The Gifts That Last

John 17:3-4:

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.

John 17:14-19:

I have given them Thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou should take them out of the world, but that Thou should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth. As Thou has sent me into the world, Even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

John 17:22-24:

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. 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.

How marvelous it is to receive the gifts that Jesus purchased for us.

The Gospel of John is filled with one word that is being used by many, many people during these days. It's the word give. Now I'm sure there are some people who are using the word "get," but in the Gospel of John 76 times you find the Holy Spirit using the word give, give, give.

In fact, in John 17 the word give is used in one form or another 17 times. And when you read John 17, you get the impression that among other things, Jesus is talking about the gifts that He has given to us.

It reminds us that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. My friend, the very breath that is in your lips came from God. In Him we live and move and have our being, and just about the time we think that we are self-sufficient, that we can handle it, something happens. It doesn't have to be very much. Just a little old bug can get into our system. And God reminds us, "You depend on me."

He is the giver and we are the receivers.

Now all of God's gifts are wrapped up in Jesus Christ. In John 17, the Lord Jesus Christ is praying and the Holy Spirit gives to us the privilege of listening as God talks to God. We have the privilege of listening in to a conversation between God the Son and God the Father as Jesus Christ is facing the cross.

And what's he talking about? Give, give, give.

In this prayer, the Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us THREE very wonderful GIFTS that God wants all of us to receive. And these gifts last. I fear that in just a few days, many gifts will either be broken or used up or laid aside or exchanged. But here are three very wonderful gifts from the hand of God the Father, through the pierced hand of God the Son, given to you and me.

Now what are they?

#1 - The Gift of Eternal Life

Well, the first of these gifts is found in verses 1-4, the gift of eternal life. Verse 2: "As thou hast given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."

The gift of eternal life. Now what is this gift? Often times in the Gospel of John, our Lord talks about eternal life. What is eternal life?

Many people have the idea that eternal life just means living forever. But everybody's going to live forever. That sinner who dies without Jesus Christ is going to live forever. That's not eternal life. Eternal life is not just extension of time. Eternal life has to do with a kind of life. It's not just quantity of life, it is quality of life.

He tells us here: "And this is life eternal." What is life eternal? "That they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent."

Now don't let that word know confuse you. Our Lord is not talking about knowing with the head. I knew about God intellectually long before I knew Him personally. In the Bible, the word know is used to describe the most intimate kind of relationship between two people. It's the word that is used for the marriage relationship. "And Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived, and she bore a son."

This word "know" means a personal, living, intimate relationship with God. And this is life eternal, that lost sinners might, through believing on Jesus Christ, come into an intimate, living relationship with God.

In other words, eternal life is God's life.

Throughout the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus Christ tries to describe this life for us. Somehow we miss it. In John 3, he said to Nicodemus, "Nicodemus, this eternal life comes when you're born from above. When you were born the first time, you received human life. But when you trust me, you're born from above and you receive God's life."

In John 4, Jesus is talking to the woman at the well and he says, "I am the water of life. If you drink of this water that I give you, you will never thirst again. An artesian well of satisfaction will spring up within you."

In John 6, he says to the people, "I am the bread of life. He that cometh to Me shall never hunger."

In John 10, "I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly."

What is he talking about? He's talking about eternal life. Not just existing forever. Not just endless time. But a quality of life, a kind of life that is beyond anything you and I have ever experienced before.

You see, when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you receive eternal life. God's life comes into your life. You become a partaker of the divine nature. The Spirit of God dwells in you. You become a child of God. You receive a new nature. You have eternal life.

Now that eternal life deals with your past. When you receive Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. The guilt of the past is washed away. You have eternal life.

But eternal life also deals with your present. Because eternal life is a quality of life that you can enjoy right now. Jesus said, "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." Not will have—hath. Present tense. You have it now.

And eternal life deals with your future. Because one day you're going to leave this world and you're going to enter into the fullness of eternal life in the presence of God.

So when you receive Jesus Christ, you receive the gift of eternal life. Your past is settled. Your present is blessed. Your future is secured. What a wonderful gift—the gift of eternal life.

#2 - The Gift of God's Word

But there's a second gift, and that's the gift of God's Word. Verse 14: "I have given them Thy word."

Now why is the Word of God so important? Because the Word of God is the means by which we grow. When you're born again, you're born through the Word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 says, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever."

You're born through the Word. You grow through the Word. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby."

The Word of God cleanses us. Jesus said in John 15:3, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." The Word of God gives us victory. "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."

The Word of God gives us guidance. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The Word of God gives us joy. "Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."

The Word of God gives us power. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation."

When you receive Jesus Christ, you receive the Word of God. And the Word of God becomes your food, your weapon, your guide, your cleanser, your source of joy and power.

Now notice what Jesus says in verse 17: "Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth." The purpose of the Word is sanctification. What does that mean? It means to be set apart for God's use. It means to become more and more like Jesus Christ.

You see, when you're saved, you receive eternal life. That takes care of your past. But you still have to live in this world. And the Word of God is given to you to help you live a sanctified life, a separated life, a life that pleases God.

Verse 18: "As Thou has sent me into the world, Even so have I also sent them into the world." We're in the world, but we're not of the world. We're here on an assignment from God. We're here to represent Jesus Christ. We're here to bear witness to His Word.

And the only way we can do that effectively is if we know the Word, if we obey the Word, if we love the Word, if we share the Word.

So Jesus gives us His Word. We have eternal life that takes care of the past. We have the Word that takes care of the present. The Word feeds us, cleanses us, guides us, protects us, gives us victory.

#3 - The Gift of God's Glory

But then there's a third gift, and that's the gift of God's glory. Verse 22: "And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them."

Now what is glory? Glory is a difficult word to define. Glory has to do with weight, with importance, with splendor, with excellence, with beauty.

When we talk about the glory of God, we're talking about all that God is in His excellence and His beauty and His perfection. The glory of God is the manifestation of all that God is.

Now, where do you see God's glory? You want to see God's glory, look up. The heavens declare the glory of God. Look down, look at the grass. It's here today, gone tomorrow. Oh, we have seen many glorious men come and go. Where are they today? Two or three paragraphs in Encyclopaedia Britannica. And if you wait long enough, there won't be that much anymore.

Man doesn't have any glory. You know why? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Man sinned away his glory and that's why when sinners die, they face eternity without any glory. Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1 that when Jesus Christ comes, the lost are going to be separated eternally from the glory of God. The glory of God represents all that is good and wonderful and blessed. Hell represents darkness and all that is bad and horrible and cursed.

You're going to live in one of those two places forever. Wouldn't it be a wise thing to come and say, "I want to receive eternal life, I want to receive God's word, I want to receive God's glory"?

You see, Jesus tells me here that He has already given me his glory. Verse 22 is not in the future tense. "And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them." We already have the glory. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The glory of God dwells in us.

Back in Exodus, the glory of God came into the Tabernacle. Then the glory of God came into the temple, and then the glory of God left the temple, and then Jesus came down, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And they took the glorious Son of God and nailed him to a cross. And for three hours the glory of God was shrouded in the darkness of sin.

And then he arose again, and he went back to the most excellent glory, and he sent down the Holy Spirit. And every person who trusts Jesus Christ receives the glory. My body, your body, becomes the temple of the glory of God.

And verse 22 says we have received the glory. Verse 24 says we're going to behold His glory. What a marvelous thing. We shall see His glory. We shall share His glory.

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

Oh, that will be glory for me. When by His grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory for me.

He gives to you today the gift of His glory.

You see, you've got to make a choice between eternal life or eternal death. Sin offers to you eternal death. Christ offers to you eternal life.

You've got to make a choice between God's Word or man's word. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly." Man's word will lead you to death. God's Word will lead you to heaven.

You've got to make a decision between man's glory which fades and is gone, and God's glory that gets brighter and brighter. You receive the glory when you're saved. As you walk with the Lord, the glory gets better and better. And then when you see the Lord, that great climax of glory. "The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto that perfect day."

Isn't it a wonderful thing to be a Christian? Isn't it a marvelous thing to say, "I have received these gifts"? When I receive Jesus Christ, I have eternal life. I have His Word, I have His glory.

I have eternal life that takes care of my past. I have the Word that takes care of my present. I have His glory that takes care of the future. I have salvation and sanctification and glorification. I have all that I need. I have received Jesus Christ.

And the only way you can get these gifts is to receive Him.

"But as many as received Him to them gave he the privilege to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name."

Oh, you could come today and trust Him. You could come today out of your sin and receive His forgiveness. You could come and with the hands of faith, reach out and have eternal life. You could have the word of God. You could have the glory of God and step out into life and say, "Come what may, I'm a child of God. I have all that I need. I have Jesus Christ."

Gracious Father in heaven, how wonderful it is that you offer these gifts to us and that you have paid for them with the blood of your own Son. None of us has ever paid that kind of a price for a gift, and yet you have done it, and we thank you.

I pray that today those here without the Lord Jesus will come to trust Him to receive by faith all that you have for them in Jesus Christ. We pray that Satan will be defeated and that people will come today and be saved.

To that end, bless this word and this invitation for Jesus' sake. Amen.