They Belong To The Father - pt.2
The Upper Room Discourse • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsJesus' concern for the disciples is clear-He is concerned for their service and their sanctification.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Last week:
for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;
and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
We saw that Jesus prayed for these men, but did not pray for the world.
There is no record of Jesus praying for the world, certainly in the way that He prayed for these men.
These men, contra the world, were the property of the Father.
Therefore, He prays for them, their joy, unity, protection, love, etc…
We also saw, re: v.10:
Principle #1 = whatever belongs to Christ has been given to Him from the Father.
A statement of the Son’s love for the Father.
Principle #2 = whatever has been the possession of the Father has been give to Christ.
A statement of the Father’s love for the Son.
Principle #3 = Jesus is glorified by the mutual possession of the things of the Father.
A statement of the love relationship of the Father and the Son.
Jesus
Thus, Jesus continues to pray for these men, and not for the world.
He prays for them for:
Their unity, protection, knowledge of the Father, etc…
The fact that He is praying to the Father indicates that the Father is the only One who can accomplish these things.
In this portion, Jesus prays for the disciples.
He loves them with the Father’s love.
He wishes for their joy.
However, they have a hard road ahead of them.
The world has/will hate them:
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
The synagogues will ostracize them:
2 “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.
It is likely that they will be persecuted:
20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
All of this, and more, will be done within the framework of the religious:
2 “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.
But, nonetheless, the Father loves them, desires their blessing, and is intimately engaged in their daily lives.
21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
So, they are going to be stewarded with the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations.
But, Jesus promised that in the world they will have tribulation:
33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Therefore, they must have love for Christ, resolve, and courage, none of which they have currently.
When will they have it, and how will they get it?
That two-sided question is what we answer today:
When will they acquire love for Christ, a love that results in resolve and courage?
From where will they acquire love for Christ, a love that results in resolve and courage?
Body-vv.11-16
Body-vv.11-16
11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
NOTE:
Remember, Jesus seems to pray with references to the Lord’s Prayer.
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St John, Volumes 1 & 2 Parting Words: A Summary of the Last Discourse (vv. 25–31)
It has been pointed out that several of the thoughts underlying the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus prescribed for the use of His disciples, appear also in the great Prayer of Intercession in c. 17. With the opening address, “Our Father,” cf. 17:1, 5, 11, 21, 24, 25 where “Father” is used in the special and personal sense in which Jesus was accustomed to use it. “Hallowed be Thy Name” is recalled, vv. 6, 11, 12, 26. Perhaps “Thy kingdom come” is the form in which we may express something of what Christ expressed when He said “Glorify Thy Son” (vv. 1, 5). “As in heaven, so in earth,” has echoes in vv. 4, 5 With “lead us not into temptation” cf. “I kept them … I guarded them” (v. 12). And “deliver us from evil” is almost verbally reproduced (v. 15).
In this passage today, Jesus is focusing on the protection of the disciples from the evil one!
There are six ways these men are kept (protected):
by the Father’s name
by the Son
by the Word
by their new heart
by Jesus’ prayer
by their election
v.11=kept by the Father’s name.
v.11=kept by the Father’s name.
11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
11 καὶ οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἰσίν, κἀγὼ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι. Πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς.
Main point:
Jesus is leaving them, as of the crucifixion and resurrection. But, the disciples are staying in the world. Jesus petitions the Father to “keep them.” That consists of maintaining the name of Jesus, Lord, and remaining unified around that name.
Jesus:
“I am no longer in the world…and I come to You…keep them in the name You have given Me...”
Disciples:
“…they themselves are in the world…(be) kept in the name of the Father…be unified...”
Jesus is speaking in reference to His coming betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection/ascension.
His leaving, as we have seen, is causing tremendous turmoil in these men.
Judas has left.
Jesus says that He is leaving.
They have not seen the redemption of Israel yet.
And, they have been told that He is going to be betrayed, although that has not hit them yet.
“…Holy Father, keep them in Your name...”
“…Holy Father, keep them in Your name...”
Πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου
This is the only time Jesus addresses the Father as “holy.”
See John 17:25
25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
Why did He do this?
He is completely separate from this realm-
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
He is completely morally pure-
8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
He is completely perfectly powerful-
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
The Father is utterly holy.
Jesus addresses Him in the appropriate way-Holy.
This is even coming from the One who Himself is Holy.
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
But, the Son wishes to defer to the holiness of His Father.
He also wants to burn this prayer into their memories:
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Jesus desires to have these men remember the holiness of God in all their ministries.
This reality will be the only reality that will cause them to complete their ministries.
23 “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. 25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.
v.12-kept by the Son.
v.12-kept by the Son.
12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
12 ὅτε ἤμην μετʼ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἐτήρουν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, καὶ ἐφύλαξα, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπώλετο εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ.
Main point:
Jesus used to keep them as He is now asking the Father to do in His absence. None of the disciples were destroyed, except the one who was predetermined to be destroyed.
Jesus:
“While I was with them…I was keeping them…guarding them…and only let the son of destruction go… to fulfill Scripture...”
“While I was with them…I was keeping them…guarding them…and only let the son of destruction go… to fulfill Scripture...”
The ministry of Jesu=a ministry of “keeping them.”
What does this mean?
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 “Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
It means that the love relationship between the disciples and the Father was never interrupted, although imperfect.
21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
The only one whose relationship with the Father had been interrupted was Judas.
Judas did not keep the Words of the Father and the Christ.
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.
Judas was a dead branch.
He was cut off by virtue of being removed from Christ’s circles, presence, and fellowship.
How did He keep them?
He kept them by His Word.
That love relationship is based upon the Word of the Father.
Does He keep His disciples now?
Yes!
He keeps them by His Word.
32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Disciples:
“…they were kept by Jesus’ name…(Jesus) guarded them…none perished, except one...”
“…they were kept by Jesus’ name…(Jesus) guarded them…none perished, except one...”
Jesus’ name is two-fold:
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Jesus = Savior
21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Lord = Master
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
However, the name which Jesus was given by God, and which God Himself shares is “Lord.”
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
v.13-kept by the Word.
v.13-kept by the Word.
13 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
13 νῦν δὲ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι καὶ ταῦτα λαλῶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἵνα ἔχωσιν τὴν χαρὰν τὴν ἐμὴν πεπληρωμένην ἐν ἑαυτοῖς.
Main point:
Jesus’ purpose of this prayer is the same joy He Himself has. The maximum joy will come from the lordship of Jesus Christ preserving the unity of the disciples.
Jesus:
“…I come to You…I speak for their joy (while ministering in the world)...”
“…I come to You…I speak for their joy (while ministering in the world)...”
Thus, even though these men will have to minister among the hateful, they will need to walk in the power of joy.
So, Jesus prays for them and all that He is asking for them, which is not for the world, is meant to fulfill joy to the max in them.
Disciples:
“…that they might have joy...”
“…that they might have joy...”
Jesus, then, is concerned for the joy of the disciples.
With this joy, they will be able to minister in the kingdom of God.
v.14-kept by their new heart.
v.14-kept by their new heart.
14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
14 ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον σου καὶ ὁ κόσμος ἐμίσησεν αὐτούς, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου καθὼς ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου.
Main point:
The world hates the disciples because they were given the Words of Christ and they believed, proving that they were, in fact, not of this world. They were elected by the Father, thus not only created by function in this world and destined for destruction, as Judas was.
Jesus:
“I gave them Your Word…I am not of the world...”
“I gave them Your Word…I am not of the world...”
The means of this ministry will be the Word that the Father gave Christ, which Christ taught them, which the Spirit of Truth will bring to their remembrance.
24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
Disciples:
“…they were hated by the world…they are not of the world...”
“…they were hated by the world…they are not of the world...”
It is because of this Word that the world will hate them.
But that is only the symptom of the deeper problem.
The Word they speak shows that they are not of the world.
The fact that they believe the Word shows that they are from God, and not the world.
The fact that they are from God means that they have a new nature, heart, and desires.
These new desires, which are evidences of God’s election of them, will clash with the world.
Therefore, they are “not of the world,” and since that is true, the world will have only one recourse-hatred.
1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. 11 “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it. 12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
v.15-kept by Jesus’ prayer.
v.15-kept by Jesus’ prayer.
15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
15 οὐκ ἐρωτῶ ἵνα ἄρῃς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, ἀλλʼ ἵνα τηρήσῃς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ.
Main point:
Jesus did not pray to remove them from the hateful world. Rather, He prayed only to keep them from the destruction, and temptation, of the evil one, Satan. Again, think “Judas.”
Jesus:
“I ask You to keep them from the evil one...”
“I ask You to keep them from the evil one...”
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
Disciples:
“…keep them in the world, away from the evil one...”
“…keep them in the world, away from the evil one...”
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
v.16-kept by their election.
v.16-kept by their election.
16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
16 ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου οὐκ εἰσὶν καθὼς ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου.
Main point:
The point of origin of these men is not of this world, just as Jesus’ point of origin is not of this world. This world is fallen, and the evil one rules over it. Jesus is not a product of this system of evil run by the devil. Rather, He is a “product” of the Father and His eternal purpose. Or, another way, He is elect and His children/brethren are elect.
Jesus:
“…I am not of the world...”
“…I am not of the world...”
“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
Disciples:
“…they are not of the world...”
“…they are not of the world...”
These are statements of election.
Conclusion
Conclusion
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
Where will the courage and love come from?
It will come from God as His servants seek first the kingdom had His righteousness.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Thus, we carry on the ministry to the world, as not OF the world.
