John 5:19-24 English Standard Version

The Authority of the Son

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. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 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.

During His ministry on earth as a man, Jesus obeyed the Father. He acknowledges the Father’s authority. Then there is a shift in authority spoken in terms of judgment. God the Father judged according to the law, as in keeping the law. Judgment has passed to the Son who tells us here that His Word is given and we must hear His word by faith and believe by faith.

The point is made in verse 21 that the Son will give life to whomever He wills. Jesus expresses this in verse 24 as in hearing His Word, not reading and believing but hearing and believing.

Psalm 119:25 King James Version (KJV) My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

Psalm 119:25 English Standard Version (ESV) My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!

Quicken and quickening are archaic terms used in the KJV and earlier versions of the New Testament. The RSV and ESV have substituted life in its place to emphasize the change from dead in our sins to our life in Christ. The same problem exists for both terms, how does one give life to something that is already alive?

We have covered the kingdom of the dust, ruled by the Prince of the Power of the Air, Satan. Clinging to the dust is our sin nature before we were born again. Now we have been born in the Spirit having placed our faith in Jesus’s work on the Cross. That which was obedient to Satan through no fault of their own have entered into the Kingdom of God where Christ rules and reigns, in our hearts.

Now, having been given spiritual eyes and ears, we can now hear His Word by the Power of the Spirit who tells us all the things that Jesus is saying to us. It is no longer a mental exercise, it is an exercise of faith.

Philippians 3:12-16 English Standard Version 

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Now the real work begins. Before we move on to talk about gifts and ministries let us concentrate on what just happened on resurrection Sunday. His death and resurrection put an end to obedience to the law as a means of having a personal relationship with God the Father. We often call that righteousness, which should be seen as a right standing before God the Father.

Recognize in verse 12 that having placed our faith in Christ through His death and resurrection  we now belong to Christ. We are in Christ and God the Father sees us only through the love of the Father for His Son and what Christ has done to win us to Himself.

Paul tells us in verse 13, we didn’t make it on our own. Christ made all this possible through faith in His sacrifice for us, He won us to Himself.

Then Paul encourages us to forget what we have done in the past and put our efforts towards what lays ahead for us. It is important to link His winning us as His prize for obedience unto death in order to understand what the prize is in the upward call of God.

We are members in the body of Christ, His betrothed, the universal church. That body is incomplete and we will not be called to the wedding feast until His bride is complete and whole.

Then Paul declares “if” we are mature, we will think in these terms. Our gifts and ministries are given to achieve this one goal, to raise up the newborn to be mature in a like manner and in so doing accomplish that task at hand. We are to preach the gospel in word and deed, let the seed take root, water and nurture that which will produce fruits of the Spirit.

They, like us, belong to Christ and are to be loved as He loves us.