John 5:22-27

John 5:22-27 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

No one approaches the Father except through the Son. When Peter and John were arrested and taken before the high priest and other Jewish leaders, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12) His bold statement encapsulates the truth: Christ is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Light that leads directly to the Father. God granted Christ the power and the authority to judge the living and the dead; yet He came to save us, not to condemn us. He came to reveal God's love, not God's judgment. He came as a servant, a sacrificial lamb. He came to provide eternal life to all who would believe in his works and his resurrection from the dead.

Later in John, we see Jesus preparing his disciples for his departure, then speaking directly to the Father with a restatement of his commission and commitment: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. (John 17:1-4) Christ willingly embraced the cross, knowing full well that his sacrifice would allow us to receive the gift of eternal life. CHRIST IS ETERNAL LIFE: his victory over sin and death bridged the gulf between God and mankind; his work in us, brings us into right relationship with God, into the fulness of his mercy and grace. We no longer merely exist in the flesh. We walk by faith in Christ, through the Spirit, living not by [earthly] bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4 KJV) Consequently, we no longer live unto ourselves, following our selfish desires and inclinations; instead, we live unto God who loves us with an everlasting love and gave us the Spirit through the Son that we might walk in grace and abide in his kingdom forever.

As joint-heirs with Christ, we choose to serve and to obey as He did. We go forward in faith and trust as love-servants, seeking to do the Father's perfect will. Known as the children of God with Christ's name and characteristics embedded in us through the Spirit, we put aside the sins that plague and distract us. Jesus pleases the Father: IN CHRIST, God finds pleasure in loving us, sees us perfect in his Beloved Son. We no longer face destruction, guilt, and shame as our earthly inheritance, for Christ's marvelous work provides an inheritance of life, hope, joy, and peace that never fades away or faces corruption. We will walk through the valley of the shadow of death into the presence of God because Jesus made the Way, became the Way. He makes crooked places straight and rough places smooth, now and for eternity. Death has no victory, the grave has no sting; life cannot defeat the army of God, clothed in Christ's righteousness and clad with the full armor of God. With the Holy Spirit within us as the earnest of our inheritance, God gives us the power and the right to hear his voice, to obey his will. WE LIVE BECAUSE HE LIVES IN US: WE GIVE BECAUSE HE GAVE! This is the GOOD NEWS! Rejoice, sing praises, dance in victory: Christ is risen in us; He is risen indeed!