Authority to Grant Eternal Life
Scripture: John 5:25-27
In verse 19, we encountered the first “Truly, truly” of the section: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.” Then in verse 24 we came to the second: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.” In verse 25 we come to the third and last: Jn 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
In verse 19 is the theme of the Father and the Son working together to overcome the damage caused when sin entered the universe. A key piece of that restoration, found in verse 24, is the provision of eternal life that is found in Jesus. In verse 25, in which we start this lesson, is when those who have life will be raised from the dead in the last hour.
Notice the two-time references in verse 25: “the hour is coming” and “is now here.” The hour that is coming would refer to time when our bodies are raised from the grave to join those still living believers. The hour that “is now here” would then refer to the present reality and experience of eternal life. Anyone who has been born spiritually can testify of this presence of eternal life by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The dead that hear the voice of the Son of God are those who are spiritually dead and hear the gospel and respond to it and receive eternal life.
Who can give life? Jn 5:26 “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” This verse explains how Jesus can speak to dead people and grant them life. Having “life in himself” means that life was not given by someone else but has existed from eternity past. The Father has always had life and so he can impart it to others. The Son, having life in himself, also can impart it to others. The Father granting the Son to have life in himself does not mean the Father gave him this life, but that he granted permission for the Son to impart life to others as part of the restoration process.
Who can the Son grant eternal life to? Jn 5:27 “And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.” The Father has given the Son the authority to execute judgment; to carry out the final judgment of every human being. This verse refers to the Son of Man, not to the Son of God. This reference to the “Son of Man” is found in Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV): “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Jesus is both the “Son of God” and the “Son of Man”. As the Son of God Jesus is fully God and as the Son of Man he is fully human. Jesus is the Son clothed in human flesh. Jesus is unique among all humans and has the sole authority to give one eternal life and to raise that one from the dead.
Conclusion
It is clear from these verses that Jesus is a unique human. He is truly God as the Son of God and he is truly human as the Son of Man. Father, you have granted him, and only him, to have the authority to give eternal life. Jesus is the only way to the Father, the only source of truth, and the only source of eternal life. Others may claim to have that ability, but their claim is false, and they cannot deliver.
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