John 5:24-30

October 20, 2013 Jesus healed a lame man, but the Jews persecuted Him for doing it on the Sabbath. In answering He equated Himself with God which made them angrier and blasphemy was added to the charges. Well, He answered further, and we looked at some of that last time and were going to continue now. In verse 23 He speaks of honoring the Son as the Father is honored. You can picture His accusers reeling; what right does He have to expect the same honor due God? Verily, verily, I say unto you, Verily is a Hebrew word: amen, amen. What Hes about to say next is truth, truth. They need to pay extra careful attention to what theyre about to hear: He that heareth my word, What is His word in the immediate context? Hes revealing Himself to be the Son of God. If you listen to what Im saying to you right now and believeth on him that sent me, Notice the words here: he that believes on him that sent me. Jesus tells them that He is from God and to believe Him is to believe God. Everyone who hears His word and believes God about Him: hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. To believe in Christ is to believe on God. And to believe on God means we have eternal life. Notice that it says we now have eternal life. This speaks to the union that we have with Christ now. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). Knowing this helps us make more sense of the fruit of the Spirit and walking in a manner worthy of our calling. We were buried with Him and raised with Him; this is why we have no fear of death or of losing our salvation. We are bound up with Him in death and life! This life is everlasting because His life is everlasting. Think about the blessings and curses of the Old Testament. One of the curses is death. But the blessing is life. When Christ fulfilled the Law He received the reward of those who keep it. Life is a reward for His obedience, and we are His co-heirs. If God has given us His Son, how will He not also give us all things with Him? (Rom. 8:32). Thats not a name-it

and claim-it or prosperity verse; this is a verse about receiving the inheritance rewarded to Christ and part of that inheritance is life eternal! We cant separate our eternal life cant be separated from Christ. We are bound to Him in this. If He dies, so we will die. But since He lives forever we know we also will live forever because were bound to Him. Our life is hid in Him. And this is what He tells them here. They dont believe, but He says, Amen, amen; He that hears My word. We hear because He gives us ears to hear. We hear because He speaks. And I cant help but think of Lazarus when I hear that verse. Lazarus was a dead man, and hed been dead long enough that they believed he had already begun to smell. But Jesus comes and says, Lazarus, come forth (Jn. 11:43). He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation. When He judges all men at the end of time, it wont be the Jews who dont come into condemnation but all those who hear and believe. Those who do not hear or believe will come under condemnation and ultimately be thrown into the lake of fire and everlasting death. But those who believe are raised to everlasting life and hear, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is given to them because their good works prove their union with Christ. They have heard and believed and have had fruit. This word cant be preached by a man. However, God does preach it through men and says, How beautiful are the feet that bring good news (Rom. 10:15). But not every man who hears believes because not all men can hear the word of Christ to come forth and come to Him. This is the word He gives to His people and all who hear come and pass from death to life. And this is something we need to understand: weve always belonged to Him and have always been in His hands, but we also became lost. We were truly dead in our trespasses. We died in Adam and we died because of our own wickedness. We were enemies in our minds and by nature objects of wrath. We fit right into the description given in Romans 3. But this is all for a reason. God put us in this world so that He could prove His great love for us. His grace abounds more than our sin and His love is everlasting and our union with the Son is everlasting, so He saves us and atones for all our transgressions. Stripes are put on His back so that we are healed. And because He has borne our iniquities, His righteousness is placed on us. He is our Substitution. So what we deserved was death, but because of His work and because we have heard and believed, we have passed over from death unto life. Now were called friends and sons of God. They should give Him honor because those who hear and believe will not be judged but will live.

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. Notice that Hes transitioning from spiritual death to physical death. Its not as clear here as it will be in verse 28, but the point is that a day is coming when all men will be raised and will stand in front of the Judge. Also notice that in verse 24 He says, He that hears my word. The Greek is (logon) and it means word. But here He says they will hear the voice of the Son of God. The Greek is (phones) and it means sound. Doesnt that make you think of First Thessalonians 4:16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. The dead will rise because of the sound of His voice. The Jews who dont want to honor the Son need to be aware that all judgment has been placed in His hands, and all the dead will be raised at His voice and will go into life or judgment.
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For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; The Father and the Son are united in this. The Father has life within Himself and so does the Son. He needs it from no one and gives it to whomever He desires. God can raise up sons for Abraham from stones because He has the power of life. This is why the Son has ability to create and sustain all things. This is the reason to give Him honor.
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And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Notice the name change here. Hes been calling Himself the Son of God but now its the Son of Man: I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they

brought him near before him. 14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14). He has authority to judge and condemn because He is this Son of Man!
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Marvel not at this:

Imagine if someone told you he had the power to raise the dead, that he would judge all men, and that he has life within himself; these folks were shocked and amazed. for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. He is the Judge and a day of judgment is coming. Some are raised to suffer for wrongdoing and others are raised to be rewarded for righteousness. The books will be opened and the works of the wicked will be brought against them. We, however, have received the righteousness of Christ and our sin is cast as far as the east is from the west.
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I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. This judgment is the will of the Father. This judgment is right and its what they deserve. This judgment is according to the plan of the Father and the Son. This passage is an account of the gospel. It shows us why we honor the Son. Theres no shame or loss when we honor Him. Everything we do ought to point to Him and glorify Him. All our doctrine is about Him. Also, from this passage we see that our eternal life is present tense. This is the reason we believe in eternal security. The good work He began will be finished because He is faithful. The entire gospel rests on the promise; the Son came to receive the penalty. Also, we dont have to fear when going to God. But if God has ever loved us He will always love us. His grace always abounds more than our sin. There is no charge that can be brought against us; no weapon formed against can prosper. Our

sins are gone and covered by the blood of Christ. His throne is one of grace and we come boldly before Him. This is not because were perfect, but because He is perfect! He is my preist and has made propitiation for my sins. He looks on us as a father looks on his children. He remembers were but dust. Also, we see the gospel as its meant to be preached. Its plain and simple: hear and believe that Jesus is Gods Son and youll have everlasting life. This is what we preach. We know we cant make any dead man hear; only the Spirit can do that. So were faithful to preach the same gospel: there is a King who will return. He is the Son of God, and He will rule forever. Those who believe on the One who sent Him will live. newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com