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

By Anonymous
     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.

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