Andrew Fountain - Jesus' Design for the Christian Life

  • In his last words to his disciples before he died, Jesus laid out for them a plan.
  • In a few words he summarized what a Christian life should look like from beginning to end.
  • Here, perhaps more than anywhere else in Scripture, we have a concise vision for our life’s goals and destiny.

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John 17:14–26 – Jesus’ Design for the Christian Life

Design Principle A

  1. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because
    they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
  2. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.
  3. They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world.

Design Principle B

  1. Make them dedicated to you [holy] in the truth; your word is truth.
  2. Just as you sent me into the world,
          so I sent them into the world.
  3. And I dedicated myself on their behalf,
          so that they too may be dedicated in truth.

Design Principle C

  1. I am not praying only on their behalf,
    but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony,
  2.       that they will all be one,
                just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us,
                      so that the world will believe that you sent me.
  3. The glory you gave to me I have given to them,
          that they may be one
                just as we are one23. I in them and you in me— that they may be completely one,
                      so that the world will know that you sent me,
                      and you have loved them just as you have loved me.

Design Principle D

  1. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am,
          so that they can see my glory that you gave me
          because you loved me before the creation of the world.
  2. O Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you,
          and these men know that you sent me.
  3. I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known,
          so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”

Sermon Outline - Jesus’ Design for the Christian Life

Goal

That we would clearly understand

  • Jesus’ design for our Christian life
  • Our Destiny
  • How we get there
    The design in seven parts

Jeremy Keith: Design Principles

  • Two things I want you to notice about this video:
    1. Notice how he get applause when he says something negative about the church
    2. He is actually making an excellent point overall
  • Comments
    • People are comfortable with Jesus if they can relegate him to an ancient historical teacher
    • He is totally wrong that Jesus “ended up inadvertently forming a religion” as you can see:

Matthew 28

  1. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
  2. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
  3. teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age”

Design Principles

  • Something you nail to the wall and use to guide all your decisions
  • If we all agree on the principles, they can keep us on track and help us resolve differences
  • Otherwise things will just drift

Jesus’ design for the Christian life

  1. Believe and be baptized
  • Baptism is 2 parts: Outside & Inside.
    • Outside you are clearly identifying yourself as part of the Christian community (…into the body of believers.)
    • Inside you are showing Jesus your commitment—symbolically re-enacting your unity with him in his death and resurrection

Jesus’ Design Principles

  • Is he right about Jesus’ design principles for his followers?
  • “do unto other as you would have them do unto you” [Matt 7:1]
    • Yes, he is quite right!
  • It he right that this has tended to get lost in bureaucracy?
    • In many cases, yes!
  • The very last thing we have recorded in John of Jesus speaking to his disciples before he went to his death is in John 17.
  • Hand out printout of John 17:14–26
    • What do we get from v.14–16?

John 17: Design Principle A

How we relate to the world

  1. We do not belong to the world,
    • just as Jesus does not belong to the world
  2. But we are to live as part of the world
  • What does it look like if we ignore part B. of this principle?
    • culturally cut-off.
    • segregated from society “Christian this and Christian that”
    • Does this happen?
  • What does it look like if we ignore part A. of this principle?
    • Lives are no different to the world
    • “Salt has lost its savour”
    • Does this happen?

Jesus’ design for the Christian life

  1. Believe and be baptized
  2. Live as part of the world, yet be clearly different to it

John 17: Design Principle B

  1. We are sent into this world, just as Jesus was
    • Just as Jesus was “dedicated” to this task [holy], so are we to be
  2. This happens by means of “truth”
  • Why was Jesus sent to this earth?
    • to reveal God to man
    • to bring hope, reconciliation, eternal life (Joh 3:16)
  • What does it mean that he was dedicated to this task?
    • focused, single minded
  • Christians are to continue the work of Jesus
    • The church is the embodiment of Jesus on this earth
  • How does “Truth” make us consecrated, dedicated to this purpose?
    • Becoming like Jesus is not automatic, it requires
      • the Spirit
      • the truth that Jesus brought (and gave through later writings)
    • there is a process that the Spirit takes that truth and steers us by it
      • As we read the truth, the Spirit uses it to focus and dedicate us

Jesus’ design for the Christian life

  1. Believe and be baptized
  2. Live as part of the world, yet be clearly different to it
  3. We are sent to represent Jesus to the world—be 100% dedicated to this
  4. We cannot do this without being transformed by God’s truth (given to us in the Bible)

John 17: Design Principle C

  • The goal is that the world will believe our “testimony”
  • that is: that Jesus is from God
  • they will believe this when they see supernatural love and unity between us
  • So here we have the principle that Jeremy Keith was alluding to
    • although he missed the point!
  • Has the church always made this a principle?
    • can you think of when this doesn’t happen?
  • Why is this “supernatural”
    • surely people can love each other?
    • those we would never love naturally
    • not self-centred because the love of Jesus is in us
  • Everyone believes in theory that love is a good thing,
    • so what makes it different if you call it a fundamental principle?
    • you say “I’m not going to do this, but instead I will do this, because this is my guiding principle”

Jesus’ design for the Christian life

  1. Believe and be baptized
  2. Live as part of the world, yet be clearly different to it
  3. We are sent to represent Jesus to the world—be 100% dedicated to this
  4. We cannot do this without being transformed by God’s truth (given to us in the Bible)
  5. The world learns of God’s love by seeing our love and unity
  6. This is only possible by the life of Jesus in us (through the Spirit)
  • Jesus does not use the word Church because it did not begin until Pentecost, but that is clearly what he is referring to.
  • If we had time, look at Ephesians

John 17: Design Principle D

  • This love has a second purpose: Our destiny, united with Jesus
  • This is the ultimate design goal for the church
    • to be a bride for Jesus
  • What is the connection between the Father’s love for Jesus, and the love that lives in us?
    • God is actually forming his own character of love in us
    • So we will be able to live with him forever

Jesus’ design for the Christian life

  1. Believe and be baptized
  2. Live as part of the world, yet be clearly different to it
  3. We are sent to represent Jesus to the world—be 100% dedicated to this
  4. We cannot do this without being transformed by God’s truth (given to us in the Bible)
  5. The world learns of God’s love by seeing our love and unity
  6. This is only possible by the life of Jesus in us (through the Spirit)
  7. Our destiny: with Jesus, at his side, forever

Ephesians 4 (after his prayer in ch.3)

  1. I therefore encourage you, I, the prisoner of the Lord
    to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called
  2. with all lowliness and gentleness
    with longsuffering, bearing one another in love
     
  3. striving to preserve the one-ness of the Spirit
    in the bond of peace
  4.       one body
          and one Spirit
          even as you were called in one hope of your calling
  5.       one Lord
          one faith
          one baptism
  6.       one God and father of all
    who is over all, and through all, and in all (things)
  7. until we all arrive
          at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
          at the complete(/mature/perfected human)
          at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

Updated on 2019-07-21 by Andrew Fountain