“To sanctify” basically means “to make holy.” To separate, to consecrate, to purify.

Someone well said of us Christians … “We live between the LOVE of God and the HATE of the world.”

And it seems like our Lord here in His “Upper Room” Sermon placed special emphasis on the hatred the world would heap on us Believers. He highlights such animosity in John 15:18-27, a long Unit! Then again in John 16:20-23 and John 16:31-33. (Each of these Passages is in the LAST HALF of this great Sermon, in fact!)

I love this quote … “JESUS SEES OUR POTENTIAL MORE THAN OUR PAST!” (He certainly did in Simon Peter and again in Saul of Tarsus, later Paul!)

I mentioned that the Word of God … “Sanctify them through Thy Truth, THY WORD IS TRUTH” … is essential for our spiritual growth. And I suggested that this fourth Petition of the Lord’s John 17 Prayer seems to correspond to the Portion of the Model Prayer where He taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6 … “GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD!”

But the Matthew 6 “bread” seems to be physical (bodily nourishment) while the John 17 parallel apparently refers to (not physical) spiritual Bread, the Word of God!

As in … “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Jeremiah 15:16 too … “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.”

And let’s not forget Job 23:12 … “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” More than my necessary food!

Someone rightly said … “THE GOAL OF TRUTH IS NOT JUST WISDOM, BUT HOLINESS!” Sanctify us, O Lord.

Verse 18’s powerful Statement of the “Great Commission” (Go and tell the Gospel) proves that … we are sanctified to serve!

This is memorable. Jesus died FOR us. He now lives IN us!

The Hebrews Verses I mentioned that focus on sanctification are … Hebrews 2:11, Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 10:14 and Hebrews 13:12!

Jesus (ascended) is still in Heaven right now … praying for us! And I’m sure that includes asking God to further “sanctify” us to live for Him! To make us holy in our practical lives.

Watch the Class …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Jesus’ great Prayer continues in these four verses. Here we learn (again) that world will hate us Christians. This includes part of the “religious” world! In fact, the word “religion” is only found five times in the Bible, most of them in a bad sense! The noun is derived from the Latin verb “religare,” which means “to bind, to restrict, to tie up!” Yes, religion enslaves, but our Lord Christ Jesus sets us free!

Verse 13 speaks of Joy, our Lord’s very Joy in reality! I wanted to illustrate the concept of joy in class by using an example of God’s created world.

(Remember that Text in Job chapter 12:7-9! “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the FOWLS OF THE AIR, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?”)

The little bird called the chickadee weighs less than half an ounce and must eat at least 10% of its body weight daily to survive! It does not migrate in the winter! It stays through all the bitter storms, longer hours of darkness and freezing cold! AND NEVER LOSES ITS SONG! It has joy (always chirping not moaning) throughout all the lean times of its life! It has become a symbol of joy in the avian area of creation. (But in class I forgot to tell you about this little miracle of God!)

By the way, this “Joy Verse,” verse 13 … is the numerical Center of John 17, which has 26 verses! This alone is amazing and may be instructive (didactic) as well!

Jesus sure did teach His disciples well prior to His Ascension back to Glory, forewarning them of coming persecution! Then again, Jesus is always truthful! Two verses here …

John 8:45 … “And because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, ye believe me not.”

And the more familiar John 14:2 … “If it were not so, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU.”

Please learn … we Christians then live between THE LOVE OF GOD and THE HATRED OF THE WORLD! No wonder we need God’s Wisdom every single day.

Look how Jesus keeps emphasizing the persecution that is coming to His disciples, mentioning these hard times in … John 15:18-27, John 16:1-4, John 16:20-23 and again in John 16:31-33! (Notice that all these Passages are located in the “Upper Room” Sermon! Read them if possible.)

Someone quipped long ago … “The hatred of the world is the very wardrobe of the saint of God.” If so, a lot of so-called Christians are spiritually naked! Paul the Apostle believed this! 2 Timothy 3:12 … “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

The three main components of the evil world are, according to 1st John 2:15-17 … (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life! (One Preacher taught that these are the only 3 weapons, implements, in the devil toolbox!)

Actually, the devil (serpent) lured Eve into sin, using these same three temptations, avenues into sin!

Lust of the flesh … the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Life was “food,” which could be “eaten!” (Have you even noticed how many times sin in the Bible is linked in some way to food, eating?)

Lust of the eyes … the tree being “pleasant to the eyes!” Genesis 3:6

The pride of life … eat of Tree and you will be elevated, magnified, popularized! “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5

Wow!

Have you watched the Lesson yet?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I mentioned in class that the New Testament calls the Holy Ghost “the Spirit of Christ.” It indeed does, twice!

Romans 8:9 … “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

1 Peter 1:11 … “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

In John chapter 19 thus far …

Verses 1-5 have emphasized “glorifying” the Son and the Father!

But verses 6-19 emphasize “sanctifying” the people of God, His followers!

Living holy lives for our dear Lord’s sake.

Our chapter speaks several times about the “Name” of the Lord, of our great God. (Four times in all!)

Proverbs 18:10 came to mind … “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”

Just as God the Father “kept” Israel long ago … so Jesus is asking Him to “keep” the Church!

Jeremiah 31:10 … “Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.”

Just a few things I omitted in today’s lesson. Of course, you can watch the whole Class anytime!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Jesus, in the Gospel of John chapters 14-16, has been teaching (preaching) nonstop! Then in John chapter 17 our Lord prays! Maybe we all would be more effective, more powerful, if we followed that pattern!

I can only find two earlier times in John when Jesus even approximates prayer! (Luke the is Gospel that accents Jesus’ Prayer Life!)

John 11:41-42, at dead Lazarus’ grave … “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Not really a prayer of petition, but one of thanksgiving!

Then again in John 12:27-28 … “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Instantly prayed, instantly answered!

It seems to me that Jesus gives “reasons” for His petitions here in John 17. The Old Testament Patriarch Job did the same thing as well …

Job 23:3-4 … “Oh that I knew where I might find Him! that I might come even to His seat! I would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” (Here is a holy man reasoning with his God!)

And the Prophet Jeremiah did the same thing …

“Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” (A conversation with the Almighty! “Let me talk with Thee,” I love that!

The Bible reference for the “Simeon” illustration that I used in class is found at Luke 2:25-32 …

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (He had finished his work! He was ready to “depart!”)

The great “I am That I am” reference is Exodus 3:14 …

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Wow!

Verse 8 of our Text is similar (purposely so I think) to Deuteronomy 18:18, that well-known prophecy about the coming Prophet!

Verse 8 … “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.”

Deuteronomy 18:18 … “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”

And, obviously, that Prophet is JESUS!

Now, watch the whole Lesson …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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A “creed” within a Prayer, Jesus’s Prayer for His Church! I am speaking of verse 3 … “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Do you know Jesus? And thereby know God the Father?

This may be the first time in the nearly three-year history of our “Evening Meditations” Bible studies that I have not finished my intended Text! My initial goal, verses 1-5! But while recording I looked up (mid-sentence) at the little timer on the camera and time was gone! (This type of camera will only record 30 minutes of video!) I guess I was that captivated by the Material!

But do not worry. We will take up next lesson and begin at verse 4, the dear Lord willing. (Every other night, a new Bible Study is posted.)

I am sure you can tell as I teach week after week that I am committed to the fact that Jesus died for all men. I am not a proponent of “Limited Atonement.”

“And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2

I am told that in some areas of the country Internet service is not “fast” enough to allow viewing of long videos. But otherwise, cultivate the habit of watching the classes …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Someone called Jesus “God’s Autobiography” sent to this old world! I like that thought.

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