"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee", John 17:6-7.

Please learn from these words, girls and boys:

1. The task given to the Lord Jesus by His Father.

“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world.”

He was sent to ‘manifest’ His Father’s name. The word means to ‘reveal, to make known’. Common words of introduction: ‘This is Mr ……’ That is what the Lord Jesus did. He introduces men and woman, boys and girls to His Father, Who then takes them by the hand! See Hebrews 8:8. A Christian is led by the hand of God!

2. Notice who it is to whom the Father is introduced.

“The men which thou gavest me out of the world”. This is a reference to the truth of ELECTION. Boys and girls, I cannot improve upon how this wonderful doctrine is explained in the Shorter Cat, Q 20. ‘God having, out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.’  God has a chosen a people ‘out of His good pleasure’, not because of anything in them, unto everlasting life.

It is that people, out of the world, to whom He introduces His Father and makes known His mercy, love and wonderful salvation.

3. Those who are truly the ELECT of God, keep the Word of God.

What is revealed to them they believe and obey. Yesterday I read these words. 

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus,” 1 Thessalonians 2:13-14.

They were ‘hearers’, ‘obeyers’ and then ‘followers’.

Those are the marks of a true Christian. Are those marks to be seen in you?