God’s plans are never frustrated by human affairs. Why, then, are some people saved while others are not? Today, R.C. Sproul provides insight from Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer regarding the extent of Christ’s atonement. Get R.C. Sproul’s book Hard Sayings, plus lifetime digital access to his four teaching series on the hard sayings of the Bible, the prophets, Jesus, and the Apostles, for your donation of any amount: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/3648/hard-sayings Meet Today’s Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was known for his ability to winsomely and clearly communicate deep, practical truths from God’s Word. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Meet the Host: Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, host of the Ask Ligonier podcast, and a graduate of Presbyterian Theological College in Melbourne, Australia. Nathan joined Ligonier in 2012 and lives in Central Florida with his wife and four children. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
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Christ not only atones for the sin of His people, He not only lays down His life for His sheep, but then He prays daily as our High Priest and as our intercessor for our preservation that not one of His people for whom He has died will ever, ever be lost.
The words of Jesus in John 17 bring the believer such comfort to know in this prayer of Jesus that he prays for his sheep. He prays for us. Yet these words of comfort are also hard because they reveal to us that there are some people that Jesus doesn't pray for. There are some for whom Jesus did not lay down his life. Welcome to the Tuesday edition of Renewing Your Mind.
I'm your host, Nathan W. Bingham. All week, R.C. Sproul is tackling some of the hard sayings of the Bible. And today, he examines a hard saying of Jesus. When Christians discuss the doctrines of grace, Reformed theology, if there's disagreement, it often happens when the subject of the atonement comes up. For whom did Christ die? For whom does he pray for and intercede as their high priest?
Although the answers to these questions can seem hard at first, we mustn't ignore the plain teaching of Scripture. They are, in fact, sweet gospel truths. Here's R.C. Sproul in John 17.
When it comes to the hard sayings of Jesus, it would seem that the last place we would expect to find a hard saying is in the prayers of Jesus. and most particularly, when we read the magnificent account of the so-called high priestly prayer of Jesus that is recorded for us in the Gospel according to Saint John in the seventeenth chapter of that book.
Here we have an intimate opportunity to eavesdrop on Jesus as He is performing His work of intercession, not only for the disciples that were His at that time, but for all of His people who ever believe in Him. I say to people, this is the only place in all of Scripture where you are mentioned specifically.
not by name, but when Jesus prays, He prays not only for His disciples, but for all of those who will believe in Him through their testimony. So that in that sense, Jesus is praying for us, if it be so that we have embraced the testimony of the apostles. So, what's the problem that we would encounter in such a wonderful setting as this high priestly prayer?
Well, we'll look at that problem in just a second, but let me say another word of preface before we dig into the text itself. The setting for this prayer, if you recall, is on the night before Jesus was crucified. It takes place in the upper room, On the occasion where Jesus celebrated the Passover for the last time with His disciples and where He instituted the Lord's Supper.
And so it is a particularly important occasion. It's also the occasion where we have the most extensive discussion ever from the lips of Jesus on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, John 14, 15, 16, very important segment of our Lord's teaching for us. But where is the hard saying? Well, let's take a look at the text now. In John chapter 17, and I'm going to begin at verse 6.
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