Thank you for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. If you are blessed by what you hear and would like to help keep our little church going as a ministry partner with your cheerful gifts, please listen for instructions at the end of this message. John 15 verses 13 to 15 is our text this evening. And we're going to be looking at how Christ is our friend and calls us to be friends Of course, friendship is a two-person thing at least, and it's a two-way reciprocal thing. So he's going to prove to us how we can know he's our friend, and he's gonna tell us how we prove that we are his friends. Here now, the Gospel of John, chapter 15, verses 13 to 15. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth. But I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you. In his book, The Loveliness of Christ, which is really a book put together of excerpts of his letters by Samuel Rutherford. Samuel Rutherford says this, I find Christ the most steadable friend. and companion in the world to me now. I find Christ the most steadable friend and companion in the world to me now. Well, that word steadable, if you're wondering what does that mean, let me explain. It is a word that's not used anymore. It's kind of a Scottish background. But it has the idea of serviceable or stable or firmly fixed. Christ is the most serviceable, the most stable friend and companion in the world to me. And this is what he shows us, Christ shows us in what he says in John 15. Here's how I show you that I am your friend. Jesus proves his friendship to Christians by sharing his life with them and giving it up for them. And he says, they can show they are his friends in return, living by and for him. I give that to you as the main idea of our text. Jesus proves his friendship to Christians by sharing his life with them and giving it up for them. And he says, they can show they are his friends in return, living by and for him. This morning we looked at how we're called in Hebrews 3 verse 6 to be fixed in our faith. How? By being founded on the rock. And we'll see tonight especially, founded on the rock with a friendship firmly fixed in Christ. And what a friend we have in Jesus Christ. And he'll prove that to you tonight in the text. And that's the message for you this evening. What a friend we have in Jesus. I think it's helpful to remember that he's our friend. And we're his friends. What a friend we have in Jesus. One commentator, not a commentator, one man is quoted, I only have the last name, Baran. He writes this, false friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the walls it embraces. But true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports. So does Jesus' friendship for us. But such is sacrificial. His supporting of us is sacrificial, but it is also to be reciprocal. Again, we'll see. First, let's look at how Jesus says he proves his love for his disciples. First of all, in his humiliation. We've begun to study his humiliation as mediatorial prophet, priest, and king during our evening study time after food and fellowship, Westminster Larger Catechism 46 to 48. There's more to be said, but there's much to be said simply about his humiliation of taking on humanity. so that he could personally share with us about knowing him and the father who sent him to have eternal life. Remember John 3.16, God so loved the world that he gave, he sent his only begotten son. Jesus loves and so put himself in the humbling situation of taking on humanity as the creator of it. taking on humanity, before even thinking about suffering and dying, just the humility, the self-sacrifice of humbling himself into humanity. Certainly to save us in terms of giving himself up, and we'll see that in a moment, but also speaking to us. Incarnate God, God in the flesh, God in humanity, speaking to us directly. about him as the way of salvation. This is a sign of friendship, personally sharing and communicating about important things with someone. Verse 15. Notice, and keep this in view with the verse that comes before, it's not just that we're servants. We are servants of Christ. Paul identifies himself as such. I believe when he opens Philippians, for instance, the same doulos word in the Greek, I believe. But it's more than that. We're not just a hired hand, we're somebody who holds hands with, we're friends. I call you friends. I call you friends. And how do you know you're my friends? How do I treat you as my friends? First of all, I call you that. But I call you that and I show you that because I have shared many things with you. about God, the Father, myself, bringing salvation to you. This is what a friend does. He communicates and he speaks of important and good things. Psalm 25 verse 14, for instance, says, the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. He'll share himself, he'll share of himself, and see true friends confide in one another. They show themselves for who they really are together. In this case, Christ is showing himself to be God, the Son of God and the Savior, and showing the way to his Father through him. 1 Corinthians 2, 16, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. Luke 12 verses 4 to 5, Jesus says, and I say unto you, my friends. I want you to hear that as his disciples. He says to you, I say unto you, my friends. Be not afraid of them that kill the body. And after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear. Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. And see, a friend will tell you the truth, right? More on that in a moment in the Proverbs. But a friend cares enough to speak to you and show you themselves as true friends, helping you to see yourselves as well. And so he says, I call you my friends, and the way you can see that, I'm showing that to you by how I'm expressing that you are not just my servants, do my commands, but I'm revealing, I'm sharing, I'm revealing myself. The self-revelation of God and the self-revelation of Christ is an act of friendship. So Jesus shows that you are his friends. He speaks that you are his friends. He shows you. But the other way he shows you that he is your friend is the one that's even more profound. The speaking of it is that we would look to it to be saved and know him. But Jesus also shows he's your friend because he gave up his life as the ultimate self-sacrifice for our lives. So both of these things are humiliation and self-sacrifice. That's what friends do, right? People who aren't really friends, one way you find out is they won't sacrifice things about themselves. True friends will sacrifice. And we see in verse 13, this is the case, "...greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Of course, he's pointing them and himself looking ahead to the cross. And remember, it wasn't without grief going there. Remember how he struggled in humanity yet without sin? If there's any other way, yet not my will but thine be done. He knew what he'd be going through. But because he's your friend, he went there and he took it upon himself. There's no greater love than someone being willing to die for someone. There's no greater friendship than someone being willing to give up their life for someone else. And he says, the way you know that I'm your friend is I'm going to go die for you. I'm not only going to take death on the cross in terms of that temporary death, but I'm going to take what would be your eternal death. on the cross that only I as eternal God can actually pay for in a moment, but I'm going to go take that upon myself for you too. The Greek for friend here is, I'm not sure if you say philos or philo, but it's where we get Philadelphia. It's that other word similar to agape. I think people sometimes make too much out of a distinction. They're mainly synonyms. But it is philos and it could be translated beloved or lover or one who is welcomed. That's what Jesus says you are to him when he says you are my friends and I die for you. John 10 verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. As we've looked at recently in Psalm 23 verse one, I pray that you can say the Lord is my shepherd, because he's the good and great shepherd of the sheep. Similarly, I pray you can say the Lord Jesus is my friend, and I am his friend. Matthew 11 verse 19, though it is pejoratively accused by those who hate Jesus, yet it was truly identifying him. In terms of His elect, He came to save. He came to save His people from their sins. That's why His name is Jesus. In Matthew 11, 19, He is called the Son of Man, a friend of sinners. Now, that was meant to accuse Him, but the truth is, they were observing He was friendly. He went to go be with sinners. He went to befriend those who He came to save. He came to die. for those who came to befriend and make them friends with God. Thus he makes we who would have his company, his saints and beloved, he would have our company. And isn't that amazing? He would be our friend. And while certainly it is not equal in every way, yet still friendship goes both ways. It takes two people to be friends. Jesus calls on us to prove he is our friend. He's shown us how he proves he is our friend. And we prove that's the case by proving we are his friends. Verse 14, ye are my friends. So notice in verses 14 and 15, I've called you my friend, you are my friends. This is what it looks like. If you do, whatsoever I command you. The way you show that Jesus is your friend is that he lived the law perfectly on your behalf to save you from hell and take on the cross to save you from eternal hell's punishment. The way you show that you are his friends having received that is you wish to keep his commandments. And as is elsewhere said in the scriptures, his commands are not burdensome. His law is our delight, as Jesus says in Psalm 40. To do thy will is my delight. Thy will be done. So if you are Jesus' friend, just as we saw in the Gospel of Luke this evening, where he said, why do you call me Lord, but you don't do what I command? He could say to us, depending on the person and situation, why do you call me your friend, but you don't keep my commandments. Because before we're saved, the Bible says we're at enmity with God, we're enemies with God. And to be made a friend of God is to no longer rebel against his commandments, because he's also Lord and God and righteous. but rather to want to live them. So just as we ask God to help us grow in love for him, we could be saying, Lord, help me be a better friend to you in return. John 15 verse 10, if you keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. John 14 verse 15, if ye love me, Keep my commandments. It might be said to some, okay, you insist that you love Jesus. You insist that you're friends with Jesus. But you don't want to do what he says. And to do what he says is to love Jesus, is to be friends with Jesus. Now, we all need to grow a lot, right, in degree of these things, but there should be something there and a disposition there. Being Jesus' friends means dying to ourselves also. So we do live for Him in and by Him. So think about the verse, the meaning, not the mode, remember, but the meaning of baptism we studied last week of what is a sacrament, in short, a catechism. Romans 6 verses 4 and following. It is to identify with Him. in death, death to this world, death to ourselves. And it is to identify with him in his resurrection that we would walk in newness of life. If we are in union with Christ, we're gonna be walking in the newness of life he gives us. Friends walk together. Those who are at enmity with one another don't walk together. Obeying comes with believing, and this is all friendship with Jesus. As James says in chapter 2 verse 23, the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God. And it was imputed unto him for righteousness. But it says one more thing, where maybe not remember as much. We know he believed God. It was credited or imputed to him to righteousness. Saved by faith, not by works. But it says something else. And he was called the friend of God. That's what should be seen of Christians, people walking with the Lord. There should be seen to be a friendship with God. Restoration of a relationship with God that was lost in the garden is restored in Christ, leading to the eternal garden. A friendship, as it is said, although kind of transitioning to the judgment, walking and talking with God in the cool of the day. What do friends do? Let's go for a walk. Let's have a talk. And it's often real friends, they go deep, and they frankly go long. I've got time for you, my friend. This is what we should be saying to Jesus. I've got time for you, my friend. You are no imposition. You're what I prefer to do with my day, spend time with you, listening to you talk to me in the word, talking with you in prayer. being called a friend of God, because I believe in you, Jesus. On the other hand, James 4, verse 4 says, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God. So to be God's friend is to do his commandments. To be his enemy is to be a friend with the world that refuses to obey him. All that said, when we think about that Jesus assures us and shows us beyond doubt that he's our friend, this should be a great encouragement to us. It's hard to find a good friend. You know, we often have a statement, I can count the number of good friends on one hand. That's just reality in life, right? Friends come and go, real good friends, hard to find. Friends that are willing to sacrifice self, hard to find. And when you find a few, you'll be a friend to them. You build that friendship. It's hard to find a good friend. Can you relate to Psalm 35 verses 13 to 14? But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled myself with fasting and my prayer returned into my own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother. I bowed down heavily as one that mourneth for his mother. Hard to find a good friend. Hard to find a true friend. Psalm 38 verses 10 to 11. My heart panteth. My strength faileth me. As for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof. from my sore, and my kinsmen stand afar off. Not only my friends, but my own family, they're not showing up in my time of need. But that's what a real friend does. And if you can relate to that, be encouraged, that sure does sound, when we sang it, like what Jesus can relate to. In fact, it's more about him. and are forsaking our friendship to him too often. And his asking friends, please stay up and keep me company. They can't be bothered to do it. And then he has some forsake him. Peter, I don't know who he is. Judas, my friend, here's a kiss. My money, please. The blood money. And then on the cross, though friends and family watching below, he is alone. so he can relate. And for a moment, singing the first words of Psalm 22 as his last words on the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Jesus can relate too. And yet he always says to you, Because of what he's done to be your friend, Hebrews 13 verse 5, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. And in context of the whole verse, that's reason enough for you to be content if he's the only friend you ever have. And frankly, without him as your friend, when you stop and think about it, would you not give up every other friend? if you could only have Jesus to be your friend. What a friend we have in Him. as seen in what he has already shown us, but in terms of how he is, what we learn a friend is also in other scriptures. What a friend we have in Jesus, as seen in Proverbs 27, verse six. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. People who are actually your enemy will speak the four-tongue of the devil, lying to you, often with what you want to hear them say. But Jesus says in Revelation 3, I rebuke those who I love, repent. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. A friend will care enough to tell you the truth. And though it hurts, he or she will go about it in as careful way as possible. But when you have to have something dealt with, sometimes the wound needs to be opened up to be treated properly so that it will heal. Proverbs 17 verse 17, what a friend we have in Jesus a friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity But more than that Proverbs 18 verse 24, a man that hath friends must show himself friendly. And he has. Calls on us to be friendly friends in return. And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Now, these Proverbs are talking about friendship. Things we can say, yeah, amen, that's true, and remember what to look for. But they're also speaking of Jesus. Remember, he says all the scriptures speak of him. He is your friend that sticks closer than a brother by the blood of the everlasting covenant. He loves you at all times. Even we who would be good friends to one another sometimes have our moments where we're less than friendly. and we can act and even maybe say we're no longer friends or we have to try to restore and fix these things and repair. But Jesus loves always as a friend and sticks closer than a brother. He's that friend to you because He's shown you He's come to save you. He's shown you all the Father and He have discussed to make you their friend, to restore you and save you out of enmity from God. And take on curses and wrath of God due to your sin on Himself on the cross, laying Himself down to die for you in your stead on the cross. There's no greater love than that. And a friend loveth at all times and sticks closer than a brother. He's made you a brother. He's made you a child of God. So you can call on God, Abba Father. La Fontaine says this, friendship is the shadow of the evening which strengthens with the setting sun of life. And thinking of eternity and facing it, what a friend we have in Jesus. As Joseph Medalcott Scriven wrote, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. But you can go to a friend who loves at all times and sticks closer than a brother. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge, Take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer. in his arms he'll take and shield you. You will find a solace there." Beloved, let us revisit Samuel Rutherford's quote and share the rest of it. Again, he says, I find Christ the most steadable friend and companion in the world to me. Now. It says now. It's kind of that aha moment or maybe that the development of the friendship into now I find him the most steadable. Again, that is the most secure, the most steady, the most serviceable friend. loves always, sticks closer to the brother, never leaves nor forsake. Who can that be said of? To you, as your friend, but Christ alone. And Rutherford goes on to say, let me begin again and continue, I find Christ the most steadable friend and companion in the world to me now. the need and usefulness of Christ is seen best in trials. Oh, if he be not well worthy of his room, lodge him in home and heart. I find him to be the greatest friend, the most steady rock solid friend Now, interesting then he says, the best time to see how useful and the best friend Jesus is above any other friend to you is in trials. Because once again, as we often say, that's when you know who your friends are. And just as Jesus says, are you going to leave me too? When thousands left me because I just spoke the truth. But they proved to be his friends. Jesus, you have the words of eternal life. To whom shall we go? So you come to him and say, Lord, you are my friend. In fact, more than can be said of anyone else, Jesus, you are my best friend forever. Psalm 30, excuse me, as Psalm 73, 25 to 26 says, That's all you'll ever need. He's all you'll ever need. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart. and my portion forever. I don't mean to be cute, but truly Christ alone is your best friend forever. Keep your eyes on him, the author, finisher of your faith including those times like those Psalms where those you thought were your friends and family for whatever reason have deserted you and yet have that sweet fellowship of Sufferings and sorrow with Jesus who he knows and he doesn't desert you and you say What a friend I have in Jesus There's never a moment And there's, you can't say that, and there's really every moment you should, but there's particular moments you need to remember that you can say, turn to him. What a friend I have in you, Jesus. And that is the message again for you. What a friend we have in Jesus. Let us go to him in prayer. Lord Jesus, we do thank you that you have shown to be our best and true friend. Sticking closer than a brother, loving at all times and forever. Because you came from heaven, humbled yourself, taking on our humanity to speak to us face to face as it were. Pray for us, John 17. that we would see the glory you had with the Father before the foundation of the world, that you would share that with us and all that you have seen fit to reveal to us personally. Revealing yourself, sharing yourself, being even vulnerable with us. And we thank you that even more, You laid down your life on the cross and in the grave to rise up from it, to spare us eternal death, and to promise us you will raise us up on the last great day. And before that time, when it is our time, you will raise us into heaven. We do look forward to the new heavens and earth. when we will continue to grow in our friendship with you, uninhibited by our sin, and how that will grow our friendships with one another in Christ our Lord, in whom we all pray to you as our best friend forever, as your friends and all your friends said. Amen. Thanks again for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. 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