Clean Transcript

Do You Possess Eternal Life? - 2

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• Alright, let's open our Bibles today to Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 10, and Luke 18, and we'll start. For those of you, Matthew 19, and we'll take it one at a time. Matthew 19, and today is the second part of the message, "Do You Possess Eternal Life?", which I started last week. So those of you who were not here last week need to listen to the tape in detail. I will take just a few moments and review. But Matthew chapter 19 in verse 16: "And behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Then if you look at Mark 10 and notice verse 17 once again, you have the rich young ruler asking the same question. Mark 10, verse 17: "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And then in Luke 10, we have a lawyer asking the same question.

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• Luke 10, verse 25: "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And then finally, Luke 18, in verse 18, once again, you have this rich young ruler and the same question: "And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

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• Now, I began last week by asking this question: Do you possess eternal life? And I told you that that is probably the most important question that you would ever be asked. And in my introduction, I said that many times people answer that question with some response like, "I think so. I hope so. I'm working on it. Maybe so. Or we'll see." And my response was if those are—if any of those are your responses, then in all probability, you do not possess eternal life.

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• Now, I gave you several fallacies that were very patently untrue. The first one is that just simply eternal life is living forever. Well, if eternal life is living forever, then the unsaved would have it as well, for they would be living forever in torments. Very obviously, eternal life is more than just living forever. Another fallacy that I pointed out was some people think that they receive eternal life only after they die, which is not true. And most people want to live an ungodly, unholy life and do their own thing and then when they die, presto, somehow, they become automatically holy and automatically godly, and they then enjoy the presence of God. And that's certainly not true. It was Balaam, the false prophet, who said, "Let me die the death of the righteous." But he did not want to live the life of the righteous.

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• Now, last week, we looked at three points. And like I say, you just need to listen to the tape because I cannot go over in five minutes what took me an hour in 10 or 15 minutes last week, but we looked at three points. We looked, first of all, at the promise of eternal life, the presentation of eternal life, and the possessors of eternal life. Now, under the promise of eternal life, I took great pains to show you that the promise was given to us before the foundation of the world. In fact, that's what the Bible says in Titus chapter 1 and verses 2 and 3. And therefore, since it was given to us before the foundation of the world, it had to be given first and foremost to the Lord Jesus Christ as our federal head and representative.

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• So very obviously, there was that eternal covenant, which the Bible speaks of in Hebrews 13 in verse 20, which was entered into between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But moreover, the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy, chapter 1 in verse 9, that grace was given unto us also before the foundation of the world. So although the promise was primarily to Jesus Christ as our mediator and as our federal head and representative, it was also given to us because we were in Christ before the foundation of the world. The Bible says in Ephesians 1 in verse 4 that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. The second thing I pointed out was that eternal life is a gift. That is the presentation of eternal life. Over and over, Jesus Christ said, "I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish." Just simply pointing out the fact that eternal life cannot be merited. It cannot be earned. It cannot be as a reward. It is simply a gift.

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• And eternal life is found in Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ is himself eternal life. And we looked over a number of passages that demonstrated eternal life is a gift. And then thirdly, we looked at the possessors of eternal life. And I showed you that to understand that, you must comprehend it from two sides. Number one, the divine side, and number two, the human side. From the divine side, Jesus Christ said that he gave eternal life to as many as the Father had given unto him.

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• That is, there is an elect. There was a people given unto Jesus Christ. And then, of course, from the human side, it is as many as who come to him in repentance and faith. And John 6 and verse 37 showed both of these principles. He said in John 6 and verse 37, that all that the Father had given him shall come unto him. And then he said, "And him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." So you have the Father giving him, but then you also have the responsibility of those who have been given to come to Christ.

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• And I ended last week with a passage from 2 Kings 7 showing those lepers who sat at the gate of the city and they asked the question, "Why sit we here till we die?" In other words, there was starvation in the city and the way the lepers lived was scraps were thrown over the wall. No scraps were being thrown over the wall since the city was in starvation. And so if they went into the city, they died. If they sat there, they died. And finally they said, "Come, let us fall to the Syrians" who had surrounded the city.

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• He said, "It may be that they save us alive, but if they kill us, we'll just be dead." In other words, we're not going to be any deader by the sword than we are by starvation. We're still going to be dead. And so the application that I made to this was simple. It is your responsibility to seek Christ for repentance and faith. And I ended with this sentence, basically, suppose you went to Christ and begged him for salvation and begged him for repentance and faith. And he said, "No way, I'm not going to save you."

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• The question is, would you be any more damned then than you are now? And the answer is no. But the Scripture says, "All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." So when you come to Christ in repentance and faith, you'll be received and you'll thank God that there is a people that have been given to the Son by the Father.

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• Now, that's just a summation of what I covered last week. Today we're going to take up where we left off. You see, most people tend to think that eternal life is just simply living forever. If you interpret eternal life as just simply living forever, then there are certain passages in the Bible that really need an explanation. For instance, if you will turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 6 and notice verse 12 and then verse 19. 1 Timothy chapter 6 and notice if you would please verse 12. Look what the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy. In fact, let's read verse 11 just so that you can see what Paul says concerning Timothy. 1 Timothy 6, verse 11, Paul writes young Timothy and he says, "But thou, O man of God, flee these things, follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." Now, I want to point out the fact that in verse 11, Timothy is called a man of God.

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• Timothy is already a Christian. He is already a believer. Look down, if you would, please, in verse 19. Once again, he says, "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." Now, in verse 12, he's specifically talking about Timothy. And in verse 19, he's talking about believers that are rich. For instance, go back to verse 17. He says, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

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• Now, my question is this. If eternal life is just simply living forever in heaven, or living forever in the eternal state, why was Timothy commanded in verse 12 to lay hold on eternal life as a man of God, which he could not possibly attain until he had died and gone to heaven? You follow what I'm saying? Why were believers charged, in verse 19, once again to lay hold on eternal life? If eternal life is only living forever and you only get it when you die, how can there be a command given in the Bible to lay hold of eternal life? The word "lay hold" is from the Greek word epilambanomai. It is translated numerous times and numerous ways in our Bibles as "take," "take by," "catch," "take on," "hold on," "take hold of," and "lay hold upon." So here then is the command where the believers are commanded to lay hold of eternal life. So if eternal life is simply living forever in heaven, how could Timothy and other believers be commanded to lay hold on it?

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• Because obviously they could not get it until they died. Now let me give you just a quote and then I'm going to explain the quote. Matthew Poole in his commentary says this, that the admonition to lay hold on eternal life is referring to a right and title to it which Paul calls to him to lay hold on as his thought by a metaphor from those that were exercised in their games and did what they could first lay hold of the prizes proposed to conquerors. Now, you know, Matthew Poole is pretty good on most things, but he says that all Paul is referring to when he tells Timothy and other believers to lay hold of eternal life is that he's referring to their right and title to it. Well, I believe it could be demonstrated from Scripture that when the Apostle Paul commands Timothy and other believers to lay hold to eternal life, that it is not just simply a right and title to which he is speaking of, but rather an exercise and enjoyment of that eternal life now in time and in history.

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• Now listen carefully to what I am about to say. It is true that we will not experience fullness and the completeness and the totality of eternal life until glory. But if you don't have it now, you ain't getting it then. There is an application, there is an apprehension, a laying hold of eternal life now in time and history, but the fullness of it will only come in glory. Now, let me show you why we are to embrace eternal life now in time and history.

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• Still haven't told you what it is just yet, but I want you to try to put it together in your mind before I tell you specifically from Scripture. So turn in your Bibles to John chapter 6. John chapter 6. And notice if you would please, beginning there with verse 54. John 6 and verse 54. Watch carefully. John 6, verse 54, look what our Lord says. In this passage, Jesus Christ is presenting himself as the bread of life. John 6, verse 54: "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven."

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• "Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever."

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• Now, let me just stop there for a moment. This passage demonstrates our participation in eternal life. You say, "What are you talking about?" Well, many of you probably have read or at least have heard of the book written by Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, where he is, of course, wanting you and I to imitate Christ. Let me tell you, Christianity is not an imitation of Christ. It is a participation in Christ. Now.

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• John 6 does not refer to the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Now, you don't know, or at least you may not know what transubstantiation is. Well, let me just say. You see, the central article in the Roman Catholic Church is the altar. Because on that altar is where they have mass. By the way, let me just give you this little bit of information. Have you ever noticed that in the Protestant and Reformed churches, you usually went up by stairs into the pulpit?

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• And here the preacher is up here. You have to sit back looking up like that at the preacher. Do you know why that was done? It was done purposefully. It was to lift the eyes from off the altar and look up to the Word of God, to the preacher. In other words, the Protestants were saying the central thing is the Word of God and not the altar.

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• So Roman Catholics teach the doctrine of transubstantiation. They teach an unbloody sacrifice. So what they do, the priest then comes out with the bread and with the wine, and he says his little magical incantation, and by the way, when he says it in Latin, that is where we get the words "hocus pocus" from, literally. And when he says his little incantation over the wine and over the bread, it is supposed to be magically transformed into the actual blood and the actual flesh of Christ. So when you take communion at the Roman Catholic Church, you're actually, if you believe in transubstantiation, a cannibal. Because you're supposed to be actually drinking the blood and eating the flesh of Jesus Christ, because he said in John 6, if you don't eat my flesh and drink my blood, you don't have eternal life. So John 6 does not teach, nor does it refer to transubstantiation. Moreover, John 6 does not even refer to what you and I know as the Lord's Supper, because the Lord's Supper was only instituted right before His death.

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• So what in the world is John 6 teaching us? John 6 is teaching us that salvation is a participation in Jesus Christ. It is a life based upon His life where He is our food and He is our drink.

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• Now, in order for His flesh to be eaten, it must first be broken. In order for His blood to be drunk, it must first be spilled. So what is Christ thinking about? He's speaking about His own sacrifice where He is going to give Himself for His people. In other words, He is to be our salvation. And therefore, we appropriate everything that Jesus Christ is and everything that Jesus Christ has done by faith.

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• Now, let me ask you a question. How many of you need food and drink every day? Oh, every hand. I mean, if you like to eat every day, sure. How many of you like to eat several times a day? Yeah, I can look and tell even I do. You can tell.

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• Now, what in the world is our Lord talking about when He said that He is our meat and He is our drink? Each of you understand the very fact that we need to eat every day. In fact, we need to eat several times a day. We need food on a daily basis. Some of us need it on an hourly basis. OK. But this is what our Lord is saying. Just like you need food daily and just like you need it many times a day, likewise, you need Me.

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• Because I am your life. I'm the one that sustains you. I'm the one that nourishes you. I'm the one that gives you life.

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• Now, before I go further, I want you to go back to John 6 and verse 54 and look at what our Lord is saying. Watch carefully. John 6, verse 54. Our Lord says, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

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• Now let me tell you something very important about that verse. In the Greek, it is in the present tense. You say, "What in the world does that mean?" Well, here's how it would read: "Whoso is continually eating my flesh and continually drinking my blood is having eternal life." What am I trying to tell you? Eternal life is a present phenomenon. It is not something you get after you die. He said, if you're participating in Me, if your life is revolving around Me, if you're being sustained and nourished by Me, you are right now having eternal life.

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• Ah, but inevitably the question comes out. "But Brother Weaver, how do we eat and drink Jesus Christ?" Well, our Lord tells us. Look in John 6 and verse 68. After our Lord taught this, many of those who profess to believe in Him left Him. And verse 67, Jesus said unto the twelve, "Will ye also go away?" Verse 68, then Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Now watch.

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• "Thou hast the words of eternal life." Now, go right back up in your Bibles to verse 63. Our Lord says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

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• Now, how do we eat and drink Jesus Christ? By devouring His word as the Holy Spirit of God makes that word real to us as we apply it to our lives and bring our lives into conformity to His word. So that means every day as I read my Bible, and as I see His truth, and I rejoice in Him, and I'm bringing my life in conformity to His Word, guess what? I'm eating and drinking Jesus Christ. When I pray to Him, I'm eating and drinking Jesus Christ. It is His words. It is the truth that sets us free, because He is Freedom itself now.

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• Let me just quote this to you. You don't have to turn there, but you remember Romans 8 in verse 29. The Bible said we have been predestinated—are you listening?—to be conformed to His image. How are we conformed into His image? By eating and drinking His flesh and blood, which are His words. I do ask that you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Turn to 2 Corinthians 3 and look at verses 17 and 18.

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• Here's a wonderful illustration of what I'm talking about. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 17. Look what the Bible says. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 17.

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• "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Now look. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass"—or in a mirror, that is, as we study in His Word—"the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." So as we look into the mirror of His Word, as the Holy Spirit applies that Word, we are to be continually transformed, continually changed, into the image of Christ. That is, we are participating in Him and we're being conformed to Him by the Spirit and by the Word of God.

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• Now, if you have not yet figured out what eternal life really is, here's my fourth and final point. I want to show it to you. And that is the principle of eternal life. If you'll go back in your Bible to John 17, we looked at John 17 in great detail last week. But I did not cover verse 3. So I want us to begin reading with verse 1 and read to verse 3.

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• This is the high priestly prayer of our Lord. John 17 verse 1: "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: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life"—there it is—"that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." You say now, "Wait a minute, Brother Weaver, he's giving eternal life." Yes, but what is eternal life? He explains it. Verse 3: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." What is eternal life? It is an intimate knowledge of the one true and the living God and His Son Jesus Christ.

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• Now, I want you to listen very carefully because I'm going to give you two quotes. I'm only going to give you these two quotes to show you that what I am going to teach you is not something new. It's been around for a long time. But Albert Barnes, in his commentary on John, says this, the word "know" in John 17, verse 3—"And this is eternal life that they may know thee the only true God"—Barnes says the word "know" here, as in other places, expresses more than a mere speculative acquaintance with the character and perfections of God. It includes all the impressions of the mind and life with a just view of God and of the Savior's fitted to produce.

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• It includes, of course, love, reverence, obedience, honor, gratitude, supreme affection. To know God as He is, to know God as He is, is to know and regard Him as a lawgiver, a sovereign, a parent, and a friend; is to yield the whole soul to Him and strive to obey His law.

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• Now, let me just stop there. He said the word "know" here, as in other places, expresses more than a mere speculative acquaintance with the character and the perfections of God. One other quote. On the eclectic notes of John, here's this quote: "True knowledge here was not outward protection or future hope, but the communication in life of communion with the being thus known to the soul, of communion with God Himself fully known as the Father and the Son." Let me just stop there. Each of these individuals have said that eternal life is not just a mere intellectual or historical knowledge of God. I've heard people say all my life, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" "Yes."

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• "Do you believe He actually lived, died, was buried and resurrected and ascended to heaven?" "Yes." "Well, good. You're a believer then." Let me tell you something, folks. Just because you have an intellectual knowledge or a historical fact does not make you a Christian. That is a mere speculative knowledge. Allow me to show you that eternal life is knowledge, but the essence of life eternal is a specific knowledge. As Barnes pointed out, it is something more than speculative. It is more than historical. It is more than intellectual. It is a knowledge of the most intimate nature. It is personal, it is intimate, and it is complete in one sense of the word.

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• Let me give you a contrast. The knowledge that is eternal life is not speculative, but practical. It is not theoretical, but experiential. It is not intellectual, but spiritual. It is not inactive, but it is active and saving. I want you to look at John 17, verse 3. Look what our Lord says. "And this is life eternal." You know what it is? This is what it is: "that they might know thee."

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• "The only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Now the word "know" is from the Greek word ginōskō. That word is translated 186 times in our Bibles. The word ginōskō means to learn, to know, to come to know, to get a knowledge of, perceive, to feel, or to become known. But let me show you how intimate of a word it is. I want you to go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 4 verse 1 and get ready, because I want to show you this is not a mere speculative knowledge. It is not a mere intellectual knowledge. It is not a mere historical knowledge. It is indeed intimate and it is personal.

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• The word "know" in the Bible, K-N-O-W, is used to express a deeper relationship between two persons. In fact, the word "know" is an idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and his wife. For instance, look in Genesis 4 and verse 1: "And Adam knew his wife."

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• Now, what does that mean? Doesn't mean he woke up one morning and said, "Ah, you're my wife. I did not think of that before." No. No. It's not an intellectual knowledge. It's not a historical knowledge. Watch. "And Adam knew his wife." And what happened? "And she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord." Hmm. Look in verse 17. In fact, let's see, there is a—yeah, verse 17: "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." Look, if you would, in verse 25. "And Adam knew his wife again." Oh, he said, "I just have to think of your name again. You're Eve, aren't you?" No. "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."

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• In each of these instances, the word "know" refers to sexual intercourse. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 1. Matthew 1. The same thing is in the New Testament. All I'm trying to point out to you is the word "know" has a greater emphasis than a mere intellectual or historical knowledge. Look in Matthew chapter 1 in verse 23: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

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• Then Joseph being raised from sleep, that is, the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: "And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus." All that means is there was no intimacy between Mary and Joseph until after our Lord was born. He knew her not. He certainly knew who she was intellectually. He certainly knew who she was historically. But the word "know" means far more than that.

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• Look in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 1 verse 34. Luke 1 verse 34.

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• In Luke 1, verse 34, the Bible says this. When the angel of the Lord came to Mary and announced that she was going to bear the Lord Jesus, she asked a question. "Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" Well, she certainly knew who Joseph was. She was engaged to him. You see, it has nothing to do with intellect. It has nothing to do with history. She said, "How can this be, seeing I know not a man? I'm a virgin. I'm pure. How can it be?" And then, of course, the Lord answered, "The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

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• In other words, the same word is used to demonstrate that she was pure. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 4, I'm going to save one passage for you. I'll give it to you in just a few minutes, but look in Galatians chapter 4 and verse 9. Galatians 4, verse 9: "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God"—and notice it's passive in the Greek.

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• "How turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? But now, after that ye have known God," he says, "or rather are known of God." The words once there's been this intimate personal relationship between you and the living God, how can you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements of this world? Well, look in your Bibles, 1 Corinthians 8 in verse 3. You'll see the same thing. 1 Corinthians 8, verse 3. Just showing you the word "known" now. Same word, by the way. 1 Corinthians 8, verse 3: "But if any man love God, the same is known of him." If we love God, it is because there was a personal, intimate relationship. Interestingly enough, if you were to look at John 17 verse 3, and I'm going to ask you to turn there right now, but when he said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," the word "know" is a present active

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• subjunctive, which means this, that our knowledge of God is not a once-and-for-all act. It is not a once-in-a-lifetime act, but it is a constant, continual, progressive knowledge. You know what eternal life is? Eternal life consists in knowing, living upon, having communion with, enjoying endless satisfaction in and with a triune God through the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what eternal life is. It's an intimate, personal relationship with God.

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• Now let me show you how God uses this term to describe His people. Go back in your Bibles to the book of Amos chapter 3 and look at verse 3. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. And look in Amos 3. That's not the verse I want. It's Amos. I said Amos 3 verse 3. Amos 3 verse 2. Look at it. Amos 3 verse 2. In fact, let's read verse 1. Look what he says. "Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying," Now look what God told Israel.

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• "You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." "You only have I known of all the families of the earth." What? God said to Israel, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth." Wait a minute. Does that mean God didn't know any other people? He didn't know the Egyptians, He didn't know the Assyrians, He didn't know the Babylonians? But He certainly knew because He judged them. He certainly knew the Egyptians. He certainly knew the Babylonians. He created them. He provided for them. And He judged them. But when God looks at Israel and says, "You only have I known," what is He saying? "You only have I had an intimate, personal relationship with. You are my people. I didn't choose anybody else." To put it bluntly, it's like me looking at all the women in this room and then looking at Alice and say to Alice, "You only have I known of all the women in this room." Well, I know who the women in this room are.

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• I can call your name. I have an intellectual knowledge of you. I have a historical knowledge of you. I believe that you actually exist. But she's the only one I've known. That's exactly what God said of Israel. "Yeah, I know who the Babylonians are. I know who the Chaldeans are. I know who the Assyrians are. But only Israel have I chosen. Only you have I been intimate with."

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• "I gave you my law. I gave you my priesthood. I gave you everything. You are mine."

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• Now, I want you to turn to Matthew 7. I told you I was saving another person had the word "know" in it. Look in Matthew 7. Let this go down deeply into your heart. I want you to note the exact words that our Lord said. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 21. Look at verse 21. Our Lord says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

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• So just because someone makes a profession and calls Jesus Christ Lord intellectually, historically, does not mean that he's a real Christian. Verse 22: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?"—that is, we preached in thy name—"and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" We were good church members. We've been baptized. Oh, we gave to charity.

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• We did all these things. Look at verse 23. "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." He's not saying, "I knew you once and forgot you." No, "I never knew you." There was never an intimate, personal relationship between us. You say, "How can that be?" Do you realize Judas Iscariot was around our Lord for three years, worked with Him, preached with Him, but He never knew him.

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• Demas, Paul said, "hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." Look in your Bibles to 1 John 2 and verse 19. Here's a verse that will explain what happens to a lot of people. I've heard people say, "Well, so-and-so was saved one time. He just lost it." No, folks. He was never saved to begin with. Look at 1 John 2 and verse 19. John writes, "They went out from us, but they were not of us;

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• 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." When someone leaves the faith, what does John say? It just is proof positive there was never ever with us to begin with. If you were ever a genuine believer to begin with, you would continue to believe. And if you cease, John says, it's just proof you never was one of us to begin with. Now, John 17:3 tells us that eternal life is a knowledge of God. But I want you to note, first, it is a knowledge of the only true God. And secondly, it is a knowledge of Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Now, let me begin by saying, first of all, when He says that eternal life is a knowledge of God, it is a knowledge of the only true God, and that denotes that there are many who claim the title and the name of God who are not gods. But there is only one true and the living God.

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• Now, if you want to look at it, you can find this in 1 Corinthians 8 verses 5 and 6. 1 Corinthians 8, verses 5 and 6. Look what the Apostle Paul says. 1 Corinthians 8, verse 5: "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)" A lot of false gods. Verse 6: "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

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• Now, when the Scripture says, "And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the one true and the living God," we understand He is the Sovereign, the Supreme, the Ultimate. There is none other God but Him. I don't care about Buddha and Krishna and all these. No, there's only one God. Eternal life is knowing this one true and the living God. He is the God of Scripture. He is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you know who the one true and the living God is, you will know that a saving knowledge of the only true God realizes the order or the economy of salvation. What am I talking about, the order or the economy of salvation? As you read through the Scripture, you will find that the Father is always represented as supreme, the one in whom sovereign majesty resided. Then you will find the Son is the one who sustains the office of the mediator. That is, He is the sent one, and in that office, He could rightly say in John 14 in verse 8, "My Father is greater than I."

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• How could He say that? Because He came as a servant. The Father sent Him. But was He God? Well, of course He was. That's why He said in John 10, "I and my Father are one." But the Father is always represented as the Supreme. The Son is always represented as the Mediator, the one sent by the Father. And then the Holy Spirit is always represented as a servant of both the Father and the Son. So in the order of salvation, like in everything else, everything is of the Father through the Son in the Spirit.

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• So what is eternal life? It is an intimate knowledge of God the Father as the only one true and living God. But second, it is a knowledge of the one true and living God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Now the word "sent" is in the aorist tense which means a once and for all act which refers then to the historic mission where God the Father sent His Son to be the Savior and to be the Mediator. He is the sent one. And by the way, if you want to know the phrase or the title that is used of Jesus Christ more than any other in the Bible, here it is: the sent one. He uses that phrase over and over to describe Himself, "the Father who has sent me," or "the Father who has sent me" over and over and over. Now when the Bible says, in John 17 and verse 3, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," the phrase "whom thou didst send" or "whom thou hast sent" is a phrase that sums up the supreme dignity of Jesus Christ.

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• There is at least a minimum of a threefold meaning in that phrase. For instance, it points to His deity, first of all, and let me just read to you from John 16 and verse 30. Listen to what the Bible says. John 16 verse 30.

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• "Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God." In other words, He came forth, why? Because of the thought of sending. So this phrase, "the sent one," first of all, refers to His deity. Secondly, it refers to His incarnation. In Galatians 4, verses 4 through 6, the Bible says, "But when the fulness of the time was come, what did God do? God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." So it points to His deity first of all, points to His incarnation secondly, and thirdly, it signifies His office as mediator and redeemer. You know what the Bible says in Hebrews 3 and verse 1?

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• "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Do you know what the word "apostle" means? The word is apostolos in the Greek, and all it means is a sent one. You know what an apostle of the church is? Someone sent out from the church. Jesus Christ is called the Apostle. Why? He is the sent one by the Father. His office is that of mediator and redeemer. By the way, John 17, verse 3, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Did you know that John 17:3 is the only place in the Bible where Jesus Christ refers to Himself as Jesus Christ? Isn't that interesting? You know why? Because that shows that He is the Son of Man and also the Son of God. The word "Jesus," the name Jesus, refers to the fact that He's the same. It is from the Hebrew Yehoshua, which means Savior. And the word "Christ" is Christos in the Greek, which means the anointed one, which points to the fact that He's the Messiah.

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• So He is saying, "I am the Savior and I am the promised Messiah of the Old Testament." Now, listen very carefully. If one does not know Jesus Christ, then one does not know the Father. If one does not know Jesus Christ, then one does not know the Father. Likewise, if one does not know the Father, then he does not know Jesus Christ savingly. Do you know why? Let me show you.

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• Look in 1 Peter 3, verse 18. 1 Peter 3, verse 18. Here's how I can say that. 1 Peter 3, verse 18.

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• Look what the Scripture says. 1 Peter 3 verse 18: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust." Tell me why Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. What's the rest of that verse say? Just the next phrase: "that he might bring us to God." When we come to Christ savingly, what does Christ do? Christ brings us to the Father. So if you don't know the Father, you don't know the Son. If you don't know the Son, then you don't know the Father. You know what the Bible said in John 5? That God has given Him power over all flesh. Why? "That all men should honour the Son, even as"—that is, equally as—"they honour the Father." So someone who does not believe in Jesus Christ dishonors the Father. Someone who does not believe in the Father dishonors Jesus Christ. True salvation is an intimate knowledge of God the Father and God the Son. See, many claim to be Christians, but they have no regard for the Father.

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• Some claim to be Christians and they have no regard for the Son. And that's impossible. It is impossible to have a real intimate saving knowledge and disregard or disrespect either the Father or the Son. Why? Because eternal life is nothing more than intimate communion between the believer and the Father through the merits and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. So you cannot know one without knowing the other. And you cannot despise one without despising the other.

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• Now, let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. The knowledge of God and Christ leads to eternal life. This is the way in which Christ gives eternal life, by the knowledge of Him that has called us. And this is the way that we come to receive it. Look in your Bibles, 2 Peter 1, verse 3. There it is spelled out for you. 2 Peter 1, verse 3: "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." How do we get eternal life? Through the knowledge of the one true and living God and Jesus Christ His Son. So eternal life is knowledge.

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• But it is more than an intellectual, it's more than historical knowledge, it's a personal, intimate relationship. Now, I started out on this last week, I asked this question and I'm going to answer it in my application. Do you remember when that rich young ruler and that lawyer asked our Lord, "What must I do that I may inherit eternal life?" What was His answer? "Keep the commandments." Now, you'll have to go back to last week's message to get my explanation of why our Lord said that. And you'll remember I told you that eternal life—I asked the question, was eternal life to be had in keeping the commandments? And I said the answer is yes and no. It's no that you cannot earn eternal life by keeping the commandments because the commandments demand a personal, a perfect and perpetual obedience.

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• So if you became perfect today and never ever sinned again and you kept the law of God personally and perfectly and perpetually from here on out, what about all those sins you committed before you got perfect? So it's impossible then for you to be saved by keeping the commandments. But is salvation through keeping the commandments? Yes, it is. Through our Lord's keeping of the commandments.

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• Now you remember what Galatians 4 verse 4 said. Now listen carefully. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Now why did God send His Son to be made under the law? So that Jesus Christ might obey that law personally, perfectly, and perpetually for His people. You know what Jesus Christ did? Jesus Christ kept the law perfectly. You know what He said in John 8 in verse 29? Would to God we could say it. But Jesus Christ said, "I do always those things that please him."

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• Now, let me just show you something, and I'm going to show it to you from the Bible, but think this thing through. Let me ask you a question. Suppose all that Jesus Christ did for you was to die as your substitute. He did nothing else. Suppose all He did for you was die as your substitute. Would that be enough to get you into the presence of God the Father? Don't answer out loud. The answer is no.

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• You say, "What are you talking about?" Well, it might keep you out of hell. Because God is just and He would not demand payment twice. But in order to get into the presence of God, you need something more than forgiveness of sins. You need a perfect righteousness. And that's what our Lord did when He kept the law. He earned. He merited. He worked out a perfect righteousness. He not only forgave us of our sins, He gave us His righteousness.

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• Look in your Bibles, 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21. This is one of the most beautiful passages of the Bible. It's the doctrine of imputation. Look at it. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. Here the Bible says, "For he"—that is God the Father—"hath made him"—that is God the Son—"to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Did you hear that? "For he," God the Father, "made him," God the Son, "to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." So what did God do? God took our sin and imputed it to Jesus Christ. And then God took the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and imputed it, or charged it in our account, and gave it to us. So now then, in Christ, we are not only forgiven, we have an absolute perfect righteousness. And our standing in the presence of the law is one of impeccable obedience.

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• Because Christ kept the law in every respect. Now one last application. I began last week by asking you a question. Do you possess eternal life? If you answer yes, I'll tell you what it means. It means that you possess and enjoy an intimate relationship with God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His perfect righteousness. You have eternal life now. Eternal life is communion with God. It's forever learning and knowing about the one true and living God through His Son Jesus Christ and being conformed to His image. Now, let me ask you a question.

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• What do you get when you die? Are you listening? A perfect relationship, a perfect communion, a perfect intimacy with the one true and the living God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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• Now, folks, I've got news for you. If you detest and despise communion with the Father now, you're not going to like the eternal state at all. If you think eternity has to do with golfing and beaching and swimming and playing, you're mistaken. Eternal life in glory will be a loving, serving, worshipping, adoring, and praising the one true and living God who redeemed us through Jesus Christ our Lord. What we have now in time and in history is to be just a foretaste of what we are to have in glory. What is eternal life? It's an enjoyment of God every day. Of worshiping Him. Of praising Him. Of serving Him. Of glorifying Him. Of living for Him. Of participating in Him. And if you don't have eternal life now, you won't get it when you die. Eternal life is that which we enjoy now, but far more fully and completely in glory. As our Lord said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." And I've told you this before, but I want you to think about this for a moment.

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• One of our problems now is we forget. And the older you get, the more you forget. But if you ever stop and think about in glory, in eternity, you will have a perfect mind. You will have a perfect memory. Everything that you learn about God, you will understand totally, completely, and perfectly, and you will never forget it. And you will be forever, forever, forever learning about our great and glorious and sovereign majesty, and yet never, ever fully comprehending Him. Because only God can comprehend God. Thank God for Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your love and Your mercy and Your grace to us. We thank Thee for the knowledge that You've given us of the one true and living God and of Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. Give us grace, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and may we enjoy Thee on a daily basis. Commune with Thee, for Thou art our food, Thou art our drink. As we could not even possibly think of going days without food and drink, may we not even possibly think of going days or hours without being

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• May our lives be centered around the Lord Jesus Christ. May we forever be learning and bringing our lives in conformity to Your word and being made more holy and more godly on a daily basis. In Christ's name we ask. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:59:32Z