Welcome to the Grace Abounding broadcast brought to you by the congregation of the Shreveport Grace Church meeting at 2970 Baird Road in Shreveport, Louisiana. My name is Ken Wymer. May the Lord God bless this message preached to the hearts of those He has purpose to hear and for whom the Lord Jesus laid down His life on the cross to pay their complete sin debt and justify them before God the Father. Please stay tuned. I'm speaking to you today from John chapter 17. And my text is from verse six down to verse 15. This is our Lord's prayer that he prayed to his father on behalf of that people, sinners from every tribe, nation, and tongue that the father from eternity had given him to save. And here he is on the eve of dying on the cross and praying to his father for these. And so the title of this message is an advocate with the father. No one needs an advocate unless there are charges that have been brought against them. And so they need, in our day, what we call a defense attorney. Well, imagine being called before the court of God. God, the judge who is holy and just and cannot acquit the guilty. How is it then that God can be just and still justify or declare sinners righteous before him? Well, the answer is obvious. We need an advocate with the father. Now, the good news is that for those that God the Father has purposed to save, he has established his own son, the eternal son of God to be that advocate for sinners. In the first epistle of John chapter 2, we read this, my little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. There are some that think that if we have an advocate with the father, and he has handled our case before the father to declare such as we are righteous, then we will just go about our lives sinning all we want. But where the grace of God has revealed Christ, the grace of God also has shown just the sinfulness of our sin and how nauseous it is before a holy God. therefore the desire is for Christ. So John writes this, my little children, these things write unto you that you sin not. But then he goes on, if any man sin, there the word if can also be translated when, because we know that we're sinners by nature. But here's the good news, those who are the Lord's for whom God the Father has established his son as the advocate, it says, when any of his children, because that's who he addresses there, my little children, when any sin, we have an advocate with the father. And then there's this specific description, Jesus Christ, the righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to earn and establish that righteousness that would be satisfactory to God the Father and that upon completion of His work at Calvary, God the Father, because of the perfect work of His Son, would once for all declare righteous, acquit everyone that the Lord Jesus Christ represents. Now verse 2 of 1st John chapter 2 tells us that This is the propitiation. Notice it says, he is the propitiation. It took the Lord Jesus Christ being that lamb slain before God, he had to be without sin himself in order to be accepted of the father. But he is the propitiation, that is, in him God's wrath is turned away. from those sinners for whom he gave his life and it says for our sins. So either Christ paid our sin or he didn't. He either has satisfied God's wrath on behalf of those sinners that he represents or he didn't. What we're finding in scripture is that the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied all the just requirements of God the Father, that God might be just and justified. And it's not only, he says, for our sins, so wherever you are in the world, Don't think that it's just for such as you are, but he says also for the sins of the whole world. That doesn't mean every single person in the world or else there would be no more judgment because if Christ has paid the debt for a sinner, then it's paid. Paul wrote to the Romans, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. So it must be here referring to sinners throughout the world, throughout the whole world. whom Christ paid the debt, not only Jews but Gentiles, bond and free, male and female, but God knows those are his and Christ is their propitiation and in time through the gospel he sends his spirit to reveal Christ in them. That's how we find out that Christ paid our debt, it's through a message such as this where Christ is declared in all his glory and his finished work proclaimed and as God opens the ears of sinners for whom Christ paid the debt, they then rejoice and they find out by his grace and mercy they had been saved all along through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this is our Lord's prayer as the advocate of his father and we read here in verse 6 where he says, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world." Now here specifically, our Lord Jesus Christ is praying for his disciples, those that he first called to himself and through whom now he would cause the gospel to go throughout the world. It's evident that first of all, he must be revealed in them. then as they go forth, they declare Him just as He revealed Himself to them. But using the disciples as an example of God's elect because that's who they are, He chose them, they didn't choose Him. He loved them first before they loved Him and so Christ in His prayer here says, thine they were. When they were born in this world, they did not know who the Messiah would be. And when Christ came and called them out and revealed himself in them and taught them, it was then that they discovered that they had been the Lords from eternity. Thine they were, how? By electing grace, given of the Father to the Son. whom the Father appointed as their surety, as their representative, as their mediator, as their advocate, as their head, and so thine they were." Because the next phrase is, "...and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word." How have they kept his word? It doesn't mean that they had obeyed perfectly, but what it means is as Christ revealed himself in them, they received that word and they embraced that word. To keep it means to hold it. That's what faith is. Faith is a gift of God and as Christ is revealed in the heart, it holds to Christ just as he's revealed in the word. But what we see here then, first of all, concerning Christ is he is God's appointed advocate. This is not something that Christ took on himself apart from an agreement from eternity with the Father that he should come and he should pay the sin debt of those sinners that God from eternity purposed to save. We have in our day court appointed attorneys, especially for those who can't afford an attorney. And so they do their work pro bono. That means at no cost to the defendant. I can't think of a better picture than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, court appointed. We could never afford. to hire the Lord Jesus Christ nor would he accept to be hired because God the Father already appointed him to be their advocate and for that purpose he came into the world and laid down his life in order to satisfy every requirement of law and justice. that they might be acquitted. And so it is of these that our Lord Jesus Christ prays here when he says, thine they were and thou gavest them me. There is that specific people that the Lord Jesus Christ came to defend and to establish that righteousness necessary that they might be acquitted. It's not for everybody. When he says thine they were, that's not the entire world. It is these that God the Father had given him and they have kept thy word. And verse seven continues, now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. See, there is wherein we rest knowing that everything that pertains to the Lord Jesus Christ And this is something that our Lord emphasized strongly, that the very words that he spoke were the father's words, that the very works that he did were on the father's behalf. In other words, that he came to do the father's will. He didn't take it on himself to be the high priest. No, he was appointed of the father. We see that specifically over in the letter to the Hebrews in chapter 5 and verse 5 where we read, "...so also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest but he that said unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee." In other words, it was for this purpose that Christ came into the world, appointed by God the Father to be the high priest, the advocate of his people. And when the Father raised him from the dead, see, that's what this day I have begotten thee means. It's not talking about his birth, it's talking about his resurrection, according to what we read in the book of Acts. So when the father raised him from the dead and exalted him, he gave assurance to all those for whom Christ paid the debt and does so by the spirit through the gospel that Jesus Christ is God's anointed, ordained and designated redeemer. In other words, the appointed advocate. In Acts chapter 17, this is what Paul preached there on Mars Hill to those that were gathered to hear him in verses 30 and 31, it says, and the times of this ignorance God winked at. It doesn't mean that God just looked the other way but throughout the Old Testament period up to the cross, God was forbearing with the sins of his people. But it says now, so that is since the cross, commandeth all men everywhere to repent. The gospel message is not an invitation, it's a command. All men everywhere are to repent. Will all men repent? No. Will those that God the Father has chosen for whom Christ paid the debt, and by His Spirit reveals Christ in them, do they repent? Yes. So that's why we proclaim the gospel everywhere because God has His people everywhere, in every tribe, nation and tongue that Christ has redeemed and them also He must bring. But the command goes forth to repent because God doesn't just look the other way. Some might think that saying, well, he didn't judge people immediately when they sin. No, that was his forbearance. But now that Christ has paid the debt, there's no more excuse. And the very righteousness of God in sending his son and causing him to lay down his life to pay the sin debt of this people manifests God's righteousness. And verse 31 says then, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, but listen, it says here, by that man whom he hath ordained. So how is judgment rendered? It's according to Christ and his righteousness that he worked out to the satisfaction of God the Father. There is no other standard. So you're either in Christ, either he has paid your sin debt or you stand condemned throughout eternity and God has appointed that day. And he says, whereof he has given assurance unto all men. How do we know that this is the one way that God has ordained for the salvation of sinners? It says, in that he hath raised him from the dead. That's important there, not that just Christ died, but he rose again. and ascended on high. How do I know? How can I be assured that Christ is that God appointed advocate through whom salvation is given? Well, the scriptures say so. Specifically over in Romans chapter four, in verse 25, it says, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. The word for there means on behalf of or because of. He was delivered because of our offenses, speaking here of those that the father gave to Christ and was raised again for or because of our justification. That means when he was raised, that was proof positive that God was satisfied or else he would not have raised him from the grave. So you see how vital this verse seven is in establishing Christ as that appointed advocate of God where he declares, they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. That's how you know God has done a work of grace in a sinner's heart, when they give God all the glory. And so, when it says all things were given to him, all things pertaining to the kingdom of God, the father, our Christ by his appointment, by his decree and according to his will, his eternal will. Well, secondly, as we move on through these scriptures from verse eight down to verse 10, we see not only that Christ is God's appointed advocate, but he's that effectual advocate. What does effectual mean? It means it gets the job done. And so here Christ says in verse 8, for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. and they have received them. You see, in scripture, there's not this preaching that we hear popularly today that somehow God would really like to save sinners, but alas, they will not receive him. Notice the connection. Christ said, I have given unto them the words which thou givest me, and they have received them. That's the connection, if Christ has given his word, revealed himself in any sinner, that sinner does and will receive them. And it says, have known surely. See, this is not something we come into through self-education or self-reformation. No, have known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed that thou did send me. Notice the order, first is the revelation. Christ revealing himself then is the receiving and the believing. It's not like you hear preachers say, well, first you believe and receive and then Christ enters in. No, he's the light. It's his spirit that comes and reveals Christ in the center. And today through the preaching of this gospel that I'm declaring unto you and the effectual result, because this shows Christ to be the effectual advocate, he gets everything he requests of his father. And so the result is the receiving and the believing with assurance. They have known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed that thou didst send me. Now, here we see how the effectual advocacy of Christ is worked out. It's not for everybody. If you hold to this view that somehow Christ is interceding for everybody in the world, every single individual, you've got a problem because not every single individual is saved. So what does that say? That says then that there are those that even though Christ intercedes on their behalf, that in the end, they're not saved. That's not the scripture. Notice here in verse nine, I pray for them. He's talking about up in verse eight, those that the father gave him, I pray for them. He says, I pray not for the world. So when people stand up and say, well, let's just pray that God will save everybody, not even Christ prayed that. He said, I pray not for the world. but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine." You see how that establishes Christ as the factual advocate because everyone for whom he prays intercedes surely are saved because they're the fathers and the father has given them to the son. That's why in verse 10 he says, and all mine are thine and thine are mine." You cannot separate the father and son, you don't have the father willing one thing and a son trying another and a spirit doing something else. No, there's a harmony of the Godhead that we find in scripture and it's clearly set forth here that the father and the son are one, all mine are thine and thine are mine and I am glorified in them. That's a beautiful truth if the Lord ever opens your eyes to see it, and you are one of these for whom he has interceded. And that is that God does not see us separately as individuals before him, but he sees us in his son. Such is the oneness that the Lord Jesus Christ established through his work. that he came to accomplish on earth that all that pertains to the father is the sons and all that pertains to the son is the fathers and they are one. Oh, what a glorious effectual advocate he is. He never loses a case because everything he does is according to the will of his father. And then the final point that we see here in verses 11 through 15 has to do with Christ as the exalted advocate. He's God's appointed advocate, he is the effectual advocate, he actually saves everyone for whom he died, but he is the exalted advocate. When he says in verse 11, and now I am no more in the world but these are in the world, he's already anticipating beyond the cross, his dying, his rising again and ascending on high. And he says, I come to thee. You see, that's what was necessary upon completion of his work that he returned to his father. And the scriptures tell us that God the father has exalted him above every name and given him that name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. But his prayer as the exalted advocate, he's not absent. His prayer to his father is that the father would protect and guard and hedge them about and keep them in the faithfulness of Christ, that Christ worked out. That's why he says their holy father in verse 11, keep through thine own name. those whom thou has given me that they may be one as we are." It used to be people would say, well, a person's word was his bond. And now even today with written, signed and documented contracts, people find ways around those contracts so that they're not bound by them, but not God the Father. When Christ says, keep through thine own name, That name is faithful, that name is just, that name is true and so Christ here is pleading the very faithfulness of God the Father that the work that Christ accomplished would be satisfactory not just for a period of time but forever. there is where eternal salvation finds its foundation. It's not in our believing, but it's in the faithfulness of God the Father to his son and therefore, as the exalted advocate continues to keep and to preserve and to save those for whom Christ paid the debt. And verse 12 is the reason, because Christ is that surety. See, as the exalted advocate, the glorified advocate, having finished the work, we read here, 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. Yes, there was Judas Iscariot. But he was chosen out along with the other 11 for a purpose, that given the opportunity and occasion, he would betray our Lord Jesus Christ. And that would be the means by which he would be delivered over to the hands of wicked men. But remember, it was all according to God's purpose. This was not a surprise to Christ. And so you'll have those that give profession Christ and might even give a scent to the truth as to who he is and what he accomplished and where he is now, but even the devils believe in tremble. So the fact that men profess Christ and yet are cast away is not a reflection on Christ somehow having failed, no. What it means is the Lord knows those are his and in time he separates them out. but what is sure is that those that are his can never lose their salvation because Christ is the Savior, he is the surety and just like the good shepherd of all his sheep, he knows his sheep and they follow him, not one can be lost. Christ said that in John 6 verses 37 to 39 that of all that the father gave him, he should lose nothing. And so he keeps from the evil one, he keeps ourselves even against our flesh that would easily plunge us into condemnation but he keeps us from eternal ruin because we are the fathers by his grace from eternity and Christ has paid the debt. You see how he's the exalted advocate It's not just referring to him being exalted up into glory but it's talking about in every way the Savior, not only saving from the curse of sin but saving even from the power of sin that would easily draw us aside into condemnation and ultimately saving us from the very presence of sin when he comes again and calls his own to himself that they might be with him throughout eternity. And so again, Christ says, and now I come to thee, verse 13. He's speaking again of that time after his death, burial and resurrection, he would ascend on high. And he says, these things I speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. Oh, the joy of knowing Christ and knowing what he's accomplished. And as God is pleased to reveal him in the hearts of those for whom Christ paid the debt, They rejoice in his redeeming work. They rejoice in his exaltation. They rejoice in his intercession and they rejoice in his return, his coming again. And the final point here is simply in verses 14, 15 to point out that he is the ever living advocate. We don't just believe in a doctrine. We believe in a living savior. And he says in verse 14, I have given them thy word and the world has hated them. because they're not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil one." So here we find our Lord praying for these, that even though the world would hate such, and you say, well, why does the world hate such? They hate this Christ. They don't hate the popular Jesus, but they hate this Christ. This one who holds all power and authority in his hand to save whom he will. God the Father has put all judgment into his hands. People will get their back up and say, well, I don't think that's fair. I think that God ought to leave the choice up to us. Well, everyone to whom God leaves the choice, they end up in condemnation because they'll never follow Christ, such as the rebellion and depravity of their heart. But as the ever-living advocate He continues to keep his own, even in the face of persecution and the hatred of this world. When he says, I have given them thy word, that means that him, the word continues to sustain and uphold each one. When he says, I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. That's the ever living advocate. ever lives to intercede on behalf of his own, that this world not swallow us up, but that we be preserved until the end, not only the end of this life, but throughout eternity. Oh, what a blessed advocate the Lord Jesus Christ is. You have been listening to the Grace Abounding broadcast brought to you by the congregation of the Shreveport Grace Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. For more information about our assembly times of worship, and other Christ-honoring messages that you may follow online, please visit our website at www.shrevegrace.org. Plan to join us each week at this same time for another Christ-honoring message. To Him be all the glory.