In a decision being mostly met with a shrug, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is putting the “Christ” back in history. The museum, like many institutions that study history, some time ago dropped BC (for “before Christ”) and AD (for “anno Domini,” the Latin phrase for “in the year of the Lord”) in describing dates. Instead, it has used CE (for “common era”) and BCE (before the common era). But no more. According to a new writing guide from the museum’s administration: “It is now our style to use the Christian calendar abbreviations BC and AD, if necessary, to designate years,”. An official at the museum — which will soon be rebranded the Canadian Museum of History — said Tuesday there’s nothing religious about the change. “There was a decision that we would be using those terms in documents intended for the public because it seemed to be a better, more understood term,” Patricia Lynch told the Ottawa Citizen. “And then for academic and scholarly stuff, we’ll be continuing to use CE and BCE. It has nothing to do with the Christian calendar. It has more to do with the fact that it’s considered common usage.” Reuven Bulka, a prominent Ottawa rabbi and former co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said he prefers BCE because it is more inclusive, but he can live with the change. “I for the life of me don’t understand why anyone would have any problem with [BCE], especially in an inclusive society. But … I don’t see it as an assault on anyone.” “To me the more important issue is: What was the intention of this? … Not one more person is going to become either Jewish or Christian because of it. It’s just a question of: What message does it send?” (http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/02/27/museum-of-civilization-putting-the-christ-back-in-history-as-bc-and-ad-return/)
In John 5 Jesus wanted to send a message directly to those who would so quickly dismiss Him as a simple good teacher or wonder worker. He did this by hitting the religious right where they live. The Jews misinterpreted the purpose of the Sabbath day, and imposed many religious restrictions. Jesus sought to directly break their religious rules and in doing so, showed how He was the Lord of the Sabbath, or in other words, God Himself.
Many misunderstand the nature of this life in an effort to be a self-defined good person. They create or adopt religious practices that they think help them be good. What this approach to life forgets is how as a united humanity we all fall radically short of God’s goodness, and it is this gap that cripples us. Like the crippled man at by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years, we have no way to fix our situation. All the religiousity around this crippled man could not help him. Only Jesus can take us in our present crippled state, and make us whole.
This section affirming our Lord’s deity flows directly from the confrontation that arose when Jesus healed a crippled man on the Sabbath (vv. 1–16). The Lord did not violate the Old Testament Sabbath regulations, but rather the rabbinic additions to those regulations. Yet He did not defend Himself by pointing out the distinction between God’s Law and man’s extraneous tradition. Instead, He responded in a far more radical way—He maintained that He was equal with God and thus had the right to do whatever He wanted on the Sabbath. The result is one of the most profound Christological discourses in all of Scripture. In verses 17–24 Jesus makes five unmistakable claims to full equality with the Father: He is equal with the Father 1) in His person (John 5:17–18), 2) in His works (John 5:19–20), 3) in His sovereign power (John 5:21), 4) in His judgment (John 5:22), and 5) in the honor due Him (John 5:23-24).
1) Jesus is Equal with the Father in His Person (John 5:17–18)
John 5:17-18 [17]But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working." [18]This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (ESV)
When this account starts with the statement that Jesus answered them, the verb translated as “answered” is exceedingly rare. It is found only in the context of trials and courtrooms, when a formal defense is given against charges that are made. So John is telling us that Jesus was not simply answering a question. He was giving His legal defense before the authorities who were accusing Him of things they deemed worthy of death (Sproul, R. C. (2009). John. St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary (98). Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing.).
The Charges start in the context of the Sabbath. The Sabbath observance was at the heart of Jewish worship in Jesus’ day. The Lord’s reply to those who challenged Him for violating it (5:16). Jesus said, not “our Father,” but “my Father.” The Jews caught that at once. They knew he was not claiming to be a son of the Father in the same sense as all believers are, but was asserting divine Sonship (Franzmann, W. H. (1998). Bible history commentary: New Testament (electronic ed.) (128–129). Milwaukee, WI: WELS Board for Parish Education.)
Please turn to Genesis 2 (p.2)
“My Father is working until now, and I am working,” implies that the Sabbath was not instituted for God’s benefit but for man’s (Mark 2:27). In other words, the Sabbath restriction on working did not apply to God; He was not required to rest on every seventh day.
The significance of the seventh day is underscored by the three references to it in Genesis 2:1–3.
Genesis 2:1-3 [2:1]Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. [2]And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. [3]So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (ESV)
• According to verse 3, God “blessed/sanctified/set apart/separated”) that day to distinguish it from the first six, none of which are so designated. Three verbs in the passage, each of them associated with the work of God, reveal why He uniquely set apart the seventh day.
“Finished/Completed” (v. 1) stresses that the entire work of God in creation was finished by the end of the sixth day. Since His work of creation was completed, God “rested” (vv. 2–3). It is true that at the end of creation week, He “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done” (Gen. 2:2). That, however, was not because He was tired or received some benefit, for “the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired” (Isa. 40:28). The verb to rest merely indicates that by the seventh day God had ceased to do the work of creation (cf. Ex. 20:11). It was to set a divine example for people to rest one day out of each week (Ex. 20:9–11). That is why is says that God “blessed” the seventh day (v. 3); that is, He set it aside as a memorial. Every Sabbath of every week serves as a reminder that God created the entire universe in six days, and then rested from His creative activity.
Yet, Jesus statement that “My Father is working until now”, reflects on the continuing work of God. The very word “create” in the first chapter of Genesis is the English translation of the Hebrew word bara, which implies sustained action. God did not simply create the universe and then step out of the picture. God created all things and continues to sustain them. He didn’t just bring the world into existence, but He continues to preserve it and maintain it. That’s why there is still a world. If God stopped working for one instant, the whole universe would be annihilated, because in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Without God upholding the universe from moment to moment, nothing could continue to be (Sproul, R. C. (2009). John. St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary (99). Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing.).
God does not on the Sabbath cease to communicate life to all things. He does not refrain from blessing men till the sun of the Sabbath is set. The tides rise and fall; the plants grow; the sun completes his circuit on the Sabbath as on other days. “Why does not God keep the Sabbath?” a caviller asked of a Jew. “Is it not lawful,” was the answer, “for a man to move about in his own house on the Sabbath? The house of God is the whole realm above and the whole realm below.” His untiring beneficence is needful for the upholding and for the happiness of all. And it is the same superiority to the Sabbath which Jesus claims for Himself. He claims that His unceasing work is as necessary to the world as His Father’s—or rather, that He and the Father are together carrying out one work, and that in this miracle the Jews find fault with He has merely acted as the Father’s agent (Dods, M. (1903). The Gospel of St. John. In W. Robertson Nicoll (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 5: Luke to Galatians (W. Robertson Nicoll, Ed.). Expositor’s Bible (159). Hartford, CT: S.S. Scranton Co.).
His words also served as a subtle rebuke to the Jewish legalistic system, under which He had been indicted for doing good and showing mercy on the Sabbath. After all, God Himself does good and shows mercy on the Sabbath. Jesus, therefore, maintained that it is right to do good on the Sabbath, since God does. Ironically, even the unbelieving Jews performed acts of mercy on the Sabbath (cf. 7:23; Luke 14:5)—the very thing for which they hypocritically rebuked Jesus.
For Jesus, “My Father is working until now” was nothing less than a claim to full deity and equality to the unceasing activity of the Father. Without him this whole created universe would cease. Unless he works continually no one could survive. With Jesus statement “I am working,” points to his close relationship with the Father, in that Jesus works in the same way. The Sabbath cannot interfere with the work of such a one.
• This has its implications for Christian service. The basic reason given in the Fourth Commandment for keeping the Sabbath is that on that day God rested. God’s people must rest as he rests. But Jesus “repudiates the thought that the divine rest from Creation took the form of idleness”. The compassion of God must be reflected in compassion in God’s people (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (274). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The hostile Jews instantly grasped the import of Jesus’ words in verse 18 and as a result were seeking (the tense of the verb indicates continuous action) all the more to kill Him (cf. v. 16). He was not only breaking the Sabbath, but even worse in their minds, Jesus also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God (cf. 10:30–33). In contrast to the Jews’ collective reference to God as “our Father,” Jesus called God His own Father. The clear implication, which His opponents readily understood, was that He was claiming to be fully equal with God in nature (cf. 1:1; 8:58; 20:28; Phil. 2:6). In response, they intensified their efforts to take His life (cf. 7:1, 19, 25; 8:37, 40, 59; 11:53), not just for exposing their self-styled legalism, but now with justification (in their minds), because He was asserting His deity.
Illustration: In the summer of 1962, a friend and James Montgomery Boice made a trip around the Mediterranean Sea that eventually brought them to Luxor, in upper Egypt. They were there to see several of the ruins, particularly the great temple of Luxor, built more than 3,000 years ago by Amenophis III. There are great columns in this temple, all about a dozen feet in diameter and reaching sixty to eighty feet into the sky. Their attention was attracted to one column near the edge of the excavations on the top of which there was a small house. They asked their guide how it got there. The old man answered that before the excavations had reached this area, there was a farmer living on the outskirts of the modern city of Luxor who had been looking for a solid foundation on which to build his house. He scratched about in the sand and eventually came upon what he believed was bedrock. He built his house there. In time, as the wind began to blow around the sides of the house and push the sand away, which it does in the desert, the farmer found that he had built his house not upon bedrock, as he had supposed, but upon a piece of hand-hewn rock. Later he realized that the rock was part of a column, and still later he discovered that it was a standing column. By this time the excavations had reached his area, the ground was taken away, and eventually his house was left standing on the top of the column where they saw it.
This is an illustration of some people’s misunderstanding of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will acknowledge that he was a great man and will even claim that their lives are built upon him to some degree. To them he is a great teacher. This is true, of course. But although it is true, by itself this view is as misleading as the view of the Egyptian farmer who thought that he was building his house on bedrock. To have a true understanding of Jesus Christ a person must push aside the thousands of years of human history and catch a picture of him existing with God the Father and working with God the Father from eternity (Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John: An expositional commentary (387–388). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
2) Jesus is Equal with the Father in His Works (John 5:19–20)
John 5:19-20 [19]So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. [20]For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. (ESV)
For a mere man to claim to be God was, to the Jews, an outrageous act of blasphemy. Therefore if they had misunderstood Him, Jesus surely would have immediately and vehemently denied making such a claim (cf. Acts 14:11–15; Rev. 19:10; 22:8–9).
But instead, He became even more forceful and emphatic, introducing His next statement with the solemn affirmation, truly, truly, I say to you (cf. 3:3. In the strongest possible terms, the Lord assured His hearers that what He said to them was true. He further defended His healing on the Sabbath by tying His activities directly to those of the Father. “The Son can do nothing of his own accord/of Himself,” Jesus declared, “only what he sees the Father doing.” He always acted in perfect harmony with and subordination to the Father’s will. Thus, His works paralleled those of the Father in both their nature and extent. Action by the Son apart from the Father is impossible because of the unity of the Father and the Son (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Jn 5:19). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
for whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise/also does in like manner. Obviously, only someone who is equal to the Father could do everything that He does. Christ’s statement, then, was a clear declaration of His own divinity. likewise/also indicates identity of action based upon identity of nature (Vincent, M. R. (1887). Vol. 2: Word studies in the New Testament (135). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.).
Please turn to John 12 (p.899)
The perfect harmony that characterizes the joint working of the Father and the Son stems from the absolute unity of essence that they share (cf. 17:21). Because they are one in being, one eternal God (10:30), to see Christ act is to see God act (John 12:45; 14:9–10). By accusing Jesus of wrongdoing, the religious leaders were actually doing what they charged Jesus with doing, impugning the holy nature of God Himself.
John 12:44-50 [44]And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. [45]And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. [46]I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. [47]If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. [48]The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. [49]For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak. [50]And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me." (ESV)
In verse 20 Jesus described the oneness of the Father and the Son as a union of love: the Father loves the Son (cf. 3:35; 17:26; Matt. 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17). The verb translated loves is not agapaō, the love of will and choice, but phileō, the love of deep feelings; the warmth of affection that a father feels for his son. This is the only time in the New Testament that it is used to refer to the Father’s love for the Son. The tense denotes a continuing, habitual love; the Father never ceases to love the Son. Now love always gives. Love does not withhold. It indicates an eternally uninterrupted and all-knowing love that leaves no room for ignorance, making it impossible for Jesus to have been unaware of God’s will, whether about the Sabbath, or about anything else. and shows Him all that He Himself is doing. Thus the Father shows (again the tense is present, denoting continuous action) the Son all the things he does. (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (278). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Jesus continued by declaring that the Father would show Him still greater works. His healing of the crippled man had amazed the crowds. But in obedience to the Father, Jesus predicted that He would perform deeds that were even more spectacular—including raising the dead (v. 21) and judging all people (v. 22). As a result, His listeners would marvel. Precisely because these works can be seen by the Jews and move them to astonishment, they must denote the greater signs that Jesus will perform in his ministry; naturally they will also point to the greater realities of the kingdom of God (Beasley-Murray, G. R. (2002). Vol. 36: John. Word Biblical Commentary (76). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
Illustration: Kenneth Gangel told of a story of a tennis match with his son: “I played a tennis match with my son, in mixed doubles competition. Since I taught Jeff to play, and since we have been playing together for over twenty years, his game reflects the way I play. He is taller, stronger, and faster, but our strategies seem eerily the same. Normally in men’s doubles I play as his partner and in those matches think only about how we fit together, not about how he plays. Playing as his opponent, however, I try to sense where he will move and hit. I find it surprisingly predictable as I attempt to make up for his speed and strength by thinking what he would do on the basis of what I believe I would do in a similar situation. I suspect he does the same. That is what Jesus was talking about here. He thinks the Father’s thoughts after him and has already shown the Son all he does, and continues to show him”. (Gangel, K. O. (2000). Vol. 4: John. Holman New Testament Commentary (101). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
3) Jesus is Equal with the Father in His Power and Sovereignty (John 5:21)
John 5:21 [21]For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. (ESV)
By asserting His equality with God, Jesus claimed that He had the parallel power with God to raise the dead just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life. The Bible teaches that only God has the power to give life to the dead (Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7; Acts 26:8; 2 Cor. 1:9; Heb. 11:19), and the Old Testament records several instances where He did so (1 Kings 17:17–24; 2 Kings 4:32–37; 13:20–21). Because His power is the same as the Father, Jesus Christ is able to raise the physically dead (11:25–44; Matt. 9:18–25; Luke 7:11–15; cf. John 6:39–40, 44). Moreover, He has the power to give spiritual life to the spiritually dead. “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him,” Jesus promised, “shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (4:14). In John 6 He admonished His hearers, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you,” because He is “the bread of God … which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world” (vv. 27, 33; cf. vv. 35, 48, 54; 1:4; 10:28; 11:25; 14:6; 17:2). Even Jesus’ truly human prayer in Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” ( Matt. 26:39), yields to the perfect concord between the persons of the Godhead.
Please turn to John 6 (p.892)
Unlike other instances in Scripture of raising the dead, such as with Elijah (1 Kings 17:22) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:34–35), Jesus did not merely act as God’s representative when He raised the dead, but as God Himself. The Son Himself gives resurrection and spiritual life to whom He will/wishes. As the Father is the source of life, so Jesus Christ is the source of life. As the Father chooses when He gives life, so does the Son choose, in perfect agreement with the Father, a truth illustrated by the salvation of sinners.
John 6:35-40 [35]Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. [36]But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. [37]All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. [38]For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. [39]And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. [40]For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (ESV)
Illustration: (660 Loving God’s Son)
In his book of anecdotes entitled Bible Windows, Ivor Powell tells the story of a rich man who died and left no heirs. When his household goods were auctioned off, an elderly lady dressed in shabby garments was the only one to bid on the picture of the dead man’s son. It had been greatly cherished by the wealthy father because his only child had died at an early age. But the crowd that had gathered for the sale showed no interest in it. When the woman who bought the portrait was asked why she wanted it, she said she had been the boy’s nurse many years before, and had loved him dearly. Later she examined the picture closely and noticed a bulge in the heavy paper on the back. Making a small cut, she removed an envelope which turned out to be the man’s missing will. The document very clearly stated that he wanted to leave his property to the person who still held dear the memory of his beloved son (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.).
4) Jesus is Equal with the Father in His Judgment (John 5:22)
John 5:22 [22]The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, (ESV)
Jesus’ authority to grant spiritual life to whomever He chooses is consistent with His authority to judge all people on the last day (cf. 3:18–19; 12:48). Since God is the “judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25; cf. 1 Sam. 2:10; 1 Chron. 16:33; Pss. 82:8; 94:2; 96:13; 98:9), the fact that the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son further attests to Christ’s deity. Because their wills are in perfect harmony, all judgment can be given to Christ in the assurance that His judgment will be, in fact, the very same as the Father’s judgment. Although judgment was not the primary purpose of Christ’s first coming to earth (3:17; 12:47), it remains the inescapable final result of rejecting the salvation He offers (3:18).
Please turn to 2 Thessalonians 1(p.989)
God “has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). On that final, terrible day of judgment, those who have rejected Jesus will hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23).
2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 [5]This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- [6]since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, [7]and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels [8]in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (ESV)
The raising of the dead and the judgment are closely related eschatological matters. One day all the dead will be raised to stand before Christ in judgment (the saved through the rapture to the Bema Judgment, and unsaved through the final resurrection to the Great White Throne Judgment, Rom 14:10; Rev 20:11–15) (KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2088). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
Illustration: (2861 For Finney: “Then What?”)
Charles G. Finney, a young lawyer, was sitting in a village law office in the state of New York. Finney had just come into the old squire’s office. It was very early in the day, and he was all alone when the Lord began to deal with him.
“Finney, what are you going to do when you finish your course?”
“Put out a shingle and practice law.”
“Then what?” “Get rich.”
“Then what?” “Retire.”
“Then what?” “Die.”
“Then what?” And the words came tremblingly, “The judgment.”
He ran for the woods a half mile away. All day he prayed, and vowed that he would never leave until he had made his peace with God. He saw himself at the judgment bar of God. For four years he had studied law, and now the vanity of a selfish life, lived for the enjoyment of the things of this world, was made clear to him.
Finney came out of the woods that evening, after a long struggle, with the high purpose of living henceforth to the glory of God and of enjoying Him forever (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.).
5) Jesus is Equal with the Father in His Honor (John 5:23-24).
John 5:23-24 [23]that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. [24]Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (ESV)
The Father’s purpose in entrusting all His works and judgment to Jesus is so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. It is only fitting that those equal in nature (vv. 17–18), works (vv. 19–20), power and sovereignty (v. 21), and judgment (v. 22) would be accorded equal honor. The Father’s honor is not diminished by the honor paid to Christ; on the contrary, it is enhanced.
Although the unbelieving Jews thought they were truly worshiping God while rejecting His Son (cf. 16:2), such was not the case, for the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Quote: This was an astounding claim on Jesus’ part, as D. A. Carson notes: “In a theistic universe, such a statement belongs to one who is himself to be addressed as God (cf. 20:28), or to stark insanity. The one who utters such things is to be dismissed with pity or scorn, or worshipped as Lord. If with much current scholarship we retreat to seeing in such material less the claims of the Son than the beliefs and witness of the Evangelist and his church, the same options confront us. Either John is supremely deluded and must be dismissed as a fool, or his witness is true and Jesus is to be ascribed the honours due God alone. There is no rational middle ground”. (The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), p. 255).
Please turn to Philippians 2 (p.981)
That the Father and the Son are to be afforded equal honor forcefully asserts Christ’s deity and equality with God, who declared through the prophet Isaiah, “I will not give My glory to another” (Isa. 42:8; 48:11). Yet, the Father has commanded that all will honor the Son. In Philippians 2:9–11 Paul wrote:
Philippians 2:9-11 [9]Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10]so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11]and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)
• Willingly or unwillingly, everyone will eventually obey the Father’s command to honor Jesus Christ.
Jesus closed this section of His discourse by reaffirming His authority to give eternal life to whomever He desires. The Lord underscored the statement’s monumental significance by introducing it with the solemn formula in verse 24 amēn, amēn (truly, truly). He identified those who receive eternal life as those who hear His word (or message) and believe the Father who sent Him. As always in the Scriptures, divine sovereignty in salvation is not apart from human responsibility to repent and believe the gospel.
Those that do so presently have eternal life. This is a PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE; that which has happened in the past and has now become a state of being (Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (53). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)
As we have seen, eternal life is more than endless. It has a unique quality and character all its own. Eternal life is God’s own life, infused with His vitality and moral character, given to us through spiritual birth. Those with this life can have fellowship with God and with other believers, for we are linked to Him and one another by eternal bonds (Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed.) (682). Wheaton: Victor Books.).
The blessed promise to those who believe is that they do not come into judgment, but has passed from/out of death to life. (cf. Rom. 8:1). Their vindication is present in the here and now. They have already passed right out of the state of death, and have come into life. Though this is a present state it has future implications. Those who do not come into judgment will not come into judgment on the last great day either. The saying points to their permanent safety. To have eternal life now is to be secure throughout eternity. Anyone who hears and believes has eternal life. But the words also constitute an invitation, a challenge. They are a call to hear Christ, (repent of sin, and respond in faith) (Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (280). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The claims of Jesus Christ confront everyone, forcing all to make a decision either for or against Him. There is no neutral ground, for as Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters” (Luke 11:23). Those who accept Him for who He is, God incarnate in human flesh, will be saved from their sins through Him (Matt. 1:21; 1 Tim. 1:15; Heb. 7:25). But those who believe Him to be anything other than who He truly is will one day face His judgment (John 3:18; 9:39; 12:47–48; 16:8–9; Acts 10:38–42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1).
(Format note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). John 1–11. MacArthur New Testament Commentary (182–191). Chicago: Moody Press.)
