Daily Devotions
May 2nd, 2016 by Pastor SolleyJohn 17:1-4 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
KJV
How many times can you say that something is finished, that you have finished the work you have been given to do? At the end of a work day one can say it is finished, but there is always another one to follow. Last evening as I returned home from church I could say that preaching was finished, but there is more coming and even this morning my mind is on Wednesday and Sunday coming. Our children are grown, but that does not mean prayers have finished for them, that our love and care for them has diminished. How many things can we really look at and say they are finished? I want to look this week at a finished work. (John 17:4) Jesus in His High Priestly prayer lifted His eyes to heaven and said “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” That is a statement that few have ever been able to make, that a work is finished, completely finished. Consider that this is the greatest work the world has ever or will ever see, considering that it is a work that still meets the needs of men over 2,000 years later only adds tot eh greatest of that statement. Couple that with the fact that the work of the cross began in eternity past only makes this more wondrous. Our study this week does begin in eternity past. – (Acts 2:22-23 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain) That Jesus Christ would come into this world and pay the price for the sin of all men was determined before the world was ever created, it was a work begun in eternity past, a work determined by the foreknowledge of God. Even as Jesus formed this world with his words He knew what was awaiting Him, He knew of the cross. I wonder how many of us would even begin such a work, but Jesus did. Consider this morning the beginning of this work given to Christ, that even before the world was created, before you or I were even born, Jesus Christ knew of our need, of you need for salvation, and took upon Himself that work of redemption. God has perfect foreknowledge, he knew before we were born that we would need a savior, we would need a way to have sin forgiven and receive eternal life, and so Jesus began that work. It was a work that began in eternity past and one we will see extends into eternity future