Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Sunday, May 27, 2012

John 17 The Great High Priestly Prayer of our Lord!

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

John 17:23, “I (Jesus Christ) in the sphere of them (Church Age believers) and You (God the Father) in the sphere of Me, in order that they may be perfected in unity (with God), so that the world (unbelievers) would know that You sent Me and You loved them even as You loved Me.”

Two results of Christ indwelling the Church Age Believer.

1. Faith based understanding of Christ by the unbeliever.

1. Faith based understanding of Christ by the unbeliever. 2. The demonstration of the Father’s love for the believer.

Personal Love of God the Father toward the Believer A. ETYMOLOGY:

The Greek verb for “love” in John 17:23 is AGAPAO. Its from the noun AGAPE, and means “virtue-love”. AGAPAO comes to mean “to have or express virtue-love”.

The other Greek verb for “love” is PHILEO which has the connotation of “personal love” and is translated “kiss” in Mat 26:48, Mark 14:44, Luke 22:47.

But other times it means a personal love relationship between two parties as in the Father’s Love for the believer in John 16:27.

John 16:27, “For the Father Himself loves (PHILEO) you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”

PHILEO is also used in regard to the Father’s discipline of the believer in Rev 3:16, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.”

In John 17:23 AGAPAO = “virtue-love” emphasizing not the personal rapport of two individuals as in PHILEO love, but the honor and integrity of one party expressed to the other.

With God, honor and integrity means the expression of His righteousness and justice towards the believer.

B. God’s love is a part of His Divine Essence.

1. God does not possess life. He is life. The life that God has is infinite, eternal, unending, and unchanging. Part of God’s life is love. 1 John 4:8, 16.

1 John 4:16, “We have come to know and have believed the love (AGAPE) which God has for us. God is love (AGAPE), and the one who abides in love (AGAPE) abides in God, and God abides in him.”

1 John 4:8, “The one who does not love (AGAPAO) does not know God, for God is love (AGAPE).”

2. All three members of the Trinity have coequal and co- eternal essence. Love belongs eternally and coequally to each member of the Trinity.

Therefore, the love of God has always existed; there never was a time when it did not exist.

3. AGAPE Love which is characteristic of the essence of God can be called Divine love.

2 Thes 3:5, “And may the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance (fortitude, perseverance) of Christ.”

Jude 21, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”

4. The love of God possesses perfect virtue and integrity, which includes incorruptible justice and immutable righteousness.

a. Because God is holy and unchangeable, Divine love cannot be compromised by sins, human good, evil, including Christian degeneracy, dead works or any function of the sin nature.

5. God’s love is always compatible with God’s justice and is absolutely perfect in every function. God’s love is always fair.

Luke 11:42, “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

6. Since God is love, always has been love, and always will be perfect virtue-love, God does not fall in love, nor can His love be compromised, corrupted, or bribed by good deeds, or human experience.

7. God’s love does not increase or diminish. Therefore, it cannot be changed by human rejection, failure, sin, or evil, by whether or not we are good or bad.

8. Human merit is never the basis for God extending His love to mankind. God’s love cannot be bought by your good behavior, good deeds, or Christian service.

9. God’s infinite and eternal love does not conform to human standards because it is so far beyond it.

10. Because God is virtuous, His love is totally devoid of sin, human good, evil, and altruism. God is free from hypocrisy, flattery, or any patronizing influence of mankind.

11. God’s love is permanent, stable, and virtuous, and therefore, becomes a Problem-Solving Device for the believer and has great significance for us.

Rom 5:5, “And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Grace Offering

Grace Fellowship Church Sunday, May 27, 2012 Tape # Personal Love of God the Father Towards the Believer Great High Priestly Prayer, Part 107 John 17:23; Luke 11:42; Rom 5:5; 1 John 4:8, 16 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012