Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

John 17 The Great High Priestly Prayer of our Lord!

John 17:20-26 Jesus Prays for the Church!

John 17:21, “That they all may keep on being one (the Church) just as You (God the Father) are in Me (Jesus Christ), and I in You, that they also may keep on being in Us, so that the world (unbelievers) would believe that You sent Me.”

Positional Truth

P.T. has a twofold remedy! 1) The judgment of the sin nature for all of mankind in Christ on the Cross. 2) The gift of the indwelling Spirit for believers providing Eternal Life.

Retroactive P.T. The backward-looking work of Christ on the Cross where He paid the price for every sin.

Current Positional Truth 1. It is identification with Christ as He is seated at the right hand of the Father in His resurrection, ascension, and session, Rom 6:5; Eph 2:6.

Rom 6:5, “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death (and we have), certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

Eph 2:6, “And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

2. C.P.T. emphasizes 2 factors: 1) The Environmental factor 2) The Blessing factor

3. C.P.T. is related to Positional Sanctification, 1 Cor 1:2. The Baptism of the Spirit puts us in permanent relationship with God; we are set apart forever in Christ Jesus.

4. C.P.T. is related to the imputation of Divine righteousness by the justice of God at salvation through the Baptism of the Spirit, 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 6:5-10.

2 Cor 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

5. C.P.T. is related to the possession of eternal life, Rom 8:13; 1 John 5:11-12.

1 John 5:11 ‑ 12, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

Rom 8:13, “For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” cf. Rom 6:23; John 3:36.

6. C.P.T. provides the basis for being a new creature in Christ and having that new life, 2 Cor 5:17-18; Gal 6:15.

2 Cor 5:17-18, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”

7. The objective of the new life is the imputation of blessings in time from God’s justice, Eph 1:3.

Eph 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

2 Tim 2:11, “It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.” Cf. Rom 6:4-7

8. C.P.T. is related to election and predestination, Eph 1:4-6.

9. C.P.T. is the basis for establishing the Royal Family of God, Eph 2:6; 1 Peter 2:9.

10. C.P.T. is related to the Royal Priesthood, 1 Peter 2:9; Heb 10:10-14.

11. C.P.T. is related to God’s personal possession forever, the believers of the Royal Family, 1 Pet 2:9 ‑ 10.

Oswald Chambers “Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me—sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me.” Rom 8:1-5

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Tape # Current Positional Truth Great High Priestly Prayer, Part 94 John 17:21; Rom 6:5; Eph 2:6; 1 John 5:11-12 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012