The Grand distinctions of christ's own:
Our relationship to the truth
John 17:17-19 ~ terry phillips
May 14, 2018
The Grand distinctions of christ's own:
Let’s turn if we can to John chapter 17 once again. I'd like to as we begin this morning, read through the first 19 verses of John 17, as we continue our study on the Lord's prayer to the Father. These things Jesus spoke and lifting up his eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee, even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent. I glorify Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself Father with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were and Thou gavest them to Me. And they have kept Thy Word. Now they have come to know that everything Thou hast given Me is from Thee. For the words which Thou gavest Me, I have given to them and they receive them and truly understood that I came forth from thee, and they believed that Thou didst send Me. I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine. And all things that are Mine are Thine and Thine are Mine, and I have been glorified in them. And I am no more in the world and yet they themselves are in the world and I come to Thee. Holy Father keep them in Thy name. The name, which thou hast given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them I was keeping them in Thy name, which thou hast given Me, and I guarded them. Not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. Now I come to Thee, and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have 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 in truth.
In the Lord's prayer to the Father we've been considering it together here recently, there is I trust as I am reminded again this morning in reading it, first of all, in the Lord's prayer to the father is His anticipation of the glory. His anticipation of the glory of God being demonstrated in unparalleled magnitude through his Sacrificial suffering and death by Roman crucifixion. As we have noted before, in contemplating this portion of God's Word, the significance of the cross is really impossible to overstate. How can you overstate the importance of this moment? It was and it continues to be the defining moment for all of time and eternity. It stands as the only genuine hope of full and final forgiveness - deliverance for sinners. There's no other remedy for our desperate flight. None whatsoever. As we continue and have been continuing in this passage, it becomes obvious that an integral dimension of the glory of the cross is its implications for those whom the Father had given to the Son. The Lord begins to turn His attention as He looks ahead and is anticipating the glory of the cross, His attention is almost immediately drawn to the focal point, if you will, of His suffering and death as He says in verse two, even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. This statement - to all whom thou hast given Him - you see the Lord beginning in this very statement to focus His attention, in this prayer, on those He came to save. This is the focus of His attention. This is an integral part of the glory of God being made known in and through the cross. The agony and the shame of the cross is the means by which God demonstrated the riches of His mercy and His grace to undeserving and unworthy sinners. As we see in the second verse there, in and through the Lord Jesus, you and I have been granted eternal life. Our Redeemer and our Father are determined to guard us to keep us. This is one of the things that Jesus mentions in this prayer. He speaks of the fact that while He was with them, He was guarding them and He's committing them into the Father's care. They're not going to be unprotected as He leaves them. God's glory is seen in His care for His own. The Lord has a great purpose in our remaining in this world. He delights in demonstrating to the world His worthiness. That is Christ's worthiness and the effectual power of the cross as he is calling to Himself a people for His very own right from out of the midst of the world, even while they're still in the world.
In this passage as we’ve been looking at it here recently, the Lord is careful to make this distinction known, to make it clear, or to clarify the ways - the fundamental ways - in which we are to be seen or to be distinguished, if you will, as His very own, apart from the world. This word sanctified that the Lord uses a number of times in this passage means literally to set apart. To set apart more specifically, to set apart to God. It carries with it the idea of that which is sacred. To be sanctified is to be set apart as sacred to God Himself, and this is the Lord’s desire, and this is what He begins to highlight in this passage. One of the fundamental manifestations of the glory of God in the cross is the radical change God himself produces in those who come to a saving faith in His beloved Son. We’re reminded of this as I just was thinking about this, as I was contemplating it in the second chapter of Paul's epistle to the saints at Ephesus. A passage that I trust we are very familiar with - one that is precious indeed to us - in Ephesians chapter 2 after the first several verses when Paul reminds the saints at Ephesus of the condition that all of us were apart from Christ. He says in verse four - but God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. For by grace you have been saved.
So, here's this great contrast, here is this distinction being made known, even though each of us when we came into this world were dead spiritually - Children of wrath to the same extent that everyone around us is a child of wrath. And yet God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ - saved us by his grace. He's called us out for His own very own and He is distinguishing His people. He delights in making known to the world, the effectualness of his great work on our behalf on the cross. As we noted last time the world is going to demonstrate its opposition and its hatred of the Lord, to varying degrees and very specifically in its treatment of the Lord's followers. Jesus said in verse 14 we just read a few moments ago - I've given them Thy Word and the world has hated them. We focused some attention on this last time. This is one of the core distinctions of God's children. Their friendship with the world - their connection to the world has ended. We were made alive together with Christ, we are no longer alive to the world, we’re no longer bound in a deep connection, if you will, to the world itself. That friendship has ended. We are no longer, Jesus says, of this world and the Lord delights in this fact. This is a significant to Him. Even when it's not significant to us as it should be. You and I are warned to stay alert to this reality. The Lord speaks of this as being a reality, and yet, we have to be warned to be alert to it. We have this tendency over time to let this sort of slide. Sometimes persecution can be a very good thing in terms of defining for - us reminding us of what's really going on. The way things really are. You and I need to be on the alert. I was thinking about this, even as I was meditating a little more on what we talked about last week, thinking of what James says there in James chapter 4, we have a very a very strong reminder from James, he says in verse four of James four, You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. It couldn’t be plainer than that, could it? Here's this clear distinction - there is an ingrained instinctive animosity between the world and God. We’re to be alert to that – we’re to be careful that we understand, we keep that in mind. I'm reminded of the admonition from John in his first epistle he says in verse 15, Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. Here again this warning - keeping this distinction in mind. Jesus says this is true, and there are going to be times when it's going to be evident far more significantly, far more painfully than others, but it’s always true. Something for us to be alert to - to be aware of. This is one of the reasons that you find Paul's warning to the saints at Corinth in second Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14 - Do not be bound together with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? The two are diametrically opposed - darkness and light - righteousness and lawlessness. He goes on, or what harmony has Christ with the Belial or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever. This is something that we need to be reminded of. We need to be challenged with this. Jesus speaks of it as a reality, as one of the ways in which it is going to be evidenced that we are no longer of this world. The world's attitudes towards us has changed, even when our attitude towards the world begins to waiver, and we sort of go back to thinking of the world as it were, like we did in the flesh as the natural man, even when were not alert as we should. Don't be deceived, the world's attitude towards us has changed. If I'm in Christ its attitude towards me has changed. The world is no friend to Jesus. And if I’m follower, Jesus said to expect this that the world be no friend of me as well. A friend of mine also. So we need to be alert to this. There is a very real danger of are actively seeking to diminish this uncomfortable reality. I mean even to purposefully to go out of our way, sort of blunt this truth. We find different ways to endear ourselves to the world in spite of the Lord's warnings. Many of God's people have gotten themselves into so much difficulty and problems in this very area. There are times when it's a very lonely position to be in, is it not? To be in this world and not to be of it. It's like you are here, - It's like you've gone to a party, but you weren’t invited. They don't want you there. It can a very lonely feeling. I'm not suggesting that we feel this way all the time, but we should recognize that there's an undercurrent always in this world in our relationship to the world, and we should not be going out of our way to try and somehow make this go away, or to not feel that isolation or that aloneness. Jesus felt it. Jesus endured it, and we are to endure as well, which is expected. We’re not to be looking for ways to get out of it - to hide from it. We also need to be alert for the tendency to move towards un-biblical extremes, in this regard. Proper perspective and balance is so crucial. There are those Christians who we sometimes describe as being sort of militant - that is to say they are in the world's face, and just as though they're looking for ways to make the world angrier at them - looking for a fight, if you will. Obviously this is wrong. Our goal our, instruction in God's Word is to be at peace with all men as much as it depends on us, as far as it goes with us and what we can do, we’re to be at peace. We’re not to try to be at enmity. But the other extreme is were not to go out of our way to disguise this distinction. I belong to Christ. I should not be ashamed of that, and I should not try to make it look as though to belong to Christ is really no different than belonging to any other religion or organization or group of people in this world. We shouldn't try to disguise it. Those who will live godly in this world, in Christ, will suffer, Paul says, persecution. We’re not to try and go out of our way to make that happen.
As we move on in the passage this morning, we notice that the Lord now singles out one of the more notable distinctions to be seen in those who truly belong to the Lord, and that is in regards to the truth – our relationship to the truth - a remarkable thing. In fact, this becomes one of the primary causes of the world's animosity is not only our relationship to Christ, but because of our relationship to Christ, we also have a very close relationship to the truth. If our relationship to Christ is real, then our relationship to the truth is real as well. We can’t have one without the other - they come together - they go together. again. There may be a strong inclination in the flesh to find ways to moderate this reality, but it is not really possible to alleviate this penetrating distinction. Jesus, notice again the words that Jesus speaks, in verse 16: 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 in truth. Again, you and I should never seek to find ways to diminish this truth. It's a distinction of the most profound nature and ramifications. There's no way we’re going to hide it eventually - no way we can effectively disguise it. It's a distinction that is in direct and flagrant opposition to the world - to the world's mindset - to the world’s viewpoint - the way this world sees things - understands things - the way the world thinks. It's a distinction that greatly frustrates and confounds the world. The world is frustrated by this distinction. It’s is interesting to me how often times I have noticed where the world just openly expresses their frustration with this. They’ll go to great lengths to try and get rid of this - this blockage if you will, between us and them, and they get very frustrated that it just doesn't seem possible. Why can't you just change or accommodate, tweak this thing, some of these things that you believe a little bit, so it would be a lot easier for all of us to get together. But this is a distinction, ultimately, we need to be mindful of this. This is a distinction that delights and honors the Lord. Jesus isn’t embarrassed about this distinction as He? He is delighting in it. He's looking forward to this as he prays to the Father. He's looking forward to the fact that this will be a reality in those who follow Him. It's a tremendous statement when you think about it, sanctify them, set them apart in the truth - set them apart in the truth. This is the desire of our Lord for you and me. His desire for us is that we be set apart in the truth.
I don't know how often we are aware of it or we think about it clearly - take the time to assess the way things really are in this world - but this world is a place of massive and deep-seated deception. Have you ever thought about it? Just stop and think about how deceptive this world really is. So much of, if not most, of what this world is all about - promotes and tries to cultivate - is a deception. It is based on a lie. This makes the distinction between those who are set apart in the truth - it makes that distinction so significant, and so impossible to disguise. The world is steeped in deception. The god of this world is a master deceiver. At the very core of his being he is a liar, a murdering liar. That's not my words. That's what Jesus said about the god of this world. He said this earlier on in John chapter 8 we’ve gone back to that passage a number of times. It’s crucial, it’s fundamental to understanding why things are the way they are in the world in which were living. Why is everything such a deception? Why so many lies? Why so many different kinds of lies and coming from all sorts of different angles? Because the god of this world is a liar at the very core of who is, he's a liar and he is a master deceiver. This is what Satan does. He loves to disguise himself as an angel of light. Undoubtedly, he delights in prowling through the earth, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But he also delights in disguising himself as an angel of light. This world is enslaved in the domain of darkness. That is to say, the way the world looks at things, the way the world sees things and understands things, the things that are important to this world, the things that the world loves and pants after are all a lie - a deception. They are built on lies. You and I need to be aware of that. It is one of the reasons again that this distinction is not something we can conceal from this world. It's an entirely different way of understanding the world, and these two ways of looking at things are completely incompatible as much as light is from darkness. When we stop and think about this matter of our relationship to the truth is this fact that this cannot - cannot be hidden. I want to remind you this morning, I think it's well worth remembering, that one of the fundamental descriptions of genuine conversion in the New Testament, that is of coming to Christ, is of a coming to the knowledge of the truth. The two are synonymous. They go hand in hand. I want to remind you of several passages in this respect. I think they are very familiar to us, but I think they're well worth being reminded of. First Timothy chapter 2 beginning with verse three. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We could say it this way - to be saved is not only coming to Christ - if I'm coming to Christ to be saved, I'm also coming to the knowledge of the truth. There's no way I can come to Christ, apart from this, because everything I think - the way I think - the way I see things - my deepest motives and desires - are completely contrary to the gospel apart from Christ, and those are changed when I come to Christ. It is the only way I can come to Christ - is to come to the knowledge of the truth - that is to see things as God sees them as they really are. Otherwise, I'll never come to Christ, not for salvation. I may come to Christ for 100 other things, but I'll never come to Him for deliverance, as the only remedy for my sin until I’ve seen things as God sees them - till I come to the knowledge of the truth. Second Timothy chapter 2 - we see the same phrase again. The apostle Paul uses it. Beginning with verse 24 - And the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wrong, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition. Here again we have this contrast. This constant battle, if you will, and conflict. If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. Back in first Timothy chapter 4 Paul is warning of - in passage we were in a not too long in our men’s study on Saturday mornings - Paul's warning Timothy of the fact that -in the latter times, there will be those who would fall away from the faith and pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. He speaks about the hypocrisy of liars, verse two - seared in their own consciences with a branding iron. Men who forbid marriage and advocate state advocate abstaining from food which God has created to be gratefully shared and by those who - notice the next words - believe and know the truth. In James chapter 1, we’re reminded in the 18th verse - In the exercise of His will, He brought us forth by the Word of truth. We would never have come to Christ apart from the word of truth. That is why when you hear people, there are people who say all kinds of things about Christ, and there are people who come to a point where they respect in their minds - they perceive themselves coming to some life transforming view of Jesus, but they haven't heard the Word of truth. And so, they haven't come to Christ, in this sense, as their Savior. In the exercise of His will, He brought us forth by the Word of truth. You can't separate the truth from Jesus. You can't separate the truth from His followers. First Peter chapter 1 verse 22 says - that since you had in obedience to the truth purified your souls, for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. This is what salvation involves - coming to the knowledge of the truth, submitting ourselves to that truth, embracing the truth as it is in Jesus, as opposed to the way I saw everything before. Second Peter chapter 1, Peter says he's going to remind his readers. He says in verse 12. Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you. He says, I'm reminding you of these things, but I recognize the reality is you've already been established in the truth. You’re in Christ. That has to be the case. You've already been established in the truth which is present with you. Again, we go back to the Lord's prayer to the Father - sanctify them, set them apart as sacred as holy to the Lord in the truth.
The truth, as it is in Jesus, is by its very nature impervious to all - to any and all forces that are aligned against it. It is one of the most precious things to me about the Gospel. It is one of the most frustrating things to me about all the things that this world considers to be true at any given point in time. It isn’t that I look back, or someone comes up to me, and alerts me to the fact that what I thought was true no longer is – in this life. Happens all the time, doesn’t it? Not so. Not so when it comes to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. By its very nature it is impervious to any and all attempts to modify it, even a little bit. It's not negotiable. It’s not fluid. It’s not evolving. It's not fluctuating with the ebb and flow flow of human reasonings or perceptions of relevance. It’s not subject to the rationalizing or the theorizing of the most learned theologians and skeptics. It is settled from and for all of eternity. What a grand distinction between God's people, those who are no longer of this world, even though they are still in it. This grand distinction between the darkness and the deception of this world and the truth of divine revelation is illustrated in a number of important matters, when you think about it.
I just want to review a few of these very briefly this morning, and I really would put these before you as something for you to think about, to meditate upon. This is something that you and I ought to really delight in thinking about - meditating on. How are we really different in relation to the truth? I know all of us would be able to isolate numerous things at any given point in time, because this is something that's familiar to us. But to be alert to and looking for the ways in which this evidences itself - the ways in which it is demonstrated and ought to be more and more demonstratedin us from day-to-day. Several major things I would mention - fundamental things maybe I guess I would say. First of all, you can see this in the area of origins. What does the world have to say about where this universe came from? Let me put it another way, what HAS the world had to say about where this universe came from? Because it has changed, and it keeps on changing and continues to change.
I don’t how many of you followed the so-called brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking through some of his theories throughout his life. Undoubtedly, from a human perspective quite a brilliant and fascinating man, I suppose in some ways. But his theories and his brilliance of how this world began were constantly evolving - constantly changing. He died just recently and one thing I'm sure of is his view of origins is no longer changing. But the view that the world has of where we all came from is constantly changing. There are certain things though that seem to be evident from one view to the next, consistent if you will, and that is that it shoves God as far out of the picture as possible. The world's view of origins. Where did this universe come from? where did we come from? We know what God has to say about this matter of origins, and it stands in great contrast to that of the world around us. Divine revelation begins with those words, in the beginning God created, right? There stands the truth, right from the outset. Psalm 33 verse six: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heat, He lays up the deeps and storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for He spoke and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. There is a huge distinction in the way the world sees the origins of life, of the heavens and the earth, and the Christians view. I love what the psalmist says in the hundredth Psalm, thanksgiving Psalm, if you will, is often referred to as: Know that the Lord Himself is God. It is He who has made us, not we ourselves. It is He who has made us. Here you have this great distinction, if you will. Remember the way that the gospel of John begins in chapter 1, the first three verses: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God all things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. All of existence owes its existence to God. We have this great distinction when it comes even to the most basic and fundamental matter of origins.
Or what about - let's take another example of how different the world's view of things is. How about when it comes to the issue of riches or money? How does the world view riches and money? The worldview of riches and money is, for the most part, get all that you can because money is what really matters. We have in this country from back in the 60’s, we had government declare war on poverty. Why? What's so bad about poverty? Unless we’re all convinced, the world is convinced, that the best thing all of us can have is plenty of things – plenty of power play – riches, money. Is that God's view? - enter into the world's view, confront the world's way of thinking when it comes to riches with divine revelation and all of a sudden you have a very different perspective. God's perspective of riches is entirely different. I remind you, even in the book in the Proverbs, the book of Proverbs the 23rd chapter of verse, I think couple a verses that are familiar to us - the fourth and fifth verses: do not wear yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it when you set your eyes on it, It is gone. For well certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Recall in the Lord's parable of the sower. You recall the Lord Jesus speaking of the deceitfulness of riches, riches are a deception from the divine perspective. From the world's perspective, riches are the real thing. You can do a lot with money. You recall the passage in Luke's gospel in the 12th chapter, When Jesus, just before he speaks, a parable if concerning this matter. He says in verse 15: Beware, be on your guard against every form of greed – every form of greed. For not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions. The divine view of riches, of money, of things, very different than the human view - very different than the way the world sees. You recall in the parable, verse 16, saying: the land of a certain man rich man was very productive, and he began reasoning to himself, saying, what shall I do. since I have no place to store my crops. And he said, this is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones in there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will say to my soul, Soul, You have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, you fool. This very night your soul is required of you. Now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man he lays a treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. - Huge distinction in the way the world sees riches - huge distinction in the way the world sees what is important to live for. This man is looking for riches so that he can eat, drink and be happy. To give you an estimate, the other day, I made a comment to someone that they lost a loved one, and I tried to turn things in that direction, saying, just reminding this individual how short life is this world, They didn’t miss a beat, answered, saying, “Yup that's why you gotta have all the fun you can while you're here”. That's the world’s view of life. That’s not the way God sees life. That's not what comes from the knowledge of the truth. The knowledge of the truth tells us that this life is not what really matters in the end, because it is very, very short. The emphasis from the Lord is not how much fun we can have in this life, it's that we lose our life in this world in order to gain our lives in Christ. The world is obsessed, and this nation from its very founding, has been obsessed with the pursuit of happiness, only to find now that, now several hundred years later, that we have more than we've ever had. We, as a people, as rich, it is hard to even imagine. I can't imagine, I thought of this at times, what it would be like for someone 150 years ago to be transported to the present day and age. They would be absolutely blown away by the riches, the wealth, all that we have - almost a grotesque prosperity, if you will, an opulence that is ruining us as a people, and has ruined us in so many ways. That pursuit of happiness ends up being something that leads to and engulfs us in enslaving degrading desires. There's a way, God says, that seems right, but its end is the way of death. There again, you have this huge contrast - the knowledge of the truth, and the way the world thinks.
What about when it comes to the matter of worship? I don’t and how many times you've thought about this how - How things have slowly changed in terms of this matter of idolatry. You think about the past and how much idolatry was centered on a piece of wood, piece of stone an article gold, something outside of ourselves that would somehow transcend this life. We are living in a day and age in which that idolatry has finally reached back down to where it really all began, and that is the worship of ourselves. It's humanism. You and I are living through a time of idolatry, the worship of self, I think such as the world has never ever known. And as we as Christians need to be alert to that - be aware that. Does it ever bother you the way that people worship other people? They worship themselves and other people. Personally, I find it to be one of the most repulsive aspects of the society. Everyone seems to be clamoring after some American Idol. Whether it's in sports, whether it's a movie star, whether it's a political figure. In fact, by the way, our political figures almost demand anymore to be worshiped. Stop and really think about it - humanism, God says there's only one way to experience deepest joy and satisfaction and fulfillment, and that is to worship God - to worship our Creator and to worship Him, you have to worship Him in spirit and truth. What a difference.
What about the worldview of the human condition? For the most part though, this world sees man is basically good, and even those who see man as being really more evil than good, still would see man as having some redeemable qualities. I've been fascinated listening to people talk about this and describe some people who I have talked to, would talk to them for a while, and it's amazing to me how far they would go in talking about human depravity, but they stop short of God's assessment of the human condition. There is that one little spark there and everybody. That’s not God says, is it? God says we’re dead. There's no spark. He says there's not one who is righteous, not even one -huge difference in the way the world sees man's condition – his need. Men are constantly clamoring for one fix or another -one remedy or another for all the evil, the wickedness that goes on this world. But they won't acknowledge the fact that the problem is in each and every one of us - that we are wicked. That we need to be redeemed. We need to be reconciled to God.
Take another issue - the matter of the coming day of reckoning. Many people in our society, the world as a whole tends to in this present day and age, for the most part I think, scoff at this idea. Or you have others who, yes, they agree there's going to be a day of some reckoning, but the way they see that reckoning is based upon their assessment of how God should reckon with them - I've been pretty good. I've haven’t done too bad. I figure it will be all right, rather than receive the revelation from God and the truth comes to us in and through the Lord Jesus.
I just give you some of these examples to think about. Here's this huge distinction. Jesus prays that will be sanctified in the truth - set apart. Think of a number of these ways and many others that you can come up with where we are set apart - where we are to be distinctly different in our outlook - our whole mindset and motive. And what a precious thing this is. Jesus is delighting in it. Do you and I delight in it? Do rejoice, at the end of the day that, you know what, I'm so thankful for the way the Lord allowed me to see things for what they really are. Because if it weren't for Him. I would still be in the darkness. I still believing all these lies. The deception would be my only reality, and it was my only reality apart from Him. What a blessed truth this is that the Lord gives us, and I trust it is one that we will learn more and more to appreciate, to lay hold of, as well.
In the Lord's prayer to the Father we've been considering it together here recently, there is I trust as I am reminded again this morning in reading it, first of all, in the Lord's prayer to the father is His anticipation of the glory. His anticipation of the glory of God being demonstrated in unparalleled magnitude through his Sacrificial suffering and death by Roman crucifixion. As we have noted before, in contemplating this portion of God's Word, the significance of the cross is really impossible to overstate. How can you overstate the importance of this moment? It was and it continues to be the defining moment for all of time and eternity. It stands as the only genuine hope of full and final forgiveness - deliverance for sinners. There's no other remedy for our desperate flight. None whatsoever. As we continue and have been continuing in this passage, it becomes obvious that an integral dimension of the glory of the cross is its implications for those whom the Father had given to the Son. The Lord begins to turn His attention as He looks ahead and is anticipating the glory of the cross, His attention is almost immediately drawn to the focal point, if you will, of His suffering and death as He says in verse two, even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. This statement - to all whom thou hast given Him - you see the Lord beginning in this very statement to focus His attention, in this prayer, on those He came to save. This is the focus of His attention. This is an integral part of the glory of God being made known in and through the cross. The agony and the shame of the cross is the means by which God demonstrated the riches of His mercy and His grace to undeserving and unworthy sinners. As we see in the second verse there, in and through the Lord Jesus, you and I have been granted eternal life. Our Redeemer and our Father are determined to guard us to keep us. This is one of the things that Jesus mentions in this prayer. He speaks of the fact that while He was with them, He was guarding them and He's committing them into the Father's care. They're not going to be unprotected as He leaves them. God's glory is seen in His care for His own. The Lord has a great purpose in our remaining in this world. He delights in demonstrating to the world His worthiness. That is Christ's worthiness and the effectual power of the cross as he is calling to Himself a people for His very own right from out of the midst of the world, even while they're still in the world.
In this passage as we’ve been looking at it here recently, the Lord is careful to make this distinction known, to make it clear, or to clarify the ways - the fundamental ways - in which we are to be seen or to be distinguished, if you will, as His very own, apart from the world. This word sanctified that the Lord uses a number of times in this passage means literally to set apart. To set apart more specifically, to set apart to God. It carries with it the idea of that which is sacred. To be sanctified is to be set apart as sacred to God Himself, and this is the Lord’s desire, and this is what He begins to highlight in this passage. One of the fundamental manifestations of the glory of God in the cross is the radical change God himself produces in those who come to a saving faith in His beloved Son. We’re reminded of this as I just was thinking about this, as I was contemplating it in the second chapter of Paul's epistle to the saints at Ephesus. A passage that I trust we are very familiar with - one that is precious indeed to us - in Ephesians chapter 2 after the first several verses when Paul reminds the saints at Ephesus of the condition that all of us were apart from Christ. He says in verse four - but God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. For by grace you have been saved.
So, here's this great contrast, here is this distinction being made known, even though each of us when we came into this world were dead spiritually - Children of wrath to the same extent that everyone around us is a child of wrath. And yet God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ - saved us by his grace. He's called us out for His own very own and He is distinguishing His people. He delights in making known to the world, the effectualness of his great work on our behalf on the cross. As we noted last time the world is going to demonstrate its opposition and its hatred of the Lord, to varying degrees and very specifically in its treatment of the Lord's followers. Jesus said in verse 14 we just read a few moments ago - I've given them Thy Word and the world has hated them. We focused some attention on this last time. This is one of the core distinctions of God's children. Their friendship with the world - their connection to the world has ended. We were made alive together with Christ, we are no longer alive to the world, we’re no longer bound in a deep connection, if you will, to the world itself. That friendship has ended. We are no longer, Jesus says, of this world and the Lord delights in this fact. This is a significant to Him. Even when it's not significant to us as it should be. You and I are warned to stay alert to this reality. The Lord speaks of this as being a reality, and yet, we have to be warned to be alert to it. We have this tendency over time to let this sort of slide. Sometimes persecution can be a very good thing in terms of defining for - us reminding us of what's really going on. The way things really are. You and I need to be on the alert. I was thinking about this, even as I was meditating a little more on what we talked about last week, thinking of what James says there in James chapter 4, we have a very a very strong reminder from James, he says in verse four of James four, You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. It couldn’t be plainer than that, could it? Here's this clear distinction - there is an ingrained instinctive animosity between the world and God. We’re to be alert to that – we’re to be careful that we understand, we keep that in mind. I'm reminded of the admonition from John in his first epistle he says in verse 15, Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. Here again this warning - keeping this distinction in mind. Jesus says this is true, and there are going to be times when it's going to be evident far more significantly, far more painfully than others, but it’s always true. Something for us to be alert to - to be aware of. This is one of the reasons that you find Paul's warning to the saints at Corinth in second Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14 - Do not be bound together with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? The two are diametrically opposed - darkness and light - righteousness and lawlessness. He goes on, or what harmony has Christ with the Belial or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever. This is something that we need to be reminded of. We need to be challenged with this. Jesus speaks of it as a reality, as one of the ways in which it is going to be evidenced that we are no longer of this world. The world's attitudes towards us has changed, even when our attitude towards the world begins to waiver, and we sort of go back to thinking of the world as it were, like we did in the flesh as the natural man, even when were not alert as we should. Don't be deceived, the world's attitude towards us has changed. If I'm in Christ its attitude towards me has changed. The world is no friend to Jesus. And if I’m follower, Jesus said to expect this that the world be no friend of me as well. A friend of mine also. So we need to be alert to this. There is a very real danger of are actively seeking to diminish this uncomfortable reality. I mean even to purposefully to go out of our way, sort of blunt this truth. We find different ways to endear ourselves to the world in spite of the Lord's warnings. Many of God's people have gotten themselves into so much difficulty and problems in this very area. There are times when it's a very lonely position to be in, is it not? To be in this world and not to be of it. It's like you are here, - It's like you've gone to a party, but you weren’t invited. They don't want you there. It can a very lonely feeling. I'm not suggesting that we feel this way all the time, but we should recognize that there's an undercurrent always in this world in our relationship to the world, and we should not be going out of our way to try and somehow make this go away, or to not feel that isolation or that aloneness. Jesus felt it. Jesus endured it, and we are to endure as well, which is expected. We’re not to be looking for ways to get out of it - to hide from it. We also need to be alert for the tendency to move towards un-biblical extremes, in this regard. Proper perspective and balance is so crucial. There are those Christians who we sometimes describe as being sort of militant - that is to say they are in the world's face, and just as though they're looking for ways to make the world angrier at them - looking for a fight, if you will. Obviously this is wrong. Our goal our, instruction in God's Word is to be at peace with all men as much as it depends on us, as far as it goes with us and what we can do, we’re to be at peace. We’re not to try to be at enmity. But the other extreme is were not to go out of our way to disguise this distinction. I belong to Christ. I should not be ashamed of that, and I should not try to make it look as though to belong to Christ is really no different than belonging to any other religion or organization or group of people in this world. We shouldn't try to disguise it. Those who will live godly in this world, in Christ, will suffer, Paul says, persecution. We’re not to try and go out of our way to make that happen.
As we move on in the passage this morning, we notice that the Lord now singles out one of the more notable distinctions to be seen in those who truly belong to the Lord, and that is in regards to the truth – our relationship to the truth - a remarkable thing. In fact, this becomes one of the primary causes of the world's animosity is not only our relationship to Christ, but because of our relationship to Christ, we also have a very close relationship to the truth. If our relationship to Christ is real, then our relationship to the truth is real as well. We can’t have one without the other - they come together - they go together. again. There may be a strong inclination in the flesh to find ways to moderate this reality, but it is not really possible to alleviate this penetrating distinction. Jesus, notice again the words that Jesus speaks, in verse 16: 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 in truth. Again, you and I should never seek to find ways to diminish this truth. It's a distinction of the most profound nature and ramifications. There's no way we’re going to hide it eventually - no way we can effectively disguise it. It's a distinction that is in direct and flagrant opposition to the world - to the world's mindset - to the world’s viewpoint - the way this world sees things - understands things - the way the world thinks. It's a distinction that greatly frustrates and confounds the world. The world is frustrated by this distinction. It’s is interesting to me how often times I have noticed where the world just openly expresses their frustration with this. They’ll go to great lengths to try and get rid of this - this blockage if you will, between us and them, and they get very frustrated that it just doesn't seem possible. Why can't you just change or accommodate, tweak this thing, some of these things that you believe a little bit, so it would be a lot easier for all of us to get together. But this is a distinction, ultimately, we need to be mindful of this. This is a distinction that delights and honors the Lord. Jesus isn’t embarrassed about this distinction as He? He is delighting in it. He's looking forward to this as he prays to the Father. He's looking forward to the fact that this will be a reality in those who follow Him. It's a tremendous statement when you think about it, sanctify them, set them apart in the truth - set them apart in the truth. This is the desire of our Lord for you and me. His desire for us is that we be set apart in the truth.
I don't know how often we are aware of it or we think about it clearly - take the time to assess the way things really are in this world - but this world is a place of massive and deep-seated deception. Have you ever thought about it? Just stop and think about how deceptive this world really is. So much of, if not most, of what this world is all about - promotes and tries to cultivate - is a deception. It is based on a lie. This makes the distinction between those who are set apart in the truth - it makes that distinction so significant, and so impossible to disguise. The world is steeped in deception. The god of this world is a master deceiver. At the very core of his being he is a liar, a murdering liar. That's not my words. That's what Jesus said about the god of this world. He said this earlier on in John chapter 8 we’ve gone back to that passage a number of times. It’s crucial, it’s fundamental to understanding why things are the way they are in the world in which were living. Why is everything such a deception? Why so many lies? Why so many different kinds of lies and coming from all sorts of different angles? Because the god of this world is a liar at the very core of who is, he's a liar and he is a master deceiver. This is what Satan does. He loves to disguise himself as an angel of light. Undoubtedly, he delights in prowling through the earth, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But he also delights in disguising himself as an angel of light. This world is enslaved in the domain of darkness. That is to say, the way the world looks at things, the way the world sees things and understands things, the things that are important to this world, the things that the world loves and pants after are all a lie - a deception. They are built on lies. You and I need to be aware of that. It is one of the reasons again that this distinction is not something we can conceal from this world. It's an entirely different way of understanding the world, and these two ways of looking at things are completely incompatible as much as light is from darkness. When we stop and think about this matter of our relationship to the truth is this fact that this cannot - cannot be hidden. I want to remind you this morning, I think it's well worth remembering, that one of the fundamental descriptions of genuine conversion in the New Testament, that is of coming to Christ, is of a coming to the knowledge of the truth. The two are synonymous. They go hand in hand. I want to remind you of several passages in this respect. I think they are very familiar to us, but I think they're well worth being reminded of. First Timothy chapter 2 beginning with verse three. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We could say it this way - to be saved is not only coming to Christ - if I'm coming to Christ to be saved, I'm also coming to the knowledge of the truth. There's no way I can come to Christ, apart from this, because everything I think - the way I think - the way I see things - my deepest motives and desires - are completely contrary to the gospel apart from Christ, and those are changed when I come to Christ. It is the only way I can come to Christ - is to come to the knowledge of the truth - that is to see things as God sees them as they really are. Otherwise, I'll never come to Christ, not for salvation. I may come to Christ for 100 other things, but I'll never come to Him for deliverance, as the only remedy for my sin until I’ve seen things as God sees them - till I come to the knowledge of the truth. Second Timothy chapter 2 - we see the same phrase again. The apostle Paul uses it. Beginning with verse 24 - And the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wrong, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition. Here again we have this contrast. This constant battle, if you will, and conflict. If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. Back in first Timothy chapter 4 Paul is warning of - in passage we were in a not too long in our men’s study on Saturday mornings - Paul's warning Timothy of the fact that -in the latter times, there will be those who would fall away from the faith and pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. He speaks about the hypocrisy of liars, verse two - seared in their own consciences with a branding iron. Men who forbid marriage and advocate state advocate abstaining from food which God has created to be gratefully shared and by those who - notice the next words - believe and know the truth. In James chapter 1, we’re reminded in the 18th verse - In the exercise of His will, He brought us forth by the Word of truth. We would never have come to Christ apart from the word of truth. That is why when you hear people, there are people who say all kinds of things about Christ, and there are people who come to a point where they respect in their minds - they perceive themselves coming to some life transforming view of Jesus, but they haven't heard the Word of truth. And so, they haven't come to Christ, in this sense, as their Savior. In the exercise of His will, He brought us forth by the Word of truth. You can't separate the truth from Jesus. You can't separate the truth from His followers. First Peter chapter 1 verse 22 says - that since you had in obedience to the truth purified your souls, for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. This is what salvation involves - coming to the knowledge of the truth, submitting ourselves to that truth, embracing the truth as it is in Jesus, as opposed to the way I saw everything before. Second Peter chapter 1, Peter says he's going to remind his readers. He says in verse 12. Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you. He says, I'm reminding you of these things, but I recognize the reality is you've already been established in the truth. You’re in Christ. That has to be the case. You've already been established in the truth which is present with you. Again, we go back to the Lord's prayer to the Father - sanctify them, set them apart as sacred as holy to the Lord in the truth.
The truth, as it is in Jesus, is by its very nature impervious to all - to any and all forces that are aligned against it. It is one of the most precious things to me about the Gospel. It is one of the most frustrating things to me about all the things that this world considers to be true at any given point in time. It isn’t that I look back, or someone comes up to me, and alerts me to the fact that what I thought was true no longer is – in this life. Happens all the time, doesn’t it? Not so. Not so when it comes to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. By its very nature it is impervious to any and all attempts to modify it, even a little bit. It's not negotiable. It’s not fluid. It’s not evolving. It's not fluctuating with the ebb and flow flow of human reasonings or perceptions of relevance. It’s not subject to the rationalizing or the theorizing of the most learned theologians and skeptics. It is settled from and for all of eternity. What a grand distinction between God's people, those who are no longer of this world, even though they are still in it. This grand distinction between the darkness and the deception of this world and the truth of divine revelation is illustrated in a number of important matters, when you think about it.
I just want to review a few of these very briefly this morning, and I really would put these before you as something for you to think about, to meditate upon. This is something that you and I ought to really delight in thinking about - meditating on. How are we really different in relation to the truth? I know all of us would be able to isolate numerous things at any given point in time, because this is something that's familiar to us. But to be alert to and looking for the ways in which this evidences itself - the ways in which it is demonstrated and ought to be more and more demonstratedin us from day-to-day. Several major things I would mention - fundamental things maybe I guess I would say. First of all, you can see this in the area of origins. What does the world have to say about where this universe came from? Let me put it another way, what HAS the world had to say about where this universe came from? Because it has changed, and it keeps on changing and continues to change.
I don’t how many of you followed the so-called brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking through some of his theories throughout his life. Undoubtedly, from a human perspective quite a brilliant and fascinating man, I suppose in some ways. But his theories and his brilliance of how this world began were constantly evolving - constantly changing. He died just recently and one thing I'm sure of is his view of origins is no longer changing. But the view that the world has of where we all came from is constantly changing. There are certain things though that seem to be evident from one view to the next, consistent if you will, and that is that it shoves God as far out of the picture as possible. The world's view of origins. Where did this universe come from? where did we come from? We know what God has to say about this matter of origins, and it stands in great contrast to that of the world around us. Divine revelation begins with those words, in the beginning God created, right? There stands the truth, right from the outset. Psalm 33 verse six: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heat, He lays up the deeps and storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for He spoke and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. There is a huge distinction in the way the world sees the origins of life, of the heavens and the earth, and the Christians view. I love what the psalmist says in the hundredth Psalm, thanksgiving Psalm, if you will, is often referred to as: Know that the Lord Himself is God. It is He who has made us, not we ourselves. It is He who has made us. Here you have this great distinction, if you will. Remember the way that the gospel of John begins in chapter 1, the first three verses: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God all things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. All of existence owes its existence to God. We have this great distinction when it comes even to the most basic and fundamental matter of origins.
Or what about - let's take another example of how different the world's view of things is. How about when it comes to the issue of riches or money? How does the world view riches and money? The worldview of riches and money is, for the most part, get all that you can because money is what really matters. We have in this country from back in the 60’s, we had government declare war on poverty. Why? What's so bad about poverty? Unless we’re all convinced, the world is convinced, that the best thing all of us can have is plenty of things – plenty of power play – riches, money. Is that God's view? - enter into the world's view, confront the world's way of thinking when it comes to riches with divine revelation and all of a sudden you have a very different perspective. God's perspective of riches is entirely different. I remind you, even in the book in the Proverbs, the book of Proverbs the 23rd chapter of verse, I think couple a verses that are familiar to us - the fourth and fifth verses: do not wear yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it when you set your eyes on it, It is gone. For well certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Recall in the Lord's parable of the sower. You recall the Lord Jesus speaking of the deceitfulness of riches, riches are a deception from the divine perspective. From the world's perspective, riches are the real thing. You can do a lot with money. You recall the passage in Luke's gospel in the 12th chapter, When Jesus, just before he speaks, a parable if concerning this matter. He says in verse 15: Beware, be on your guard against every form of greed – every form of greed. For not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions. The divine view of riches, of money, of things, very different than the human view - very different than the way the world sees. You recall in the parable, verse 16, saying: the land of a certain man rich man was very productive, and he began reasoning to himself, saying, what shall I do. since I have no place to store my crops. And he said, this is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones in there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will say to my soul, Soul, You have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, you fool. This very night your soul is required of you. Now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man he lays a treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. - Huge distinction in the way the world sees riches - huge distinction in the way the world sees what is important to live for. This man is looking for riches so that he can eat, drink and be happy. To give you an estimate, the other day, I made a comment to someone that they lost a loved one, and I tried to turn things in that direction, saying, just reminding this individual how short life is this world, They didn’t miss a beat, answered, saying, “Yup that's why you gotta have all the fun you can while you're here”. That's the world’s view of life. That’s not the way God sees life. That's not what comes from the knowledge of the truth. The knowledge of the truth tells us that this life is not what really matters in the end, because it is very, very short. The emphasis from the Lord is not how much fun we can have in this life, it's that we lose our life in this world in order to gain our lives in Christ. The world is obsessed, and this nation from its very founding, has been obsessed with the pursuit of happiness, only to find now that, now several hundred years later, that we have more than we've ever had. We, as a people, as rich, it is hard to even imagine. I can't imagine, I thought of this at times, what it would be like for someone 150 years ago to be transported to the present day and age. They would be absolutely blown away by the riches, the wealth, all that we have - almost a grotesque prosperity, if you will, an opulence that is ruining us as a people, and has ruined us in so many ways. That pursuit of happiness ends up being something that leads to and engulfs us in enslaving degrading desires. There's a way, God says, that seems right, but its end is the way of death. There again, you have this huge contrast - the knowledge of the truth, and the way the world thinks.
What about when it comes to the matter of worship? I don’t and how many times you've thought about this how - How things have slowly changed in terms of this matter of idolatry. You think about the past and how much idolatry was centered on a piece of wood, piece of stone an article gold, something outside of ourselves that would somehow transcend this life. We are living in a day and age in which that idolatry has finally reached back down to where it really all began, and that is the worship of ourselves. It's humanism. You and I are living through a time of idolatry, the worship of self, I think such as the world has never ever known. And as we as Christians need to be alert to that - be aware that. Does it ever bother you the way that people worship other people? They worship themselves and other people. Personally, I find it to be one of the most repulsive aspects of the society. Everyone seems to be clamoring after some American Idol. Whether it's in sports, whether it's a movie star, whether it's a political figure. In fact, by the way, our political figures almost demand anymore to be worshiped. Stop and really think about it - humanism, God says there's only one way to experience deepest joy and satisfaction and fulfillment, and that is to worship God - to worship our Creator and to worship Him, you have to worship Him in spirit and truth. What a difference.
What about the worldview of the human condition? For the most part though, this world sees man is basically good, and even those who see man as being really more evil than good, still would see man as having some redeemable qualities. I've been fascinated listening to people talk about this and describe some people who I have talked to, would talk to them for a while, and it's amazing to me how far they would go in talking about human depravity, but they stop short of God's assessment of the human condition. There is that one little spark there and everybody. That’s not God says, is it? God says we’re dead. There's no spark. He says there's not one who is righteous, not even one -huge difference in the way the world sees man's condition – his need. Men are constantly clamoring for one fix or another -one remedy or another for all the evil, the wickedness that goes on this world. But they won't acknowledge the fact that the problem is in each and every one of us - that we are wicked. That we need to be redeemed. We need to be reconciled to God.
Take another issue - the matter of the coming day of reckoning. Many people in our society, the world as a whole tends to in this present day and age, for the most part I think, scoff at this idea. Or you have others who, yes, they agree there's going to be a day of some reckoning, but the way they see that reckoning is based upon their assessment of how God should reckon with them - I've been pretty good. I've haven’t done too bad. I figure it will be all right, rather than receive the revelation from God and the truth comes to us in and through the Lord Jesus.
I just give you some of these examples to think about. Here's this huge distinction. Jesus prays that will be sanctified in the truth - set apart. Think of a number of these ways and many others that you can come up with where we are set apart - where we are to be distinctly different in our outlook - our whole mindset and motive. And what a precious thing this is. Jesus is delighting in it. Do you and I delight in it? Do rejoice, at the end of the day that, you know what, I'm so thankful for the way the Lord allowed me to see things for what they really are. Because if it weren't for Him. I would still be in the darkness. I still believing all these lies. The deception would be my only reality, and it was my only reality apart from Him. What a blessed truth this is that the Lord gives us, and I trust it is one that we will learn more and more to appreciate, to lay hold of, as well.
