Thoeolgical Research--Part 5

Having pointed to John 17 as the basis of a series of lessons on Theological Research, there are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe the wonders of God’s amazing grace. It is all of God or nothing, when it comes to the sovereign God of the universe. In fact, we have to go far beyond the queen of Sheba, who heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, the covenant God. The queen was moved to undertake her journey by the strongest and loftiest of motives.

Let us consider what the queen of Sheba saw, what she said, and what she did. She saw Solomon’s wisdom in I Kings 10:4-9—“When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”

In verse 10, being convinced by what she saw and heard, the queen of Sheba “…gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.”

Thank God there is a greater than Solomon. Matthew 12:42 says, “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” Jesus Christ is greater than Solomon in birth, character, claims, works, wealth, and Kingship.

The object of giving all authority to Christ was in order that He may give the ones the Father permanently gave Christ—“Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life” (John 17:2). Therefore, Christ was given general authority for the completing of a special purpose. Seven things are given to Christ as Mediator in John 17. They are chosen people, eternal life, authority, a work to be accomplished, the Father’s name to explain, words that explain the objective message, and glory to be displayed.

Eternal life is knowledge of the Father and the Son. This denotes the equality of the Father and the Son—“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Such knowledge makes the elect neither idle nor useless. II Peter 1:8 says, “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Knowledge is a growing experience. Therefore, spiritual knowledge elevates the mind, sanctifies the affections, and regulates the conduct. Mere knowledge about God—human understanding about God—can never do the aforementioned things. Such knowledge as God’s existence and attributes, the Person and work of Christ, and the Holy Spirit and His work lead the elect of God to say with Paul, in Romans 8:38 and 39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Bible describes how God gives life when He enlightens the elect in the true knowledge of God. In II Corinthians 3:4-6, Paul said, “Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The Apostle added to what he said in Chapter 3, in II Corinthians 4:3-7—“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.”

In John 17, the prayer of Jesus Christ is recorded. It is the most remarkable portion of Scripture in the Bible. The disciples could not be invited to this prayer meeting. All that is said is written for the present time. It is because of Christ’s intercession that believers have such assurance of security. Jesus Christ lived and preached for thirty-three years; however, He died once on the cross in one mighty act of propitiation. Subsequently, the Lord Jesus has been interceding for His own for two thousand years. While the world in its unrighteousness rejects Christ, the Father in righteousness has exalted Him above all. It is only in Christ’s mediatorial character that He continues to intercede for His own.

There is a difference between Christ’s prayer in John 17 and the one in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1; Matt. 26:36-46). Both were offered on the same night, but His reaction was not the same. In the first, Christ was filled with calmness and triumph; and in the second, He was filled with agony and sorrow.

In John 17:5, Christ desired to be glorified by the Father—“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” Christ desired not only to be glorified “by” the Father (John 17:1-3), but “with” the Father (John 17:4, 5). As Mediator, Christ was in subjection to the Father. Every hour of life is important, but there is one hour for which all the other hours are preparing. There was one hour which stood out in Christ’s own mind, and which appears in history as overshadowing all other hours—the hour of Calvary. Christ’s destiny was foreseen, a foreseen destiny triumphing over all obstacles. This, in a few words, is our conception of Divine Providence. We learn by experience—all is concealed; and it is only afterwards that we see God’s purpose. The hour has arrived. That hour was the keystone of time’s huge arch—that arch which spans eternity and time.

Christ was given power over all flesh because He was made flesh. John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Hebrews 2:14, Paul said, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

The cross is God’s appointed way of man’s redemption. Gethsemane is the corridor that leads to the cross. Only three of Christ’s disciples were invited to enter with Him into the anteroom (waiting room or audience chamber), and they slept through the entire experience. Adam began his career in the garden and concluded in the wilderness. Christ began His work in the wilderness and ended in the garden. No man ever prayed for Christ, and no person ever prayed with Him. Why? It was because of the essential difference in the approach to God. Man is a sinner; Christ is without sin. It was in the days of His flesh that Christ prayed, hungered, slept, rested, etc. This was because He was a real Man. Neither the glory of Christ’s Godhead nor His true humanity is to be diminished. He is the Mediator God-Man. The language of Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was that of an obedient servant. Christ’s death was different from that of other men, because He was different from other men. The death of a righteous man is not a penalty, but a mode of going home. The death of a righteous Man, when it came to Jesus Christ, is something different from redeemed, chosen men. There would be no chosen, redeemed men if it were not for Christ’s death, which was the penalty paid in full for the sins of the chosen ones in Jesus Christ. In I Peter 1:17-21, Peter said, “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” Christ’s sacrifice had to be a free will—not a constrained—offering. This destroys all the humanistic opinions of men about Christ’s prayer. When Christ said, “Your will be done,” the contents of the bitter cup were made sweet, because He was completely resigned to God’s will before the people of the world. The cup contained the Divine forsaking.

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.