The Assurance of God's Love

Order of Service

• Hymn — All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name
• Call to Worship — 1 Timothy 6:13-16
• Hymn — All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1
• Scripture Reading — Joshua 8:18-29
• Hymn — Jesus Paid It All
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — And Can It Be
• Sermon
• Prayer
• Hymn — O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Assurance of God's Love

Scripture: John 17:6-19

I. The Ownership of the Father and the Son of the Church — John 17:6-10

A. Jesus declares that his disciples were the Father's own before being given to the Son — this reflects the Covenant of Redemption (pactum salutis), in which the Father covenants with the Son to redeem all whom the Father gives him

B. Jesus prays specifically for the elect — not for the world — but for those given to him by the Father (John 17:9)

C. The statement "all mine is yours" could be said by any creature, but "all yours is mine" belongs to God alone — Jesus claims the incommunicable attributes of God, demonstrating his full divinity

D. The stubborn, relentless, steadfast ownership of God's people is seen in all its divine and glorious form in the God-man Jesus Christ — prophet, priest, and king — who is perfectly aligned with the Father's heart in a way no mere mortal could be

II. The Preservation of the Father and the Son of the Church — John 17:11-16

A. Responsible ownership means preserving what one owns; the Father's greatest gift to the incarnate Son is his bride, the church — Jesus Christ is not an irresponsible owner (John 17:12)

B. The loss of Judas illustrates the distinction between the visible and invisible church — Judas was never given to the Son as one of the elect (John 6:64-65)

1. Gift precedes and is the causal effect of both perseverance on the believer's part and preservation on Christ's part
2. Those not gifted to the Son remain in sin and never receive saving faith

C. Christ prays that the Father keep the disciples from the evil one (John 17:15) — the same construction as the Lord's Prayer ("deliver us from evil")

1. The disciples' failures — scattering, Peter's denial — do not place them in the grip of the evil one
2. Jesus predicted Peter's denial and prayed for his preservation: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:31-32)

D. Our perseverance in the faith is wholly dependent upon the Father's preservation through the intercession of our high priest Jesus Christ — every day a believer wakes and confesses Christ as Lord, they owe that to their interceding high priest

III. The Sanctification of the Father and the Son for the Church — John 17:17-19

A. Jesus prays "sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" — the Father's word, given through the Son, is not merely true but is truth itself (John 17:17)

1. Receiving Christ as merely true among other truths (as illustrated by Jordan Peterson's hesitant affirmation of the resurrection) is not the same as receiving him as truth itself
2. Sanctification is a top-down enterprise — it comes through divine revelation, God stooping into the void to speak light into our hearts
3. Leon Morris: "The word of the Father is not a natural possession; it is given only by Christ. Sanctification is not effected apart from the divine revelation, and the divine revelation is eminently trustworthy — it is not only true but truth."

B. In John 17:19, Jesus says "I consecrate myself" — the same Greek word as sanctify — speaking of his self-offering in death

1. In the Old Testament, the high priest consecrated the animal sacrifice by laying his hands on it, transferring the sins of Israel onto it
2. Jesus is uniquely both high priest and sacrifice — he consecrates himself
3. He does this "for their sake" — the language of substitution; Christ does not die as a mere example but dies for his disciples that they would be sanctified

C. The end goal of salvation is not merely eternal life but holiness — sanctification granted by the Spirit uniting believers to the holy Son

D. Just as our perseverance rests in Christ as high priest, so also our holiness rests in Christ — he presents his atoning death before the Father on behalf of his people and intercedes: "Sanctify your people"