John
5:25-29 “The Resurrection of the Dead”
Three kinds of death are mentioned in the Scriptures: Natural, Spiritual,
and Eternal.
The first consists in the separation
of the body and soul. (James 2:26) For as the body without the
spirit is (physically)
dead, so faith without works is dead also.
(John
11:14) Then said Jesus unto them
plainly, Lazarus is (physically) dead.
(Romans
8:10) And if Christ [be] in you, the
body [is] (physically) dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of
righteousness.
The second is the separation of God
and the soul. (Romans 5:12)
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
and (spiritual) death by sin; and so (spiritual) death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned:
Mat
(Ephesians
2:1) And you [hath he quickened], who
were (spiritually) dead in trespasses and sins;
(Ephesians
2:5) Even when we were (spiritually) dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved;)
(1 Timothy 5:6) But she that liveth in pleasure is (spiritually) dead while she liveth.
(2
Corinthians 5:14) For the love of Christ
constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one
died for all, then were all (spiritually) dead:
(Colossians 2:13) And you, being (spiritually) dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all
trespasses;
The third is the separation of body
and soul from God in the hereafter. (Revelation
20:12) And I saw the (spiritually) dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was
opened, which is [the book] of life: and the (spiritually) dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
(Revelation
20:13) And the sea gave up the (spiritually
and physically) dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the (spiritually and physically) dead which
were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
(Revelation
20:14) And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second (eternal) death.
(Revelation
20:15) And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
(John
8:51) Verily, verily, I say unto you, If
a man keep my saying, he shall never see (the second
or eternal) death.
As it is with death so it is with
life. There are three kinds of life:
Natural life, which consists in the union of the soul and body; Spiritual life,
which consists in the union of God and the soul, by grace through faith;
Eternal life, which consists in the communion of the body and soul with God throughout
the eternal ages.
With these three kinds of death in
mind we now focus on the resurrection of the dead which only God can
accomplish. Men do not have the power to
raise the dead. They do not have the
power to make or create life. Only God
has this power.
(John
5:25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Jesus begins with the affirmation
that what He is about to say is absolutely true. Everything Jesus says is absolutely
true. When Jesus uses the phrase
“verily, verily” He intends for us to pay exceptionally close attention to His
words.
The phrase “hour is coming and now
is” indicates that Jesus was about to show His power over death by raising the
dead. This has two applications. Jesus would raise the physically dead and
would bring to life those that were spiritually dead. Both require the power of God. Man can no more make himself or others
spiritually alive than he can make one who is in the grave live.
Greater works they would indeed see
for Jesus will raise the physically dead.
Making the spiritually dead live is something that can not be seen with
the human eye. Nicodemus had difficulty
understanding this and Jesus used the wind as an example. You can not see the transformation from
spiritual death to spiritual life nor can it be felt but you can see evidence
that the change has occurred in the actions of the one made alive.
(John
5:26) For as the Father hath life in
himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Jesus returns the use of the third
person here. He is still talking about
Himself. The Father has given two things
to the Son. He has given him the power
to give life. He has life in
Himself. God the Father has this power
and gives the Son the same power. Jesus
can give physical life for we have seen Him do so and He can give spiritual
life for we, the saved have experienced this for ourselves.
(John
5:27) And hath given
him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
The second thing the Father has
given to the Son is the authority to judge.
He gives this to Him because He is the Son of man. Jesus is perfectly and uniquely qualified to
judge mankind. He lived in the flesh and
was tempted in all ways like we are and yet without Sin. The only way He could have accomplished this
was to have God as His father and not a man.
Jesus was born without a sin nature.
He kept the law and will of His Father completely. He is the perfect sacrifice, intercessor, and
judge.
(John
5:28) Marvel not at this: for the hour
is coming, in the which all that are in the graves
shall hear his voice,
These Jews, like Nicodemus, were
puzzled by the words of Jesus. Jesus can
see it in their faces and He can read their thoughts. They know from the Old Testament scriptures
that God can raise the dead. Elijah and
Elisha had both demonstrated this power.
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection but the Pharisees did. Jesus would tell the Sadducees that they
erred not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. The Pharisees could not accept that it was
Jesus who had the power to raise the dead and also would one day be their
judge.
He points out to them that not only
would He demonstrate this power over death with a few that is three plus His
own resurrection but there will come a time when all the dead will hear His
voice. This means that the dead can and
will hear Jesus calling one day.
(John
5:29) And shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
When the dead hear they will come
forth. There are two resurrections. There is the first which is the resurrection
of the saved and there is a second which is the resurrection of the lost. Jesus says that the first will be the
resurrection of life. These will rise
from the grave and will live forever in a new body. The second is called the resurrection of
damnation. Those who are a part of this
resurrection will be given a new body also and their body and soul will be cast
into the lake of fire to be separated from God in torments for all eternity.
Do you know which will be your
resurrection? When you hear the voice of
God will it be when He calls the saved, those that have done good? When you hear His voice call you forth from
the grave will it be when He calls those who have done evil, those who are
lost?
John wrote (Revelation 20:6) Blessed and holy
[is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath
no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with
him a thousand years.
To be saved you must repent of your sin. This means you must know and admit to yourself and to God that you are guilty of sin and that God is just and right to condemn you to the lake of fire because of your sin. You want God to forgive you and to save you from the condemnation of Hell. You must ask God to forgive you of your sin and to have mercy on you and save your soul. Those who will do this God will save. You do not have to understand what transpires in the new birth, the regeneration of the soul, the quickening of the spirit. Assurance comes when you trust Jesus Christ to do what He has promised He will do to all those who believe in Him as their savior. I know and am sure that I am saved. I can be confident because I trust the Lord and believe in His promise.
I will die
one day but that is not the end for me nor is it for you. Christ will come again and raise me from the
dead. I will live here on the earth with
Him for 1000 years and then on a new earth for all eternity. I can take no credit for this for it was the
Father who drew me to Jesus and the Holy Spirit which convicted me of my sin
and Jesus Christ the Son of God who cleansed me from my sin in His precious
blood. Like Fanny J. Crosby well said:
“I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story saved by grace.”