Safeguarded & Set Apart (Part 2)
January 19, 2025 Preacher: Jeff Griffis Series: Communion in Christ's Love
Scripture: John 17:17–19
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Safeguarded & Set Apart (Part 2) – John 17:17–19
PRAY & INTRO: Do you know the feeling of being disheartened and discouraged, of being let down and confused and uncertain? Of course you do, we all do. What about even being disheartened and discouraged about the things that matter most, that which you hold most dear? … You know what we need when our feelings betray us thus? We need truth. And what if the truth, admitting reality is what leads to our discouragement? Then what we need is greater truth that outshines these other circumstances which dishearten us. Listen, the Bible is quite literally written as God revealing to us that he does indeed hold the answers to ultimate truth and that he himself is the truth.
It is an emphasis in the text today on truth that should particularly give us clarity and comfort and courage in the midst of any confusion and discouragement.
In John 13-17, with Jesus’ impending departure, and even more with his sacrificial death to come, the disciples would have real reason to be gutted and confused. But Jesus has been speaking to them in the departure discourse (chapters 13-16), even now praying aloud in their hearing (chapter 17), so that when these things have taken place (especially his resurrection and ascension), they will have comfort and courage and clarity about belonging to him and about his purpose for them.
For us too, this prayer from Jesus should serve in much the same way as Jesus intended for them:
Take comfort and courage from Christ’s prayer for his disciples. (Jn 17:6-19)
As we’ve seen so far, verses 6-19 is Jesus’ prayer for his disciples immediately in his presence at the time, but the truths proclaimed in his prayer we can apply in much the same way.
The first petition begins at v. 11 and runs through v. 16, and it is a prayer for the Father to now safeguard these ones whom Jesus has safeguarded while he was with them.
[sermon title slide again]
Christ’s second petition for them is in verses 17-19, that the Father would consecrate them for service by the truth of God’s own word, especially centered in his gospel of self-revelation and salvation in Jesus Christ.
John 17:17–19 ESV
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Again, this second petition for the disciples is that the Father would consecrate them unto himself and for his service by the truth of God’s own word, centered in the gospel of his self-revelation and salvation through Jesus Christ. (who prays at this very moment in their presence)
Let’s walk through these verses a step at a time, being sure we have clear understanding of each part in this emphasis on being set apart and sent in his service.
First, “Sanctify them in the truth.” or “Set them apart in the truth.”
Like the first disciples, all we who are Christ’s disciples are set apart in the truth (by the truth and for the truth). (verse 17a)
Like these Apostles, through faith in Jesus, who is the center of God’s revealed truth, we are consecrated by God, for God.
Sanctify them (which means to make something holy), here is emphasizing that they be set apart for holy use to God, consecrated his service. - The additional idea from verses 18&19 that they are set apart and therefore also sent helps us realize that this is especially referring to consecration in service to God. And yet we also can perceive, especially when we look at v. 19, that this consecration (holiness for service) is not untethered from our initial sanctification (made holy unto God), nor even our ongoing sanctification (the process of becoming progressively more like Christ, like our Holy God who has set us apart to himself).
Consider too the connection that if we are set apart to God, then we do not belong to Satan, nor to the world (Jn 15:19), nor to ourselves, but we have been set apart to God, and for his service.
So then this consecration for service also continues the concept of why we are kept for unity, looking back to the petition that began at 11b with “Holy Father”: (along with bringing glory to God. v 10) the disciples are protected and prepared to be those whom God sets apart in his service and sends as Christ’s messengers (as are we…). But we’ll discuss that further momentarily.
Therefore, Jesus has prayed, “Set them apart… in the truth.” We are set apart by the truth and for the truth. To be clear for these disciples listening, Jesus adds, “Your word is truth,” which essentially preempts the question…
What is the truth? The truth is God’s revealed word, centered in his gospel of Jesus Christ as saving Lord. (verse 17b)
The means of this consecration, sanctification, setting apart is “the truth; your word is truth.” John’s gospel has been clear about something central and essential to God’s word of truth: Jesus is the truth, Jesus teaches the truth, and Jesus is the supreme mediator of God’s truth as the Word made flesh, the one who manifests God’s name (Jn 14:6, Jn 1:14, Jn 17:6).
What does this mean for us? How can we know the truth? We read in this departure discourse that the Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) will guide Jesus’ disciples into all truth. (John 14:16-17, 14:26, 16:13-14) They will then record what God desires, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that revealed truth will become codified in the Bible, the word of God. So where do we look for the truth that saves and sanctifies? Consider this: Where did the truth come from that someone else told you and which you believed (or have chosen not to believe)? The truth of God’s saving and sanctifying through Jesus Christ is found in the authoritative words of the Bible.
“Your word is truth.” All of God’s word, culminating in his self-revelation in Jesus Christ, is his truth. And it is the truth of the necessity and sufficiency of Jesus as Lord which especially sets us apart, which we receive by faith. (We’ll see this again at v. 19)
Therefore, speaking of truth, we are not children of the father of lies, the devil (Jn 8:44). We are not beguiled and betrayed by falsehood. Instead, through Christ Jesus, who himself is God’s truth, we have become the children of God, the people of the truth.
Now slow down for a minute to consider a sobering reality: The fact that Jesus is the truth and supremely mediates truth means that if you do not know Christ, you are lacking something essential to all truth, because Jesus is the central figure through whom all God’s truth funnels. Think about it, if you don’t know God, if you don’t have a relationship with him through submissive faith in Jesus, then everything that you think you perceive, everything you think about the world and about yourself, you are viewing through a false lens. It isn’t true. It isn’t accurate; it isn’t reality.
But if you will submit to God’s truth in the Bible, which culminates in the necessity and sufficiency of Jesus, then you will begin to see reality truly. The truth about yourself and the world and everything in it, is only to be found by acknowledging God and loving him through responding in faith to Jesus.
And young people and anyone who is complacent about the value of this Bible… if you are ho-hum about the fact that you have an accurate translation of this Bible to read in your own language: Anything that purports itself to be truth you must view through the lens of God’s word, or else you will not know truth, will not know reality according to what it really is, for all reality stems from God, who created all that exists. We will never be right when we disagree with God. “Let God be true and every man a liar.” (Rom 3:4)
So unless we are made right with God first through faith in Jesus, we will always be beholden to falsehood. And once we have entered truth through Jesus, then we can also proceed to learn more and more truth about God and ourselves and God’s world by comparing everything that we are told, everything that we think we perceive, even everything we feel, according to the truth revealed in God’s word, which is THE truth.
Christian, this should SO bless and encourage us that we do KNOW the truth, who is God himself graciously manifesting his salvation in Jesus Christ, to whom we now belong. And it should serve to motivate you to love the words of God in the very Word of God.
So take comfort and courage that we who are Christ’s disciples are set apart by the truth and for the truth. We are set apart by the truth of God revealed in Jesus Christ, and for the truth of God revealed in Jesus. (This setting apart for the truth is found in v. 18.)
Like these Apostles, we who are set apart to Christ are also sent as his messengers in the world. (verse 18)
“As you have sent me, so I have sent them.” ‘They are no longer of the world, but I am leaving them in the world and sending them into the world, as you have sent me into the world.’
After the resurrection, John records Jesus commissioning them in almost these exact words: Jn 20:21
John 20:21 ESV
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
There were other things Jesus said in these post-resurrection commissions, the longest and most well-known recorded by the Apostle Matthew for us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:18–20 ESV
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The direct connection of God’s authorization of Jesus for a mission, and Christ’s authorization of us for his mission, is astounding. The thought of it, the meditation on it… should produce a humility and realization of the seriousness of our calling as his “called out ones.” It should also give us motivation for obedience and strength and courage to carry it out.
In case you’ve heard people make the argument that this applies only to the first Apostles and not to us, not only does that gut the entire forward momentum of the New Testament for advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it doesn’t even make sense with this specific commission itself. Yes, this command was given to the first disciples (which was, by the way, more people than just the eleven), but it was given to them for all of Christ’s disciples.
Again, how do I know that? V. 20 says, as you are going, make disciples and baptize them in the name of God, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Yes, that would include the great commandment to demonstrate the love of Christ so that people would know we are his disciples (Jn 13:34-35), and yes that would include the likes of specific instruction to participate together in the Lord’s Table. And do you know what else it obviously MUST include? This commission right here. As you are going, make disciples of all nations. We are to teach disciples to make disciples.
Consider more reasons this commission applies to the whole church: Did the first disciples, even the Apostle Paul, reach all nations before their death, to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)? No, but they passed the torch of Christ’s command to us, and we are now sent out, equipped with the word of Christ revealed in the word of God, the Bible. Again, what does Jesus’ prayer emphasize? By his word of truth God sets us apart for a purpose: sending us as his messengers in the world.
Finally, who is the plural “you” that Jesus says he will be “with always, to the end of the age”? His people, from generation to generation… until God draws this age to an end in his timing that only he knows.
[repeat subtitle]
There is never a day as a Christian that you are not sent as Christ’s messenger in the world.
Before moving on, here’s a point of application from the combination of thought in verses 17&18, that God’s word is truth. The better we know the truth and live by the truth, the more useful we will be as his sent ones. The more unified our team is around the truths that matter most, the more useful we will be as his sent ones. (There will be more on this unity next week… For now, the better we know the truth of God’s word and live by the truth, the more useful we will be as his sent ones.)
As we’ve seen, the true followers of Jesus are safeguarded by God and are set apart to God, sent on his mission. And by what means did God accomplish our sanctification for this mission? (That’s v. 19)
Our sanctification unto God is wholly contingent on Christ’s consecrated obedience to the will of the Father (especially his death & resurrection, applied on our behalf). (verse 19)
Three things I want you to notice: What Jesus is referring to specifically about himself, who it applies to, and how we live because of it.
- What does Jesus mean by this reference to setting himself apart?
John 17:19 NET
19 And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.
“For their sake I have set myself apart” refers especially to his condescension to become a man and his self-sacrifice to secure the forgiveness and redemption of those who belong to God.
The Son of God consecrated himself for holy service to perform the will of God… which is that Jesus will die for their sin and ours (less than a day from this very hour) and rise again victorious (on the third day). - It is Christ’s consecration that makes possible our sanctification and consecration… our being set apart to be children of a holy God, and set apart in his holy service.
We do nothing to achieve God sanctifying us unto himself and consecrating us for his service. All of the achievement God has done through the perfect obedience of Christ to suffer death for our sin and rise again victorious over sin and death.
- Now the way I’m talking, and what I’ve been saying from the outset, gives away who this applies to, but let me prove it from John’s Gospel.
Does the “they” who are sanctified thus in truth, according the work of Christ, apply only to these disciples in his presence? Or is this deliberately stated aloud and recorded for us so that we might know that we can be among them, that we too can be set apart to belong to God and be sent in his service?
John 10:11 ESV
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Now a shepherd, even a good one, who would willingly risk his life for the sheep, did not intend or plan to sacrifice his life for the sheep. But in the case of Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh, that was exactly his plan and what he did.
But again, who are these “sheep” for whom the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, lays down his life (to also take it up again)? For whom?
John 10:27 ESV
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
The sheep are those who savingly follow Jesus. I say all of that to make this point: The consecration of Christ to obey the Father’s will in condescending to become the perfect man, and to give himself as a perfect sacrifice, applies to those who repent of sin and self and turn in faith to Jesus as Lord, demonstrated by continuing to follow Jesus.
- Finally, the reference to following Jesus leads to the third point I want to make from verse 19, which is largely applicational here: How do we live knowing the saving work of Christ to set us apart to God and to send us in his holy service?
Following Jesus is being fully dependent on his ongoing grace to grow to be more like him, and to grow in faithfulness to obey all that he has commanded. (Again, the “true vine” imagery of John 15 is at the heart of this entire discourse and prayer.) We are continually growing in being set apart and sent. The sanctification and consecration that has begun in us, continues in us as we further depend on and submit to Jesus.
So even in our dependent prayers to God, we too can pray for the sanctifying work of faith in Christ (who is the truth) and for our ongoing sanctification as we obey God’s word in the Bible (which is his truth culminating in Christ - truth that is necessary, authoritative, sufficient, and clear).
Let me circle back now to the big picture that this part of the prayer continues to reinforce.
Conclusion: Christ’s People United in Comfort and Courage and Clarity, Because We Are Safeguarded & Set Apart & Sent
As God’s people, we should be unified in the comfort of being secure in God’s keeping. He safeguards his own in Christ Jesus. And we find courage and strength in the truth, knowing that we too (through saving faith) have been consecrated to service in Christ’s mission of making disciples. So too we continue to be further sanctified (set apart, made holy) through obedience to the truth of God’s word.
I don’t know about you, but nothing quiets my soul’s discouragement, my minds confusion, like meditation on the confidence we have of God’s revealed truth to us in Jesus. Not only this, but if we know our faith is in God because we love Jesus and we are growing in a desire to submit to him in obedience, then we also know that he has placed the very Holy Spirit of truth within us. (Jn 14:16-17)
Does it not give you comfort and courage and clarity to know that God has revealed to you his truth, set you apart by his truth in Christ Jesus, is safeguarding you in Christ Jesus, and has sent you out to proclaim Christ Jesus? In other words, you even know that your life focus now is to continually be set apart (to pursue God’s holiness), and to be sent as his messenger. Set apart and Sent is a good summary of the Christian life until we reach glory. There is no confusion. My identity and meaning and purpose is clear. Even our suffering in this life we now view through the lens of knowing we are set apart and sent. Such confidence and clarity in Christ gives us comfort and courage.
Branson Bible family, let us be united in Comfort and Courage and Clarity, Because We Are Safeguarded & Set Apart & Sent.
PRAY
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More in Communion in Christ's Love
January 26, 2025
United with Christ in God’s Love & MissionJanuary 12, 2025
Safeguarded & Set Apart (Part One)January 5, 2025
The Comfort of Having Christ’s Prayer