Christian Non-denominational Dispensational Indepth Teachings: October 2017

Sunday, October 29, 2017

10/29/17 Guest Speaker Stephen Rickard - Know the Signs of the Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiWJ271pgeY&t=260s

Friday, October 27, 2017

10/26/17, Eph 6:2-3: The Ten Commandments, Pt 20, The 6th Commandments, Pt 3

Lesson #17-115

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0n5_wUMhq4

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

Grace Fellowship Church

www.GraceDoctrine.org

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Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite, or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher.

1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown & forgotten sins].”

For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the end of this document.

2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

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The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age, Part XX.

The 6^th Commandment:

Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17, “You shall not murder.”

Murder means, “Putting someone to death improperly, for selfish reasons rather than with authorization.” There is a vast difference between killing and murder. Murder is prohibited, but killing is allowed in defense of self, military and police action, capital punishment and of animals, etc.

The rise of crime and violence in a society or nation indicates national degeneration and the approach of historical catastrophe in the form of the Fifth Cycle of Discipline, Jer 4:31. This pattern of degeneration is developed into the destruction of the client nation. Hosea 4:1-6.

Hosea 4:1-2, “Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land. ²There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, (Bible Doctrine in the soul). Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest, (nation). Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

New Testament Usage:

We have already noted several scriptures that prohibit murder during the Church Age. In addition, this commandment is used in Mat 5:21f, (in the Sermon on the Mount, which we will note below); Mat 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20, (speaking to the rich young man, which we noted under the 5^th Commandment); Rom 13:9; James 2:11; 4:2, etc. Therefore, this commandment is a universal law for all Ages / Dispensations.

In Mat 23:35; Luke 11:51; 1 John 3:12-15; Jude 11, the NT applications of this commandment looks back to Gen 4:5-8, which gives us the historical account of the first murder in human history as an object lesson. The first act of murder in human history is that of Cain murdering his brother Abel.

Rebuking the Pharisees, Jesus said in Luke 11:51, “From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.” Cf. Mat 23:35.

Rebuking unbelievers and teachers of false doctrines, Jude said in Jude 1:11, “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” Cf. vs. 16.

In Gen 4:8, we see the first act of murder, where Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy regarding their offerings to the Lord. There, HARAQ is used in the Qal stem for “murder,” as it is elsewhere, cf. Ex 21:12, 14. Cain’s problem was that he did not see Abel as his brother. Instead, he saw him as a rival and wanted to get him out of the way so that he could have all of God’s favor. As you know, Cain was operating under human good works inside of Satan’s cosmic system, versus Divine good production. He wanted to have his human works to be accepted by God, (i.e., offering to the Lord the vegetables he grew).

Yet, the only thing that is acceptable to God is Divine good, cf. Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9, (i.e., what He supplies to us, the Lamb). The lamb is what Abel offered, and God accepted it. Therefore, Cain’s sin was arrogance and he needed to remove his rival, so he murdered Abel.

Jesus, in His teaching on the Law, Mat 5:21-26, pointed to the wider sphere of this commandment, including the mental attitude which potentially leads to the act of murder. Jesus deepens it by saying that anger was like murder and can easily lead to murder, Mat 5:22, just as the liar was a murderer in John 8:44.

Mat 5:22, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

James also pointed out that mental attitude sins lead to overt sins such as murder, James 4:1-2.

James 4:1-2, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? ²You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”

Peter warns the church not to enter into these types of sins in 1 Peter 4:15, “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler.”

As the first three vertical Commandments refer primarily to deeds; the subsequent commandments advance to the prohibition of desire, which is proof that the deed is not to be separated from the disposition, and that the fulfilment of God’s mandates is only complete when the heart itself is sanctified.

Murder, violence, and terror always occur when man becomes involved in sin and Satan’s cosmic system. And, murder is always preceded by the mental attitude sin of arrogance.

Rom 1:29, “Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips…”

Then, in 1 John 3:4-12, John tell us what the antidote is regarding the temptation to murder, or any other sin for that fact. The antidote is love. If we have come into a relationship with God in which we have committed all of our needs to His loving care, others are no longer rivals preventing us from having what we need, and we no longer have to “get others out of the way,” so that we can have what we want, desire, lust for, or even need. Instead, we can see them as brothers and sisters, and delight in the ways in which God supplies our needs, as well as rejoicing in His supply of their needs, even as He sometimes does through us.

James also reiterates this and points to having love for God as the antidote to sin, James 4:5-8.

James 4:5-8, “Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? ⁶But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." ⁷Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Moses in Deut 6:4f, and Paul in Rom 13:9-10, also taught that the path toward obedience and fulfillment of these mandates is characterized as a path of love towards God and towards your fellow man.

Rom 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

James also reminds us that love should prevail in all situations, so that we do not have partiality or favoritism of one over another, because AGAPE love is the “royal law,” for us all to fulfill.

James 2:8-13, “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. ⁹But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. ¹¹For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

In conclusion, we should not murder because God alone gives life, Deut 32:39 and people are made in His image.

Deut 32:39, “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

In the Church Age, the state takes the roles of administration of justice and declaration of war; the Church cannot do such things, Rom 13:1-5.

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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you. God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place. Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held against us.

Right where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,

died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!

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Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard

23 Messenger Street, Unit 3

Plainville, MA 02762

Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Great witnessing/evangelizing tool:

https://www.facebook.com/FlatEarthGeocentric/videos/1944724729119060/?hc_ref=ARTxeTfYc6jvZzJBjHP5M6FmBL_2ww6AVsfqxbx7-BNeGw89uTAKySRjpktnkENlYn0

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

10/24/17, Eph 6:2-3, The 10 Commandments, Pt 19, The 6th Commandment, Pt. 2

Lesson # 17-114

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDS2XKYKCGc

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

Grace Fellowship Church

www.GraceDoctrine.org

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For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the end of this document.

2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

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The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age, Part XIX.

The 6^th Commandment.

Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17, “You shall not murder.”

Doctrine of the City of Refuge.

“City” is the Noun IR, עִיר‎ in the Hebrew, and “refuge,” is the Noun MIQLAT, מִקְלָט that means, “refuge or asylum.” This word is only used for the appointed Cities of Refuge.

In cases amounting to unintentional taking of human life, it led to the appointment of six cities of refuge, Deut 4:42f, Joshua 20:1-9; 21:13, 21, 27, 32, 38; 1 Chron 6:57, 67, where the RATSACH or manslayer could “flee” to, so that he might be preserved from retributive assassination by the kinsman-redeemer, (“blood avenger”), or nearest male relative of the deceased. The Hebrew Verb used in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua for the flight of the manslayer to the City of Refuge is NUS, נוּס‎ that means, “to flee.”

Of the six cities, three were located on each side of the Jordan, and were set apart and placed in the hands of the Levites. They served as places of asylum for those that might shed blood unintentionally.

Here is a map of the six Cities of Refuge. They were arranged in such a manner that a person could reach one of them in usually a half day’s travel, but within a full day at most.

Grieving and angry relatives of the dead victim would tend to assume deliberate intent on the part of the manslayer and want to take revenge, even though the tragedy was completely accidental. Hence, Numbers 35, provides the measure of fairness and mercy by requiring a court hearing at the city where the fugitive had taken refuge. To prevent such a thing where possible, and to provide for a right administration of justice, these cities were instituted, and open highways were to be maintained leading to them, so that the manslayer would have an unobstructed course to the city gate.

If the evidence presented before the elders indicated no malicious intent, the would-be avenger was forbidden to touch him as long as he kept living in his city of refuge until the death of the current high priest serving at the Tabernacle (or Temple). This protected the refugee from assassination by some member of the clan of the deceased who might not be content with the finding of the trial court, and who might therefore take the law into his own hands to inflict revenge. The provision regarding the death of the current high priest has symbolic connection with the future death of the divine High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice atoned for all the sin of all mankind, no matter how guilty they had been.

A similar right of refuge seems to have been recognized in Israel when one would flee to the Tabernacle or temple and hold on to the horns of the altar for refuge, 1 Kings 1:50; 2:28.

Although this was a civil institution designed to protect those not guilty of death, as we have seen so many times when looking at the OT, we see typology in regards to the spiritual implications for us today. When thinking about the “Cities of Refuge,” we immediately think of taking refuge in Christ. In fact, the OT is filled with passages that call Jesus Christ our refuge. There are well over 50 passages, many in Psalms of David.

As David said in Psa 143:9, “Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I take refuge in You.”

Here “refuge” is the Verb KASH that means, “to cover, conceal, or hide.” Jesus Christ covers our sins regarding their just due payment. He conceals them from public view, and hides them for all of eternity. They are forgiven and forgotten.

In addition, 2 Sam 22:3, was written by David when he was being hunted by King Saul who intended to take his life.

2 Sam 22:3, “My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my savior, You save me from violence.”

Here we have two words for “refuge.” First we have, CHASAH, that means, “to seek refuge, to take shelter, to trust.” Then we have, MANOS that means, “refuge or place of escape.” This reminds us of Psa 32:7.

Psa 32:7, “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.”

Then in Isa 25:4, it reads, “For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge, (MACHASEH, “refuge, shelter”), from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a wall.” Cf. Isa 4:6; 32:2.

YHWH, “the Lord,” is a Refuge, (MACHASEH), for the righteous in a number of senses.

1. Those who dwell in his protective shadow are safe from all the enemies of the righteous, Psa 91:2.

2. There is no fear in the time of Divine wrath, Isa 4:6; Joel 3:16.

3. The oppressed seek his shelter and protection, Psa 14:6; Isa 25:4; Jer 17:17.

4. Anyone who builds a refuge on anything aside from YHWH is in trouble, as in the case of the elite of the northern kingdom of Israel, who built their refuge in lies, a shelter which YHWH would, in His righteous wrath, utterly destroy, Isa 28:15ff.

5. In contrast, we are reminded, “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge,” Prov 14:26.

Psa 34:22, was written by David after he had fled from King Saul to a Philistine city, then faked madness to avoid being held accountable before the Philistine king, whose advisors wanted David dead due to his victories against them in the past.

Psa 34:22, “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who take refuge, (CHASAH), in Him will be condemned.”

Psa 62:7-8, “On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge, (MACHASEH), is in God. ⁸Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Cf. Psa 46:1.

Many times in the OT the imagery of wings is given when showing the healing and protective nature of God. The Hebrew word for refuge is often times used in the same phrases with the word for wings. Psa 36:7, is one example but there are many more.

Psa 36:7, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge, (CHASAH), in the shadow of Your wings.” Cf. Psa 17:8; 57:1.

In Ruth 2:12, we have Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, (a type of Christ), talking to Ruth.

Ruth 2:12, “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”

In a sense, we are all like the manslayer, because ours sins put Jesus Christ on the Cross, unintentionally as that may be. Even though it is the path Jesus chose, if there was no sin, there would be no need for the Cross. Yet, Christ’s message is for us to run to Him without delay, to seek refuge in the redemption He accomplished at the Cross.

As in the times of Israel, it was pure foolishness to delay your journey to the nearest City of Refuge when the avenger of blood was seeking your life. And, in the same way, people today need to avoid delays and excuses in seeking Christ, especially due to guilt or a sense of spiritual inadequacy, and just run to His presence.

In Heb 6:17-18, believers, who have fled from the wrath due them because of their sins, have seized upon the hope which God the Father has offered in His Son, Jesus Christ. Since it is not yet fully realized, it is hope, (i.e., confident expectation).

Heb 6:17-18, “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, So that by two unchangeable things, (God cannot lie and He fulfills His oaths / promises), in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

“Refuge,” is the Greek Verb KATAPHEUGO, καταφεύγω that means, “to flee, to take refuge. It comes from the root word PHEUGO that means, “to flee or escape.” This word is used only here and in Acts 14:6, where Paul and his group fled for fear of their lives.

Just as the Cities of Refuge were a day’s journey or less away, safety for the manslayer was never far away, and so also we know Christ is not far off. Safety and peace of mind for us is as close as a prayer.

As Jesus said in Mat 28:20 “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” These cities were also located in somewhat mountainous regions, on hilltops, so as to be easily seen from a distance. These cities had to be easily seen from a distance and in bad weather, fog, and darkness of night by the exhausted manslayer running for his life. For us, so often the whirlwind of life and its complications cloud our vision, yet Christ is still easily seen if we just look for Him.

Psa 43:3, “O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling places.”

In the NT, Jesus is the light of the world, to lead men out of darkness.

John 1:9, “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

John 8:12, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life".”

John 12:46, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” Cf. John 3:19; 9:5; 11:9

2 Cor 4:4, “In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

From non-biblical literature sources, it is said that the great gates of these Refuge Cities were never locked, but always left open, not a common practice for that era. How comforting it must have been for the fleeing fugitive to know he would immediately gain access to the safety of the city and not die at the hands of the avenger of blood, as he would, if stuck outside beating on the door.

Jesus told us in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

As mentioned above, we are told from Jewish literature that the roads to these cities were traveled and inspected by the elders once a year, and carefully repaired every spring after the rains and bad weather of the winter. Bridges were built or repaired where needed and every obstruction was removed. At every crossroads and turn were posted special signs stating “refuge” to guide the runner. We see by this, how easy the Lord intended the road to be by which we come to Him. It is similar to the ease of deliverance for the snake bitten Israelites, when they would simply turn towards the Brazen Serpent, cf, John 3:14. Likewise, the gracious promises given in the Gospels diligently remove the obstacles before us.

Remember what Christ told us in Mat 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Charles Spurgeon said about the roads to these cities and the road to Christ, “It is a road so hard that no self-righteous man can ever tread it, but so easy that every sinner, who knows himself to be a sinner, may by it find his way to heaven.”

Jewish tradition also tells us that runners educated in the Law of God were stationed along these roads to guide the fugitives to safety.

Ecc 4:10, “For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.”

What a blessing to the weary fugitive who may have lost his sense of direction or his desire to go on, to have someone who knows God’s ways encourage them onward and guide them to the place of refuge.

All of us have had moments in our spiritual walk where we lost our sense of direction or purpose, or just lacked the spirit to go onward, even though deep down we knew that we should. But God provided for these moments long before they came, and if you look back at them, I think you will realize that there was always someone there to guide you back on the path that leads to Christ.

It may have been your beloved spouse, a best friend, your mom or dad, perhaps a brother or sister, or a compassionate individual in the church, but whoever it was that ran with you in your spiritual walk and guided you back onto the beaten path when you were falling away, be very grateful to them and do not take them for granted. God was using them to preserve your spiritual life as the runners of old preserved the life of the manslayers. That is why we, as representatives of Christ, are called in Mat 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden”

Remember, these cities were only a temporary place of safety. Once the high priest died, they were free to return to their home cities where the avenger of blood had no legal right to pursue them. But if the avenger harbored a grudge, they might still be in danger for their lives. Yet, because of our position in Christ, He is our High Priest forever, who is also resurrected; never to die again. As such, experientially, we should never leave our place of spiritual refuge in Him; we are eternally secure in our salvation despite the daily battles within us with the sin nature.

City of Refuge Code:

Finally, when we look deeper into the Hebrew names of these six cities, we see a direct correlation to the character and nature of Christ, and what He accomplished for all of us “manslayers.” We get the order of these cities from Joshua 20:7-8.

1. First, we have the city of QEDESH, (Kedesh). It is from the root Verb QADASH meaning, “to separate, set apart, to be holy, to consecrate,” implying the consecration of a person or thing to the worship or service of God. Hence it means to make or be holy, and therefore it implies holiness, the full consecration of a person to God. And this city was in “Galilee (district) in the hills of Naphtali (might wrestling).” Therefore, “the holy One comes from the place of wrestling.”

There are many passages in the OT that refer to Christ as, “The Holy One of Israel.”

In the NT, we have John 6:69, “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

2. Next, we have SHEKEM, (Shechem), that means, “shoulder.” It is from the root word SHAAKAM, meaning, “to be ready, forward, and diligent,” Hence Shechem means, “shoulder,” because of its readiness to bear burdens and sustain. From this we derive its metaphorical meaning of “government.” This was in the “hills of Ephraim,” that means, “double fruit.”

Isa 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

3. Thirdly, we have KIRATH (city of), ARABA known later as Hebron. Hebron is CHEBROWN that means, “a community or alliance.” It is from the root CHAABAR meaning. “to associate, join, conjoin, unite as friends.” Therefore, Hebron means, “fellowship or friendly association.” This was in the “hills of Judah,” which means “praised.”

John 15:15, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

Then crossing the Jordan, YARDEN, “the watering place,” into Jericho, YERICHO, “the place of fragrance,” we have the next three Cities of Refuge.

4. Fourth, we have Bezer, BETSER that means, “ore of gold or silver.” It is from the root BAATSAR meaning, “to restrain, enclose, shut up, or encompass within a wall.” Therefore, Bezer means, “the goods or treasures secured within the wall, a fortified place, fortress or stronghold.” This was from the, “tribe of Reuben” that means, “Behold a son!”

Psa 18:2, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

5. Fifth, we have Ramoth, RA’MOTH that means, “heights.” It comes from the root RA’AM meaning, “to be raised, made high or exalted.” Therefore, Ramoth means, “high places or eminences.” This was in Gilead, “the hill of testimony,” as Jesus was crucified on the hill of Golgatha, the hill of skulls. This was the place of the, “tribe of Gad,” that means, “fortune come.”

Heb 7:26, “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.”

Phil 2:8-10, “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

Luke 1:69, “And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant.”

John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

Luke 9:22, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

6. Finally, we have Golan, GOWLAN that means, “captive or exile.” It comes from the root GOLA meaning the same plus “to remove or removing,” This was in the, “tribe of Manasseh,” that means, “who makes forget.” Combined it means make the “captives forget,” or to free the captives.

This reminds us of the victory at the Cross, where Jesus subsequently led the triumphant procession to heaven. As He will also do for the Church Age believer, at the Rapture or Resurrection of the Church.

Eph 4:8, “Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men".”

It is awesome to see the entire gospel message contained in the meaning of these six Hebrew cities, given to Israel almost 1500 years before the NT was written. Although they focus on the character and nature of the person of Christ, there is a direct meaning in what Christ is saying to us through them as well.

1. QEDESH: To be made holy.

2. SH’KEM: To bear a burden, sustain.

3. CHEBROWN: to join and unite as friends.

4. BETSER: to encompass within a wall.

5. RA’MOTH: to be raised up and exalted.

6. GOWLAN: remove the exiles, set the captives free.

Christ is saying to each of us, “If you run to me and seek my presence, I will consecrate you and make you holy. I will bear your burdens, sustain you in all your trials, and call you to my side as an intimate friend. When you are attacked by Satan and the evils of this world, I will shield you behind an impenetrable wall. I will raise you up in glory at the right hand of my throne, as I have freed you from the slave market of sin.”

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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”

Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,

died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!

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Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard

23 Messenger Street, Unit 3

Plainville, MA 02762

Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries

Monday, October 23, 2017

The Gospel of John ~ Chapter 17, Part 9

Verses 24 – 26

The Great High Priestly Prayer, Part 9

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Chapter 17 Outline:

Vs. 1-5, Christ Prays for Himself.

Vs. 6-19, Christ Prays for His Disciples.

Vs. 20-26, Christ Prays for His Church.

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http://gracedoctrine.org/the-gospel-of-john-chapter-17-part-9-verses-24-26/

Included in this study:

Exegesis, Doctrines & Principles of Vs. 24–26.
Good Gifts Given by Our Father.
Principles of God the Father’s Love for His Son Jesus Christ
Doctrine of God the Father as Righteous.

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For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the end of this document.

2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

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Vs. 20-26, Christ Prays for His Church.

We now move on to John 17:24.

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

The Greek reads:

“πάτερ*, ὃ δέδωκάς μοι, θέλω ἵνα ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ κἀκεῖνοι ὦσιν μετ’ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα θεωρῶσιν τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἐμὴν, ἣν δέδωκάς μοι ὅτι ἠγάπησάς με πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.”

Transliterated it reads:

“PATER, HO DEDOKAS MOI, THELO HINA HOPOU EIMI EGO KAKEINOI HOSIN MET EMOU, HINA THEOROSIN TEN DOXAN TEN EMEN, HEN DEDOKAS MOI HOTI EGAPESAS ME PRO KATABOLES KOSMOU.”

We begin with “Father, whom You have given Me.”

“PATER, HO DEDOKAS MOI.”

PATER is a Noun in the Vocative of Address, Masculine, Singular for “Father” once again.

HO is the Relative Pronominal Adjective HOS - ὅς (hos) in the Accusative Neuter Singular that means, “who, which, what, etc.” We will say, “whom,” referring to the Church.

DEDOKAS is the Verb DIDOMI - δίδωμι (did'-o-mee) in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular, that means, “give, grant, allow, etc.”

The Perfect Tense stands for completed past action where the results continue to the present. The believer has been given by the Father to His Son; see also verses 9 & 11.

The Active Voice in the Second Person Singular: God the Father produced the action of giving us to His Son.

The Indicative Mood is the reality of the Church being a gift from the Father to His Son. We will say, “You have given.”

MOI is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I” in the Dative, First Person, Singular that means, “to Me.” Jesus is the recipient of the Father’s gift of the Church.

So, we have, “Father, whom (Church Age Believers) You have given to Me.”

Principles:

This is now the 7^th and final verse in which our Lord has used the phrase “given to Me” (DEDOKAS MOI) in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular in this Great High Priestly prayer. As you may know, seven is the number of spiritual perfection. So, our Lord applied the phrase seven times for spiritual perfection in the Perfect Tense.

So, let’s see how our Lord speaks of spiritual perfection in this prayer culminating in Verse 24. As we review each one, keep in mind how it reflects on our spiritual life too, and the things we should be doing or have been done for us.

In Verse 4, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given to Me in order that I do it.”

One being the number of unity, Jesus begins by recognizing His completed work according to the Plan of God the Father that includes the Cross, resurrection, ascension, and session, which demonstrates His unity with the Father and His Plan.

In Verse 7, “Now (prophetic regarding Pentecost +), they have come to know, that all things whatsoever You (God the Father) have given (from eternity past) to Me are from (the immediate source of) You.”

Two the number of difference, and speaks here to Jesus’ incarnation, Jesus Christ in His humanity, and that all of Jesus’ physical and spiritual needs in His humanity were met by another, God the Father. This is the perfection of Logistical Grace blessings.

In Verse 9, “I keep on praying concerning them, I do not pray concerning the world, but concerning those whom You (God the Father) have given to Me, because they keep on being Yours.”

Three the number of Divine Completeness, and speaks here of the perfect and complete gift of the disciples to Jesus by God the Father according to His perfect Plan, along with the spiritually perfect process of intercessory prayer on their behalf.

In Verse 11, “I am no longer in the world but they are in the world and I come to You Holy Father. Keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, in order that they might keep on being one just as We are.”

Four is the number of material completeness and creation, and here Jesus references the world in which He created, “I am no longer in the world as they are.” In addition, we have emphasis on the word “Name” which is ONOMA that also means, “authority” and is used for “title,” which signifies someone’s authority, character, or nature. Therefore, “name” stands for the perfect and complete power of God manifested in His person, (cf. 5:43; 10:25; 12:28; 17:6, 26). So, it refers to the perfect Essence of God the Father and signifies all that is protecting the believer in the world. We will see another tie-in to His “name” at the end.

In Verse 12, “While I was with them, I Myself was continually keeping them in your name. You gave them to Me (in the past with the result that they belong to me forever); and I absolutely guarded them, and not one of them was lost, (to eternal condemnation), except the son of destruction.”

Five is the number of Grace, and here Jesus refers to His part of completing the Plan of perfectly protecting the disciples. We see the grace of God in that “not one of them perished, but the son of perdition.” In grace God provides for salvation and in grace He allows our free will, which Judas used to reject the Messiah. Jesus kept the believing disciples spiritually perfect and complete by His Word.

In Verse 22, “And the glory which You (God the Father) have given to Me (Jesus Christ) I have given to them (the Church), in order that they may keep on being one just as We are one.”

Six is the number of man, and here Jesus is giving His glory to members of the human race (believers), which results in unity. So, we see the result of spiritual perfection in man, they receive the glory of Jesus Christ.

In Verse 24, “Father, whom you have given to Me, I desire that where I am they (the Church) may be with Me, so that they would keep on beholding (with understanding) My glory which You have given to Me because You loved Me before the foundation (creation) of the world.”

Seven is the number of Spiritual Perfection, and this verse completes the spiritual journey of Christ on behalf of mankind. In the seventh usage of “given to Me,” our Lord is petitioning for the spiritual perfection of believers in that they are resurrected and in heaven where Christ is. And remember that the Father always answered the prayers of His Son.

Notice also that there are two uses of DEDOSKAS MOI in Verse 24. Two, being the number of division, shows in this verse that we must be separated from the world and our sin nature in order to see Christ’s glory in heaven.

This also means we have an eighth usage of DEDOKAS MOI. And do you know what the number eight means?

In the Hebrew the number eight is SHEMONEH (sh’moneh) from the root word SHAMEN (shah’meyn) that means, “to make fat,” “cover with fat,” or “to super-abound.” As a participle, it means, “one who abounds in strength.” As a noun, it means, “superabundant things.” Therefore, it is the “superabundant” number.

As seven means spiritually complete, spiritual perfection, eight means over and above this perfect spiritual completion and is the first in a new series, as well as being the eighth. For example, where Scripture ties together seven and eight:

In John 17, we have a similar accounting as in Isa 5:1-2 where there are eight sentences describing the vineyard but seven give the characteristics and one the result. Compared to John 17, Jesus tells of seven characteristics of the Father’s gifts and the last is the result, “Seeing His glory.”

In Col 3:12-14, there are seven “graces,” but in Verse 14, over all theses there is “love,” which is the “perfect bond of unity,” the major theme of our Lord’s prayer here in John 17.

In addition, Jesus was on a mountain eight times, seven before the Cross and one after He rose from the dead in glory.

Therefore, we see another analogy of the number eight. It is associated with resurrection and regeneration and the beginning of a new era, especially when it stands alone. For example:

It was Noah, the eighth person, 2 Peter 2:5, who stepped out on to a new earth, and eight passed through the flood with him to the new or regenerated world.

2 Peter 2:5, “And did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”

Christ rose on the first day of the week, eighth day, and the Bible records eight individual resurrections.

The Transfiguration took place on the eighth day after the first announcement of Christ’s “sufferings” and it was the showing forth of His “glory,” Luke 9:28.

Also, as I mentioned under verse 11 above, we note that eight is the number of Jesus’ name, IESOUS. It is also a multiple in His other names as well including, CHRISTOS, KURIOS, SOTER (Savior), EMMANOUEL (Emmanuel), MESSIAS, and HUIOS (son).

So, in John 17:24, we see Glory, Grace, and Resurrection all tied together that brings home the overall theme of this chapter regarding God’s love which is the perfect bond of unity.

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Good Gifts Given by Our Father

In John 17, we have the phrase, “you have given to me” in seven verses with eight usages, (twice used in verse 24).

Seven is the number for Spiritual Perfection. Eight is the number of Superabundance, and is related to resurrection, regeneration, and new beginnings.

Here we see Seven and Eight combined regarding the gifts given in John 17. Therefore, we have a picture of Super-Abounding Spiritual Perfection.

So, in these seven verses, we see that we have been given Superabundant gifts by God the Father to bring about our Spiritual Perfection through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Eph 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”

Vs 4, “Having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”
Vs 7, “Everything You have given to Me is from You.”
Vs 9, “Ask on behalf of those You have given to Me.”
Vs 11, “Keep them in Your name which You have given to Me.”
Vs 12, “I was keeping them in Your name which You have given to Me.”
Vs 22, “The glory which You have given to Me I have given to them.”
Vs 24a, “They whom You have given to Me be with Me.”
Vs 24b, “They may see My glory which You have given to Me.”

These gifts have been given so that we can fulfill the Plan of God for our lives.

The perfect provision of God’s Plan for our Salvation.
The perfect provision of our Logistical Grace blessings.
The perfect provision of prayer to the Father.
The perfect protection of God the Father by His Essence.
The perfect protection of God the Son by His Word.
The perfection of Glorification, being made holy.
The perfect provision of Eternal security.
The perfect provision of a Resurrection body and life.

All combined we have the superabundance of the unique spiritual life given to us (believers) by God the Father.

2 Cor 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

James 1:17, “Every good gift given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

Mat 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

The Gift of God’s Plan for our Salvation:

Eph 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Because we have received the Gift of the Lord Jesus Christ (TLJC), we are able to receive further gifts from God to fulfill His plan for our lives.

The Gift of Logistical Grace Blessings:

2 Cor 9:9-11, “As it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; ¹¹you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

The Gift of Prayer to the Father:

John 16:26-27, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; ²⁷for the Father Himself loves you….”

Luke 11:11-13, “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? ¹²“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? ¹³“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Rom 8:26-27, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

The Gift of Protection by the Essence of God the Father:

1 Peter 1:3 & 5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused (given to) us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…⁵who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The Gift of Protection by God the Son by His Word:

Rev 3:10, “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep (TEREO) you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

The Gift of Glorification, Being Made Holy:

Rom 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

The Gift of Eternal Security:

Eph 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message (Word) of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

The Gift of a Resurrection Body and Life:

Rom 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Cor 15:38 & 57, “But God gives it a (Resurrection) body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. … ⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 1:3-9 summarizes many of these gifts.

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Now that we have seen the first part of John 17:24, “Father, whom, (Church Age believers), You have given to Me,” and the outline of the phrase, “You have given to Me” in John 17, we now get back to the rest of the verse.

Next, we have, “I desire that they also be with Me where I am,”

“THELO HINA HOPOU EIMI EGO KAKEINOI HOSIN MET EMOU”

THELO is a Verb in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to wish, want, or desire.” Jesus is the One who keeps on desiring that all believers of the Church Age be with Him in His eternal abode. We will say, “I desire.”

HINA is the Conjunction “that,” which complements THELO and tells us of the desire of Jesus in the following clause. Jesus is continuing His petition prayer to the Father regarding the Church.

HOPOU is a Subordinating Conjunction use of the Adverb that means, “where.”

EIMI is the Verb, “to exist, to be, are, is, etc.” in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “I am.” Jesus is requesting that the Church be where He will be in a few short days from the time of praying. Again, He is using Present Tense structure for Future events, indicating the eternal present viewpoint of His prayer as part of God’s Divine Decree. We will say, “am,” where Jesus is referring to His Session in the heavenly abode.

EGO is a Pronoun in the Nominative, First Person, Singular meaning, “I or me.” Jesus is referring to Himself being in heaven.

KAKEINOI is the Demonstrative Pronominal Adjective KAKEINOS - κἀκεῖνος (kak-i'-nos), “that one,” in the Subject Nominative, Masculine, Plural; so, we say, “they,” referring to the Church, body of Christ.

HOSIN is the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee'), “exist, be, etc.” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Plural.

The Present Tense is once again a Future Present.

The Active Voice is the Church producing the action of being in a place (heaven).

The Subjunctive Mood is for the entreaty / petition of Jesus to the Father for the Church to be in heaven where Jesus is. We will say, simply “may be.”

MET is the Preposition META – μετά (met-ah') in the Genitive Case meaning, “with” or “in the presence” or “company of.”

EMOU is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I, Me,” in the Genitive, First Person, Singular, so we could say, “of Me or My.”

So, we have, “Father, whom you have given to Me, I desire that where I am they (the Church) may be with Me.”

Principles:

This is the same corporate group referred to in John 17:2; it includes all the ones who have received and will receive the gift of eternal life, that is, all believers of the Church Age. This corporate whole then is the universal church, the one Body of Christ.

The Lord requests that each one of the corporate whole may be with Him where He is—i.e., in glory, in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father (His Session).

This is the prayer regarding our Lord’s promise to the disciples in John 14:2-3, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ³If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

The “Session” is that doctrine of Christology pertaining to the glorification of our Lord’s humanity seated at the right hand of the Father.

Forty Days after our Lord’s Resurrection, He ascend into heaven. Upon arrival in the third heaven, our Lord was seated at the right hand of God the Father. At that time, He received His third royal patent and the title, “King of kings, Lord of lords, the Bright morning star.”

Because His third royal warrant had no accompanying royal family, the Church Age was inserted for the calling out of a Royal Family. The dispensation of Israel was interrupted seven years short of its completion. Then the omnipotence of the Father and of the Spirit was made available to all believers on the day of Pentecost and the Royal Family began with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the first day of the Church Age.

The chronology of events was: 1) Resurrection, 2) Forty days on the earth, 3) Ascension ten days before the Church Age began, and 4) Seated at the right hand of the Father. (We know the number of days exactly, because the resurrection occurred on the Feast of the First Fruits and the Feast of Pentecost would occur fifty days later.)

Though coequal and coeternal with God, it was the true humanity of Christ that was seated at the right hand of the Father.

His Session fulfilled the prophecy of Psa 110:1, “The Lord (God the Father) said to my Lord (God the Son), “sit down at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”.” Jesus Christ had to be seated to resolve the Angelic Conflict. Remember that His Deity is omnipresent, everywhere, imminent, and transcendent; it was His humanity that was seated at the right hand of the Father.

This prophecy is quoted a number of times in the New Testament, Mat 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43; Acts 2:33-35; Heb 1:13; 2:7-8; 10:12-13; 1 Peter 3:22. It is quoted so often because it is very important. The humanity of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union is now exalted and glorified at the right hand of the Father where His posture is one of being seated.

Acts 2:33, “Therefore, (Jesus Christ) having been exalted to the right hand of God.”

Acts 5:31, “He is the One whom God has exalted at His right hand as Prince and Savior.”

Phil 2:9, “Therefore also, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a title which is above every title, that at the title of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father.”

Heb 1:3, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His (God the Father’s) nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Heb 2:7-8, “You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And have appointed him over the works of Your hands; ⁸You have put all things in subjection under his feet”.”

Heb 10:12, “But this one, (Jesus Christ in contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices), when He had offered one unique sacrifice as a substitute for our sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” (To indicate the efficacy of His sacrifice, our Lord sat down at the right hand of God.)

1 Peter 3:22, “Who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

Someday, in our resurrection body, we will share that same privilege experientially. Being in union with Christ, we are already positionally higher than angels. But in resurrection bodies, we will be experientially and physically higher than angels, 1 Cor 6:3.

1 Cor 6:3, “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?”

The Session related to the importance of the Church Age is found in Eph 1:18-23.

His session related to our Priesthood is noted in Heb 8:1, “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”

Our Lord’s priesthood is patterned after a royal priesthood, that of Melchizedek, Gen 14:18; Psa 110:4 cf. Heb 5:6, 10; Hebrews Chapter 7. Melchizedek was both a king and a priest. Our Lord is the King‑Priest, as a result of His resurrection, ascension, and session.

Because you are in union with Christ, you are a king-priest with all its privileges. This means you can directly address God the Father in prayer through Jesus Christ, because He is the greatest High Priest in all of history. He is a Royal High Priest or King Priest.

The Session of Jesus Christ demands a new mental attitude of the Royal Family.

Col 3:1‑3, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, (and you have in baptism of the Spirit and current positional truth), keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.³For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

To “possess the things above” requires the utilization of Divine power inside God’s Power System (GPS), which requires cognition of Bible doctrine, which requires right priorities; doctrine must be first in your life.

The desire to possess your very own escrow blessings motivates you to execute the Plan of God for your life. This motivation results in consistent post-salvation renewing of your mind with the daily perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine.

Objective thinking about the “things above” includes cognition of your Portfolio of your Invisible Assets, understanding the plan of God in detail, perception of the unique things related to the great power experiment of the Church Age, especially the Eleven Problem Solving Devices.

The royal family’s mental attitude is to think doctrine, not good and evil. We should have a very strong, positive mental attitude no matter what our circumstances or pressures.

The Session and Spiritual Self‑Esteem is noted in Heb 12:2‑3, “Let us fix our eyes (concentrate) on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who has endured such opposition by sinners against himself, so that you do not grow weary and faint in your souls.”

Next, we have, “so that they may see My glory which You have given Me,”

“HINA THEOROSIN TEN DOXAN TEN EMEN, HEN DEDOKAS MOI.”

Here we have the second usage of the phrase we noted in John 17, “You have given to Me.” It is related to the petition, “they, (Church Age believers), may see my glory.” It begins with:

HINA is a Subordinating Conjunction and linked with the Subjunctive of THEOREO below establishes a Result Clause. We translate this, “so that.” This is the result Jesus desires for the Church Age believer.

THEOROSIN is the Verb THEOREO – θεωρέω (theh-o-reh'-o) in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Plural. This word does not just mean to “look at.” BLEPO or sometimes HORAO would be the word used if that were the intention here. Its basic meaning is, “to be a spectator, look at, behold, perceive, and to observe with interest and attention.”

BDAG defines it usage here as, “to come to the understanding of something, and specifically, “of the spiritual perception of the One sent by God (Jesus Christ), which is possible only to the believer.” Therefore, THEOREO means more than just to look at something. It means, “to observe it, understand it, perceive it, etc.”

This is Jesus’ second desire and petition of this passage. Here He desires that the believers of the Church Age “see” Him as He truly is in all His Deified glory, coupled with the glory He has received in His humanity in resurrection form, as a result of being seated at the right hand of the Father.

Only believers will be able to see this glory of the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ, when we too receive our interim heavenly body and our final resurrection body in the eternal abode of heaven.

In the Present, Active, Subjunctive we will translate this, “they would keep on beholding with understanding.”

TEN DOXAN is the Article HO - ὁ (ho), “the,” plus the Noun DOXA – δόξα (dox'-ah), “glory,” in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular.

TEN EMEN, is the Article HO “the” once again, plus the Possessive Adjective EMOS - ἐμός (em-os'), “My or Mine,” in the Direct Object Accusative, Feminine, First Person, Singular. Combined with DOXA we will say, “My Glory.”

The Glory of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union is what we will observe and understand in the eternal state.

HEN is the Relative Pronominal Adjective HOS - ὅς (hos) in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular here meaning, “which.”

DEDOKAS is the Verb DIDOMI – δίδωμι (did'-o-mee) in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular, that means, “give, grant, allow, etc.”

In the Perfect Tense we have the reality of the completed past action of God the Father glorifying His Son from Eternity Past, because of the Father’s Omniscience of Jesus completing the Father’s Plan of Incarnation, where the results continue forever. We will say again, “You have given.”

MOI is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I” in the Dative, First Person, Singular that means, “to Me.” Jesus is the recipient of the Father’s gift of eternal glory that Jesus then has given to the believer of the Church Age.

So, we have, “So that they would keep on beholding (with understanding) My glory which You have given to Me…”

Principles:

As we noted in Verse 22, there are three kinds of glory which are found in these passages. First of all, there is Phase One glory at salvation; the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then there is Phase Two glory; the building of your Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS). And finally, there is Phase Three glory; the resurrection body, which Jesus received three days after His death on the Cross and we will receive at the Rapture of the Church in ultimate sanctification, 1 Cor 15:20-57; 1 Thes 4:13-17.

The Glory that Jesus referred to in Verse 22 was Phase One glory based on the Baptism of God the Holy Spirit which gives us unity with the Father and Son, and Phase Two glory which is the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit, the Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP) which provides the Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS).

Verse 24 emphasizes Phase Three glory in resurrection bodies. The glory Jesus Christ received noted in Verse 24 is the result of His strategic victory of the Angelic Conflict, Luke 24:26; John 12:20-24, 28; 13:31-32; Heb 2:10; 1 Peter 1:10-11.

Luke 24:26, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

John 12:20-24, “And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit’.”

1 Peter 1:10-11, “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, ¹¹seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.”

The Humanity of Jesus Christ is glorified, because He fulfilled the Father’s Plan of Salvation. Jesus is God’s sacrifice for the sins of the world. He “purged our sins” by His death on the Cross. Now He is seated in glory, as God’s King-Priest. His work on earth is completed and He has sat down, Heb 1:3-4.

Heb 1:3-4, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”

As a result, Heb 2:10 tells us, “To have led to glory many sons.” God brings many sons to glory by having judged our sins in Jesus Christ while on the Cross, so that when we believe in Christ, we are entered into an eternal relationship with His glory.

When we believe in Christ, we receive the imputation of God’s perfect righteousness and are made holy, which is the potential for blessing from the integrity of God. This is what Jesus meant in John 17:22, “I have given to them the glory which You have given to Me,” referencing the glory we will receive in resurrection body.

Ultimately, God the Father is the source of our Lord’s glorification and the Father is glorified as a result of the Son’s glorification, just as the Son is glorified in the Father’s glorification, John 13:31-32.

John 13:31-32, “Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; ³²if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.”

“Immediately,” means that God the Father will raise His Son to eternal glory so that the Son will not see corruption or decay, Psa 16:10; 49:9; Acts 2:27, 31; 13:34-37.

The Father then seated Jesus Christ in hypostatic union at His right hand in glory for all of eternity, Eph 1:20.

Eph 1:20, “Which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”

Jesus’ glorification speaks of the unity of “being” between the Father and Son, cf. John 17:5, “glorify Me together with Yourself.”

1 Tim 3:16, “Christ taken up into the place of glory;” this refers to the third heaven, the location of the integrity of God, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God in glory and is what we call Phase Three glory, our resurrection.

The Royal Family is called to eternal glory since Christ is seated in the place of glory. The formation of the Royal Family comes under the phrase, “being called to eternal glory, in 1 Peter 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3. This is the status of the Royal Family being called into eternal relationship with the integrity of God. Cf. Mat 19:28.

Mat 19:28, “And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” This of course refers to the 12 Apostles including Paul.

Our resurrection bodies are described in terms of glory, 1 Cor 15:43. Our resurrection body is raised in glory, because we are in the status quo of everlasting life. We will live forever in a state of glory, and will be able to fully observe and comprehend the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as our own glory.

In 2 Thes 2:14, “the attainment of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” refers to having a resurrection body exactly like His. In like bodies, we will be able to have a face to face relationship with our Lord in all of His glory, 1 Cor 13:12, having a complete understanding of His glory.

His Resurrection Destiny, by Oswald Chambers, “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26).

“Our Lord’s Cross is the gateway into His life. His resurrection means that He has the power to convey His life to me. When I was born again, I received the very life of the risen Lord from Jesus Himself.

Christ’s resurrection destiny—His foreordained purpose—was to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). The fulfilling of His destiny gives Him the right to make us sons and daughters of God. We never have exactly the same relationship to God that the Son of God has, but we are brought by the Son into the relation of sonship. When our Lord rose from the dead, He rose to an absolutely new life—a life He had never lived before He was God Incarnate. He rose to a life that had never been before. And what His resurrection means for us is that we are raised to His risen life, not to our old life. One day we will have a body like His glorious body, but we can know here and now the power and effectiveness of His resurrection and can “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Paul’s determined purpose was to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).”

Finally, we have, “For You loved Me before the foundation of the world,”

“HOTI EGAPESAS ME PRO KATABOLES KOSMOU.”

HOTI Subordinating Conjunction establishing a Causal Clause, so we say, “because.”

EGAPESAS is the Verb AGAPAO - ἀγαπάω (ag-ap-ah'-o) in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular.

The Aorist Tense views the entirety of God’s Love for His Son, both as God and as Man.

The Active Voice in the Second Person, Singular: God the Father performs the action of loving His Son.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the Father’s Impersonal and Unconditional love for His Son. We will say, “You loved.”

ME is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I, Me,” in the Direct Object Accusative, First Person, Singular. Jesus is the object of the Father’s love.

PRO is a Temporal (of time) use of the Preposition in the Genitive meaning, “before.”

KATABOLES is the Noun KATABOLE – καταβολή (kat-ab-ol-ay') in the Genitive, Feminine, Singular that means, “laying down, foundation, beginning, depositing of a seed, etc.” It is used to indicate the creation of planet earth.

KOSMOU is the Noun KOSMOS – κόσμος (kos'-mos) in the Genitive, Masculine, Singular that means, “world.” Here, it is used in its literal meaning of planet earth. We will say, “of the world.”

“Foundation of the world” is found eight other times in Scripture, making it nine in all where we have KATABOLE KOSMOU, (Mat 25:34; Luke 11:50; John 17:24; Eph 1:4; Heb 4:3; 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; Rev 13:8; 17:8). Utilizing the numerology of the number nine, which means “Divine judgment and the finality or conclusion of the whole matter so far as man is concerned,” (Number in Scripture, E.W. Bullinger, pg.242), you see an interesting progression of the usage of the phrase, from eternal salvation for those who believe in Christ to eternal condemnation for those who do not believe in Christ, and the provision of salvation in between, which here includes the love of God the Father for His Son in regards to the Son completing the Father’s Plan of Salvation for the entire world.

In addition, this phrase also tells us of the same pre-incarnate consciousness of Christ as also seen in John 17:5.

1 Peter 1:20, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.”

This is another of the numerous passages which prove that the Lord Jesus existed before the creation of the world. It is not possible to explain it on any other supposition. Therefore, it is a further assertion of Christ’s preexistence, and the preexisting love the Father has had for His Son.

So, we have, “Because You loved Me before the foundation (creation) of the world.”

Jesus’ recognition of the Father’s love for Himself is continued in John 17:26, “And I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

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Principles of God the Father’s Love for His Son Jesus Christ

John 17:26 shows that one of the binding powers of unity in the Triune God is love, because love belongs eternally and coequally to each member of the Trinity.

Love is a part of the essence or being of God, 1 John 4:8, 16, “God is Love.” All three members of the Trinity have coequal and co-eternal sovereignty, absolute righteousness, justice, eternal life, love, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, and veracity.

The love of God has always existed. There never was a time when it did not exist. Divine love is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Heb 13:8. That is one reason why Jesus can say, “You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

God’s love has always been perfect and eternal in its capacity. The capacity of God’s love is infinite and eternal. Since God is truth and doctrine, He has perfect capacity for His love at all times.

God’s love is incorruptible, unchanging, infinite, immutable, and virtuous, meaning He has perfect capacity for love with no compromise of that love. His infinite integrity and His eternal virtue is His own unchanging self which produces a constant capacity for love. Therefore, God gives of Himself whether there is an occasion or not.

In Divine Impersonal Love, the virtue of the subject is emphasized and it places all merit on the subject. God is the subject in His Impersonal Love. Therefore, God’s impersonal love depends on who and what God is.

In our passage AGAPAO love is used, which emphasizes the love God the Father has for His Son. Even though in this case, Jesus Christ is 100% loveable, Jesus is emphasizing the integrity of the Father in the Father’s expression of love towards His Son.

Never-the-less God also has Personal Love where the emphasis is placed on the object of love, in this case Jesus Christ.

Personal love from God demands that the object of that love be perfect.

Personal love demands integrity on the part of the object.

God’s personal love cannot be directed toward anything less than perfect eternal righteousness or anyone not having perfect eternal righteousness.

The object of God’s infinite, eternal, unchangeable, personal love must always be absolute perfection.

Each person of the Trinity has Spiritual Self-Esteem directed toward His own perfect righteousness, and each person of the Trinity has perfect love directed toward the perfect righteousness of the other two members of the Trinity. This is God’s personal love for God. As such, God the Father loves the perfect Divine righteousness of God the Son. Therefore, God the Father has personally loved God the Son from “before the foundation of the world.”

God the Father, based on His Divine Decree, can also personally love the humanity of Jesus Christ, knowing from eternity past that Jesus would complete the Father’s plan for salvation. As a result, because Jesus had no sin of His own and was 100% obedient to the Plan and will of God the Father, the Father also personally loves the humanity of Jesus Christ because of His perfect righteousness from “before the “foundation of the world.”

John 10:14-15, 17, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep…. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves (AGAPAO) Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.”

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

God the Father has a special love for Jesus because of His sacrificial obedience to the will of God.

Divine love is also God’s motivation. It is God’s motivation for blessing Jesus Christ for completing His work upon the Cross. Therefore, the Father was motivated by love and able through Divine integrity to raise Jesus from the grave in resurrection body, and seated Him at His right hand in eternal glory.

John’s Gospel is especially rich in this theme. Twice we are told that the Father loves the Son, once with the verb AGAPAO (3:35), and once with PHILEO (5:20).

John 3:35, “The Father loves (AGAPAO) the Son and has given all things into His hand.”

John 5:20, “For the Father loves (PHILEO) the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”

The love of the Father for the Son, and the love of the Son for the Father are expressed in a relationship of perfection, untarnished by sin.

John 15:9, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”

Our complete translation of John 17:24 is, “Father, whom you have given to Me, I desire that where I am they (the Church) may be with Me, so that they would keep on beholding (with understanding) My glory which You have given to Me because You loved Me before the foundation (creation) of the world.”

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Next in John 17:25 it reads, “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.”

The Greek reads:

“Πάτερ δίκαιε, καὶ ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω, ἐγὼ δέ σε ἔγνων, καὶ οὗτοι ἔγνωσαν ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας·”

Transliterated it reads:

“PATER DIKAIE, KAI HO KOSMOS SE OUK EGNO, EGO DE SE EGNON, KAI OUTOI EGNOSAN HOTI SU ME APESTEILAS.”

We begin with, “O righteous Father,” which is PATER DIKAIE in the Greek.

PATER is the Noun for “Father” in the Vocative, Masculine, Singular, referring to God the Father, the first person of the Trinity. In the Greek, the root word in the Nominative Case is πατήρ, where in our verse it is Πάτερ in the Vocative. The difference is the accent mark and the ending “e” which in English is translated the same, but in Greek, it is the “Eta,” (sounds like our “a” as in obey), and “Epsilon,” (a short “e” sound as in met), respectfully.

DIKAIE is the Adjective DIKAIOS - δίκαιος (dik'-ah-yos) also in the Vocative, Masculine, Singular. It comes from the root word DIKE – δίκη (dee'-kay) that means, “right (as self-evident) or justice (the principle, a decision or its execution).”

With early writers, such as Homer, DIKAIOS was used of persons for, “observant of custom and social rule, well-ordered, civilized, observant of right, righteous,” and of actions, in accordance with right, righteous.”

DIKAIOS then comes to means, “upright, righteous, good, just, right, correct, proper, fair, honest; innocent.”

BDAG defines its use here as, “just, fair, and righteous,” in relation to who and what God the Father is. In fact, from this word, we get both English words “righteous and just” in regard to actions and decisions.

The Vocative is the case of address; Jesus is praying to the Father, as we have seen, but more importantly, it is calling attention to the Father in a unique way by calling Him “the Just or Righteous Father!”

In Verse 11, Jesus addressed the Father as “Holy Father.” Now when He mentions the world, ripe for judgment, He prays “Righteous Father!” The utilization of “Righteous Father” calls our attention to and praises the integrity of the Father for His Plan and Provision for the salvation of mankind and His Grace Policy, allowing them to choose or reject that Plan. Whereas in John 17:11, “Holy Father” was calling on the character and nature of God the Father to provide protection for the believer who is in the world from Satan’s Cosmic System.

So, DIKAIOS here means, “absolute righteousness,” and it indicates that God is perfect, and therefore His Plan is perfect, as well as His judgments.

From DIKAIOS we also get:

DIKAIOSUNE that means, “Righteousness or justice.”

DIKAIOO that means, “To show to be righteous or declare righteous.”

Compare with Rom 3:21-26; 1 John 1:9; 2:29.

Rom 3:21-26, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE) of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²²even the righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE) of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified (DIKAIOO) as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE), because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE) at the present time, so that He would be just (DIKAIOS) and the justifier (DIKAIOO) of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous (DIKAIOS) to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 2:29, “If you know that He is righteous (DIKAIOS), you know that everyone also who practices righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE) is born of Him.”

Jesus is also called “the righteous one” in Mat 27:19; Acts 7:52; 22:14; 1 John 2:1; 3:7b.

Luke 23:47, “Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent (DIKAIOS).”

Acts 22:14, “And he (Paul) said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.”

1 John 3:7, “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE) is righteous (DIKAIOS), just as He (Jesus) is righteous (DIKAIOS).”

Back in John 17:11 under the topic of “Holy Father,” we studied the Essence and Attributes of God, including His Righteousness and Justice. Therefore, we will not study them in detail again here. Instead, we will note some new principles and review others previously studied regarding of His Righteousness and Justice.

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Doctrine of God the Father as Righteous

Though it is related to God’s holiness and justice, righteousness is a distinct attribute of God. Holiness relates to God’s separateness (sanctification) and righteousness to His justice. Since God’s Righteousness works so closely together with His Justice and Holiness, we must understand His righteousness in order to understand God.

Righteous means that God the Father is perfect goodness, sinless in character, and person. His attitudes and actions conform to the flawless standard of His own nature. God the Father is absolute righteousness (R+), and Holiness means His absolute Righteousness and Justice combined, Psa 145:17

Psa 145:17, “The LORD is righteous (TSADDIQ from TSEDEQ) in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.”

There are three major characteristics of the attributes of God. The attributes of God are:

Eternal - Always have and always will exist.
Functional - Ever operating and applicable in all that God does or thinks.
Directional – Always pointed towards an object.

God has Absolute Attributes which include: Spirituality, Infinity, and Perfection.

He also has Relative Attributes made up of three categories:

Those related to time and space - Eternity and Immensity.
Those related to creation - Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence.
Those related to moral beings - Veracity and Faithfulness, Mercy and Goodness, and Righteousness and Justice.

The Justice and Righteousness of God the Father.

There are two categories under Divine integrity; justice and righteousness. Divine integrity is composed of two separate and distinct assets which are totally related, i.e., God’s justice and God’s righteousness. This is His infinite integrity acting toward others in perfection.

What the righteousness of God demands, His justice satisfies. What His justice demands, His righteousness satisfies.

Perfect righteousness is the principle of Divine integrity, while justice is the function of Divine integrity. Divine righteousness gives the orders which justice carries out.

In perfect righteousness the Divine love for integrity is revealed. In perfect righteousness Divine love exists, but in justice Divine love is expressed.

In the function of the Essence of God, Divine perfect righteousness and justice always precede Divine love. God cannot love personally (PHILEO) that which is not perfect.

God the Father’s righteousness is the guardian of His justice. Justice guards the rest of the essence of God.

God the Father is absolute good. This is not goody-good, not legalistic good, not distorted good from the Old Sin Nature, whereby man tries to impress God and people with how good he is. Absolute good is perfect righteousness, Psa 25:8; 34:8; 86:5; 119:68; Luke 18:19.

God the Father is perfect, both in His person and in His character which comprises His righteousness, Deut 32:4; Psa 7:9; 11:7; 97:6; 119:137; Jer 23:6; John 17:25; Rom 1:17; 10:3; 1 John 2:29. As perfect and absolute righteousness, God rejects all relative standards of righteousness, and therefore all human standards of righteousness, with the one exception of human compliance with the Laws of Divine Establishment, Isa 64:6.

God is totally free from sin. He has never sinned. He cannot tempt or solicit to sin, James 1:13. He cannot in any way be involved in sin except to judge it. This is why Jesus Christ had to become perfect humanity to be judged for sin as our substitute. In His deity, He could have nothing to do with sin except to judge it.

James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

God the Father is our supreme judge. The righteousness of the Father demands decisions. His justice administers them, Gen 18:25; 1 Kings 8:31-32; Psa 7:11; 47:8; Heb 12:23.

Gen 18:25, “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

Psa 7:11a, “God is a righteous judge.”

Heb 12:23, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous (DIKAIOS) made perfect.”

God the Father is fair; it is impossible for God to be unfair. Therefore, justice administers the penalty which perfect righteousness demands. Perfect righteousness and justice always go together, 2 Chr 19:7; Job 37:23; Psa 19:9; 50:6; 58:11; 89:14; Isa 45:21; Rom 3:26; 12:3; Heb 10:30-31.

As noted in John 17:11, God the Father is Holy, which is made up of His righteousness and justice, Lev 19:2; 1 Sam 2:2; Psa 22:3; Rev 3:7; 4:8; 6:10.

In grace, God provided through salvation all that His love desires and His righteousness and justice demand. The issue in salvation is Divine justice accepted or rejected.

You get Divine justice sooner or later. You get it sooner by believing in Christ. You get it later by the Lake of Fire.

Sin is not the issue in salvation, justice is. Because of propitiation, God the Father is now free to pardon and justify sinful humanity who appropriates the saving grace of God by faith in Christ. God is free to save those who believe because of His justice.

The basis for the unbeliever’s indictment at the Last Judgment is evil and human good, not sin, Rev 20:12-15.

Divine righteousness and justice is mankind’s point of reference with God. Although it is true that God loves us, God’s love is not our point of reference. God can do nothing for mankind that would compromise any of His Divine attributes.

The Father’s Righteousness is the principle of Divine integrity, while justice is the function of Divine integrity.

The source of all blessing, discipline, testing, and punishment is the integrity of God the Father. This is what we call the Grace Pipeline: His Love, Righteousness, and Justice working together to bless or discipline the believer, or in judging the unbeliever.

Man’s self‑righteousness, sinfulness, good deeds, or morality cannot influence the integrity of God. They do not bring blessing. The integrity of God gains nothing from the function of any creature. On the contrary, creatures gain from the integrity of God.

The imputation of Divine righteousness the believer receives at the moment of salvation is the potential for further blessings in time and eternity, Rom 3:21ff; 2 Cor 5:21.

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.”

Bible doctrine perceived through GAP is the capacity for that blessing, and cracking the maturity barrier is the reality of that blessing.

Mat 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom [salvation] and His righteousness; then all these things shall be provided for you.”

God is not compromised when He blesses us, because grace is the policy of blessing. Because righteousness demands righteousness, God cannot save anyone on the basis of emotion or because He feels sorry for them. This would make Christ’s work non-efficacious. Therefore, blessing from God the Father has security and capacity.

The correct application of the Essence of God rationale is that all help, all blessing comes from the justice of God to the righteousness of God in us. Our help comes from the imputation of blessing from the justice of God to His indwelling righteousness.

Psa 35:24, “Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness.”

In summary, the utilization of “Righteous (DIKAIOS) Father” here in John 17:25 calls our attention to and praises the integrity (righteousness and justice) of God the Father for His Plan and provision for the salvation of mankind, and His grace policy allowing them to choose or reject that Plan.

Whereas, in John 17:11, “Holy Father” was calling on the character and nature of God the Father to provide protection for the believer who is in the world from Satan’s Cosmic System.

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Next, we have, “although the world has not known You,”

KAI HO KOSMOS SE OUK EGNO.”

KAI is the Conjunction that means, “and, even, also, etc.” But many times, it just marks the beginning of a sentence or statement and goes untranslated as it will here.

HO KOSMOS is the Article for “the” plus the Noun in the Subject Nominative, Masculine, Singular meaning, “world.” Here, it represents unbelievers of planet earth who are a part of Satan’s Cosmic System.

SE is the Pronoun SU – σύ (soo), “You,” in the Direct Object, Accusative, Second Person, Singular; referring to God the Father as the object which is not known by the world of unbelievers.

OUK is the Greek negative for, “not, does not, etc.”

EGNO is the Verb GINOSKO - γινώσκω in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Third Person, Singular that means, “to know, to come to know, recognize, or perceive.” It means to have learned something by careful observation and study. This is what the “world” of unbelievers have not done. If they had, then by the Common Grace ministry of God the Holy Spirit, they would come to an understanding of the Father and His plan of salvation that then leads to believing in that plan, which was accomplished through the person of Jesus Christ. It is a disastrous thing to not come to know God the Father.

The Constative Aorist Tense is for simple past tense and views the entirety of the action as a whole in regard to the world not knowing who God the Father is, because they do not know who Jesus Christ is.

The Active Voice, 3^rd Person, Singular refers to the world of unbelievers collectively as one (“it”) producing this action of not understanding who God the Father is, which is tantamount to unbelief.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the situation. We will translate this, “has known,” with the preceding negative it is, “has not known.”

Literally, we have, “the world You does not known.” But for our English ears we will say, “The World (unbelievers) has not known You (God the Father).”

Next, we have, “yet I have known You,” which is:

“EGO DE SE EGNON,”

EGO is the Pronoun “I” in the Subject Nominative, First Person, Singular, where Jesus is referring to Himself.

DE is a Superordinating Contrasting Conjunction meaning, “but, to the contrary, rather, etc.” It establishes here the contrast between our Lord in hypostatic union, who absolutely knows God the Father, compared to the unbelieving world of man who does not know Him, and therefore does not believe in Him or His Son.

SE is once again the Pronoun SU, “You,” in the Direct Object, Accusative, Second Person, Singular, referring to God the Father as the object known by our Lord Jesus Christ and the believer.

EGNON is the verb for GINOSKO - γινώσκω (ghin-oce'-ko) once again, but this time in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular.

The Constative Aorist Tense is for simple past tense and views the entirety of the action as a whole in regard to Jesus Christ “knowing” who God the Father is.

The Active Voice, 1^st Person, Singular refers to Jesus Christ as the One producing this action of understanding who God the Father is.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the situation. We will translate this, “I have known.”

So, we have, “But I have known You,”

Then we have, “and these have known that You sent Me,” which is:

“KAI OUTOI EGNOSAN HOTI SU ME APESTEILAS.”

KAI this is a Coordinating Conjunction meaning, “and” here.

OUTOI is a Demonstrative Pronominal Adjective of HOUTOS - οὗτος (hoo'-tos) meaning, “this or these,” in the Nominative, Masculine, Plural. As a Pronoun, it means, “they all or these,” referring to believers in Jesus Christ.

EGNOSAN is the Verb GINOSKO – γινώσκω (ghin-oce'-ko) once again, “know” in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Third Person, Plural.

The Constative Aorist Tense is for simple past tense and views the entirety of the action as a whole in regard to the believers in Jesus Christ knowing who God the Father is, because they know who Jesus Christ is.

The Active Voice, 3^rd Person, Plural refers to all believers of the Church individually (“they all”) producing this action of understanding who God the Father is, which is tantamount to belief.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the situation. We will translate this, “They all have known.”

HOTI is a Coordinating Conjunction that means, “that, because, for since.” Here, it tells us what leads to one knowing who God the Father is.

SU is the Pronoun for “You” once again, but this time it is in the Subject Nominative, Second Person, Singular. It once again refers to God the Father, but here as the One who sent Jesus Christ to earth.

ME is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I” in the Direct Object, Accusative, First Person, Singular. This is the person God the Father sent, which is Jesus Christ. We will translate this “Me.”

APESTEILAS is the Verb APOSTELLO - ἀποστέλλω (ap-os-tel'-lo) in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular that means, “to order (one) to go to a place appointed, to send, or send away, etc.”

The Constative Aorist once again views the entirety of the past action of God the Father sending His Son in the 1^st Advent.

The Active Voice in the 2^nd Person, Singular complements SU above, referring to God the Father as the One who commissioned Jesus Christ’s incarnation.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the Father dispatching His Son to planet earth. We will say, “sent.”

So, we have, “And they all, (believers of the Church Age), have known that You sent (commissioned) Me (our Lord’s First Advent).”

Our complete translation of John 17:25 is, “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 (Lord’s First Advent).”

Principles:

The world does not know (GINOSKO) God, yet Christ knows God and His disciples know that the Father had sent Him. This is the third use of GINOSKO in this verse, which signifies “Divine Completion/Perfection.” This is God’s completed plan of salvation for the entire world. Everyone who receives this revelation becomes part of God’s Family.

Once again, Jesus ends where He began. Back in John 13:16, He began the Upper Room Discourse by identifying Himself as subordinate to God the Father in the phrase, “the one who is sent (noun - APOSTOLOS; apostle / messenger) is not greater than the one who sent (PEMPO; dispatched) him.”

Likewise, in the Great High Priestly (GHPP) prayer He begins in John 17:3 with, “And Jesus Christ whom you sent (verb - APOSTELLO).”

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

Seven is the number of “Spiritual Perfection.” So, we see that Jesus is stating the Father’s plan of salvation, in sending His Son to die on the Cross, is the means by which the lost and dying in this world come to spiritual perfection, (i.e., belief in His Son, thereby gaining eternal life).

Vs. 3, is the Process. It sets it all up, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The use of “Jesus Christ” here emphasizes both His humanity (Jesus) and Deity (Christ). It emphasizes the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ; whereby, God the Son’s incarnation was designed by God the Father to complete the Father’s plan for our salvation. 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.”

Vs. 8, establishes the Precedent, “For the words which You gave Me (Gospel Message), I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.” When we receive the Word of God, (mind of Christ), with emphasis on the gospel, and believe upon it, we gain eternal life, Act 16:31-32.

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

Vs. 18 with its double reference is the Perpetuation of the Father’s Plan of salvation, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (i.e., to continue manifesting the Father – preaching the gospel to a lost and dying world perpetuates the Father’s plan of salvation for mankind.)

Vs. 21 is the Petition, the desire of our Lord for the salvation of all mankind, “so that the world may believe, (PISTEUO), that You sent Me,” where the unity of believers with Christ would be the witness.

Vs. 23 doubly emphasizes the Lord’s Petition and Desire, “so that the world may know, (GINOSKO), that You sent Me,” where unity and love are the dual witnesses. GINOSKO is the Greek word for knowledge and understanding. As we noted, understanding who God the Father is leads to saving faith.

Vs. 25 wraps it up by emphasizing the Principle of God the Father in His plan of salvation, His righteousness, where Jesus and the believer knows the Father in contrast to the world that does not know Him. Here we see the integrity of God (His righteousness and justice) functioning under His grace policy. (i.e., 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.)

So, in these seven mentions of 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.

Then finally we see that:

Of the Seven references to APOSTELLO, four times the emphasis is specifically referencing a benefit for the world. Four is the number of material, which emphasizes the incarnation of God the Son by becoming flesh, and in His humanity, 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 references of APOSTELLO, six times it is a reference to 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.”

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We have now arrived at the final passage of our Lord’s Great High Priestly Prayer.

John 17:26, “And I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Greek read:

“καὶ ἐγνώρισα αὐτοῖς τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ γνωρίσω, ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη ἣν ἠγάπησάς με ἐν αὐτοῖς ᾖ κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς.”

Transliterated it read:

“KAI EGNORISA AUTOIS TO ONOMA SOU KAI GNORISO, HINA HE AGAPE HEN EGAPESAS ME EN AUTOIS E KAGO EN AUTIOS.”

We begin with “And I have made Your name known to them and will make it known,”

“KAI EGNORISA AUTOIS TO ONOMA SOU KAI GNORISO,”

KAI is the Coordinating Conjunction, “and, even, also.” This continues the last thought of our Lord, as He is addressing the Integrity of God the Father.

EGNORISA is the Verb GNORIZO - γνωρίζω (gno-rid'-zo) that means, “to make known, disclose, point out, or explain.” Other early uses translate it as, “to become acquainted with” and “to recognize.” It comes from the root verb GINOSKO - (ghin-oce'-ko) and potentially the word HORIZO - ὁρίζω (hor-id'-zo) that means, “determine or cause to happen,” with the resultant idea of “causing someone to know something that he previously did not know, comprehend, or understand.” It stresses the obtaining of new information or understanding. Here it is in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular.

The Consummative Aorist Tense stresses the cessation of the act or state and brings the action to a conclusion. It gathers up into one entirety the three years of His ministry, whenever He taught them. Now, Jesus has completed His assignment of making the Righteous Father’s Plan of Salvation known to a lost and dying world. It was completed during His First Incarnation. He has revealed the Plan of God.

The Active Voice in the 1^st Person Singular tells us that Jesus Christ is the One who has made the name of God the Father known during His 1^st Advent. Jesus Christ has actually revealed the Father’s Plan.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of Jesus’ completed task. We will say, “I have made known.”

AUTOIS is the Pronoun AUTOS in the Dative, Masculine, Third Person, Plural that means, “to them.” This is a Dative of Advantage; it was advantageous to all believers that Jesus manifested the Father to us. The advantage is the benefit of Eternal Life to those who receive and believe Jesus’ revelation of the Righteous Father.

TO ONOMA is the Article HO - ὁ (ho), “the” plus the Noun ONOMA, “name,” in the Direct Object, Accusative, Neuter, Singular. This is the object that Jesus has made known, the name of God the Father as Righteous Father, emphasizing the integrity of His Divine Decree for the salvation of all mankind.

SOU is the Pronoun SU – σύ (soo), “you” in the Genitive of Possession, Second Person, Singular, which refers to God the Father. So, we say, “your.”

KAI is the Coordinating Conjunction once again, “and.”

GNORISO is once again the root word GNORIZO – γνωρίζω (gno-rid'-zo), but here it is in the Future, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular.

The Future Tense tells us that Jesus will continue His ministry of manifesting the name of God the Father after His work is completed on the Cross, including His burial, resurrection, ascension, and session. Therefore, at the right hand of the Father, He will continue to work towards making the name of the Father known to those who are lost and dying in this world. This is the perpetual mission of Christ through the Spirit, John 16:12, 25; Mat 28:20, just as He had done during His 1^st Advent, John 17:6.

So, we will say, “I will make it known.”

This refers to the mind of Christ on earth, and/or the Canon of Scripture. This is the legacy which Jesus Christ left us on this earth—the Word of God in permanent form, the Canon of Scripture and the ability to comprehend it and master its content. (There is no part of the Word which cannot be mastered.)

So, we have, “And I have made known (during His 1^st Advent) to them (believers for the Church Age) Your name, and I will make it known (post resurrection).”

Next, we have, “so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

“HINA HE AGAPE HEN EGAPESAS ME EN AUTOIS E KAGO EN AUTIOS.”

HINA is a Subordinating Conjunction here which is linked with the Subjunctive Mood of EIMI below to give us a result clause. We will say, “with the result that.”

HE AGAPE is the Article HO - ὁ (ho), “the” and the Noun AGAPE for “love” in the Subject, Nominative, Feminine, Singular. This is AGAPE love that emphasizes the integrity of God the Father in His expression of love toward Jesus and all believers.

HEN is the Relative Pronominal Adjective HOS - ὅς (hos) in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular. We translate it as, “which,” that is, “which love” signifying the love God the Father has for Jesus.

EGAPESAS is the Verb form of AGAPE that is AGAPAO - ἀγαπάω (ag-ap-ah'-o) in the Aorist, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular.

The Constative Aorist views the entirety of the action of God the Father’s love for His Son from eternity past.

The Active Voice in the 2^nd Person, Singular refers to God the Father as the One who produced this love for His Son.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the Father’s love. We will say, “You loved.”

ME is the Pronoun EGO - ἐγώ (eg-o'), “I” in the Direct Object, Accusative, First Person, Singular. The Object of the Father’s love is His Son Jesus Christ. We will say, “Me.”

EN AUTOIS is the Dative Preposition for “in,” and the Pronoun AUTOS - αὐτός (ow-tos') in the Masculine, Third Person, Plural, that means, “in them.”

E is the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee'), “to be, is, are,” in the Present, Active, Subjunctive. This gives us our result clause.

The Stative - Customary Present Tense is for the ongoing action of God’s love of the Church Age believer, just as He loved His Son.

The Active Voice in the Third Person, Singular is referencing the believers of the Church Age, as a whole, as having the love of God in them.

The Subjunctive Mood is for this result clause and tells of the potential every unbeliever of the Church Age has; to have the love of God as a believer. We will translate this as “may be” and it will come before “in them.”

Finally, we have:

KAGO is a Coordinating Conjunction and a Pronoun in the Subject Nominative, First Person, Singular meaning, “and I,” where Jesus is referring to Himself.

EN AUTIOS is once again the Dative Preposition for “in,” and the Pronoun AUTOS - αὐτός (ow-tos') in the Masculine, Third Person, Plural, that means, “in them.” This refers to our Union with Jesus Christ, based on the love of the Righteous Father who sent His Son to pay for our sins. The phrase “I in them” was also expressed in Verse 23.

Our complete translation of John 17:26 is, “And I have made known (during His 1^st Advent) Your name to them (believers for the Church Age) and I will make it known (post resurrection), with the result that the love, which love, You loved Me with may be in them, (Church Age believers), and I in them.”

Jesus is expressing:

His completion of the Father’s work for His 1^st Advent to reveal the Father’s Plan of salvation.

His commitment to continue that work after His Ascension. His future work would be done by His intercessions for them, leaving His Word, (Canon of Scriptures) and the Holy Spirit’s ministry among them, John 16:7.

His confidence in the Father’s love toward Himself.

His desire is that the same love be directed toward the believer of the Church Age, which it is.

His desire for the Church Age believer’s union with Himself, which it has, which is the means by which the Father’s love comes to the believer.

Principles:

Jesus prayed that the same love which exists within the Godhead would be extended from the Father to the believers of the Church Age, as in Verse 23.

How a holy God’s love can be “in them” is accomplished through the work of Christ’s redemption. It goes beyond His purchase of us from the slave market of sin to a realization of our own personal holiness, as a result of efficacious grace and the 40 things we receive at the moment of salvation.

It is the love of God in believers that makes possible all of our future sanctification, (Experiential and Ultimate).

The believer’s holiness brings about constant fellowship with the holy God, John 17:11; 1 John 1:3, 7. Thus, Jesus interceded as the High Priest to bring God and the believer into this perfect unity, and that becomes possible when the same love shared by the Father and the Son is shared by the believer at the moment of salvation.

The believer is not forced by law to become holy positionally or experientially, nor would it be possible. The believer is compelled by love toward holiness. Therefore, by sharing God’s love, the believer is empowered toward reaching, experientially, his positional standing that is already credited to his account through the merits of Christ, (i.e. positional sanctification).

Jesus was inseparable from the love He had just asked the Father to dwell in them. Therefore, whatever happens to believers, happens to Him. He cannot be separated from them, Rom 8:37-39.

The Father’s love for Christ is the same as the Father’s love for believers, because Christ dwells “in them,” (believers of the Church Age).

The Father’s love, union, and fellowship is complete “in them,” because it is perfect in Him.

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Complete Translation of

John 17: 24-26

John 17:24 is, “Father, whom you have given to Me, I desire that where I am they (the Church) may be with Me, so that they would keep on beholding (with understanding) My glory which You have given to Me because You loved Me before the foundation (creation) of the world.”

John 17:25 is, “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 (Lord’s First Advent).”

John 17:26 is, “And I have made known (during His 1^st Advent) Your name to them (believers for the Church Age) and I will make it known (post resurrection), with the result that the love, which love, You loved Me with may be in them, (Church Age believers), and I in them.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next in Part 10 of John 17, we have the Summary and Conclusion, which includes the complete translation of Chapter 17 and the doctrines covered.

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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”

Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,

died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!

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Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard

23 Messenger Street, Unit 3

Plainville, MA 02762

Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries

Christian Non-denominational Dispensational Indepth Teachings

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