Questions for Littles: Whom were the Jews persecuting (v16)? What did they seek to do to Him? Why? Who answers them (v17)? Whom does He say is still working? Who is working now? Whom do the Jews seek all the more to kill in v18? Why-what did they think He had broken? With whom did Jesus make Himself equal? Who answers them in v19? What can Jesus do without His Father? How much of what the Father does, does Jesus do? What is the Father’s attitude toward the Son (v20)? What does the Father show the Son? How were Jesus’s coming works going to compare to healing the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years? What does v21 say the Father does? To whom does the Son give life? Whom does the Father judge (v22)? To Whom has all judgment been committed? Whom must everyone honor (v23)? If someone doesn’t honor Jesus, whom else do they not honor?In the Gospel reading this week, the Holy Spirit overwhelms us with Christ’s glory.
First, Jesus is equal with God. Because the Jews had understood Him rightly, Jesus doesn’t correct their idea but infuriates them even more by making several more claims to equality with God!
Second, Jesus is One with God. First, He says that His actions are actually God’s actions (the Son can do nothing of Himself), but far more amazingly, God’s actions are actually His actions (whatever the Father does, the Son also does in like manner). This is astonishing. To all mere men, God says “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so much higher are My ways than your ways and My thoughts than Your thoughts.” We cannot even know “whatever the Father does.” Jesus claims not only to know all the works of God but to do all the works of God.
Third, the Father loves the Son. Everything the Father does, He does out of love for the Son! How can anyone ever be lost while clinging to Christ?!
Fourth, the Son’s will determines who will be saved. Yes, the Father has chosen the elect in His Son. But the Son has also chosen to give life to whomever He will. Here is a level of God’s sovereignty so great that many professing believers refuse even to attribute it to the Father. But here, Christ claims this sovereign will for Himself.
Fifth, the Son is at least as honored as the Father. This is the very reason that the Father has committed all judgment to Him!
Finally, NO ONE who fails to acknowledge Jesus as everlasting God will be acknowledged to honor the Father.
Now Jew is ever saved except by believing in Jesus. No one from any other religion whatsoever can be saved. All religions (cults) that claim to accept the Bible while denying the eternal Godhood of Christ are utterly false and cannot honestly consider Him even a good teacher since they so completely disagree with Him on this point. Islam. Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mormonism.
Even Roman Catholicism is utterly bankrupted by this passage. Who could possibly pray to Mary or any saint when they can pray to such a Christ? Even worse—what mere human’s works could we ever add to the works of Christ to improve them? Such rubbish thoughts are from the pit of Hell.
Finally, dear Christian, do you see how loved you are? The Father who loves and honors His Son the way that this passage describes has chosen You in the Beloved (cf. Eph 1:3)! The Son, whose special display of His own divinity is to choose to whom to give life, has chosen to give You whatever spiritual life You have! How infinitely great is Christ’s love for you! How infinitely great is Christ’s worthiness for you! Rest in Him as all of your righteousness and salvation, and you will surely be saved!
How are you developing the mental habit of dwelling upon and remembering Christ’s love and worthiness?Suggested songs: ARP24 “The Earth and the Riches” or TPH270 “At the Name of Jesus”
No comments:
Post a Comment