In 5:17 the Lord Jesus declared that the Father was working and that He also was working. In verse 19 He went on to say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing from Himself except what He sees the Father doing, for whatever that One does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” Here we see that the Son was working with the Father. Although God’s work in creation was finished (Gen. 2:1-3), the Father and the Son were still working for redemption and building. The religious Jews kept the Sabbath. However, they did not know that because of man’s fall the rest of that Sabbath was broken. Neither did they know that the Father and the Son were still working for fallen man’s redemption in order to fulfill God’s original purpose, which is the building of God’s eternal habitation. What God did was the old creation. What the Father and the Son are doing is the new creation through redemption for God’s building. This work includes the Son’s life-giving, which was manifested in the case of the impotent man. In this matter the Father and the Son are one. Whatever the Father wants to do in the matter of life-giving, the Son does it accordingly, working with the Father.
The Son gives life to God’s chosen ones. In John 5:21 the Lord Jesus said, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wills.” According to this verse the Son gives life to the dead. In verse 24 we see that whoever hears the word of the Son and believes in Him who sent Him has eternal life and has passed out of death into life. In verse 25 the Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, An hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” The “dead” here are not those who are buried in their graves but the living dead ones; they are not those who are dead physically but those who, in accordance with Ephesians 2:1, 5 and Colossians 2:13, are dead in their spirit. In the eyes of the Lord, all the people living on earth are dead in their spirit. The words an hour is coming, and it is now refer to the very time the Lord Jesus spoke these words. Many at that time heard His living words and consequently were made alive in their spirit. Will live, therefore, means to be made alive in the spirit.
For nearly twenty centuries, from the time that the Lord Jesus spoke these words until the present, thousands and thousands of people have heard the living voice of the Son of God and have been enlivened with life. We also have heard the living word of the Lord and have been made alive. Like those in John 5:2 and 3, we were the impotent ones, for we were blind, lame, and withered. In short, we were dead. Then the Lord Jesus came to visit us, and we heard the living word of the gospel that enlivened us and made us alive. We have truly passed out of death and have entered into life. Since the source of death is the tree of knowledge and the source of life is the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, 17), for us to have passed out of death into life means that we have changed the source of our living.
For our spirit to be made alive actually signifies the resurrection in our spirit. This is also regeneration in our spirit. The regeneration in our spirit is a resurrection caused by the Lord Jesus with the divine life, which is Himself.
In John 5:26 the Lord Jesus said, “For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son to also have life in Himself.” This reveals that in the matter of life the Son is the same as the Father. Both the Father and the Son have life in themselves. Thus, the Son can and does enliven people with life as the Father desires. In life’s enlivening the Son truly is one with the Father.
Concerning His receiving the authority of judgment from the Father, the Lord Jesus said, “For neither does the Father judge anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son” (v. 22). In verse 27 He continued, “He gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man.” As the Son of God the Lord can give life, and as the Son of Man He can execute judgment. Referring to Jesus, Acts 17:31 says that God will judge the world by that man whom He has designated. Romans 2:16 tells us that God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus, and 2 Timothy 4:1 says that Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead. The Son will judge justly according to the Father’s will (John 5:30). He is one with the Father in the matter of life’s enlivening, and He is also one with Him in the matter of judgment.
The Son is to be honored even as the Father is honored. All judgment has been given 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” (v. 23b).
Christ is the One testified by the Scriptures (vv. 39-40, 46-47). We may come to Him to receive life by believing the Scriptures.
Verses 39 and 40 say, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” The Jewish religionists searched the Scriptures, but they were not willing to come to the Lord Jesus. Searching the Scriptures and coming to the Lord Jesus should be kept together. Since the Scriptures testify concerning the Lord Jesus, they should not be separated from Him.
We may contact the Scriptures and yet not contact the Lord. Only the Lord can give life. We should never separate the Scriptures from the Lord Himself. Whenever we search the Word, we must come to the Lord Himself. This means that we should make searching the Word and touching the Lord one thing. Whenever we study the Bible, we need to open our spirit to the Lord. While we are reading the words of the Scriptures with our eyes and understanding them with our mind, we must exercise our spirit to contact the Lord through the Scriptures. Then we will have not only the understanding of the letters in our mind but also the life in our spirit.