Unity and Harmony of Father and Son

John 5 and the Significance of Jesus’ Equality with God

You'll turn with me in your Bibles, please. To John chapter 5. Gospel of John chapter 5 we continue in our studies. In the series we've been doing for quite some time now and now in John chapter 5. But before we open God's Word together, let us ask him to bless us one more time Our Heavenly Father once again as we have the privilege of opening your word.

We ask that by your spirit you would be with us. You would protect us from distraction. You would focus us upon your truth that you may be honored in our obedience To that word and our desire to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for is in his name that we pray.

Amen. Certainly on a day like today you might be expecting a sermon about Looking back looking forward. I did that Wednesday night. So And pastor Frye said I stole all of his ideas for tonight. So we'll see what he's come up with over just the past couple of days.

So we already did that and I thought it was sort of fitting For how we sort of roll That even though it is New Year's Eve. We have another year Starting and there's everything proper about looking back and taking stock That also we are not a big people of the liturgical year calendar and So we have been in this study in Papyrus 45 for quite some time.

We're in John chapter 5. We're in one of the most important sections about Who Jesus Christ is and so why not finish the year off pressing forward moving into the next year? Recognizing that Hopefully by God's grace We're gonna finish up chapter 5 and then we're gonna be we're moving out the Gospel of John.

We've got some chapters in Matthew Mark Luke and a bunch of chapters and acts that we're gonna be able to deal with and so let's press on and besides that If you recall where we were last time Here in chapter 5.

We looked at the signal passage in verses 17 through 18 Where Jesus in answering the Jewish critics who have come against him for the healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day he gave answer to them and said my father is working until now and I am working and Because of this the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only loosed or broke the Sabbath.

But he was referring to God as his own father making himself equal to God and so the last time we were together we had given consideration to these words and It just seemed appropriate to me in light of the coming New Year to be reminded of the fact that we have been called to be servants of Jesus Christ and That is a very high calling and even though it is Embarrassing to some even though there are some who who hide their head in shame at the historic proclamation of this truth.

The reality is that we do not believe that Jesus is just one of a number of moral teachers. We do not believe he is just one of the ancient prophets. He was a teacher of morality and ethics unparalleled.

He was a prophet of God. He was sent by God. He was truly a man. He was a king King of Israel and Lord of Lords but the reason that he is all of these things and can be the fulfillment of the prophecy of all of these things is Because he was the one proclaimed in John 1 the word that it eternally existed with God who is as his very nature God the one who in John 1 18 is described as the unique God in the very bosom of the Father at the end of John chapter 20 Thomas after his resurrection is going to say to him my Lord and my God and here in chapter 5 The Jews understand that Jesus's claim to be able to work on the Sabbath is parallel to their own understanding of God's activity on the Sabbath day either the Understanding that some Jews had that yes God does in essence break the Sabbath because he continues to maintain the created order and Jesus has that right or in Either way that was understood by the Jews the second being that since this is all of God's house That his activity within his house would not break the Sabbath.

The point is that Jesus's Reference to God as his father and that he is working and that Jesus is working demonstrated a intimate relationship between Jesus and the Father that would transcend any Categories of sonship that you might find Elsewhere in the Bible applied to men.

Yes, there are people who are called sons of God elsewhere in Scripture. But this the Jews recognize is a unique relationship that implies Filial relationship it implies deity, which is why they say he was making himself Equal to God.

This is why they're seeking to kill him. There is in the law as they are going to say in John chapter 19 We have a law and by that law he ought to die because he made himself out to be the Son of God the unique son of God the one who is himself Deity not just one of the many sons of God as in the created sons of God Jesus is making claims that simply do not fit into those Categories and so with that in mind, it does seem appropriate on this the last day of 2017 as we are inevitably thinking about the coming new year to consider the calling that is ours to be called as servants of the incarnate one the God man as The early church would use the phrase eology.

It is unfortunately a belief as I said within liberal Christianity if there is such a thing, I think dr. Machen was correct to identify that as a completely different religion. But there is within what for some reason and I've never figured out what the reasons for this are the main stream or mainline Denominations and I guess as long as the railroad tracks go right over the abyss into the end of the river.

That's the main line because that's where they're going they are going to be a a Relic of history in the not-too-distant future but Amongst those individuals amongst those movements and groups. There is a great embarrassment.

Not only about what the Bible says about Jesus But the reality that Christians down through the ages have acknowledged him as king of kings Lord of Lords the God man and I can understand why in this age of pluralism.

If you believe that Jesus is just one of many moral teachers that it would be an embarrassment to you To recognize not only what scripture teaches but likewise to recognize what Christians have believed down through the years.

It is embarrassing if it isn't true. It is embarrassing if it isn't true. But right here in this text we have this statement making himself Equal with God now, what does that mean? Well as you know the historic Christian understanding has always affirmed there is only one true God and Yet has also always recognized the distinction that exists between father son and spirit and we identify as heresies a term that is Thrown about a lot these days unfortunately, but one that needs to be used very carefully as heresies.

Those teachings that would violate these Fundamental biblical revelations and so if you teach there are many gods I don't care if you ride your your bike with your white shirt and dark tie all around the Valley of the Sun in June proving your worthiness thinking you can become a god someday.

You're never going to become a god. You can call yourself elder whatever at age 18. You're not an elder and you're not gonna become a god either. You can be very very nice you can be some of the nicest people on the planet.

But that is a heresy believing that there are many gods believing that you someday are going to become a god. These are heresies, but there is another heresy and that is actually an even earlier heresy.

Well, they're really there's never been any serious Christian movement that was polytheistic. But one of the earliest heresies in the history of the church were those people who? Confused or confounded the persons of the Father Son and Spirit so exalted is Jesus in the New Testament revelation that there were some are going well, you know, we don't we don't believe there are three persons.

There's just there's just one God and one person of God and sometimes he acts like the Father and sometimes he acts like the Son. And sometimes he acts like the Holy Spirit or in its modern manifestation as it's common in our day Jesus was two persons.

He was the Father and the Son the Son was just his human Manifestation his human body and he was indwelt by the Father. And so Jesus prayer life is actually just just the the human side of Jesus praying the divine side of Jesus.

He's in a sort of a schizophrenic relationship there. It's not there. There was not any Any relationship between father and son in eternity past the son is a time-bound creature. But Jesus was truly God in the flesh from their perspective in the context of he being both the father and the son.

Well, this was this was an error that was rejected in the second century of the Christian experience. It is it goes against everything that the New Testament teaches which consistently Differentiates between the father and the son and so how do we maintain and there are people who say we can't.

But how do we maintain the balance between the absolute monotheism of Scripture? There is only one God Yahweh. Yahweh created all things the gods the people are idols. Yahweh himself knows of no other gods.

How do you maintain that? Unquestioned assertion that despite liberalism goes all the way back to Moses where where Yahweh himself says I know of no other Elohim. There is no other other Elohim or God besides me goes all the way back to Moses.

It is the consistent biblical revelation. How do you hold that together? With this one who says my father is working and I am working in regards to the Sabbath. This one who is described as the eternal Logos through whom all things are made.

When one of his disciples bows in front of him and says my lord and my god rather than rebuking him He says because you've seen me. Have you believed Thomas blesser those who having not seen have believed.

How do you hold all of this together? I? believe that John chapter 5 is one of the most important texts in all of Scripture to Give us in Jesus's own words, even even for those folks that suffer from hyper red letter ism.

At least these are in the red letters, you know, this will this leave and work for them. Even if you suffer from that problem, which is one of the reasons I I don't like red letter Bibles. And as soon as I open up a new computer program, sorry about that pastor fry I turn off that little element that turns all of Jesus's words read it that I don't Know that it's all the honest us.

It's all God-breathed and I don't need to have different colors to tell me all of those things. Yes, you can do that pastor. It's an amazing thing. We'll show it to you someday. So anyway. So this text this text is absolutely central I believe to giving us the balance to giving us an understanding but Because of that it's often misused.

In fact my Muslim friends know John chapter 5 in Fact they know the next couple verses better than they know almost any other verses in the book of John except for the section About the paraclete in John 14 and 16 you might say why would they know about that because they think that's Muhammad.

We'll talk about that some other time though. We're not going to John chapter 14 in this sermon series. But they know this text and I've had many a Muslim even on the streets of London say but didn't Jesus say the son can't Do anything of himself?

How can he truly be God if he could do nothing of himself? And So we we need to very carefully Consider the words given to us here through the ministry of the Holy Spirit the words of our Lord in As is so often the case in conflict I get tired of conflict.

I know some of you think no you thrive on that. No, I actually Believe it or not Don't really enjoy it. But the reality is that so much of the deepest Revelation we have in the New Testament about the nature of God.

Well the deepest revelation we have got in the entire Bible comes out of conflict. That tremendous section about the nature of God in Isaiah 42 48 a trial of false gods. What's the context there? The fact that the people of Israel keep falling into idolatry.

They're being called to worship false gods and it's in Demonstrating the falseness of those gods. That you see some of the greatest truths about God because it's that contrast between truth and error that gives you that that clarity of revelation and how many times in sharp conflict the Jewish leaders Do we have some of the greatest truths come out from the mouth of our Lord and Savior or from his Apostles later on the book of Acts and elsewhere and so here Notice verse 19 begins with the word to give an answer Jesus answered and was saying that we normally skip that part because we see it so many times, but the important part is In regards to the statement that Jesus was making himself equal with God Jesus responds and Says truly truly I say to you Now what's gonna come after this?

If it is isolated from the rest of the book of John Can be twisted though with some difficulty and some self-contradiction. There's tremendous balance When we look at the entirety of John chapter 5 that is only enhanced by keeping John chapter 5 in context with John chapter 1 and John chapter 10 and 17 and 20 and so on and so forth and we know that the essence of God's truth is communicated to us through the full counsel of God and that's why Heretics can thrive.

Because you can always seek to dismiss from the consciousness of God's people the full counsel of God and In an imbalanced fashion get them to focus on only certain Elements of God's truth. I remember I've used the illustration.

I was talking with a good brother very Intelligent brother in the Lord. I don't know about 15 years ago. And this individual had talked with some certain members of a false cult group and this group had had given an interpretation of a particular verse and He was asking me about the Greek.

He knows Greek fairly well himself. He was asking me about the Greek and and he says I you know, I'll be honest with that. You could take it the way they said and he was troubled by this and I said, yes you could.

I Bothered him. I said you've always got to remember God's truth is not found in Individual little packets, but in the beauty of those fibers of God's truth that are woven together consistently it is the consistency of God's truth over the whole context of Scripture that gives it its beauty and its power and The essence of false teaching is Taking just portions of that pulling a thread out and say look how beautiful that thread is.

Well, God didn't give us simple threads. He gave us the woven fabric and The heretic is the one who takes those out and tries to weave them into something other than the whole Counsel of God and so do not be troubled by the fact that you can find people you can look if you just take verse 19 listen to what Jesus says.

The Son is not able to do anything. And you're gonna hear this phrase. And I'm gonna repeat it a number of times and we're gonna make sure that we all understand it off. Hey, I'll to of himself. Except what he sees the father doing.

For what that one is doing these things also the son likewise is doing now. So many things that we need to note there, but if you take that verse and You pull it out. You don't keep going on you don't go down to for example verse 23 about honoring the Father and the Son.

Do you don't honor the Son you don't honor the Father and you don't go down and look at how the how? Judgment is given to the Son and yet that's always the function of God and the Old Testament. No, no, no.

We if you skip all of that you just take verse 19 and that's so easy to do in today's world. So easy to do in today's world there are so many people that are. It's it's like God's judgment comes upon them and they are willing to just simply look at a little verse here a little verse there there's one cult group that I'm Done a little work with and man you talk to these people and they know a certain number of verses a small number verse.

They know a certain number of verses they will never know. What's in the chapter before the chapter after that verse or even a few verses before a few verses after? They're just happy to have that one little verse and that's all they know and they're certain of that.

Oh, it's so easy to do. Dangerous to do that's why I love the way we handle the Word of God here. I Mean I've told you before the first time I came here first Sunday night Roxy still remembers what I was wearing which still frightens me to this day, but First Sunday night Pastor Frye comes up here and he's preaching out of the minor prophets now.

I was a seminary student and I was in need deep and in Hebrew and so I thought that was pretty cool but the point was man, that's. That's not the kind of normal stuff that you'd be you're trying to build the megachurch out of.

You're preaching verse by verse through through minor prophets. That's not only tough sledding, but it's it's tough on the folks out in the pews, too. But what it does is it forces you to deal with God's truth as a whole?

Rather just than just being able to focus in on little particulars that you want to continuously emphasize. To the detriment of other elements of God's truth and that shows how we view the Word of God.

We're not hyper red letterists. We don't just simply stick with Jesus's words because Scripture says it is all the Anastas. It is all God breathes, but you could take that out and what could you do with it?

Well, how can you say that? Jesus is truly God when it says he is not able to do God can do anything. God can do anything and the son is talking about a specific limitation on what he can do he is clearly different than the father and There's this idea of seeing what the father is doing and This placing a limitation upon what the son can do.

He can't be God. Can you can you feel the force of that argument? The best way to be prepared to give an answer for the strongest arguments against the faith is not by Running from those arguments. But from hearing them in their fullness recognize what their weight is and only once you've done that.

Can you then? Go I Hear what you're saying. I understand what your argument is. Here's what you're missing. Here's where you are misunderstanding. What is being said by the Lord Jesus in for example verse 19 or in some of the other verses?

That we're gonna look at in John chapter 5 and. So there are few places that I can think of in the New Testament That give us a better illustration of why we must absolutely must Look to the whole counsel of God and always take a text in its context follow an argument from beginning to end.

Everybody in this room. I'm pretty certain Knows that if we turn to the next chapter John chapter 6. Because we're a bunch of crazed Calvinists. We like John chapter 6. And we know that if you follow the argument of John chapter 6 verse by verse all the way through.

It is going to teach the absolute sovereignty of God and salvation and How does it do that by following the argument and we've seen our our dear Armenian friends? Doing handsprings and hand flips and and all sorts of mental Gymnastics jumping all over the place to try to get away from us going to know a minute.

Let's okay. We we started at verse 35. We're just now getting to verse 37. Let's let's keep going by work. No, no, no, we need to jump over here and we jump over this chapter. No, let's just keep on going just fighting against the Consistent verse by verse Arguments in chapter 6 we all see that because that's on satirology.

That's on the gospel. That's on something that a lot of us have spent time on. Well, guess what chapter 5 is exact same thing exact same thing and It is the flow of the argument and where it's coming from that will give you the proper understanding of the text.

What you have in John chapter 5 is Jesus giving us the balanced expression of his Relationship to the father in The incarnate state because there is a danger if you just simply stopped at verse 18. What would that danger be.

That danger would be setting up a situation where you have a competition? Between the father and the son. You have a competition you have Jesus being presented as an alternate deity an alternate object of worship.

That cannot be because we are monotheists and so John chapter 5 is absolutely necessary to maintain the consistency of the Old Testament prophets testimony to the fact there is only one true God and When we worship father son and Holy Spirit, we are not worshiping three gods.

While the greatest problems I see in much of what would be generally identified as Western Christianity is such an abysmal understanding of this that you end up with in some modern songs and certainly in the experience of many people.

Not a functional trinitarianism, but a functional tritheism. Where you do have people thinking of father son and spirit in such separate categories. That's what bothers me so much when I hear people saying well, you know I'm I'm glad we've got Jesus because that Old Testament God he was a he was a mean guy.

I mean he was wiping people out and plagues and earthquakes and earth opening up and swallowing people. I'm glad we've got Jesus now rather than the wrathful God of the Old Testament. Well that Really demonstrates a frightening misunderstanding not only the teaching of the Old Testament, but the teaching of the new let alone the Bible as a whole and So right here we have a defense of monotheism.

What the Sun is telling us is you cannot set me up as a rival deity to the father I have been sent by him. I have voluntarily submitted myself to his will to accomplish the redemption of God's people.

I Will not be set up as some separate deity that in any way acts in distinction from or in Contradiction to the father and that's where the key phrase comes out. I don't know if you're a Bible marker or not.

Or maybe if you use what I'm using here using a Bible program if you do the underlining thing. But that's why I mentioned the phrase earlier off. Hey, I'll to by himself. Does nothing of himself. The point is that father son and spirit work in absolute harmony and unity with one another.

What the Sun is doing is Exactly what the triune God in eternity past had decreed that he would do At the exact time that he would do it in the redemption of God's people. Perfect unity and harmony between the father and the spirit while yet distinguishing Properly between the father the son the spirit.

It's not the father who has become incarnate. The son is the one who has been sent by the father is doing the will of the father. But here on the other side then if we keep that in mind is something else to consider.

What? Merely human Prophet could ever have even dared to utter these words. It's one thing to say. Thus saith the Lord the word the Lord came to me and said go do such-and-so. This is going to happen the burden the Word of Lord.

We see that from the prophets all the time. But oh my Think about what Jesus is saying about himself here. The Sun is not able to do anything. Now remember this is in the context of doing what giving?

Healing to the man by the pool. In John chapter 11, what's it gonna be giving life to the dead and That's what's gonna be coming up here in John chapter 5. You hear the voice the Son of God. Everybody knows who does that.

Every Orthodox Jew understood who raises the dead. It's Yahweh himself. And so when the Sun says what I'm doing is Exactly what I see. The father doing we are working in absolute harmony. See my my Muslim friends see that makes him different and as a Trinitarian go.

Yes, they are different. The father is not the son. But for the son to be able to not only see but to do everything the father is doing. Meaning means he's not just a mere prophet. He's not just a mere prophet.

This one is Absolutely unique. He is able to do divine things in perfect harmony with the father. Is that not exactly what John introduced us to in John 1 18? How do you know the father according to John 1 18?

It's because the son who is in the very at the very bosom of the father the father's side that position of intimate knowledge Has explained him has exegeted him. That's how we know who the father is. Well.

Can Michael the Archangel do that? No, he's a mere creature a Great prophet know. The God-man the Word made flesh. Yes. Absolutely unique completely absolutely in harmony with the father utterly. That's what we have here so on the one hand People want to see.

Well the son cannot do anything of himself. See that makes him lesser. No what it means is even in the exercise of divine power and prerogative. The son will always be in absolute unity with the father.

No danger of Division in the Godhead. No danger of the Sun going off and doing his own thing and warfare in heaven and and you may go. Well, who would ever think of that? Most of religions of mankind actually.

Look at the ancient gods and you had that kind of division even amongst gods who at one point in the legends were were Together or even father and son end up at warfare with one another etc. Etc. No not.

A possibility it's not going to happen. The son does nothing of himself. He has come to do exactly what he sees the father doing and since the father upholds creation Extends divine power even on the Sabbath day.

The son is doing the same thing. That is not a denial of his deity. It is an affirmation of his deity and at the same time an affirmation of his absolute perfect harmony with the father. I Don't know what you that's beautiful as Absolutely beautiful for what that one is doing.

These things also the son is doing in like manner. In the same way that the father does these things. The son is doing these things so in in one I Guess you could say two sentences. You could break the second half off but in in one small group of words the Sun in such a balanced fashion.

Protects against improper division into polytheism. Protects against the idea of the elevation of the Sun as some deity in separation from the father. That could be worshipped separate from the father.

Some type of competition that would exist and at the same time though places the Sun in a category utterly outside the merely Human, that's what we have in verse 19. That's a lot. That's a lot, but there it is.

The Father Loves the Son and Shows Him All Things

So there you have the balance and then he goes on to verse 20. For the father loves the son and by the way. You've heard many a sermon not here, but you've probably heard many a sermon in other contexts.

Where you have the distinction between the kinds of love and scripture, right? And there are different levels and different kinds and. Does not work in the New Testament and certainly doesn't work in John.

Because here it's Phileo. Not agape now elsewhere agape is used but the father Loves the son. Don't let that pass you by. Before you get to the rest of what the verse says don't let that pass you by. For the father loves the son have you thought about.

How centrally important? That truth is to everything else scripture says about our salvation most of us have we want to think a lot about how God loves us and how God's going to fulfill his promises to us and and how that's the foundation of our salvation and and We want that yes.

But and I don't want you to be shocked by this, but it's far more important. To know what the father loves the son. You know why? Who are you in? What does the Bible emphasize as the very foundation of our security is the fact that we are in Christ and if we are united with him and.

The love that exists between the father and the son is an eternal love. Then if you are united with Christ. Now you can start to get an idea of What is taught being talked about once we get to John chapter 17 and the high priestly prayer?

You and me and I in them. You can start understanding The intimacy of our relationship to God in light of our union with Jesus Christ. The father loves the son. There can be no disunity there can be no disharmony.

The father loves the son and Yet though he loves the son he gives the son. Out of love for the world. Those that he's going to join to his son in redemptive love for the father loves the son. And is showing to him all things.

Whatever he is doing all things not. Don't rush past that one either. It's so easy for us knowing knowing what we believe about Christ. To not recognize the massive force that these words Should express to us.

They are sort of hidden from us because we already we sort of have the whole systematic theology down but always always when you're talking with someone that has a sub-biblical anti-biblical view of Christ.

Plug their view into words like this. What of the greatest of the prophets could ever speak like this. What prophet has known everything the father's doing. Wait a minute the secret things belong to Lord our God.

Yeah, but the son knows that the father's doing and He shows to him all that he is doing. The son is not confused not surprised. This does help us to you know, think back on on John chapter 4 remember word comes about Lazarus.

You get any sense from reading John chapter 4 that Jesus goes. Oh, I. No idea. Oh my. That's a terrible thing. Jesus's response is this is what God intends and it's also for you disciples and The father loves the son and is showing to him Everything he's doing and Greater Things greater works.

He will show in order that you might be amazed now a lot of people wonder What these greater works would be? That would bring Amazement because it says in order that you might be amazed. You know sort of natural to think of such things as the resurrection of Lazarus the resurrection of Christ.

Things like that personally, I would think that this in light of what's going to be verse 21. That this is talking about the resurrection of the dead not Just a few times that happened in Jesus's ministry.

But the greater application of the words we have here and that is the application to the raising of the spiritually dead which unfortunately Very often we do not see as being as amazing as it is. The reason we are not amazed at the doctrine of regeneration is Because we normally have way too weak a doctrine of sin.

When you think of the nature of the grace. The power of the grace that must be extended by God. To raise the rebel sinner to spiritual life. We think of that only in well, how many kilowatts does that take.

You know, we're so Western and so Mechanical and engineering in our thinking. It's all about amounts of power. What you should think about is The reality of the fact that the rebel sinner is a stench in the nostrils of a holy God a stench in the nostrils of the Holy God.

What kind of Powerful grace is required for God to take one that is utterly worthy of his detestation and Extend such power as to change that individual so much so That that individual can be joined by his grace only because the finished work of Jesus Christ his justice is not compromised.

But because the finished work of Jesus Christ that individual can be changed and joined to the incarnate son the God-man for eternity for eternity. This is not something where God can go. Yeah, this isn't working out too.

Well, could we change this? Because when Christ dies upon the cross All of his people and folks you better be thinking about this because you didn't exist yet. All of his people were joined to him in his death.

That's not something you can go back on is it when you think about what? Condescension and grace and love that requires. When you think of all of grace, you know Spurgeon's little book. And we talked about that word grace beautiful word, but it is so deep so rich in meaning.

That's what we're talking about. And I think that's what we should be amazed at in verse 20. I Think these are the works. That we should bring amazement to God's people is when we start seeing this gospel going out across the world and it's changing the hearts and minds and lives of So many people that the disciples could not even believe it.

I mean if you've got to drop a sheet out of heaven three times to get Peter just to get with the program. You realize it was a whole lot greater than they had ever imagined. When they they thought of the nation's coming to Jerusalem, that's sort of like the nation's subservient to them and so they didn't see.

Yet how the gospel was going to go out across the whole world and so greater works than these in order that you might be amazed and That then becomes the context of verse 21 and the raising of the dead and the giving of life.