This is Eternal Life-pt.2
The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsThe purpose for the authority that Jesus has is for the exclusive purpose of giving out eternal life to those whom He wishes, as determined by God.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
“Eternal” = both hell and heaven.
Entering eternal hell is easy…a person just needs to do nothing...just keep going the way you are going....away from God.
Entering eternal life is not so easy.
It is impossible.
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
But, it is available.
Illustration:
18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 “You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” 28 Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.” 29 And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”
The rich man asked a very normal question for a Jewish man to ask: “How do I get eternal life?”
Immediately, Jesus upsets the conventionality of the question and asserts His deity-”You called me ‘good,’ but in reality only God is good. You just called me God.”
If the man could keep the whole Law, he would enter eternal life (v.20).
How does the Law give a man eternal life?
In itself it does not, but it points out the need for this Jew to have eternal life since the Law condemns everyone.
But this man lacks one thing: he needs to abandon his life, deny himself, invest into the things of heaven (and not the earth), and follow the Messiah (to the cross).
But, he could not do that.
The man did not inherit eternal life.
He kept the Law, but the law that he kept did not lead him to the Messiah.
Jesus was sad for him (Mark 10:21).
The assertion is made that it is impossible to obtain eternal life if you are wealthy.
“Who, then, can be saved?”
It is impossible for any man to activate salvation of himself, especially if he is wealthy.
But, what is impossible for man is possible for God.
“eternal life” > “life” (v.17) > “kingdom of heaven” (v.23) > “kingdom of God” (v.24) > “saved” (v.25).
Eternal life is synonymous with all these things.
Eternal death is the antinomy of these things.
Jesus came to give eternal life to His people.
Today: we need to know more about eternal life, the life that the true believer possesses.
3 Words to Introduce Eternal LIfe:
Power
Purpose
Person
v.2
v.2
2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
2 καθὼς ἔδωκας αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν πάσης σαρκός, ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ δώσῃ αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
Power:
Power:
Consistent with the act of giving Jesus authority over all flesh, God also gave Jesus the power to give eternal life to whomever He wishes.
Two things to consider:
Jesus wishes only to give eternal life to whomever the Father has chosen.
Jesus wishes only to give eternal life to whomever the Father has chosen.
20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. 21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
Therefore, only those whom the Father has chosen for salvation will be given eternal life from Jesus Christ.
Think about it; only those whom the Father has chosen will receive the knowledge of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Not everyone will have that in this manner.
This is intimacy and relationship based upon the atonement from Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Jesus has authority from the Designer and Creator of all men to rule over ALL MEN, SAVED AND UNSAVED!
Jesus has authority from the Designer and Creator of all men to rule over ALL MEN, SAVED AND UNSAVED!
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Jesus is the Judge of all men.
Therefore, all men, saved and unsaved, will confess Jesus as Lord.
They will see Him and be forced to acknowledge that He is Lord.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
What else can help us to understand this?
The names of those people who are given life, and are not judged, are written in a “book,” which is a record of the names of these people of all ages.
Illustration:
23 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. 21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
Purpose:
Purpose:
Key point:
The purpose clause - that every one He has given to Him, He might give eternal life.
What is the purpose of this authority?
What is the purpose of this authority?
So that He would have the right, the authority, to give eternal life to those whom the Father has given to Him.
So, the glory of the Son and the Father is in accord with, or to the degree of, the authority that the Father has given the Son in order that the Son may give eternal life to whomever He may wish.
To give eternal life is the exclusive right of the Son.
Eternal life, as explained in v.3, is knowledge of the Father.
Therefore, in order to receive eternal life, a person must be given it, and that life IS knowledge of the Father and the Son.
What does this knowledge look like?
What does this knowledge look like?
7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
The knowledge of the Father and the Son is based upon what they reveal to His people.
The means of that revelation is the Word of God.
John 6:37-40
37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
These same concepts are mentioned in our passage.
All things are handed over to Me by My Father
Only the Son knows the Father
Only the Father knows the Son
Only the Son can reveal the Father to a person.
The Father has given all authority to Jesus Christ, especially as it relates to the elect.
V.3
V.3
Person:
Person:
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
3 αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.
vv.2-3 mention eternal life.
v.2 = Jesus desires to give eternal life to those who are given to Him from the Father.
v.3 = Jesus tells us what the quality of that life is-> Knowledge of/relationship with God the Father and Jesus the Son.
I want to consider three things about eternal life:
The basis of eternal life.
The participants of eternal life.
The quality of eternal life.
The Basis of Eternal Life - God’s promise
The Basis of Eternal Life - God’s promise
1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
This promise was promised ages ago:
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.
It was promised long ages ago, but is now the message of Jesus Christ, His Son.
This life is the promise of the gospel we preach.
How do we get it?
We cannot get it by faith:
We cannot get it by faith:
Believing in Jesus Christ is evidence that a person has eternal life.
15 so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. 16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal.
We cannot get it by works:
15 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
NOTE: “…but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law...” = faith is the evidence, not the means, of justification.
Galatians 2:16 (UBS5)
16 εἰδότες [δὲ] ὅτι οὐ δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἔργων νόμου ἐὰν μὴ διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπιστεύσαμεν, ἵνα δικαιωθῶμεν ἐκ πίστεως Χριστοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων νόμου, ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σάρξ.
Genitive of description, not instrumental/dative of advantage.
Crucial!!!!
Galatians (2) The Incident at Antioch (2:11–21)
Evangelical Christians must ever guard against the temptation to turn faith itself into one of the “works of the law.” Saving faith is a radical gift from God, never a mere human possibility (Eph 2:8–9). Faith is not an achievement that earns salvation anymore than circumcision is. Rather faith is the evidence of saving grace manifested in the renewal of the heart by the Holy Spirit.
6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
6 ἡ δὲ ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοσύνη οὕτως λέγει, Μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, Τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν; τοῦτʼ ἔστιν Χριστὸν καταγαγεῖν 7 ἤ, Τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον; τοῦτʼ ἔστιν Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναγαγεῖν. 8 ἀλλὰ τί λέγει; Ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως ὃ κηρύσσομεν. 9 ὅτι ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, σωθήσῃ 10 καρδίᾳ γὰρ πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην, στόματι δὲ ὁμολογεῖται εἰς σωτηρίαν. 11 λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή, Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται. 12 οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολὴ Ἰουδαίου τε καὶ Ἕλληνος, ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς κύριος πάντων, πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν 13 Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται. 14 Πῶς οὖν ἐπικαλέσωνται εἰς ὃν οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν; πῶς δὲ πιστεύσωσιν οὗ οὐκ ἤκουσαν; πῶς δὲ ἀκούσωσιν χωρὶς κηρύσσοντος; 15 πῶς δὲ κηρύξωσιν ἐὰν μὴ ἀποσταλῶσιν; καθὼς γέγραπται, Ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων [τὰ] ἀγαθά.
Notice the passive verbs in v.10
Therefore....
Eternal life is a gift of God for everyone who believes.
But, no man can believe because of our depravity.
Therefore, God initiates salvation to whomever He wills, causing the man to cry out to Him for salvation.
That man or woman who cries out to Him for a clean conscience will not be disappointed.
The expression of this eternal life comes out in a myriad of ways:
The expression of this eternal life comes out in a myriad of ways:
21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus needs his disciples to hear this.
They need to know what eternal life is in order to recognize it in themselves, their people, and Judas.
This all still goes back to John 15:1-5
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.