God looks on the heart.”1Co_10:1-12 \ Make thy face to shine upon thy servant!

“God looketh on the heart.”1Co_10:1-12

1Co_10:1
Ignorance about Old Testament history is very undesirable, for thereby much of spiritual instruction is lost. The Israelites were intended to be practical lessons to us. They had all the outward ordinances and privileges of religion, and yet they perished, and we ought to take heed lest we do the same. Were we baptized with an outward baptism at the outset of our religious history? So were they, with the cloud above them and the sea on either side, buried in baptism with their leader.
1Co_10:3-4
Thus they had the analogy of the Lord’s Supper; they ate manna, and drank from the riven rock; the bread and wine of the Communion are similar types of him whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed.
1Co_10:5
They died, notwithstanding their participation in divine ordinances, and so shall we, unless by faith we avoid their faults.
1Co_10:12
Our baptism, participation in the Lord’s Supper, and other privileges, may make us think ourselves secure, but we must take heed, for far more is needed.
In the Psalms we find the same lesson set to music.
Psalms 95
Psa_95:1-11
They were outwardly his people, and had every means used upon them to make them worthy of their calling, but as they never became a spiritual people, their privileges were of no avail, and they died in the wilderness. Let us beware of resting in anything short of saving faith, and a real change of heart. “Ye must be born again.”

Come, sound his praise abroad,
And hymns of glory sing;
Jehovah is the sovereign God,
The universal King.

Come, worship at his throne,
Come, bow before the Lord:
We are his works, and not our own;
He form’d us by his word.

Today attend his voice,
Nor dare provoke his rod;
Come, like the people of his choice,
And own your gracious God.
Exodus_34:28-35

“Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.”
Exodus_34:1-5; In our present reading we shall see how the Lord reopened his communications with Israel, though their sin had abruptly broken up all the treaty engagements almost before they were ratified.
Exodus_34:1
Here let us learn that although man has broken the law of God, yet the Lord in infinite mercy to his people visits them again, causes their hearts to be hewn and prepared by his prophets and ministers, and then writes the law upon those fleshy tablets. The law in the heart is better than the law on stone.
Exodus_34:2
Moses must go up a second time and sojourn with the. Lord, and the people must thus be tried to see if they can wait upon God in their leader’s absence.
Exodus_34:3
Distance was always the rule of the law. Moses went up to God alone, but Jesus takes all his people with him.
Exodus_34:4
Note, that Moses, like other good men, was up betimes in the morning. Matthew Henry says, “the morning is as good a friend to the graces as it is to the muses.” God loves punctual servants.
Exodus_34:5
He declared the nature and the attributes of Jehovah.
Exodus_34:28
In being miraculously supported for forty days without food, Moses, as the law, is followed by Elijah, the chief of the prophets, and our Lord Jesus, in whom the gospel is revealed.
Exodus_34:29
After such long communion Moses came down enriched with the best treasure, and adorned with the best beauty. What he had seen was unconsciously reflected from him, as it always is from those who have had fellowship with God.
Exodus_34:30
Everybody could see the brightness of Moses face except himself; and the same may be said of the man who communes with God.
Exodus_34:33
In this he was unlike most men, for they are usually far too ready to show their brightness to everybody, coveting admiration. Modesty dwells with true excellence.
Exodus_34:34
Before God we must be all unveiled. All things are open before him.
Exodus_34:34
God’s ministers may learn here their only theme.

Lord, from thy burning throne on high,
Thy law comes forth in majesty;
Its glory shines with beams so bright,
No mortal can sustain the sight.

But through thy Son, the’ incarnate God,
Thy milder radiance shines abroad;
His flesh becomes the Godhead’s veil,
And beams of grace and love prevail.

He Spoke with Great Fervour in spirit!

He Spoke with Great Fervour in spirit! Yet..

John Francis

Back to the Bible daily by disciple John

Acts 18:25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

This reading from the Acts of the Apostles, told by Luke, tells of a man called Apollos, who was very intelligent and well educated, described in earlier verses as an eloquent man, and we read here he knew the way of the Lord. We read he was fervent in Spirit. Yet it says “knowing only the baptism of John".

What does that mean? Aquila and his wife Priscilla knew there was something missing. The answer is in the gospels in what was said by John the Baptist. Matthew 3:11 He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: So we learn from this, that Apollos had received the baptism of repentance from sins, and although he knew and taught about Lord Jesus he had not received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

As mentioned by John the Baptist this further baptism comes from Lord Jesus, and even today, there are many who are eloquent talking about Lord Jesus from many pulpits around this land, who do not know of this second baptism, and some even deny that there is a second baptism. It is wonderful that even today God has his Aquila and Priscilla equivalents, who are able to explain the way of God more accurately.

Prayer: Thank you our Heavenly Father for the truth of scripture and we pray that through the Holy Spirit we will always be aware of your total truth, and nothing will be hidden from us, that we may be more able to serve you, that your will be done, your kingdom come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Bill Johnson God Has Given Us an Assignment

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

Matthew 7:7-12


 Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking MATT 7:7-12  

If we think that we can live out the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount by our own strength, we have failed to Realize the supernatural character of the life to the which the Savior calls us. The wisdom or power for such a life must be given to us from above. So here we have an invitation to ask and keep on asking; to seek and keep on seeking; to knock and keep on knocking. Wisdom and power for the Christian life will be given to all who earnestly and persistently pray for it.
Taken out of context, verses 7 and 8 might seem like a blank check for the believers, ie, we can get anything we ask for. But this is simply not true. The verses must be understood in their immediate context and in light of the whole Bible's teaching on prayer. Therefore, what seems like an unqualified promises here are actually restricted by other passages. For example, from Psa_66: 18 we learn that the person praying must have no un-confessed sin in his life. The Christian must pray in faith ( Jam_1 :6-8 ) and in conformity with the will of God ( 1Jo_5: 14 ). Prayer must be persistently Offered ( Luk_18 :1-8 ) and sincerely ( Heb_10: 22 a ).
7:9, 10   When the conditions are met for prayer, the Christian can have utter confidence that God will hear and answer. This assurance is based on the character of God, our Father. On the human level, we know that if a son Asks for bread, his father will not give him a stone. Neither would he give him a serpent if he had asked for a fish. An Earthly father would deceive his hungry Neither son nor give him anything that might inflict pain.
7:11   The Lord argues from the lesser to the greater. If human parents reward their children's requests with what is best for them, how much more will our Father who is in heaven do so.
7:12   The immediate connection of verse 12 with the preceding seems to be this: since our Father is a giver of good things to us, we should imitate Him in showing kindness to others. The way to test Whether an action is beneficial to others is Whether we would want to receive it ourselves. The "Golden Rule" had been Expressed in negative terms at least one hundred years before this time by Rabbi Hillel. However, by stating the rule in positive terminology, Jesus goes beyond passive restraint to active benevolence. Christianity is not simply a matter of abstinence from sin; goodness it is positive.
This saying by Jesus is the Law and the Prophets, that is, it summarizes the moral teachings of the Law of Moses and the Writings of the Prophets of Israel. The righteousness DEMANDED by the OT is fulfilled in converted Thus believers who walk According to the Spirit (Rom_8: 4 ). If this verse were universally obeyed, it would transform all areas of international relationships, national politics, family life, and church life.

REVIVAL WITHIN YOU!

IF CHRIST IS IN YOU THEN HE NOT THE PERFECT ONE YOU CAN LIVE IN
IF YOU WANT HIM TO. HE WILL NOT FORCE YOU UPON himself. HE IS YOUR CREATOR
BECAUSE HE WAS IN THE BEGINNING. HE IS THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA.
JUST ASK HIM TO COME INTO YOUR LIFE BUT FIRST OF YOUR SINS Repent AGAINST HIM. BECAUSE HE CAN NOT LOOK AT YOU UNTIL YOU HAVE JESUS ​​IN YOU!
HE IS OUR Righteousness! (NOT I BUT YOU!)
HE IS OUR PERFECT Holiness!
I HAVE THE Fullness OF HIS LIFE IN ME!
HE IS MY LOVE!
HE IS MY HEALING AND MY HEALER WITHIN ME!
HE IS YOUR POWER! (My power is made perfect in your weakness!)
HE IS YOUR STRENGTH!
INSIDE THE ONE YOU CAN NEVER BE Defeated, HE IS THE OVER COMER!
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WITHIN YOU!
THE KINGDOM IS WITHIN YOU!
YOU HAVE THE Fullness OF HIS GRACE!
YOU HAVE THE Fullness OF HIS MERCY!
WE ARE CO Heirs WITH CHRIST!
HE ALREADY HAS BLESSED YOU WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN HEAVENLY PLACES!
THEREFORE YOU LACK IN NO SPIRITUAL GIFT!
IF YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE CHRIST!
YOU ARE MY LIFE!
GIVE HIM NOW AND THEN YOUR Repentance YOUR PRAISE!

AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO CONSIDER READING JAMES

James

Outline of the Epistle of James 


The Measure of a Christian
Salutation, Jam_1:1
 1. Tested Character, Jam_1:2-18
 2. Hearing and Doing, Jam_1:19-27
 3. The Hypocrisy of Class Distinctions, Jam_2:1-13
 4. The Evidence of True Faith, Jam_2:14-26
 5. The Unruly Tongue, Jam_3:1-18
 6. The Grace of Humility, Jam_4:1-17
 7. The Curse of Ill-Gotten Wealth, Jam_5:1-6
 8. The Need of Patience and Prayer, Jam_5:7-20 

Introduction
The author of this Epistle was probably the Lord’s brother, mentioned with Joses, Simon and Judah, and often in the Acts of the Apostles. See Mar_6:3; Act_12:17; Act_15:13; Act_21:18. He was bishop, or president, of the church at Jerusalem, and this letter was probably written from that city. The emphasis laid on the nearness of our Lord’s advent points to a date near a.d. 70. The Epistle may have been written in Hebrew, and was addressed to the Hebrew section of the Church. It lays great emphasis on the sublime ideal of character which Christianity had raised, and to maintain which demanded the constant diligence of all professing Christians. 

The following material was presented at the end of James in the printed edition}

Review Questions on the Epistle of James 

Outline
(a) What is the theme of the Epistle?
(b) How is it developed?

Introduction
(c) What information does the New Testament afford with regard to the author of this Epistle?
(d) When was the Epistle written?
(e) To whom was it addressed?

James 1-5
Each question applies to the paragraph of corresponding number in the Comments.
 1. How may our need of wisdom be supplied?
2. What is the source of temptation?
3. How does pure religion find expression?
4. What is the royal law?
5. What is the relation between faith and works?
6. Why is there special need of controlling the tongue?
7. What is the character of heavenly wisdom?
8. Why are our prayers often unanswered?
9. To what extent are our lives under providential control?
10. Why are dishonest gains a curse? What is the reward of patience?
11. What is recommended for the joyful? For the sick? What did Elijah accomplish through prayer? What great opportunity for service is open to the Christian? 

Draw Nigh to God!!

James 4:1-10

“Draw Nigh to God” 



The Apostle returns to “the jealousy and faction” of the previous chapter, James_3:14, and says that these evils are traceable to lust, that is, to inordinate desire. The restless inward war is the prolific parent of failure in speech and act. If we would pray more and better, we should soon find the inner fires dying down.
In James_4:5, r.v., margin, we learn that God has placed His Spirit within us, and that He yearns for complete control over our hearts. He can best overcome inordinate desire and teach us how to pray. God wants more of us. 

His love is insatiable in its yearning for every room and cupboard of our inner life, and He is ever wishful to give more grace.
There are four conditions which we must fulfill, if God is to have full possession:
1. We must be subject to the will of God, James_4:7; 
2. We must draw nigh to God, James_4:8; 
3. We must cleanse our hands and purify our hearts, Jam_4:8; 
4. We must humble ourselves in His sight, James_4:10.
Then God will fill the soul, the sluice gates of which are open to Him.

What the Father does, the Son does.

Joh 5:1  Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. 
Joh 5:2  Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. 
Joh 5:3  Hundreds of sick people--blind, crippled, paralyzed--were in these alcoves. 
Joh 5:5  One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. 
Joh 5:6  When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?" 
Joh 5:7  The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in." 
Joh 5:8  Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." 
Joh 5:9  The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. That day happened to be the Sabbath. 
Joh 5:10  The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules." 
Joh 5:11  But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, 'Take your bedroll and start walking.'" 
Joh 5:12  They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" 
Joh 5:13  But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd. 
Joh 5:14  A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen." 
Joh 5:15  The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 
Joh 5:16  That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus--because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. 

Joh 5:20  The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing. "But you haven't seen the half of it yet, MSG

Joh 5:17  But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I." 
Joh 5:18  That really set them off. The Jews were now not only out to expose him; they were out to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, putting himself on a level with God. 
Joh 5:19  So Jesus explained himself at length. "I'm telling you this straight. The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does. 
Joh 5:20  The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing. "But you haven't seen the half of it yet, 
Joh 5:21  for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son. The Son gives life to anyone he chooses. 
Joh 5:22  Neither he nor the Father shuts anyone out. The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son 
Joh 5:23  so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonors the Son, dishonors the Father, for it was the Father's decision to put the Son in the place of honor. 
Joh 5:24  "It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. 
Joh 5:25  "It's urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived--I mean right now!--when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. 
Joh 5:26  Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. 
Joh 5:27  And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment. 
Joh 5:28  "Don't act so surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried will hear his voice. 
Joh 5:29  Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way, into a resurrection Judgment. 
Joh 5:30  "I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. 
Joh 5:31  If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. 
Joh 5:32  But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. 
Joh 5:33  Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he? 
Joh 5:34  "But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved. 
Joh 5:35  John was a torch, blazing and bright, and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. 
Joh 5:36  But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. 
Joh 5:37  The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. 
Joh 5:38  There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously. 
Joh 5:39  "You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! 
Joh 5:40  And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want. 
Joh 5:41  "I'm not interested in crowd approval. 
Joh 5:42  And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God's love, is not on your working agenda. 
Joh 5:43  I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. 
Joh 5:44  How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God? 
Joh 5:45  "But don't think I'm going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. 
Joh 5:46  If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. 

Joh 5:47  If you won't take seriously what he wrote, how can I expect you to take seriously what I speak?" 




John 5:1-47

chapter 5 contrasts the quickening power of Christ, the power and the right of giving life to the dead, with the powerlessness of legal ordinances. They required strength in the person that was to profit by them. Christ brought with Him the power that was to heal, and indeed to quicken. Further, all judgment is committed to Him, so that those who had received life would not come into judgment. The end of the chapter sets forth the testimonies that have been borne to Him, and the guilt therefore of those who would not come to Him to have life. One is sovereign grace, the other responsibility because life was there. To have life His divine power was needed; but in rejecting Him, in refusing to come unto Him that they might have life, they did so in spite of the most positive proofs.
Let us go a little into the details. The poor man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years was absolutely hindered, by the nature of his disease, from profiting by means that required strength to use them. This is the character of sin, on the one hand, and of law on the other. Some remains of blessing still existed among the Jews. Angels, ministers of that dispensation, still wrought among the people. Jehovah did not leave Himself without testimony. But strength was needed to profit by this instance of their ministry. That which the law could not do, being weak through the flesh, God has done through Jesus. The impotent man had desire, but not strength; to will was present with him, but no power to perform. The Lord's question brings this out. A single word from Christ does everything. "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." Strength is imparted. The man rises, and goes away carrying his bed. [24] It was the Sabbath — an important circumstance here, holding a prominent place in this interesting scene. The Sabbath was given as a token of the covenant between the Jews and theLord. [25]
But it had been proved that the law did not give God's rest to man. The power of a new life was needed; grace was needed, that man might be in relationship with God. The healing of this poor man was an operation of this same grace, of this same power, but wrought in the midst of Israel. The pool of Bethesda supposed power in man; the act of Jesus employed power, in grace, on behalf of one of the Lord's people in distress. Therefore, as dealing with His people in government, He says to the man, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." It was Jehovah acting by His grace and blessing among His people; but it was in temporal things, the tokens of His favour and lovingkindness, and in connection with His government in Israel. Still it was divine power and grace. Now, the man told the Jews that it was Jesus. They rise up against Him under the pretence of a violation of the Sabbath. The Lord's answer is deeply affecting, and full of instruction — a whole revelation. It declares the relationship, now openly revealed by His coming, that existed between Himself (the Son) and His Father. It shews — and what depths of grace! — that neither the Father nor Himself could find their Sabbath [26] in the midst of misery and of the sad fruits of sin. Jehovah in Israel might impose the Sabbath as an obligation by the law, and make it a token of the previous truth that His people should enter into the rest of God. But, in fact, when God was truly known, there was no rest in existing things; nor was this all — He wrought in grace, His love could not rest in misery. He had instituted a rest in connection with the creation, when it was very good. Sin, corruption, and misery had entered into it. God, the holy and the just, no longer found a Sabbath in it, and man did not really enter into God's rest (compare Hebrews 4). Of two things, one: either God must, in justice, destroy the guilty race; or — and this is what He did, according to His eternal purposes — He must begin to work in grace, according to the redemption which the state of man required — a redemption in which all His glory is unfolded. In a word, He must begin to work again in love. Thus the Lord says, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." God cannot be satisfied where there is sin. He cannot rest with misery in sight. He has no Sabbath, but still works in grace. How divine an answer to their wretched cavils!
Another truth came out from that which the Lord said: He put Himself on an equality with His Father. But the Jews, jealous for their ceremonies — for that which distinguished them from other nations — saw nothing of the glory of Christ, and seek to kill Him, treating Him as a blasphemer. This gives Jesus occasion to lay open the whole truth on this point. He was not like an independent being with equal rights, another God who acted on His own account, which, moreover, is impossible. There cannot be two supreme and omnipotent beings. The Son is in full union with the Father, does nothing without the Father, but does whatsoever He sees the Father do. There is nothing that the Father does which He does not in communion with the Son; and greater proofs of this should yet be seen, that they might marvel. This last sentence of the Lord's words, as well as the whole of this Gospel, shews that, while revealing absolutely that He and the Father are one, He reveals it, and speaks of it as in a position in which He could be seen of men. The thing of which He speaks is in God; the position in which He speaks of it is a position taken, and, in a certainsense, inferior. We see everywhere that He is equal to, and one with, the Father. We see that He receives all from the Father, and does all after the Father's mind. (This is shewn very remarkably in chapter 17). It is the Son, but the Son manifested in the flesh, acting in the mission which the Father sent Him to fulfil.
Two things are spoken of in this chapter (Joh_5:21-22) which demonstrate the glory of the Son. He quickens and He judges. It is not healing that is in question — a work which, at bottom, springs from the same source, and has its occasion in the same evil: but the giving of life in a manner evidently divine. As the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so the Son quickens wham He will. Here we have the first proof of His divine rights, He gives life, and He gives it to whom He will. But, being incarnate, He may be personally dishonoured, disallowed, despised of men. Consequently all judgment is committed unto Him, the Father judging no man, in order that all, even those who have rejected the Son, should honour Him, even as they honour the Father whom they own as God. If they refuse when He acts in grace, they shall be compelled when He acts in judgment. In life, we have communion by the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son (and quickening or giving life is the work alike of the Father and the Son); but in the judgment, unbelievers will have to do with the Son of man whom they have rejected. The two things are quite distinct. He whom Christ has quickened will not need to be compelled to honour Him by undergoing judgment. Jesus will not call into judgment one whom He has saved by quickening him.
How may we know, then, to which of these two classes we belong? The Lord (praised be His name!) replies, he that hears His word, and believes Him who sent Him (believes the Father by hearing Christ), has everlasting life (such is the quickening power of His word), and shall not come into judgment. He is passed from death into life. Simple and wonderful testimony! [27] The judgment will glorify the Lord in the case of those who have despised Him here. The possession of eternal life, that they may not come into judgment, is the portion of those who believe.
The Lord then points out two distinct periods, in which the power that the Father committed to Him as having come down to the earth, is to be exercised. The hour was coming — was already come — in which the dead should hear the voice of the Son of God, and those that heard should live. This is the communication of spiritual life by Jesus, the Son of God, to man, who is dead by sin, and that by means of the word which he should hear. For the Father has given to the Son, to Jesus, thus manifested on earth, to have life in Himself (compare 1Jo_1:1-2). He has also given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man. For the kingdom and the judgment, according to the counsels of God, belong to Him as Son of man — in that character in which He was despised and rejected when He came in grace.
This passage also shews us that, although He was the eternal Son, one with the Father, He is always looked upon as manifested here in the flesh, and, therefore, as receiving all from the Father. It is thus that we have seen Him at the well of Samaria — the God who gave, but the One who asked the poor woman to give Him to drink.
Jesus, then, quickened souls at that time. He still quickens. They were not to marvel. A work, more wonderful in the eyes of men, should be accomplished. All those that were in the grave should come forth. This is the second period of which He speaks. In the one He quickens souls; in the other, He raises up bodies from death. The one has lasted during the ministry of Jesus and 1800 years since His death; the other is not yet come, but during its continuance two things will take place. There will be a resurrection of those who have done good (this will be a resurrection of life, the Lord will complete His quickening work), and there will be a resurrection of those who have done evil (this will be a resurrection for their judgment). This judgment will be according to the mind of God, and not according to any separate personal will of Christ. Thus far it is sovereign power, and as regards life sovereign grace — He quickens whom He will. What follows is man's responsibility as regards the obtaining eternal life. It was there in Jesus, and they would not come to Him to have it.
The Lord goes on to point out to them four testimonies rendered to His glory and to His Person, which left them without excuse: — John, His own works, His Father, and the scriptures. Nevertheless, while pretending to receive the latter, as finding in them eternal life, they would not come to Him that they might have life. Poor Jews! The Son came in the name of the Father, and they would not receive Him; another shall come in his own name, and him they will receive. This better suits the heart of man. They sought honour from one another: how could they believe? Let us remember this. God does not accommodate Himself to the pride of man — does not arrange the truth so as to feed it. Jesus knew the Jews. Not that He would accuse them to the Father: Moses, in whom they trusted, would do that; for if they had believed Moses, they would have believed Christ. But if they did not credit the writings of Moses, how would they believe the words of a despised Saviour?
In result, the Son of God gives life, and He executes judgment. In the judgment that He executes, the testimony which had been rendered to His Person leaves man without excuse on the ground of his own responsibility. In chapter 5 Jesus is the Son of God who, with the Father, gives life, and as Son of man judges. In chapter 6 He is the object of faith, as come down from heaven and dying. He just alludes to His going on high as Son of man.
Note #24
Christ brings the strength with Him which the law requires in man himself to profit by it.
Note #24
The Sabbath is introduced, whatever new institution or arrangement is established under the law. And in truth, a part in the rest of God is, in certain aspects, the highest of our privileges (see Hebrews 4). The Sabbath was the close of the first or this creation, and will be so when fulfilled. Our rest is in the new one, and that not in the first man's creation state but risen, Christ the second Man being its beginning and head. Hence the first day of the week.
Note #26
God's Sabbath is a Sabbath of love and holiness.
Note #27
Remark how full the bearing of this is. If they do not come into judgment to settle their state, as man would put it, they are shewn to be wholly dead in sin. Grace in Christ does not contemplate an uncertain state which judgment will determine. It gives life and secures from judgment. But while He judges as Son of man according to the deeds done in the body, He shews us here that all were dead in sin to begin with.