Learning How To Pray Pt. 21 Pray For Gospel Penetration Into The Whole World.

We are in John 17, studying the longest recorded prayer of Jesus Christ. His prayer is referred to as a high priestly prayer of intercession, because His atoning sacrifice is viewed as completed, even though it was hours away. 

Jesus prayed about glorifying the Father through His work on earth, and His sacrifice on the cross. He spoke of having that pre-incarnate glory with the Father restored.

He prayed about having manifested the Father's name to all the world through the words, works and heart of Jesus shown in His dealings with men. 

Jesus' disciples were convinced that the Father sent Him into the world. 

John 17:7,8  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 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. 

Jesus summarized His ministry to His disciples. Mere hours before His death on the cross, Jesus could say that He clearly made known to them that all of His words and works were from the Father.

When Jesus taught, He spoke the word of God because He was God manifest in the flesh. His disciples received the heavenly words from Jesus and His Divine words convinced them that the Father sent His Son into the world. 

If we are not fully convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, whom the Father sent into the world, then we cannot be His disciples. 

Jesus said "I pray not for the world."

John 17:9,10  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10)  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 

In the statement "I pray not for the world" Jesus is not refusing to pray for all the Jews and Gentiles of the world, because "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.  

The gospel of Jesus Christ is universally open to all people who respond with repentant faith. It is not restricted to some exclusive group or ethnicity. It is a global, universal gospel for all people to hear. 

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We must be faithful witnesses for Jesus Christ, sharing His gospel with others. 

We must trust the Spirit of God to grapple with the souls and hearts of lost people. 

We must pray for the lost to be converted to Christ before they die in their sins. 

Jesus prayed for all the souls that the Father gave Him, for they belong to the Father and bring Him glory. Christ also is glorified in the harvest of souls through the ages of gospel preaching. 

Pray for the gospel of Christ to penetrate all the world. 

John 3:16-18  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17)  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18)  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

The fact is that God so loved the world, that vast mass of humanity of all ages. The Bible makes it very clear. The Father did not send His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to condemn the world. 

Rather, He sent Jesus so that all people in the world might be saved by believing on Christ. Whoever hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and turns to Him with repentant faith, shall be saved. They shall receive eternal life.

However, there is another group of people mentioned in this text. Those who are unbelievers, who reject the gospel of Christ. They remain dead in trespasses and sin and they are already under the condemnation of God. 

God knows beforehand, every single person who will come to Him by faith, from Adam's generation until the very last generation of people. This is how infinite God is. He knows in advance those who will respond by faith to His saving provision. 

This is called the foreknowledge of God. He is all knowing (omniscient) and is able to give every star in every galaxy a name (Psalm 147:4). 

He knows the thoughts of all people (Psalm 139) and He knows how many hairs we have on our heads (Matthew 10:30).

Because God knows all things beforehand, He choses or elects those whom He already knows are going to respond with faith to the gospel. 

God does not interfere with anyone's will to choose or reject Jesus Christ, but He does make each believer's calling secure, because He knows beforehand who will be saved. 

Each believer's calling and election is set in motion before the foundation of the world. It certainly makes us feel very insignificant in comparison to the vastness of our God. 

Each person is free to accept or reject Jesus Christ, and the outcome of this decision has eternal consequences. 

Pray that gospel preaching will lead people to repentant faith in Christ. 

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

When Peter was living, some people questioned why God was waiting so long for Christ's return to set up His kingdom. The apostle made it plain that God's heart is for all people to repent and be saved, even though He knows many will refuse the gospel. 

Jesus' prayer is like harvesting a vast heap of unwinnowed corn in the floor. The good kernels of corn represents the harvest of souls for Christ, but there is worthless chaff mixed in with the good corn. 

God loves the vast harvest of souls, Christ prayed and died for all the unwinnowed corn, for a blessing is in it.

But the Lord perfectly knows those who are His, that the Father has given Him out of the world. He extracts the good corn, those who trust Him, to place them in his garner. 

What is left is a remaining heap of rejected, worthless chaff, that will be consumed by fire. These are people who are already condemned by their unbelief (See John 3:16-18).

Jesus' refusal to pray for the world corresponds with the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation (John 5:19-29). 

It also connects with the separation of the good wheat from worthless tares, and the good fish being saved (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43) while the bad fish are discarded (Matthew 13:47-50). 

Jesus prayed for His disciples 

John 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 

Jesus said "I am no more in the world" as He looked to His cross death, His resurrection and His glorious ascension to the Father after forty days. 

Christ's prayer also includes all future generations of believers (John 17:20). He prayed for the Father to use His great power to keep each believer in Christ, safe and secure eternally. 

Those who know Christ, hear and heed His voice.

John 10:27-30  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28)  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29)  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30)  I and my Father are one. 

This teaching of Christ echoes what He is praying about in John 17. His sheep hear His voice and they respond by faith, following their Savior. 

Jesus said that no man nor demon can pluck a born again Christian from the Father's hand. All who are in Christ are eternally safe and protected by the Father. 

Paul also wrote about the security of each believer who is "in Christ" (See Romans 8:31-39). These truths from God should reassure us and comfort our hearts. 

As Jesus said, in the world you will have tribulation but we can rejoice, because He overcame the world (John 16:33). 

Thoughts to Ponder...

We must examine our hearts and make sure that we are fully convinced that Jesus Christ came forth from the Father and that He returned to His throne in heaven.

We must pray for all lost souls, as we do not know the condition of their hearts. Whether they accept Christ or reject Him is not our responsibility. Rather, we must be faithful witnesses in a world that is waxing worse and worse. 

We must pray and do our part to help spread the gospel into all the world. 

This is one reason I began this Bible study blog four years ago. Technology has given us wonderful tools where people in other lands may access clear Bible teaching and translate each post into their own language. 

Pray for gospel preaching and teaching to be used of God to save souls from Hell. 

Please feel free to share the studies from this blog with other people, for we do not know the impact God's word may have upon them.

Let us rest in knowing that Jesus Christ, our Great Shepherd, prays for us as He prayed for His disciples. 

Let us also live righteous lives before our God, so that we do not hinder other's from coming to Christ. 

Bob