Defining the Deity of Jesus

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John 5:18–24 Pastor Rob Kimsey July 21, 2024

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of Jesus, John chapter 5. of this passage as we think about the big picture of what's happening here.
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Please stand with me for the reading of God's Word. John chapter 5 starting back in verse 1.
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The healing at Bethesda. After these things there was a feast of the
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Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.
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In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters.
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For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water.
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Whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever sickness with which he was afflicted.
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And a man was there who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been sick a long time, he said to him,
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Do you wish to get well? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.
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But while I am coming another steps down before me. Jesus said to him,
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Get up and pick up your mat and walk. And immediately the man became well and picked up his mat and began to walk.
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Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who had been healed,
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It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry your mat. But he answered them,
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He who made me well was the one who said to me, Pick up your mat and walk. They asked him,
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Who is the man who said to you, Pick up your mat and walk? But the man who was healed did not know who it was.
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For Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him,
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Behold, you have become well. Do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you.
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The man went away and disclosed to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
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And for this reason, the Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the
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Sabbath. But he answered them, My father is working until now, and I myself am working.
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For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the
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Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.
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Therefore, Jesus answered and was saying to them, Truly, truly,
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I say to you, the son can do nothing from himself unless it is something he sees the father doing.
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For whatever the father does, these things the son also does in the same manner. For the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself is doing, and the father will show him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.
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For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son also gives life to whom he wishes.
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For not even the father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the son, so that all will honor the son even as they honor the father.
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He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. Truly, truly,
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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.
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You may be seated. Defining the Deity of Jesus In verses 1 -17, the apostle
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John recorded the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, so that you can understand the point of Jesus' healing ministry, the third sign wonder, the miracle displayed that Jesus is greater than any religious superstition or man -made tradition, the mission statement by Jesus that he is equal with God the
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Father demonstrated the purpose of Jesus' ministry in saving sinners from hell and doing good continuously for God's elect.
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Following the third sign wonder and Jesus' response to the Jews who were opposing him,
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Jesus would go on to define his deity in three different ways. The first is the claims of his equality with God the
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Father. The second is his explanation of the reality of the two resurrections, starting in verse 25, one for judgment and one for life.
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The third is when Jesus explains who are the witnesses to him.
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He says it is God the Father and the scriptures that testify about him.
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See that in verse 33. Today, we will look at the first way that Jesus defines his deity, his equality with God.
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John records the words of Jesus and demonstrates some really amazing theological truths.
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But it's important for us to understand that the theological truths are never absent the practical application.
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How do we live in light of these truths? What are we to do with these amazing truth claims?
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The theological underpinnings as Jesus explains his equality with God to his opponents.
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In other words, why does it matter? What are we going to do with this information? What help is this to us as sinners?
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Well, the answer for us lies in verse 24. It is the practical point of the theological truth, belief.
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For the unbeliever to pass out of death into eternal life. For the believer to have assurance that you truly have passed out of death into eternal life.
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My goal this morning is to show you the right and only object of faith is
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Jesus. He is equal with God the Father so that you can have true assurance in your salvation.
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Our assurance can be tricky because our assurance in salvation is influenced by our human emotions and feelings.
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Our human assessment based on our own standards of holiness or conduct.
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Not our true assurance in salvation but our feelings. We could say it like this, our thoughts and conduct which can be misleading.
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Struggling with the remnant sinful nature of the old self is a reality for all
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Christians. Read any one of Paul's letters to the churches and that becomes real clear real quick.
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We can even make our faith an action that can go up and down and that somehow determines our salvation.
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We can even say it like this, if my faith isn't as strong today as it was yesterday, maybe
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I'm not truly saved. We turn saving faith into a work performed by us that somehow would earn or eliminate salvation.
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If your hope and assurance is based on conduct alone, you can start doubting real quick.
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How do I know I am truly a Christian when there's a struggle with sin in my life?
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Dr. Stephen Nichols said this on assurance. I thought it was really just a helpful illustration.
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One thing I would say is read the Word of God. In many ways I think the scripture was written exactly for this question of assurance.
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So a number of things that we are told in scripture and one is very clearly whoever believes in the
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Son has eternal life. And so you need to recognize that it is the object of faith that is the basis of your salvation, not the extent of your faith, not the intensity of your faith, not the sincerity of your faith.
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It is faith in Jesus Christ that saves, not the faith.
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And what the Word of God is going to point us to, it is going to point us to Christ. It is going to point us to who
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Christ is and what he did. And that is the basis of our salvation.
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So it is faith in Christ that saves us. And I think the scripture will help you here.
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The other thing is what we are talking about in terms of your struggle with sin. So if we think about assurance like this, well now this is your assurance, this is your sense of fellowship.
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The struggle with sin. Your assurance will wax and wane like the moon.
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It will get full and it will lessen. It will wax and wane depending on your obedience, your following in the footsteps of obedience to scripture and following in obedience to Christ.
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And so as you have sinned and as you are out of step with God's Word, then that assurance will wane.
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It will lessen. And that is exactly, really it is actually sort of a prod.
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We need that. It is sort of a prod. Hey, this isn't right. This isn't who I am in Christ.
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I need to get back to taking God's Word seriously. And as we are in step with God's Word and have that obedient life as a
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Christian, our assurance will wax, right? And that is such a great thing to have confidence.
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But ultimately, if our faith is in Christ, that is assurance of our salvation.
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Whoever has this test, whoever believes in the Son, has eternal life. In the passage today, we have a record of Jesus identifying himself with God the
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Father. As we see the response of the Jews to his statements, we can understand that there is no doubt that he was claiming to be
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God. When Jesus said, he who does not honor the Son does not honor the
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Father who sent him, he removed all options to say that you believe in God but not in Jesus or in the
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Bible. In other words, his statements in this section remove any option to ignore
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Jesus as the Son of God. Remember, the Jews and the religious leaders, the
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Pharisees, also called God their Father. So when Jesus makes this claim of having a unique relationship with God the
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Father, their response is immediate and decisive. They didn't believe him, so instead they accused him of blasphemy.
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They sought to kill him. But this goes back to the mission statement. Jesus and the
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Father are equal. That's the purpose statement. Everything else that follows is a record of Christ's own personal statements of him defining his deity.
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The purpose of Jesus confronting the Jews as the religious hypocrites they are is to declare that he is the
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Son of God equal with God the Father. In verses 18 through 24,
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John defines the deity of Jesus of Nazareth by recording
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Jesus' own words, refuting the Jews who were seeking to kill him. Jesus himself explains his equality with God the
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Father. So that you may believe with conviction in the deity of Jesus, which will produce an unshakable confidence in assurance of your salvation.
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Five incredible claims of Jesus. Really five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God and why it matters.
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Number one, the person. The person, verse 18. Number two, the position.
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The position, verses 19 and 20. Number three, the power. The power, in verse 21.
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Number four, the pronouncement. The pronouncement, verse 22. And number five, the prestige.
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The prestige, verse 23. And then finally, with verse 24, the point.
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The point. Five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God and why it matters.
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Number one, the person, verse 18. The person. For this reason, therefore, the
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Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the
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Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.
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Verse 18 ties back to verse 17 when Jesus answered the accusation saying that he was working as God the
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Father was working. Verse 18 cements that claim by telling us the
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Jews' response. They instantly understood what he was claiming. Verse 18 makes it clear that because Jesus was calling
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God his own father, he was making himself equal to God. And later in the
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Apostle John's eyewitness account, we'll see the Jews make it crystal clear that they understood
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Jesus' claim. A claim that he continued to make throughout his earthly ministry.
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One example is from John chapter 10. The Jews answered him, Jesus claimed to be
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God. And after Jesus was flogged by Pilate, the Jews made the same statement.
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This is John chapter 19. The Jews answered him, In verse 17,
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Jesus gave the mission statement of the third sign wonder. Jesus is equal with the
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Father. Even the Jewish rabbis conceded that God's work does not cease after the
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Sabbath. So this persecution and accusation does not come from a place of honesty.
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We're looking at false pretense, bad motives. They were jealous. They had false motives.
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This is the height of intellectual dishonesty. They had bad motives and they didn't have a pure heart.
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They acknowledge that God's work doesn't cease after the Sabbath because God continually sustains the universe.
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The mission statement is that whether Jesus broke the Sabbath or not, and he did not, there was no command in the scripture to say that you couldn't do good on the
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Sabbath. God the Father was working continuously for good, for those who are the elect, for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
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So in that way, Jesus revealed himself as the anointed one of God, as the Messiah. Just like God the
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Father was working, Jesus himself worked continuously. And this statement is a clear declaration that Jesus must be
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God. God needs no rest. He is continually working but never tiring. And if these factors apply to God, then
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Jesus is saying they apply to me as well. My Father is working until now and I myself am working.
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Jesus' crystal clear appeal to his sonship is ultimately an appeal to equality with God.
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Jesus is saying he is equal with God in his person. And this denotes identity of substance or essence in spite of difference in aspect.
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This means that Jesus is of the same substance as the Father. Christ is the same substance with the
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Father in respect of the Godhead and the same substance with us in respect of the manhood or humanity.
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And that's the first point, the person, the person. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in his personal nature. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in his personal nature. Why it matters. Jesus' works in his earthly incarnation demonstrate his divine nature.
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Jesus' nature in his humanity is perfectly equal with God's divine nature.
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Jesus is the God -man and therefore did the works of God in his humanity.
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Jesus was and will always be perfect man. He is the last
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Adam, our head, our representative as a man. And this fact is just as crucial to all aspects of our salvation as his deity.
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He had to be man to be our representative in living a holy life on earth.
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Our sacrificial representative on the cross and our leader through death into resurrection.
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And he must be man forever to be our high priest and king. As man he lived for us, died for us, and lives and reigns for us forever.
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May we ever seek to do as he did. Commit our lives to be guided and empowered by his spirit so that we may fulfill the will of the
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Father among the people. Jesus is equal with God in his personal nature.
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Five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God and why it matters. Number two, the position.
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The position, verses 19 and 20. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them,
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Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing from himself unless it is something he sees the
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Father doing. For whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same manner.
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For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself is doing and the
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Father will show him greater works than these so that you will marvel. Following verse 17 in the verbal proclamation of calling
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God his own Father, we actually don't see another exchange or response from the
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Jews. Notice the Jews were seeking to kill him, but we don't have a record of a conversation or additional verbal accusation.
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What we see is Jesus continue to build on his statement from verse 17. And he starts with the emphatic formula,
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Truly, truly, we see so often from our Lord. This is literally what
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Jesus is saying. I am telling you the truth. I am telling you the truth, the
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Son can do nothing from himself unless it is something he sees the Father doing. For whatever the
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Father does, these things the Son also does in the same manner.
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In chapter 5, what we see here is this explanation because John is recording for us this
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Jewish unbelief worsening. Unbelief that is indifferent in being amazed at the signs, but not a heart change.
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Unbelief that hardens the heart and turns into outright opposition and persecution.
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Jesus responds by strongly asserting his equality with God. As their unbelief enters into a new phase and is ramped up, we see
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Jesus respond with emphatic language. He's answering them directly without any fear.
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And he is forceful in his claim to tie his activities of healing the lame man on the
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Sabbath directly to God the Father. Jesus defines his actions as being equal with God's actions.
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In other words, he is saying that he never did something independently that wasn't in line with the
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Father. Directly following Jesus' definition of his deity in chapter 5,
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John records Jesus feeding the 5 ,000 and walking on water. And directly following those events in chapter 6,
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Jesus repeats what he's saying here. John chapter 6 verse 38, For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
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He never took independent action apart from God the Father because there is a oneness in action.
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He doesn't act separately from God the Father. He is God. And notice his language of referring to himself as the
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Son. He's not shying away. He's making bold claims. He's defining.
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Jesus is saying that he, as the Son, only did works that were concurrent, simultaneous, and in agreement with God the
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Father. And those works are as comprehensive and boundless as God. No separation.
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Like the creative action in forming the world, or the healing of a lame man from birth, the implication of his words here are stunning.
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Think about it like this. The only one who could do what the Father does, and works by implication, must be as great as the
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Father. He's equal. He makes that clear in his next statement in verses 20 and 21.
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This is a reference to the powerful work of raising the dead. We see that in the immediate context of Jesus' statement about the two resurrections, one for eternal life and one for eternal judgment.
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The works are both temporal on the earth, but ultimately of eternal spiritual significance.
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Jesus is defining his equality with God's works by pointing out that God the Father has the power to raise the dead, and so does the
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Son. And this is the position. The position. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in his works. Jesus is equal with God the Father in his works.
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Why does it matter? The significance of his statements in verses 19 and 20 cannot be overstated.
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Jesus is defining his equality with God the Father by pointing out that they work inseparably.
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He is not saying that he is equal with God the Father because the Father is
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God. He is saying that he is equal with God the Father because the Father's works are his works.
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The Father's actions are his actions. His definition is a claim that the
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Son and the Father act in the same principle of works, the same nature of works, the same substance of works.
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Jesus himself explains equality with God the Father. So that you can believe with conviction in the deity of Jesus.
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And that conviction will produce an unshakable assurance, an unshakable confidence in your assurance of your salvation.
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Five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God and why it matters. Number three, the power.
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The power. Verse 21. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the
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Son also gives life to whom he wishes. Jesus will further elaborate on this statement after he finishes defining his equality with the
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Father. Jesus showed his power over life and death.
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He has the authority to raise the dead and judge. Jesus has the authority to give eternal life.
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And Jesus' voice actually raises the dead. Look at John chapter 5 and his explanation of the two resurrections, starting in verse 25.
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Again, truly, truly I say to you, he's saying, I am telling you the truth.
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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.
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For just as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave the Son also to have life in himself.
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And he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this.
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For an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth.
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Those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
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I can do nothing from myself. As I hear, I judge and my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
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If I alone bear witness about myself, my witness is not true. Therefore, there is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the witness which he gives about me is true.
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These claims are remarkable to demonstrate that Jesus is completely equal with God.
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Whatever the Father does, the Son does. Whatever the Father does, Jesus does.
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There is an inseparable operation in divinity between Jesus of Nazareth and God the
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Father. And Jesus raised himself. We see this in John chapter 10.
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Listen to this. For this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.
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No one takes it away from me, but from myself I lay it down. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
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This command I receive from my Father. Jesus' power in salvation is perfect and complete.
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Not only will he raise those who have died in Christ, he has the power to bring a person who is spiritually dead back from the domain of darkness.
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His power is not separated from his works. He came to undo the works of the devil.
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If the devil blinds the mind of the unbeliever to see the truth of the gospel, Jesus removes the blindfold.
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And in his power, he won't let the devil put it back on. The power.
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Jesus is equal with God the Father in his sovereign authority. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in his sovereign authority and why it matters. Christ's power in raising the dead to judgment and to eternal life signifies that his saving power is complete and perfect.
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The implication is this. It cannot be undone. It can't be undone. Christ will transform our bodies.
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We know about the future because God has told us. One supporting scripture is from Philippians chapter 3.
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Paul explains to the believers in Philippi about Jesus transforming our bodies.
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He says, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory by his working through which he is able to even subject all things to himself.
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It matters because it relates to our comfort in salvation now.
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Assurance. It comes down to what the object of your faith is. If your faith is in your performance and your emotions or feelings based on your own human assessment of your performance, you will doubt your salvation.
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The Son has the power to give life in the same way as the
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Father. And he has declared, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
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And so we have to ask and you have to ask yourself, what is the object of your faith? Is it your performance and feelings?
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The theologian D .L. Moody said this on assurance. Quote, I believe hundreds of Christian people are being deceived by Satan now on this point.
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That they have not got the assurance of salvation just because they are not willing to take
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God at his word. Who do you believe? The way that you feel or what
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God has declared to be true? That matters. That is really important for us to understand.
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Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. So five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God.
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Number four, the pronouncement. The pronouncement, verse 22. For not even the
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Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the
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Son. The reality and the power to give life cannot be divorced from the authority to judge.
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Leading us to Jesus' next claim of really in verse 22 of equality with God the
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Father. But it is also helpful to remember the big picture. The language in verse 21 helps clarify
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Jesus' statement to the Pharisee Nicodemus during the first year of his earthly ministry. Remember John chapter 3.
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He says, for God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
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The commentator Donald Guthrie made this point. I thought this was helpful. The conviction that the Father raises the dead that we see in verse 21 is supported by both
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Old Testament and rabbinical literature. While the primary reference may be to the one, to the final physical resurrection, there must also be the idea of spiritual resurrection.
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In verse 25, it suggests that the dead who hear the Son of God are those who respond spiritually today.
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Although verses 28 and 29 refer to the end time. The real point here is that the
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Son has the power to give life in the same way as the Father.
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There is no clash between verse 22 and John 3 .17. The words in John 3 .17
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exclude judgment as the main reason for Jesus' mission. Whereas the statement here points to the
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Son's authority to judge when that is appropriate. To claim to have the power to judge all people, it's truly remarkable.
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The implication is that whatever the Father does, Jesus does. There is an inseparable operation in the divinity between Jesus of Nazareth and God the
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Father. In this case, Jesus says it is not the Father who judges, it is
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Him. In verse 23, He'll explain the reason so that the honor of the
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Son and the honor of the Father will be equal. All judgment has been committed to Jesus. He is the judge of the church and not in condemnation or wrath.
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Paul explains it like this in 2 Corinthians 5. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
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So the context of the church, the context of your life as a Christian while you're still on earth, there will be an accounting, but this is not wrath.
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But He is the judge of the church. He will judge at the second advent and in the final judgment.
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Again from Paul, 2 Timothy 4. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearing and His kingdom.
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So that's the second advent and that's the final judgment. He will also judge and renew the earth.
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This is all creation. Nothing gets left out. Hebrews chapter 1 says it like this.
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And you, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth and the heavens are the works of your hands.
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They will perish, but you remain and they will all wear out like a garment and like a mantle.
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You will roll them up like a garment. They will also be changed, but you are the same and your years will not come to an end.
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His judgment is complete and perfect and will be for all creation.
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In other words, Jesus will judge the earth because the earth is ruined by sin. The only way to avoid this judgment is by the grace of God through repentant faith in Christ.
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The dark and terrible truth of everlasting judgment is what helps the gospel of Jesus Christ shine even more brightly as the one true hope for all mankind.
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Jesus lived a perfect life and went to the cross to take on God's wrath in the place of all who would believe in Christ turning from their sin to do so.
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The pronouncement. The pronouncement. Jesus is equal with God the Father in his judgment.
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Jesus is equal with God the Father in his judgment and why it matters. If the
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Father does not judge any man, the significance is that the same thing was meant in the former verse in the raising of the dead.
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Both of the acts being done are not by the Father and the Son as though being done twice. The implication is that judgment is by the
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Father through the Son as his voluntary agent. Think about it like this.
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When Jesus brings the wrath of the rage of God the Father upon the unbelieving world.
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This is from Revelation 19. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the winepress of the wrath of the rage of God the
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Almighty. Jesus won't have divided interests. He won't be conflicted over it.
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He will judge the world in perfect harmony with the Father. It will please him to defend the
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Father's honor. Jesus said it like this in the account from Luke, Luke chapter 12, the words of our
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Lord. I have come to cast fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled.
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You know, that's probably not the Jesus you're going to hear about in a lot of pulpits around this country. I'm just going to take a wild guess and say you don't have that hanging up on your fridge.
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Jesus says I didn't come to bring peace on the earth. That's a section where he talks about division.
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This is going to cost you everything. Here's the pitch. Your family will hate you.
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Your friends will hate you. To follow me, it will cost you everything and you will be killed. Who's in?
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We have to understand that this is God. Jesus is
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God. He will bring judgment upon this earth and it will please him when he destroys those who have rejected him, the unbeliever, the unrepentant unbeliever.
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It will please him to bring the full undiluted wrath of the rage of God the
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Father upon the earth. That's the Jesus of the Bible. Yeah, Steve Lawson preached on this recently from the
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Shepherds Conference and he said he brought up that commercial, he gets us from the Super Bowl.
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I thought it was a funny anecdote in a very serious passage, but he said like, oh, he's going to get us. He's going to get us.
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For the unbeliever, it's a horrible reality that awaits. And the only way out of this judgment is to put your faith in the judge, to put your faith in Christ.
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To listen to the command to believe and to turn away from sin and to return to God.
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Jesus is God. And so that part of his equality with God is that he has equal with God in his judgment.
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The pronouncement. Five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God and why it matters. Number five, the prestige.
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The prestige in verse 23. So that all will honor the son even as they honor the father.
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He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. Whoever honors the father honors the son and vice versa.
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But also love is connected to honor. Love is connected to honor. The father loves the son and the son loves the father.
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While also the inverse is true. Jesus said whoever hates the father hates the son. John chapter 15.
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He who hates me hates my father also. The honor is equal for both.
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In this verse, it's really the so that of why God entrusted all judgment to Jesus.
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The honor shared by Jesus is not foreign to the way one honors God. There is a parallel in honor, love, and obedience.
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We see this in Luke chapter 10. The one who listens to you listens to me and the one who rejects you rejects me.
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And he who rejects me rejects the one who sent me. There is a correlation between giving someone honor and listening to them.
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And how you listen is demonstrated in how you respond to what is being said.
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Think about it like this. Jesus' equality to God is comprehensive.
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There is no element of life that this does not touch. If you love the son, it is the same way in how you love
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God. If you hate the son, it is the same way in how you hate God. If you listen to or reject
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Jesus, it is the same as listening to or rejecting God. And here's what this culture doesn't want to hear.
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It is the same way that you listen to or reject the Bible and its teachings is the same way you listen to or reject
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God. That's where we lose everybody. I want to be a Christian. I love God. I love
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Jesus. Okay, here's what the Bible says. Well, that's just your interpretation. The Bible has been rewritten a bunch of times.
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It's like, what? What are you talking about? You can't be a
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Christian if you don't do what the Bible says. I'll say that again.
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You cannot be a Christian if you disagree with what the Bible clearly teaches.
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And I'm not talking about interpretive challenge passages. Of course, there are things we have to study, and we have different positions.
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We understand that. We give grace on those disagreements. But we have to understand something.
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There are many, many, many, many people who claim to be
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Christians who don't care what the Bible says. They don't live by the Bible. They disagree with the
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Bible. They don't like church. They don't like pastors. They don't like preachers. They don't like you, actually.
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This is what we are faced with in our society and culture. It's very simple.
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Are you going to stand for what the Bible teaches or not? And the answer to that question is, are you going to stand with God or not?
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That's really the question. There's no difference between Jesus and God the
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Father in honor. John will write also his letters, 1 John chapter 2.
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He says this, Has the
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Father also? If you confess Jesus, you have
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God the Father? Wow. What an amazing truth.
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And the judgment is not disconnected from this. These verses are really one sentence. Judgment is given to Jesus so that all men will honor
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Him just as they honor God. And this is the Greek word that literally means value or price, honor.
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It means to set a price on something, to estimate, to value, as in the price for a field or for the man whose price was set.
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John is using the word to describe the inseparable relationship between Jesus of Nazareth and Yahweh.
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To show high regard, honor. This is revere, the idea of reverence.
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This is the idea of fearing God. A holy fear, not in wrath or condemnation, but in honor, respect, reverence.
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And the idea here is just crystal clear. There is no separation between the two.
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What you do with God is what you do with Jesus and vice versa. Jesus is not merely a representative or ambassador who acts in the name of God.
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This isn't an earthly herald or messenger who is just the subject of a kingdom.
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He is defining himself in full and complete equality with God. And of course, the response is clear.
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It's really what we see in our society today, a hardened heart of unbelief. The Jews had accused
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Him of blasphemy. And Jesus explains that you cannot honor God the Father unless you receive the
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Son with like prestige. And in the ultimate demonstration of irony, it is the
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Jews who were the ones that were actually blaspheming the Father. They were blaspheming
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God because they rejected the Son. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the
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Father who sent Him. The prestige. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in His honor. Jesus is equal with God the Father in His honor.
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And why it matters. Jesus lived on the earth as God the
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Father desired for Him to live. Jesus' earthly life demonstrates
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His unity with God. If we are to truly identify ourselves with the
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Son, then we must honor Jesus and live as the Son desires for us to live. And we can ask the question, well, how do we honor
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God the Father with our lives? And without being cheesy or corny or cliche, we can ask, what would
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Jesus do in this situation? In a very real, sincere, and practical way, we can ask ourselves, how will what
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I'm about to say or do bring honor to Jesus? And asking that, we are asking ourselves, how will what
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I'm about to say or do bring honor to God? Having a desire to honor
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God will help us to make right decisions in our conduct.
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The Puritan Matthew Henry said this on God's honor. And he was referring to the third sign wonder in chapter 5.
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Henry says, the divine power of the miracle proved Jesus to be the Son of God. And he declared that he worked with and like unto his father as he saw good.
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These ancient enemies of Christ understood him and became more violent, charging him not only with Sabbath breaking, but blasphemy in calling
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God his own father and making himself equal with God. But all things now and at the final judgment are committed to the
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Son, purposely that all men might honor the Son as they honor the
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Father. And everyone who does not thus honor the Son, whatever he may think or pretend, does not honor the
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Father who sent him. Crystal clear. And all of this is leading to verse 24, the point, the point.
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Verse 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.
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Verse 24 is the ultimate so that. This is the ultimate why it matters.
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Jesus defining his deity matters. The reality of passing out of death into life is the truth that is first remarked upon in verse 21.
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If Jesus is equal with God, then Jesus gives life to whomever he desires.
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And for the sinner who has received that life, Jesus declares that they are the ones who hear the words of Jesus and believe in the
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Father. And the wonderful implication of our assurance and salvation by understanding the deity of Jesus is that all sinners who have eternal life will never be condemned.
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Romans chapter eight. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
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What an amazing. Say that with me. Think about what we're saying. Say it with me. Therefore, there is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
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No condemnation. All sinners who have eternal life will never be condemned.
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The Father has accomplished this through Jesus. Paul says it like this in Colossians.
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This is chapter one. Referring to Jesus, referring really to God the Father and the way this salvation works.
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The Father who rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the
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Son of His love in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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No demon, no Satan, no sin can ever break into the kingdom of God.
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The sinner is redeemed forever. Once you're in there, no one's going to come in and break you out.
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And guess what? You can't escape either. You're in there. If you're saved, you're saved.
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Whoever believes has eternal life. Eternal life means...
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Here it is. Ready? Eternal life. Eternal life means eternal life.
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Living forever with God. And that begins the moment you accept Jesus Christ as your
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Savior. This is a once and for all completed transaction. Although we all face physical death, that reality is for every person.
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But for the redeemed sinner saved by the grace of God, when Christ returns, your body will be transformed.
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Your body will be resurrected to live forever. A body transformed after His own glory.
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The point. Jesus defines His deity giving the sinner assurance.
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Jesus defines His deity giving the sinner assurance. And why it matters.
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God is a spiritual being. Jesus' divine attributes are identical to the divine essence of God.
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God the Father did not give the Son the attribute of deity. The deity of Jesus the
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Son is merely the Father's communication of the entire divine essence to the Son. Really chapter 5 is just this crystal clear case for the eternality of Christ.
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The eternal generation of the Son. Pre -existing eternality in the same substance or even the starting point of the
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Father to the Son. Indicating the source or the provenance of someone or something.
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This is not a journey. This is a starting point. The same nature, the same substance.
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Because Jesus has the nature from the Father. We can even say it like this.
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That the Father gave to Jesus the Son the divine essence in Himself. And that means that all the
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Son has the Father has. And this is not a kind of God or similar characteristics in divinity.
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This is identical divine nature. This is identical whole divine essence.
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Pre -existing eternality in the same substance or even the starting point of the Father to the
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Son. Although in the identical divine nature in the same substance with the Father. Yet in a manner distinct from the
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Father. Equal to God the Father while not being the same person as the Father. Jesus is the
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Son. The visible expression of the invisible God. There is no distinction in nature, no less divinity.
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The distinction of the Son is only in the manner of the action of maintaining or supporting
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Himself in the nature. The Father maintains the divine nature of Himself.
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Meaning the Father is begotten of no one. Jesus as the Son maintains in the divine nature from the
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Father. Because He is eternally begotten of God the Father. And of course the most famous passage in the
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Bible. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
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That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Begotten pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class.
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Divine love and affection from the Father to the Son existing in eternity past.
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This is really important for John. He's including these conversations.
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This is important. He wants the readers to understand something. Jesus is
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God. Be careful. Think about the way he started this account. John chapter 1.
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In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
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All things came into being through Him. And apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
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Jesus is God the Son. In verses 18 through 24.
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John defines the deity of Jesus of Nazareth by recording Jesus' own words.
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Refuting the Jews who were seeking to kill Him. Jesus Himself explains His equality with God the
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Father. So that you may believe with conviction in the deity of Jesus. That will produce an unshakable assurance.
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An unshakable confidence in your assurance of your salvation. Five incredible claims from Jesus of equality with God the
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Father and why it matters. Number one, the person. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in His personal nature. Number two, the position. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in His works. Number three, the power. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in His sovereign authority. Number four, the pronouncement. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in His judgment. Number five, the prestige. Jesus is equal with God the
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Father in His honor. And finally, the point. Jesus defines His deity giving the sinner assurance.
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And why it matters. The correct object of faith is not our human assessment in performance or feelings.
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The correct object of faith is Jesus. Jesus alone. Not Jesus plus anything else.
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Your salvation does not depend on performance or human assessment. Assurance must rest on Jesus.
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Only Jesus. And never Jesus plus your conclusions. Whoever believes in the
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Son has eternal life. May the object of your faith be
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Jesus and Jesus alone. So that you may believe with conviction in the deity of Jesus.
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Which will produce an unshakable confidence in the assurance of your salvation. May God help you to believe the claims of Jesus in His complete equality with God.
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So that you can have true assurance in your salvation.
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When assurance wanes, look to the cross of Christ. Remember something.