The Word of God
November 6, 2016
John 17:6-21 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. (7) Now they have known that
all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. (8)
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. (9) I pray
for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given
me; for they are thine. (10) And all mine are thine, and
thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. (11) 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. (12) 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. (13) And now come I
to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my
joy fulfilled in themselves. (14) 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. (15) I pray not that thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. (16) They are not of the world, even as I am
not of the world. (17) Sanctify them through thy truth: thy
word is truth. (18) As thou hast sent me into the world,
even so have I also sent them into the world. (19) And for
their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. (20) Neither pray I for these alone, but
for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
(21) 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.
This is the most extensive account in the bible of Jesus praying.
Jesus is coming, judgment will occur one day, and we are going to have to have obeyed the WORD.
Jesus prayed for the apostles God gave to Him.
• And then he prayed for others.
• For those who would believe on Him through those men’s word.
He prayed that we would all be ONE, as He and the Father are on.
• And an important part of that is being ONE
because of what the apostles would say about Him so we would understand
HOW TO BELIEVE on Him.
It’s such a short sentence, but it says so much!
• We actually are supposed to believe on Jesus according to the word or ministry of the Apostles.
Jesus didn’t say he prayed for those who believe on him.
• He said He prayed for those who believe on Him THROUGH THOSE APOSTLES’ WORD.
How important is their word for Him to pray like that?
Many people might say they pay more attention to Jesus than the apostles.
• One person told me they heard a minister say
he wasn’t going to preach from the epistles any more, because
he’d rather go straight to what Jesus said alone.
• But to go by what Jesus said is to believe the way the apostles told us to believe on Him!
I showed someone words of the apostle Peter and this person rejected it
and said the apostles weren’t perfect, so they said Peter was
wrong in that instance.
The truth is what the apostles said HAS TO agree with what Jesus said.
• And if what we thing they said contradicts
Jesus, then we misunderstood what they said or what Jesus said.
• THE APOSTLES AND JESUS PERFECTLY AGREED.
• How do I know?
• The Father answered Jesus’ prayer in John 17:17-20.
We cannot ignore what the apostles said if we want to believe on Jesus.
• You are actually disobeying Jesus Christ if we do.
He also said He sent them into the world as the Father sent Jesus into the world.
• How serious must Jesus be about the world
hearing what the apostles had to say for Him to say He sent them in
just the same level of importance that the Father sent Him?
John 17:17-19 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is
truth. (18) As thou hast sent me into the world, even so
have I also sent them into the world. (19) And for their
sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the
truth.
Look at how he even sanctified Himself for THEIR SAKES!
• He prayed for them to be sanctified!
• And then Sanctified Himself for their sakes!
• He puts their word on the same level as His
own word when he sent them into the world as the father sent Him to the
world.
So we will focus on the precise message the Apostles actually preached.
• We will get into the intricate details written about what they actually taught.
• You might find a lot of what they preached is MISSING in many churches.
• But do not get some holier than thou attitude
and look down your nose at those who have not done what we will show
you the apostles preached.
• Many who have learned these things became very elitist.
• Lifted up in pride for knowing things others don’t know.
• The Devil can get you to know truth, and
although he could not keep you from truth he can turn you into a
RELIGIOUS SNOB and make you turn everyone off around you who has not
learned this and obeyed it, by getting you to criticize them and think
you are too good to be around them.
• If God shows us truth, we need to be eternally
grateful with HUMILITY and love for those who may not know these things
yet.
• And never think we’re better than anyone else.
The right attitude to have is to learn truth, and not use it to divide, and not use it to feel we’re better.
• Just learn what we can learn, and leave what others believe up to God and the others.
Don’t learn truth so you can say who is lost.
• Learn it to say YOU ARE SAVED.
Romans 14:2-4 For one believeth that he may eat all things:
another, who is weak, eateth herbs. (3) Let not him that
eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not
judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. (4) Who
art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he
standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to
make him stand.
If you want to judge anything, look at what we should judge:
Romans 14:10-13 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost
thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. (11) For it is written, As I live,
saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall
confess to God. (12) So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God. (13) Let us not therefore judge
one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a
stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
• One group contradicts another group and both claim they have the truth.
• Truth is not for you to compare yourself with others, but to make sure you’re saved.
With all the different voices, how do we know who has the truth?
Do we believe The Father answered Jesus’ prayer for those apostles to be sanctified?
• If so, be on the lookout to reject any
concepts from those who claim the apostles cannot be trusted as much as
Jesus, Himself.
Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man
a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy
sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Jesus said THE WORD OF GOD is truth.
• It is THE standard by which we judge all doctrines, not people.
• Compare everything with the WORD.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth.
WORD is “LOGOS”.
• Thought, plan or concept.
• So you could say in the beginning was the PLAN.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
What dictated the fullness of time?
• THE PLAN of God.
• Jesus was the plan concept and thought of God from the beginning.
• SO when the WORD was made flesh, Jesus is GOD IN FLESH, and what He said WAS THE WORD OF GOD.
Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of
the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the
Lamb is the light thereof.
God (GOD THE FATHER) is the glory.
The Lamb (SON OF GOD) is the light of that glory.
It’s like saying the Father is the SUN, and the light coming from that sun is the Jesus the Son of God.
God’s WORD comes from Him to us.
The tree of life is like GOD.
• We cannot eat an entire tree.
• The fruit on the tree is the part of the tree we can eat.
• It has a seed in itself that reproduces that tree.
• Jesus is like the fruit of Life hanging on the tree of life that we can eat.
• Like everything in the tree is in the fruit
and the seed in the fruit, the fullness of the Godhead is in Jesus
bodily.
• You cannot take all of God because He is too big.
• But God was manifest in flesh as the SON OF GOD and you can take the SON OF GOD.
• And all of God is in the Son of God.
Colossians 2:9-10 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which
is the head of all principality and power:
Colossians 2:9-10 GW All of God lives in Christ's body,
(10) and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge
of every ruler and authority.
So the WORD of God is God and it is in the form that we can receive and have GOD.
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory.
Jesus was God manifest in flesh.
• Not an angel.
• Not someone other than God.
• He is the WORD made flesh (John 1:14), and is GOD manifested in flesh (1 Tim 3:16).
John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my
words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day.
Jesus Christ’s word will judge us in the last day.
• He has power to JUDGE.
• His words are of utmost authority.
• These words He spoke will judge us in the last day.
So, when we read the following, we know the BOOKS we read about are the
WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST, because he said we will be judged by HIS WORD.
Revelation 20:12-15 (12) And I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another
book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books, according to their
works
Notice BOOKS were opened, and then a single book of LIFE was opened.
• THE BOOKS were what the dead were judged from.
• So ONE BOOK is the book of Life.
• The BOOKS are of the BIBLE.
• He said HIS WORD is going to judge us.
• We only have the written Word since Jesus did not physically live in our day.
This is the WRITTEN WORD in our day.
• The judgment of God’s Word to be opened is going to be judge of our lives.
• Man will not judge you, but the WORD OF GOD will judge you.
• If someone tells you something other than the
Word, then reject that and only accept the Bible’s teachings.
• HIS WORD IS TRUTH.
Rev 20: (13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works. (14) And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. (15) And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire.
WHOSOEVER – is bible language.
• God judges us according to the Word, no matter what reputation someone has.
• Just our works in comparison with the WORD.
• 6 feet of earth makes us all equal—money or not.
This life is a vapour.
• When you really stop and think about it, THIS
LIFE is really only a time to choose where we will spend eternity.
• Compared to eternity this life is NOTHING.
• A VAPOUR.
Some think they will not be lost just although they do not obey the bible.
• According to Revelation, they will.
• Opinions are opinions, but the WORD OF GOD IS TRUTH!
• THAT is our only foundation.
• Traditions are everywhere.
• Judge all traditions by the WORD.