You Are What You Eat – Pt. 4

If you would take your Bibles
and turn back, once again, to John’s Gospel, the Gospel of
John, and we find ourselves yet in Chapter 6. John Chapter 6. And it is a very dynamic passage
of Scripture. We have been here no little time. We have been here, I think, for
a month already. I do not see the light at the
end of the tunnel, certainly not today. We are trying to take
our time with verses 22 through 71 because they are exclusive
to John’s gospel. All four of the gospel writers
talk about the feeding of the 5,000. All four of them record
the scene on the sea, Jesus walking on the water, but only John talks
about the aftermath, this deep and intense interaction with
this crowd. In this particular passage, verse
22, and for this morning’s purpose, all the way through verse 40,
what John has zeroed in on in order to capture for us is a
discussion about bread. That sounds so basic and mundane,
but it’s not just basic everyday bread that he’s talking about.
There are actually three different kinds of bread, aren’t they,
as we have seen? There is real bread, natural
bread, regular, old, everyday, white or wheat, sourdough or
rye, whatever the case may be, it’s bread that he’s talking
about, real bread. But there’s another kind of bread.
In fact, there are two other kinds of bread. There is the
bread of heaven that he talks about beginning in verse 28,
that of the manna, special, supernaturally provided bread. But then there
is a third kind of bread. Jesus wasn’t talking about the
supernaturally provided bread. He wasn’t talking about manna,
and he isn’t preparing to replicate that miracle. The bread that
he wants to talk about is what he refers to as the bread of
life. Ultimately, it is himself that Jesus wants to present to
these sinners. If you would pick up with me
if you would in verse 22. The next day the crowd that stood
on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small
boat there except one, and that Jesus had not entered with his
disciples into the boat, but that his disciples had gone away
alone. There came other small boats
from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after
the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus
was not there, nor his disciples, They themselves got into the
small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found
him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi,
when did you get here? Jesus answered them and said,
Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs,
but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work
for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures
to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For
on him the Father God has set his seal. Therefore they said
to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered them and said
to them, this is the work of God. that you believe in him
whom he has sent. So they said to him, what then
do you do for a sign, so that we may see and believe you? What
work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the
wilderness, as it is written. He gave them bread out of heaven
to eat. Jesus then said to them, truly,
truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread
out of heaven, but it is my father, who gives you the true bread
out of heaven. For the bread of God is that
which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.
Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread. Jesus
said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will
not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst. But
I said to you that you have seen me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me
will come to me. And the one who comes to me I
will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven
not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This
is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given
me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. But this
is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son
and believes in him will have eternal life. And I myself will
raise him up on the last day. Jesus is talking about bread,
but it’s not basic bread. It’s not real bread that he’s
talking about. And he enters into this discussion
and essentially points out just that, when we consider Real bread,
the bread of earth. Jesus was trying to pull them
out of their mindset of base living. Living only for a slice
of bread. He presented evidence to that
end. He rebuked their base living
in verse 26. And then he corrected their base
living. Do not work for the food which perishes. He wasn’t telling
us that we don’t need to get a job, that we don’t need to
work, that earning money to buy food is wrong, morally wrong. He wasn’t saying that at all.
But he said, look, if that’s your only focus, then it’s out
of focus. There was another kind of bread
that we looked at, the bread of heaven. Essentially, this bread points
to religious living, as we’ll see. The evidence of it is there
almost immediately. Look at verse 28. What shall
we do? That is the natural man’s appeal
to God. What do I have to do to gain
eternal life? What can I do? What things can
I do? What set of do’s and don’ts?
What law can I live up to in order to earn my salvation? What
can I do to put God in debt so that He owes me heaven? Well,
Jesus corrects that religious living in verse 29. This is the
work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent. It isn’t
a work at all. It’s the exercise of faith, but
it’s faith in Almighty God, who has already done all of the work. Their stubbornness was almost
inconceivable. And they asked Jesus to prove
Himself, as if He hadn’t already, doing this incredible miracle
of the feeding of the 5,000, which bread and fish they likely
ate, this very crowd, and still they want more. What work, what
sign do you do? What miracle can you perform
that would really prompt us and encourage us to believe in you?
And Jesus issues this merciful call in verse 32 and 33, a call
from religious living, a call that needs to go out even in
our own day, doesn’t it? Truly, truly, I say to you, it
is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven. God
gave the manna. God even gives us our daily bread. It’s all a miracle. Jesus didn’t
need to perform yet another miracle. Jesus goes on to say, it is my
Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. And now
he begins the process of taking them from this idea of bread,
even religiously or spiritually provided bread, supernaturally
provided bread, and he tries to draw them and move them into
an understanding of the bread of life himself. It is my Father
who gives you the true bread out of heaven, for the bread
of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life
to the world. We’ll make this point later,
even these wilderness travelers who ate
the man, who make this point, they all died. They all died
and yet there is a kind of bread that comes down truly from heaven,
not just from the atmosphere, not just from the sky as it were. There is the true bread. It’s
himself. It’s Jesus Christ. And as we
began into the section that we’ll consider this morning, There
was confusion about the bread of earth, as if Jesus’ daily
supply of the bread of earth could somehow take care of their
ultimate needs. It couldn’t. There was this confusion
about the bread of heaven, the manna. And there is confusion
about the bread of life. This is where we picked up last
week. Lord’s Day, verse 34, the evidence of the confusion. They
said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread. Let’s start the
process now. Whatever it is we need of this
bread of life, let’s have it right now. Provide it right now.
And Jesus very pointedly, very clearly explains to them, almost
pleading with them, I am the bread of life. Don’t you see? I am all that you need, spiritually
speaking. I am the bread of life. He who
comes to me will not hunger. He who believes in me will never
thirst. But it’s not just that they are
misguided, confused, uninformed. Their unbelief is willful. And
we see the most sure sign of that in verse 36. When Jesus
says, I said to you that you have seen me, You have seen God’s
provision. You have seen the bread of life.
And yet, do not believe. And if that’s where it ended,
what a dismal report we have. But it doesn’t end there. You
would almost expect Jesus to be in despair at this point.
that here is this crowd of people, a large crowd, before whom and
for whom he had performed this incredible miracle, defeating
of the 5,000. They weren’t privy to walking on the water. We’ve
talked about the reason why. Jesus didn’t want to be their
earthly king. You would almost expect Jesus
to be in despair. He’s not in despair. In fact,
what Jesus wants to discuss now is the Savior and His faithful. There are believers. There will
be believers. God will have His people. And
even if these are willfully ignorant, even if these will not repent
of their sin and come to Christ, even if these will not place
their faith in the true bread which came down out of heaven,
God has his people. God has his people. We begin
in verse 37 in a consideration of the Savior and his faithful. The Savior and his faithful. Look if you would at verse 37. Jesus says, all that the Father
gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I was
certainly not cast out. I want to look at four elements
this morning of the Savior and His faithful. Four comforting
truths for the believer. Four clear exhortations for you
if you are not in Christ. Savior and His faithful. And
the question you need to ask is not whether He is the Savior,
but whether you are among the faithful. Have you placed your
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ fully and completely, in Him
alone? Not hoping for some religious
word, not hoping that maybe partaking of the Lord’s table might save
you. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s
in Him alone. Look, first of all, at the sureness
of the gift. the absolute certainty of this
gift. Verse 37, all that the Father
gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will
certainly not cast out. You almost sense a pause between
verse 36 and verse 37. Jesus had just rebuked them. He had just called them out as
being willfully unbelieving. You have seen me. Here I am,
God incarnate, standing before you. I have worked miracles.
I have clearly declared, proclaimed the truth to you. And you do
not believe. But there’s a pause. And this disbelief, this condition
of unbelieving on the part of this great crowd, It hadn’t destroyed
Jesus. It hadn’t destroyed Jesus’ confidence
in Almighty God. It hadn’t set God’s plan aback. It hadn’t undone anything, as
if God’s plan had somehow failed. Instead, this was the very opportunity
that Jesus had to tell them, look, God’s kingdom not only
is going to flourish, it is already flourishing. It’s not a digression that Jesus
makes. It’s not a side note. This is
part and parcel of His declaration to them of salvation, of the
Savior and His faithful. There are faithful. There are
those believers. And even though this great mass
of people doesn’t accept Christ, they reject Him essentially,
that doesn’t alter the divine purpose. God’s truth is, as we
sing, marching on. The first part of this is a rather
general statement, isn’t it? All that the Father gives me
will come to me. And the second statement drives home the point
with absoluteness where believers in the first
statement are regarded as this great mass. In the second statement,
they are considered in their individual standing. Look at
verse 37, and the first word, all. All that the Father gives
me will come to me. And that word, all, is perfectly
unlimited. You couldn’t possibly say all,
and then say, well, except for those people on that island that
really never heard of Christ. Except for that denomination
that didn’t practice thus and such. Except for this guy who
just wasn’t faithful to the end. All that the Father gives me
will come to me. It’s absolutely definitive. Every
last one. If you bear with me, for those
of you who do understand the Greek, it is neuter here, which
points to the collective whole. It’s not talking about individuals
here in this first clause. It’s talking about the totality
of God’s people, the whole extent of Christ’s Word. You could almost
say everything But since he’s talking about people, all is
very big. It’s the sum, it’s the completeness
of all who have been purchased by Christ in His blood. And they
have been given as a group by the Father to the Son. It’s an
absolutely fascinating image, isn’t it? All believers here
are considered to be part of one complete whole. all believers corporately, as
one said. It’s a particular idea that Jesus
has in mind here. It’s definitive. It is almost
seen as already having happened, that God has already given them
to Christ, and from eternity past, that’s absolutely the case.
But in time, it’s working out in each individual life, so that
in the end, the totality of this people is given to Christ. Every single one will come. There will be no stragglers,
there will be no one that misses the boat, there will be no one
left out, no one that didn’t hear. None. I mean, this is an
absolutely stunning passage, isn’t it? And yet, Even though it’s perfectly
unlimited, all that the Father gives me, in a very real sense,
the part that follows is perfectly limited, isn’t it? All that the Father gives me. It’s limited to those whom the
Father, in His sovereignty, gives to the Son. It’s limited to those
whom the Father, chooses to include. God decides, as one said. God
decides who they are. They are the Father’s gift to
Jesus Christ, and by coming to Him, they prove that they belong
to God. Jesus responds to unbelief with
an appeal to divine sovereignty. Do you get the gist of this statement? This sounds to me very much like
when it says, all that the Father gives me will come to me. This
sounds very much like the fact that we weren’t consulted in
the matter. And I say to that, thank God.
Thank God that from eternity past God set His love, and that
in time He began the process of wooing dead sinners to Himself,
enlivening them, giving them grace, granting to them faith,
opening blind eyes. The absolute truth of John’s
Gospel is that individuals can’t come to Christ. on their own. They can’t come according to
their own will. They can’t come according to their own choice.
They don’t barge into heaven at any point in time at all. He cannot come unless he is given
by God to the Lord Jesus Christ, unless he is in that great company.
That’s the plain meaning of the sentence. John 6.39 echoes this, this is
the will of Him who sent me that of all that He has given me I
lose nothing but raise it up on the last day. The same truth
is echoed near the end of John chapter 6. For this reason I
have said to you, John 6.65, that no one can come to me unless
it has been granted him from the Father. Now how is that for
free will? John 10, 29, speaking of his
sheep, my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Now, perhaps you’re still wrestling with the very idea of this, that
you didn’t have a choice per se, but how do you like this,
that if you find yourself in Christ, You cannot be wrested
from God’s hand. You cannot be plucked from His
hand. You cannot be lost. Every single
one, all, limited only by the finite number of those given
to Christ by His Heavenly Father, every single one of those is
in view. And Jesus says, I will lose not
one of them. What an amazing thought. Look
at verse 37 again. This isn’t wishful thinking here. All that the Father gives me
will come to me. And that word there, in the form
that it’s in there, it emphasizes this idea of reaching a destination
or arriving. In a very real sense, he pictures
it as already having happened. They are coming and will come. They will be here. Every single
one of those given by the Father to the Son will come. Will certainly
come. They will absolutely come. They will definitively come to
the Lord Jesus Christ. There aren’t going to be any
fence sitters. There aren’t going to be any
of those still hedging their bets that maybe their works will
get them into heaven and that I haven’t placed my faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. What Jesus is telling this crowd
of people is God’s purposes cannot fail. Cannot. It is absolute. The sovereign
will of the Lord God Almighty cannot and will not be frustrated. that if God has given a gift
to the Lord Jesus Christ, all of them, every single one of
them, will come to Christ and will come to faith. Even the devil himself. With
all the power at his disposal, all the tricks and tools, all
the deceit, I love the way one pastor put
it. In our home, it’s wrapped carefully,
and writings on cards, and all those things, and it’s given
as a love gift. We love you, and we want you
to have this. That’s what God did to the Lord
Jesus Christ with this great company of believers called the
church. He goes on to say that the whole
history of redemption is the gathering of the redeemed body,
the calling of a bride for the Son, as a love gift from the
Father. Every single soul. Every single soul that God has
and ever will save absolutely will come to saving faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ and will, in the end, comprise one great
gift from the Father to the Son. It’s an absolutely beautiful
sentence, isn’t it? You say, how can this all, how
can all of this be said, even of God? God is almighty, God
is powerful, God is, you know, God is God, God is sovereign.
How can we say that God can in and of himself call out a mighty
gift of all the people ever made and give them to Christ. How
can that be said of God? How can he have a gift, how can
he give a gift, the totality of the people who will come to
Christ, that is not yet consented to come? I never agreed to this.
How can he be so certain that they will come? What if the gospel
presentation is flawed? What if the preacher isn’t, you
know, spot on that Lord’s day? How can He be so certain that
all of those whom He has given to the Son, and none of those
whom He has not given, how can we be so certain that there aren’t
those that kind of blend in with the crowd and just feed into
the great gifts to the Son? How can we be so sure? Paul knew the answer to this.
Paul would easily understand what Christ was speaking of there. And he declares it with such
great clarity in Romans chapter 8. Just turn there briefly. You thought five years wasn’t
enough in the book of Romans, so I am appeasing you now. Turning to the book of Romans
chapter 8, we pick up in verse 28. Beautiful words. We know
that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He
also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that
He would be the firstborn among many brethren. And these whom
He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called He also
justified, and these whom He justified, He also glorified. That little word, call, there
has deep significance, not just in Paul’s writings, but in the
New Testament. It refers to what theologians
refer to as the effectual call. It points to irresistible grace.
that when God issues a divine summons on a soul, they will
come. They will come to faith. They
will repent of their sins. They will turn from those sins
and they will turn to Christ. Here’s one simple definition
of it, at least in part. It refers to a special inward
call that inevitably brings them to salvation. It cannot miss.
That’s why God can say, all will come. It always results in conversion. The Spirit irresistibly draws
people to Christ. I’ve given my own testimony,
not in view of reading books of theology, but in view of the
fact that when I saw my sin for what it was, and I knew for the
first time who Jesus Christ was, and that He had died for my sin,
how could I do anything else but fall on knees of repentance? To explain it, one writer said,
the Spirit graciously causes the sinner to cooperate, to believe,
to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God’s grace
is invincible. It never fails to result in salvation
of those to whom it is extended. That’s why Jesus could say there
with almost, to our ears, audacity, all whom the Father has given
will come. Those who have been summoned
by God and respond to that summons are
part of that great whole, all. It’s interesting that never in
any one of the epistles is this word applied to one who is merely
invited. When the epistles speak of one
who is called, It is one who is not just invited, but one
who has responded to that call. They are the called. They have been effectually called. They responded by God’s grace
to salvation. And the soul there is then renewed,
it’s changed, it’s transformed. It’s taken from a realm of darkness
and transferred to a realm of light. Here’s one of the older
confessions, and it’s such a beautiful description, though lengthy.
I read it in full. Listen carefully. This is what
happens. Those whom God has predestined
to life, he has pleased in his appointed and accepted time effectually
to call by his word and his spirit. This is why it’s absolutely crucial.
If you’re sharing the gospel so much, Open the Word. Share
the Word. Read a verse. God will use it. He is pleased in His appointed and
accepted time, effectually, to call, by His Word and Spirit,
out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature,
to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. He calls them, enlightening
their minds spiritually and savingly, to understand the things of God,
taking away their heart of stone, giving to them a heart of flesh,
renewing their wills, and by His almighty power, determining
to them that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus
Christ, yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by
His grace. It’s God’s grace at work. in a sinner’s life. You say,
how are we called? Well, Scripture is very clear.
We’re called by the grace of Christ, Galatians 1.6. We’re
called through the Gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2.14. It was for this He called
you through our Gospel. To what are we called? The Scripture
is so incredibly thorough here. 1 Corinthians 1.9, God is faithful
through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son.
You were called into fellowship. It’s not an invitation. When
you come to Christ, you are in union with Him. Romans 6 says
you are literally placed into Christ. That’s good fellowship,
isn’t it? Ephesians 1.18, I pray that the
eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is
the hope of His calling. What are the riches of the glory
of the inheritance of the saints? It’s not wishful thinking, this
hope. It is a settled confidence in the soul. We were called to
that. As believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we now deserve that. It’s part of the package. So what are we called? Not only
fellowship and hope. Get this. 1 Thessalonians 2.12. We are to walk in a manner worthy
of the God who calls you into His own kingdom. There’s a real
sense in which you’ve got a foot already in heaven. It’s just
a matter of time. 1 Timothy 6, we were called to
eternal life. He speaks of the eternal life
to which you were called. When you respond to Christ in
faith, not only are your sins forgiven, but eternal life is
bestowed. 1 Peter 2.9, just to point out
that this is not just a concept that Paul seized upon. Peter
says, 1 Peter 2.9, that we may proclaim the excellencies of
Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. You
were called into light. It’s a call from sin. to holiness,
2 Timothy 1 night. He called us with a holy calling
to be like the one who called you holy in all of your behavior. Which really leads to this idea
of being called. We are saints, set apart ones
by our calling. No wonder Paul then can say to
the Ephesian believers, walk worthy. live rightly, live like
you were called. He wouldn’t say that to someone
who’s lost and dead in their sin, but when someone articulates
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we say, walk worthy. I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called. That’s not you. That sinful life
is not you, not anymore. 1 Thessalonians 2.12, again Paul
echoing that same thought. Walk in a manner worthy of the
God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. It’s the effectual
call that is imbued here. It is the fact that God has done
a work in the sinner’s heart and life. All that the Father
gives me will come to me. Back, if you would, to John 6. In John chapter 6, Jesus is just
beginning to open the riches of God’s gift to sinners. All that the Father gives me
will come to me. There is absolute certainty to
it. And with equal certainty He says
that the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. It’s a different verb here than
used in the first clause, and it emphasizes here not the idea
of reaching and arriving. Here he’s talking about the process. The one who is in the process
of coming to me. The one who is in the faith. The one who is in process of
sanctification. I will not cast out. He goes
so far as to say not only will He not cast them out, the point
is that He’s going to receive them fully to Himself. Every
single one that the Father has given to Christ from eternity
past will come to Him in time. We’ve already seen that. He comes
as a lost sinner to be saved. He comes with nothing in His
hands to bring to the equation, to the relationship, and yet
He receives everything. Jesus Christ throws his arms
open wide and draws him in. And when he says he will not
cast him out, that means ever, never. He’s talking about an eternal
preservation there. We can never lose our salvation.
Once that is bestowed, we will stumble and we will fall. We
will feel really ugly. for a great portion of our Christian
life. We fall on our knees, we cry
out again, we call out for grace. God gives it. Repeatedly, this idea of being
cast out is peppered throughout the New Testament. Eternally, cast aside, cast out. Matthew 8, 12 says, even of the
offspring of Abraham, this is true, sons of the kingdom will
be cast out into outer darkness. Even those of Abraham’s offspring
will be cast out for eternity. Matthew 22 speaks of it again,
the parable of the wedding feast. Remember that rich parable? where
the guy thought that he could come in as he pleased, in his
own clothes. Forget about the wedding clothes.
Representing the righteousness of Christ, he thought that he
could come in his own righteousness. Then the king said to the serpent,
bind him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness.
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You don’t
come too hard. You come in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ, or not at all. All that the Father gives to
me will come to me. And the one who comes to me,
I will certainly not cast out. And from our very limited human
perspective, that sentence seems utterly impossible to write in
exile, doesn’t it? Two seemingly opposite thoughts
Divine sovereignty in that first clause, and human responsibility
in the second. The first one seems absolutely
definitive, but so does the second, the one who comes to me, anybody
who comes. In the first sentence, divine
sovereignty only those, and yet all of those, whom the Father
gives will come. It’s an absolute. But then in
the second clause, It almost seems to contradict that by leaving
the door wide open, as it were. The one who comes, anyone and
everyone who comes is welcome. And that is absolutely and equally
true. Both things are true. And only
in God’s mind can these things be truly reconciled. But basically,
when we back away from that statement and understand his sentence to
say that in the end, if one comes to Christ, It’s just absolutely
proof that they were being secretly drawn by the Spirit according
to the preordained plan of Almighty God. The gift is sure, absolutely
sure. As we begin to look at the Savior
and His faithful, this gift, considered as a one lump sum,
a gift from God to the Son, We see the sureness of the gift,
but we see the giver of that gift as well. We’ve already pointed
it out. It’s inescapable in this passage. We see the giver of the gift
as the heavenly Father. Look at verse 38. I’ve come down
from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who
sent me. In fact, go on, back up in verse 37, and we’ll see
how many times the Father is referenced in this context. It’s
overwhelming. Verse 37. All that the Father
gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will
certainly not cast out, for I have come down from heaven, not to
do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of Him who sent
me, that of all that He has given me, I lose nothing, but I raise
it up on the last day. This is the will of my Father,
that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will
have. eternal life that I raise Him
up on the last day. It’s the Father. It’s the Heavenly
Father whom Jesus clearly identifies throughout this whole course
as the one who bestows this magnanimous gift upon Him. This gift is the entire body
of the redeemed, the elect. They are considered here as given,
bestowed upon the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as a loving gift
from the Father. It’s amazing. And I know it’s
amazing, because in your humility, right, you likely have never
considered yourself as God’s gift to anything. You might have
been accused of that from time to time, but in reality, you
are, if you are in Christ, You are part of God’s love gift to
his beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How could Jesus possibly cast
them out? From time to time, we’ll receive
a gift from someone who is very special
to us. Right? And it doesn’t matter how much
it costs. It doesn’t even really matter how much it’s wrapped.
Because it came from them. In a sense it came from their
heart. It was from them. And because it came from them,
it’s special to us. And other people may see it and
just kind of not really understand the nature of that gift. But to us it’s special and that’s
what it is to Christ. to the rest of the world, we
don’t look like anything really particularly special, do we? To Christ, because of the giver,
we are the most precious gift. Jesus Christ would and will die
for that gift. The fact that none of them perish because the Son has received
that gift so graciously from the Father. It esteems it so
highly. Come to the third point. As we
consider the Savior and His faithful, not only the sureness of the
gift and the giver of that gift, but the preciousness of that
gift. When you look around, you don’t
even have to look around. You smell around. Do you think of other people
who are around? And you might think, preciousness?
Maybe not the word that I would have chosen, but okay, pastor,
go ahead. Look at verse 39. This is the will of him who sent
me. That of all he has given me,
I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day. Let me ask you,
if somebody said, at the end of your life, I’m giving you
this gift, and I want you to return it to me, That it’s completely
intact. How carefully would you care
for that gift? How carefully would you watch
over it? Where would you store it? You know, away in a safe,
wrapped in a velvet cloth? You know the fascinating thing?
That little word, did I lose nothing there? Is an echo, really,
of this miracle that started this whole scene, right? Jesus
does this miracle and then he passes baskets out to his apostles
and says, collect up the fragments so that nothing is lost. Now if Jesus Christ cared for
fragments of bread and smelly fish, how much more do you think
he cares when God says, I’m giving you this gift. I don’t want you
to lose a single one. Christians, believers, those
who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are absolutely
secure with Almighty God. God has given us new life. He’s
given us hope, but He’s given us this eternal possession that
is already begun. That if you are in Christ, you
are already enjoying eternity, which will increase in joy only
over time. As one pastor said, no part of
that group which the Father assigned to Christ in eternity past and
gives Him in time will be lost. No part of that group. The fourfold
promise, four times he says, I will raise it up, I will raise
it up, 39, 40, 44, 54, four times he says it. That fourfold promise constitutes
an ironclad guarantee of eternal salvation for all true believers.
Do we take comfort in that? That if we had placed our faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, We are part of a love gift that
God has given to the son with a plain admonition. Don’t lose a single one. Don’t
lose a single one. These are not crumbs of bread.
These are not crumbs of fish. Draw them in. Cultivate them. Protect them. Keep them safe. I love the way one pastor said
this. regarding that little word, lost, get this. It is important
to appreciate the stark finality of losing or being lost in the
Gospel of John. What he says is, you’ve got to
listen carefully when John talks about being lost because he doesn’t
talk like the other Gospel writers. To be lost is not preliminary
to being found or being saved. as in Matthew and Luke. Lost sheep are not found in John’s
Gospel. Rather, Jesus’ mission is to
make sure that His sheep will never, ever be lost. He doesn’t come to seek and save
that which is lost. That’s Luke, in John’s Gospel. His whole goal is to keep them
from ever being lost in the first place. Because in this gospel,
a person is not first lost and then saved. In this gospel, he’s
either lost for eternity, or he’s saved. Both are final, absolutely
final. They’re not temporary conditions
in John’s gospel. Salvation is eternal, and lostness
is just as eternal. So when Jesus says, All that
He has given me, I lose nothing. What a tremendous comfort that
is to the saints of God. We’ll never be lost. We’re looking at the Savior and
His faithful. We see the sureness of the gift.
We see the giver of the gift is the Heavenly Father Himself.
We see the preciousness of that gift. I lose nothing. We see
the blessings of that gift, don’t we? Look at verse 40. This is the
will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes
in Him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise it up
on the last day. You said that’s kind of an echo
of everything that he said before. That’s exactly what it is. And
yet there is plenty that’s new. This is the will of Him who sent
me. That’s what He says in verse
39. In verse 40, He makes it absolutely clear. This is the
will of my Father. Let’s not be vague anymore at
all. This is the will of Almighty God, my Heavenly Father, that
of all that He has given me. That’s what He says in verse
39. That’s not what He says in verse 40. Everyone. Now He goes
back. If you will, He goes back to
this idea of the individual. Every single one of you. This is the will of my Father
that every single one of you who beholds the Son, sees the
Son for who He is, and believes in Him, will have eternal life. See, in verse 39, it’s just He
considers it both negative and positively. And here he just
points, he doesn’t even go back to the idea of lostness. He wants
to focus only on this great means and blessing of salvation. Everyone
who believes in him, every individual who believes in him will have
eternal life. What a glorious truth. In verse 39 he says, this is
the will Him who sent me, that all that He has given me, I raise
it, very generally, I raise it up on the last day, referring
to that total mass, not in verse 40. In verse 40, He says it so
graciously, so delicately, this is the will of my Father, that
everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have
eternal life, and I myself, even me, will raise Him up on that
last day. Saints, as one faithful shepherd
said, this is counsel that cannot be changed. This is a calling
that cannot be revoked. This is an inheritance that cannot
be defiled. This is a foundation that cannot
be shaken, a seal that cannot be broken. Let’s worship the
Lord. Our merciful God, we thank you
and praise you for your words to us. And we know that Janice
heard these words even last Word’s Day. Father God, we humble ourselves
in your glorious presence. And for those of us who have
already realized the work of God, the work of the Spirit,
in sharing the Word of God and changing our hearts, bringing
us to repentance, making us to hate sin that we once loved,
love a Savior that we once hated. Lord God, we humble ourselves
before you with gratitude. What an incredible gift is this
gift of the faithful to the Savior. But Father God, we would be utterly remiss if
we didn’t appeal to those who still sit on the fence, those
who think their good things, their good deeds, their good
relationships, their good efforts, their best intentions would save
them in the end. It is faith only and the Lord
Jesus Christ that saves in Him alone. And Lord, simply by drawing,
awakening to that call and inclining ourselves to Christ, only then
can we know for certain that we are of that great gift. The All. Father, if there are any in our
midst who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, draw them to yourself
by your mighty power. Save them for eternity. It’s
in Jesus Christ’s name that we pray. Amen. As we close, if you would take
your hymnals and turn to 455. And can it be? And let’s stand
together and sing.