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And we do extend a warm welcome to all who have gathered this evening, and we're going to conclude tonight our study in the Upper Room Ministry. We're going to read, first of all, if I could, in Luke's Gospel in chapter six. Luke's Gospel, chapter six, and we'll read at verse number twelve. Luke's Gospel, chapter six, verse twelve. And it came to pass in those days that he, the Lord Jesus, went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.
And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. To chapter nine, please. Luke's Gospel, chapter nine and verse number eighteen, rather seventeen, please, verse seventeen. And they did eat and were all filled, and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.
And it came to pass as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him, and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? Now shall we turn to John's Gospel, chapter seventeen. John chapter seventeen and reading from verse number one. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved me as
thou hast loved me. Thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom th- thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. For thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me, and I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in Lord will graciously bless to us the reading of his word and our meditation in it.
Now we come to John chapter seventeen, and I think it's right to say that we're now standing on most holy ground, but we're now entering into the holiest of all. I'm sure it's with fear and trembling that we approach, approach such a great chapter as this. It's not an easy chapter to fully understand. The Son praying to the Father before the cross, and we are privileged to have the contents of that prayer before us. Sometimes we think of the prayer that the Lord Jesus taught in Luke's Gospel chapter eleven to be the Lord's Prayer. In morning assemblies at school and often in different churches, they're caused to recite that prayer, Our Father which art in heaven, and it's often called the Lord's Prayer.
It was the prayer that the Lord taught his disciples, and I'm sure it will have its fulfillment in days to come. But I think John chapter seventeen really is the Lord's Prayer, his prayer to his Father. It'd be true to say that Psalm twenty three is the pearl of Psalms. Isaiah fifty three is the pearl of prophecy. Luke chapter fifteen is the pearl of parables, but John chapter seventeen is the pearl of prayers. It stands unique. The Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels prayed fifteen times.
Now, that's not to say that he only prayed fifteen times. His whole life was one long prayer to the Father. We know that. But fifteen times we're told that he prayed, eleven of those in Luke's gospel. It's in Luke's gospel that the disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray. Not teach us how to pray, but simply teach us to pray. And I would commend Luke's gospel and the eleven references of the Lord's praying to all of us, especially the young. And we have read of two of those times that he prayed, and I want just to take a few moments now just to draw several lessons from the prayer life of the Lord Jesus in Luke's gospel in chapter six, He spent a whole night in prayer.
Why? Because of the morning, when he would call unto him whomsoever he would, and they would come unto him, his disciples, and he was going to make a choice. He was going to choose twelve to be his apostles. Now you see the moral order, because Luke writes in moral order. Before the Lord Jesus Christ made the choice, he spent a night alone with God in prayer. Now I'm not saying tonight that had he not spent that night in prayer, that he would have made the wrong choice. He could never have made a mistake. He was God manifest in flesh.
He was God's son. But you see, it's in that gospel where they say, Lord, teach us to pray. He's teaching them a lesson in life that when you're confronted with a great choice, you do well to pray. Now, there are young ones here tonight. You may have some great choices to make in life. The choice of a life's partner, how important. The choice of employment, the choice of a local assembly. These are great issues, young friend tonight, and I would just say to you, make it a burden before the Lord in prayer, because we're only but human.
We can err from the way and make a mistake. So it's just nice to see that before the Lord made his choice of these very men that he would speak to in the upper room, he's now telling them, well, he's telling his father, but it's c- c- clear, I pray for them, he says. I pray for them, but they had been the subjects of prayer long since before. Then we come to chapter nine, and the Lord Jesus has come down the mountain. He is now, eh, going to, eh, feed the multitudes. He's feeding the multitudes in Luke's Gospel, chapter nine. And when they're all fed and satisfied, he was alone praying. To me, that's a very important lesson to learn.
The multitudes have been fed, needs have been met, people have been blessed. What does he do? He goes to God in prayer. Before a conference gathering, we time- we spend time in prayer. We do that at our conference. We do the same, a night in prayer. What about a night of prayer after the conference has finished? You see the idea? You say we've had a happy time. I tell you something, when men have been helped in ministry or in the preaching of the gospel, and we feel the Lord has spoken, and some work has been done for God in the lives of his people, I tell you, we are at our most vulnerable.
That's the time to pray that God will preserve the testimony, because it's when the people of God have been fed with the finest of the wheat and have been encouraged and uplifted, it's then that the devil will strike and undo all the good that has been done. No servant of God worthy of the name would ever go out without praying. But when he's felt that he's been helped and used, does he then return to the secret place and thank God for help given? Now, these young people are wonderful lessons to learn, and this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is teaching us how to pray. Now we come to this great chapter, John chapter uh seventeen.
The prayer is well structured. It's not scattered like many of our prayers are, but there's a lovely order, and it's the easiest chapter of the five to break into its sections, for in verses one to five he's praying for himself. That's quite clear. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come, glorify thy son. So in verses one to five, we'll notice tonight that first of all, he's commending himself to his father before he went to the cross. Then from verse six down to verse nineteen, he's praying for these men that he's going to leave, the men who have been his faithful companions over three years.
He's going to commend them to God and pray for them. And then from verse twenty to the end of the chapter, he's going to pray for those who would, in days to come, believe on him through their word. He's looking, as it were, down the corridor of time. He's looking to the age that lies before them, the gospel age, the time when the Spirit of God would come and they would go out in testimony for him in the gospel, and souls would be saved. He's praying for them, many not yet born, but all chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
He's praying for the elect, for the church, for all that will believe in this present dispensation of grace. So that's how the chapter breaks itself up into those three portions, and some might wonder, why is it that the Lord Jesus first of all prayed for himself? We are taught to pray for others, then ourselves. When I think of this, I think of a young Christian girl back in Scotland. She's an assembly fellowship. She's a nurse by profession. She spends many a long night in the ward by herself. All around her, the sick and the dying.
She feels the burden of it. And during the long night, surrounded by these dying people in all their weakness and sickness, she feels the need to pray. The light is too dim to read her Bible, and so she looks at her hand, and she's taught to pray. She thinks of her thumb. Now, the thumb is always the finger that's nearest to you, no matter how you stand or sit, the thumb's always nearest. That teaches her to pray for those who are near to her and dear to her in the Lord, her companions in the faith, those who are near to her all around, the sick, the dying.
Then she thinks of the index finger. That's the finger that's used when you're teaching, instructing at the blackboard, those who point out things. And so she's taught to pray for those who teach her the pure doctrine of Christ, the ways that be in Christ, and those who would instruct her in her profession, in the nursing. Then she looked at the middle finger, which is always above the rest. That would teach her simply to pray for those that were over her in the Lord, and those that were over her in the profession of nursing, the sister of the ward, and so on, and those that were over her in the country, the powers that be, those in high office.
Then there comes the fourth finger, reckoned by everyone to be the weakest finger in the hand. That would teach her to pray for those that were weak, weak in the faith, weak in body. And then last of all, the little pinky herself, to pray for herself last and ask God to give her grace for the night season. That's beautiful. But you see, the Lord Jesus doesn't do that in John chapter seventeen, He prays for himself first. I think the reason is this. He says, glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. He's going to pray, first of all, after this, for those whom he's going to leave behind on earth, that they might be kept by the power of God.
And he's praying for those who, in days to come, will believe on him through their word and testimony. But all their blessing and all the power to keep them is dependent upon the Father glorifying the Son. And this would take into account his going to the cross, but more especially the resurrection from the dead. I tell you something, if I could be back in any part of the Bible, I would love to be with the saints of God in the early days of Christian witness, when they preached Jesus and the resurrection. Wonderful. And it was on the basis of that, that our blessing is secure.
And that's why I believe in the opening verses that he first of all commends himself to God, because future blessing for the saints are ever dependent upon his work upon the cross and has been raised by the power of the Father from the grave. Now, this is priestly ministry. This is our great high priest speaking to the Father in prayer about his own, to keep them and to help them and to encourage them, to give them strength for the days that lie before them. On earth he was a prophet.
Today he's a great high priest. There's a day coming when he'll come as king to reign. Now, we know, of course, that on earth, not only was he a prophet, but there were lovely priestly touches about his ministry. Some would argue with this. Some would say, no, he was our great high priest on earth. I don't believe that. Because you go back to the Old Testament, you discover this, that the priest did not function until blood was shed. And strictly speaking, the Lord Jesus Christ could never enter into his high priestly ministry for the church until he had been to Calvary.
Now, we don't want to pigeonhole truth and to split hairs, but I think it's right to say on earth, in the golden years of his earthly sojourn, he was the prophet, speaking forth the words of God. Today, he is our great high priest. In the coming day, he'll come to reign as king of kings and Lord of lords. You'll notice that when he speaks to God in the first section about himself, he says, Father, Father. In the second section, when he's praying for his own, he says, Holy Father.
And then further down, when he's praying about the world, he says, righteous. Now, I don't know if you're plagued across here by those who speak to God as though they were speaking to their neighbor across the fence. I want the young saints here tonight, the young men, to understand that there is a language that befits the sanctuary of the presence of God. There is priestly intelligence required of those who speak to God in prayer. I had a young man in the gospel speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ going back to heaven.
He said he went home to see his dad. That's not the language of the sanctuary. I don't want to be critical now. You see, we were saying a few days ago, the large upper room ministry, it seems as though we've been there in spirit and in thought. We've been with the Lord Jesus these nights. We've enjoyed it, have we not, to the full. All his ministry, his teaching. And it's the large upper room furnished. The word upper, as we've said, means above street level. And we don't bring these things of the streets into the sanctuary of God's presence, neither do we bring its language.
We don't bring its language. Remember, we're speaking to the God of eternity. We're speaking to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we must be careful. So he speaks to God about himself. He says, Father. He speaks to God about his own, Holy Father. He speaks to God about the world, he says, Righteous Father. And young man, it's not by coincidence that these things are so. There is priestly intelligence in all this. Now, before I sit down, let us notice that the world is mentioned, I think Mr. Paisley said, is it eighteen times in the chapter Cosmos, the world and its system.
And it's some years ago now since we saw that there are four interesting expressions about the world, worthy of note. Now, if you have your Bible before you, the chapter open, if you look at verse number six, he says, I have manifested thy name unto the man thou gavest me out of the world. That's the first one, out of the world. If you look at verse number eleven, and now he says, I am no more in the world, but these are in the world.
That's the second one, in the world. So in verse six, out of the world. Verse eleven, in the world. Verse fourteen, I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. So that's the third expression, not of the world. Finally, down in verse eighteen, as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. Now, I saw this many years ago, as perhaps you've all done, but a man of God came along one night in ministry and just put a word against each that sums up the truth of each expression.
So we'll go over them again, and I'll just leave the word with you, and then we'll sit down and we'll have our Bible reading. Verse six, out of the world is identification, identification. He s- he says, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Now, it's not a physical coming out of, but it's simply that these are the men who have been identified as those who have identified themselves with Christ. Now, in this gospel age, he's calling a people out of this world unto himself. He says, I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but preserve them from the evil.
So it's not a physical coming out of, but it's identifying yourself with a rejected man. You are out of this world, as it were. Now, this is divine purpose, and those who are followers of Christ should be easily identifiable. We're different from the world. One young man said in our platform something very good. He says, one reason why we should be different is because we are different. That's simple enough now. Second Corinthians chapter five verse seventeen: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
Now that's in divine purpose. But your margin, as well as my margin, says this: If any man be in Christ, let him be a new creation. Let him be in practice what he is in purpose. And that's the great thought. So, out of the world, wonderful thing that God, by the gospel of his grace, the work of the Holy Spirit, is calling out of the world a people for his name, and we're privileged to be part of that tonight. Now we come to verse eleven: and I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. That's not identification, as the brother said, but that's location.
Location. We're in the world. Now, we're in Christ. That's our spiritual location, but at this moment, we're living in the world. But good, you know, the moment you get saved, you'll be taken to heaven. No more cares, no more sorrows. Just save one moment and then to see his blessed face the next. But God says, no, I want you to stay here in testimony for myself. So our location is in the world. Now, I live in Scotland. That's where God would have me to be. You live in Vancouver. God makes no mistake. And then, in verse fourteen, he says, I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world.
And the brother said that this is separation, separation, not of the world. Romans chapter twelve: Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God. Now, young person, you may ask the question, what does it mean to be not conformed to this world? It simply means this. Don't allow the world to push you into their mold. Don't allow the world to determine the pathway of your feet. Don't allow the world to set the standards of your living.
You live in a higher plane. You're different from the world. You're not of the world. And it's a sad business when saints of God get mixed up in all sorts of things, and the only difference between them and the world is this, that they go to the gospel hall on a Sunday with their Bible, and the others don't. Now, if that's all it is, I think we need to take a wee look at the foundations to make sure of our calling and our election. So, we are out of the world, identification. We are in the world, that's our location until the Lord comes or we go to heaven through the article of death.
We're not of the world, that's separation. And finally, in verse eighteen, as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. Sent into the world. Go ye into all the world, he said, and preach the gospel, teaching them to observe all things and baptizing them. And so this is vocation. What worthy of the vocation, says Paul, of which you have been called. A sense of purpose, a sense of direction, no longer in our sins drifting aimlessly through this poor world of sin, but saved by the grace of God and saved to serve, saved with a purpose in view to live Christ.
And so it is lovely that he's leaving them behind with these great thoughts about the world. Now, we've gone on a little bit longer than last evening, but it's a wonderful chapter, and I'm sure that we'll be able to converse one with the other. And young man, don't be afraid to ask a question. Um, we're only here ourselves to answer it. Um, but I'm sure that the Lord will help us all to enjoy this wonderful chapter together. Now I think we'll look at the first section.
We won't be able, as we said last evening, to go into all the expressions of the chapter, but we'll take out the main thoughts. So verses one to five is the portion that brings before us the Lord Jesus praying to the Father about himself. What we just said, brother, is the, the thought behind the Lord praying for himself first? Do we learn a lesson that we need to pray for ourselves before we pray for others? Is that what's on your mind, or is there something else?
Well, um, I'm sure that in a public prayer meeting, we would tend to pray for the ungodly and pray for the fellow saints before we'd perhaps pray for ourselves, perhaps even publicly. We wouldn't pray for ourselves, we would pray for ourselves in private, first of all, you see. But, um, I was thinking that the reason why he prays for himself first is because he's laying the foundation, as it were. It's in the light of his being glorified by the Father that the prayers can be answered for those who he's leaving, these apostolic men, and those who down the ages of time will believe on him. So I think in the moral order of it, it's fitting that he should commend himself to his Father, not selfishly, because his thoughts are for his own.
Let not your heart be troubled. Three times in John's gospel, we read of the Lord Jesus being troubled. But as he's going to the cross, he's not thinking about himself and all his cares and troubles that lie before him, the agony of the cross. He's thinking mainly about those that he's leaving. But I think in the moral order of it, it's only but this thought that his being glorified of the Father is going to secure for us untold blessing in the pathway. That's as I understand it. What did you think yourself? Did you? No, I, I haven't heard anyone, uh, comment or make a comment that the, uh, Father Uh-huh.
But you would see that it's true. He does pray. Yes, I. Um, as I say, it's, they're not easy chapters, but it's the easiest chapter of all to break up, and there's no teacher or scholar of the word that I've ever known who would not see this threefold division of the chapter. It's interesting, in verse one he says, these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven. He lifted up his eyes, his heart, his voice to his father. Many years ago, I was told by a brother that we should say amen. When a brother finishes his prayer, he should say amen. Now the word amen means so be it, or let it be so.
And I don't think really it's the brother himself who should, who should say amen. I think it's the gathered company. Now, in Scotland, they used to have hearty amens, but they don't seem to have it, and sometimes you sit down among an eerie silence, wondering if you've said something wrong. Whereas if you do say amen, it should be drowned out by the brethren saying amen, so be it. I was just saying to someone that we were told in earlier days that there is the amen of agreement, there is the sila of consideration, there is the hallelujah of praise. These are scriptural words and expressions, but he went on to say there are some prayers that you can't say amen to, and one of those is the horizontal.
That's not to the Father, that's not to heaven, that's someone telling the saints sideways, having a go at the elders, you'll pardon the expression, that it goes on, it's carnal, it's fleshly, but someone that doesn't have the moral backbone to face you up, and we should be able to face each other up and talk about the things that perplex us and difficulties and grievances one with the other, but let's not use the prayer meeting to voice these grievances. So, horizontal prayers we can't say amen to, but this is a perpendicular prayer. It's a prayer to God the Father, and that's what prayer meetings are all about, where we have to lay hold upon God.
Harold St. John, and I meant to say this in the opening, says this: The upper room ministry begins with the Lord looking down, laying his hands on the dusty feet of the disciples, and ends by his lifting up his eyes to heaven and laying his hands upon the Father's throne. To me, that's most choice. So he's looking down in chapter thirteen, but at the end of the upper room ministry, he's looking up to his father. Well, Andrew, um, as we said the other night, we, he never prayed with his disciples, you know?
That verse in chapter nine that we read, he was found alone praying, and his disciples were with him. Now, how can you be alone and your disciples with you? But he was alone in his prayer. They couldn't enter into that. The reason why he could not pray with his disciples, or they couldn't pray with him, is because by the very nature of their lives, confession had to come into it. But here is one that never confessed a sin because he was sinless. But I would judge, Andrew, that John must have heard this prayer to be able to record it, or it came some other way, I don't know.
I mean, we weren't there, but I'm sure of this. He was praying to his father, not with his disciples, but someone must have heard, and I take it it was the Apostle John, who was never far away from him. He was always near to the person of Christ. Yes. That's right. They would hear him, that's right. That's good. I meant to say, um, Bill, that someone has said, I think it was Mr. Wilson, T. Ernest Wilson, is it? Um, not only Father, Holy Father, Righteous Father, but something tender and soft and sweet, Abba Father, in the garden, and that's more intimate of all.
It's getting the more intimate the nearer he gets to the cross. Would that help you, Andrew? Mm-hmm. Had you something yourself to think about that? How would you think he... Right. Uh-huh. That's good, good. Understand, of course, that praying in John's gospel is not praying as you know. He's speaking to the Father actually. Yes. The supplicant is not an equality, but a one of us. That's right, yes. It's really a teaching prayer. I mean, it's full of wonderful truth, and yet it's in the form of a prayer. He's speaking to his Father, not as we pray. That's why he could never pray. But all, sorry? We pray as if the imperers prayed with superiors. That's right, yes.
And that's why we ask, but he requested, because he's God the Son speaking to God the Father. I mean, we are on holy ground, aren't we? Sorry, nice, I can't, so I'll read it to you. On the first verse, in the hour of be less gloom, Jesus taught the glory. In the hour of fear, fiercest hate, he taught the love. In the hour of enmity and hostility, he talked of peace. At a time of intense sorrow, he talked of joy. In the secret, he lifted up his eyes. That's good. I was going to say, was that yours? No, Jim Flanagan, good. Right. It's not copyright, is it? No, good.
That's good. That's a very nice thought. That is typical of Jim Flanagan's ministry, very sweet and Christ-exalting. I've always enjoyed that new read. One of the little things that I saw in his, if you correct the prepositions in the margin, he changed the word to to into. Um. That would bear up what our Lord Bill has just said as far as the... I hadn't seen that, that's very good.
And into heaven, um, contrary to Jewish tradition and teaching, there are not seven heavens, there are three heavens, and this is the third heaven. This is where Paul was caught up in second Corinthians twelve, into the third heaven. This is the immediate presence of God, and this is where the Son of God was reaching right into his Father's presence. That's good. That phrase is interesting, the hour is coming. Yes. Mm. I think we heard that ten times in John's gospel we read about the hour. Five times it's not come, Five times it is come, and this is it.
It's the hour of his sacrifice. It's the hour of his going to the cross, and he lifted up his eyes. Perhaps into verse two, as thou has given him power over all flesh, that's mankind and their weakness, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Now we'll see in the chapter there's a lot of giving mentioned, and here we have what the Son of God has given, you see, what has been given to his saints, to his people, eternal life. Verse eight, for I have given unto them the words that thou has give- has given me.
And I think it's over in verse twenty two: and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. So they've been given eternal life, they've been given the words of God, they've been given glory. To me, it's a tremendous triplet of thought. Does chapter 17 pick up from chapter 13, where he left off then that God had glorified him, brought down to glorify him, and himself stayed to glorify him? Yes, there is a, a link with that, yes. There's a lot of, um, mention of glorifying here, Ross, in this chapter.
I think there's a follow-on, as you say, from chapter thirteen. It is. There's lots of, um, threads of thought that run throughout the five chapters, you know, in the week. Um, eternal life, it's mentioned seven times in John's gospel. Sometimes it's rendered everlasting life. That's John chapter three verse sixteen, shall have everlasting life. Some young people back home say, is there a difference? Well, it's the same life, but I would put it like this: eternal as to character, everlasting as to duration. And I think that would help the young people.
Why change in the language between verse three and verse four? It almost seems that it's unnecessary, in a sense, that the Lord should speak of himself in third person. Mm-hmm. Uh, he says, and this is life eternal that they may know thee, the only true God. You understand that all right. Mm-hmm. But he doesn't say, and know me, Mm-hmm. and I, but rather, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent, I have glorified thee. Why does he not use the I in first? Is there a reason for that? Reading that this afternoon, eh, I did notice that, actually.
Um, I think Mr. Casey should be home by now, if you give him a ring. He might tell you, because quite frankly, I just don't know. Um, you'll get this in the Bible. For example, Psalm twenty three, verses one to three, The psalmist is speaking about the shepherd, you see? But then in verse four, he speaks to the shepherd, because in verse four, he's now in the valley of the shadow of death, and that's where the nearness of his presence is real. So there are portions of scripture where it switches over. I cannot really answer your question as to why he should all of a sudden revert from the third person to the personal.
I don't know, Bill, had you any thought on this? Anybody can help us. It's a difficult one. I mean, there may be a reason for it, or it might just be how it's, it's placed. Yes, I think it would come under that heading, Bill. Um, the word for, um, flesh is mankind in its weakness, you see. Verse three is a lovely verse, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Um, to me it's wonderful to see that the reason why we have eternal life is not to go out preaching and not to visit the sick, and so on, but it's that we might have the capacity to understand divine persons.
To me, that's tremendous. Our minds were at enmity with God in our sins, but saved by the grace of God, indwelt by the Spirit of God, you and I are able to enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son, and to understand and to get to know divine persons. To me, it's a miracle of grace. You know, way back in November fifteen hundred and fifty one in Edinburgh, there lay dying one of Scotland's greatest sons, the man called John Knox. And just before he died, he said to his wife, bring me the book and read me the place where I first cast the anchor for eternity.
And she read him chapter seventeen, verse three, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. This was the verse that led John Knox to a saving knowledge of Christ as Savior. But I come back to it. To me, it thrills my soul to think that I have eternal life, and it's true that we should serve God and go out and do the work of God. That's true. But first and foremost, the verse says that we might get to know God the Father and Jesus Christ, his son. Even Jesus. Love him. What translation's that mean?
Mm-hmm. And him. And Mm-hmm. him. That's right. And then Paul says that I might know him. You see? Th- this is what the Christian life's all about, is getting to know. Yes, that's right. The true vine, yes. There's lots of things true in John's gospel, the true light, the true bread, uh, and so on. That's good, yes. Had you wondered why John should be so much in love with the truth? Because in his third epistle he says, I have no greater joy that my children walk in truth. And in Revelation he's the faithful and true witness, because I think that he was one of the two in John chapter one who heard the Baptist speak and they followed Jesus.
Now it says of John the Baptist that he himself did no great miracle, but everything that John spoke of this man was true. And so John the Baptist must have been his spiritual father, and you take on character from your father. And yes, and that- that- that's right. And this is why I think he has such a love for the truth and brings in, in his gospel writings, things that are true. This, the second epistle, it's right the way through his writings. We must hurry down, um, verse four, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do. Now, I'll ask a question.
What work is this? Because he says I've finished it. Now, we're just talking about this in the bedroom before we came out, and um, I have finished the work. Now, if it's the work of atonement, the work of sacrifice upon the cross, he hadn't been to the cross yet. So does it mean that work? Or is it all the work that God had given to do, all the miracles and all the labors, the toils up to this moment, it all had all been done? Now, I rather think that he has all that work past in view, but I think it must include the work of the cross. Now, you see, it's as though it's taken place, and there was...
That's right. And it's as though there was no power on earth, no force in hell could ever keep him from the cross. You see, verse eleven, he says, and now I am no more in the world. But really, at that moment, he was in the world. Physically, he was in the world. But you see, in the purpose of God, he was already back at the Father's right hand. So this is the way I understand it. So I think the work of verse four really takes in all the work that he'd done, with a special emphasis upon the great work of redemption that he would soon bring to pass upon the cross of Calvary. Could it be, and I, it just occurs to me as I think on these verses, could it be that the actual prayer begins in verse four?
and the Spirit of God directed John to write, uh, the first three verses the way they are presented to us? Because from verse four onward, uh, it's very distinctly the Lord's referring to himself as I. Mm-hmm. Has anyone ever, um... Haven't heard that, um, you may be right. Um, I haven't. That would certainly, um, clear up the, the change from the third person to the first person. Um, it could be, are you saying that the prayer begins at verse four? and how would the first three verses come into it then? John, John, guided by the Spirit, introducing the practice.
I see. Mm-hmm. Possibility of that, but I, as I say, I've never heard that, um, been taught. Wasn't the work of the Father. When his parents saw him sorrowing, he said, wish you not honestly, I'm merciful in things that my father, I'll be about my father. Mm-hmm. That's good. Right, right. Yes. Now here, the work is done. That's right. All that remains now is finished. It is finished. He said on the cross, it is finished. He didn't say I am finished, and that's good.
A man at the end of his day says, I'm finished, I'm done, but not him. There's no thought of weakness in his death. He bowed his head, dismissed his spirit, and the work was accomplished. Now, going back to Luke chapter two, where you're quoting from, it's interesting this. Mary says to the Lord Jesus, when they found him after three days sitting in the temple, wish you not that thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. He says, wish you not that I must be about my father's business, and took the title father from Joseph and gave it to his rightful father. I think that's interesting, that, you see. Although Mary was his mother, but Joseph was not his earthly father. He had no earthly father, young person.
He was be- born of the spirit, the incarnation, that holy thing that shall be born of thee. Now, verse five: and now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, with thine own self, I think it should read, beside thine own self. That's the, the better rendering. Not with thine own self, but beside thine own self. He's equal again, and we're sorry to repeat this so often, but just to get it over to our hearts, the Son is equal with the Father. Um, you know, in the beginning was the Son, was, was, was, was the Word, and the Word was with God face to face.
And this is a lovely thought in verse five: eh, eh, to glorify thou me with thine own self, beside thine own self, alongside with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Now we'll have to move, sorry, somebody. I just want to say, brother Lecky, when he was here years ago, gave us a little, uh, clarification on the word glory. Mm-hmm. I wondered if you had ever heard him. Mm-hmm. Is that? Did, did you hear him? I, I, I did. Well, just in a minute, just in a minute, you're going to tell us what he's saying.
Um, I, quite honestly, and it's quite amazing, in in odd years of preaching, I never spoken from John seventeen ever. That little snippets, I've never taken it up like this tonight or conducted a Bible reading. And there's a sister here tonight who has the take of Albert Leckie on John seventeen, and I said to her tonight as I was preparing, I wish I had that take now. Yeah. Now you're saying in verse five, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Um. That it would be different the hour has come glorified our son. So we, we see there seems to be a, a glorified patron coming to him, and then there's this glory that he has, uh, coming before the world was, and then it seems that there's, uh, an expression hyphenated on where he says, I am glorified in man.
Mm-hmm. So, uh, I never really understood what glory was, um, and yet seeing that, you know, this is obvious on holy ground, Mm. certainly knows what he's talking about. Yeah. As far as the his witnesses. Well, I've put one or two notes down here. Therefore, I have glorified thee upon the earth. That would speak of his perfect moral glory that was manifest among the sons of men. The first manifestation of his glory was in John 2 at the, the wedding feast, therefore he manifested forth his glory. Verse one, glorify thy son, has in mind the cross and the resurrection, and that's where he's glorified, where, where God would raise him.
Romans chapter one, declared to be the son of God with power from above, according to the spirit of holiness, raised from the dead. And in verse five, to glorify thyself with thine own, verse five, where is it now? And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, or beside thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, is the, the glory that was enjoyed between the Father and the Son before the world was, before the foundation of the world. That's the glory. I take it that these are three different thoughts. Was anybody else here present when Mr. Lecky spoke on these things? If you have a good memory. No?
I thought you were, which I had along the sea, along as the name. Along the, that's in verse five. Yes, beside or alongside. It's, it's the, it's para again, alongside, you know. Um, it's the idea of one equal with another, and it's the Son with the Father enjoying this fullness of glory which they had before the foundation of the world, and the, um, the coming of the Son into time, and even going through death would not destroy that glory. It was still to be enjoyed or diminished. We'll move on to verse six, because this takes us down to verse nineteen, which really is the, um, the prayer of the Lord Jesus on behalf of those men that he was leaving behind.
No doubt an application for us as well, but particularly those men. Now, verse six, he says, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Now, verse twenty six, he says, and I have declared unto them thy name. I would take it that the difference here between verse six, manifesting thy name and verse twenty six, declaring thy name. I think the manifestation would bring before us the idea of him making known the Father's name in his life, whereas the declaration of that name would be by lip.
So whether by life or by lip, the Father told, sorry, the Son told the Father out. So it's interesting to see the difference between manifesting the name of the Father and declaring the name of the Father. To be the Father word and deed, or rather deed and word, the deeds that he performed and the words that he spoke. Yes. Uh, in verse six, in what sense do we understand that the end of verse six, they have kept thy word? They didn't have the full revelation of truth, only what the Lord had revealed to them, but they did have the Old Testament scriptures.
Yes. But how do we understand the manner in which the disciples kept the word of God? I think it's a follow on to verse eight, for I have given unto them the words that thou gavest me, and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee. This would be his revelation, his discourses, his teaching while he's with them in the three years, and they had exercised enough faith to receive that, you see, and to accept his word. Now, as we saw in, in the previous chapter, that when the Spirit of God has come, he will lead them into all truth. So all that they had really was the Old Testament scriptures and the words that he had taught them.
Do you, do you feel that this limits it to the words that the Lord had taught the disciples? It seems to me that it doesn't really infer that it includes the Old Testament scriptures, although he did refer to many of them, didn't he? Mm-hmm. Many of his quotations were from the old, obviously, because there was nothing else to quote from. I mean, we didn't have the New Testament. So many of the things that he taught them was from the Old Testament, you see? And, um, no doubt they would have a, a working knowledge of that, but it may have perhaps more emphasis upon the words that he had taught them himself among them as a teacher come from God. But the good thing is this, that they had kept the word.
That word manifestation is interesting. Yeah. Manifestation is revealing something that has always, has always been there but not, but not known. We say that the sun is manifest, well, the sun is always there, but suddenly when the sun rises, it comes into That's right, yes. So he's revealing here, reveal the Father, they didn't know the Father? Well, the manifestation of thy name unto the men that thou gavest me out of this world is the manifestation of the fullness of that glory and all that the Father's name meant. It didn't come into being when he taught them, it ever was there. It's like mysteries in the scripture, the mystery of the church.
The church is never, eh, taught, as it were, in the Old Testament. There are little pictures of it, illustrations, but it was given to Paul to bring out in the Ephesian epistle the mystery of the church. That's why I have manifested this. That I have mani- manifested. It's manifesting, I think, by his life, living in the good of it. Everything that he did spoke of the Father's glory. But as our brother has said, there's the, the doing of it, there's the teaching of it. A prophet mighty in deed and in word. The things that Jesus both began to do and to teach. And it's lovely to think that his words were adorned by his life.
That's a lesson for us all. We'll have to move a bit further down. We're looking at this section, verses six to, eh, nineteen. As I say, with twenty minutes left, and there's no way we're going to get into every verse, so if we could feel free perhaps just to pick out some of the, the salient features in this chapter. Um, if we look down, for example, at verse nine, he says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. I pray for them. That's these men that he's leaving. Now, when he says, I pray not for the world, does not mean to say he had no interest in the world, for why would he send them back into the world to witness to his grace?
So, at this moment in time, the burden of his prayer is for them who he is leaving, that God might bless them and remember them in days to come. The expression, by the way, um, whom thou has given me occurs seven times. If you look at verse two, as many as thou hast given me. Verse six, it occurs twice, unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me. And you have it in verse nine, verse eleven, verse twelve, and verse twenty four, seven times over. He's praying for those men whom the Father gave unto him.
By the, the work of grace, the truth of election, you know, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, um, and all that the Father hath has been given unto the Son. The Father loveth the Son, hath given all things into his hand. Now we know, of course, that in John's gospel that we're in the hand of the Father, we're in the hand of the Son, so we have a double security. So the Father, I think, is the architect of salvation. The Son is the author of salvation. The Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation. So we have the three working together for eternal blessing and salvation. But I think it's the thought that he's given all unto the Son, and of course, he is the Son.
One day he'll have his bride beside him, and in that day of manifestation of glory, the wonderful thing when we get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. Not a hoof shall be left behind. You remember when he comes to make up his special treasure. That's a lovely thought. It's the elect. And so it's nice to think of that. Does that help you a bit? Yes, I think so. You see, in verse ten he says, all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. I feel inadequate tonight, really before you, I think you must feel the same, to fully enter into the wonder of all this. I mean, this is prayer on a high plane.
This is the Son praying to the Father before the cross about his own. And now, you see, we could say, all mine are thine. All that I have, Lord, is thine. But you see, and thine are mine. We could not pray that. This is only the Son praying, thine. All that belongs to the Father belongs to the Son. I'm sure of this, that when all this is finished, one thing we'll know for sure, that the Son is equal with the Father. Perfect equality. Perfect equality, that's right, um-hmm. You agree about this high priestly in character? It's high priestly in character. Therefore, that's right.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. He's not praying for the world, as it were, in this. He's praying for his own. The world's not in view. It's not really in view. The only reason why the world's mentioned so often is because his own that he's praying for are going to be left in the world. So they've got to be taught how to behave and deport themselves in this world. Verse eleven, and now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Now he says, Holy Father, because he's praying on behalf of his people, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me, that they may be one even as we are one. Verse fifteen: I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
And he also prays that they shall be kept. Verse twelve: while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. So he's saying to the Father to keep them. He says, while I was with them in the world, I kept them. And of course, as you've heard, it says that they kept the word of God. So there's the thought of keeping. The men that have been chosen have kept the word of the Lord. The Father is being prayed to by the Son that they might be kept from the evil one, and he says, while I was with them in the world, I kept them. So we're safe and kept, kept safe by divine persons.
So it's a wonderful thing to see in the, in the chapter that the prayer is for the blessing of his people. kept us guarded, actually. It's guarded. That's right. One word is for preserve, and the other one is to protect, to guard. One word is to watch over, and the one that you're talking about is to be guarded. That's right. Does it not seem that this is like a prayer of consolation and comfort to the disciples as they hear Jesus say? Consolation. Yes, um, I think the whole upper room ministry, Andrew, is, um, really Along that vein. Along that vein is to encourage them.
I mean, we've said it so often that to put yourself in their shoes, in their place, to think of the one that they had been with, this blessed son of God for three years, and he's going to leave them. But what compensation there is, how expedient it will be, as we thought last night, to their blessing that he'll leave them because all this will come through. So he's seeking, as it were, just to, um, get them to understand that all is not lost. His going to heaven will not be to their loss, that it will be for their blessing. There's a sense in which we're being kept. There's two, two expressions. Philippians chapter four, and the peace of God that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
That is to keep as a sentinel standing at the door of your mind and heart, keeping out all that would interfere with the peace of mind. So that's being kept by the peace of God. Now, in First Peter chapter one, we're being kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. So there's two great things keeping us, the peace of God and the power of God. And it's tremendous. There's no reason why we should get all upset, you know, and get all worked up. When you think of the peace of God and the power of God working on our behalf to keep us through scenes of time. The last phrase of verse eleven is the first phrase of verse twenty one, And it's an ecumen- ecumenical cliche that is used by ungodly men today, actually.
And it's just this phony as an organization. Mm. We have apostate churches, and we have isms and so on are banding together. That's right. This is our battle cry that might all be one. Uh-huh. Oh. Every dirty bird is in the rations, you know. That's right. They're all there. Mm. You have it at the Kessick Convention, above the tent, all one in Christ Jesus. Now, there's a sense in which, according to Matthew thirteen, the pearl of great price, one pearl, eh, that's a picture of the church, one. And in divine purpose, God sees the church as being one. But you see all the sects and systems and divisions and factions today, it's not of God.
Now, I was taught, as far as assembly truth is concerned, and the young could probably take this one down. In the opening chapters of the book of the Acts, there was one thing in many places. Today you have many things in one place. Now, the first is scriptural, the second is unscriptural. At Jerusalem, there was one thing, there was the assembly. That's what God recognizes. But today you have many things in the one place. Now, I don't want to be unkind to anyone here tonight, perhaps not part of the fellowship here, but you don't read of the Church of Scotland, and you don't read about the Baptist Church, but it's the Church of God.
And where you have the expression the Church of God is always local in character. When it's the church, it's a universal thing, but of God is to distinguish it from all that's not of God in a given locality. Perhaps we're straying a wee bit here, but, um, nevertheless, it's good because the oneness that was seen between the Father and the Son is the oneness into which the church and divine purpose has been brought. But what a sad business when you look around today and you see all that man has done. It's all broken up. I was in, in Ireland at the New Year time, and Jim Hutchison said something good. He says, separation is of God, division is of man.
That's good. So it's the oneness, uh, and divine purpose that unites the Father and the Son, and, um, this is the oneness into which the Church Universal has been brought. In verse fifteen, he says, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. So that he's not asking the Father to take them home to glory. He says to the Father, leave them where they are, for in Acts chapter one, they're going to witness for me. But the one thing he does pray, that they might be kept from the evil. Now, although God is keeping us, that does not cancel out our responsibility. Keep thyself in the love of God.
Keep thyself pure. Keep thyself unspotted from the world and all its ways. So we're not to think that because God's keeping us in an evil world, that we have no responsibility to keep ourselves clean. And I think that the, the twofold way, verse sixteen: they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. Now, in verse sixteen, we come back to this thought of divine purpose. They are not of the world. You see, we're of a different order altogether. That's the purpose side of things. I think verse seventeen is practical sanctification.
Sanctify them through thy truth, that we should be a holy people without blame before him in love. Do you think this is why in this section he addresses the Father as Holy Father? Yes. Bring in sanctification. Mm. Separation. That's the thought, Ross, without doubt. You're right there. Um, he's thinking of Hebrews chapter three verse one, where for holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of your profession. That's the character, you see, is holy brethren. Now, we should live in the good of that. And he says, sanctify them through thy truth.
Thy word is truth. Young people often ask, how can I sanctify myself and cleanse myself? Well, how shall a young man cleanse himself, but apart from taking heed unto thy word? And it has a cleansing effect. You might not understand the teaching, but reading the word of God cleanses your mind. It's like a sieve, the water flows through it. It might not hold much, but it does clean it. And we trust that you will hold something and carry something away from these gatherings. But the thing is this, that we're in the presence of God tonight. We are thinking about the things of Christ, the holy word of God.
It's bound to sanctify us somehow. Must do, or there's something wrong. In verse 18 it says, thou hast sent me into the world. Now we hear from time to time, brethren, these words of Isaiah 6, it's really the prophet himself. You know what I mean? Now, it's used, I know, very often, here am I, send me. It was true, but it really isn't right.
And the Lord Jesus didn't say to the Father, you've searched round the whole of heaven, there's nobody left. I know it says, and last of all he sent his son in the parable, that's different. But it's not that he searched the whole of heaven wondering who was fit to go, and the son says, well, if you want me, I'm free and available. I speak with reverence now, but send me. It's the prophet, you see, having the vision of the glory of the Lord high and lifted up, and he says, here am I, send me. Call and commission. It's the call and commission of the prophet that's brought out at the earlier bit of his prophet. I think so. Would you see that yourself? Yes, I think so. I- I've heard it said, mind you, and the more you hear it say, the more you believe it.
It becomes part of the, you know, theology. Uh-huh. Now, in verse, because it's almost closing time, verse nineteen, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Now, some young people say, well, we know that we need practical sanctification because we could become unclean, like John thirteen, to be, not to be washed all over, but to be cleansed and washed our feet from defilement. Now, is it so then that the Lord Jesus needs to be sanctified in that way? And the answer is no. It's just, sanctification really means setting apart for a holy use.
You remember in second Kings four when the vessels were borrowed, borrowed not a few empty vessels, and they were filled with the oil that's symbolic of the Spirit of God, and it says this, and set aside that which is full. Now that to me is a lovely picture of our bodies being indwelt by the Spirit of God. The church, the assembly is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Only one baptism, perhaps many fillings. But the thing is this, that we're filled with the Holy Spirit. We should be set aside to be used of God, not to be touched by the world, but to be used of God.
And so it is that the Son of God is the one who has a perfect example of this. Uh, for their sakes I sanctify myself. Here was the one who was holy, set apart for God, clean, perfect, sinless, harmless, undefiled in all his glorious person. passion. Sanctification is a colorless word, and it takes color from its association. There were those that were sanctified to do evil. Uh-huh. They set themselves apart Right. to do evil. Mm-hmm. But sanctification always takes co- takes character in, in association.
If you have That's sanctification associated association with the truth word. Yes, Mm-hmm. mhm. Color Colorless. it more than itself. Mhm. But its association gives me the color of the word. Good, good. That's good. He could be, he could be set aside for the, for, for a wrong purpose. Right, but this is set aside for a good purpose. Now, verse twenty, he says, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Now, this introduces us now to the third and final section of the chapter. He's not praying only for the men he's leaving, but he brings into the fullness of his prayer, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.
He's thinking of the elect, of those who, in the years that follow, would believe. Now, how are they going to believe? Through their words. Which brings before us a very important lesson. In evangelization, we use the word of God and nothing more, nothing less. Across our way, they're trying to entertain sinners on the road to hell, and that's not our business. Preach Christ and him crucified. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So we preach the word. We've nothing else to preach, brethren. Now, of course, when the crowds thin out and the interest wanes, people begin to get panic stricken.
We'll have to use something else. So in comes the world and all the bits and pieces. It's as though we're saying, sorry, but the divine way doesn't work. Now, you have nothing else to put in the place of the word of God. I remember reading in Proverbs, and we're going through with Mr. and Mrs. Boyd in the readings in the morning through the book of the Proverbs, and I come across this verse. As binnaker is upon niter, so is he that singeth song to a heavy heart. I read that many years ago. A man I met out in Egypt, and it was through him that I came into assembly. He was a headmaster of a school, a science teacher, and I phoned him up one night.
I said, Brother Jim, as a layman, I don't understand it. What effect has vinegar upon niter? He says, well, the best way to illustrate it is this. You know what happens when you take a spoonful of Andrew's liver salts and put it into a tumbler of water? I say, I've got it. Froth, bubble, excitement, effervescence, a minute or two later, flat as a pancake. As vinegar is upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart. If a man or a woman's heart is heavy with sin, the last thing they want is a song. And I'm not adverse to singing the songs of Zion, but that very moment they need salvation.
They don't need to be entertained. And so all I'm saying is this, it says here, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, their testimony, what they have to say of Christ. And I hope that hasn't been too long or too strong, but I'm sure you're all of one mind that all we do is preach the word of God and need the Spirit of God to work upon that. That brings about the new birth.