helper, who comes alongside, but He is the Spirit of Truth. And then in chapter 16, for that, if you would just turn, look back one chapter, in chapter 16,
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He gives a little bit more discourse on the Holy Spirit. So, here we have, this is quite amazing, the second member of the
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Trinity, about to go to the cross, and He knows it, He's about to pray for His own, and He's teaching them about the fact that He will not leave them alone, but He's going to give them the
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Holy Spirit. It's the only portion of Scripture where there's a lot more in the
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Scriptures that teach about the Holy Spirit, but it's the primary portion where Christ, the second member, teaches about the third member.
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In John chapter 16, from verse 7 to 14, listen to what
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He says to the disciples here. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the
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Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. And when
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He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I go to the
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Father and you will see Me no longer, concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.
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I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes,
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He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever
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He hears, He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify
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Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. Christ is unfolding to the disciples as they're going to be left as orphans, as He says in this portion of Scripture.
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I'm not going to leave you as orphans, but I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. And then
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He concludes chapter 16 and He says in verse 33, In the world you will have tribulation,
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He says to them. They're about to experience some. You will have tribulation, not that you might, but you will, but take heart or take courage.
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Why? Christ says to the disciples, for I have overcome the world. So they've been with Him for three years.
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He has trained them. They've heard Him teach. They saw Him perform miracles. They saw
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Him prove beyond a shadow of a doubt who He was, His deity. To whom shall we go, Peter said, right?
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You have the words of eternal life. Who do people say that I am? Some say one of the prophets.
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Some say Elijah. Who do you say that I am? Peter says you are the Christ, the Son of the living
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God. And Christ says to them, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
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And now they're in this intimate time with the Savior before He goes to the cross. He washes their feet.
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He teaches them about the Holy Spirit. And now He's going to begin to pray for them. And they are there while He is praying for them.
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And here what we find in this prayer of Jesus, Jesus Christ is the one who gives eternal life.
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Jesus Christ is the one who gives eternal life. And what we're going to look at briefly this evening is why is
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Jesus the only one who can give and guarantee eternal life? Why is
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Jesus Christ the only one who not only can give, but He can guarantee eternal life? And I'll give you four points on that.
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First of all, because of the authority of Jesus Christ. Christ can give and guarantee eternal life because of His authority.
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Look at verse 2, what He says there. Since you, the Father, have given
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Him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given
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Him. Christ has authority for that. We see it throughout the
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Gospels, the authority of Jesus Christ. How many times when He taught the people, the people were amazed.
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Why? Because He taught them as one with authority, not like the scribes. I love the passage in Mark chapter 2.
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Actually, I remember this passage vividly as a young boy in Sunday school. I remember the felt pictures that my
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Sunday school teacher would put up. And it was a story of the paralytic. Jesus was teaching in the house, and the crowds were so clamored in that there was no room for them to bring
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Him through. So what did they do? They took Him up on the roof and brought Him down from the roof.
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And He makes His statement in that passage when He heals the paralytic. But that you may know that the
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Son of Man has authority to do what? On earth to forgive sins.
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Christ has authority on earth to forgive sins. But it doesn't stop there. In John chapter 5,
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He says that the Father has given Him authority to execute judgment.
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And that the Father will not judge anyone, but He has given that judgment to the Son. He has given
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Him authority to judge. In John chapter 10, the classic passage of the
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Good Shepherd. I am the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. He says,
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I have authority to do what? I have authority to lay down my life, and I have authority to take it up again.
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No one can take that from me. And of course, in the Great Commission in Matthew 28,
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His final words to the disciples before He tells them to therefore make disciples of all nations.
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He says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
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Jesus Christ alone has the authority. Why does He have this authority?
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He says it very clearly here as He is talking to the Father. Father, the hour has come.
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Glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You. Verse 2, since You have given Him authority. The Father, the first member of the
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Trinity, has given authority to the Son. It has come directly from Him. What is this authority about?
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It's about eternal life. You have given Him authority over all flesh to give eternal life.
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That is why Jesus is the only one who not only can give eternal life, but He is the only one who can guarantee it.
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Because He has been given that authority by the Father directly to give eternal life.
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And He defines eternal life. Verse 3, This is eternal life, that they may know
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You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
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You have sent. That is eternal life, to know the one and only true God, Yahweh, Jehovah, and Jesus Christ, whom
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You have sent. The Apostle John, when he wrote in his first epistle, actually put it this way concerning eternal life.
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1 John 5 .20, he says, And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know
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Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.
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He is the true God and eternal life. John says that Jesus alone is the true
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God and eternal life. One of the verses I learned as a young Christian was a couple of verses before that, in 1
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John 5 .11, And this is eternal life, and this, God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
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He who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
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Only in Jesus Christ, He is eternal life. But notice, not only does this authority come from the
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Father, not only is it about eternal life, but who is His authority over? Since you have given
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Him, verse 2, authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all, to all whom?
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Whom you have given Him. Christ's authority to give eternal life is for all those
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God the Father has given to Jesus. This is simply the doctrine of election.
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God the Father has chosen from eternity past those whom He has given to Christ, and Christ here has authority to give eternal life to them.
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Look down further in verse 6 and 9, He says this also of this chapter. I have manifested
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Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept
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Your word. And verse 9, I'm praying for them, I'm not praying for the world, but for those whom
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You have given Me. It's the same language over and over again.
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And actually earlier in John chapter 6, when Jesus proclaimed Himself as the bread of life,
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He said the following in John 6 verse 37, All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.
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Isn't that an amazing statement? That everyone that God the
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Father gives to Jesus, they will come to Christ. Not that they might, they will.
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It's a guarantee because God has given them to Him. And Christ continues in that statement,
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And whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent
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Me. And what is that will? This is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given
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Me, but raise it up on the last day. Christ can guarantee our eternal life, because all that the
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Father has given Him will come to Him, and He will guarantee raising Him up on the last day.
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He will lose none of them. So Christ has authority to give eternal life.
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But secondly, not only does He have the authority, but also because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
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The finished work of Jesus Christ, He can give and guarantee eternal life.
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Notice what He says in verse 4. I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave
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Me to do. How did Jesus glorify the Father on earth?
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By accomplishing the work that the Father gave Jesus to do. And what work was that?
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The work of redemption. This is an astounding statement, because Christ has not yet gone to the cross.
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He's basically saying, it's as good as done. I have accomplished, past tense, the work that You gave
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Me to do, the work of redemption on the cross. It's the same idea that Paul uses in Romans chapter 8.
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Paul talks about the order of God's salvation in our lives, and he says the following. Those that God foreknew,
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He also predestined. Those whom He predestined, He also called. Those whom
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He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified.
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The term glorified is in the past tense, about a future event, to show the security, the certainty of this act.
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Christ does the same thing here, about a future event that was coming up, the cross, where the work of redemption was going to be accomplished.
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He says here, in His high priestly prayer, I have accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. Therefore, You are glorified.
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Remember one of His final words on the cross? It is finished.
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That's what He's saying here. I can not only give eternal life, but I'm the one who can guarantee it, because I have accomplished what the
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Father gave Me to do. The finished work of Jesus Christ guarantees our eternal life.
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So not only does He have authority to give eternal life and guarantee it, not only because of His finished work, but number three, because of the eternal sonship of Christ.
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The eternal sonship of Jesus Christ. Verse 5. And now,
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Father, glorify Me in Your own presence, watch this, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.
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That's awesome. Christ had the glory with the
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Father before the world existed. He's eternal. That's why
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John begins his gospel, chapter 1, verse 1, with, in the beginning was the
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Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
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All things were created by Him, and nothing that was created was created without Him. He had the glory with the
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Father before the world existed, the world which He Himself created. John, chapter 8.
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John just covers this completely throughout his gospel. It's a great passage of Scripture.
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Jesus says to the people, If you abide in My Word, or if you continue in My teaching, you are truly
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My disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. The Jews looked at Him and said,
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Set us free? We're not slaves of anyone. Yes, you are,
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He said. You're a slave to sin. He used the user -friendly method of evangelism. They said,
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But wait a second, we have Abraham as our Father. They used their religious credentials.
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Didn't fly with Jesus. Then they got even more spiritual and said, We have
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God as our Father. And Jesus slams them and says, If God were your Father, you would love
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Me. No, let me tell you who is your Father, the devil. And then
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He goes on and on and on, and they go back to claiming their spiritual heritage. Therefore, when
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He gets to the end of John, chapter 8, in verse 58, Christ says, Before Abraham was, the one that you claim is your
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Father and your descendants of, and clinging to that spiritual heritage. Before Abraham was,
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I am. What do you think they were thinking of? Exodus 3, Moses, the burning bush.
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The people are going to ask me, Who is sending you? I am who I am, Yahweh, the self -sufficient, self -existent
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God. Christ was claiming eternal deity. So because of His eternal sonship,
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He cannot only give eternal life, but He can guarantee it. And finally, the intercessory work of Christ.
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The intercessory work of Christ guarantees our eternal life.
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Notice from verses 6 through 9. I have manifested your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world.
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Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Verse 9,
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I am praying for them, I am not praying for the world. Notice that Christ makes it very clear here that He is not praying for the world.
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He is praying for those whom the Father gave Him before eternity passed, that He would have the authority to save and to give eternal life.
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I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. Jump down to verse 20.
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He extends His prayer. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.
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So Christ is praying for those that the Father had given to Him, but also for those who would believe.
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What is He actually praying about? We're not going to cover the whole chapter of His actual prayer content, but let's just highlight a couple of things that He prays about.
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In verse 11, as He intercedes for the elect, He prays, Father, keep them in Your name, keep them in Your name.
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In verse 15, keep them from the evil one. Verse 17, sanctify them in the truth,
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Your word is truth. And He prays a great deal in this passage, in this prayer, concerning the unity of His own.
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Verse 11, He says this, I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You.
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Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given me. Why? That they may be one, even as we are one.
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Notice He's using Trinitarian unity amongst the triune God, as a foundation for unity amongst
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His own people. He continues in verse 21, That they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in me, and I in You, that they also may be in us.
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Why? So that the world may believe that You have sent me. Verse 22, The glory that You have given me,
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I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and You in me, that they may become perfectly one.
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Christ is interceding on behalf of those that the Father has given Him, the ones that He has authority to give eternal life to, the ones
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He can guarantee eternal life to, because of His finished work, because of His eternal sonship.
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And now He is praying for them, interceding for them. The intercessory work of Jesus Christ should not be taken lightly.
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Let me give you a specific example of this. Turn with me to Luke chapter 22, going back to one of the synoptics.
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Luke chapter 22. Don't we all love Peter because we love to slam him?
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Maybe because we all can identify with him so much. Luke 22, from verses 31 to 34.
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This is a specific example highlighting the intercessory work of Jesus Christ.
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Simon, Simon. Stop there. I thought he had changed his name.
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Didn't he? Luke 6 .14 tells us when he called the disciples after spending an entire night in prayer, and he called
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Simon, who he named Peter. He's referring to his old name.
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Watch out. And not only is he doing that, but he's calling his name twice.
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It's sort of like Luke 11, when the two sisters are having a squabble, Martha and Mary. And he turns to Martha and says,
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Martha, Martha. So here he goes again. He's trying to tell
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Peter, I changed your name, I changed you, but I'm now referring to your old name, and I'm mentioning it twice.
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He continues and says this, Simon, Simon. Behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat.
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But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.
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Peter said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Jesus said,
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I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny me three times that you know me.
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Satan demanded to have Peter. Imagine hearing this from Christ himself, telling
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Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to have you. It's no wonder that when Peter wrote his first epistle, he knew what he was talking about.
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In 1 Peter 5, he describes the devil like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
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He knew what he was talking about there. Satan demanded to have
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Simon Peter. But watch this. Verse 32. But I have prayed for you.
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When Satan, the roaring lion, our enemy seeks to devour.
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Our response cannot be, but I am stronger than he. But I am a child of God.
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Our guarantee is the same guarantee that Peter had here. The intercessory work of Jesus Christ.
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But I have prayed for you. What did he pray for? That your faith may not fail.
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This is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Those whom God gave to the son from eternity past, that the son has authority to give and guarantee eternal life.
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He will preserve him to the end because the son continues to intercede for them. It's his process from beginning to end.
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That your faith may not fail. And he had a purpose for him. When you have turned again, not if you've turned again.
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Christ knew that he would turn again because of his intercessory work on his behalf. When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.
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Christ intercessory work on our behalf. Hebrews chapter 7 puts it this way, responding to the intercessory work of Christ.
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The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office.
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But he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.
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Since he always lives to make intercession for them. Christ, our great high priest, who in the book of Hebrews is superior to the angels, to Moses, to any priest.
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Because he is a minister of a better and a new covenant. That great high priest, Hebrews says, always lives to make intercession for us.
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What guarantees that you and I have eternal life? Besides the intercessory work of Christ.
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Turn with me if you were just in closing on this aspect of Christ's work on our behalf to Romans chapter 8.
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Romans chapter 8 preaching through the gospel, but I still can't avoid the doctrinal epistles.
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I just love him too much. Romans chapter 8. There's a bunch of questions, accusations that Paul is using in his argument here.
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And there's three questions such in rapid fire. Who, who, who? And in verse 33, he says, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
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It is God who justifies. Second question in verse 34. Who is to condemn?
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Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God doing what?
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Who indeed is interceding for us. Third question, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
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Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
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Eternal life is guaranteed. Not only is Christ himself said in praying for his own, but as Paul highlights here again, because Christ at the right hand of God, the father is interceding for us.
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But earlier in chapter eight, Paul also said this. Verse 26, if you would look.
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Likewise, the spirit, the spirit, the same spirit that Jesus was trying to teach the disciples in the upper room discourse before he got to his great high priestly prayer so that they would know it was to come.
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Paul says here, likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought.
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But the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
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So we have the spirit interceding for us. We have Christ interceding for us. I'll never forget at this last year's shepherds conference, one of the messages that Pastor MacArthur gave.
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He was expositing through Romans eight. And he made the comment that it just caused about three thousand men to just be in a hush, that it takes both the second member and the third member of the
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Trinity, the son and the spirit, interceding for us to secure our salvation.
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Why can Christ not only give us eternal life, but guaranteed for us for reasons based on his prayer?
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Because God the Father has given him authority to give eternal life to those whom he has given him.
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Because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, the work that he accomplished before he even got there and glorified the
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Father. Because of his eternal sonship, he was with the Father in glory before the world existed.
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And therefore he is the only one who can give and guarantee eternal life. And finally, because of the intercessory work of Jesus Christ, we can be guaranteed of our eternal life.
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Father, thank you for this portion of scripture that we briefly looked at this evening.
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Thank you for the ongoing ministry of Jesus, our
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Lord and Savior, our intercessor, our advocate, who always lives, as Hebrews says, to make intercession for us.
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Father, we know that we are weak and frail like the apostle Peter, who we are the first ones to say, we'll go with you to prison and even to death, and yet he denied him three times.
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And Lord, our guarantee of our eternal life is not anything found in us, but it's because of the authority that you gave
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Jesus Christ to give eternal life to those whom you have given him. It's because of his finished work on the cross, as he cried out,
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It is finished. It is because of his eternal nature as the
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Son, and he had the glory with you from eternity past, before the world was created.
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And it is because of his ongoing work for us, interceding on our behalf, that we might not fail, but when we have stood the test, we might strengthen the brothers.
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Lord, we thank you and we love you, because you first loved us. In Christ's name we pray.