38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Introduction
I want to talk to you today about how Christ loses nothing. Indeed, that is the title of this message today: Christ Loses Nothing. That phrase in verse 39 stands out as the cinch to this entire section: “…this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me…”
Now before I get ahead of myself and just start preaching on that verse I want to remind you that verse 37 is about the preservation of the Saints. That those who come to him, He will not ever cast out.
Now, I mention verse 37 because what we see here is that verses 38-40 are the foundation or the backbone of verse 37. There is the all important little word “for” there at the beginning of verse 38 that connects us back to what has previously been said. Indeed we find verse 38-40 being the basis for why Jesus will never cast away those that come to him.
And so we read verse 37 and ask the question: Why will Jesus never cast out those who come to Him?
Because Jesus came to do the will of him who sent him (v. 38)
Note first, Christ came down from heaven. We see this in the incarnation. The eternal Son of God descends from the glories of heaven, down to earth, putting on human flesh, such that he would walk among us, live and die among us, to redeem us from the corruption of our flesh, that God would be glorified in all creation. Christ came down, not at the behest of sinners, or to do the will of man; rather He came from the Father to do the will of the one who sent Him. This will of the Father is another great theme of this section of Scripture which we will see much of today, and see how it works with the theme of Christ losing nothing.
But thinking about Christ coming down from heaven, in relation to verse 37, that whoever comes to Him, He will never cast out, we see the glorious gospel fact that Christ does not go to such lengths and depths of suffering in order to lose that which He set out to redeem. Christ’s death was not in vain, His mission not failed, His blood not wasted, His power not overcome. Christ will have that for which He died. If Christ died for it, He will have it.
Christ came down to raise us up. Jesus has come to free us from death, release us from the tombs, and give us eternal life.
Furthermore, He was sent of the Father, to do the Father’s will. Likewise, the Father would not send His Son to such lengths on a failing mission. If one single person, who Christ intended save, is not saved, it is not only a mark of disgrace upon the Son, but also upon the Father. For it was the Father’s will that Christ should redeem a people for Himself, and the Father put a specific people into the Son’s hands to have and to keep. Should the Father’s will fail to be accomplished? Would the eternal decree of God not come to pass, whether by the will of man, the power of Satan, or the impotence of himself? Banish the thought!
The will of the Father is of course a will that accomplishes what it sets out to do, and will not be thwarted in the slightest. This is the clear teaching and theme throughout the Bible, and certainly so in the Old Testament, of which the Jews would have known so well.
“Our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases.” (Psalm 115:3).
The Jews of course would have had no problem with this – that Yahweh’s will, will be done. Their problem was that Jesus was Yahweh, and that Jesus was the one sent of the Father from heaven to do and accomplish His will.
We got a lot of people out here talking like God needs you to do this or do that in order for His will to be, or saying that you have to unlock the will of God by speaking words of power, or some other such rubbish. But they must not read the Bible. God’s decree is not hanging in the balance, dependent upon the will of fallen rebel sinful creatures. Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases. A good Jew knew, Yahweh was not like the lifeless and powerless Baals and mute idols made of wood and stone cut from human hands. Instead He does all that He pleases. He speaks, decrees, acts, and accomplishes, through his various means through Christ. And so Jesus is saying to the crowds of Jews, “I am sent to do that Father’s will” – a will they knew accomplishes and does what it sets out to do. It was a way of Jesus saying He’s going to accomplish what He says He’s going to do.
And so what was this will? The will that Jesus came to do is that he should lose nothing of what he was given, thus raising it up on the last day (v. 39)
Christ Loses Nothing. Friends, Christ loses nothing. It really is a remarkable thing to say that Christ loses nothing of which the Father has given to Him. After all, losing is an all too familiar human problem. It began with our first parents in the Garden, they rebelled against God, thus losing that blessed state into which they were created, losing that fellowship with the Creator God. Because of their sin, and ours today, they and we lose our lives. While we were originally created to live and not die, we now die, for the wages of sin is death. We have lost our immortality. We lost the paradise of the garden. And such a condition of death and broken fellowship we find ourselves today, as sinners we have lost our way.
But we go to Christ in the gospels, and there He is, the Last Adam, the eternal Son of God, accomplishing that which the Father set Him out to do. He crosses every “t” and dots every “i”. All is accomplished, nothing is lost. Fellowship now restored with God in Christ. The veil torn. The walls of hostility come down. Death put to death. The tombs unlocked. Sin forgiven. Righteousness fulfilled. Payment accepted. A people redeemed. A world saved! Christ lost his life, so that our lost lives would be found. He lost it not in the sense that He couldn’t save it, but that He willingly gave it up and laid it down. But death also lost, when it lost its grip on Christ, so now death has lost its sting. Where is thy sting, o death? Where is thy victory?
Christ is not a loser. He is victorious. He is not weak so as to lose His grip on His own. Boys, we ought to have firm handshakes, because we are firm in Christ’s hand.
As I’ve mentioned, Christ not losing anything that the Father has given to Him, speaks to the strength of Christ to keep us and overcome the enemy. We can’t fall out of His hand and Satan can’t take us out. We can lose our salvation when Christ can lose us. But this also speaks to the meticulous care of the Savior. He is not only strong with omnipotence, but He is fervent in His care. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. He is not an absent minded Savior who can misplace us or forget us. He is the God who never sleeps, ever keeping watch over our souls, guiding us with His staff, keeping us from being dashed to pieces at the bottom of a cliff, wrecking our souls. He is ever keeping watch as we sleep, with His rod, to defend us in our salvation from all the wiles of Satan the wolf and the serpentile ways of the ancient dragon and his demonic fouls of hell. Our defender and strong tower He is, strong and watchful.
Notice the obvious progression here once more: What Christ is Given, He Raises Up
We can be sure that those whom the Father gives to the Son, will be raised up to eternal life on the last day. That is the Father’s will. Those who are raised up to eternal life are the same as those whom the Father has given to the Son, which He set out to redeem.
Since it is the Father’s will that Jesus do his will of keeping all and resurrecting all that the Father gives to Him, it would be to His shame were that not to take place – whether by a human will, or anything else. The text simply does not allow for this possibility – that those given to Christ will then not be raised up on the last day.
This preservation is why Christ is better than the Manna from heaven – He is not merely a temporary, daily sustenance, but He is eternal life.
We began today by saying that verses 38-40 are the foundation for verse 37. The reason Christ will not ever cast out those who come to Him is because of verses 38-40. Now what are the things in these verses that are this foundation? I hope you’ve been able to see the two pieces of our preservation in these verses that go together: God’s Will (or God’s decree) and Christ’s work. Those two things are the foundation of the Christian. Those things are why I am a Christian. God’s Will and Christ’s Work. Nothing in me, about me, or that I do is the foundation or reason that I am a Christian. It is all of God. He decreed it, He did it. What a bedrock of comfort this is.
Christ the Centerpiece
Notice as well the centrality of Christ to the Father’s plan. The Father wills to give a people to the Son, that the Son would keep them and not lose them, and that the Son would raise them up on the last day. And the Father’s will to save this people is done and accomplished in Christ. And the Father wills that this salvation comes through looking upon the Son. The centerpiece of your salvation is not you or something you did, or something that is done to you or for you. The centerpiece of your salvation is Jesus Christ. All things are summed up in Christ. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. Christ is all.
Now, note for a second here, how central the centrality of Christ is in Calvinist theology, that we of course believe. One of the most common objections to Calvinism sounds like this, “Since God is just going to save his elect, why does evangelism or anything like that matter?” There are many ways we could answer that, but I want you to see an answer from this very text and this very thought of the centrality of Christ. So why does evangelism and all that matter? Answer: Because God willed and ordained that those whom He has given to His Son will express faith in Christ, so that Christ will be glorified. If the elect are just going to be saved, why does it matter? Because God wants His Son looked upon, and looking upon and believing in Him is the means that God has ordained, because He wants His Son looked upon! He wants His Son believed in! And when the world is looking upon Jesus Christ, lifted up, crucified for sinners, raised to life, ascended to the throne above, that honors and glorifies Him. If there were such a salvation where the elect were just saved no matter what and it didn’t matter if they repented and confessed and looked upon Christ, then that would not be very glorifying to God. But glory to God, there is no such a salvation as that, and may we never be tempted to think such a thought. For Christ is altogether lovely, altogether beautiful, and worthy of our gaze of faith, locking on to Him, so that He may be all in all.
In Ephesians 1, one of the most beautiful chapters that describes all the spiritual blessings we have in Christ, it shows us the centrality of Christ in the plan of redemption, as it says starting in verse 7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
Christ came down from heaven. Christ was sent by the Father. Christ does the will of the Father. Christ lived a perfect life of righteousness. Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Christ bore our sins on the cross. Christ suffered the wrath of God. Christ defeated death. Christ rose from the grave. Christ ascended on high. Christ intercedes evermore for His own. Christ loses nothing given to Him. Christ will raise us up on the last day.
You see, Christian, in your salvation, in your standing before God, Christ is the centerpiece. Christ is what God is concerned about. This brings us great assurance to stand before God, because we are in Christ. “One with himself I cannot die, my soul is purchased by his blood, my life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ my Savior and my God.”
So we have these things laid out for us in verses 38-39, verse 40 then summarizes this teaching.
I want you to notice a contrast here between verse 40 and verse 36. In verse 36, the Jews saw, yet did not believe. In verse 40, it is those who see and believe who have eternal life. Jesus is clearly speaking pointedly and purposefully to this immediate crowd. It is not enough to be an eye witness of Christ and his miracles, but you must see and believe. Simply partaking in the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish is not enough to receive the benefits of the Bread of Life, and the eternal life He brings. This also implies another contrast between the True Bread of Heaven, Jesus Christ, and the Manna their fathers ate in the wilderness. Merely eating the bread in the wilderness gave the intended benefits – daily sustenance. The Jews in Jesus’ day, would have to do more than be a witness to the miracles of Jesus and His miraculous feedings, they must see, and believe.
A clear application can be drawn to us here. It is not enough to merely “see” Jesus, in the sense that you are around the things of God – in a Christian home, in church on a regular basis, reading Christian books, listening to good preaching, or listening to Christian music, or watching your family and friends live the Christian life – you must believe. You must have faith that latches on to Christ and believes Him for yourself. You must have the faith that believes upon the Son of God, that trusts that your sins are forgiven in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. And those who believe in Him should have eternal life. That’s why Christ died. He died, to die no more. He died that we might live. He died that we might die, yet live again, and live forevermore. You can have that eternal life today.
One of the beautiful things to note about the eternal life that those who believe in the Son have, is that it denotes not merely a long duration of never ending time, but it denotes, most importantly, a passing over from death to life, a passing over from condemnation to acceptance. Because that’s why we die – our sin. We would not die if there were no sin. The wages of sin is death. And so to live forever and not die means we have to have our sin forgiven and our wages paid for. You can’t live forever in this way without this being the case. And so it is Christ who dies in our place. It is He who bears our burden of sin and is cursed on the tree. He substitutes Himself for sinners. But need I say again, He was no loser. His loss was not a loss. Christ breaks the unbreakable chains of death that we might rise to life, and be made new creations with acceptance before God in Christ. Christ victorious. Jesus wins. He is no loser.
Leave a Reply