I have chosen the Gospel of John as the subject. These articles will not run contiguously on this blog but peppered throughout and in the midst of other articles (though some might be posted consecutively). I pray that these will be a blessing and an edification for the saints.
JOHN 5:24-29
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 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.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Previously we saw how the LORD Jesus compared Himself with GOD, calling Him "Father" - such language was not wasted on the religious leaders of that day there in Jerusalem; they understood what He was saying - that He was making Himself GOD's equal (JOHN 10:30-33)!
Of course Scripture is replete with this truth (JOHN 1:1-3,14; 10:30; COL 1:15; 1 TIM 3:16; HEB 1:3 among many others). See also the TTUF page on evidence for JESUS - His Deity and other aspects of His Person).
Here we see the LORD Jesus making more claims, bold and unheard of ever before or since. No other religious leader, even prophets of Israel, made claims as He did. He states in our text today, that those who "hears [His] Word . . . and believes on Him that sent [Him] has everlasting life".
This quality of life is everlasting, and once granted to the soul that believes on GOD and His Word, becomes rivers of living water within their heart (JOHN 7:38), and their spirit is joined to the LORD's making them one in a sense very like Adam and Eve who became "one flesh". The Christian and the LORD of Life are "one spirit" (1 COR 6:16-17).
For this and many other reasons, the true child of GOD may be assured of eternal life.
Such are the blessings of the saints of GOD - they are passed from death (resulting from the curse of sin) to life (that quality of life that is of GOD, both eternal and incorruptible).
The LORD then declares the coming resurrection - the dead in Christ, who will "hear the voice of the Son of GOD shall live" - 1 THESSALONIANS speaks of this as well:
1 THESSALONOANS 4:16-18
16 For 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:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The LORD shouts first, then the voice of the archangel is second, and then - not the trumpet of any angel (as in the time known as the Great Tribulation) but the trumpet of GOD Himself. The Bible describes two resurrections - the resurrection of life and the damned.
Those who are accounted to the resurrection of the just are those who have done good (JOHN 5:28-30). The LORD Jesus Himself is accounted as the first-fruits of the resurrection of the just (1 COR 15:20); He is the supreme example of those who "do good". There are those two witnesses that are resurrected in the midst of the Seven Years of Tribulation (REV 11:11); also doers of good, amen?. One could justify in concluding that all of these, along with the resurrected/raptured of the church (who are inspired of the Holy Spirit to be full of good works; TITUS 2:14) are all included in the category of the resurrection of the just, along with those of the Old Testament, resurrected bodily when Christ returns to establish the Millennium.
"26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."
As the Son is always submitted to the will of the Father, the Father expresses His will to the Son, Who likewise has the authority to grant that which He possesses - "life" - as well as the authority to execute judgment. This shows the equitable nature, powers, and offices that the Father shares with the Son.
We know the Son as the Author of Life, as the kinsman goel, and yet He is also the Holy Judge and Avenger!
There are those who deny that there is any damnation with a loving and gracious God, but here in our text, it plainly states that in these two resurrections, the one is the resurrection of damnation - condemnation - not because God so wills some to be condemned (2 PET 2:9), but because these souls rejected Christ's sacrifice (ROM 1:18) and as a result, they have no other recourse for salvation (HEB 10:26), and thus by default, must appear before the Great White Throne Judgment (REV 20:11-12), there to be judged by the Holy Law, which can only condemn those guilty of sin.
GOD could have made the road to salvation one of monumental effort and struggle for us; to win such a prize as heaven, GOD could have insisted on the highest price we could ever pay - but no, He didn't and if He ever desired to see souls He created enter into fellowship with Himself, He couldn't.
There is nothing we could offer GOD in our own worth, or our own efforts (TITUS 3:5) that would win such a reward.
Therefore GOD offered salvation - not as a reward but a gift, the price for this priceless gift was paid for by Himself (ROM 6:23; EPH 2:8-9), in the shed blood of His own Beloved and only Begotten Son, the LORD Jesus Christ.
Let us be ever thankful, praising and worshiping the LORD for His great grace and goodness in saving us sinners, and transforming us into saints. We find ourselves, because of the Cross of Christ, uncondemned with the sentence of Eternal Life pronounced upon us! GLORY to the our HOLY FATHER and the HOLY NAME of the LORD JESUS CHRIST and blessed PARACLETE - the HOLY SPIRIT!
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