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“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me for they are yours” (John 17:9).
God gave authority over all flesh to Christ Jesus, to give eternal life to all whom He would give Him (17:3). He planned their salvation (Acts 2:23; Rom 8:29), and draws them to Jesus to be saved (John 6:44). For all things belong to God and He has handed them over to Christ (John 3:35), and those chosen to be saved, get saved in Christ (Eph 1:4)..
All who come to Jesus, receive eternal life and are kept saved by the power of Jesus and God (John 10:28,29). Abiding faith in Christ is required for salvation to be sustained, and by God’s power, the saved is guarded through faith until their ultimate salvation (1 Pet 1:5).
That was why before His sacrificial death, Jesus prayed to God to keep His disciples in His name (John 17:11). He also prayed for Peter’s faith to be sustained as he was about to be severely tempted by satan (Lk 22:31,32). Apart from the costly sacrifice made on their behalf on the cross for their salvation, He is also interceding for them to be kept saved.
Without an abiding faith in Jesus Christ, there is no salvation (Rom 1:17). Therefore, since His exaltation, Jesus has taken on the ministry of intercession as God’s High priest to keep His disciples in the faith to the end (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25).
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit dwelling in their hearts is also interceding for them according to the will of God (Rom 8:26,27). It is all to ensure that none of them abandons their faith. However, there are some who do not have faith (2 Thess 3:2) so may be in the church alright but not saved..
By Christ’s redemptive work at Calvary, God has obtained salvation for all by grace through faith, and by the intercessory work through the Holy Spirit and Himself, He is keeping their faith active until their final salvation.
God has done everything to ensure that a person gets saved and is kept saved by faith in Christ, so let them submit themselves fully to Him to ensure their ultimate salvation.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, who just did not die and resurrect to save people, but is interceding for them to keep their faith active until final salvation. May they also lean fully on Him until the final victory is won. Amen.
By Robert K. Asante
