Jesus’ sheep are God’s elect

[John Zain]

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please see post #2
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[John Zain]

“Thus says the LORD:
“… let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me,
that I am the LORD … For in these I delight”, says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

The sheep of “the new covenant”
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant …
I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God,
and they shall be My people … they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest
of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:31-34). Also see Ezekiel 36:25-27.

The 2-way relationship of Jesus and His sheep
“Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
… I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
… I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
… and I lay down My life for the sheep.
… My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:7-28)

The sheep know Father God and Jesus
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

The Holy Spirit dwells within the sheep
“And I (Jesus) will pray (to) the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth
… you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our home with(in) him.
… But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach
you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:16-26)

The sheep are led by the Holy Spirit
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

The sheep allow themselves to be sanctified
“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal:
“The Lord knows those who are His”, and,
“Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

The sheep are God’s elect, i.e. the ones destined to gain eternal life
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined … whom He predestined, these He also called;
whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
(Romans 8:28-30)

“Out of intimacy with Jesus we receive discernment, direction, a knowing of what is right
and wrong and what is holy and pure. Intimacy with Christ gives us a firmness wherein
we are not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Stay close to Him so that you will
have discernment about the foolishness going on around us.” (David Wilkerson, 2012)

 

[JMJ]

The 2-way relationship of Jesus and His sheep
“Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
… I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
… I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
… and I lay down My life for the sheep.
… My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.†(John 10:7-28)

Born again persons who will later fall away from the faith were never, ever placed in His Hand.

The sheep know Father God and Jesus
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.†(John 17:3)

Who knows the Father and the Son? The persons who keep/obey His commandments until death know the Father and the Son.

The sheep are led by the Holy Spirit
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.†(Romans 8:14)

The sheep allow themselves to be sanctified
“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal:
“The Lord knows those who are Hisâ€, and,
“Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.†(2 Timothy 2:19)

Yes, the sheep are led by the Holy Spirit and so they do works of righteousness. The goats are led by Satan and so they do works of iniquity.

The sheep are God’s elect, i.e. the ones destined to gain eternal life
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined … whom He predestined, these He also called;
whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.â€
(Romans 8:28-30)[/COLOR]

I like your collection of Scripture quotes about Jesus' sheep.

Many people who claim to be one of Jesus' sheep are really only ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing.

They claim to know and love Jesus Christ but they do not.

A person does not love Jesus Christ unless he is also striving to obey His commandments to the best of his ability. If he succeeds in obeying God's commandments until he dies, he will be approved to enter into eternal life.

John 14:21 NKJV
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.â€

A person does not know Jesus Christ unless he is also striving to obey His commandments to the best of his ability. If he succeeds in obeying God's commandments until he dies, he will be approved to enter into eternal life.

1 John 2:3-4 NKJV
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,†and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

 

[childeye]

John Zain, this thread is much like the thread I started "why I cringe when people say it is all about choice". In my view, the key parts of the scriptures you posted are, he knows his sheep and is known by his own and the all important, I lay down my life for my sheep. I would add to your selection of scripture, I call them each by name and they know my voice and another voice they will not follow; as well as, the hireling runs when he sees the wolf coming.

 

[John Zain]

One question ...
Did Jesus create sheep (with their unique characteristics) expressly
to demonstrate to us how we should obediently trust and follow Him?

One promise ...
Most Americans have no idea what the true characteristics of sheep really are!
Therefore, we are at quite a disadvantage when we read in the Bible about
the 2-way relationship between Jesus and His sheep.