The grand distinctions of christ's own:
Our relationship to others
John 17:13-19 ~ Terry phillips
May 27, 2018
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The grand distinctions of christ's own:
I’d like to start off this morning by asking each and all of you a question: To what extent would you say you stick out from the crowd? Stop and think about this. To what extent do you actually, would you perceive yourself as sticking out from the crowd? I'm going to guess that most of us probably don't perceive ourselves in that way just in general terms. I don’t see anybody in here with a purple mohawk or a 5 pound nose ring or anything, there’s a lot of things that people do to try to get themselves noticed. But to what extent are we different than the world at large, as a whole. To what extent should we expect to be different? There is, it seems to me even as I was thinking about this, there's a natural inclination for most of us, on some level to stick out if you will, or to be different, to be set apart from the crowd. Some of us, maybe most of us would like to stand out. We'd like to be different than the crowd sets her to stand out from the crowd as long as we don't have to do it in front of the crowd, but this is a natural instinct for most of us, at least on some level. Obviously, some of the motivations that are involved in really all the motivations from one perspective or another when it comes to just this general desire to be different or to be above the cut, if you will. They come from some from self-serving motives. This comes from an attitude of pride and arrogance, There are all sorts of different ways that we can as people, individuals or as different groups of people distinguish ourselves very specifically from the crowd, from others if you will, but one of the things that, if you really think this through carefully, should become obvious to us that in the end, the final analysis in and of ourselves we are all very much the same no matter how we may, in our own strength in our own creative juices, if you will, try to distinguish ourselves in the end were all very much the same, especially in regards to the things that really matter, in regard to the condition of our soul in regard to our relationship or our position before God.
There is one distinction to be observed among humanity, though that actually matters, one distinction. It's real, it is of the most profound significance because it is of God's doing. Our tendency and I think all of us would have to admit this notice this and myself so many times and sometimes somewhat frustrating. Our tendency is to see people and evaluate other people from a purely human perspective, what they look like, where they come from, what do they do, what have they done or not done. How important are they, what are they good at and how good are they at it. We are all prone to evaluate each other from a basically superficial perspective. It’s just a fact, that’s something that we have to actually pay attention to it seems to me, to not do that. Many times it sort of comes instinctively. But I’m reminded that it is only from the perspective of a reconciled relationship to God that we are ever going to be able to actually evaluate people from the perspective of what really matters. Before we can ever be concerned about the greatest need for those around us, we ourselves must have, first of all come to be distinguished in the most significant way possible, and that is in Christ.
One of the things that I have that I have been pondering in the passage that is before us again this morning in John 17, this fact that our Savior, our Lord Jesus, the One who in Himself bore our sins in His very own body as He suffered and He died in our place. Jesus Himself is very intensely concerned; He's intensely attentive to the way in which He is setting us apart in this world as His very own. That's important to the Lord, you see that in this passage and this is exactly what we should expect if we stop and consider the magnitude of His sacrifice for us. When we think of the magnitude of our Lord’s sacrifice it stands to good reason that Jesus would be very, very, much concerned as to how we, now who belong to Him, how it is that we are to stand apart from this world, how it is that the world should be able to see and recognize us as having come to saving faith in Christ as having been made alive together with Jesus. Whether they understand, and of course they don't understand that, whether they understand or not, to be able to see a difference, a specific kind of difference, and it seems to me that it is a great disservice to our Lord when we are unconcerned or careless about His view of our relationship to the world and sometimes this happens I think. It’s not that big of a deal to us.
We get so wrapped up in everything that we’re doing, all the different pressures that are forced upon us in daily living. And we tend to forget this. This is important to the Lord. It’s important, our relationship to the world is very important. As children of God who are still living in this world for a short while, we’re called to be distinctly different from the world around us. The thing that I notice is that this is not an open-ended calling, subject to our own ideas of what it should look like. We are not; Jesus does not invite us in this respect, to inject our own creativity, our own attitudes or ideas. It’s not up to us to determine the way or the ways that we would like to make ourselves stand out to the world. Jesus Himself has given us a very specific mandate in regard to our own position, in relation to the world around us.
In our Lord's prayer to the Father He very specifically clarifies the fundamental distinction between those who are merely in this world and those who are still of this world. I remind you the passage that's before us, I begin in verse 13 of John 17 “But now I come to Thee, and these things I speak in the world that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I've given them Thy word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send me into the world. I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified or set apart. In truth”
You can't help but notice it in this passage can you? It’s there very clear for us to see. It is our relationship to the truth that sets us apart from the world in an essential contrast. There are no doubt a variety of ways in which this basic distinction can and will be evidenced in each of our lives, individually, in different situations, and circumstances, at different times, but it is at its very core our relationship to the truth that is making itself known in us. As we continue on in this world this relationship to the truth makes it known, makes it clear that we are not of this world. It's really a remarkable truth, a remarkable reality when you think about it. The prominence of our close relationship to the truth is inevitable. It's inevitable because of the world's propensity towards deception. In other words, this is something our relationship to the truth is something that's not going to be easily hidden. We talked about this earlier. And one of the ways, reasons, it is going to be so prominent is because of the world's general and overriding attitude towards the truth and towards deception. This world is a world that is prone towards deception, it’s something we take for granted. Many times we forget about this. The world around us is constantly, constantly falling prey to deception. Different, differing deceptions yes, but they're all deceptions nonetheless. It’s one of the most and more notable characteristics of the world as a whole. That is its aversion to the truth. I was going through and just am reminded of a number of passages as I was thinking about this. You think of what God says in terms of his assessment of the world's relationship to the truth there in Romans chapter 1 we’re told of unbelieving mankind “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.” A few verses later, that's in the 18th verse, in Romans 1:25 we’re told of mankind, unbelieving mankind, “exchanging the truth of God for a lie”.
I was reminded of God's declaration to the children of Israel through his prophets in some of their darkest days, through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 59:14. He says “for truth has stumbled in the street.” Jeremiah 9:3, “lies, and not truth prevail in the land.” Paul speaks of those who “oppose the truth men who oppose the truth” there in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse eight Paul speaks in Titus chapter 1 verse 14 of those “who turn away from the truth” speaks of those who “stray from the truth”. And Paul speaks of this fact that this is going to be something that is going to get worse as time goes by. People are going to be deceived, there being deceived and deceiving and that will intensify as Paul says in that fourth chapter of 2 Timothy, the very last portion of the last letter that he wrote by inspiration of the Spirit of God, said that “the time is going to come when men are going to turn away their ears from the truth” they're going to, very determinedly, turn away from the truth, to do everything they can't not to hear it. This is mankind's attitude towards the truth. Naturally, Paul speaks of the condition of the world at the time of the antichrist there in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he talks about them “not receiving the love of the truth” in verse 10, verse 12 talks about them “not believing the truth but instead taking pleasure in wickedness”. We’re told in the book of Daniel that the antichrist will literally, will, I quote,” fling truth to the ground”. I just give you some of these descriptions that we find in God's word. This is the attitude of the world and of our adversary towards the truth. Jesus says of our adversary there is no truth in him, a liar to his very core, deception through and through. This is important it seems to me for us to keep to keep in mind as we consider what Jesus is saying here.
You and I, Jesus is praying for us that we’ll be set apart, that we won't be caught up in the deception that even though we’re in the world, it will become obvious that we’re not of it. We are not participating in the deception anymore. We’re not swallowing the lies, we’re recognizing them to be lies. Set them apart in the truth is Jesus’ prayer to the Father. Again, the deception that this world is in, is, it is an increasingly prevalent or prevailing condition, there's an intensifying blindness, deception, darkness, and really you and I are witnessing that there is an intensifying hatred of the truth, it is not just an indifference to the truth. Although we see that as well, but more and more this world is not just opposing the truth behind the scenes or in their own hearts, coming out in the public if you will, and showing and demonstrating in some of the most grotesque ways their hatred of the truth. Those who have been, those who belong to the Lord Jesus as Jesus speaks of His own here, they been brought into a close, special association with the truth and this sets us apart, sets us apart in an essential contrast, there is a difference.
This fundamental distinction is seen in a number of crucial areas and we began to look at this last time those who are in Christ have a distinctly, in fact a radically different, view of the world. We oftentimes speak of worldview and how important that is. And it is indeed important. How do I view the world. How does the world view itself. How do most people view the world overall in a general, from a general perspective, the view that you and I have of the world is a unique one, is a blessed one. It stands out in a stark contrast to the view that the world has of things, of everything, of itself and everything around them. This distinctly different view of the world is derived from one primary, ever relevant, never changing, transcendently insightful, and intensely practical and steadfastly reliable source. The word of God. Jesus makes it so clear here “sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth.” Are you thankful for that this morning? Is it a precious reality to you? God's word is true. Have you ever stopped to think about what a blessed thing that is for you and I? We live in a world that is filled with people who do not know the truth, and worse yet, they don't know where to find the truth, they don't even know how to evaluate what is truth. That's why you have a man like Pilot in exasperation, asking Jesus this question “what is truth”. He has no idea even where to start because he rejected the witness of Christ as Jesus had just told him I came to bear witness of the truth. “What is truth?” If you don't listen to that’s the spot you're going to be in. What a blessed privilege this is. This is not a distinction that you and I should wear sort of grudgingly or be ashamed of in anyway. We’ve got to be so thankful for it.
How precious is the truth to you? If you're in Christ, the truth is exceedingly precious to you, even though sometimes we forget that, even though sometimes we don't act like it. This is the Lord's, our Lord's prayer for His own, that we would be set apart from this world in the truth. Notice the wording there, in the truth, it’s not just this matter that we’re set apart because we have given our allegiance to assert a particular religious creed. There's hundreds of religious creeds that people give their allegiance to, it doesn't necessarily set them apart at all. That's not what Jesus is saying, set them apart in the truth. The truth becomes very part of who we are. It influences everything that we say and think and do, our attitude, our worldview, our outlook, our perspective, our expectations, it influences everything. Samuel says “You are God and your words are truth”, the psalmist says “Your law is truth.” He says in the 119th Psalm “the sum of Your word is truth.” These are grand statements, they really are, they’re very, very basic and fundamental, so profound that we take them for granted it seems to me. Your word is truth. The sum of Your word is truth. You are God, what You say is truth. It constitutes the very essence of the matter. That's what truth is, it’s the very essence of reality. What a blessed thing this is, what a great privilege it is for those of us who are in Christ.
Last time we looked at several different areas where this is seen, I just, I want to mention it briefly because I want to go on from there. We mentioned this in the realm of origins. The truth greatly influences our view of where we came from. Is this all just some incredible accident or did, are we the product of some faraway universe that sent aliens over here and started another colony? No, God's truth tells us who we are. We’ve been made by God Himself. He fashioned us in his very own image. There's no mystery here. To those who belong to Christ. We know where we came from. We know that we did not make ourselves, we belong to the Lord. We looked at this matter of riches, our attitude, our whole attitude and outlook in regards to wealth. Remember, the parable Jesus told, not even when a man has a lot of things does his life consist of his possessions, it’s not that important, but that's not the way the world sees things. But the truth sees through that deception and expose it for what it is. Purpose in living, what's the point in living? What does it even matter? How are we supposed to, do we just do whatever we think will make us happy? seems to be the most fulfilling? It’s the most interesting thing when you look at people who have done this to the max and they are some of the most unhappy people you will ever find. And that is people who have simply given themselves over to the pursuit of what ever they want to do. The passage that was read, that Jesse read in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17
“this I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind.”
The truth sets us apart. We seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and nothing else matters. Everything else is taken care of. Worship, men left to themselves, men suppressing the truth in unrighteousness worship themselves ultimately. When you think about it can you imagine anything more debilitating, more discouraging, more disgusting than the worship of self. When self is a sinful and corrupt being. What a sad state of worship. Because we been set apart in the truth we recognize that we’re to love and to worship the Lord, our creator, with all of our heart, our minds and all our strength. Our understanding of the human condition, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago, man's understanding of the human condition doesn't match up with the way the world works, does it? If man's perception of the human condition were true, surely you would think we would no longer be at war. There would no longer be wars, we wouldn't keep on killing each other, would we? What’s the phrase from that one Bob Dylan's song “how long, how many deaths will it take till he knows how many, too many people have died”, he would surely have figured that out if they were basically good, but they're not and because they're not we’re going to keep on killing each other, keep on hating, we’re going to keep on in the futility of the lusts and deceit of our minds. The understanding of the human condition, the child of God sees that and understands that truth and so the way we approach ourselves first and the rest of humanity is very different. We may be at times, surprised and even shocked at the depths of depravity to which men will go, but in the end we understand this confirmation of God's assessment of the human condition. This matter of and anticipation of a great day of reckoning, we talked about this last time, the world scoffs at this concept, at least many people do. There are some people who recognize that day is coming, everybody knows it's coming.
Each of us is given a time on this earth, an appointed time, but it is also appointed for men to die and after this comes judgment. Paul speaks of that in the acts chapter 17 and I think we might've mentioned it before, but the, the child of God understands this fact that it is not just some vague judgment that's coming. Paul says God has “fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness” Who’s standard will God be using? His own. “He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Jesus Himself will be the judge.
I want to move on to a couple more things that I'd like to mention in terms of different areas where this distinction is made known. Another one of those, another one of those areas is in the area of a moral foundation. Have you ever stopped to think about what a privilege it is to have a moral foundation? The truth that God has revealed to us, provides that for us. A moral foundation, that is, let me state that another way, a means by which I can reliably evaluate right from wrong. Have you noticed what happens to people when they do not have that moral foundation? We live in a society that has lost that for the most part, not everybody, not every single person, but as a society it is gone. We’ve lost it. It blows my mind the way I hear people talking about how we share common values in this country. We don't. Have you ever asked somebody when they make that comment what specific values are you talking about? and they'll very seldom if ever get very specific. It's always general, family, country, the truth is we don't share common values this country. Some of us value, some people in our country value the right to kill babies in their mother’s wombs. Others of us have a very different value. I could go on and on. That's a very obvious one. There many such values, moral foundation, it’s one of the ways that we are set apart in truth. God has given to us a means by which we can evaluate right from wrong. For example, take another example, we have so many examples in our society today. It is absolutely amazing to me the extent to which we as a society have lost our way in the most basic areas of morality, of right and wrong. We have gone so far to the point where people are literally confused about male and female, as basic as it can be! But we need to be alert to this fact that this is where you go when you have no moral foundation.
It’s interesting to me, most of us are amazed at how quickly these things have changed, come upon us as a nation. Those of us are little bit older, I was talking to is a friend of mine on the phone the other day and him and I used to have a lot of fellowship together. Maybe 35 years ago or so. I was, we were just commenting on the fact that if either one of us had told the other one that this is the state we would be in as a society in 30 years we would have never believed it. But here's the thing, without a moral foundation you’re left to say, Well, you know, this matter of homosexuality, for example, it's a matter of discrimination and discrimination is wrong. It is wrong to discriminate against people because of the color of their skin or the way they think or whatever. And it is wrong to hate people for the way they look or even for their sin. That is wrong, but the evil one is very, very subtle in this. What he does is go just that one little step further and say there's nothing wrong with this. This isn’t sin, how dare you hate this. How dare you discriminate? Those who have no moral footing or foundation are left to just whip back and forth in the breezes of public opinion, and as time goes by public opinion has changed. Well, yeah, I guess it isn’t that big a deal. The truth sets us apart in this area of moral foundation. It is something that has really encouraged me in many respects. I know sometimes we get discouraged. I've noticed how homosexuals have picked out, you've seen this, to pick out certain people, people who are in the floral business or in the baking business. People they obviously knew were Christians. They come into their establishment and they do what they can to put them in a bad spot, in a bad way. The reality is that it's not the, that issue is not discrimination. Don't ever be deceived. The issue is conviction.
These people cannot stand the fact that there are others amongst us in this society who believe what they're doing is absolutely wrong and is sin, what they want is confirmation. If discrimination was the issue they’d go somewhere else. They’d go where they weren’t going to be discriminated against. But the thing that has encouraged me is that time and time again from different accounts that I've read these people stood firm. Some of them have lost their businesses. Some of them have had hundreds of death threats. All kinds of animosity thrown against them. You know what because they've been set apart in the truth they're never going to change their mind. They're not going to change the way they see this sin as wrong, God says it's wrong. God given us a moral foundation, no matter what society does you and I have been set apart in the truth, and we can't go along with it when it violates the truth. That’s a blessed thing. It's one of the ways that were set apart. A moral foundation, maybe we don't appreciate that as much as we should or sometimes maybe we aren't as alert to it as we should. But when you're put in one of the situations that some of these people are put in they've got no choice but to think about it, or at least to consider it and I praise the Lord for those who haven't had to consider it very long. This is what God says and that settles it for me you can do what you want you can take my business. You can put me in jail, but this is the truth, and it can't be changed. That sets us apart. People who don't have that moral foundation can be changed. Put enough pressure, do enough arm-twisting convince them. The psalmist says in Psalm 119:151 -
“Thou art near O Lord, and all Thy commandments are truth,”
God makes Himself near to us through His word, He shows us He demonstrates to us the means by which we can evaluate what is right and what is wrong.
There's another thing that I would say, another area that this truth, where this truth sets us apart; and that is in the matter of a reliable knowledge of God. I find this to also be very fascinating thing. If you pay attention to this you will notice that people left to their own devices, left to their own logic and thinking, will come up with some of the most outlandish ideas about God. It’s amazed me overtime listening to the things people say about God, because they've never been set apart in truth. They've never submitted themselves to what God says about Himself and so they come up with an idea, a perception, a perspective of God that is to their liking, or that satisfies her own sense of logic, that sounds good, sounds fair to a person. In most of these instances people emphasize one attribute of God and that is his love, ignoring the fact that that's not all, God is or ignoring the fact that because God is love, because God is pure and good, He has to be just. His love is of no value if He is not righteous. A reliable knowledge of God is ours because, being set apart in the truth, taking God at his word. This is the Lord's prayer to the Father for us. I was reminded in this respect in the 43rd Psalm. The psalmist says verse 3. -
“Send out Thy light, thy truth, let them lead me, let them bring me to Thy holy hill, into Thy dwelling places and then I will go to the altar of God; to God my exceeding joy and upon the lyre, I shall praise, O God, my God.”
God sends out His truth and He reveals Himself to sinners like you and I that we can know who God is. It’s a precious thing to know Who God really is. There's nothing more frustrating to me then not knowing something that I really need to know, something that's really important and I'm amazed at how many people have no credible way to determine that their perception of God is accurate and yet they’re content with it. “Sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth.”
Another area and this is the most important area when it comes to been set apart in the truth. It sets us apart in a saving, a sanctifying and a sustaining knowledge of God's Christ. Ultimately this is the way we are really set apart in the truth. Statements about the Lord Jesus in John's Gospel, some of them are just so tremendous, so profound, I remind you of a statement of in the very first chapter the 17th verse “for the law was given through Moses” then notice this statement. “Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” Have you ever thought about that statement. You cannot know the truth apart from Jesus. You can't. It says grace and truth were realized through Christ and this is in absolute harmony, perfect harmony with what Jesus Himself says about Himself. “I am the truth.” That's a statement! “I'm the way, I'm the truth” that's a hard thing to get around. But it's a precious thing to lay hold of, why try to get around it? Those who are in Christ have embraced that. They’ve listened. We've heard what Jesus says that and we realized we come to realize what he said is reliable. He is the truth. Everything, anything else is not the truth. It's a deception is a lie. I am the truth. In John chapter 5, John's Gospel, the fifth chapter, 33rd verse “you have sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth.”
That was John's mission, that was his, that was his purpose, to prepare the way and to direct people's attention to the truth to prepare their hearts to receive the one who Himself is the truth. Those who have received Him as the truth are set apart, set apart in a very unique way. You recall what Jesus said, in a passage that’s very familiar to us in John chapter 8 verse 31 “if you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” verse 36 “if therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” The only way to be free from sin's power is in Christ, He’s the truth, the ultimate reality. He's the very embodiment of the very essence of what is and always will be. What is reliable, what can be counted upon. Paul speaks of this fact in the passage that was read, going back again to Ephesians chapter 4 Paul says in verse 29 or verse 20. I'll start with verse 20 “But you did not learn Christ in this way “and he's referring back to the way the Gentiles approach life, their view of the world, “if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus.”
The cross is the climax of the truth as it is in Jesus. Notice what Jesus says as we go on a little further in the 17th chapter He says “sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth, as Thou didst send Me into the world I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus sets Himself apart in the ultimate sense on the cross. Everything, all that the prophets had spoken, everything had been leading up to and looking forward to that moment. The minute Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled against God and God comes to them. The first thing that is in view is the cross. Genesis 3:15. Everything culminates there. Jesus sets Himself apart, He sets himself apart. He sanctifies himself so that we might become partakers of Him and ourselves be sanctified in truth, you and I can only, the only way we can be sanctified in the truth is to be in Christ, and if we are in Christ we/re set apart, we’re set apart in the truth. It’s not just something we give a mental assent or that give credence to orwe recite some creed or tell people that were Christians. It's part of who we are. It's how we see everything, it is how we evaluate the world around us. It completely influences our expectations, ultimately our very hearts desires and it’s really a remarkable thing it's of great importance this fact when Jesus says sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth, and then were told we reminded all the way back to the beginning of John's Gospel that Jesus is Himself the Word amazing thing, and the Word became flesh and dwelt, tabernacled, among us, and we saw him recognized Him as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. The word is truth. John refers to Him there in 1 John chapter 1 verse one as the word of life. The writer of Hebrews says that “in the past God spoke in many ways to the prophets, but now He has spoken to us in Son,” Hebrews 1:2. The Word made flesh, you and I are set apart in the truth, in Christ, the truth as it is in Jesus, and if it's not in Jesus it isn't the truth.
One last thing I mentioned concerning the importance of the truth in the way it sets us apart and that is in the matter of discernment. I think again this is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. Sometimes we get upset or we get frustrated with those around us who fall for all kinds of deceptions, we look at it and we say my goodness I don't understand this person intellectually is smarter than I am, what is wrong with them? Why are they falling for this, it’s obviously a lie. Well how do we know that? How do we come to know and to recognize deception? You can't recognize deception if you don't know the truth. You can do it. The truth of God's word exposes error and it alerts us to the seriousness of its danger. The truth of God's word exposes error and it alerts us to the seriousness of its danger. Without that, you and I, there's no it's not because of something within us that we have some keen sense of awareness that we have, that's a lie, that's a deception, I'm not falling for that. We, a lot of times this is the way we think, don't we.
Our instinctive response is I’m pretty sharp. I'm pretty discerning. I've been around a while, I can see a lie, well I know a lie when I see it. No, that's not how it is really. The reality is that if we have been set apart in the truth, we now have the ability to evaluate, not just on a moral, from a moral perspective, right and wrong, but in regards to spiritual matters. We have been granted in Christ Jesus, the ability to see error for what it is. Not because of some power of our own, but because of the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promised to give us. Who would lead us into all the truth, would help us to see what we can rely on and help us to see things that, no, that's not the truth. That when I first look at it, it looks like the truth, but as I look at it carefully and the more I align it up against the truth as it is in Jesus, then I'll know whether it's really the truth or not. It truly is a precious thing when you think about it, it’s is something that we don't always utilize to the extent we should sometimes we’re careless, not as careful as we should be.
But the Lord's prayer for us is that we would be set apart in the truth and that means that in all these different areas we talked about we’ll have a different view of the world, to see all these things around us in a very different way and it is a most remarkable privilege that we can, as it has nothing to do with anything within us that we were to somehow sharp enough to see through the deception. We weren’t. We never would have, never could have in a million years. God sent his own Son into this world, the eternal Word made flesh, and in Him and through Him truth has been realized. It's come to pass it has been made a reality even for the likes of you and I, so that we aren’t just in a position, this doesn't go, it is not just that we know about the truth. Now we are in the truth, because were in Christ, our relationship to Jesus is real. It's personal. It's all consuming. It affects us in the very depths of who we are, our very soul, heart and soul. This is who I am. I'm in Christ. That's the one thing that matters more than anything else about me. So that when I evaluate myself or anyone else, the things that matter aren’t what I look like, where I came from, what I've done, what I haven't done, how important my abilities are or any of these things. There's one thing that matters and that is I am in Christ. Christ went so far as to set Himself apart, to be lifted up from this earth on the cross, that you and I might be made partakers with Him and in Him, to such an extent that we now can be seen as being set apart in the truth with Christ, what are His words here, “for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth,” our been set apart in the truth is directly related to Christ. What a precious thing that is. Let’s bow together in prayer.
There is one distinction to be observed among humanity, though that actually matters, one distinction. It's real, it is of the most profound significance because it is of God's doing. Our tendency and I think all of us would have to admit this notice this and myself so many times and sometimes somewhat frustrating. Our tendency is to see people and evaluate other people from a purely human perspective, what they look like, where they come from, what do they do, what have they done or not done. How important are they, what are they good at and how good are they at it. We are all prone to evaluate each other from a basically superficial perspective. It’s just a fact, that’s something that we have to actually pay attention to it seems to me, to not do that. Many times it sort of comes instinctively. But I’m reminded that it is only from the perspective of a reconciled relationship to God that we are ever going to be able to actually evaluate people from the perspective of what really matters. Before we can ever be concerned about the greatest need for those around us, we ourselves must have, first of all come to be distinguished in the most significant way possible, and that is in Christ.
One of the things that I have that I have been pondering in the passage that is before us again this morning in John 17, this fact that our Savior, our Lord Jesus, the One who in Himself bore our sins in His very own body as He suffered and He died in our place. Jesus Himself is very intensely concerned; He's intensely attentive to the way in which He is setting us apart in this world as His very own. That's important to the Lord, you see that in this passage and this is exactly what we should expect if we stop and consider the magnitude of His sacrifice for us. When we think of the magnitude of our Lord’s sacrifice it stands to good reason that Jesus would be very, very, much concerned as to how we, now who belong to Him, how it is that we are to stand apart from this world, how it is that the world should be able to see and recognize us as having come to saving faith in Christ as having been made alive together with Jesus. Whether they understand, and of course they don't understand that, whether they understand or not, to be able to see a difference, a specific kind of difference, and it seems to me that it is a great disservice to our Lord when we are unconcerned or careless about His view of our relationship to the world and sometimes this happens I think. It’s not that big of a deal to us.
We get so wrapped up in everything that we’re doing, all the different pressures that are forced upon us in daily living. And we tend to forget this. This is important to the Lord. It’s important, our relationship to the world is very important. As children of God who are still living in this world for a short while, we’re called to be distinctly different from the world around us. The thing that I notice is that this is not an open-ended calling, subject to our own ideas of what it should look like. We are not; Jesus does not invite us in this respect, to inject our own creativity, our own attitudes or ideas. It’s not up to us to determine the way or the ways that we would like to make ourselves stand out to the world. Jesus Himself has given us a very specific mandate in regard to our own position, in relation to the world around us.
In our Lord's prayer to the Father He very specifically clarifies the fundamental distinction between those who are merely in this world and those who are still of this world. I remind you the passage that's before us, I begin in verse 13 of John 17 “But now I come to Thee, and these things I speak in the world that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I've given them Thy word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send me into the world. I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified or set apart. In truth”
You can't help but notice it in this passage can you? It’s there very clear for us to see. It is our relationship to the truth that sets us apart from the world in an essential contrast. There are no doubt a variety of ways in which this basic distinction can and will be evidenced in each of our lives, individually, in different situations, and circumstances, at different times, but it is at its very core our relationship to the truth that is making itself known in us. As we continue on in this world this relationship to the truth makes it known, makes it clear that we are not of this world. It's really a remarkable truth, a remarkable reality when you think about it. The prominence of our close relationship to the truth is inevitable. It's inevitable because of the world's propensity towards deception. In other words, this is something our relationship to the truth is something that's not going to be easily hidden. We talked about this earlier. And one of the ways, reasons, it is going to be so prominent is because of the world's general and overriding attitude towards the truth and towards deception. This world is a world that is prone towards deception, it’s something we take for granted. Many times we forget about this. The world around us is constantly, constantly falling prey to deception. Different, differing deceptions yes, but they're all deceptions nonetheless. It’s one of the most and more notable characteristics of the world as a whole. That is its aversion to the truth. I was going through and just am reminded of a number of passages as I was thinking about this. You think of what God says in terms of his assessment of the world's relationship to the truth there in Romans chapter 1 we’re told of unbelieving mankind “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.” A few verses later, that's in the 18th verse, in Romans 1:25 we’re told of mankind, unbelieving mankind, “exchanging the truth of God for a lie”.
I was reminded of God's declaration to the children of Israel through his prophets in some of their darkest days, through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 59:14. He says “for truth has stumbled in the street.” Jeremiah 9:3, “lies, and not truth prevail in the land.” Paul speaks of those who “oppose the truth men who oppose the truth” there in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse eight Paul speaks in Titus chapter 1 verse 14 of those “who turn away from the truth” speaks of those who “stray from the truth”. And Paul speaks of this fact that this is going to be something that is going to get worse as time goes by. People are going to be deceived, there being deceived and deceiving and that will intensify as Paul says in that fourth chapter of 2 Timothy, the very last portion of the last letter that he wrote by inspiration of the Spirit of God, said that “the time is going to come when men are going to turn away their ears from the truth” they're going to, very determinedly, turn away from the truth, to do everything they can't not to hear it. This is mankind's attitude towards the truth. Naturally, Paul speaks of the condition of the world at the time of the antichrist there in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he talks about them “not receiving the love of the truth” in verse 10, verse 12 talks about them “not believing the truth but instead taking pleasure in wickedness”. We’re told in the book of Daniel that the antichrist will literally, will, I quote,” fling truth to the ground”. I just give you some of these descriptions that we find in God's word. This is the attitude of the world and of our adversary towards the truth. Jesus says of our adversary there is no truth in him, a liar to his very core, deception through and through. This is important it seems to me for us to keep to keep in mind as we consider what Jesus is saying here.
You and I, Jesus is praying for us that we’ll be set apart, that we won't be caught up in the deception that even though we’re in the world, it will become obvious that we’re not of it. We are not participating in the deception anymore. We’re not swallowing the lies, we’re recognizing them to be lies. Set them apart in the truth is Jesus’ prayer to the Father. Again, the deception that this world is in, is, it is an increasingly prevalent or prevailing condition, there's an intensifying blindness, deception, darkness, and really you and I are witnessing that there is an intensifying hatred of the truth, it is not just an indifference to the truth. Although we see that as well, but more and more this world is not just opposing the truth behind the scenes or in their own hearts, coming out in the public if you will, and showing and demonstrating in some of the most grotesque ways their hatred of the truth. Those who have been, those who belong to the Lord Jesus as Jesus speaks of His own here, they been brought into a close, special association with the truth and this sets us apart, sets us apart in an essential contrast, there is a difference.
This fundamental distinction is seen in a number of crucial areas and we began to look at this last time those who are in Christ have a distinctly, in fact a radically different, view of the world. We oftentimes speak of worldview and how important that is. And it is indeed important. How do I view the world. How does the world view itself. How do most people view the world overall in a general, from a general perspective, the view that you and I have of the world is a unique one, is a blessed one. It stands out in a stark contrast to the view that the world has of things, of everything, of itself and everything around them. This distinctly different view of the world is derived from one primary, ever relevant, never changing, transcendently insightful, and intensely practical and steadfastly reliable source. The word of God. Jesus makes it so clear here “sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth.” Are you thankful for that this morning? Is it a precious reality to you? God's word is true. Have you ever stopped to think about what a blessed thing that is for you and I? We live in a world that is filled with people who do not know the truth, and worse yet, they don't know where to find the truth, they don't even know how to evaluate what is truth. That's why you have a man like Pilot in exasperation, asking Jesus this question “what is truth”. He has no idea even where to start because he rejected the witness of Christ as Jesus had just told him I came to bear witness of the truth. “What is truth?” If you don't listen to that’s the spot you're going to be in. What a blessed privilege this is. This is not a distinction that you and I should wear sort of grudgingly or be ashamed of in anyway. We’ve got to be so thankful for it.
How precious is the truth to you? If you're in Christ, the truth is exceedingly precious to you, even though sometimes we forget that, even though sometimes we don't act like it. This is the Lord's, our Lord's prayer for His own, that we would be set apart from this world in the truth. Notice the wording there, in the truth, it’s not just this matter that we’re set apart because we have given our allegiance to assert a particular religious creed. There's hundreds of religious creeds that people give their allegiance to, it doesn't necessarily set them apart at all. That's not what Jesus is saying, set them apart in the truth. The truth becomes very part of who we are. It influences everything that we say and think and do, our attitude, our worldview, our outlook, our perspective, our expectations, it influences everything. Samuel says “You are God and your words are truth”, the psalmist says “Your law is truth.” He says in the 119th Psalm “the sum of Your word is truth.” These are grand statements, they really are, they’re very, very basic and fundamental, so profound that we take them for granted it seems to me. Your word is truth. The sum of Your word is truth. You are God, what You say is truth. It constitutes the very essence of the matter. That's what truth is, it’s the very essence of reality. What a blessed thing this is, what a great privilege it is for those of us who are in Christ.
Last time we looked at several different areas where this is seen, I just, I want to mention it briefly because I want to go on from there. We mentioned this in the realm of origins. The truth greatly influences our view of where we came from. Is this all just some incredible accident or did, are we the product of some faraway universe that sent aliens over here and started another colony? No, God's truth tells us who we are. We’ve been made by God Himself. He fashioned us in his very own image. There's no mystery here. To those who belong to Christ. We know where we came from. We know that we did not make ourselves, we belong to the Lord. We looked at this matter of riches, our attitude, our whole attitude and outlook in regards to wealth. Remember, the parable Jesus told, not even when a man has a lot of things does his life consist of his possessions, it’s not that important, but that's not the way the world sees things. But the truth sees through that deception and expose it for what it is. Purpose in living, what's the point in living? What does it even matter? How are we supposed to, do we just do whatever we think will make us happy? seems to be the most fulfilling? It’s the most interesting thing when you look at people who have done this to the max and they are some of the most unhappy people you will ever find. And that is people who have simply given themselves over to the pursuit of what ever they want to do. The passage that was read, that Jesse read in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17
“this I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind.”
The truth sets us apart. We seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and nothing else matters. Everything else is taken care of. Worship, men left to themselves, men suppressing the truth in unrighteousness worship themselves ultimately. When you think about it can you imagine anything more debilitating, more discouraging, more disgusting than the worship of self. When self is a sinful and corrupt being. What a sad state of worship. Because we been set apart in the truth we recognize that we’re to love and to worship the Lord, our creator, with all of our heart, our minds and all our strength. Our understanding of the human condition, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago, man's understanding of the human condition doesn't match up with the way the world works, does it? If man's perception of the human condition were true, surely you would think we would no longer be at war. There would no longer be wars, we wouldn't keep on killing each other, would we? What’s the phrase from that one Bob Dylan's song “how long, how many deaths will it take till he knows how many, too many people have died”, he would surely have figured that out if they were basically good, but they're not and because they're not we’re going to keep on killing each other, keep on hating, we’re going to keep on in the futility of the lusts and deceit of our minds. The understanding of the human condition, the child of God sees that and understands that truth and so the way we approach ourselves first and the rest of humanity is very different. We may be at times, surprised and even shocked at the depths of depravity to which men will go, but in the end we understand this confirmation of God's assessment of the human condition. This matter of and anticipation of a great day of reckoning, we talked about this last time, the world scoffs at this concept, at least many people do. There are some people who recognize that day is coming, everybody knows it's coming.
Each of us is given a time on this earth, an appointed time, but it is also appointed for men to die and after this comes judgment. Paul speaks of that in the acts chapter 17 and I think we might've mentioned it before, but the, the child of God understands this fact that it is not just some vague judgment that's coming. Paul says God has “fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness” Who’s standard will God be using? His own. “He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Jesus Himself will be the judge.
I want to move on to a couple more things that I'd like to mention in terms of different areas where this distinction is made known. Another one of those, another one of those areas is in the area of a moral foundation. Have you ever stopped to think about what a privilege it is to have a moral foundation? The truth that God has revealed to us, provides that for us. A moral foundation, that is, let me state that another way, a means by which I can reliably evaluate right from wrong. Have you noticed what happens to people when they do not have that moral foundation? We live in a society that has lost that for the most part, not everybody, not every single person, but as a society it is gone. We’ve lost it. It blows my mind the way I hear people talking about how we share common values in this country. We don't. Have you ever asked somebody when they make that comment what specific values are you talking about? and they'll very seldom if ever get very specific. It's always general, family, country, the truth is we don't share common values this country. Some of us value, some people in our country value the right to kill babies in their mother’s wombs. Others of us have a very different value. I could go on and on. That's a very obvious one. There many such values, moral foundation, it’s one of the ways that we are set apart in truth. God has given to us a means by which we can evaluate right from wrong. For example, take another example, we have so many examples in our society today. It is absolutely amazing to me the extent to which we as a society have lost our way in the most basic areas of morality, of right and wrong. We have gone so far to the point where people are literally confused about male and female, as basic as it can be! But we need to be alert to this fact that this is where you go when you have no moral foundation.
It’s interesting to me, most of us are amazed at how quickly these things have changed, come upon us as a nation. Those of us are little bit older, I was talking to is a friend of mine on the phone the other day and him and I used to have a lot of fellowship together. Maybe 35 years ago or so. I was, we were just commenting on the fact that if either one of us had told the other one that this is the state we would be in as a society in 30 years we would have never believed it. But here's the thing, without a moral foundation you’re left to say, Well, you know, this matter of homosexuality, for example, it's a matter of discrimination and discrimination is wrong. It is wrong to discriminate against people because of the color of their skin or the way they think or whatever. And it is wrong to hate people for the way they look or even for their sin. That is wrong, but the evil one is very, very subtle in this. What he does is go just that one little step further and say there's nothing wrong with this. This isn’t sin, how dare you hate this. How dare you discriminate? Those who have no moral footing or foundation are left to just whip back and forth in the breezes of public opinion, and as time goes by public opinion has changed. Well, yeah, I guess it isn’t that big a deal. The truth sets us apart in this area of moral foundation. It is something that has really encouraged me in many respects. I know sometimes we get discouraged. I've noticed how homosexuals have picked out, you've seen this, to pick out certain people, people who are in the floral business or in the baking business. People they obviously knew were Christians. They come into their establishment and they do what they can to put them in a bad spot, in a bad way. The reality is that it's not the, that issue is not discrimination. Don't ever be deceived. The issue is conviction.
These people cannot stand the fact that there are others amongst us in this society who believe what they're doing is absolutely wrong and is sin, what they want is confirmation. If discrimination was the issue they’d go somewhere else. They’d go where they weren’t going to be discriminated against. But the thing that has encouraged me is that time and time again from different accounts that I've read these people stood firm. Some of them have lost their businesses. Some of them have had hundreds of death threats. All kinds of animosity thrown against them. You know what because they've been set apart in the truth they're never going to change their mind. They're not going to change the way they see this sin as wrong, God says it's wrong. God given us a moral foundation, no matter what society does you and I have been set apart in the truth, and we can't go along with it when it violates the truth. That’s a blessed thing. It's one of the ways that were set apart. A moral foundation, maybe we don't appreciate that as much as we should or sometimes maybe we aren't as alert to it as we should. But when you're put in one of the situations that some of these people are put in they've got no choice but to think about it, or at least to consider it and I praise the Lord for those who haven't had to consider it very long. This is what God says and that settles it for me you can do what you want you can take my business. You can put me in jail, but this is the truth, and it can't be changed. That sets us apart. People who don't have that moral foundation can be changed. Put enough pressure, do enough arm-twisting convince them. The psalmist says in Psalm 119:151 -
“Thou art near O Lord, and all Thy commandments are truth,”
God makes Himself near to us through His word, He shows us He demonstrates to us the means by which we can evaluate what is right and what is wrong.
There's another thing that I would say, another area that this truth, where this truth sets us apart; and that is in the matter of a reliable knowledge of God. I find this to also be very fascinating thing. If you pay attention to this you will notice that people left to their own devices, left to their own logic and thinking, will come up with some of the most outlandish ideas about God. It’s amazed me overtime listening to the things people say about God, because they've never been set apart in truth. They've never submitted themselves to what God says about Himself and so they come up with an idea, a perception, a perspective of God that is to their liking, or that satisfies her own sense of logic, that sounds good, sounds fair to a person. In most of these instances people emphasize one attribute of God and that is his love, ignoring the fact that that's not all, God is or ignoring the fact that because God is love, because God is pure and good, He has to be just. His love is of no value if He is not righteous. A reliable knowledge of God is ours because, being set apart in the truth, taking God at his word. This is the Lord's prayer to the Father for us. I was reminded in this respect in the 43rd Psalm. The psalmist says verse 3. -
“Send out Thy light, thy truth, let them lead me, let them bring me to Thy holy hill, into Thy dwelling places and then I will go to the altar of God; to God my exceeding joy and upon the lyre, I shall praise, O God, my God.”
God sends out His truth and He reveals Himself to sinners like you and I that we can know who God is. It’s a precious thing to know Who God really is. There's nothing more frustrating to me then not knowing something that I really need to know, something that's really important and I'm amazed at how many people have no credible way to determine that their perception of God is accurate and yet they’re content with it. “Sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth.”
Another area and this is the most important area when it comes to been set apart in the truth. It sets us apart in a saving, a sanctifying and a sustaining knowledge of God's Christ. Ultimately this is the way we are really set apart in the truth. Statements about the Lord Jesus in John's Gospel, some of them are just so tremendous, so profound, I remind you of a statement of in the very first chapter the 17th verse “for the law was given through Moses” then notice this statement. “Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” Have you ever thought about that statement. You cannot know the truth apart from Jesus. You can't. It says grace and truth were realized through Christ and this is in absolute harmony, perfect harmony with what Jesus Himself says about Himself. “I am the truth.” That's a statement! “I'm the way, I'm the truth” that's a hard thing to get around. But it's a precious thing to lay hold of, why try to get around it? Those who are in Christ have embraced that. They’ve listened. We've heard what Jesus says that and we realized we come to realize what he said is reliable. He is the truth. Everything, anything else is not the truth. It's a deception is a lie. I am the truth. In John chapter 5, John's Gospel, the fifth chapter, 33rd verse “you have sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth.”
That was John's mission, that was his, that was his purpose, to prepare the way and to direct people's attention to the truth to prepare their hearts to receive the one who Himself is the truth. Those who have received Him as the truth are set apart, set apart in a very unique way. You recall what Jesus said, in a passage that’s very familiar to us in John chapter 8 verse 31 “if you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” verse 36 “if therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” The only way to be free from sin's power is in Christ, He’s the truth, the ultimate reality. He's the very embodiment of the very essence of what is and always will be. What is reliable, what can be counted upon. Paul speaks of this fact in the passage that was read, going back again to Ephesians chapter 4 Paul says in verse 29 or verse 20. I'll start with verse 20 “But you did not learn Christ in this way “and he's referring back to the way the Gentiles approach life, their view of the world, “if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus.”
The cross is the climax of the truth as it is in Jesus. Notice what Jesus says as we go on a little further in the 17th chapter He says “sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth, as Thou didst send Me into the world I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus sets Himself apart in the ultimate sense on the cross. Everything, all that the prophets had spoken, everything had been leading up to and looking forward to that moment. The minute Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled against God and God comes to them. The first thing that is in view is the cross. Genesis 3:15. Everything culminates there. Jesus sets Himself apart, He sets himself apart. He sanctifies himself so that we might become partakers of Him and ourselves be sanctified in truth, you and I can only, the only way we can be sanctified in the truth is to be in Christ, and if we are in Christ we/re set apart, we’re set apart in the truth. It’s not just something we give a mental assent or that give credence to orwe recite some creed or tell people that were Christians. It's part of who we are. It's how we see everything, it is how we evaluate the world around us. It completely influences our expectations, ultimately our very hearts desires and it’s really a remarkable thing it's of great importance this fact when Jesus says sanctify them in the truth, Thy word is truth, and then were told we reminded all the way back to the beginning of John's Gospel that Jesus is Himself the Word amazing thing, and the Word became flesh and dwelt, tabernacled, among us, and we saw him recognized Him as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. The word is truth. John refers to Him there in 1 John chapter 1 verse one as the word of life. The writer of Hebrews says that “in the past God spoke in many ways to the prophets, but now He has spoken to us in Son,” Hebrews 1:2. The Word made flesh, you and I are set apart in the truth, in Christ, the truth as it is in Jesus, and if it's not in Jesus it isn't the truth.
One last thing I mentioned concerning the importance of the truth in the way it sets us apart and that is in the matter of discernment. I think again this is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. Sometimes we get upset or we get frustrated with those around us who fall for all kinds of deceptions, we look at it and we say my goodness I don't understand this person intellectually is smarter than I am, what is wrong with them? Why are they falling for this, it’s obviously a lie. Well how do we know that? How do we come to know and to recognize deception? You can't recognize deception if you don't know the truth. You can do it. The truth of God's word exposes error and it alerts us to the seriousness of its danger. The truth of God's word exposes error and it alerts us to the seriousness of its danger. Without that, you and I, there's no it's not because of something within us that we have some keen sense of awareness that we have, that's a lie, that's a deception, I'm not falling for that. We, a lot of times this is the way we think, don't we.
Our instinctive response is I’m pretty sharp. I'm pretty discerning. I've been around a while, I can see a lie, well I know a lie when I see it. No, that's not how it is really. The reality is that if we have been set apart in the truth, we now have the ability to evaluate, not just on a moral, from a moral perspective, right and wrong, but in regards to spiritual matters. We have been granted in Christ Jesus, the ability to see error for what it is. Not because of some power of our own, but because of the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promised to give us. Who would lead us into all the truth, would help us to see what we can rely on and help us to see things that, no, that's not the truth. That when I first look at it, it looks like the truth, but as I look at it carefully and the more I align it up against the truth as it is in Jesus, then I'll know whether it's really the truth or not. It truly is a precious thing when you think about it, it’s is something that we don't always utilize to the extent we should sometimes we’re careless, not as careful as we should be.
But the Lord's prayer for us is that we would be set apart in the truth and that means that in all these different areas we talked about we’ll have a different view of the world, to see all these things around us in a very different way and it is a most remarkable privilege that we can, as it has nothing to do with anything within us that we were to somehow sharp enough to see through the deception. We weren’t. We never would have, never could have in a million years. God sent his own Son into this world, the eternal Word made flesh, and in Him and through Him truth has been realized. It's come to pass it has been made a reality even for the likes of you and I, so that we aren’t just in a position, this doesn't go, it is not just that we know about the truth. Now we are in the truth, because were in Christ, our relationship to Jesus is real. It's personal. It's all consuming. It affects us in the very depths of who we are, our very soul, heart and soul. This is who I am. I'm in Christ. That's the one thing that matters more than anything else about me. So that when I evaluate myself or anyone else, the things that matter aren’t what I look like, where I came from, what I've done, what I haven't done, how important my abilities are or any of these things. There's one thing that matters and that is I am in Christ. Christ went so far as to set Himself apart, to be lifted up from this earth on the cross, that you and I might be made partakers with Him and in Him, to such an extent that we now can be seen as being set apart in the truth with Christ, what are His words here, “for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth,” our been set apart in the truth is directly related to Christ. What a precious thing that is. Let’s bow together in prayer.
