SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
2/26/2017 7:56 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 Intro
to John 17:6-10
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: John 17:6-10
Message of the
verses: “6 "I have manifested
Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You
gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 "Now they have come to know that
everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I
have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came
forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 "I ask on their
behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given
Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all
things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified
in them.”
In past Spiritual Diaries we have talked about the
doctrines of divine sovereignty (“that God elected sinners for salvation in
eternity past”) and we have also talked about human responsibility (“that
sinners are held accountable for how they respond to the gospel”). These two doctrines are seen in verses 6-10
of John 17. John MacArthur entitles this
chapter in his commentary which discusses these verses “Jesus Prays for His
Disciples—Part 1: As Those Whom The Father Had Given Him.” Another thing I want to say is that as we go
through this introduction to these verses it may take a prolonged period of
time before we finish it. I also want to
remind you of the truth of a sermon that MacArthur preached entitled “Two
Truths” which we looked at in the past which has to do with these two
doctrines.
It is because it is Sunday that I will not have as much
time to do a lot with this SD, which is usually the case on Sundays, and so I
want to review these doctrines as I quote from a paragraph in MacArthur’s
commentary:
“Without apology or excuse, the Bible teaches that the
Father ‘chose [believers] in Him [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the
world’ (Eph. 1:4; cf. Col. 3:12; Titus 1:1-2; 2 John 1). In eternity past, they were ‘predestined’ for
justification (Rom. 8:29), adoption (Eph. 1:5), and a heavenly inheritance
(Eph. 1:11). Based on no merit or work
of their own (Eph. 2:8; Titus 3:5). God
‘saved [believers] and called [them] with a holy calling, not according to
[their] works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted
[them] in Christ Jesus from all eternity’ (2 Tim. 1:9). Thus, they are ‘beloved by the Lord, because
God has chosen [them] from the beginning for salvation’ (2Thess. 2:13). Credit for their salvation is wholly based on
the Father’s gracious electing choice, made possible through the Son’s
sacrificial death. The reality is that
they would have remained ‘dead in [their] trespasses and sins’ (Eph. 2:1), if
God had not imparted spiritual life to them (V. 4). The Lord Himself declared that ‘No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him’ (John 6:44), underscoring
the sinner’s utter inability to come to saving faith unless God sovereignty
initiates that work in his or her heart.
Salvation is never the result of human morality, wisdom, or willpower,
but of God’s gracious purposes. As Paul
told the Romans, salvation ‘does not depend on the man who wills or the man who
runs, but on God who has mercy…[And] He has mercy on whom He desires, and He
hardens whom He desires’ (Rom. 9:16, 19).
Though Paul preached the gospel to thousands, only ‘as many as had been
appointed to eternal life believed’ (Acts 13:48). No one outside of those whom God has preselected for salvation will
ever embrace Jesus Christ as Savior (cf. Rom. 3:10-12; 9:11; 1
Thess. 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:2).”
Now we will take these verses in order that are mentioned
above to look more closely at them:
“10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no,
not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12
They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none
who does good, no, not one’ (NKJV).”
“11 for though the
twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according
to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who
calls,”
“3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and
labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the
presence of our God and Father, 4
knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;”
“2 according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and
peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Judas Iscariot” (Mark 3:7,
19).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said, “Neither will I
tell you by what authority I do these things?”
Answer in our next SD.
2/26/2017 08:22 AM
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