Divinity Of Christ

The passage we will turn to this morning is in John chapter 5. We've had some wonderful singing exalting Christ and his person as God. And that's what we will meditate this morning also from God's word. John chapter 5 and we will meditate from verses 17 through 30. I see this as a very distinct, unique passage which stands alone in all of scripture because this is one scripture where, one scripture portion where Jesus himself very plainly declares his deity in a way that we find in no other passage of scripture. I'm not saying there's no other passage which talks about the deity of Christ or where Jesus claims his deity.

But I'm saying, you know, that the clarity with which the subject is brought out here is really unique and very distinct. I've been doing a series of studies on the Gospel of John in my church, and this is one passage I really felt was such a blessing to myself in order to share it this morning.

So the context of this passage is, you know, that when we read from the beginning of this chapter, we find that Jesus heals a man who was sick and bedridden for more than 38 years. This man was waiting at the pool of Bethesda. And if you remember the story, this is a pool where an angel stirs up the water and whoever gets into the water first gets healed. And this man was waiting there for a very long time and Jesus heals him just by the power of his word and not only raises him from his sick bed but also gives him the strength to take up his bed and walk. But the problem was this happened on a Sabbath day.

Jesus did this healing on a Sabbath day and the Pharisees and the scribes who saw this man carrying his bed and walking wanted who did this work on the Sabbath day by violating God's word. You know, because according to their understanding, even healing was somehow forbidden on the Sabbath day. I don't know for what reason, because when Jesus healed this man, he didn't do any work as such, right? He just healed by the power of his word. There was no effort, there was no work. It was just a word that he declared and it was done. But they couldn't see the miracle behind it, they couldn't see the power behind it, but they could just see a violation of the Sabbath according to their own rules and according to their own understanding.

So they wanted to persecute Jesus for that. I mean, I'm skipping a lot of that story because that's not our focus this morning. This man declares that this, I mean, points to Jesus and says, this is the man who did the work of healing and they began to persecute him for that. That's what the scripture says in verse 16, John chapter 5 and verse 16, it says, they began to persecute him and sought to slay him, sought to kill him because he healed on the Sabbath day.

You know, their understanding, even if we read in other passages, like in John chapter was blind on the Sabbath day. And they say, “If this man were of God, then he would not have violated the law and healed on a Sabbath day.” So their understanding is that he wasn't performing these miracles from God because then he would have been in submission to the law. You know, that was their objection. So we see a similar kind of spirit here. They sought to slay him because he did this work on the Sabbath day.

So for that, Jesus is now brought to speak to them and kind of converse with them and explain why he did what he did. He didn't have the need to explain to anyone, but it was part of his condescension and his grace that he would choose to explain why he did what he did. Now, there are other instances in the Gospels where we find Jesus healing or there was some accusation of violation of the Sabbath, which the Pharisees kept coming up with constantly. And Jesus answered them by giving them reasons like there are exceptions to the Sabbath, right? I mean, a work of necessity is a clear exception to the Sabbath.

For instance, when His disciples were plucking the ears of corn and eating on a Sabbath day, that's the instance where He says, you know, “Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” That is, Sabbath was made for the convenience of man and not to be kept at the cost of man's needs. So when there is a genuine necessity, that is an exception to the Sabbath. And so that is not a violation of the law. And there are other instances where he said, you know, it is not wrong to show mercy or do good on the Sabbath.

So acts of mercy were shown as a clear exception to Sabbath. Like he says, he quotes from those scripture portions where it says, “I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” So you can't really, you know, insist on a law at the cost of the moral law, which requires mercy to be shown to man. And so there are other instances where he used that, you know, and of course, instances of piety, he refers to the priests who do a lot of temple service and are not guilty of violating the Sabbath. So there are three clear exceptions that we find to the Sabbath, works of necessity, works of charity and works of piety.

which were clear exceptions to the rule of Sabbath. And therefore, Jesus pleads innocence. Jesus pleads that he and his disciples, in all the instances where they were accused of violating the Sabbath, were not actually guilty of violating the Sabbath. And so there are those kinds of answers that we find in other instances. But this is a unique instance where Jesus doesn't go into all of those reasons why he violated the Sabbath, if it were a violation at all, according to their terminology at least.

Does any of you here sincerely believe that Jesus could have violated any part of the law of God? Could it be possible that Jesus actually violated any commandment? Could it be possible? Did Jesus violate the Sabbath? No, if Jesus violated the Sabbath, then he was a sinner.

There’s no way Jesus violated the Sabbath, but whenever there was a violation of the Sabbath accused, biblical reason to show why it is not a violation, why it was allowed on the Sabbath to do such a thing. That’s what he did every time. But this was one time when he would not get into all of those details. But there’s an entirely different reason that he shows why he did what he did on the Sabbath day. And we read that firstly in verse 17. Can we just go over there and read verse 17?

Can I ask for help for this passage because it’s a lengthy passage and I’m afraid I may not be able to retain everything. Someone can help me read verse 17? “My father has been working hitherto and I work,” he says. So first of all, Jesus is saying, I’m doing what I’m doing because that’s exactly what— So Jesus begins to now claim his deity.

You might say, well, there are many passages which claim the deity of Christ, but are there passages where Jesus himself claims his deity? Of course, there are passages where Jesus himself claims his deity, and this is one of them. And then you might say, yes, we understand that Jesus might have claimed deity, but does it mean Jesus is God equal to the Father? Because we understand that Jesus might be God in some sense.

But God the Father is God in a unique way in which no other person is a God like him. Not even the Son, not even the Spirit. That’s another cultish doctrine that we find infiltrating the church. There is one God who is truly God and there are two other small gods like the Son and the Spirit who are not equal with the Father. So Jesus might have claimed deity. Jesus might have claimed to be God. But he’s not God on par with the Father, not equal with the Father. But this is one passage where it’s not someone else claiming Jesus as deity.

It’s Jesus himself claiming his deity, number one. And two, Jesus is not just claiming his deity, but he’s also claiming equality with the Father as he does that. He’s saying, “I’m as God as the Father is.” Okay, and the first claim he makes in this respect is that he says, “I’m equal in my works with my father.” He claims equality in his works with the father’s works. He says, “My father has been working hitherto and so I work.”

So he says, I mean, if you are charging me with violating the Sabbath, you’re not just charging me with violating the Sabbath, you’re actually charging the father with violating the Sabbath as well because I’m just doing what the Father does. And what Jesus is simply saying is, did God really rest on the Sabbath?

Did God the Father really rest on the Sabbath? That’s what we read, right, in the first, I mean, first couple of chapters in the Bible, where God finishes off all his works of creation in how many days? I’m just making sure that you’re all hearing me. So just asking some basic questions. Okay? All are asleep, right?

I meant to say all are listening, right? Yes, okay, good. Yeah. All right. So, yeah. In how many days did God create? Six days. And what did he do on the seventh day? Rested from what? Rested from what work? From the work of creation. Setting as an example that we must do all our works in six days the seventh day, which is the Sabbath day. Now it’s not the seventh day, now it’s the Lord’s day in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it’s the Lord’s day, not our day. We still have six days to do all our works, but the Lord’s day is the Lord’s day.

It’s not our day. It’s the day when we rest in the Lord’s presence, when we fellowship with God’s people, when we do God’s work. It’s the Lord’s day. That’s a settled principle for us to follow. Whether we are under the Old Testament or under the New Testament, we may not bring in all the ceremonial the New Testament, but we still hold on to the principle that this is the Lord’s day and it has to be celebrated in his presence with his people and should be devoted for his work. There’s no argument against it. Okay. But the point is, did God cease from all other works as well?

Or is it only from the work of creation? What are all the other works that God does? Works of his providence, works of governing his creation, works of his administration in the creation, works of sustaining his creation, did God also cease from all of that? Is there one moment God could cease from all of those works and still, you know, maintain this creation in order? Let God just cease doing the work of providence and the work of sustaining his universe for one moment and everything will be plunged into chaos at once. But he upholds all things by the power of his word at all times and controls and directs to the course which he has ordained so that everything works in an order.

And he never ceases from that work. Right? And there is another work he never ceases from since the fall of man, and that is the work of man’s redemption and man’s salvation. God never ceases to work as far as the salvation of man is concerned. Now, so do people eat? Do people get to eat on the Sabbath day? Does God provide food on Sabbath day? he?

Is it only to us that he provides food or is it to all of life that exists on earth? To all of life. He’s the one who feeds everything, right? And so if God takes a holiday in feeding people, just imagine, it never happens, right? Does the sun shine and does it rain on the Sabbath day? Who causes it to rain? Who causes the sun to shine?

It’s God. So does he cease sustaining the creation in order? No, he doesn’t. Do people get saved on a Sabbath day? Is that possible? Or is Sunday a holiday for salvation? No, there are lots of people who get saved on a Sunday when they hear the word being preached, right? And so God is on the work of saving people even if it is on a Sabbath day. So he never ceases. So why do you think Jesus healed this man who was sick for 38 days? Was it just for his body?

No, it was not just for his body. He finds him later in the temple and says, “Don’t sin lest a greater thing greater disaster happen to you.” And what was he cautioning against? He was cautioning against sin. He was encouraging the man to live holy. It was a work of redemption that he was doing in this man’s life. And why do you think he asked the man to, you know, take up his mat and walk, take up his bed and walk? It’s not — mat would have not been that much of an effort, right? Take up his bed and walk. Why do you think? Because that would have been a testimony to all

people around that God had indeed done a work, right? Because this man was sick and couldn’t, he was bedridden. And now if he’s able to rise and also take up his bed and walk, then that should prove to them that God had restored the strength that he didn’t have until now.

And so that would have been an act of mercy towards them so that they can also consider understanding the gospel of which Jesus was presenting and know that it is true. And so it was all a part of the work of redemption. It was all a part of the work of doing good and showing mercy, which Jesus had done on the day of Sabbath, which is equal to the Father’s work. The Father never ceased from doing these works, and there was no reason why the Son should have ceased from doing any of these works.

And so Jesus is saying, “I’m equal in my works with my Father. I do what the Father does. And so if you accuse me of violating the Sabbath, then you’re accusing the Father of violating the Sabbath because these are things which my Father does. And so I do.”

Okay, now these people were already planning to kill him because he violated the Sabbath according to them. But now they had an additional reason why they wanted to kill him. We read that in verse 18. Verse 18? “For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own Father.” Okay, now he gave them another reason why they should seek to kill him. They were already seeking to kill him for what? For violating the Sabbath. Now he gave them an additional reason why they should hate him and kill him.

For calling God his Father and making himself didn’t mistake his words, they understood it correctly. When he said, “God is my Father, and I’m doing what the Father does,” they perfectly understood that he was claiming equality with the Father. And Jesus could have been a bit careful, right? I mean, he knew they were already incensed against him. They knew they were already angry. So he could have given some other explanation and got away with the situation rather than provoking them all the more by giving them this reason.

But he came to witness for the truth and he will speak the truth. And declaring the truth for him was not, you know, depending on how people would receive it. It doesn’t matter how they received it as long as he was speaking the truth. All that mattered was whether he was speaking the truth or not. And it was their business to examine it and find out whether it was true and submit to it if it was true.

But they didn’t want to submit to the truth. They simply were incensed against him all the more. And they just found another reason why they were justified in their attempts to kill him. And so he continues in verse 19. We’ll just read verse 19 and then we’ll comment on it. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of himself unless it is something he sees the father doing. For whatever the father does, these things the son also does in like manner.” Okay, so instead of trying to calm them down and give them an explanation which can be more plausible to them and more agreeable to their feelings, Jesus continued to press the point all the more.

The first equality he claimed with the father was what? He was works. Now he claims another ground on which he claims his equality with the father. He says, “I do whatever the father does.” And when we read the first line of the verse, verse 19, it seems like there’s some limitation to his ability, right? He says, “The son can do nothing except what he sees the father does.” So it might seem like he’s saying, you know, “I’m just limited to, you know, certain things which the father allows me to do or enables me to do or which he shows me to do.”

But he’s actually claiming his equality in power and ability with the father. Because if you read the complete verse, what is it saying? “Whatever he sees the father does, the son does likewise.” I mean everything that the father does is the same thing which the son also can do.

In other words, what Jesus is saying is, within the context, just to put his words within the context, he’s saying “I’m just doing what I saw my father doing.” Okay, but he’s talking about his ability, he’s talking about his power and he says “I see my father doing, I can do likewise.”

So what he is saying is if there is anything which I cannot do, then that is something which the father also cannot do. Isn’t it? Because if I can do everything which the father does, there can be nothing which I cannot do because the father can do everything.

So if there is something you can point out by which you can say I can’t do this, then you are saying in effect that the father can’t do it. Which cannot be the case. So he’s claiming equality in his power and his ability with the Father.

Firstly he claims equality in his works, secondly he claims equality in his ability and in his power to do everything he does. And there is a greater light that we get on this when we also read it along with verse 30, if we can just go to verse 30, where he gives another reason why he says he cannot do anything on his own. “I can do nothing on my own initiative.” Okay. “As I hear, I judge and my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” Okay. So here is a third equality, which he claims with his father.

The second equality he claims with his father is that he’s equal in ability with the father. The third thing he claims is I am equal in my will with my father. My will is in absolute harmony with the father. That is the reason I cannot do anything independent of myself. It’s not because I’m not able to.

It’s because my will is in complete unison with the father. My will is in complete harmony with the father so that I cannot do anything independent of the father as if I would do something which the father himself has not willed. So he claims equality with the Father’s will. I mean, there are lots of things which the created beings who have rebelled against God do against His will. Do you agree with me on that?

Other fallen angels and human beings who constantly violate the revealed will of God? Yes, they do. Right? So, they do a lot of things which God cannot do. And I’m saying this very carefully. Can you think of one thing which God cannot do which all His rebels do?

Sin. But can Jesus sin or can Jesus do anything that is contrary to the Father’s will? No, because there is an absolute harmony between the Father’s will and his will. And so he cannot do anything independently on his own. That’s his point. Okay. So there are three grounds on which Jesus claims equality with the Father. First, in his works. Second, in his ability. Third, in his will. Okay. And then we read off another interesting thing in verse 20, if we can go there. “For the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself is doing. And the father will show him greater work than these, so that you will marvel.”

Okay. So, in the previous verse, in verse 19, when he says, “whatever he sees the father does, does everything.” You know, so it might seem like, you know, the father does something, the son sees that and then tries to imitate. We are trying to understand that language within our limitations.

You know, what are some of the things which Jesus does along with the father in scripture? The father has created, then has Jesus also created all things? Yes. So was it like, I mean, God said, “Let there be light.” And then Jesus said, “Okay, let me try that.”

Right? Was it like that? No, it was not like that. So we can’t imagine that in a sequence where God first does something, then the son sees and learns and does something similar to what the father does. No, that’s not what he’s saying. But he’s just claiming equality with the father in the sense that he just does everything as the father does.

Because the reason for that is we read in verse 20 that the father shows all things to the son. And would you just read that for me again? “For the father loves the son” — okay — “and shows him all things that, shows him all things that he himself is doing.” Okay. Yes. “And the father will show him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.” So the father shows him all things. What does that signify? I mean, the father shows us many things, but the father shows all things that he’s, he does, to Jesus Christ. What does that

signify? That signifies, first of all, that Jesus Christ is equal in his knowledge with God. How do I say that, or why do I say that? Because, I mean, how does it make sense that God shows everything to Jesus unless he had the knowledge? Shows him.

And to perceive everything that God is and God shows, you must be omniscient. Because only omniscience can see and understand everything that God is showing. Right? Because to see and understand, you must have the knowledge that matches what is being shown. And only omniscience can see and perceive everything that God shows, everything that God shows without exception as Jesus sees.

Okay, and so he’s claiming equality in knowledge with the Father. Now, you can actually show many things to people like say, you can get hold of a kid who is in a kindergarten and try to teach him say, trigonometry and algebra and all of that. What do they do with it?

Are they able to see it because you show it? Can they see it and perceive it? No, they can’t. A kindergarten student cannot understand algebra. Even I cannot understand algebra today. That’s a different story. I mean, don’t tell everyone that I told you this. Okay. Yeah. But even I cannot understand many of those mathematical, all of those things. But why do you think people can’t understand it?

because they are limited in their ability to perceive, right? So it has to match their perception, it has to match their level of knowledge to understand what you're showing them. Okay, so, but if God is showing all things which God does to the Son, he must be omniscient in order to understand everything that the Father reveals to him. When we are eventually glorified and when we are with God, do you think we will understand God to his full perfection?

For that to happen, we must become omniscient like God. But the promise is not that we will become gods with all of God's attributes, that we would become omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. No, we will never become that. We will be brought to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, but that is the glorified image, that is the glorified body of Jesus Christ and the conformity to that image of Jesus Christ, that we will be to the divine, uh, you know, perfections — not to the conformity, not to the conformity of the divine perfections of Christ. That's never going to happen. And so can we understand God as he is ever in all of eternity? No, never. We will always remain the created beings who cannot understand all of the Creator, all of the infinite God, because our knowledge is limited. But that's not the

case with Jesus. He sees and knows and understands God in everything that he does because his knowledge. So he claims equality in his knowledge with the Father. That's the fourth equality that Jesus claims. And then we read in verse 21, the fifth reason why he claims to be equal with the Father. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes.” Okay. So he claims to be equal in his authority to give life to whom he wills. He claims equality to give life to whomever he wills with the authority which the Father himself has.

Just as the Father has authority to give life to whomever he wills, so the Son has authority to give life. And he's talking about eternal life as well within the context. And he explains that further. We will look at the explanation for that in verses 24 through 26 as we go there. But there are a couple of points more before we go there. This is the fifth equality that Jesus has the same authority as the Father in imparting life to people and giving them eternal life. Okay. And we know that during the earthly ministry of Jesus, he exercised this authority in raising people from the dead.

And he did raise people from the dead as he pleased. That was physically bringing them alive again. But he's also claiming this regarding giving eternal life more specifically within the context. Okay. But what he's actually saying is in answer to the Pharisees, because that's the context and we must not lose sight of that.

I don't just have the authority to raise somebody from their bed if they are sick. I even have the authority to raise people back from life to death. It's not just from people's bed that I raise them, but it's also from their grave, if need be, that I can call them and bring them alive. And I do this in equal authority with the Father, just as the Father has the authority to do this, so I have the authority.

Okay, so that's the fifth ground on which he claims equality with the Father. And there's a sixth one in verse 22. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all the judgment to the Son.” Okay, so it's not the Father who judges, but He has given all judgment into the hands of the Son. So He's equal in His authority to judge the world, not just to give life, but also to judge. He's not just authorized to give eternal life, but he's also authorized to execute eternal sentence of condemnation and damnation upon people on whom he will bring his judgment.

And he has that authority from the Father. And it's not the Father who does it, but it's I who do it. That's what he says. So is he saying I'm greater than the Father in some sense? Could it be that Jesus is claiming greater authority than the Father when he says that?

No, that cannot be. Jesus is not greater than the Father. The Father is not greater than Jesus. And the Spirit is not greater than the Father and Jesus. Okay, let's always remember that. They are co-equal. And the scripture always presents them as co-equal. But if Jesus is the one who judges, on whose behalf is he judging?

on behalf of the Father who gave him that authority to judge, right? And so if Jesus is judging, it is still as good as saying the Father is judging the world through Jesus Christ. And so although it is not the Father himself who sits in the throne of judgment and judges, yet it is Jesus who does that on behalf of the Father. And so it cannot be said that in an absolute sense that the Father doesn't judge the world, but he does that through Jesus Christ. That's all he's saying. But the point we are identifying here as another ground of equality of the Son with the Father is that he is equal in his authority to judge the world with the Father.

So that’s the sixth reason that he advances. And seventh and last is in verse 23. “So that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.” Now that should nail it, isn’t it? “So that all will honor the Son.” If that’s a period, if that’s a full stop, then we can understand it. All must honor the Son. There’s no second thought about it. But that’s not how he stops that statement. He says, all must honor the Son how?

Even as they honor the Father. That means Jesus is equal with the Father in his honor and dignity and deserves the same worship, deserves the same worship as the Father. Can we read that verse again, the complete verse? So that all who honor the Son even as they, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. He who does not honor the Son, how?

Just as you honor the Father. If you do not give equal honor and worship to Jesus Christ, on par with God, the Father, then God doesn’t want your worship. Right? And if honoring father was a sin as some cults seem to suggest to us today.

Then they are accusing Jesus of teaching us idolatry. They are accusing Jesus of teaching us the violation of the first commandment and also the second commandment. And they are also accusing God who demanded that all should worship him when he brought his firstborn into this world, as we read in Hebrews 1:5, and accusing God of teaching us idolatry and rebellion against God and violation of the first and second commandments, which cannot be the case.

Worshiping Jesus has to be, and honoring Jesus has to be the same honor and the same worship that we give to God the Father. And if you do not honor Jesus as the Father intends that you should honor him, then you’re not honoring him and God does not want your worship. God does not want your honor.

You know, I’ve seen, so there are seven, did you get all the seven points? This was the seventh, right? So what are the seven ways in which we see Jesus claiming equality with the Father? First, equality in his works. Second, equality in his ability and power. Third, equality in his will.

Fourth, equality in knowledge. Fifth, equality in his authority to judge. Sixth, equality... Sorry, what is the fifth one? To give life, yes, yes. It’s not you, it’s me who is... Yeah, okay. Equality with the Father in giving life is the fifth one. The sixth one is equality with the Father in judging the world. And seventh, equality with the Father in honor and worship.

And there are a few more comments on the fifth and the sixth one, in giving life and judging the world, which we will look at and then conclude. But just to pause a little from the passage, you know, there are people also within the Reformed circle who teach that it is not right to worship Jesus.

There are people who say it is not right to pray to Jesus. You know, I've heard of a Reformed so-called pastor, one of my friends who left that church later tells me that, you know, it happened that he addresses Jesus while praying somehow in the church sometime. time and then he was called privately and then cautioned and warned saying you can't pray to Jesus really you can't pray to Jesus can we or can we not pray to Jesus should we who says so what is John 14 13 and 14 can we just read that John 14, 39, 14.

Yeah. “Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Okay. “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Just one moment. “If you ask me anything in my name,” is that what it says? Yeah. Does it say “if you ask me”?

Does it or does it not say that? Yeah. Yes. Who is the me? Who is the me in that verse? Who is it? Is it the Father who is speaking? I'm sorry, I didn't get that correctly. I mean, is it the Father who is speaking? No, who is speaking in the context? It's Jesus. And he says, “If you ask me,” that's Jesus teaching me to ask him.

And who is anyone to tell me that I should not pray to Jesus? I know there is a pattern that we follow. I know there is a pattern that runs also throughout the New Testament, where the Father is addressed when we pray, and they pray in the name of Jesus, and they do it by the empowering of the Holy Spirit. And I'm not saying we should violate that order or that pattern. But to say that it is wrong to pray to any other person of the Holy Trinity is like robbing that Jesus should have with the Father and not giving him that same dignity and honor and the place as God as we give to the Father.

That cannot be. Let's always bear that in mind. Jesus has equal place with the Father in everything, as we have seen, as he has himself claimed, and which can be substantiated from many other passages. So then, coming back to this passage that we are looking at, 4 through 26, he expounds a little bit on the authority he has in giving life to people. We'll just read that and wanted to share a few thoughts on that. 24. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Okay. So whoever believes has passed out of death into life. So is that something that we get in future? Or do you enter into eternal life right over here? Right here, the moment you believe in Jesus Christ savingly, the moment you believe in Jesus Christ savingly, you have eternal life. It's not something that is confirmed later when Jesus comes.

If you believe in Jesus Christ savingly, you are promised eternal life. And believing in Jesus is the only way by which anyone can pass from death into life. So this is why I said Jesus is not just talking about bringing people alive in the context of their physical life, but also their eternal life, their spiritual life. He's talking about making people alive. And he came to do that. And he came to do that just as the Father does. And that's his point within this context.

And if we can continue reading, verse 25. 5. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. Okay, so what hearing is he talking about here? What dead is he talking about here? Who are the ones who will hear his words and will be brought to life? They are the ones who are spiritually dead.

Okay, and there are those who will hear his words and be brought to life, which is talking about passing from death to life, and in the context of their spiritual condition. And that's why he says an hour is coming and is indeed now come. He's talking about what was then happening. There were people standing right there when Jesus was speaking who would hear his words and who would be brought to life. Even among the Pharisees there was a remnant. Can you think of at least one guy who was saved eventually?

Nicodemus, right? He was a Pharisee and Jesus here in the context was talking to Pharisees. This is something I wanted to remark at the very outset. It seems like he's talking to the Jews, but Jews is a specific expression that we find in the John's Gospel referring to the eldership in Israel as distinct from the common people. I mean, if you examine all of its occurrences in the John's Gospel, you'll clearly understand that. So he's talking to the Pharisees and the scribes and he's saying an hour is coming and it's now come.

So that was an hour when some people were listening and were impacted by his words of salvation. And it's now come when those who are dead will hear the words of the Son of Man and will live. And this is the confidence we have even today when we present the gospel, isn't it? I mean, gospel preaching is foolishness to the world. How can it be that we just, you know, present a few words and that brings somebody to salvation?

But that is the power of Jesus by which we are saved. It is Jesus's words that they hear and the dead hear. The dead hear because they are given life to hear by Jesus, just like Lazarus was given life to hear. Lazarus was dead. Jesus cries out saying, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus comes out. Lazarus both hears Jesus, also has life in him so that he can obey the call of Jesus and come out of that grave in which he was buried. And that's what happens in the salvation of sinners. They are dead in their trespasses and sins, but they hear the words of Jesus which imparts them life, by which they are able to hear Jesus' cry to come out, and they respond, and they come out of their death.

They come out of their spiritual grave and they are made alive. So it’s talking about the eternal life that Jesus gives. Okay. And that’s why he’s saying “an hour is coming and now is,” so he’s talking about the present ministry that he was doing, so it’s not talking about a future resurrection because that is in later verses that we read. Verses 27 through 29 onwards. We’ll get there shortly. When he says that, he says “an hour is coming,” and he omits the word “and.” Because that was not the time when he would bring out all the people out of their graves.

That is happening in the future. Okay, so there he was talking about physically bringing people alive for two resurrections. But in this context, he was talking about imparting eternal life. Okay, and verse 26 is a contentious verse and we have to talk about it a little bit. Verse 26. “For just as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.”

as one of the strongest objections to the deity of Christ, especially to the self-existence of Christ. Because here Jesus says, “even as the Father has life in himself, even so has he given to the Son to have life in himself.” What do you understand by “given to the Son to have life in himself”?

Doesn’t it seem to suggest that the Son didn’t have life in himself? was given. So is this not a strong argument against the self-existence of Christ? And if he’s not self-existent, then there was a time when he was not in existence. And if there was a time when he was not in existence, then it cannot be argued that, uh, he’s God.

Because the very meaning of God’s name Yahweh is that he is the “I am,” that is, he’s self-existent. And if that’s not the case with Jesus, and if Jesus had to be given existence by the Father, then he is not equal with the Father, right? Father has life in himself, and it was given to Jesus to have life in himself. That’s the argument that’s made against his deity.

Before I answer that, can I just ask, any attempts to answer that? Can someone help me answer that question? How is it that Jesus is self-existent if it was given to him by the Father to have life in himself, whereas the Father has it on his own?

Over, right? Right? All your sevenfold evidences all crushed in one verse. Whatever else could be true about his deity? It cannot be that he is equal with the Father because he is not self-existent. So he may be equal with the Father in many other things, but if he is not equal with the Father in self-existence, then he is not God.

You agree with me? At least? Please? Otherwise, I answer it. Okay. Okay. Look at the previous verse. That itself is the answer to the question. Let me explain. In verse 25, and this is why I was constantly, you know, emphasizing on the point that he was talking about giving life to others, eternal life to others.

Okay. Now, within the context, what is the life that Jesus is talking about? Is he talking about the life which was needed for his existence? Or is he talking about the life that he imparts to others for their eternal life? Within the context, what life is he talking about?

He’s talking about the life that he imparts to others. and he’s saying that just as a father has this life in himself which he imparts to others and by which he makes people alive the same life has been also put into my hands as the mediator of this covenant who must execute the Father’s mission in giving life to people that I have this life within my own hands it has been given to me to have authority over this life, just as the Father has life as the mediator of this covenant, so that I have the right to give it to whomever I will, just as the Father has the right to give it to

whomever He wills. That’s what He said in verse 21, right? Well, talking about His authority to give life. I have authority to give life just as the Father has the authority to give life. And that is an authority that is given to me. Why is it given to me? Didn’t He have that authority inherently?

He had it, but as a mediator of the covenant of grace, he had to receive it from the Father as, you know, a person that mediates between God and man and does something in a servant role within that mediatorial office. You know, and so we know that Jesus is everything that the Father is in a sense. We also read that in Philippians 2 verses 6 and 7 this morning in our responsive reading, right?

father is in a sense, but when he took the role of a servant in voluntary submission and became incarnationally subordinate — mark my words, why am I saying incarnationally subordinate, why am — what am I distinguish distinguishing it from? Yeah, there are people, even so-called reformed people, who are talking about eternal functional subordination. There is no eternal subordination of any of the persons of the Godhead to each other.

They are eternally equal. It is always in the economy of salvation. It is always in the economy of dealing with man. It is always in the ministry of the mediatorial role, where Jesus becomes subordinate. In his incarnational subordination, he had to father so that he can fulfill the father’s plan as a servant that obeys the father’s will. So in that sense, the life that was to be imparted to other people so that they can have eternal life was given into the hands of Jesus with the same authority that just as a father can give life to others, he can have this life in his own hands that he may give

it to whomever he wills. So within the context, it is not talking about the life that was necessary for Jesus’s existence. It is not talking about Jesus’s existence at all in the context, or the father’s existence, right? Because, uh, if you were to read that, then you have to read that into the text. You have to eisegete that from — you have to eisegete that into the text. I mean, we understand the language, right? Exegesis and eisegesis. So exegesis is you bring out the meaning from the text within the context. Eisegesis is you are bringing out some foreign element with into the — into the passage to

to enforce your own thought. So if this is talking about self-existence, if that is what you understand from this passage, then you are actually eisegeting that into the text, because it’s talking within the context only about the life that is to be imparted to others for their eternal life. It has nothing to do with the life that was necessary for the existence either of the father or of the son. Because when you read the words in verse 26, “just as the father has life, so has he given to the son to have life.” So, if the father has life in himself, how can he give that life of his existence life in himself.

Then there is no ground of equality, right? If there is any ground of equality then he should have had it just as the father has it, without it being given to him. Otherwise, we are saying somebody also gave it to the father at some point in time, if it could be called time, in the eternity past. The father has it all by his own. If it is talking about his existence, he was self-existent. So was the son’s self-existence. context of our passage, we are not talking about the existence of either the father or the son, but we are talking about the life that was to be imparted to others who must get eternal life within God’s plan.

So it’s talking about that life, not about the life that has anything to do with Jesus’ existence. So we are very clear about one major objection that’s constantly brought against the deity of Christ, that he was not self-existent and that self-existence also was given to him.

what I’m trying to say. Self-existence being given is contradiction in terms. It’s a self-destructive concept. How can self-existence be given? It’s not by definition something that’s given. It’s something that’s inherent, self-existent. Right? So if the argument is true that, you know, the self-existing life was given to Jesus us as the father had it, then you’re actually, um, you know, saying some statements which are foolish philosophically, which cannot make sense at all, which are self-destructive statements, right? Um, so, right, there is no self-existence that is given. That’s the point I’m making. Self-existence always has to be inherited, cannot be given. So therefore it is not talking about self-existence. It’s not talking about divine existence or the divine life, but it’s talking the eternal life that is given to others as a plan of, as a

part of the plan of salvation. All right, and then we’ll also read verses 27 through 29 and think a little bit about the future authority of Jesus. 27. Yeah, 27 and 28 and 29, we can read all of the three. Yes. “And he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, yes, and will come, and will come forth, those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of

Judgment. So in effect Jesus is, uh, you know, saying to these Pharisees, uh, if you, if noticed this. He says, he has shown him great things and he will show him even more greater things than these. Right? Which was that verse where he says that? In verse 22?

“The Father has given all things into his hands and…” No, no, no. Is it verse 22 that I’m… 24? 20. 20, yeah. Can you just… “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself is doing. And the Father will show him greater work than these.” Yes, and the Father will show him greater works than these. And he’s just giving them, you know, the theoretical part of the greater works which the Father will show them in some time in future. And what work is he talking about? He’s talking about the work of judgment, which has to happen on the final day of judgment.

And they all had some understanding about the day of judgment, you know, from the Old Testament and they understand that God is the ultimate judge of all and that there is a day of resurrection when God will sit on the throne of judgment and judge. They all had that understanding. But Jesus is saying that I’m going to do that. I’m going to be the one who will bring judgment onto this world. That authority has been given to me and he’s also giving them a picture of how he’s going to do that. He says there is coming a time when the world will hear, all of the world, even the dead world that is in the grave will hear the words of the Son of Man — he’s talking about himself, and they all know that he’s talking about himself. He says, you’re just marveling at this work

that I brought this man up from his bed, but the Father is going to show you, show you greater works through me. And the greatest possible work that you can conceive of is the work of executing judgment on all of the world, when the world will hear my voice and everyone that will come out. Those who have done well, those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation or death.

Okay, so what is the one good that we understand from this passage, which you can do and find yourself in life when Jesus comes? Within the passage that we have read, there is only one good that is mentioned which you can possibly do and have eternal life, pass from death to life.

Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, all of Jesus’ goodness is imputed to you freely and therefore you are treated as having done all the good which Jesus has done, although you have not done it yourself.

That is a freely imputed righteousness that you have. And therefore, all who hear the words of Jesus, who are in the grave and who are good, will be raised to eternal life. And we have many other passages in the in the epistles which describe the glory into which we will be brought to conform, which is the image of Jesus Christ himself.

When we shall see him, we shall be like him also. And that is not because of any righteousness that we have, but because we have believed in him, and therefore we are counted good, we are counted righteous in Christ. And then there is this another group of people who will also come out from their graves, but they are evil because they have not believed on the only way of salvation which God has prepared for them, which is Jesus Christ. And therefore, they are evil and they are in their sins. And therefore, they will be resurrected for eternal damnation.

The point is very clear that Jesus is actually claiming his equality with the Father in judgment. He’s also saying that, you know, the works that you’re marveling at and for which you’re upset with me is not the only thing you’re going to see from me. The reason I’m doing all of this is because I’m equal with the Father and that will be demonstrated until the day of the final judgment when you will stand before me, I’ll sit as a judge on the throne and I will render to every man according to his deeds. If you’re good, then you have eternal life.

If you’re good, I’m going to damn you for it. And I’m going to be the one who will sit with that authority on the final day of judgment. So, I mean, he has claimed some very, you know, astounding, very surprising things, which they would have never expected to hear from a mere man.

Either Jesus was lying and he was a liar, or he was God who was speaking the truth. They thought he was a liar. They thought he was a deceiver. They wanted to kill him and they rejected him for that. And the world continues to reject Jesus Christ and his gospel message today.

Okay, but Jesus, especially in verses 28 and 29, he very plainly declares this, that there is going to come a day of reckoning where he will honor the faith that people have put in him, where they will be counted righteous and worthy to reign with him for all eternity.

And there will come a time when all of Christ reject us. You know, there are people who mock the deity of Christ today within the Christendom, so-called Christians, who mock the deity of Christ. There are people within our Telugu states, if you are aware and if you do hear to some of the Telugu presentations, there are people who have called Jesus Christ a beggar, depending on what? But some wrong Telugu translations, you know, which has represented Jesus as, you know, the passages where Jesus pleads with the Father in Hebrews. Is it Hebrews 5:7–9, where he is in the days of his flesh, where he pleads with the Father.

And there, the Telugu word used is Yachana. And so somebody came up with this idea that Yachana literally means to beg. And so Jesus Christ is a beggar. I made a video on that. You are Jesus whom you worship as a beggar. You know, so there are, and that guy is a Christian and claims to be the only Christian, in fact, on the face of the earth.

Okay. Yeah. And so, um, so it’s, it’s not about, it’s not just about the, the, the Hindu fanatics who fight Christ. It’s not just about, um, the Muslims who deny the deity of Jesus Christ, but it’s also about the Christians who having the Bible in their hands, who have such a passage right in front claims equality with the Father in everything and still say that Jesus is not equal with the Father.

So, why are we connecting this with salvation? Why are we connecting this with eternal life and eternal damnation? Is it not enough for us to believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that he died for me on the cross, that he rose from the dead? Is that not enough for me to be saved? Is it necessary also that I must believe in his deity and his equality with the Father? Is that an absolute essential thing?

Is it or is it not an essential thing? These guys who talk about the eternal subordination of the Son, the Reformed guys as well, they say, well, it’s fine. We don’t see the apostles presenting Jesus Christ as God. They just present Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior. And so it’s enough for you to just preach that Jesus is the Lord and Savior.

It’s not really essential that they understand that Jesus is God. But that is to completely ignore that there is the danger of presenting another Jesus than the Jesus which was presented by the apostles. And the Jesus that was presented by the apostles was always God equal with the Father.

There’s no other Jesus that we know of in the Bible who can say it. And so how is that connected with our salvation? Because it is the Jesus of the Bible that you are supposed to believe if you were to be saved. And if the Jesus you believe is not a God, and if the Jesus you believe is God but not equal with the Father, then you’re believing in another Jesus, and that Jesus doesn’t save. If that Jesus saves, then even a Muslim is saved, because he also believes in some Jesus, doesn’t he? Even the Roman Catholics are saved, because they also believe that Eucharist Jesus, don’t they?

No, but if the Jesus that you believe in is not God, the Jesus that you believe in is not the Jesus of the apostles who is equal with the Father, then you have no salvation because there is no salvation in any other than the Jesus that's presented by the apostles.

So you might say, well, all of this is a very doctrinal stuff. Why do we have to? I mean, you must always tell us what to do, what not to do. That’s the message we would like to hear. But so then listen, you must believe in a Jesus that’s God. You must believe in a Jesus that is equal with the Father. You cannot believe in a Jesus that’s not presented by the apostles. You cannot believe in another Jesus and still have the assurance of salvation. That’s a false assurance.

You cannot believe in an eternally subordinate Jesus and still claim to be believing in the same Jesus that’s presented by the apostles. It cannot be. When John says in John chapter 1 and verse 12, it should be a memory verse, right? “As many as have believed in him, to him gave he the power to become the children of God.” To be the children of God. The right to be the children of God, right? “As many as have believed in him, to them gave he the power to be the children of God.” That’s what he says.

When he says, “as many as have believed in him,” whom is he talking about? Whom is he talking about? You’d say, of course he’s talking about Jesus. But what Jesus? Does he simply say Jesus without defining him? Or properly introducing him? Or giving us a clear delineation of who he was in his divine glory and essence?

No, he actually begins at the very first verse and he says, this is a Jesus who was in the beginning. He was not from the beginning, he was in the beginning. There is a difference. And with whom was he? He was with God. And what was he? He was God.

And all things were him was not made anything that was made. In him was life. He was the true light that lighted everyone that came into that house. That life, uh, was a true light that kept lighted everyone that came into the world. Okay? And this light was in the world, and the world did not know or know him, and all of that. He came to his own, and his own didn’t, did not know him. So he’s talking about the same person. He’s talking about that Word which is God, by whom all things were created, who was self-existent, in him was life.

He was the one who gave life to everyone, everyone that has life, everything that has existence, everything that has life, it was he who gave life to all of them. He came into this world and that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And talking about him within the context, he says, “as many as have believed in him, to them gave he the right to become the children.” So the question is, is it him that you have believed?

Who is equal with the Father in his works? Who is equal with the Father in his ability? Who is equal with the Father in his will? His works, his ability, his will? Who is equal with the Father in his knowledge? Who is equal with the Father in his authority to give life? Who is equal with the Father in his authority to judge the world? And who is equal with the Father in his honor and dignity and worship so that he must be honored and worshipped just as you honor and worship the Father?

If that’s not the Jesus you believe in, which he himself claimed to be, if that’s not the Jesus you believe in, which the apostles presented to us, then you believe in another Jesus and you have no life and all the salvation that you claim to have is just a sham. If that’s not the Jesus you want to believe and accept, and have for your Lord and your Saviour.

So we are not at liberty to redefine Jesus. We are not at liberty to believe in any old Jesus that we want to believe. The scripture is very specific about the Jesus that it presents. And that’s the Jesus who can give us salvation. There is no salvation in any other. There is no salvation in any other Jesus also.

So I thought this passage was very important for us to understand not just to theoretically understand the deity of Christ and his equality with the Father, but also in application that we are sure that we are saved by right understanding of Christ and who he is. So that we are not mistaken about the Jesus in whom we are believing and in whom we have hope and confidence that we are saved by. You know, the Jesus that has saved us is no less than God and no less in his glory and essence than God the Father himself.

understanding, may God give us the assurance that we truly believe in the Jesus of the Bible and be rest assured in the salvation and believing in him alone is the fountain of all good works and when he comes because you have done good being in him, therefore you will be found with those who are resurrected unto the resurrection of life and everyone who rejects this gospel and everyone who rejects the person of Christ are the ones who are uh you know uh in verses 28 and 29 as we read they are the ones who are evil and who will be brought to the

resurrection of damnation. And so, um, what cause we have if we have truly been enlightened to see Jesus Christ from Scriptures as he is presented. We owe this all to God's divine grace if we are able to see it, because it's not for want of knowledge, it's not for want of clear evidence in Scripture that people believe, it's for want of grace, and we are given it. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man which God had prepared, the things which God had prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his

Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.” And these deep things of God, which are plainly found in Scripture, we are able to see and understand, and and make sure for ourselves that we stand in the right salvation and the right understanding of the gospel and the person of Jesus Christ, because of the grace that is given to us, because God has given us eyes to see, ears to hear, and heart to perceive. So may we always live in thankfulness of that. May we always make sure that we understand Jesus correctly and represent him rightly to the world. May God give us his grace even so to live for his glory. May God bless us through it.