John 5:24

Joh_5:24

(in conjunction with 6:47). Verily, verily

1. These words indicate a subject of special importance.

2. They were used to denote a clear and certain revelation.

3. Notice when this certainty lies solely in I say unto you. In the matter of our salvation carnal reason never arrives at certainty. Mere argument can never bring a troubled heart to a sure anchorage. The ipse dixit of a mere man is not enough. Note

I. TO WHOM THE BLESSING OF OUR TEXT COMES, These favoured persons are

1. Hearers who are also believers. It is not communicated by drops of water; we are to act towards saving truth as towards other information. First, we hear of Jesus, His person, work, office, and blessings; then we accept Jesus as the appointed Saviour for ourselves.

2. Believers who remain hearers, My sheep hear My voice.

3. Believers in the Lord Jesus (Joh_6:47). They have personal faith in apersonal Saviour.

4. Believers in Jesus because of the witness of the Father. We are sure He can save because He is divinely commissioned, divinely furnished, and the pleasure of the Lord must prosper in His hands.

5. Every such believer, whatever else he has or has not, he has everlasting life. But he is full of fault and imperfection; he makes mistakes in theology; he is afraid he has not attained to everlasting life. No exception is to be made on any of these grounds.

6. There is no statement made as to the salvation of any other sort of person. Nothing is said about the baptized, professors, etc., only about believers.

II. THE BLESSINGS WHICH BELONG TO THE BELIEVING.

1. He hath everlasting life. He was condemned and reckoned as a dead man; but he is now acquitted and his life is granted him. He was spiritually dead also, but through Christ he is quickened; and because Christ lives ever he shall live also.

2. He is in a condition of non-condemnation. In Christ he has been judged, condemned, and punished, and is therefore clear of the law and all its penalties.

3. He is passed from death unto life; In regeneration lies the essence and major portion of the resurrection.

III. THE ASSURANCE WITH WHICH THIS DOCTRINE IS STATED.

1. It is certified by the terms in which our Lord utters it.

2. It is verified by conscious experience.

3. It should consequently be confidently proclaimed. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The gospel of Christ

We are here taught

I. THE NEED OF HEARING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST; and that not with the ears of the body only, but with the heart, the will, the affections of man. He that heareth My word.

II. BELIEF IN THE EVER-BLESSED TRINITY, in the Father and the Son, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit. He that … believeth on Him that sent Me.

III. THE SINFUL ESTATE OF MANKIND, the fall through sin into spiritual death, and the consequent condemnation of the whole race of Adam, who through the sin of the first man have come into condemnation.

IV. THE NEED WHICH WE ALL HAVE OF A REDEEMER AND MEDIATOR, through whose passion, death, and resurrection we pass from death unto life.

V. THE HAPPINESS WHICH IS GIVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN AND WHO OBEY GOD IN THIS LIFE, and in obeying Him possess Him who is everlasting life.

VI. THAT ETERNAL LIFE which after the death of the body IS THE HOPE AND THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS, and which is assured to those who in resisting temptation and in overcoming sin here have passed from death unto life. (W. Denton, M. A.)

A short sermon on a great text

I. THE PREACHER.

1. The dignity of His Person.

(1) The Son of God,

(2) The ambassador of the Father.

(3) The faithful witness.

2. The solemnity of His manner. As became one who spoke with

(1) Full knowledge.

(2) Absolute authority.

(3) Tender sympathy.

(4) Personal directness.

II. THE DISCOURSE.

1. The meaning of salvation.

(1) Eternal life.

(2) No condemnation.

(3) Fulness of existence.

2. The way of salvation.

(1) Hearing Christs word.

(2) Believing Christs Father.

III. THE AUDIENCE.

1. Their persons--men.

2. Their characters--dead.

3. Their numbers--whosoever.

4. Their responsibilities--involved in their ability to hear and believe. Lesson: Take heed how ye hear. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

Everlasting life

Life is of many degrees--lowest in the sponge, then in the oyster, and higher still in the worm. Through a long and beautifully graduated series we come to man, partly material, partly spiritual; the link between earth and heaven. Life is absolutely perfect in God only; the great source of life to all created beings. This is life eternal, etc. (Joh_17:3). This life in its fulness implies

I. FREEDOM FROM SIN.

1. Its guilt.

2. Its pollution.

3. Its attendant evils.

II. THE POSSESSION OF ALL GOOD.

1. Perfect love.

2. Perfect purity.

3. Perfect youth.

4. Perfect activity.

5. Perfect blessedness. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)

Eternal life

You will observe here that everlasting life is a thing which a man is declared, on certain conditions, to have in this world, that the death which is its contradictory is said to be escaped in this world, and in the very act of passing over into life; and that the condition of escaping the one and having the other is faith in God through Jesus. Now what I wish to do, is to point out the dignity and the joy of this true life of the soul, this everlasting life of faith; and if we can know the secret of its blessedness here, we shall know what its blessedness shall be hereafter.

I. And first, TO THE JUSTIFIED SOUL THERE IS THE JOY OF LIVING ITS TRUE LIFE. In all life there is joy; much more in the souls true life. In the free exercise of its noblest faculties; in the free use of its noblest powers; in the free apprehension of Divine truth, the free choosing of the right, the unselfish loving of the beautiful and the good; it is a joy even now and here so to live the true life of the soul. And when we come to analyze this joy, we find that in all its details it is a life of blessedness.

1. For, first, there is the joy of triumph, the guadiam certaminis that courts and enjoys the well-won victory. Worldly and carnal pleasures woo the souls affections from their true and worthy objects. To resist these is conflict worthy of heroic souls; to stand steadfast, to be true to truth, to goodness, to righteousness, this is victory, and the joy of it is bliss to the struggling, conquering soul. And when the souls victorious inner life is translated into worthy outward action, that outward life becomes heroic too, the life of a knightly soul that proves its knighthood and receives its reward in scattering error, in righting wrong, in helping the weak, in relieving the oppressed, and in doing his duty to God and all the world.

2. And then there is the joy of progress. For the soul s true life is a progress from the less to the greater, from the partial to the more perfect good. There is growth in humility, and so there is no more galling and fretting of pride. There is growth in meekness, and so the burden of resentment is laid aside. There is growth in faith, and so the unseen things are seen with more and more distinctness to be the great thing. There is growth in hope, and so the soul grows glad and young as it lays hold on the hope of eternal life. There is growth in love--in the blissful love that never faileth, that suffereth long and is kind, etc.

3. And then there is the joy of self-sacrifice. Man had forgotten the great truth, that self-sacrifice for duty and for love is the very joy of the souls true life. But God revealed it in Jesus. And revealing it He showed not only the Divine wisdom and power, but also the Divine blessedness. Who does not understand something of this! Who are the great and happy souls of earth? Not those, assuredly, who look for base ease, or sordid gain, or selfish advantage, or guilty pleasure; but the pure and strong and lofty souls, who in loving the unseen and following lofty ideals gladly sacrifice themselves for what they love. The patriot who goes at his countrys summons to battle; the father and husband who scorns delight and lives laborious days for wife and children; the mother who turns away from all delights to bend in yearning tenderness above the couch of her sick or afflicted child; the Christian man or woman who in loving, dutiful deeds of brotherly love and goodwill, delight to help the unfortunate and make the wretched happy--these are the great and happy, souls, and in their self-sacrifice they find the highest joy of their souls true life. In a word, then, the souls true life in this world is the life of faith, of hope, and of love. In the victory of its faith, the progress of its hope, the glad self-sacrifice of its love, its joy consists. And this brings me to my concluding thought. We have seen what the souls true life in this world is.

II. WHAT SHALL IT BE IN THE NEXT WORLD BUT THE SAME IN KIND, THOUGH IN FULLER, LARGER MEASURE? The only difference shall be that the limitations of sin, the hindrances of earthliness, shall be removed. Unfettered and free, the soul shall expand in the perpetual delight of life and love and peace--the delight of growing knowledge, the delight of more and more adequate utterance, the security and pea-e of more perfect self-consecration, the deep and tender joy of more entire self-sacrifice. How this shall be, I cannot tell. It is enough for me to know this one thing--that the souls true life, the eternal life, begun here, shall continue afterdeath substantially the same, and that its joys shall be the same, only fuller, larger, richer. Oh, then, let me ask myself this question: Am I living now the souls true life--the everlasting life of faith and hope and love--and am I finding now and here the joy and the blessedness of that life? If not, then even heaven itself would be a hell to my untutored soul. But if I do know the joy and peace of believing, then eternal life is mine already. (Bishop S. S. Harris.)

Passed from death unto life.

Notice the smallness of the conditions, and the magnificence of the offer. The salvation of a mans soul is simply a matter of capitulation, and the terms of the capitulation are, Hear the messenger and believe the mission.

I. THE UNDERTAKING WHICH THE ALMIGHTY HAS MADE OF WHAT HE WILL DO TO THOSE WHO GIVE UP AT DISCRETION.

1. Look a moment at our position. We have provoked God and attacked His rights, and therefore have separated ourselves from God. Therefore we do not deserve to die, nor sure to die, but we are dead. For death is not annihilation. Separation of soul from body is physical death: separation of soul and body from God is physical death. People abhor the thought of eternal punishment or eternal death; but what if that means separation prolonged through eternity. Is there anything in that inconsistent with God? But that would be hell enough.

2. Christ comes and offers union with Himself, that is, nearness to God which is life.

(1) The nature of this life.

(a) Physical life of a higher order because consecrated.

(b) Intellectual life--a life of latent thoughts, energies and affections which, but for this, would sleep on for ever.

(c) A life of true satisfying service.

(2) Its characteristics.

(a) A present possession. The moment you believe in Christ you live; you have done with death for ever. What is coming and is called death will not be death to you, because no separation.

(b) A lasting life. In the old life nothing was very lasting; either the thing passed away, or the power to enjoy it. The new life has its hidden springs in God, and will last for ever.

(c) A life free from condemnation. There is nothing now behind, and no future to be afraid of. Your sins were condemned and punished in Christ, and there shall be no resurrection of forgiven sin.

II. WHAT ARE THE TERMS?

1. Hear My word.

(1) Do not you all hear it? Not with the inward ear.

(2) But what word. If you receive any word, you will receive all. Take this one, Come unto Me, etc.

2. Believe on Him that sent Me. Not in Me. Some object to vicarious atonement on the ground that it does not put the Father in His right place. But Christ here, as elsewhere, traces it all to the Father and His love. It is part of your salvation to take worthy views of the Father. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

Passing from death to life

I. THE STATE FROM WHICH EVERY BELIEVER IS DELIVERED.

1. Its nature. A threefold death has befallen man. The body dies, everlasting death is threatened, spiritual death is inflicted. This latter is the death here, and is not simply the absence of what constituted life, but the presence also of the opposite.

(1) Mans knowledge was a part of his life, but it has gone and he is ignorant and misrepresents the truth.

(2) This flow of holiness is staunched, and he is defiled.

(3) His innocency is blotted out, and he is guilty.

(4) His title to heaven is gone, and he is exposed to hell.

2. Its forms. It does not always take the same shape.

(1) A mans circumstances will do something to curb the tendencies of his nature. Your life may be chaste and outwardly religious, but with all this there is a defiled nature seen by the eye of God.

(2) In other cases there is a complete contrast, and depravity knows no shame.

3. Its extent; total

(1) as regards the individual.

(a) The human form once so noble and symmetrical and undying has become enervated by disease, and falls into the grave.

(b) The mind has not escaped its blight. Go to the lunatic asylum where the mind is gone, and to the cultured atheist whose vast intellectual powers are perverted.

(c) The soul is dead, not that it has ceased to be immortal, but lives on in death.

(2) As regards the race. However employed and wherever found man is the impersonation, of death.

4. Its cause. Not God. Look at the proofs of Divine benevolence in the beauties of nature, and ask, Is God the cause of death? Look at the monstrosities of nature--the drunkard, e.g., and ask, Is that Gods handiworks?

II. THE CONDITION TO WHICH, BY THE MERCY OF GOD, EVERY BELIEVER HAS BEEN BROUGHT: from death to life.

1. What is this life?

(1) Life is a series of relationships. In vegetable life there is a relationship of dependence; in animal life of the senses: in rational life of consciousness; in spiritual life to God in Christ.

(2) Life has its developments. This could not be predicated of a stone. In vegetables you see it at its lowest, in reptiles higher, in beasts higher still, in man highest; and in rational life you have the babe, the child, and the man, and so in spiritual.

(3) Spiritual life is knowledge. Mark the contrast between men of large intellectual powers and a man half-witted, who knows God is his Father and Christ his Saviour. They are dead; he lives.

(4) It is purity.

(5) It is love.

2. Whence comes it?

(1) Not from self; a corpse cannot raise itself.

(2) Not from another; a corpse cannot raise others.

(3) From God the fountain of life, through Christ, the resurrection and the life.

III. THE PROCESS FROM THE ONE TO THE OTHER.

1. Its character a purely spiritual process, illustrated by the transformation of the caterpillar into the butterfly; the change from winter to spring; the resurrection of the dead.

2. Its means. The gospel embraced by faith.

3. Its Agent, the Holy Spirit. (Gervase Smith, D. D.)

Passing from death to life

I. From a death of UNBELIEF to a life of FAITH.

II. From a death of FALSEHOOD to a life of TRUTH.

III. From a death of SIN to a life of RIGHTEOUSNESS.

IV. From a death of MISERY to a life of BLESSEDNESS. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)

We are saved by believing

A small matter may suffice to shape the destiny of an immortal soul. In those ill times when there were slaves across the Atlantic, a lady went down to one of our ships accompanied by a negro servant. The lady remarked to the captain that if she were to go to England and take this black woman with her, she would become free as soon as she landed. The captain replied, Madam, she is free already! The moment she came on board a British vessel she was free. When the negro woman knew this do you think she went on shore with her mistress? By no means; she chose to keep her liberty. How slight the change of place, but how great the difference involved: marvel not that faith involves such great things. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

We must believe or perish

If a man will not do that which is necessary to a certain end, I do not see how he can expect to gain that end. You have taken poison, and the physician brings an antidote, and says, Take it quickly, or you will die. If you take it quickly I will guarantee that the poison will be neutralized. But you say, No, doctor, I do not believe it; let everything take its course; let every tub stand on its own bottom; I will have nothing to do with you, doctor. Well, sir, you will die, and when the coroners inquest is held on your body the verdict will be, Served him right. So it will be with you, if, having heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you say, Pooh-pooh! I am too much of a common-sense man to have anything to do with that, and I shall not attend to it. Then, when you perish, the verdict given by your conscience, which will set upon the Kings quest at last, will be a verdict of felo-de-se. He destroyed himself. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

Faith must lay hold on Christ

One night, when preaching in Philadelphia, right down by the side of the pulpit, there was a young lady whose eyes were riveted on me, as if she were drink- ing in every word. I got interested in her, and after I had done talking I went and spoke to her. Are you a Christian? No; I wish I was. I have been seeking Jesus for three years. I said, There must be some mistake. She looked strangely at me, and said, Dont you believe me? Well, no doubt you thought you were seeking Jesus; but it dont take an anxious sinner three years to meet a willing Saviour. What am I to do, then? The matter is, you are trying to do something; you must just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I am sick and tired of the word, Believe, believe, believe! I dont know what it is. Well, I said, well change the word; take trust. If I say, Ill trust Him, will He save me? No; I dont say that. You may say a thousand things, but He will if you do trust Him. Well, she said, I do trust Him; but, she added in the same breath, I dont feel any better. Ah, Ive got it now! Youve been looking for feelings for three years, instead of for Jesus. (D. L. Moody.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 5:24-30. Verily, he that heareth my word, &c., hath everlasting life — Such a person is already entitled to it, yea, it is already begun in his soul, and he shall shortly possess it in its full perfection: and shall not come into condemnation — For any former offences; but is passed from death unto life — That is, from that state of spiritual death, or of alienation from the life of God, (see Eph 4:18,) in which men naturally are, to spiritual life and felicity, in union and communion with God. Verily, verily, I say unto you — I renew the important declaration in the strongest terms; the hour is coming, and now is — That is, it is just at hand; when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God — Within the space of a few months some dead bodies shall be raised to life by the word of his power. See Mar 5:41; Luk 7:14; Joh 11:43; and Mat 27:52-53. Or rather, he meant, that many souls then dead in sin, should be quickened by his grace, and made spiritually alive. For as the Father hath life in himself — Originally and essentially; so hath he given to the Son — In order to these purposes of glorious and divine operation; to have life in himself — To be communicated unto whomsoever he will. Hence the apostle (1Co 15:45) terms the second Adam, a quickening spirit: and hath given him authority — Not only to quicken men now, but also to execute final judgment; because he is the Son of man — Because he humbled himself so low as to become the Son of man, the Father conferred on him the high honour and glorious power of judging men and angels, that is, exalted the human nature, united to the divine, to this dignity and authority, Php 2:9-11. Marvel not at this, the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, &c. —

“Be not surprised at my saying, the Son of man has power to raise a few particular persons from the dead. There is a far greater power committed to him, even that of raising all men at the last day, and of judging and rewarding them according to their works.” I can of my own self do nothing — Now in this judgment I will not act absolutely or arbitrarily, but according to the laws of equity, unalterably established by my Father; so that I shall not act therein so properly by my own, as by my Father’s authority. As I hear I judge — In allusion to human courts, where the judges found their sentences upon the testimony of witnesses, and the laws of the country. Yet the expression by no means implies that our Lord, at the great day, shall receive information from any one whatsoever, concerning the persons he is to judge. Having been himself privy to their actions, he needs no evidence, but knows all things that ever were thought, said, or done by mankind, from the beginning to the end of time, fully and certainly. And my judgment is just — Not only because it is thus a judgment according to truth and equity, but likewise, because I seek not my own will, but the will of my Father, &c. — I have no interest to pursue, no inclination to fulfil, different from that of my Father.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24-29. The twofold quickening power of the Son; exercised (Joh_1:24-25) in quickening the believing soul with spiritual life, and (John 2:26-30) in raising the bodies of all to the resurrection.

The present conditional, spiritual resurrection of the soul, Joh_5:24-25.

24. Heareth my word and believeth—This is a conditional quickening or resurrection to the life of the soul. The conditions are hearing, that is listening, voluntarily attending; and believing, that is, accepting the word into our heads, hearts, and lives.

Hath everlasting life—Everlasting life is already in him. That life is a present possession which heaven will perpetuate.

Shall not—While that life is thus within him. So, on the other hand, Joh_3:36, he that believeth not shall not see life; that is, unless his unbelief be removed; for the wrath of God abideth on him. So that as eternal death is upon the unbeliever until he is converted, so eternal life is in the believer so long as he is a believer and does not apostatize. When a man is converted his death is removed; when a believer loses his faith, his eternal life is removed from within him.

Is passed—Has passed from death unto life. To him this resurrection is already past. The seed or principle of life is within his soul. It is in him a well of water springing up to everlasting life. The life cannot expire, but the well may be removed. See notes on Joh_4:14.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:24 Jesus is the giver of life as well as the judge (see 5:21-22), but he never works independently of the Father.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 5:24. Λόγον μου, My word) This double-membered sentence is equivalent to this: he who hears (the word of Him that sent Me, and) My word, and believes (on Me, and) on Him that sent Me, etc.—ἔχει, hath) Jeremiah, the patriarch of Constantinople, in his letter to the people of Tubingen, writes: He hath eternal life, and doth not come into judgment. Dost thou see? He hath this immediately, and not merely, he shall have. Μεταβέβηκεν, He hath passed over [is passed], agrees with this. As to the unbeliever, he is already condemned; ch. Joh 3:18—ἐκ—εἰς, from—into) A great leap.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_5:24. The οὓς θέλει ζωοποιεῖ now receivesand that, too, with increasing solemnity of discourseits more minute explanation, both as to the subjects whom it specifies (ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων, κ.τ.λ.), and as to the ζωοποίησις itself (ἔχει ζωὴν).

ἀκούων is simply heareth, but is closely connected with the following καὶ πιστεύων (comp. Mat_13:19 ff.), and thereby receives its definite reference. For the opposite, see Joh_12:47.

ἔχει ζ. αἰ.] The ζωοποιεῖν is accomplished in him; he has eternal life (Joh_3:15), i.e. the higher spiritual ζωή, which, upon his entrance into the Messiahs kingdom, reaches its consummation in glorious Messianic ζωή. He has, in that he is become a believer, passed from the spiritual death (see on Joh_5:21) into the eternal life (the ζωὴ κατʼ ἐξοχήν), and cometh not into (condemnatory, comp. Joh_3:18) judgment, because he has already attained unto that life.[210] The result of this is: θάνατον οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ, Joh_8:51. On the Perfect μεταβέβ., see Joh_3:18; 1Jn_3:14.

[210] Melancthon: Postquam illuxit fides seu fiducia Christi in corde, qua agnoscimus nos vere a Deo recipi, exaudiri, regi, defendi, sequitur pax et laetitia, quae est inchoatio vitae aeternae et tegit peccata, quae adhuc in imbecillitate nostra haerent. Baur is wrong in concluding from such passages (comp. Joh_8:51, Joh_9:26) that our evangelist verges closely on the doctrine of the Gnostics, 2Ti_2:18.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 5:24 . ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων ; it was through His word Jesus conveyed life to the impotent man, because that brought Him into spiritual connection with the man. And it is through His claims, His teaching, His offers, He brings Himself into connection with all. It is a general truth not confined to the impotent man. But to hear is not enough: καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με , belief on Him that sent Jesus must accompany hearing. Not simply belief on Jesus but on God. The word of Jesus must be recognised as a Divine message, a word with power to fulfil it. In this case, by the very hearing and believing, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον . As the impotent man had, in his believing, physical life, so whoever believes in Christ’s word as God’s message receives the life of God into his spirit. Faith has also a negative result; εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται [ cf. οὐκ ἐθελόντων ὑμῶν ἐλθεῖν εἰς κρίσιν , quoted from Demosthenes by Wetstein. Herodotus also uses the expression]. Literally this means “he does not come to trial”; but has it not the fuller meaning “come under condemnation”? Meyer says “yes”: Godet says “no”. Meyer is right. This clause is the direct negative of the former: to come to judgment is to come under condemnation, cf. Joh 3:19 , αὕτη δὲ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις , etc. ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν . The perfect shows (1) that the previous ἔχει is an actual present, and does not merely mean “has in prospect” or “has a right to”; and (2) that the result of the transition continues. Had the impotent man not believed and obeyed, he would have remained in his living death, in now a self-chosen and self-fixed condemnation: but accepting the life that was in Christ’s command, he passed there and then from death to life.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 24-27. First phase: the spiritual resurrection and moral judgment of humanity by the Son.

Ver. 24. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life; and he cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death into life.”

Divine things are present to the mind of Jesus; He speaks that which He sees (Joh 3:11); hence this energetic affirmation: “Verily, verily, I say unto you” (Joh 5:24-25). These words set forth, at the same time, the greatness of the fact announced. It is really unheard of: For him who receives with confidence His word, the two decisive acts of the eschatological drama, the resurrection and the judgment, are completed things. The simple word of Jesus received with faith has accomplished everything.

This fact is indeed the proof of the qualities of life-giver and judge which Jesus ascribed to Himself (Joh 5:21-22).᾿Ακούειν, to hear, denotes not, as Weiss thinks, the outward hearing only, in contrast to the inward reception, which would come afterwards (and believeth ...); it is the spiritual bearing, at the same time with the physical, in the sense of Mat 13:43. For the verb believe has a new object (Keil); it is the Father as the one who has sent the Son. To surrender oneself to the word of Jesus in faith in the divine character of His being and word, is to render homage not only to the Son. but also to the Father. The meaning of ἔχει ζωήν, has life, can be fully rendered here only by saying “has life already.” It is the proof of Joh 5:21 : “The Son makes alive.” Is it not, indeed, His word which works this miracle? Καί, and, signifies: and in consequence. The exemption from judgment follows naturally from the entrance into life. The place of judgment is at the threshold of life and death. ῎Ερχεται, comes, is the present of idea.

The word judgment is by no means equivalent to condemnation, κατάκρισις, as Meyer will have it and asOstervald translates. A judgment deciding on eternal destiny, says Weiss, is no longer possible with regard to the man who has in fact already obtained salvation. By the word of Jesus, received into the inner man, the believer undergoes this moral judgment here on earth to which unbelievers will be subjected at the last day. The revelation of the hidden things (1Co 4:5) is made in the inner forum of his conscience, where everything is condemned in succession which will be condemned for the rest before the tribunal at the last judgment. The judgment, is thus for him, an accomplished thing. If therefore the word received with faith frees the believer from the judgment, it is because it anticipates it; comp. Joh 12:48, where it is said that the judge, at the last day, will be no other than this same word. What a feeling of the absolute holiness and of the perfection of His word do not such expressions imply in the consciousness of Jesus! The reconciliation of this passage with Rom 14:10 and 2Co 5:10 has been given at Joh 3:18. The last words: But he hath passed from death unto life, contrast (but) the condition of him who has entered into life with the fate of the one who will have to pass through the judgment. The terms death and life are taken in the spiritual sense. Westcott thinks that, in this verse, the idea of the physical resurrection is still united with that of the spiritual resurrection. The combination of these two ideas seems to me impossible. The question is of the effects of the word of Jesus in the sense of His word of teaching. It is altogether arbitrary to explain the μεταβέβηκεν, with Baumlein, in the sense of “has the pledge of being able to pass from death to life.”

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Father is not worshipped but by his Son’s word apprehended by faith, which is the only way that leadeth to eternal life.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

believeth on him that sent me--that is, believeth in Him as having sent Me. I have spoken of the Son's right not only to heal the sick but to raise from the dead, and quicken whom He will: And now I say unto you, That life-giving operation has already passed upon all who receive My words as the Sent of the Father on the great errand of mercy.

hath everlasting life--immediately on his believing (compare Joh 3:18; Jo1 5:12-13).

is passed--"hath passed over"

from death unto life--What a transition! (Compare Jo1 3:14).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 24. He that heareth my word] My doctrine-and believeth on him that sent me-he who credits my Divine mission, that I am come to give light and life to the world by my doctrine and death-hath eternal life-the seed of this life is sown in his heart the moment he believes - and shall not come into condemnation, εις κρισιν, into judgment-that which will speedily come on this unbelieving race; and that which shall overwhelm the wicked in the great day.

But is passed from death unto life.] μεταβεβηκεν, Has changed his country, or place of abode. Death is the country where every Christless soul lives. The man who knows not God lives a dying life, or a living death; but he who believes in the Son of God passes over from the empire of death, to the empire of life. Reader! thou wast born in death: hast thou yet changed the place of thy natural residence? Remember that to live in sin is to live in death; and those who live and die thus shall die eternally.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. He that heareth my word. Here is described the way and manner of honoring God, that no one may think that it consists solely in any outward performance, or in frivolous ceremonies. For the doctrine of the Gospel seems as a scepter to Christ, by which he governs believers whom the Father has made his subjects. And this definition is eminently worthy of notice. Nothing is more common than a false profession of Christianity; for even the Papists, who are most inveterate enemies of Christ, do in the most presumptuous manner boast of his name. But here Christ demands from us no other honor than to obey his Gospel. Hence it follows, that all the honor which hypocrites bestow on Christ is but the kiss of Judas, by which he betrayed his Lord. Though they may a hundred times call him King, yet they deprive him of his kingdom and of all power, when they do not exercise faith in the Gospel.

Hath eternal life. By these words he likewise commends the fruit of obedience, that we may be more willing to render it. For who ought to be so hardened as not to submit willingly to Christ, when the reward of eternal life is held out to him? And yet we see how few there are whom Christ gains to himself by so great goodness. So great is our depravity that we choose rather to perish of our own accord than to surrender ourselves to obey the Son of God, that we may be saved by his grace. Both, therefore, are here included by Christ — the robe of devout and sincere worship which he requires from us, and the method by which he restores us to life. For it would not be sufficient to understand what he formerly taught, that he came to raise the dead, unless we also knew the manner in which he restores us to life. Now he affirms that life is obtained by hearing his word, and by the word hearing he means faith, as he immediately afterwards declares. But faith has its seat not in the ears, but in the heart. Whence faith derives so great power, we have formerly explained. We ought always to consider what it is that the Gospel offers to us; for we need not wonder that he who receives Christ with all his merits is reconciled to God, and acquitted of the condemnation of death; and that he who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit is clothed with a heavenly righteousness, that he may walk in newness of life, (Romans 6:6.) The clause which is added, believeth on him who sent him, serves to confirm the authority of the Gospel: when Christ testifies that it came from God, and was not invented by men, as he elsewhere says that what he speaks is not from himself, but was delivered to him by the Father, (John 7:16; 14:10.)

And shall not come into condemnation. There is here an implied contrast between the guilt to which we are all naturally liable, and the unconditional acquittal which we obtain through Christ; for if all were not liable to condemnation, what purpose would it serve to free from it those who believe in Christ? The meaning therefore is, that we are beyond the danger of death, because we are acquitted through the grace of Christ; and, therefore, though Christ sanctifies and regenerates us, by his Spirit, to newness of life, yet here he specially mentions the unconditional forgiveness of sins, in which alone the happiness of men consists. For then does a man begin to live when he has God reconciled to him; and how would God love us, if he did not pardon our sins?

But hath passed. Some Latin copies have this verb in the future tense, will pass from death to life; but this has arisen from the ignorance and rashness of some person who, not understanding the meaning of the Evangelist, has taken more liberty than he ought to have taken; for the Greek word μεταβέβηκε (hath passed) has no ambiguity whatever. There is no impropriety in saying that we have already passed from death to life; for the incorruptible seed of life (1 Peter 1:23) resides in the children of God, and they already sit in the heavenly glory with Christ by hope, (Colossians 3:3,) and they have the kingdom of God already established within them, (Luke 17:21.) For though their life be hidden, they do not on that account cease to possess it by faith; and though they are besieged on every side by faith, they do not cease to be calm on this account, that they know that they are in perfect safety through the protection of Christ. Yet let us remember that believers are now in life in such a manner that they always carry about with them the cause of death; but the Spirit, who dwells in us, is life, which will at length destroy the remains of death; for it is a true saying of Paul, that

death is the last enemy that shall be destroyed, (1 Corinthians 15:26.)

And, indeed, this passage contains nothing that relates to the complete destruction of death, or the entire manifestation of life. But though life be only begun in us, Christ declares that believers are so certain of obtaining it, that they ought not to fear death; and we need not wonder at this, since they are united to him who is the inexhaustible fountain of life.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(24) Verily, verily, I say unto you.—(Comp. Joh_5:19; Joh_5:25, and Note on Joh_1:51.) For “shall not come into condemnation,” read doth not come into judgment. (Comp. Note on Joh_3:18.)

The repeated “verily” introduces, as elsewhere, one of the deeper spiritual truths which He came to teach. This truth explains the “whom He willeth” of Joh_5:21 to have no limit but that of human receptivity. It again brings out the unity of Father and Son. The Son’s word is the revelation of the Father. He that hears this word believes not on Him only, but on Him that sent Him (comp. Joh_12:44). It asserts that eternal life is not of the future only, but is already in germ possessed by the man who is thus brought into communion with the source of life. (Comp. 1Jn_1:2.) This man comes not into judgment. There can be for him no separation from God, no condemnation. He has already passed from the state of death to that of life. What remains for him is the development of life.

Believeth on him that sent me.—Better, believeth Him that sent Me.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. He that heareth] We see from this that ‘whom He will’ (Joh_5:21) implies no arbitrary selection. It is each individual who decides for himself whether he will hear and believe.

believeth on him that sent me] Omit ‘on;’ there is no preposition in the Greek.

hath everlasting life] Or, hath eternal life: see on Joh_3:16. Note the tense; he hath it already, it is not a reward to be bestowed hereafter: see on Joh_3:36.

shall not come into condemnation] Better, cometh not into judgment.

is passed from death into life] Or, is passed over out of death into life (comp. Joh_13:1; 1Jn_3:14). This is evidently equivalent to escaping judgment and attaining eternal life, clearly shewing that death is spiritual death, and the resurrection from it spiritual also. This cannot refer to the resurrection of the body.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verily verily, I say unto you,.... Who am the Amen, the true and faithful witness:

he that heareth my word; by which is meant the Gospel, and is so called, both because it is spoken by Christ, and first began to be spoken by him; and because he is spoken of in it; his person, office, and work, peace, pardon, righteousness, life, and salvation by him, being the sum and substance of it: and by "hearing" it is meant, not a bare external hearing it; for so it may be heard, and not understood; and it may be understood in a notional and speculative way, and yet the consequences hereafter mentioned may not follow: but an internal hearing it is here designed, so as to understand it spiritually, or to have an experimental knowledge of it; so as to approve of it, love, and like it; to distinguish it from that which is not his doctrine, and to feel the power of it on the heart, and yield the obedience of faith unto it: for faith in Christ himself, the sum and substance of the word of the Gospel, is hereby expressed; to which is joined faith in God his Father, they being equally the object of it; and which is introduced as a further proof of the equality in nature which is between them; see Joh 14:1;

and believeth on him that sent me; he does not say that believes on me, which might have been expected from him; but that believes on him that sent me, that is, on the Father; for as he that rejects Christ, and receives not his words, rejects and receives not him that sent him; so he that hears Christ's words, and receives him, and believes in him, receives and believes in him that sent him; and the same effects and consequences follow upon the one as on the other, upon hearing the word of Christ, as upon believing on the Father of Christ; and which is no inconsiderable proof of their perfect equality: for such a person that hears the one, and believes on the other,

hath everlasting life; not only in the purpose of God, and in the covenant of his grace, and in the hands of Christ, and in faith and hope; but he has a right unto it, and a claim of it, according to the declaration of the Gospel; and besides, has the principle of it in himself, the grace of God, which springs up into, is the beginning of, and issues in eternal life; he has also a meetness for it, and has the pledge and earnest of it, the Spirit of God, and shall certainly enjoy it:

and shall not come into condemnation; neither for original sin, though judgment has passed upon all men unto condemnation for it; nor for actual sins and transgressions: for though everyone deserves condemnation, yet were there as many sentences of condemnation issued out as sins committed, not one of them could be executed on such who are in Christ Jesus, as he that believes in him is openly and manifestatively in him: the reason is, because the death of Christ is a security against all condemnation; and whoever believes in him shall not be condemned, but saved; and though he may come into judgment, yet not into condemnation: he shall stand in judgment, and be acquitted by the righteousness of Christ, which he, by faith, receives as his justifying righteousness.

But is passed from death unto life; both from a moral death to a spiritual life, being quickened, who before was dead in trespasses and sins; and from under a sentence of condemnation, and eternal death, which as a descendant of Adam, and according to the tenor of the law of works, he was subject to, to an open state of justification, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace; the righteousness of Christ being revealed to him, and received by faith, and the sentence of justification passed upon his conscience by the Spirit; so that he who before, in his own apprehension, was a dead man in a law sense, is now alive to God, and secure from the second death, and being hurt by it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Ver. 24. He that heareth my word] As death came into the world by the door of the ear, so doth life eternal, Isa 55:3. God was in the still voice, and the oracle bade, "Hear ye him," Mat 17:5.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that heareth my word - To “hear,” in this place, evidently denotes not the outward act of hearing, but to receive in a proper manner; to suffer it to make its proper impression on the mind; to obey. The word “hear” is often used in this sense, Mat 11:15; Joh 8:47; Act 3:23. Many persons outwardly hear the gospel who neither understand nor obey it.

My word - My doctrine, my teaching. All that Jesus taught about Himself, as well as about the Father.

On him that sent me - On the Father, who, in the plan of redemption, is represented as “sending” his Son to save men. See Joh 3:17. Faith in God, who sent his Son, is here represented as being connected with everlasting life; but there can be no faith in him who “sent” his Son, without faith also in him who is “sent.” The belief of one of the true doctrines of religion is connected with, and will lead to, the belief of all.

Hath everlasting life - The state of man by nature is represented as death in sin, Eph 2:1. Religion is the opposite of this, or is “life.” The “dead” regard not anything. They are unaffected by the cares, pleasures, amusements of the world. They hear neither the voice of merriment nor the tread of the living over their graves. So with sinners. They are unmoved with the, things of religion. They hear not the voice of God; they see not his loveliness; they care not for his threatenings. But religion is “life.” The Christian lives with God, and feels and acts as if there was a God. Religion, and its blessings here and hereafter, are one and the same. The happiness of heaven is living for God - being sensible of his presence, and glory, and power - and rejoicing in that. There shall be no more “death” there, Rev 21:4. This “life,” or this religion, whether on earth or in heaven, is the same - the same joys extended and expanded forever. Hence, when a man is converted, it is said that he “has” everlasting life; not merely shall have but is already in possession of that life or happiness which shall be everlasting. It is life begun, expanded, ripening for the skies. He has already entered on his inheritance - that inheritance which is everlasting.

Shall not come into condemnation - He was by nature under condemnation. See Joh 3:18. Here it is declared that he shall not return to that state, or he will not be again condemned. This promise is sure; it is made by the Son of God, and there is no one that can pluck them out of his hand, Joh 10:28. Compare the notes at Rom 8:1.

But is passed from death unto life - Has “passed over” from a state of spiritual death to the life of the Christian. The word translated “is passed” would be better expressed by “has passed.” It implies that he has done it voluntarily; that none compelled him; and that the passage is made unto “everlasting” life. Because Christ is the author of this life in the soul, he is called the “Life” Joh 1:4; and as he has “always” existed, and is the Source of “all life,” he is called the “eternal life,” 1Jo 5:20.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Hath everlasting life. That is, a title to an eternal inheritance of glory, by believing in the Father, and in the Son, and also in the Holy Ghost, as we are taught to believe at our baptism. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He that so heareth my words, that they are not a mere sound in his ears, nor affect his heart with some mere sudden and vanishing passion, but so that he gives an assent to them upon my authority; and that firmly and steadily believeth him that sent me, (the particle on seemeth not well put in by our translators; in the Greek it is τω πεμψαντι με, giveth credit to the words of my Father that sent me), believing that I am his only begotten Son, whom he hath sent into the world, and receiving me as such, hearing me, according to the command of the voice from heaven. Mat 17:5; he hath a certain title to everlasting life, and hath received the first fruits of that harvest, Rom 8:23, the incorruptible seed of the word, 1Pe 1:23; and already sitteth in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:6, and hath the kingdom of God within him. Luk 17:21, and shall not come into that judgment which shall issue in eternal condemnation; but is passed out of a state of spiritual death into a state of spiritual life; and shall be at last eternally saved, and pass into the actual fruition and enjoyment of life eternal.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In this verse the discourse turns from the relations between the Father and the Son, to deal with the relations of the living Christ (the "I," who is speaking throughout) with men. In vers. 21-23, indeed Vers. 19-23, the Lord had been speaking prominently of the ideal sonship, of "the Son" on the Divine side of his consciousness. The use of the first person, which is here resumed, calls more express attention to the consciousness of his human manifestation, which again reaches its climax in ver. 27. Verily, verily, I say unto you I, whose voice you now hear, whom you are misunderstanding, rejecting, and seeking to slay. I say with most solemn emphasisHe that heareth my word this term, akouein , suggests moral as well as physical hearing, and means whosoever allows my thought to penetrate his nature, hears and understands, hears and acts accordingly (Mat_11:1 pisteuein Mat_11:5 Mat_13:9, 18 Rev_2:7, 17 3:22) and further believeth him that sent me; believeth i.e. that he has borne and is continually bearing true witness concerning me. There is a different meaning conveyed by pisteuein , with the simple dative, and pisteuein eiv tina , or epi tini , or epi tina , and again en tini ; these prepositions convey a gradually deepening sense of intercommunion and dependence. (the simple accusative is found in 1Co_9:17; Ellicott on 1Ti_1:16) To believe on a person, or in one, conveys a different idea from believing that person with regard to any special assertion he may make. Here the belief of God has emphatic reference to the testimony the Father is bearing to the claims of Jesus. Such a hearer, such a believer, hath eternal life; even here he has entered into the "eternal now;" on earth he is in possession of the blessed consummation. Such belief in words authenticated by the Father"s commission is eternal life. (cf. Joh_17:3) It lifts a man out of the reach of corruption and condemnation, it ushers him into eternity, it is an eternal blessedness in itself; and he cometh not to judgment, but has passed from the death, into the life. He is already translated from the death state to the renewed, quickened state. The decision and discrimination between him and the world have taken place. The judgment is over, the books are closed, the condemnation is no longer possible. He will not perish, he has eternal life. "The believer is tree from the judgment which executes itself in the exclusion inflicted on the unbeliever, by the revelation of Jesus as the Light, because he is already in possession of the saving blessing" (Luthardt). Judgment, being completed, does not require repetition" (Godet). "When that confidence in Christ has illumined the heart wherein we recognize that we have been verily accepted, listened to, ruled, and defended by God, peace follows, and high joyfulness, which is the realization of eternal life, and which covers the sins that erewhile had clung to our weakness" (Melancthon). In this life of faith "we taste the powers of the world to come," "our citizenship is in heaven." "This eternal life is a veritable resurrection of the dead" (Augustine).

Vers. 24-30. The two resurrections and the two judgments by the Son.

The views hitherto expressed in a summary form are now exhibited at length in their concrete aspects.

I THE NATURE AND RESULT OF THE SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION. "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

1. The two conditions of eternal life.

(1) Knowledge of Christ"s will. "He that heareth my word.

(a) Christ is the Author of revelation; as the Word, he makes known the Father"s mind and will for our salvation.

(b) It is a word for hearing, because "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". (Rom_10:17) "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." "The Word first began to be spoken by him, and afterwards by them that heard him". (Heb_2:3)

(2) Faith in God.

(a) This implies more than belief in God"s existence.

(b) It implies a heartfelt trust in him as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(c) Faith in God implies faith in Christ; (Joh_14:1)

(i) because the Father speaks through the Son;

(ii) because the Father"s love reaches man through the Son;

(7) because "our life is hid with Christ in God". (Col_3:3)

2. The result of this knowledge and faith.

(1) Positively: eternal life.

(a) It is a present possession. He "hath eternal life.

(b) He has a right and claim to it by virtue of Christ"s work, as involving a justification to life.

(c) He has meetness for it and the earnest of it in the Holy Ghost, (2Co_1:22)

(2) Negatively: "He cometh not into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.

(a) He is not condemned for original sin, though judgment did pass upon all men to condemnation for it.

(b) Nor for actual transgression; for "there is no condemnation to him that is in Christ Jesus". (Rom_8:1)

(c) But is "passed from death unto life.

(i) He has escaped from spiritual death;

(ii) from the second death;

(iii) for he has become alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

II THE EPOCH OF THIS SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION. "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.

1. His words, which were spirit and life, were already preparing the way for Pentecost.

2. The coming hour of abounding blessing was to date from Pentecost.

3. The blessing of the epoch.

(1) The persons included in the blessing. "The dead.

(a) The spiritually dead, alienated from the life of God, dead to all spiritual good;

(b) who hear the voice of the Son of God; to whom the Word comes in power, and works effectually in them, receiving, believing, obeying it.

(2) The saving voice. "The voice of the Son of God.

(a) It is a voice of love, grace, mercy, righteousness, peace, and salvation;

(b) it is a voice of power, because it is the voice of the Son of God.

(3) The blessing. "They shall live.

(a) It will be a life of faith;

(b) a life of communion with God;

(c) it will be eternal in its duration.

III THE GROUND OF THIS SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION. "For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.

1. The Son has a self-sufficient life, essentially and originally like the Father.

2. But he has a life given of the Father, in virtue of which it is divinely secured for those whom the Father has given him. (1Jn_5:11) Eternal life is what the one gives and the other receives in the economy of Divine salvation.

3. There is thus a double security for eternal life.

IV THE JUDGMENT IN THE HANDS OF THE SON OF MAN. "And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

1. The judgment implies omniscience, perfect holiness, perfect justice, and all other Divine perfections.

2. It is committed to the Son of man as a sharer of the nature that is to be judged for the deeds done in the body.

V THE FINAL RESURRECTION AND THE FINAL JUDGMENT. "As by man came death, so by man shall come the resurrection of the dead." It was a marvellous truth to proclaim to the Jews, that he who addressed them would raise up the dead and judge them at the final assize.

1. Mark the certainty and the universality of the resurrection. "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.

2. The means by which the resurrection shall be accomplished. "The voice of the Son of man.

(1) Sinners may shut their ears to that voice on earth, but it will be heard in the judgment day.

(2) It is a voice which, re-echoed by the voice of the archangel and the last trump, will have power to awake all the dead without exception.

3. The twofold end of the resurrection. "They shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.

(1) There will be a judgment of all as surely as a resurrection of all. Believers must appear before the judgment seat of Christ as well as unbelievers, to receive according to the deeds done in the body. (2Co_5:10) But they will receive the judgment of acquittal in virtue of their union with Christ in righteousness and life, while their rewards will be proportioned to "the deeds done in the body.

(2) The judgment will proceed upon a test practically applicable to the whole human race deeds done in the body," whether they shall be the deeds of the righteous, issuing out of faith in Christ; or the deeds of the unrighteous, issuing out of an evil heart of unbelief.

(3) There will be a final division of the human race into two classes. There will be the sheep and the goats, the saved and the lost, saints and sinners.

VI THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER. "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." Our Lord carries the Jews back to the starting point of his discourse: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." He has now justified his original statement.

1. Jesus repeats his declaration of a Divine Sonship.

2. He announces the principle of his judgment I hear, I judge which is the principle of all true judgment.

3. He declares his judgment to be true, because it is based on his perfect knowledge of the Father"s will, to which his own will is infallibly conformed.

Eternal life.

Notice

I ITS NATURE AND IMPORT.

1. It is the spiritual life of the soul. It is called "eternal life," not merely as distinguished from temporal and fading, but also from material and carnal. The soul by sin has lost its spiritual life, its primitive purity, harmony and happiness arising from the peace and friendship of God. The soul left God like an erratic star from its central sun, and is truly described as being dead dead to God and its highest interest. This life is the life of God within. His Law written in the heart, and his image restored in the soul. A life having its roots in God, its vitality from him, germinating and budding in the genial soil of his peace and friendship, growing and blooming in the sunshine of his love, and under the reviving dew of his presence and influence. This is the highest life of which the soul is capable. It is its true life real, and not a mere form.

2. This life is in and through Christ. Having lost our spiritual life by sin, it is evident that we must have it from a Divine source, and through a Divine medium, and under a new and Divine arrangement. Christ is this Source and Medium. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. "I am come that they might have life," etc. As we derive our natural life from Adam, we derive our spiritual life from Christ, the second Adam.

3. This life is a blessing to be attainted. It comes not with us into the world. We have many things in consequence of birth. We are here with all the privileges of manhood; but not with eternal life. This we must attain, and to attain it is the chief end of life. If we had eternal life simply as men, we would not be urged to get it, seek it, and make every effort to lay hold of it.

4. It is to be had on certain conditions. These conditions are as set forth here knowledge of and faith in the Divine Father and the Son: "He that heareth my word," etc. Every life from the lowest to the highest has its conditions, and these must be complied with ere that life can be enjoyed. Eternal life has its conditions. To know and believe the Author, the Source, and the Giver of this life is essential to its enjoyment. This natural, reasonable, and gracious as the conditions are suitable, easy, and within the reach of all.

5. It is to be had on these condition, s now. As soon as its conditions are complied with, eternal life is begun in the soul. "Hath eternal life." Some speak of it as if it were entirely future, whereas it must be had in the present or never. This world is the only birthplace, and the season of salvation is the only birthday of eternal life. All those who enjoy it in heaven found it on earth.

6. It can only be fully enjoyed in the future. Being eternal, it must have eternity to develop itself fully. What is eternal in duration cannot reach maturity in time; what is spiritual in nature cannot be fully enjoyed under material conditions. All terrestrial life reaches a climax under terrestrial laws and circumstances; but spiritual life requires spiritual conditions, and naturally demands eternity in its full length to expand and develop its beauty, fruition, and happiness.

7. It is a life without end. "Eternal life." Every life here has an end, but one spiritual life Christ-life in the soul. This is eternal, and worthy of being so. The life of the body has an end: and when we consider its vanity, emptiness, privations, and sufferings, we are glad that it has. There is nothing in it, as a whole, to make endlessness desirable. There is no life, but that of God in the soul, worthy of being qualified by the word "eternal;" this has all the elements to make it worthy of eternal continuance. Eternity in the possession of this life will make up the sum of all the happiness man is capable of.

II ITS BLESSED RESULTS.

1. There is a wonderful immunity. "Shall not come into judgment." Much of the blessings of redemption consist, not in what we shall enjoy, but in what we shall evade; and this will be a great evasion. "Shall not come," etc. And why? Because it is passed. Eternal life and judgment are opposed to each other, and are respectively the results of faith and no faith in Christ. Judgment is in the region of death, but the believer has come out of that.

There can be no real judgment for the possessor of life. "Who can lay anything to the charge of God"s elect?" in this case the final examination is in the preliminary. Pass this, and you pass all.

2. There is a wonderful transition. "From death unto life.

(1) This transition is wonderfully great. Death and life are diametrically opposed. The moral distance between them is immeasurable; the change involved is, therefore, great. There is a change of nature, of condition, of sphere, of character, of prospects, of world. The passage from death unto life is morally long, and the transition wonderful.

(2) The transition is Divine. Every one who undergoes this transition must undergo a Divine process. The voice of God alone can make the dead in trespasses and sins hear. His power alone can bring them back to life. His infinite love can warm and quicken the soul into spiritual vitality; cause the heart to beat, and the blood to course so as to result in a new and Divine life. What is human in the process is lost when compared with the Divine, and God is all in all.

(3) The transition is real. It is not a passing dream, but a glorious reality; a genuine passage of the soul from a state of spiritual death to that of spiritual life. That it is real is evidenced:

(a) By the believer"s experience and consciousness; He does not feel the same man. And he is right; for he is a new man. "I live, but not I," etc. His experience is quite different. "Who was before a blasphemer," etc.

(b) There are the ordinary proofs of life. It is not very difficult to distinguish between a dead and a living body, and not much more difficult is it to distinguish between a dead and a living soul. Mark the difference in the man in his habits, his temper, his character, his language; they are unmistakable evidence of the transition.

(c) The emphatic testimony of Christ. "Verily, verily," etc.

(4) The transition is free. It cost infinitely to God. Before a single soul could be transmitted from death unto life, God"s only begotten Son bad to suffer the most ignominious death. But what we have to do in the transition is only to believe and submit; only to jump on board the ship of life, and the passage is free.

(5) The transition, though great, is quickly made. We hear of quick passages made across the oceans, but they are all physical distance. To the moral distance between death and life, they are the moral poles of the universe; but the passage is quickly made. Only believe in Christ. The quickest passage, perhaps, on record is that of the thief on the cross. In the morning and even at midday he was in the empire of death and one of its extreme regions; but by an act of faith in Christ he was, before the close of that day, with Christ in one of the regions of life in Paradise.

(6) The transition is a most happy one. "From death," etc.

(a) The happiness of the greatest deliverance.

(b) The happiness of the highest promotion.

(c) The happiness of perfect safety.

(d) The happiness of an ever-increasing enjoyment the enjoyment of a holy, spiritual, and ever-young and growing life.

(e) The happiness of a never-ending gratitude. B.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And cometh not into condemnation - Unless he make shipwreck of the faith.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Here we have fifth evidence of Christ’s godhead, and equality with the Father: namely, that he is the author of spiritual and eternal life to all that believe on him. He that hath a fountain of life equal with the Father, and communicated to him from the Father, is God: But Christ hath this, ver.26. For as the Father hath life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself. Again, He that hath authority to execute judgement upon angels and men, is God: and Christ hath such authority, ver 27. He hath given him authority to execute judgment.

Farther, He that with his voice quickeneth and maketh alive them that hear it, is God: and Christ doth this, ver. 25. The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and live. The dead: that is, 1. The spiritually dead; such as are dead in trespasses and sins: these hearing the voice of Christ in the ministry of the world, shall live a life of grace on earth, and a life of glory in heaven.

2. Such as are corporally dead also: these are likewise quickened and raised by Christ as God,

Learn hence, 1. That God the Father hath communicated to Christ his Son a power to quicken and enliven such as are spiritually and corporally dead.

2. That the Father’s communicating this power to the Son argues no inequality or inferiority in the Son, but he hath the same life infinitely, independently, and equally with the Father: as the Father hath it, so hath the Son. the Father hath it in himself, and so hath the Son also; therefore the Son as well as the Father is essentially and truly God.

3. Others, by the dead, understand those whom Christ raised from the dead, when he himself arose. When many of the bodies of the saints arose with him, it being said, The hour now is, &c. Dr. Whitby. Mat 26:45 to Mat 28:10

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. Hath everlasting life. The conditions of eternal life are: (1) Knowledge of the Son; (2) belief upon him; trust in him. These are necessary before he can be accepted.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Truly, truly

See how you translated this in John 1:51.

he who hears my word

Here "word" is a metonym that represents the message of Jesus. AT: "anyone who hears my message" (See: Metonymy)

will not be condemned

This can be stated positively. AT: "will be judged to be innocent" (See: Double Negatives)

translationWords

amen

believe

condemn

eternity

life

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

24. ὁ τ. λ. μ. ἀκούων. This shews that οὓς θέλει (Joh 5:21) implies no arbitrary selection. Each decides for himself whether he will hear and believe and thus have life.

πιστ. τῷ πέμψαντι. Believeth Him that sent (see on Joh 1:33). Here and Joh 8:31; Act 16:34; Act 18:8; Tit 2:8, the A.V. renders πιστ. τινί, ‘to believe a man’s word,’ as if it were πιστ. εἴς τινα, ‘to believe on a man.’ Here the meaning is, ‘believeth God’s word respecting His Son:’ see on Joh 1:12, Joh 6:20.

ἔχει. ζ. αἰών. Hath it already: see on Joh 3:36; Joh 3:16.

εἰς κρ. οὐκ ἔρχ. Cometh not into judgment.

μεταβ. κ.τ.λ. Is passed over out of death into life: comp. Joh 13:1; 1Jn 3:14. This cannot refer to the resurrection of the body: it is equivalent to escaping judgment and obtaining eternal life; shewing that the death is spiritual and the resurrection spiritual also.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24.] What follows, to ver. 30 incl., is an expansion of the two assertions in vv. 21, 22,—the ζωοποιεῖν and the κρίνειν,—intimately bound up as they are together. There is a parallelism in vv. 24 and 25 which should be noticed for the right understanding of the words. ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων in one, answers to οἱ νεκροὶ ἀκούσονται τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ in the other. It is a kind of hearing which awakens to life,—one accompanied by πιστεύειν τῷ πέμψαντί με. And this last is not barely ‘Him who sent Me,’ but Him, the very essence of belief in Whom is in this, that He sent Me (see ch. 12:44). And the dative here after πιστεύω expresses that belief in the testimony of God that He hath sent His Son, which is dwelt on so much 1Jn 5:9-12, where, ver. 10, we have the same ὁ μὴ πιστεύων τῷ θεῷ.

ἔχει ζ. αἰ.] So 1Jn 5:12, 1Jn 5:13. The πιστεύων and the ἔχει ζ. αἰ. are commensurate:—where the faith is, the possession of eternal life is:—and when the one remits, the other is forfeited. But here the faith is set before us as an enduring faith, and its effects described in their completion (see Eph 1:19, Eph 1:20).

εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται,—κρίσις being the separation,—the effect of which is to gather out of the Kingdom all that offendeth;—and thus regarding especially the damnatory part of judgment,—he who believes comes not into, has no concern with, κρίσις. Compare Psa 142:2 LXX. The reckoning which ends with εὖ ἀγαθὲ δοῦλε, is not κρίσις: the reward is of free grace. In this sense, the believers in Christ will not be judged according to their works: they are justified before God by faith, and by God—θεὸς ὁ δικαιῶν, τίς ὁ κατακρίνων; Their ‘passage over’ from death into life has already taken place,—from the state of spiritual death into that ζωὴ αἰώνιος, which in their believing state they ἔχουσι already. It is to be observed that our Lord speaks in very similar terms of the unbelieving being condemned already, in ch. 3:18.

The perfect sense of μεταβέβηκεν must not be weakened nor explained away,—see ref.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. In vv. 24, 25, the thought is of spiritual life and death, the believer in Christ possessing already eternal life, and the words of eternal life being proclaimed in the ears of the spiritually dead, that they too may hear and live. In vv. 28, 29, the reference is to the future life, the voice of Christ being a voice of power at the Last Judgment, even as it is now. See on v. 28.

ἀμὴν ἀμήν …: see on 1:51. Here this formula introduces two distinct assertions, both surprising in their majestic claims of power, in vv. 24 and 25 respectively.

ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων … “he that hears my word” (cf. 8:43; and for ἀκούειν followed by an accusative, see on 3:8), καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με, “and believes Him that sent me.” To hear with the outward ear is not enough; the inward response is essential. There must be the belief in Christ (3:15, where see note), which is the same thing as belief in the word of Him who sent Him (12:44). For the “sending” of the Son by the Father, see on 3:17.

ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον. The obedient believer has eternal life, as a present possession. See on 3:15, and cf. 1Jn 5:12.

καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται. Cf. 3:18 ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν οὐ κρίνεται. The believer “comes not to judgment”; that has already been determined.1 None the less, the prayer of humility will always be μὴ εἰσέλθῃς εἰς κρίσιν μετὰ τοῦ δούλου σου (Psa 143:2).

ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν. Some Latin versions try to escape the force of the pft. tense by the renderings transit, transiet, and Nonnus in his paraphrase has ἴξεται ἐκ θανατοίο; but this is through misunderstanding. Jn. is quite clear that the believer has “passed from death into life,” into the eternal life which begins here. Cf. οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν (1Jn 3:14), the reason for such assurance being added, ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heareth. Closely connected with believeth.

Hath eternal life. See on 3 36.

Shall not come into condemnation (eijv krisin oujk ercetai). The present tense, cometh not. So Rev. Not condemnation, but judgment, as Rev. See on 3 17. Wyc., cometh not into doom. The present, cometh, states the general principle or order.

From death [εκ θανατου] . Rev., correctly, out of death, pointing to the previous condition in which he was.

Life [την ζωην] . The life; the ideal of perfect life.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.