Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Tuesday, July 3, 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 17:25 The Sending of God the Son by God the Father.

“Known” – GINOSKO, “To know, to come to know, recognize, or perceive. To have learned something by careful observation and study.”

This is what the “world” of unbelievers has not done. It is a disastrous thing to not come to know God the Father.

“Sent” – APOSTELLO, “To order (one) to go to a place appointed, to send, or send away.”

It views the entirety of the past action of God the Father sending His Son in the 1st Advent, the commissioning of Jesus Christ’s incarnation.

John 17:25, “Righteous Father, the world (unbelievers) has not known You but I, (Jesus Christ), have known You, and they all (believers of the Church Age) have known that You sent (commissioned) Me (1 st Advent).”

Principles: 1. The world does not, but Christ and his disciples know that the Father had sent Him. Everyone who receives the same revelation becomes part of God’s Royal Family.

2. Jesus ends where He began. He began the Upper Room Discourse in John 13:16, identifying Himself as subordinate to God the Father.

3. In this GHPP prayer He begins in John 17:3 with, “And Jesus Christ whom you sent (APOSTELLO).”

4. APOSTELLO is used Seven times in this GHPP: John 17:3, 8, 18 (twice), 21, 23, 25.

5. Seven is the number of “Spiritual Perfection”, so we have the Father’s plan of salvation in sending His Son to die on the Cross.

This is the means by which the lost and dying in this world come to spiritual perfection, (i.e., believing in His Son thereby gaining eternal life).

a. Vs 3, the Process. Emphasizing the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ. The Father sent His Son to be the propitiation of the world, Rom 3:25; Heb 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10.

1 John 2:2, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

b. Vs 8, The Precedent. When we receive the Word of God, (mind of Christ), with emphasis on the gospel, and believe upon it, we gain eternal life, Acts 16:31-32.

Acts 16:31-32, “They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.”

c. Vs. 18, The Perpetuation of the Father’s Plan of salvation, doubly emphasized.

d. Vs. 21, The Petition. The desire of our Lord for the salvation of all mankind, where the unity of believers with Christ would be the witness.

e. Vs. 23 The Petition doubly emphasized, where unity and love are the dual witnesses to gaining understanding as to who God the Father is, which leads to saving faith.

f. Vs 25, The Principle - The Father’s righteousness. Here we see the integrity of God (His righteousness and justice) functioning under His grace policy.

The Father has provided for salvation for all of mankind. Man in grace is left to accept or reject His provision for eternal life, while the integrity of the Father is perpetuated for all of eternity.

In APOSTELLO we see the Process, Precedent, Perpetuation, and Principle of God’s Plan of Salvation for all unbelievers of this world.

And Jesus Christ calls upon God the Father to satisfy His desire that all of mankind come to know God the Father for salvation, in His Petition.

Of the Seven, Four times it references a benefit for the world. Four is the number of material which emphasizes the incarnation of God the Son by becoming flesh and taking on the sins of the entire world.

Four emphasizes the substance of God’s plan for our salvation - The Incarnation of His Son.

Of the Seven, Six times it references God the Father sending His Son. Six is the number of “man”, so once again the incarnation of God the Son is in view.

It was the humanity of Jesus Christ that won the strategic victory of the Angelic Conflict on the Cross, thereby purchasing us from the slave market of sin, and providing the way for our salvation.

Heb 2:17, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, July 3, 2012 Tape # God the Father Sent His Son Great High Priestly Prayer, Part 123 John 17:25; 3, 8, 18, 21, 23; Acts 16:31-32; Heb 2:17 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012