2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
I am reminded of our Lord’s parting words to His followers recorded in Matthew. It was there Jesus stated He had been given all authority in heaven and on earth - the official right or power - and therefore instructed His disciples to “Go” based on that authority. Christ’s right to rule is incontestable. Over this vast and sinful race, the Lord Jesus has been entrusted with all authority and all judgments. His disciples were simply to teach others what they had been taught by their Master –through the Holy Spirit’s power - evangelizing and enlisting others - all accomplished in and by His authority. He commanded and empowered them to make disciples of all nations and thereby saving souls. He bestowed the gift of eternal life on all who would believe on His Name:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt 28:18-20 (NIV)
“The people of God are to model the new heaven and new earth, and by so doing awaken longings for what God will bring to pass.” Philip Yancey
Interestingly, Daniel had clearly and rightly prophesized regarding the Lord Jesus’ authority as well:
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Dan 7:13-14 (NIV)
We must remember that when we read of the Father giving power to the Son it is not as of the giving of a superior to an inferior rather it signifies the arrangements in the everlasting counsels of the Trinity. The intentions and purposes of this authority were to lead many men to the saving of their souls that they may have eternal life with God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Simply, Christ’s dominion over the children of men is intended to bring salvation to the children of God. The knowledge of God and of His Christ will lead fallen man to life eternal – it is, Scripture states, the way to heaven. John writes in Revelation:
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." Rev 11:15 (NIV)
This knowledge is more than mere head knowledge alone – the demons believe and tremble. No, this knowledge is one which dwells in the heart and influences the life. To know something at the heart level will direct our eyes and our tongues and our hands and our goings. We will act on what we truly know and believe. A true saint knows God – His holiness, His purity, His hatred of sin – as well as he knows Christ – His redemption, His love of sinners and His mediator role between God and man. To know God without Christ is to know a consuming fire and fill us with fear. To know Christ without God, we will not truly value what the Savior has done on our behalf and see little meaning in His cross or passion which, I might add is everything.
“To know God without Christ is not to know Him savingly.” Newton
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV)
Oftentimes our knowledge of God and His Christ are merely fabrications of our own deluded thinking. We presume upon the great “I AM” our likes or dislikes, our wants or want not’s, our definitions of what is acceptable in our own minds for God to do or not to do or to be or not to be. We can make an idol out of our misconception of Jehovah that has nothing to do with the God of Scripture and quite frankly, we get rather ill when He does not fall into our neat little way of thinking or our plans. Shame on us! I am reminded of Paul’s words in Romans:
19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 0 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? 22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath--prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory-- 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one," Romans 9:19-25 (NIV)
“Scripture permits us to broaden the definition of idolatry so that includes anything on which we set our affections and indulge as an excessive and sinful attachment. Therefore, the idols that we can see are certainly not the whole problem. Idolatry includes anything we worship: the lust for pleasure, respect, love, power, control, or freedom from pain. Futhermore, the problem is not outside of us...the problem is in us...the heart’s instinctive plotting in this idol construction is amazing. We know we are called to imitate God. This means we are to live for His glory, not our own. We are to make Him famous, not ourselves...the purpose of all idolatry is to manipulate the idol for our own benefit...but (we) need the power of God, the message of Christ crucified and risen. Other therapies can offer sobriety, but only this good news is powerful enough to liberate the soul.” Ed Welch, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave