Study inJohn’s Gospel

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Kept By GodChap 17v11-12

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IntroductionAt the time of the Reformation John’s gospel was described as "a right meaty Gospel," because of the richness of doctrine that it contains. And that richness is particularly evident in this prayer where Jesus asks that his people be kept by the Father and thus never be lost. What the Westminster Confession of Faith calls, “God's perseverance with his saints”.

A doctrine already touched upon in Ch.10 v28-29 “no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand”.

A clear affirmation in God’s ability to keep his people safe!

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Christ’s Second PetitionSo then Christ's second petition in v 11-12 is for his people. He is not praying that they would enjoy riches, or honours, or worldly influence and power. His concern is that they may be kept from evil, separated from the world, qualified for duty, and brought home safely to heaven.

These are ‘spiritual’ benefits. We are introduced tothe operational perspective of the Godhead. ‘Soul prosperity is the best prosperity.’ Indeed, soul prosperity is the index which is to be used to measure true prosperity.

John’s health check always adopts this index.‘I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.' 3 John 2.

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The DangerThe substance of the second petition is for God's safekeeping of the disciples. And the underlying reason for this petition is that Jesus recognises that his people to be in danger. A number of factors point to this.

First, although Jesus was leaving to go to the Father, they were not leaving. In fact, they were to remain in the world. This strikes an ominous note in an otherwise optimistic prayer.

The world has been mentioned many times previously, but never quite in this way. Jesus distinguishes between his own and the world in a way that sets the tone for much that is to follow. But this is all it does. It does not suggest a threat at this stage.

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The DangerJesus is aware of a great contrast between himself and his followers. Soon he would enter into the fullness of joy; he would be free from the temptations of the enemy and be where no weariness could distress him. He would soon grasp the sceptre, wear a crown, and ascend the throne. He was about to sail into a peaceful haven - after the terrors of the cross - but he was leaving his followers ‘in the world!' We cannot miss the importance of this contrast.

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The DangerLet’s illustrate this point. After the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus had left his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee by boat. Jesus remained on the mountain to pray. But a storm had come, and he, looking down from the mountain, had seen their little boat buffeted and so he came walking upon the water towards them. Yes, he had come to them, but he had also deliberately permitted them to go through the period of struggle in the first place. So too now!

One day Christ will return for his own, but in the meantime we are in the world with all of its ragingstorms. Does he care? Yes! and he prays for us. Cf. Heb.7v25

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The DangerThe disciples’ danger is compounded by the fact that Jesus would no longer be physically with them. Of course, in one sense he is with us always. Nevertheless, Jesus describes a contrast between his physical presence and the days soon to come when he would be physically absent: "I will remain in the world no longer but they are still in the world."

Jesus had been their first and last line of defence. If they were threatened, he was there to receive the blows. If they were hated, he was there to allow that hate to be directed towards himself. Now he was going, and the hatred that had formerly been directed against himself would soon fall in equal fury upon the disciples.

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The DangerFinally, the disciples' danger was very great because, were it not for God's perseverance, they would surely be lost. This is the reason for Christ's mention of Judas at this point. Of course his mention is not designed to teach that someone who has been born again of God’s Spirit can be lost. But it does teach what would inevitably happen without God’s work of regeneration in his people’s hearts and without his unbreakable grasp on those he has so regenerated. If it were not for God, who could stand? Who could survive the onslaughts of the world if God did not keep us?

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The Lord Your KeeperBut God does keep us. While Jesus was on earth, he kept those whom God had entrusted to him, and he kept them well. None was lost [save Judas the son of perdition]. Now that Jesus is about to return to the Father, he recommits those whom he had cared for again to the Father's keeping. This theme of protection is developed in the O.T. where the image of a divine watchman, sentry or protector is regularly employed;“He who watches over you will not slumber... The Lord will keep you from all harm”. Psalm 121

Emperor Qin of China trusted in 1000s of terracotta warriors to stand guard over his tomb down the centuries. But they could offer no protection. Our God does!

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The Lord Your KeeperGod, through Ezekiel, reprimands Israel's leaders for failing to guard his people. Now, says God, “I will be a good shepherd to them, I will search for my sheep and care for them. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered .... I will gather them from many countries, and bring them into their own land... I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land… I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak”. Cf Ezekiel 34

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The Lord Your KeeperThese were the images upon which Jesus drew as he prayed for his people. Now the disciples were to be committed to his Father - Israel's great watchman and shepherd- how could they be safer? True, the danger from the outside world was great. The danger from within was even greater, for they possessed an old nature that would surely drag them down into sin again and again!

But over against this stands One who is greater than all these dangers put together. And he would keep his people safe!

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In Your NameThree times in these verses Jesus speaks of keeping the disciples and in two of these instances the means by which they are kept. It is by ‘God's name’. What does it mean to be ‘kept in God's name’? We have already noted that "the name of God" is a Semitic phrase for God's attributes. To be protected by the ‘name’ is therefore to be protected by One who is sovereign, holy, all-knowing, wise, compassionate, and anything else that can properly be said of God.

Picture God then as a great fortress into which his people run in order to be kept safe. Cf Psalm 18v2. God’s power and other attributes surround his people constantly. "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it, and are safe." Prov. 18:10

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In Your NameHuman powers cannot undermine our safety. Samuel Rutherford a godly Scottish minister was unable to appear before parliament on the charge of ‘treason’ - he taught that Christ and not a human monarch was the head of the church. The Privy Council wanted to evict him from his college where he lay on his deathbed. Lord Burleigh confronted them saying; 'You have voted that honest man out of his college, but you cannot vote him out of heaven!'

God keeps us safe from both human and spiritual powers. C.H. Spurgeon told his congregation;‘Candles which are lit by God, the devil can never blow out’.

Praise God, our safety does not rest in our strength, which is fragile, but in the fact that we are kept by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Father.

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God For UsHow do we react to these truths? Some think that if we stress God's keeping power then we provide incentive for his people to sin and live careless lives. Is that a fair assessment? Do we feel free to sin, because God is for us? Not at all! Rather we want to please him because he, and only he, is for us. Who else is for us? No one! The world is not for us. Satan is not for us. Even our friends can let us down at times. Only God is for us. And lest we doubt it, we have the death of Christ on our behalf, the indwelling of God’s Spirit, and a vast number of promises to lay hold of, of which God's perseverance is just one.

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God For UsShall we abuse the safety God provides and treat it as a licence to sin? No! Not only do we seek to please him but we will seek to persevere also, since we have learned perseverance from him. We will persevere in our work which may be discouraging. But we will keep at it, for God has given it to us, and we must be like him in faithfully fulfilling this responsibility.

We will persevere in our witness which too can be disheartening. Many hate the gospel, and the God who gave it and Christians become a target for that hatred. Still, we will keep at it, knowing that God may use our witness in the midst of persecutionas a means of drawing some to himself.

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God For UsAnd finally, we will persevere with our families. They are a special area of our responsibility. We are often cast down when a son or daughter or wife or husband will not walk in God's path. Sometimes the situation seems hopeless. But it is not hopeless to God, and therefore we will not allow it to be hopeless for us. We will hold onto the God with whom all things are possible and tell him we are trusting him to bring them by the right path to a place of safety.

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