John 5:19-24 - Father and Son Together

John 5:19-24

Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing, and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father, He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 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. 

Message: Father and Son Together

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."

What the Lord is Saying: [Note: Well, I've done it again and that is it has taken me a while to get to the next lesson, not yet getting to a message now for the month of September. I was asked to give the message in Sunday School and it had me focused every day for the last 7 days on that message and preparing for it. I did it on Psalm 23. Before that, had computer issues in the house and couldn't log on to the internet and had work troubles in the morning with us not meeting lineup and trying to understand that. Always something. So now I am back to the lessons.]

In my Open Bible (NAS), this section (v.19-30) is called "Equality with God in Power." This has been an interesting chapter for me. Reading Chapters 3 and 4, the main idea I saw was the promise of eternal life that we have for believing in Him, Jesus Christ. And then in chapter 5, after Jesus heals a man with paralysis, the Jews are watching Jesus and commenting on what he is doing and what they are not liking.  It is interesting because as I study this passage it doesn't seem like we even really know the salvation of the man who Jesus has healed. Granted Jesus does try to get the man to focus on his sinful life, even stating that sin causes destruction upon man (v. 14). 

I sort of think at first, how did we get here that Jesus would need to share these words. In verse 16, after Jesus has been doing these things, this healing of the man on the Sabbath, but also that the man was walking around with his pallet on the Sabbath - the Jews of the day don't like it and begin to persecute Jesus or come against Him. Jesus defends himself with the fact that Father God and himself are working in the same way at the same times. 

And then Jesus continues to expand on this. 

Jesus does what the Father does. Jesus sees the Father work and He does the same. 

The Father loves His Son.

The Father raises the dead and gives life. The Son does the same. 

All judgment is given to the Son. 

The same honor given to the Father is given to the Son. 

Eternal life is given to those that believe Jesus has been sent by God. 

This passage appears to be a great basis for the view of Trinitarianism and inseparable operations. The premise of this doctrine of inseparable operations is that the Father and Jesus and the Spirit are not working separately from one another but are working together. Jesus is not another agent or another active agent, instead the work of the three persons of the trinity are works together. They flow from the Father, through the Son, and then in the power of the Holy Spirit. If they were separate, then scripture would take on an entirely different meaning. 

I think what is often difficult about the Trinity for us is how we see ourselves - separate human bodies, each person taking on a role. We want to see three different forms doing three different things. But this is not the Trinity. The sacrificial love shown by the Son is the love of the Father, and the same love the Spirit pours into our hearts. 

A father and mother may love their child, but those loves are distinct. They may appear to be the same but they are not the same love because they are coming from two different persons. But the persons of the Trinity are the same and so the love is the same love. I think of water is maybe a parallel idea. Water is a substance we know, but this water can be born in 3 different forms - liquid, ice, and steam. The water is the same, but it manifests itself differently. The only difference in this analogy is these three can't work in tandem. So there is still a difference between that and the Trinity. God the Father loves us, the son carries out that love through sacrificing Himself on the Cross, and the truth of that love is communicated to us by the Spirit. 

And so this passage speaks clearly of the Father and the Son and what they do is of the same substance - activity, judgment, miracles, honor - and yet separate, but together, and of the same kind. Another way of saying this is every work of God is from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Salvation comes to us from the Father through the mediation of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Augustine of Hippo says in a sermon on this passage that the Father does "every work whatsoever by the Son; so that not any works are done by the Father without the Son, or by the Son without the Father." 

Summary: Every work of God is from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. 

Promise: We can never achieve the same kind of unity with our Creator that Jesus has, but we can ask God to give us a heart that wants to do only what He calls us in His Word to do. 

Prayer: O Lord, I come before you and speak to you my Heavenly Father and yet acknowledge that the work of Jesus and the Spirit is the same and thank you for your equality and the same work that is being done in creation and even in my life. You are Holy and True. Thank you for staying faithful. And being faithful to me always. Give me strength this day to glorify You always in all ways, in everything I do. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.