"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: as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him" (John 17:1-21These 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: 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. (John 17:1‑2)).
Power, or authority, over all flesh! Such are the words which we overhear. It is the Lord who speaks. He is about to leave this world, and in His hands the Father has put authority overall humanity. Whether the tiniest baby or the greatest of kings, all men are subject to His power. Let us consider well these words: God the Father has given over to. His Son Jesus the human race. Let infidelity assert itself as it will, or vain reasonings argue as they choose, here stands the immutable fact—every human being is under the absolute authority of the Son of God.
It is power, not salvation, of which the Lord speaks. And when we consider Him set at naught by sinners, despised and spit upon and at length nailed to the accursed tree, there is something in this certain knowledge that authority over all men is His which rejoices the heart. Let us ask, What does man generally say to this? What is the response of the heedless and the pleasure-loving to it? What is the voice of the proud and of the self-confident? We say to each one: You are absolutely, and for time and eternity, under the authority of the Mail Christ Jesus. You are at His disposal; your present and your future lie with Him. You are shut up to Him and cannot break away from under His sway. Should you defy His authority for your lifetime, you must yield thereto forever when your last breath leaves your body.
Now this authority over all is not merely universal; it is for a special purpose, and the purpose is one of perfect grace. It is that the Lord may give eternal life to as many as God the Father has given to Him. He who has power over all is the giver of life to all who come to Him. All whom the Father gives Him come to Him, and he who comes to Him, Jesus in no wise casts out. The power is absolute, and the grace is perfect.
We must have to do with the Lord in His power, if not in this lifetime, then in eternity. But if we go to Him, owning our natural state of spiritual death, He is the Life-giver and will give us life. The life becomes ours by gift. "I give unto them eternal life." It comes to us from the Son of God. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
As those who must very shortly meet the Lord, let us inquire in what way have we had to do with Him. Have we had to do with Him as the Life-giver? Have we believed on His name? He came to this earth to give sinners, dead in their sins and in their state of nature, everlasting life. He gives this life to all who believe on Him and His Father who sent Him. Are we connected with Him in life, or are we merely part of the human race, all of which must submit to His authority? The Young Christian