Romans-Related Topical Applications

The Inrtercession of Christ and Prayer

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2017-08-13

Synopsis: John Weaver explores the often-neglected doctrine of Christ's intercession, arguing that it is as essential to salvation as His sacrifice. He shows from Hebrews 7:25 and John 17 that Jesus prays for His people's preservation, protection, and perfection, and that His heavenly intercession is the foundation for answered prayer and boldness in approaching God.

[John Weaver] Hebrews chapter 7, and look if you would please at verse 25. Hebrews 7 verse 25. The scripture says, Wherefore he, that is the Lord Jesus, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. You know, there's an amazing thought as you look at verse 25. The Bible does not say in this passage, Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he gave his life a ransom or a sacrifice for them." Now, he did give his life a ransom and a sacrifice, but the Bible says he's able to save us to the uttermost, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for us. The title of the message is The Intercession of Christ and Prayer. Most people hardly ever consider the intercession of Christ, and very few, if any, ever consider the intercession of Christ and prayer.

[John Weaver] We pray oftentimes, but we have never really understood that the efficacy or the power of prayer really and truly does not lie within us. So here's a good question for you to ponder. Have you ever asked yourself why Are any of our prayers answered?

[John Weaver] Now, most people want to know why my prayers are unanswered. And certainly that's a legitimate question from time to time, but we need to consider why any of our prayers are ever answered. And I understand that there are certain requirements in the Bible for prayer. For instance, we must pray in faith. We must pray according to the will of God. But have you ever considered the sin that is actually involved in our prayer even when we endeavor to pray biblically? And I say the sin involved. I'm talking about none of us pray perfectly.

[John Weaver] And oftentimes there's wicked thoughts and vile thoughts, humanistic thoughts, fleshly thoughts. Oftentimes we're bothered, we can't concentrate, we can't think. And there's absolutely nothing in us that is perfect. And one old preacher said it like this. He said, there's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And stop and think about that. That is true.

[John Weaver] Because we cannot fulfill any responsible action, nor can we do anything really and truly solidly biblical because of our sin, our weakness, and our wickedness as well. So no one but Jesus Christ prays perfectly. And Jesus Christ is prophet, priest, and king.

[John Weaver] Now I'll only give you two quotes to begin with. The first one is from the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith. The second one is from the Westminster Confession of Faith, and you're going to find that in one area, they are basically the same. But I want you to listen to what they're talking about when we talk about the session, the heavenly session, that's Christ seated at the right hand of God and His intercession. And here's what the Philadelphia Baptist Confession says, To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them, uniting them to Himself by His Spirit, revealing unto them in and by the Word the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all of their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom.

[John Weaver] in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation, and all of free and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them to procure it. The office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ, who is prophet, priest, and King of the church of God, and may not be, either in whole or in any part, transferred from Him to any other. One last paragraph.

[John Weaver] This number and order of offices is necessary. For in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office. and in respect of our alienation from God, and in perfection of the best of our services, we need His priestly office to reconcile us and present us acceptable unto God, and in respect of our verseness and our utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need His kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom."

[John Weaver] Now, those were just a few of the paragraphs that you would find in the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith concerning the intercession of Christ. I'm just going to read paragraph 8 from the Westminster Confession, and you're going to find that this paragraph is almost word-for-word with the Philadelphia. Listen carefully. To all those for whom Christ has purchased redemption, He does certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them and revealing unto them in and by the Word the mysteries of salvation, effectually persuading them by His Spirit to believe and obey, and governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit,

[John Weaver] overcoming all their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation." Now, you and I believe based upon the Word of God. that the only approach to the One True and the Living God, the only approach to our Heavenly Father, is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is, we can have no access unto God except through Jesus Christ. John 14 in verse 6, He said, I am the way, the life, and the truth, and no man cometh unto the Father Except by me. So the only way you can get to God the Father is through Jesus Christ So the Bible teaches that the proper approach to God is through the Son and in the Spirit For the Bible says in Ephesians 2 in verse 18 for through him That is through Jesus Christ through him. We both have access by one spirit unto the Father So the proper avenue of approach to the Father is through the Son and in the Spirit.

[John Weaver] One author said this concerning Jesus Christ. He said, He who might have been placing a vial of wrath in the hand of every angel around his throne with a commission to pour it out upon this rebellious world until it was utterly consumed, is standing at this moment at the altar of incense presenting our prayers for mercy and officiating there is our great High Priest. And that is certainly true. Christ could have rightly and justly condemned us, but he did not.

[John Weaver] Now, there's a passage I'm going to quote a couple of times. Then, before I finish, we're going to come back and look at this passage. That's Romans 8 in verse 34. There the scripture says, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, and the Bible says he maketh intercession for us. Now listen to Hebrews 9 in verse 24. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands.

[John Weaver] So it's not the tabernacle, it's not the temple. Then he goes on to say,"...which are the figures of the true, but in the heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, appearing there for us. So it should encourage us greatly as well as encouraging us in prayer when we grasp the fact that Jesus Christ is our intercessor and our advocate.

[John Weaver] In other words, He actually represents us before the Father. Now, there's a passage in 1 John 2 and verse 1, which we will also look at a little bit later. But in that passage, the Bible says this, My little children, these things I write unto you, that you sin not. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

[John Weaver] Now the word advocate there literally means he is our attorney. He pleads our cause. He prays in our behalf. Consequently, because of this, we should have a boldness to enter into the holiest of all. You remember in the Old Testament, The only one that could go into the holiest of all was the high priest. And then only once a year, and that not without the shedding of blood.

[John Weaver] But if you will look in Hebrews 10, beginning there with verse 19. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Look what the Bible says. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised." Now look at verse 19 again,"...having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." Please remember again, no one but the high priest went into the holiest of all.

[John Weaver] And if any man ran into that, he would have been instantly killed. And now the Bible says, we now have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who makes our prayers effectual. For the Father always hears Jesus Christ. You remember that passage in John 11 in verse 41, where our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. He said in that passage, and Jesus looked into his eyes and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me.

[John Weaver] In fact, let me say it like this. God the Father always hears God the Son. In fact, there's a tremendous passage in Psalm 2 in verse 8, where the Father said to the Son, Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thy possession, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thine inheritance." In other words, the father said to the son, all you have to do is ask, and I'll give it to you. Whatever you ask, you may have.

[John Weaver] So what I want to do today is this. I want us to look in John 17, and let me show you some aspects of the intercessory work of Christ. Certainly we are not going to be able to cover everything, but this will give you an idea and an example of our Lord's intercession. So if you'll look in John chapter 17, we're going to begin with verse 6. John 17 and verse 6.

[John Weaver] In this passage, This is the high priestly prayer of our Lord. You remember last week I dealt with the sovereignty of God in prayer. Well, we looked at what is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, which is really the model prayer, where our Lord taught his disciples to pray, Our Father who art in heaven. However, John 17 is indeed the high priestly prayer of our Lord. If you look in verse 1, the Bible says this, These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes into heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come.

[John Weaver] Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. And then this entire chapter is the prayer of our Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, the first thing I want you to see in verses 6-9 is that Jesus Christ prays for His people. Look in verse 6. He says, I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me, and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee. For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me, And they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me." Now look at verse 9. He says, I pray for them, that is, the ones the Father gave the Son. I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Now in this brief passage that I just read, we also see the prophetical office of Christ. as his priestly office. Because the prophetical office, he says, I've declared unto them the words which thou gavest me.

[John Weaver] In other words, he preached, he taught, he gave to his disciples the truth that God had given him to declare. But now we also see his priestly work because he is now praying as well.

[John Weaver] Now, it's interesting that he says, I pray not for them, but I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine." Interestingly enough, Matthew Henry points out three things concerning this passage. Let me just read it to you. He said, and I'm quoting, the elect whom the Father gave to Christ were His own in three ways. So here are the three ways.

[John Weaver] that they were the fathers. First, they were creatures and their lives and beings were derived from Him. When they were given to Christ to be vessels of honor, they were in His hand as clay in the hand of the potter to be disposed of as God's wisdom saw most for God's glory. Secondly, they were criminals and their lives and beings were forfeited to Him It was a remnant of fallen mankind that was given to Christ to be redeemed, that might have been made sacrifices to justice when they were pitched upon to be the monuments of mercy, might justly have been delivered to the tormentors when they were delivered to the Savior. Thirdly, they were chosen and their lives and beings were designed for Him. They were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as His agent.

[John Weaver] Now, Matthew Henry said that we belong to God in three ways. Number one, we were His creatures. Number two, we were His criminals in that sense that we had sinned against Him and we were delivered into His hand for justice. And then, of course, we are chosen because He delivered us out of that criminality and brought us to Jesus Christ. And here he said this, listen carefully, and they were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as His agent. Have you ever stopped to think that Jesus Christ is the agent of God the Father? He received us as God the Father's agents. But I might point out that He is also our agent because He is our surety and He undertook on our behalf to guarantee everything.

[John Weaver] Isn't it amazing that when we think of our Lord's salvation, we automatically think of His sacrifice and His substitutionary death? Very seldom do we ever think about his priestly intercession. And yet the truth of the matter is, he not only died in our place, he now lives to intercede for us. That is why I read the text in Hebrews 7 verse 25. Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him, not just because he gave his life for them, but because he ever liveth to make intercession for them. In other words, the priestly work of Jesus Christ is just as important in salvation as the substitutionary and sacrificial work of Jesus Christ as well.

[John Weaver] Now, so here it is, as our suffering substitute, he made atonement for our sins while on earth. As our high priest, he now maketh intercession for us on behalf of each of us unto the Father. Romans 8 verses 32 through 34. Let me quote them again. We will come back there before I end the day. The Bible says, he that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?

[John Weaver] Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

[John Weaver] Now let me give you the one paragraph that was exactly the same in the Philadelphia Confession of Faith and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Listen carefully. to all those for whom Christ has purchased redemption, He does certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them and revealing unto them in and by His words the mystery of His salvation." And I'm not finishing the paragraph, but notice if you would how they tie the intercession of Christ with the salvation of Christ. You might say it like this, it is true His sacrifice merited and earned salvation, but His priestly intercession enables Him to apply that salvation.

[John Weaver] So, has it ever dawned upon you that you were brought to God the Father savingly, not just simply because of the work of God the Holy Spirit, but also because of the priestly work of God the Son. So, His intercession is just as important as His sacrifice. I usually ask a question when I'm preaching on Matthew chapter 5. I would say, which is more important? The circumcision of Jesus Christ or the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? And you know, most people are going to say, oh, the crucifixion. But would you note, the crucifixion would have been ineffective had he not kept the law of God perfectly. So both are equally important. And it's like that when you come to the intercession of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ as well.

[John Weaver] Now, John Owen, the old Puritan, was known as the prince of preachers. And he lists three divisions of the work of Christ in redemption. He says they are, number one, the incarnation of Christ, that is, when Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us.

[John Weaver] Secondly, His oblation, or His sacrifice. And then thirdly, His intercession for those for whom He made atonement. And then he says this, listen carefully, his intercession is for all and every one of those for whom he gave himself for an oblation. He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them. He did not do the greater and omit the lesser. So what Owen is saying is we're saved just as much by our Lord's intercession as we are by His sacrifice.

[John Weaver] And I said this before, I'm going to say it again. His intercession is simply the application of His purchased salvation.

[John Weaver] Now, Christ executed the first element of His priestly office, assurity, when He gave Himself as a sacrifice. He likewise administers the second element of His priestly office, as He is still our surety and He intercedes for us. So when you think about the intercession of Jesus Christ, you have to remember this. He is not just standing before the throne of God saying, well, Father, these are my friends. Well, the Scripture does call us His friends, that is for sure. But He stands there as our surety, as guaranteeing everything for us.

[John Weaver] It's kind of like if Steve wanted to buy something, didn't quite have enough money, I would stand behind him and say to Gary, if he's buying it from Gary, I'll be his surety. In other words, I will guarantee that you will get your money. If Steve can't pay it, I will. Well, obviously, Jesus Christ is our surety in the sense that He's pleased before the Father, the perfection of His work, and the pureness of His sacrifice.

[John Weaver] Now, do you remember that passage again that I gave you in the quote of Matthew Henry? I'm just talking about the third one. He said, first of all, that we were God's creatures. Secondly, we were God's criminals and we were that. But thirdly, he said, we were God's chosen. Think about this. He said, thirdly, they were chosen and their lives and beings were designed for him. They were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as his agent. So Jesus Christ, as the age of the Father, is the one who guarantees that those whom the Father has given Him will indeed end up in glory. But since we have been given to Him, He's not only the agent of the Father, He's also our agent and our surety, and He undertakes for us. He is our advocate.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to show you something. In 1 John 2 and verse 1, I quoted this passage earlier. Let me quote it again. 1 John 2 and verse 1, the Bible says, My little children, these things lie down to you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Now the word for advocate is a very interesting word. It is the word parakletos. Parakletos literally means one that is called alongside to help. Para means alongside. Kletos is from the word called. It is translated in our Bibles as advocate and as comforter. So actually the parakletos is the one who is called along beside of to plead our cause before a judge, to be our counsel for defense, to be our helper, and to be our aid. And the same word is used of the Holy Spirit. You remember that passage in John 14 and 15, where he said there that he's going to the Father. But he said, if I go to the Father, I will not leave you comfortless.

[John Weaver] I will send you another comforter. And the word comfort there is paracletos. And he's talking about the Holy Spirit.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 8. We'll be coming back to this passage. But look in Romans, chapter 8, if you would, please. At verses 26 and 27. Here's what the Holy Spirit as Comforter does, or at least one of the things that he does for us. Romans 8 verse 26, watch carefully. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.

[John Weaver] For we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." So the Holy Spirit is a comforter. He is the paraclete, the one called alongside to help, because we don't know how to pray as we ought. And the Bible tells us in verse 27 that he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So the question would be, why then is the Holy Spirit called the Paracletos, and why then is Jesus Christ called the Paracletos?

[John Weaver] And the answer is very simple. Because the Holy Spirit is an intercessor in us, and God the Son is the intercessor for us. Both do intercessory work. Both are paracletes. Both are called alongside of to help.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to John 17. Let me show you this. We're talking about Jesus Christ as our intercessor, Jesus Christ as our advocate. So if you look in John 17, verse 11, He stands as surety for our preservation. John 17, verse 11. He said, And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. And I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.

[John Weaver] So our Lord is saying, I'm leaving. I'm going back to you.

[John Weaver] Now keep them They are in the world, but they need to be kept. Now, the Scripture tells us very clearly in 1 Peter 1 and verse 5 that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed unto the last time. But why would God keep us? And the answer is because God the Son prayed for us, and He asked the Father to keep us and to preserve us. Do you know what the Bible says in Jude 1 and verse 1?

[John Weaver] I want you to listen carefully. Jude writes, and he says,"...Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Christ Jesus." So God the Father heard the prayer for our preservation. And we are preserved in Christ Jesus.

[John Weaver] Now, here's a good question. Why did not Peter fail utterly, totally, and completely? We know that he denied Christ three times. Here's the answer. In Luke 22, verses 31 and 32, Jesus Christ said, Behold, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may sift thee as wheat. But I prayed for thee, that thy faith does not fail, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." The reason Peter did not falter and fail totally, completely, permanently, is because Christ interceded for him. The only reason you and I do not fail and falter completely and totally and permanently is because of the intercessory prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you realize it is impossible for God's people to apostatize totally and completely? It's impossible.

[John Weaver] How can I say that? Well, number one, because of the prayer of Jesus Christ. He asked the Father to keep us. And the Father always hears his prayer, always answers his prayer. But the Bible says this in verse 1 to verse 19, They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that it might be made manifest that they were not of us. What did John say? John said if anyone ever leaves the faith, quote unquote, permanently, And apostatizes. It's just evidence that they were never ever in the faith to begin with. What did he say? They went out from us, for they were not of us, for had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. Obviously.

[John Weaver] So our Lord then prays for our preservation. So we will be preserved, and we are preserved in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, skip down to verses 14 and 15. He also prays for our protection. Look in verse 14. He says, I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil. Now, actually, that thou shouldst keep them from the evil, one.

[John Weaver] Is it Ha-Pani-Ras? Is there a definite article there? Not? Okay. So, keep us from the evil. Do you realize Satan is referred to in the Bible as the accuser of the brethren in Revelation 12 and verse 10? But we not only have the accuser of the brethren, We have the world, we have the flesh, we have the ungodly, we have wicked rulers. All of these seek to overthrow us and destroy us.

[John Weaver] And the amazing thing is this, they will never, ever prevail. The Bible says in Psalm 37 verse 12, the wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. Note if you would, the wicked plot it. That is, they scheme, they plan, they conspire to destroy us. But they shall not do so. John wrote in 1 John 2, verses 13 and 14, I write unto you fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men, because you have overcome the wicked one, I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known Him from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abided in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." And then in 1 John 4 and verse 4, you are of God, little children, and have overcome them, plural, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

[John Weaver] So our preservation, And our protection rests upon the great high priest, our intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. So he prays for his people. If you would stop and think about that, how could you not be encouraged to pray when you realize the Son of God prays for you? I want you to see something second. Look in verse 20 of John 17. He not only prays for his people, he prays for his preachers. Watch verse 20. He says, neither pray I for these alone, that is his then living disciples, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word. So he also prays for future believers. But I want you to note something. He's not only praying for future believers, he's praying for his preachers in the sense that they're going to be preaching and teaching and telling others, and they're going to believe on him through their word.

[John Weaver] Every preacher desires success in the ministry. The problem is one's definition of success may be faulty. It may not be biblical. If you were to examine Noah by the standards of success today in the ministry, he was an epic failure. Preached for 120 years, never had one convert. When you think of Jeremiah and Isaiah, they too were epic failures. And yet these people are listed as heroes of faith.

[John Weaver] So here's a good question to consider. What is the ground or foundation of success in the ministry? Is it the oratory ability of the preacher? Is it the charisma of the preacher? Is it the ability of the preacher? Is it the knowledge of the preacher? No. No. The foundation of success in the ministry is the intercession of Jesus Christ. It's invigorating, it's encouraging and edifying to know that Jesus Christ intercedes and prays for the preaching of the gospel. So in our Lord's High Priestly Prayer in verse 20, He not only prays for the men who will be preaching, He's also praying for the method that is the preaching itself. Those who will believe only through their words. Have you ever really considered the ministry?

[John Weaver] John's label, one of the earlier Puritans and one of the most delightful to read, explains the problems in the ministry. I want you to listen to what he said. The labors of the ministry will exhaust the very marrow from your bones. Hasten to old age and death. They, God's preachers, are fitly compared to the toil of men in harvest, to the labors of a woman in travail, and to the agonies of soldiers in the extremity of a battle.

[John Weaver] We must watch while others sleep. And indeed, it is not so much the expense of our labors as the loss of them that kill us. It is not with us as with other laborers. They find their work as they leave it. So do not we. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. The impressions we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next.

[John Weaver] How many truths have we to study? How many wiles of Satan and mysteries of corruption to detect? How many cases of conscience to resolve? Yea, we must fight in defense of the truth we preach, as well as study them to paleness, and preach them and all, and welcome pained breasts, aching backs, and trembling legs, if we can by all but approve ourselves Christ's faithful servants, and hear that joyful voice from his mouth, Well done, thy good and faithful servant, all will be well.

[John Weaver] But notice what he said, that which kills preachers most is not just putting forth the labor, but the loss of it. So if you're building a house and you're studying up the wall and it gets nighttime and you get tired, all you have to do is quit. Go home, eat supper, go to bed, and you come back the next morning, the wall's still standing. Pick up your hammer and saw and go back to it.

[John Weaver] You find your work exactly as you leave it. He said that's not true in the ministry. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. And the impressions that we make on our people sold in one sermon vanish before the next. That's why most people cannot remember what the preacher preached last Sunday. They certainly couldn't remember what he preached a month ago. It's gone. It's evaporated. Where did it go? Well, the Bible tells us Satan steals the seed. The Bible also tells us there's the flesh, there's the world, all kind of things to destroy it. The point I'm trying to make is this, the power is not in the preacher. Arthur W.

[John Weaver] Pink said it like this, listen, He said a hundred preachers are unable to make an unregenerate person realize the dreadful nature of sin, or show him that he's been a lifelong rebel against God, or change his heart so that now he hates himself and longs to please God and serve Christ. Only the Spirit can bring a man to the place where he's willing to forsake every idol, cut off a hindering right hand, or pluck out an offending right eye. You could take all the preachers in America and we could not convert one lost sinner in and of ourselves. It's impossible. It's impossible. It is Jesus Christ who sent the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus Christ who prays for the success of his preachers. I want you to listen to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1 through 5.

[John Weaver] He said, And I, brethren, came not unto you with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in God."

[John Weaver] So he said, it was not my oratory. It was not my wisdom. That's worthless. And then he said it like this in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 5-7. He said, For we preach not on ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. Now listen to what he said, For God, who has commended the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the power and the excellency might be of God, and not of us. When you stop and think how weak, how wicked, and how helpless are the most brilliant, the most wise, and the most godly preachers, we can't convert one sinner We cannot comfort and console and encourage one saint in and of ourselves, in our strength and in our power, because we have none. The only hope of success in the ministry lies in the intercession of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to tell you this. that the ministry is going to be successful for three reasons. I know this. How do I know it? Number one, because God the Father ordained it. Number two, because God the Son prayed for it. And number three, because God the Holy Spirit is covenantally engaged to honor the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. So in this intercessory prayer, our Lord prays for his people, our preservation, our protection. He prays for his preachers. And he is the ground of our success in the ministry. I want to show you one other thing here. He also prays for our perfection.

[John Weaver] Look, if you would, in verses 21 through 24. Verse 21. Remember, our Lord is praying and he says this, that they all may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, And that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Now watch verse twenty-four. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Can you fathom, can you even begin to think of being with Jesus Christ and beholding Him in all of His glory, worshiping Him and glorifying Him in a body that is capable of constant and continuous praise. He prayed for our perfection.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold John 17. I want you to turn over to Romans 8. I kept telling you we're going to come back there. So here is what I want to show you. Romans 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 30, and we will read through verse 34. I want to tie this together for you. Romans 8, verse 30. Watch carefully. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, then he also justified. And whom he justified, then he also glorified.

[John Weaver] What shall we say then of these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also free to give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns it? It is Christ that died, yea, rather than is risen again, who is the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to go back to verse 30. I want you to follow me, and I want you to try to observe something unusual in this verse. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, whom he also justified, and whom he justified, whom he also glorified. Do you notice anything peculiar about the three words called justified, glorified? They are all past tense. And in the Greek, they're all in the aorist tense, which means it is a completed action. Now, here's my question. Have you yet been glorified? No.

[John Weaver] But your glorification is just as absolutely certain and sure as if it had already been done. In fact, God the Father views it as a completed action. He called you. He justified you. He glorified you. Wow!

[John Weaver] Now I want you to watch. Let's work our way down. So He is saying in verse 30, you've been called, you've been justified, you've been glorified. Watch verse 31. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Well, if God is for us, it really doesn't matter who's against us. Because no one can overthrow God or thwart him or hinder him. OK? So watch verse 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to notice the argument that the Apostle Paul is using. It's a very precious argument, and it is an argument from the greater to the lesser. If God has done the greatest in giving His only begotten Son to be our sacrifice and our substitute and our surety, if He's done that, will He do the lesser? Would He not follow through with the completion of His purpose and of His salvation? That's what He's saying. He that spared not His own Son, but He delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? If God has done the greatest thing for us, He's not going to fail to do that which is lesser.

[John Weaver] Now, watch if you would, verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. God is the one who justifies. No one can lay a charge against us before God. You might lay a charge against us before man, but you're not going to lay a charge against us before God, because God is the one who's justified. Now, watch if you would, verse 34, who is he that condemneth?

[John Weaver] Doesn't do you any good to condemn. Why? It is Christ that died, yea, rather than is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Do you see how the intercession of Jesus Christ is now intimately connected with our salvation because we have been called, we have been justified, we've been glorified, and the heavenly session of our Lord denotes His power to save and protect us, and His intercession assures it. He is there.

[John Weaver] He's going to make sure that our glorification comes to pass because God has already given the greater, that is His Son, to be our sacrifice, our substitute, and now God's going to finish the work. If God's done the greatest, shall He not do that which is least? Of course He will.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to John 17. Let me try to tie it together. I don't know about you. Oh, but this is a blessing to me. Our glorified Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is conscious of His claims. He is conscious of the efficacy of His life and death and resurrection and its intercession. Our Lord is confident in His prayers. And He says in verse 24, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." I don't know about you, but that boggles my mind.

[John Weaver] How could anyone think that the Father would not answer that prayer in light of the fact that the Father sent the Son to accomplish salvation? That is why glorified is in the past tense. It is an accomplished fact in the will and in the purpose of God. Now listen to me. Faith finds joy and triumph not just in the sacrifice of Christ, and not just in His resurrection, but in his intercession at the right hand of God." When we understand that our prayer is connected to the intercession of Christ, how could we not be constant in prayer? How could we not be continuous in prayer when we know that the Holy Spirit is an intercessor in us, and Jesus Christ is an intercessor for us before the throne of God. How could we not pray? How could we not come with holy boldness within the veil into the most holy and have communion with God. If God has done the greatest, will He not do that which is least? If God has sent His Son to be our intercessor, and if God has sent the Spirit to be our intercessor, He certainly encourages us to pray.

[John Weaver] Does that mean He will not hear us? No. He will hear us. He's done that which is greater, He's certainly not going to fail to do that which is lesser. That's why in Hebrews 10 in verse 22, we read it earlier. Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith. So when we pray, we can say, Father, in faith, I know the Holy Spirit prays in me. I know the Son of God prays for me.

[John Weaver] I want your will, I want your word. Hear me, O Father." And you have perfect communion with God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Spirit.

[John Weaver] Now I hope you understand Hebrews 7 and verse 25. Wherefore, He is able to save us to the uttermost. Or He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. The intercession of Jesus Christ is the foundation for our prayer life. We know that He's praying for us, which should encourage us to pray to God the Father through God the Son in the Holy Spirit. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee. We thank You for the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You for the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit. And I pray, Father, that You would indeed make us holy, make us godly, make us prayerful. And may we praise Thee for Your infinite work in Jesus Christ, in whose name we ask and pray. Amen.

The Intercession of Christ and Prayer

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	813171844376
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans-Related Topical Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-08-13
Dictation Name
Book	Book 138: Romans-Related Topical Applications — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	80

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Neglected Intercession

Weaver introduces Hebrews 7:25, emphasizing that Christ's ability to save to the uttermost is tied to His ever-living intercession, not just His death. He notes that most believers rarely consider Christ's intercessory work.

Hebrews chapter 7, and look if you would please at verse 25. Hebrews 7 verse 25. The scripture says, "Wherefore he," that is the Lord Jesus, "he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." You know, there's an amazing thought as you look at verse 25. The Bible does not say in this passage, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he gave his life a ransom or a sacrifice for them.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 7:25

" Now, he did give his life a ransom and a sacrifice, but the Bible says he's able to save us to the uttermost, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for us. The title of the message is "

The Intercession of Christ and Prayer." Most people hardly ever consider the intercession of Christ, and very few, if any, ever consider the intercession of Christ and prayer.

We pray oftentimes, but we have never really understood that the efficacy or the power of prayer really and truly does not lie within us. So here's a good question for you to ponder. Have you ever asked yourself why are any of our prayers answered?

The Sinfulness of Our Prayers

Weaver argues that no one prays perfectly; our prayers are tainted by sin, and only Christ's priestly work makes them acceptable. He quotes an old preacher: 'There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Now, most people want to know why my prayers are unanswered. And certainly that's a legitimate question from time to time, but we need to consider why any of our prayers are ever answered. And I understand that there are certain requirements in the Bible for prayer. For instance, we must pray in faith. We must pray according to the will of God. But have you ever considered the sin that is actually involved in our prayer even when we endeavor to pray biblically? And I say the sin involved. I'm talking about none of us pray perfectly.

And oftentimes there's wicked thoughts and vile thoughts, humanistic thoughts, fleshly thoughts. Oftentimes we're bothered, we can't concentrate, we can't think. And there's absolutely nothing in us that is perfect. And one old preacher said it like this. He said, "There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ." And stop and think about that. That is true. Because we cannot fulfill any responsible action, nor can we do anything really and truly solidly biblical because of our sin, our weakness, and our wickedness as well. So no one but Jesus Christ prays perfectly. And Jesus Christ is prophet, priest, and king.

Now I'll only give you two quotes to begin with. The first one is from the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith. The second one is from the Westminster Confession of Faith, and you're going to find that in one area, they are basically the same. But I want you to listen to what they're talking about when we talk about the session, the heavenly session, that's Christ seated at the right hand of God and His intercession. And here's what the Philadelphia Baptist Confession says: "To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them, uniting them to Himself by His Spirit, revealing unto them in and by the Word the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all of their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom."

Confessional Foundations of Christ's Intercession

Weaver reads from the Philadelphia Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession, highlighting their agreement that Christ effectually applies redemption through intercession, uniting believers to Himself and overcoming their enemies.

Because we cannot fulfill any responsible action, nor can we do anything really and truly solidly biblical because of our sin, our weakness, and our wickedness as well. So no one but Jesus Christ prays perfectly. And Jesus Christ is prophet, priest, and king. Now I'll only give you two quotes to begin with. The first one is from the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith. The second one is from the Westminster Confession of Faith, and you're going to find that in one area, they are basically the same. But I want you to listen to what they're talking about when we talk about the session, the heavenly session, that's Christ seated at the right hand of God and His intercession. And here's what the Philadelphia Baptist Confession says: "To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them, uniting them to Himself by His Spirit, revealing unto them in and by the Word the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all of their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom."

"...in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation, and all of free and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them to procure it. The office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ, who is prophet, priest, and King of the church of God, and may not be, either in whole or in any part, transferred from Him to any other." One last paragraph. "This number and order of offices is necessary. For in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office; and in respect of our alienation from God, and imperfection of the best of our services, we need His priestly office to reconcile us and present us acceptable unto God; and in respect of our averseness and our utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need His kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom."

Now, those were just a few of the paragraphs that you would find in the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith concerning the intercession of Christ. I'm just going to read paragraph 8 from the Westminster Confession, and you're going to find that this paragraph is almost word-for-word with the Philadelphia. Listen carefully. "To all those for whom Christ has purchased redemption, He does certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them and revealing unto them in and by the Word the mysteries of salvation, effectually persuading them by His Spirit to believe and obey, and governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit." "...overcoming all their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation." Now, you and I believe based upon the Word of God that the only approach to the One True and the Living God, the only approach to our Heavenly Father, is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is, we can have no access unto God except through Jesus Christ. John 14 and verse 6, He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." So the only way you can get to God the Father is through Jesus Christ. So the Bible teaches that the proper approach to God is through the Son and in the Spirit. For the Bible says in Ephesians 2 and verse 18, "For through him," that is through Jesus Christ, "through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." So the proper avenue of approach to the Father is through the Son and in the Spirit.

Christ as Our Advocate and High Priest

Weaver explains that Christ is our advocate (parakletos) who pleads our cause before the Father. He connects this to the believer's boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22).

One author said this concerning Jesus Christ. He said, "He who might have been placing a vial of wrath in the hand of every angel around his throne with a commission to pour it out upon this rebellious world until it was utterly consumed, is standing at this moment at the altar of incense presenting our prayers for mercy and officiating there as our great High Priest." And that is certainly true. Christ could have rightly and justly condemned us, but he did not. Now, there's a passage I'm going to quote a couple of times. Then, before I finish, we're going to come back and look at this passage. That's Romans 8 and verse 34. There the scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:34

"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, and the Bible says he maketh intercession for us. Now listen to Hebrews 9 and verse 24. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands."

So it's not the tabernacle, it's not the temple. Then he goes on to say, "...which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, appearing there for us. So it should encourage us greatly as well as encouraging us in prayer when we grasp the fact that Jesus Christ is our intercessor and our advocate. In other words, He actually represents us before the Father. Now, there's a passage in 1 John 2 and verse 1, which we will also look at a little bit later. But in that passage, the Bible says this, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Now the word advocate there literally means he is our attorney. He pleads our cause. He prays in our behalf. Consequently, because of this, we should have a boldness to enter into the holiest of all. You remember in the Old Testament, the only one that could go into the holiest of all was the high priest. And then only once a year, and that not without the shedding of blood.

But if you will look in Hebrews 10, beginning there with verse 19. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Look what the Bible says.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:19-22

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)."

Now look at verse 19 again,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:19-22

"...having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus."

Please remember again, no one but the high priest went into the holiest of all.

Christ Prays for His People (John 17:6-9)

Weaver examines Jesus' high priestly prayer, noting that He prays specifically for those given to Him by the Father, not for the world. He cites Matthew Henry's threefold description of believers as God's creatures, criminals, and chosen.

Scripture Reading — John 17:6-9

So what I want to do today is this. I want us to look in John 17, and let me show you some aspects of the intercessory work of Christ. Certainly we are not going to be able to cover everything, but this will give you an idea and an example of our Lord's intercession. So if you'll look in John chapter 17, we're going to begin with verse 6. John 17 and verse 6. In this passage, this is the high priestly prayer of our Lord. You remember last week I dealt with the sovereignty of God in prayer. Well, we looked at what is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, which is really the model prayer, where our Lord taught his disciples to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven." However, John 17 is indeed the high priestly prayer of our Lord. If you look in verse 1, the Bible says this, "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come."

"Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." And then this entire chapter is the prayer of our Lord. Now, the first thing I want you to see in verses 6-9 is that Jesus Christ prays for His people. Look in verse 6. He says, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me." Now look at verse 9. He says, "I pray for them," that is, the ones the Father gave the Son. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Now in this brief passage that I just read, we also see the prophetical office of Christ as well as his priestly office. Because the prophetical office, he says, "I've declared unto them the words which thou gavest me."

In other words, he preached, he taught, he gave to his disciples the truth that God had given him to declare. But now we also see his priestly work because he is now praying as well. Now, it's interesting that he says, "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Interestingly enough, Matthew Henry points out three things concerning this passage. Let me just read it to you. He said, and I'm quoting, "The elect whom the Father gave to Christ were His own in three ways." So here are the three ways. First, they were creatures and their lives and beings were derived from Him. When they were given to Christ to be vessels of honor, they were in His hand as clay in the hand of the potter to be disposed of as God's wisdom saw most for God's glory. Secondly, they were criminals and their lives and beings were forfeited to Him. It was a remnant of fallen mankind that was given to Christ to be redeemed, that might have been made sacrifices to justice when they were pitched upon to be the monuments of mercy, might justly have been delivered to the tormentors when they were delivered to the Savior. Thirdly, they were chosen and their lives and beings were designed for Him. They were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as His agent.

Now, Matthew Henry said that we belong to God in three ways. Number one, we were His creatures. Number two, we were His criminals in that sense that we had sinned against Him and we were delivered into His hand for justice. And then, of course, we are chosen because He delivered us out of that criminality and brought us to Jesus Christ. And here he said this, listen carefully, "And they were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as His agent." Have you ever stopped to think that Jesus Christ is the agent of God the Father? He received us as God the Father's agents. But I might point out that He is also our agent because He is our surety and He undertook on our behalf to guarantee everything.

The Intercession as Application of Salvation

Weaver argues that Christ's intercession is the application of His purchased salvation. He quotes John Owen: 'He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them.' The intercession is as vital as the sacrifice.

So, has it ever dawned upon you that you were brought to God the Father savingly, not just simply because of the work of God the Holy Spirit, but also because of the priestly work of God the Son? So, His intercession is just as important as His sacrifice. I usually ask a question when I'm preaching on Matthew chapter 5. I would say, "Which is more important? The circumcision of Jesus Christ or the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?" And you know, most people are going to say, "Oh, the crucifixion." But would you note, the crucifixion would have been ineffective had he not kept the law of God perfectly. So both are equally important. And it's like that when you come to the intercession of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ as well.

Now, John Owen, the old Puritan, was known as the prince of preachers. And he lists three divisions of the work of Christ in redemption. He says they are, number one, the incarnation of Christ, that is, when Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us. Secondly, His oblation, or His sacrifice. And then thirdly, His intercession for those for whom He made atonement. And then he says this, listen carefully, "His intercession is for all and every one of those for whom he gave himself for an oblation. He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them. He did not do the greater and omit the lesser." So what Owen is saying is we're saved just as much by our Lord's intercession as we are by His sacrifice.

And I said this before, I'm going to say it again. His intercession is simply the application of His purchased salvation. Now, Christ executed the first element of His priestly office, surety, when He gave Himself as a sacrifice. He likewise administers the second element of His priestly office, as He is still our surety and He intercedes for us. So when you think about the intercession of Jesus Christ, you have to remember this. He is not just standing before the throne of God saying, "Well, Father, these are my friends." Well, the Scripture does call us His friends, that is for sure. But He stands there as our surety, as guaranteeing everything for us.

Christ Prays for Preservation, Protection, and Preachers (John 17:11-20)

Weaver shows that Jesus prays for the preservation of His people (v. 11), their protection from evil (vv. 14-15), and for future believers through the preaching of the Word (v. 20). He emphasizes that success in ministry depends on Christ's intercession, not human ability.

Now, I want you to go back to John 17. Let me show you this. We're talking about Jesus Christ as our intercessor, Jesus Christ as our advocate. So if you look in John 17, verse 11, He stands as surety for our preservation. John 17, verse 11. He said, "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."

So our Lord is saying, "I'm leaving. I'm going back to you." "Now keep them. They are in the world, but they need to be kept." Now, the Scripture tells us very clearly in 1 Peter 1 and verse 5 that we

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:5

are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

But why would God keep us? And the answer is because God the Son prayed for us, and He asked the Father to keep us and to preserve us. Do you know what the Bible says in Jude 1 and verse 1?

I want you to listen carefully. Jude writes, and he says, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." So God the Father heard the prayer for our preservation. And we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Now, here's a good question. Why did not Peter fail utterly, totally, and completely? We know that he denied Christ three times. Here's the answer. In Luke 22, verses 31 and 32, Jesus Christ said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." The reason Peter did not falter and fail totally, completely, permanently, is because Christ interceded for him. The only reason you and I do not fail and falter completely and totally and permanently is because of the intercessory prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you realize it is impossible for God's people to apostatize totally and completely? It's impossible.

How can I say that? Well, number one, because of the prayer of Jesus Christ. He asked the Father to keep us. And the Father always hears his prayer, always answers his prayer. But the Bible says this in 1 John 2 and verse 19,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:19

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

What did John say? John said if anyone ever leaves the faith, quote unquote, permanently, and apostatizes, it's just evidence that they were never ever in the faith to begin with. What did he say?

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:19

"They went out from us, for they were not of us, for had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us."

Obviously.

So our Lord then prays for our preservation. So we will be preserved, and we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Now, skip down to verses 14 and 15. He also prays for our protection. Look in verse 14. He says, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Now, actually, "that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one."

Is it ho ponēros? Is there a definite article there? Not? Okay. So, keep us from the evil. Do you realize Satan is referred to in the Bible as the accuser of the brethren in Revelation 12 and verse 10? But we not only have the accuser of the brethren, we have the world, we have the flesh, we have the ungodly, we have wicked rulers. All of these seek to overthrow us and destroy us.

And the amazing thing is this, they will never, ever prevail. The Bible says in Psalm 37 verse 12, "The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." Note if you would, the wicked plotteth. That is, they scheme, they plan, they conspire to destroy us. But they shall not do so. John wrote in 1 John 2, verses 13 and 14, "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." And then in 1 John 4 and verse 4, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

So our preservation and our protection rests upon the great high priest, our intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. So he prays for his people. If you would stop and think about that, how could you not be encouraged to pray when you realize the Son of God prays for you? I want you to see something second. Look in verse 20 of John 17. He not only prays for his people, he prays for his preachers. Watch verse 20. He says, "Neither pray I for these alone," that is his then living disciples, "neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." So he also prays for future believers. But I want you to note something. He's not only praying for future believers, he's praying for his preachers in the sense that they're going to be preaching and teaching and telling others, and they're going to believe on him through their word.

Every preacher desires success in the ministry. The problem is one's definition of success may be faulty. It may not be biblical. If you were to examine Noah by the standards of success today in the ministry, he was an epic failure. Preached for 120 years, never had one convert. When you think of Jeremiah and Isaiah, they too were epic failures. And yet these people are listed as heroes of faith.

So here's a good question to consider. What is the ground or foundation of success in the ministry? Is it the oratory ability of the preacher? Is it the charisma of the preacher? Is it the ability of the preacher? Is it the knowledge of the preacher? No. No. The foundation of success in the ministry is the intercession of Jesus Christ. It's invigorating, it's encouraging and edifying to know that Jesus Christ intercedes and prays for the preaching of the gospel. So in our Lord's High Priestly Prayer in verse 20, He not only prays for the men who will be preaching, He's also praying for the method that is the preaching itself. Those who will believe only through their words. Have you ever really considered the ministry?

John Flavel, one of the earlier Puritans and one of the most delightful to read, explains the problems in the ministry. I want you to listen to what he said. "The labors of the ministry will exhaust the very marrow from your bones. Hasten to old age and death. They, God's preachers, are fitly compared to the toil of men in harvest, to the labors of a woman in travail, and to the agonies of soldiers in the extremity of a battle." "We must watch while others sleep. And indeed, it is not so much the expense of our labors as the loss of them that kill us. It is not with us as with other laborers. They find their work as they leave it. So do not we. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. The impressions we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next."

"How many truths have we to study? How many wiles of Satan and mysteries of corruption to detect? How many cases of conscience to resolve? Yea, we must fight in defense of the truth we preach, as well as study them to paleness, and preach them and all, and welcome pained breasts, aching backs, and trembling legs, if we can by all but approve ourselves Christ's faithful servants, and hear that joyful voice from his mouth, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant,' all will be well."

But notice what he said, that which kills preachers most is not just putting forth the labor, but the loss of it. So if you're building a house and you're studding up the wall and it gets nighttime and you get tired, all you have to do is quit. Go home, eat supper, go to bed, and you come back the next morning, the wall's still standing. Pick up your hammer and saw and go back to it. You find your work exactly as you leave it. He said that's not true in the ministry. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. And the impressions that we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next. That's why most people cannot remember what the preacher preached last Sunday. They certainly couldn't remember what he preached a month ago. It's gone. It's evaporated. Where did it go? Well, the Bible tells us Satan steals the seed. The Bible also tells us there's the flesh, there's the world, all kind of things to destroy it. The point I'm trying to make is this, the power is not in the preacher. Arthur W.

Pink said it like this, listen. He said, "A hundred preachers are unable to make an unregenerate person realize the dreadful nature of sin, or show him that he's been a lifelong rebel against God, or change his heart so that now he hates himself and longs to please God and serve Christ. Only the Spirit can bring a man to the place where he's willing to forsake every idol, cut off a hindering right hand, or pluck out an offending right eye." You could take all the preachers in America and we could not convert one lost sinner in and of ourselves. It's impossible. It's impossible. It is Jesus Christ who sent the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus Christ who prays for the success of his preachers. I want you to listen to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1 through 5.

He said, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

So he said, it was not my oratory. It was not my wisdom. That's worthless. And then he said it like this in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 5-7. He said, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." Now listen to what he said, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." When you stop and think how weak, how wicked, and how helpless are the most brilliant, the most wise, and the most godly preachers, we can't convert one sinner. We cannot comfort and console and encourage one saint in and of ourselves, in our strength and in our power, because we have none. The only hope of success in the ministry lies in the intercession of Jesus Christ.

Christ Prays for Our Perfection (John 17:21-24)

Weaver highlights Jesus' prayer that believers be with Him and behold His glory. He connects this to Romans 8:30, where glorification is spoken of in the past tense, showing its certainty because of Christ's intercession.

Look, if you would, in verses 21 through 24. Verse 21. Remember, our Lord is praying and he says this, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." Now watch verse twenty-four. "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

Scripture Reading — John 17:21-24

Now, let me ask you a question. Can you fathom, can you even begin to think of being with Jesus Christ and beholding Him in all of His glory, worshiping Him and glorifying Him in a body that is capable of constant and continuous praise? He prayed for our perfection. Now, I want you to hold John 17. I want you to turn over to Romans 8. I kept telling you we're going to come back there. So here is what I want to show you. Romans 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 30, and we will read through verse 34. I want to tie this together for you. Romans 8, verse 30. Watch carefully. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

Now, I want to go back to verse 30. I want you to follow me, and I want you to try to observe something unusual in this verse. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Do you notice anything peculiar about the three words called, justified, glorified? They are all past tense. And in the Greek, they're all in the aorist tense, which means it is a completed action. Now, here's my question. Have you yet been glorified? No.

But your glorification is just as absolutely certain and sure as if it had already been done. In fact, God the Father views it as a completed action. He called you. He justified you. He glorified you. Wow!

Now I want you to watch. Let's work our way down. So He is saying in verse 30, you've been called, you've been justified, you've been glorified. Watch verse 31. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Well, if God is for us, it really doesn't matter who's against us. Because no one can overthrow God or thwart him or hinder him. OK? So watch verse 32. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

The Greater-to-Lesser Argument (Romans 8:31-34)

Weaver explains Paul's argument: if God gave His greatest gift (His Son), He will certainly give all lesser things, including answering prayer. Christ's intercession guarantees the completion of salvation.

Now, I want you to notice the argument that the Apostle Paul is using. It's a very precious argument, and it is an argument from the greater to the lesser. If God has done the greatest in giving His only begotten Son to be our sacrifice and our substitute and our surety, if He's done that, will He do the lesser? Would He not follow through with the completion of His purpose and of His salvation? That's what He's saying. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" If God has done the greatest thing for us, He's not going to fail to do that which is lesser.

Now, watch if you would, verse 33. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." God is the one who justifies. No one can lay a charge against us before God. You might lay a charge against us before man, but you're not going to lay a charge against us before God, because God is the one who's justified. Now, watch if you would, verse 34, "Who is he that condemneth?" Doesn't do you any good to condemn. Why? "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Do you see how the intercession of Jesus Christ is now intimately connected with our salvation because we have been called, we have been justified, we've been glorified, and the heavenly session of our Lord denotes His power to save and protect us, and His intercession assures it. He is there.

He's going to make sure that our glorification comes to pass because God has already given the greater, that is His Son, to be our sacrifice, our substitute, and now God's going to finish the work. If God's done the greatest, shall He not do that which is least? Of course He will.

Conclusion: Encouragement to Bold Prayer

Weaver concludes that understanding Christ's intercession should encourage constant, bold prayer. Because the Son intercedes for us and the Spirit intercedes in us, we can draw near with full assurance of faith.

Now, go back to John 17. Let me try to tie it together. I don't know about you. Oh, but this is a blessing to me. Our glorified Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is conscious of His claims. He is conscious of the efficacy of His life and death and resurrection and its intercession. Our Lord is confident in His prayers. And He says in verse 24, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." I don't know about you, but that boggles my mind.

How could anyone think that the Father would not answer that prayer in light of the fact that the Father sent the Son to accomplish salvation? That is why glorified is in the past tense. It is an accomplished fact in the will and in the purpose of God. Now listen to me. Faith finds joy and triumph not just in the sacrifice of Christ, and not just in His resurrection, but in his intercession at the right hand of God. When we understand that our prayer is connected to the intercession of Christ, how could we not be constant in prayer? How could we not be continuous in prayer when we know that the Holy Spirit is an intercessor in us, and Jesus Christ is an intercessor for us before the throne of God. How could we not pray? How could we not come with holy boldness within the veil into the most holy and have communion with God. If God has done the greatest, will He not do that which is least? If God has sent His Son to be our intercessor, and if God has sent the Spirit to be our intercessor, He certainly encourages us to pray.

Does that mean He will not hear us? No. He will hear us. He's done that which is greater, He's certainly not going to fail to do that which is lesser. That's why in Hebrews 10 in verse 22, we read it earlier. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith." So when we pray, we can say, "Father, in faith, I know the Holy Spirit prays in me. I know the Son of God prays for me."

"I want your will, I want your word. Hear me, O Father." And you have perfect communion with God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Spirit. Now I hope you understand Hebrews 7 and verse 25. "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." The intercession of Jesus Christ is the foundation for our prayer life. We know that He's praying for us, which should encourage us to pray to God the Father through God the Son in the Holy Spirit. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee. We thank You for the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You for the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit. And I pray, Father, that You would indeed make us holy, make us godly, make us prayerful. And may we praise Thee for Your infinite work in Jesus Christ, in whose name we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Necessity of Christ's Intercession for Salvation

Summary: Christ's intercession is as essential as His sacrifice; He ever lives to apply the salvation He purchased.

Evidence: Hebrews 7:25: 'Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost... seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.'

The Sinfulness of Human Prayers

Summary: Our prayers are imperfect and tainted by sin; only Christ's priestly work makes them acceptable to God.

Evidence: Weaver quotes: 'There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Christ as Advocate and Surety

Summary: Jesus is our parakletos (advocate) who pleads our cause and guarantees our salvation before the Father.

Evidence: 1 John 2:1: 'We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.'

The Intercession of Christ and the Spirit

Summary: Both the Son and the Holy Spirit intercede for believers: the Spirit in us, the Son for us.

Evidence: Romans 8:26-27, 34; John 14:16.

Preservation and Protection Through Intercession

Summary: Christ's prayer ensures the preservation and protection of His people; they cannot totally apostatize.

Evidence: John 17:11, 14-15; Luke 22:31-32.

The Foundation of Ministry Success

Summary: Success in preaching depends on Christ's intercession, not human ability; He prays for future believers through the Word.

Evidence: John 17:20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

The Certainty of Glorification

Summary: Because Christ intercedes, the believer's glorification is as certain as if already accomplished (Romans 8:30).

Evidence: Romans 8:30: 'whom he justified, them he also glorified.'

Encouragement to Bold Prayer

Summary: Knowing Christ intercedes should give believers boldness to draw near to God in full assurance of faith.

Evidence: Hebrews 10:19-22; Romans 8:31-34.

Key Arguments

Intercession is as vital as sacrifice

Summary: Christ's priestly intercession is not secondary to His death; it is the application of His atonement and equally necessary for salvation.

Evidence: Hebrews 7:25; John Owen: 'He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them.'

No one prays perfectly except Christ

Summary: All human prayers are corrupted by sin, so answered prayer depends entirely on Christ's intercessory work.

Evidence: Weaver: 'There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell...'

Christ prays only for the elect

Summary: In John 17, Jesus explicitly prays for those given to Him by the Father, not for the world.

Evidence: John 17:9: 'I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.'

The Spirit and Son both intercede

Summary: The Holy Spirit intercedes within believers, while Christ intercedes for them at God's right hand; both are called parakletos.

Evidence: Romans 8:26-27, 34; 1 John 2:1.

Christ's prayer guarantees preservation

Summary: Believers cannot totally fall away because Christ prayed for their preservation and the Father always hears Him.

Evidence: John 17:11; Luke 22:31-32; 1 John 2:19.

Ministry success rests on intercession

Summary: Preachers cannot convert anyone by their own power; success comes because Christ intercedes for the preaching of the Word.

Evidence: John 17:20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 4:5-7.

Glorification is certain because of intercession

Summary: Romans 8:30 uses the past tense 'glorified' to show the certainty of future glorification, grounded in Christ's intercession.

Evidence: Romans 8:30-34; John 17:24.

The greater-to-lesser argument assures answered prayer

Summary: If God gave His greatest gift (His Son), He will certainly give lesser gifts, including hearing our prayers.

Evidence: Romans 8:32: 'He that spared not his own Son... how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'

Scripture References

Hebrews 7:25

Context: The foundational text: Christ is able to save to the uttermost because He ever lives to make intercession.

John 14:6

Context: Jesus is the only way to the Father; access to God is through Him alone.

Ephesians 2:18

Context: Through Christ we have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Romans 8:34

Context: Christ is at the right hand of God making intercession for us.

Hebrews 9:24

Context: Christ entered heaven itself to appear in God's presence for us.

1 John 2:1

Context: We have an advocate (parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Hebrews 10:19-22

Context: Believers have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

John 11:41

Context: Jesus thanked the Father for always hearing Him.

Psalm 2:8

Context: The Father tells the Son to ask and He will give the nations as His inheritance.

John 17:6-9

Context: Jesus prays for those the Father gave Him, not for the world.

Romans 8:32-34

Context: God delivered up His Son; Christ intercedes; no one can condemn.

John 17:11

Context: Jesus prays for the Father to keep those given to Him.

1 Peter 1:5

Context: Believers are kept by the power of God through faith.

Jude 1:1

Context: Believers are preserved in Jesus Christ.

Luke 22:31-32

Context: Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail.

1 John 2:19

Context: Those who leave the faith were never truly of it.

John 17:14-15

Context: Jesus prays not for removal from the world but for protection from evil.

John 17:20

Context: Jesus prays for future believers through the apostles' word.

John 17:21-24

Context: Jesus prays for believers' unity and that they may behold His glory.

Romans 8:30

Context: Those predestined are called, justified, and glorified (past tense).

Historical References

Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith

Context: Weaver reads paragraphs on Christ's intercession and offices, noting its similarity to the Westminster Confession.

Westminster Confession of Faith

Context: Weaver reads paragraph 8, which is almost identical to the Philadelphia Confession on Christ's intercession.

Matthew Henry

Context: Weaver quotes Henry's threefold description of believers as God's creatures, criminals, and chosen.

John Owen

Context: Weaver cites Owen's three divisions of Christ's work (incarnation, oblation, intercession) and his argument that intercession is for all for whom He died.

John Flavel

Context: Weaver quotes Flavel on the exhausting labors of ministry and how sin and Satan unravel the preacher's work.

Arthur W. Pink

Context: Weaver quotes Pink on the inability of preachers to convert sinners; only the Spirit can.

Important Quotes

There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Significance: Highlights the radical imperfection of human prayer and the absolute necessity of Christ's intercession.

He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them. He did not do the greater and omit the lesser.

Significance: John Owen's argument that Christ's intercession is inseparable from His atonement.

The labors of the ministry will exhaust the very marrow from your bones. Hasten to old age and death.

Significance: John Flavel's vivid description of the physical and spiritual toll of ministry.

Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. The impressions we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next.

Significance: Flavel's explanation of why ministry is uniquely discouraging without divine intervention.

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Significance: Paul's greater-to-lesser argument that assures believers of God's continued grace.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.

Significance: Christ's confident prayer for the final glorification of His people.

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Significance: The key text of the sermon, linking Christ's saving power to His ongoing intercession.

Discussion Questions

Why is Christ's intercession just as important as His sacrifice for our salvation?

Context: Weaver argues that intercession applies the purchased salvation; without it, the atonement would not be effectually communicated.

How does the sinfulness of our prayers affect our confidence in approaching God?

Context: Weaver states that there is enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell apart from Christ's priestly work.

What does it mean that Christ is our advocate (parakletos) and how does this relate to the Holy Spirit's role?

Context: Both are called parakletos; the Spirit intercedes in us, Christ intercedes for us.

How does Christ's prayer in John 17:11-15 assure believers of their preservation and protection?

Context: Jesus specifically asks the Father to keep and protect those given to Him, and the Father always hears Him.

In what ways does the intercession of Christ provide the foundation for success in ministry?

Context: Weaver argues that no preacher can convert a soul by his own power; success depends on Christ's prayer for the Word.

Why does Paul use the past tense 'glorified' in Romans 8:30, and how does this connect to Christ's intercession?

Context: Glorification is so certain because of Christ's intercession that it is spoken of as already completed.

How does the 'greater to lesser' argument in Romans 8:32 encourage believers to pray boldly?

Context: If God gave His greatest gift (His Son), He will certainly give lesser gifts, including answering prayer.

What practical difference should the doctrine of Christ's intercession make in our daily prayer lives?

Context: Weaver concludes that understanding Christ's intercession should lead to constant, bold, and confident prayer.

Applications

Pray with confidence in Christ's intercession

Summary: Because Christ ever lives to intercede, believers can approach God with boldness and full assurance of faith.

Evidence: Hebrews 10:19-22; Hebrews 7:25.

Rest in the certainty of preservation

Summary: Christ's prayer guarantees that true believers will never totally fall away; this should give assurance and peace.

Evidence: John 17:11; Luke 22:31-32.

Depend on Christ for ministry fruitfulness

Summary: Preachers and teachers should rely not on their own abilities but on Christ's intercession for the success of the Word.

Evidence: John 17:20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

Acknowledge the imperfection of your prayers

Summary: Recognize that even our best prayers are tainted by sin and need Christ's priestly cleansing to be acceptable.

Evidence: Weaver: 'There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell...'

Be encouraged by the Spirit's intercession within

Summary: When you don't know how to pray, trust that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you according to God's will.

Evidence: Romans 8:26-27.

Look forward to glorification with certainty

Summary: Because Christ prayed for it, your future glorification is as sure as if it has already happened; live in that hope.

Evidence: John 17:24; Romans 8:30.

Pray persistently, knowing the Father hears the Son

Summary: Since the Father always hears the Son, and the Son intercedes for us, we can pray with expectation of being heard.

Evidence: John 11:41; Psalm 2:8.

Value Christ's priestly work as much as His sacrifice

Summary: Do not neglect the doctrine of intercession; it is equally vital to your salvation and daily walk with God.

Evidence: Hebrews 7:25; John Owen quote.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:48:47Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:45:22Z

Clean Transcript

The Intercession of Christ and Prayer

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Hebrews chapter 7, and look if you would please at verse 25. Hebrews 7 verse 25. The scripture says, "Wherefore he," that is the Lord Jesus, "he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." You know, there's an amazing thought as you look at verse 25. The Bible does not say in this passage, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he gave his life a ransom or a sacrifice for them." Now, he did give his life a ransom and a sacrifice, but the Bible says he's able to save us to the uttermost, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for us. The title of the message is "The Intercession of Christ and Prayer." Most people hardly ever consider the intercession of Christ, and very few, if any, ever consider the intercession of Christ and prayer.
#1 | 0:00 to 1:09 | cleaned
We pray oftentimes, but we have never really understood that the efficacy or the power of prayer really and truly does not lie within us. So here's a good question for you to ponder. Have you ever asked yourself why are any of our prayers answered?
#2 | 1:10 to 1:32 | cleaned
Now, most people want to know why my prayers are unanswered. And certainly that's a legitimate question from time to time, but we need to consider why any of our prayers are ever answered. And I understand that there are certain requirements in the Bible for prayer. For instance, we must pray in faith. We must pray according to the will of God. But have you ever considered the sin that is actually involved in our prayer even when we endeavor to pray biblically? And I say the sin involved. I'm talking about none of us pray perfectly.
#3 | 1:33 to 2:10 | cleaned
And oftentimes there's wicked thoughts and vile thoughts, humanistic thoughts, fleshly thoughts. Oftentimes we're bothered, we can't concentrate, we can't think. And there's absolutely nothing in us that is perfect. And one old preacher said it like this. He said, "There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ." And stop and think about that. That is true.
#4 | 2:11 to 2:40 | cleaned
Because we cannot fulfill any responsible action, nor can we do anything really and truly solidly biblical because of our sin, our weakness, and our wickedness as well. So no one but Jesus Christ prays perfectly. And Jesus Christ is prophet, priest, and king.
#5 | 2:41 to 3:03 | cleaned
Now I'll only give you two quotes to begin with. The first one is from the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith. The second one is from the Westminster Confession of Faith, and you're going to find that in one area, they are basically the same. But I want you to listen to what they're talking about when we talk about the session, the heavenly session, that's Christ seated at the right hand of God and His intercession. And here's what the Philadelphia Baptist Confession says: "To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them, uniting them to Himself by His Spirit, revealing unto them in and by the Word the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all of their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom."
#6 | 3:03 to 4:05 | cleaned
"...in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation, and all of free and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them to procure it. The office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ, who is prophet, priest, and King of the church of God, and may not be, either in whole or in any part, transferred from Him to any other." One last paragraph.
#7 | 4:06 to 4:37 | cleaned
"This number and order of offices is necessary. For in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office; and in respect of our alienation from God, and imperfection of the best of our services, we need His priestly office to reconcile us and present us acceptable unto God; and in respect of our averseness and our utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need His kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom."
#8 | 4:38 to 5:17 | cleaned
Now, those were just a few of the paragraphs that you would find in the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith concerning the intercession of Christ. I'm just going to read paragraph 8 from the Westminster Confession, and you're going to find that this paragraph is almost word-for-word with the Philadelphia. Listen carefully. "To all those for whom Christ has purchased redemption, He does certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them and revealing unto them in and by the Word the mysteries of salvation, effectually persuading them by His Spirit to believe and obey, and governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit."
#9 | 5:17 to 5:58 | cleaned
"...overcoming all their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation." Now, you and I believe based upon the Word of God that the only approach to the One True and the Living God, the only approach to our Heavenly Father, is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is, we can have no access unto God except through Jesus Christ. John 14 and verse 6, He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." So the only way you can get to God the Father is through Jesus Christ. So the Bible teaches that the proper approach to God is through the Son and in the Spirit. For the Bible says in Ephesians 2 and verse 18, "For through him," that is through Jesus Christ, "through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." So the proper avenue of approach to the Father is through the Son and in the Spirit.
#10 | 5:59 to 7:10 | cleaned
One author said this concerning Jesus Christ. He said, "He who might have been placing a vial of wrath in the hand of every angel around his throne with a commission to pour it out upon this rebellious world until it was utterly consumed, is standing at this moment at the altar of incense presenting our prayers for mercy and officiating there as our great High Priest." And that is certainly true. Christ could have rightly and justly condemned us, but he did not.
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Now, there's a passage I'm going to quote a couple of times. Then, before I finish, we're going to come back and look at this passage. That's Romans 8 and verse 34. There the scripture says, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, and the Bible says he maketh intercession for us. Now listen to Hebrews 9 and verse 24. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands."
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So it's not the tabernacle, it's not the temple. Then he goes on to say, "...which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, appearing there for us. So it should encourage us greatly as well as encouraging us in prayer when we grasp the fact that Jesus Christ is our intercessor and our advocate.
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In other words, He actually represents us before the Father. Now, there's a passage in 1 John 2 and verse 1, which we will also look at a little bit later. But in that passage, the Bible says this, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
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Now the word advocate there literally means he is our attorney. He pleads our cause. He prays in our behalf. Consequently, because of this, we should have a boldness to enter into the holiest of all. You remember in the Old Testament, the only one that could go into the holiest of all was the high priest. And then only once a year, and that not without the shedding of blood.
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But if you will look in Hebrews 10, beginning there with verse 19. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Look what the Bible says. "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)." Now look at verse 19 again, "...having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." Please remember again, no one but the high priest went into the holiest of all.
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And if any man ran into that, he would have been instantly killed. And now the Bible says, we now have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who makes our prayers effectual. For the Father always hears Jesus Christ. You remember that passage in John 11 in verse 41, where our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. He said in that passage, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me."
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In fact, let me say it like this. God the Father always hears God the Son. In fact, there's a tremendous passage in Psalm 2 in verse 8, where the Father said to the Son, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." In other words, the Father said to the Son, "All you have to do is ask, and I'll give it to you. Whatever you ask, you may have."
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So what I want to do today is this. I want us to look in John 17, and let me show you some aspects of the intercessory work of Christ. Certainly we are not going to be able to cover everything, but this will give you an idea and an example of our Lord's intercession. So if you'll look in John chapter 17, we're going to begin with verse 6. John 17 and verse 6.
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In this passage, this is the high priestly prayer of our Lord. You remember last week I dealt with the sovereignty of God in prayer. Well, we looked at what is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, which is really the model prayer, where our Lord taught his disciples to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven." However, John 17 is indeed the high priestly prayer of our Lord. If you look in verse 1, the Bible says this, "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come."
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"Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." And then this entire chapter is the prayer of our Lord.
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Now, the first thing I want you to see in verses 6-9 is that Jesus Christ prays for His people. Look in verse 6. He says, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me." Now look at verse 9. He says, "I pray for them," that is, the ones the Father gave the Son. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Now in this brief passage that I just read, we also see the prophetical office of Christ as well as his priestly office. Because the prophetical office, he says, "I've declared unto them the words which thou gavest me."
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In other words, he preached, he taught, he gave to his disciples the truth that God had given him to declare. But now we also see his priestly work because he is now praying as well.
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Now, it's interesting that he says, "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Interestingly enough, Matthew Henry points out three things concerning this passage. Let me just read it to you. He said, and I'm quoting, "The elect whom the Father gave to Christ were His own in three ways." So here are the three ways.
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First, they were creatures and their lives and beings were derived from Him. When they were given to Christ to be vessels of honor, they were in His hand as clay in the hand of the potter to be disposed of as God's wisdom saw most for God's glory. Secondly, they were criminals and their lives and beings were forfeited to Him. It was a remnant of fallen mankind that was given to Christ to be redeemed, that might have been made sacrifices to justice when they were pitched upon to be the monuments of mercy, might justly have been delivered to the tormentors when they were delivered to the Savior. Thirdly, they were chosen and their lives and beings were designed for Him. They were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as His agent.
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Now, Matthew Henry said that we belong to God in three ways. Number one, we were His creatures. Number two, we were His criminals in that sense that we had sinned against Him and we were delivered into His hand for justice. And then, of course, we are chosen because He delivered us out of that criminality and brought us to Jesus Christ. And here he said this, listen carefully, "And they were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as His agent." Have you ever stopped to think that Jesus Christ is the agent of God the Father? He received us as God the Father's agents. But I might point out that He is also our agent because He is our surety and He undertook on our behalf to guarantee everything.
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Isn't it amazing that when we think of our Lord's salvation, we automatically think of His sacrifice and His substitutionary death? Very seldom do we ever think about his priestly intercession. And yet the truth of the matter is, he not only died in our place, he now lives to intercede for us. That is why I read the text in Hebrews 7 verse 25. "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him," not just because he gave his life for them, but because "he ever liveth to make intercession for them." In other words, the priestly work of Jesus Christ is just as important in salvation as the substitutionary and sacrificial work of Jesus Christ as well.
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Now, so here it is, as our suffering substitute, he made atonement for our sins while on earth. As our high priest, he now maketh intercession for us on behalf of each of us unto the Father. Romans 8 verses 32 through 34. Let me quote them again. We will come back there before I end the day. The Bible says, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
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"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
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Now let me give you the one paragraph that was exactly the same in the Philadelphia Confession of Faith and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Listen carefully. "To all those for whom Christ has purchased redemption, He does certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them and revealing unto them in and by His Word the mystery of His salvation." And I'm not finishing the paragraph, but notice if you would how they tie the intercession of Christ with the salvation of Christ. You might say it like this, it is true His sacrifice merited and earned salvation, but His priestly intercession enables Him to apply that salvation.
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So, has it ever dawned upon you that you were brought to God the Father savingly, not just simply because of the work of God the Holy Spirit, but also because of the priestly work of God the Son? So, His intercession is just as important as His sacrifice. I usually ask a question when I'm preaching on Matthew chapter 5. I would say, "Which is more important? The circumcision of Jesus Christ or the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?" And you know, most people are going to say, "Oh, the crucifixion." But would you note, the crucifixion would have been ineffective had he not kept the law of God perfectly. So both are equally important. And it's like that when you come to the intercession of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ as well.
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Now, John Owen, the old Puritan, was known as the prince of preachers. And he lists three divisions of the work of Christ in redemption. He says they are, number one, the incarnation of Christ, that is, when Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us.
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Secondly, His oblation, or His sacrifice. And then thirdly, His intercession for those for whom He made atonement. And then he says this, listen carefully, "His intercession is for all and every one of those for whom he gave himself for an oblation. He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them. He did not do the greater and omit the lesser." So what Owen is saying is we're saved just as much by our Lord's intercession as we are by His sacrifice.
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And I said this before, I'm going to say it again. His intercession is simply the application of His purchased salvation.
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Now, Christ executed the first element of His priestly office, surety, when He gave Himself as a sacrifice. He likewise administers the second element of His priestly office, as He is still our surety and He intercedes for us. So when you think about the intercession of Jesus Christ, you have to remember this. He is not just standing before the throne of God saying, "Well, Father, these are my friends." Well, the Scripture does call us His friends, that is for sure. But He stands there as our surety, as guaranteeing everything for us.
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It's kind of like if Steve wanted to buy something, didn't quite have enough money, I would stand behind him and say to Gary, if he's buying it from Gary, "I'll be his surety." In other words, I will guarantee that you will get your money. If Steve can't pay it, I will. Well, obviously, Jesus Christ is our surety in the sense that He's pleased before the Father, the perfection of His work, and the pureness of His sacrifice.
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Now, do you remember that passage again that I gave you in the quote of Matthew Henry? I'm just talking about the third one. He said, first of all, that we were God's creatures. Secondly, we were God's criminals and we were that. But thirdly, he said, we were God's chosen. Think about this. He said, "Thirdly, they were chosen and their lives and beings were designed for him. They were set apart for God and were consigned to Christ as his agent." So Jesus Christ, as the agent of the Father, is the one who guarantees that those whom the Father has given Him will indeed end up in glory. But since we have been given to Him, He's not only the agent of the Father, He's also our agent and our surety, and He undertakes for us. He is our advocate.
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Now, I want to show you something. In 1 John 2 and verse 1, I quoted this passage earlier. Let me quote it again. 1 John 2 and verse 1, the Bible says, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Now the word for advocate is a very interesting word. It is the word parakletos. Parakletos literally means one that is called alongside to help. Para means alongside. Kletos is from the word called. It is translated in our Bibles as advocate and as comforter. So actually the parakletos is the one who is called along beside of to plead our cause before a judge, to be our counsel for defense, to be our helper, and to be our aid. And the same word is used of the Holy Spirit. You remember that passage in John 14 and 15, where he said there that he's going to the Father. But he said, "If I go to the Father, I will not leave you comfortless."
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"I will send you another Comforter." And the word Comforter there is parakletos. And he's talking about the Holy Spirit.
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Now, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 8. We'll be coming back to this passage. But look in Romans, chapter 8, if you would, please. At verses 26 and 27. Here's what the Holy Spirit as Comforter does, or at least one of the things that he does for us. Romans 8 verse 26, watch carefully. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities."
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"For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." So the Holy Spirit is a Comforter. He is the paraclete, the one called alongside to help, because we don't know how to pray as we ought. And the Bible tells us in verse 27 that he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So the question would be, why then is the Holy Spirit called the Parakletos, and why then is Jesus Christ called the Parakletos?
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And the answer is very simple. Because the Holy Spirit is an intercessor in us, and God the Son is the intercessor for us. Both do intercessory work. Both are paracletes. Both are called alongside of to help.
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Now, I want you to go back to John 17. Let me show you this. We're talking about Jesus Christ as our intercessor, Jesus Christ as our advocate. So if you look in John 17, verse 11, He stands as surety for our preservation. John 17, verse 11. He said, "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."
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So our Lord is saying, "I'm leaving. I'm going back to you."
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"Now keep them. They are in the world, but they need to be kept." Now, the Scripture tells us very clearly in 1 Peter 1 and verse 5 that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. But why would God keep us? And the answer is because God the Son prayed for us, and He asked the Father to keep us and to preserve us. Do you know what the Bible says in Jude 1 and verse 1?
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I want you to listen carefully. Jude writes, and he says, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." So God the Father heard the prayer for our preservation. And we are preserved in Jesus Christ.
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Now, here's a good question. Why did not Peter fail utterly, totally, and completely? We know that he denied Christ three times. Here's the answer. In Luke 22, verses 31 and 32, Jesus Christ said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." The reason Peter did not falter and fail totally, completely, permanently, is because Christ interceded for him. The only reason you and I do not fail and falter completely and totally and permanently is because of the intercessory prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you realize it is impossible for God's people to apostatize totally and completely? It's impossible.
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How can I say that? Well, number one, because of the prayer of Jesus Christ. He asked the Father to keep us. And the Father always hears his prayer, always answers his prayer. But the Bible says this in 1 John 2 and verse 19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." What did John say? John said if anyone ever leaves the faith, quote unquote, permanently, and apostatizes, it's just evidence that they were never ever in the faith to begin with. What did he say? "They went out from us, for they were not of us, for had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us." Obviously.
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So our Lord then prays for our preservation. So we will be preserved, and we are preserved in Jesus Christ.
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Now, skip down to verses 14 and 15. He also prays for our protection. Look in verse 14. He says, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Now, actually, "that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one."
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Is it ho ponēros? Is there a definite article there? Not? Okay. So, keep us from the evil. Do you realize Satan is referred to in the Bible as the accuser of the brethren in Revelation 12 and verse 10? But we not only have the accuser of the brethren, we have the world, we have the flesh, we have the ungodly, we have wicked rulers. All of these seek to overthrow us and destroy us.
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And the amazing thing is this, they will never, ever prevail. The Bible says in Psalm 37 verse 12, "The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." Note if you would, the wicked plotteth. That is, they scheme, they plan, they conspire to destroy us. But they shall not do so. John wrote in 1 John 2, verses 13 and 14, "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." And then in 1 John 4 and verse 4, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
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So our preservation and our protection rests upon the great high priest, our intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. So he prays for his people. If you would stop and think about that, how could you not be encouraged to pray when you realize the Son of God prays for you? I want you to see something second. Look in verse 20 of John 17. He not only prays for his people, he prays for his preachers. Watch verse 20. He says, "Neither pray I for these alone," that is his then living disciples, "neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." So he also prays for future believers. But I want you to note something. He's not only praying for future believers, he's praying for his preachers in the sense that they're going to be preaching and teaching and telling others, and they're going to believe on him through their word.
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Every preacher desires success in the ministry. The problem is one's definition of success may be faulty. It may not be biblical. If you were to examine Noah by the standards of success today in the ministry, he was an epic failure. Preached for 120 years, never had one convert. When you think of Jeremiah and Isaiah, they too were epic failures. And yet these people are listed as heroes of faith.
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So here's a good question to consider. What is the ground or foundation of success in the ministry? Is it the oratory ability of the preacher? Is it the charisma of the preacher? Is it the ability of the preacher? Is it the knowledge of the preacher? No. No. The foundation of success in the ministry is the intercession of Jesus Christ. It's invigorating, it's encouraging and edifying to know that Jesus Christ intercedes and prays for the preaching of the gospel. So in our Lord's High Priestly Prayer in verse 20, He not only prays for the men who will be preaching, He's also praying for the method that is the preaching itself. Those who will believe only through their words. Have you ever really considered the ministry?
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John Flavel, one of the earlier Puritans and one of the most delightful to read, explains the problems in the ministry. I want you to listen to what he said. "The labors of the ministry will exhaust the very marrow from your bones. Hasten to old age and death. They, God's preachers, are fitly compared to the toil of men in harvest, to the labors of a woman in travail, and to the agonies of soldiers in the extremity of a battle."
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"We must watch while others sleep. And indeed, it is not so much the expense of our labors as the loss of them that kill us. It is not with us as with other laborers. They find their work as they leave it. So do not we. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. The impressions we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next."
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"How many truths have we to study? How many wiles of Satan and mysteries of corruption to detect? How many cases of conscience to resolve? Yea, we must fight in defense of the truth we preach, as well as study them to paleness, and preach them and all, and welcome pained breasts, aching backs, and trembling legs, if we can by all but approve ourselves Christ's faithful servants, and hear that joyful voice from his mouth, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant,' all will be well."
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But notice what he said, that which kills preachers most is not just putting forth the labor, but the loss of it. So if you're building a house and you're studding up the wall and it gets nighttime and you get tired, all you have to do is quit. Go home, eat supper, go to bed, and you come back the next morning, the wall's still standing. Pick up your hammer and saw and go back to it.
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You find your work exactly as you leave it. He said that's not true in the ministry. Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. And the impressions that we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next. That's why most people cannot remember what the preacher preached last Sunday. They certainly couldn't remember what he preached a month ago. It's gone. It's evaporated. Where did it go? Well, the Bible tells us Satan steals the seed. The Bible also tells us there's the flesh, there's the world, all kind of things to destroy it. The point I'm trying to make is this, the power is not in the preacher. Arthur W.
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Pink said it like this, listen. He said, "A hundred preachers are unable to make an unregenerate person realize the dreadful nature of sin, or show him that he's been a lifelong rebel against God, or change his heart so that now he hates himself and longs to please God and serve Christ. Only the Spirit can bring a man to the place where he's willing to forsake every idol, cut off a hindering right hand, or pluck out an offending right eye." You could take all the preachers in America and we could not convert one lost sinner in and of ourselves. It's impossible. It's impossible. It is Jesus Christ who sent the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus Christ who prays for the success of his preachers. I want you to listen to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1 through 5.
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He said, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
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So he said, it was not my oratory. It was not my wisdom. That's worthless. And then he said it like this in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 5-7. He said, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." Now listen to what he said, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." When you stop and think how weak, how wicked, and how helpless are the most brilliant, the most wise, and the most godly preachers, we can't convert one sinner. We cannot comfort and console and encourage one saint in and of ourselves, in our strength and in our power, because we have none. The only hope of success in the ministry lies in the intercession of Jesus Christ.
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Now, I want to tell you this. That the ministry is going to be successful for three reasons. I know this. How do I know it? Number one, because God the Father ordained it. Number two, because God the Son prayed for it. And number three, because God the Holy Spirit is covenantally engaged to honor the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. So in this intercessory prayer, our Lord prays for his people, our preservation, our protection. He prays for his preachers. And he is the ground of our success in the ministry. I want to show you one other thing here. He also prays for our perfection.
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Look, if you would, in verses 21 through 24. Verse 21. Remember, our Lord is praying and he says this, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." Now watch verse twenty-four. "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."
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Now, let me ask you a question. Can you fathom, can you even begin to think of being with Jesus Christ and beholding Him in all of His glory, worshiping Him and glorifying Him in a body that is capable of constant and continuous praise? He prayed for our perfection.
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Now, I want you to hold John 17. I want you to turn over to Romans 8. I kept telling you we're going to come back there. So here is what I want to show you. Romans 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 30, and we will read through verse 34. I want to tie this together for you. Romans 8, verse 30. Watch carefully. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
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"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
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Now, I want to go back to verse 30. I want you to follow me, and I want you to try to observe something unusual in this verse. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Do you notice anything peculiar about the three words called, justified, glorified? They are all past tense. And in the Greek, they're all in the aorist tense, which means it is a completed action. Now, here's my question. Have you yet been glorified? No.
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But your glorification is just as absolutely certain and sure as if it had already been done. In fact, God the Father views it as a completed action. He called you. He justified you. He glorified you. Wow!
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Now I want you to watch. Let's work our way down. So He is saying in verse 30, you've been called, you've been justified, you've been glorified. Watch verse 31. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Well, if God is for us, it really doesn't matter who's against us. Because no one can overthrow God or thwart him or hinder him. OK? So watch verse 32. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
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Now, I want you to notice the argument that the Apostle Paul is using. It's a very precious argument, and it is an argument from the greater to the lesser. If God has done the greatest in giving His only begotten Son to be our sacrifice and our substitute and our surety, if He's done that, will He do the lesser? Would He not follow through with the completion of His purpose and of His salvation? That's what He's saying. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" If God has done the greatest thing for us, He's not going to fail to do that which is lesser.
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Now, watch if you would, verse 33. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." God is the one who justifies. No one can lay a charge against us before God. You might lay a charge against us before man, but you're not going to lay a charge against us before God, because God is the one who's justified. Now, watch if you would, verse 34, "Who is he that condemneth?"
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Doesn't do you any good to condemn. Why? "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Do you see how the intercession of Jesus Christ is now intimately connected with our salvation because we have been called, we have been justified, we've been glorified, and the heavenly session of our Lord denotes His power to save and protect us, and His intercession assures it. He is there.
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He's going to make sure that our glorification comes to pass because God has already given the greater, that is His Son, to be our sacrifice, our substitute, and now God's going to finish the work. If God's done the greatest, shall He not do that which is least? Of course He will.
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Now, go back to John 17. Let me try to tie it together. I don't know about you. Oh, but this is a blessing to me. Our glorified Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is conscious of His claims. He is conscious of the efficacy of His life and death and resurrection and its intercession. Our Lord is confident in His prayers. And He says in verse 24, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." I don't know about you, but that boggles my mind.
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How could anyone think that the Father would not answer that prayer in light of the fact that the Father sent the Son to accomplish salvation? That is why glorified is in the past tense. It is an accomplished fact in the will and in the purpose of God. Now listen to me. Faith finds joy and triumph not just in the sacrifice of Christ, and not just in His resurrection, but in his intercession at the right hand of God. When we understand that our prayer is connected to the intercession of Christ, how could we not be constant in prayer? How could we not be continuous in prayer when we know that the Holy Spirit is an intercessor in us, and Jesus Christ is an intercessor for us before the throne of God. How could we not pray? How could we not come with holy boldness within the veil into the most holy and have communion with God. If God has done the greatest, will He not do that which is least? If God has sent His Son to be our intercessor, and if God has sent the Spirit to be our intercessor, He certainly encourages us to pray.
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Does that mean He will not hear us? No. He will hear us. He's done that which is greater, He's certainly not going to fail to do that which is lesser. That's why in Hebrews 10 in verse 22, we read it earlier. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith." So when we pray, we can say, "Father, in faith, I know the Holy Spirit prays in me. I know the Son of God prays for me."
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"I want your will, I want your word. Hear me, O Father." And you have perfect communion with God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Spirit.
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Now I hope you understand Hebrews 7 and verse 25. "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." The intercession of Jesus Christ is the foundation for our prayer life. We know that He's praying for us, which should encourage us to pray to God the Father through God the Son in the Holy Spirit. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee. We thank You for the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You for the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit. And I pray, Father, that You would indeed make us holy, make us godly, make us prayerful. And may we praise Thee for Your infinite work in Jesus Christ, in whose name we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:48:47Z

The Intercession of Christ and Prayer

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver explores the often-neglected doctrine of Christ's intercession, arguing that it is as essential to salvation as His sacrifice. He shows from Hebrews 7:25 and John 17 that Jesus prays for His people's preservation, protection, and perfection, and that His heavenly intercession is the foundation for answered prayer and boldness in approaching God.

Introduction: The Neglected Intercession

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 7:25

" Now, he did give his life a ransom and a sacrifice, but the Bible says he's able to save us to the uttermost, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for us. The title of the message is "

The Intercession of Christ and Prayer." Most people hardly ever consider the intercession of Christ, and very few, if any, ever consider the intercession of Christ and prayer.

The Sinfulness of Our Prayers

Confessional Foundations of Christ's Intercession

Christ as Our Advocate and High Priest

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:34

"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

So Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, and the Bible says he maketh intercession for us. Now listen to Hebrews 9 and verse 24. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands."

But if you will look in Hebrews 10, beginning there with verse 19. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Look what the Bible says.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:19-22

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)."

Now look at verse 19 again,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:19-22

"...having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus."

Please remember again, no one but the high priest went into the holiest of all.

Christ Prays for His People (John 17:6-9)

Scripture Reading — John 17:6-9

So what I want to do today is this. I want us to look in John 17, and let me show you some aspects of the intercessory work of Christ. Certainly we are not going to be able to cover everything, but this will give you an idea and an example of our Lord's intercession. So if you'll look in John chapter 17, we're going to begin with verse 6. John 17 and verse 6. In this passage, this is the high priestly prayer of our Lord. You remember last week I dealt with the sovereignty of God in prayer. Well, we looked at what is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, which is really the model prayer, where our Lord taught his disciples to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven." However, John 17 is indeed the high priestly prayer of our Lord. If you look in verse 1, the Bible says this, "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come."

The Intercession as Application of Salvation

Christ Prays for Preservation, Protection, and Preachers (John 17:11-20)

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:5

are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

But why would God keep us? And the answer is because God the Son prayed for us, and He asked the Father to keep us and to preserve us. Do you know what the Bible says in Jude 1 and verse 1?

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:19

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

What did John say? John said if anyone ever leaves the faith, quote unquote, permanently, and apostatizes, it's just evidence that they were never ever in the faith to begin with. What did he say?

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:19

"They went out from us, for they were not of us, for had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us."

Obviously.

Christ Prays for Our Perfection (John 17:21-24)

Scripture Reading — John 17:21-24

Now, let me ask you a question. Can you fathom, can you even begin to think of being with Jesus Christ and beholding Him in all of His glory, worshiping Him and glorifying Him in a body that is capable of constant and continuous praise? He prayed for our perfection. Now, I want you to hold John 17. I want you to turn over to Romans 8. I kept telling you we're going to come back there. So here is what I want to show you. Romans 8, and let's begin reading there with verse 30, and we will read through verse 34. I want to tie this together for you. Romans 8, verse 30. Watch carefully. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

The Greater-to-Lesser Argument (Romans 8:31-34)

Conclusion: Encouragement to Bold Prayer

The Intercession of Christ and Prayer

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	813171844376
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans-Related Topical Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-08-13
Dictation Name
Book	Book 138: Romans-Related Topical Applications — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	80

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Neglected Intercession: Weaver introduces Hebrews 7:25, emphasizing that Christ's ability to save to the uttermost is tied to His ever-living intercession, not just His death. He notes that most believers rarely consider Christ's intercessory work.
The Sinfulness of Our Prayers: Weaver argues that no one prays perfectly; our prayers are tainted by sin, and only Christ's priestly work makes them acceptable. He quotes an old preacher: 'There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ.'
Confessional Foundations of Christ's Intercession: Weaver reads from the Philadelphia Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession, highlighting their agreement that Christ effectually applies redemption through intercession, uniting believers to Himself and overcoming their enemies.
Christ as Our Advocate and High Priest: Weaver explains that Christ is our advocate (parakletos) who pleads our cause before the Father. He connects this to the believer's boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Christ Prays for His People (John 17:6-9): Weaver examines Jesus' high priestly prayer, noting that He prays specifically for those given to Him by the Father, not for the world. He cites Matthew Henry's threefold description of believers as God's creatures, criminals, and chosen.
The Intercession as Application of Salvation: Weaver argues that Christ's intercession is the application of His purchased salvation. He quotes John Owen: 'He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them.' The intercession is as vital as the sacrifice.
Christ Prays for Preservation, Protection, and Preachers (John 17:11-20): Weaver shows that Jesus prays for the preservation of His people (v. 11), their protection from evil (vv. 14-15), and for future believers through the preaching of the Word (v. 20). He emphasizes that success in ministry depends on Christ's intercession, not human ability.
Christ Prays for Our Perfection (John 17:21-24): Weaver highlights Jesus' prayer that believers be with Him and behold His glory. He connects this to Romans 8:30, where glorification is spoken of in the past tense, showing its certainty because of Christ's intercession.
The Greater-to-Lesser Argument (Romans 8:31-34): Weaver explains Paul's argument: if God gave His greatest gift (His Son), He will certainly give all lesser things, including answering prayer. Christ's intercession guarantees the completion of salvation.
Conclusion: Encouragement to Bold Prayer: Weaver concludes that understanding Christ's intercession should encourage constant, bold prayer. Because the Son intercedes for us and the Spirit intercedes in us, we can draw near with full assurance of faith.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Intercession is as vital as sacrifice

Christ's priestly intercession is not secondary to His death; it is the application of His atonement and equally necessary for salvation.

Hebrews 7:25; John Owen: 'He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them.'

No one prays perfectly except Christ

All human prayers are corrupted by sin, so answered prayer depends entirely on Christ's intercessory work.

Weaver: 'There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell...'

Christ prays only for the elect

In John 17, Jesus explicitly prays for those given to Him by the Father, not for the world.

John 17:9: 'I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.'

The Spirit and Son both intercede

The Holy Spirit intercedes within believers, while Christ intercedes for them at God's right hand; both are called parakletos.

Romans 8:26-27, 34; 1 John 2:1.

Christ's prayer guarantees preservation

Believers cannot totally fall away because Christ prayed for their preservation and the Father always hears Him.

John 17:11; Luke 22:31-32; 1 John 2:19.

Ministry success rests on intercession

Preachers cannot convert anyone by their own power; success comes because Christ intercedes for the preaching of the Word.

John 17:20; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 4:5-7.

Glorification is certain because of intercession

Romans 8:30 uses the past tense 'glorified' to show the certainty of future glorification, grounded in Christ's intercession.

Romans 8:30-34; John 17:24.

The greater-to-lesser argument assures answered prayer

If God gave His greatest gift (His Son), He will certainly give lesser gifts, including hearing our prayers.

Romans 8:32: 'He that spared not his own Son... how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'

Scripture References

Hebrews 7:25: The foundational text: Christ is able to save to the uttermost because He ever lives to make intercession.
John 14:6: Jesus is the only way to the Father; access to God is through Him alone.
Ephesians 2:18: Through Christ we have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Romans 8:34: Christ is at the right hand of God making intercession for us.
Hebrews 9:24: Christ entered heaven itself to appear in God's presence for us.
1 John 2:1: We have an advocate (parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Hebrews 10:19-22: Believers have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
John 11:41: Jesus thanked the Father for always hearing Him.
Psalm 2:8: The Father tells the Son to ask and He will give the nations as His inheritance.
John 17:6-9: Jesus prays for those the Father gave Him, not for the world.
Romans 8:32-34: God delivered up His Son; Christ intercedes; no one can condemn.
John 17:11: Jesus prays for the Father to keep those given to Him.
1 Peter 1:5: Believers are kept by the power of God through faith.
Jude 1:1: Believers are preserved in Jesus Christ.
Luke 22:31-32: Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail.
1 John 2:19: Those who leave the faith were never truly of it.
John 17:14-15: Jesus prays not for removal from the world but for protection from evil.
John 17:20: Jesus prays for future believers through the apostles' word.
John 17:21-24: Jesus prays for believers' unity and that they may behold His glory.
Romans 8:30: Those predestined are called, justified, and glorified (past tense).

Historical References

Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith: Weaver reads paragraphs on Christ's intercession and offices, noting its similarity to the Westminster Confession.
Westminster Confession of Faith: Weaver reads paragraph 8, which is almost identical to the Philadelphia Confession on Christ's intercession.
Matthew Henry: Weaver quotes Henry's threefold description of believers as God's creatures, criminals, and chosen.
John Owen: Weaver cites Owen's three divisions of Christ's work (incarnation, oblation, intercession) and his argument that intercession is for all for whom He died.
John Flavel: Weaver quotes Flavel on the exhausting labors of ministry and how sin and Satan unravel the preacher's work.
Arthur W. Pink: Weaver quotes Pink on the inability of preachers to convert sinners; only the Spirit can.

Important Quotes

There's enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell if it were not for the priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Highlights the radical imperfection of human prayer and the absolute necessity of Christ's intercession.

He did not suffer for them and then refused to intercede for them. He did not do the greater and omit the lesser.

John Owen's argument that Christ's intercession is inseparable from His atonement.

The labors of the ministry will exhaust the very marrow from your bones. Hasten to old age and death.

John Flavel's vivid description of the physical and spiritual toll of ministry.

Sin and Satan unravel almost all we do. The impressions we make on our people's souls in one sermon vanish before the next.

Flavel's explanation of why ministry is uniquely discouraging without divine intervention.

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Paul's greater-to-lesser argument that assures believers of God's continued grace.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.

Christ's confident prayer for the final glorification of His people.

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

The key text of the sermon, linking Christ's saving power to His ongoing intercession.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why is Christ's intercession just as important as His sacrifice for our salvation?

[Context]

Weaver argues that intercession applies the purchased salvation; without it, the atonement would not be effectually communicated.

[Question]

How does the sinfulness of our prayers affect our confidence in approaching God?

[Context]

Weaver states that there is enough sin in our prayers to send us to hell apart from Christ's priestly work.

[Question]

What does it mean that Christ is our advocate (parakletos) and how does this relate to the Holy Spirit's role?

[Context]

Both are called parakletos; the Spirit intercedes in us, Christ intercedes for us.

[Question]

How does Christ's prayer in John 17:11-15 assure believers of their preservation and protection?

[Context]

Jesus specifically asks the Father to keep and protect those given to Him, and the Father always hears Him.

[Question]

In what ways does the intercession of Christ provide the foundation for success in ministry?

[Context]

Weaver argues that no preacher can convert a soul by his own power; success depends on Christ's prayer for the Word.

[Question]

Why does Paul use the past tense 'glorified' in Romans 8:30, and how does this connect to Christ's intercession?

[Context]

Glorification is so certain because of Christ's intercession that it is spoken of as already completed.

[Question]

How does the 'greater to lesser' argument in Romans 8:32 encourage believers to pray boldly?

[Context]

If God gave His greatest gift (His Son), He will certainly give lesser gifts, including answering prayer.

[Question]

What practical difference should the doctrine of Christ's intercession make in our daily prayer lives?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that understanding Christ's intercession should lead to constant, bold, and confident prayer.

Applications

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