Skip to main content

The Unity of the Father and the Son in Salvation by Pastor Charlie Handren

     Over the last two weeks we’ve taken a close look at John 10:27-28, and we’ve learned a few things about how salvation works and what it does in the lives of those who believe. This week we need to ponder one more question, namely, how can Jesus so confidently make the promises and claims he made in these verses? Jesus answers in John 10:29-30, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them [my sheep] out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
     First, he says that his Father has given his sheep to him. In other words, Jesus’ authority over the sheep and his stunning gifts to the sheep are ultimately rooted in the authority and benevolence of his Father.
     Second, Jesus says that his Father is greater than all, and while the Jews may have objected to Jesus calling God his Father, they would have agreed that no one is greater or more powerful or more capable or more faithful than God. Therefore, since God is so great and so strong, no one is able to snatch his sheep out of his hand which is as undeniable as it is obvious. If Jesus were to stop here, he would be saying something like, “The reason I can make such astounding promises is because I serve as the Good Shepherd under the authority of the Father who has all power to care for the sheep.” However, Jesus didn’t stop there but rather continued, “I and the Father are one.”
     Jesus draws his train of thought to a close by saying, “The reason I can make such astonishing promises is because the strength that belongs to the Father also belongs to me. I do not simply have access to his power, rather, I have the fullness of his power in myself. Therefore, in communion with my Father, I personally exercise my power on behalf of my sheep and give them eternal life, eternal protection, and eternal security.”
     So we are now in a position to see that the sheep belong to Jesus because the Father and the Son are one. The sheep hear the voice of Jesus and awaken because the Father and the Son are one. The sheep are known by Jesus because the Father and the Son are one. The sheep follow Jesus because the Father and the Son are one. The sheep gain eternal life, eternal protection, and eternal security because the Father and the Son are one.
     Beloved, the entire mission of God toward his own flows out of the profound and passionate communion of God with God, of the Father with the Son, which is why so much of the language in this part of John is relational, for example, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father” (10:14-15).
     One of the reasons Jesus reveals so much about our salvation is so that our joy in salvation will increase as our understanding increases. So join me in pondering John 10:27-30, in asking for insight in our salvation, in asking for renewed joy in our salvation, and in asking for fresh power to share the gospel.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m