Introduction
Meditating on the parable of the wheat and tares from Matthew 13:24-30, we understand that the Church of God is mingled with good and bad children until the end times; and indeed, these days, we see many kinds of churches and doctrines about the authority of the Lord Jesus and who He is. However, as faithful Christians, we are responsible for discovering for ourselves who the Lord Jesus is to us, and we must follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus of the Bible, guided by the Holy Spirit (read our article: “What Books of the Bible Should Form the Canon of Scripture and Why?”). We are not saved because we call ourselves Christians by some church denomination credentials; we are saved because we believe in the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit) and the redemptive work of the beloved Son of God, Jesus Christ, done on the cross of Calvary, and what the Bible teaches us about the Lord Jesus.
The Authority of the Son of God
As followers of the Lord Jesus, it is essential to understand the authority of the Son of God in the context of our salvation and faith in the God of the Bible. In John 5:19-29, the Lord Jesus Himself debating with the Jews who were persecuting Him tells us about His authority He has received from God the Father Himself. Below, we comment on this important passage of Scripture.
19 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these the Son also does likewise.
Here is the proof that the Lord Jesus never lifted Himself to be equal with the Father. He has told all humans clearly that God’s beloved Son does nothing of Himself but always does what the Father does, showing to all humans that He is a beloved Son who still follows God the Father Himself. Therefore, the accusation humans have made has no truth in it. The Trinity is the term for Three in One, Three Gods, but all in One with the Father, and the Father Himself is the One who makes decisions in all; this also supports that God’s beloved Son has never lifted Himself to be equal with the Father.
20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He does; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel.
As the verse tells here, the beloved Son of God does only what the Father shows Him. The beloved Son of God, as God, but does only what the Father does; the obedient Son, that is what the beloved Son is.
21 For just as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wills.
As the verse tells us, the Father gives life to whomever He wills, but the beloved Son also will give life to whom He pleases; the power may be different, but the authority between the Father and Son is the same because, in the beloved Son Himself, the Father is there as well; whatever the Father does, the Son will do as well.
“For just as the Father raises up the dead and gives life.” In this portion of Scripture itself, we as believers must think that in the beginning, the Father had given life to the first man when He created the man, and also, in the end, the Father will take the last man’s life. However, nothing that the Father created can disappear; the last man the Father will take it, but this is not the dead point; as the verse has told as well, the Father raises up the dead; when all humans are gone, the Father Himself will raise the dead ones up, as a beginning again, that is why the verse has told that He raises up the dead and gives them life.
“Even so the Son also gives life to whom He wills.” This part refers to the period before the end time coming; the chosen ones, those who have given their lives in a special way only to the beloved Son of God, when those persons die, the beloved Son of God will give life to those ones, according to His own will as well.
22 For neither the Father judges anyone but has given all judgment to the Son;
The beloved Son of God has the authority in judgment according to the Father’s will Himself; the Father will give that authority to the Son. Because the Father and the Son are One, when the judgment time comes, the Son will be the One who talks, but the decision will still be from both the Father and the Son together; only the Son will be at the front who announces the decision.
23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. Who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father that sent Him.
These verses refer to the end-time events. “All may honor the Son,” here includes all heavenly hosts as well.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one that hears My word, and believes Him that sent Me, has eternal life, and comes not into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
“The one that hears My word, and believes Him that sent Me, has eternal life …” According to the verse, all Christians who believe should think that “My word” here is not the word of the beloved Son Himself, but that all that He spoke is from the Father; the true believer will hear the Father’s word and believe. When the beloved Son of God has said that the Father sent Him, that also has told all that what the beloved Son of God has spoken, everyone should think seriously and that He did not speak out of His own authority, but spoke out of the Father’s authority that has been given to Him. If you hear the Father’s word, you will also believe the One He has sent because the One He has sent has not spoken out of His own word but out of the One who sent Him word Himself.
25 Truly, truly, I say to you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those having heard will live.
When the verse says the hour is coming, it refers to the time when the beloved Son of God will give His life for all humans. During that time, He will go and speak to those who have died in faith in God Almighty but did not have a chance yet to know the beloved Son of God Himself. Because they all already have knowledge about the Father, He has gone there and told them there is still a chance for all to be saved if they only believe in the beloved Son of God now. Because by the Father’s will Himself, all that will have life for eternity must believe in the beloved Son of God as well, and that is why the beloved Son has gone to the death realm to tell them about Himself, including to those who did not believe, and those who deep in their hearts, have that feeling that all things did not come by themselves, but someone has created them, these have already the link to the faith itself. When they have that thought that someone has created all things, that already has shown the first step of faith in them, and these are not the same as those who do not care who created them; those who do not care have lost their own chance to be saved.
“When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God.” Now, the Lord Jesus talks here about the dead; the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Here, there is a difference between the dead and those living on earth; on this earth, He always calls Himself the Son of Man.
26 For as the Father has life in Himself, even in this manner gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself,
God of Three but One; what is for One will be for another as well. As the verse has told, the Father can give life, and the beloved Son of God can give life as well because both have life in themselves.
“As the Father has life in Himself.” The Father has life in Himself, and because of that, He can give that life further; all life belongs to the Father, including the life of the beloved Son of God; His life belongs to the Father as well. The Lord Jesus’ deity cannot be lower than the Father’s deity because the Father Himself also is in the beloved Son of God, and in the same way, the beloved Son Himself is in the Father as well; the Trinity of God cannot be separated. When the beloved Son of God used the term to call Himself the Son of Man, the beloved Son of God has lowered Himself to be human; that is why the Father has given life to the beloved Son to have life in Himself.
“Even in this manner gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself.” This portion of the verse refers to the Son of God as the Son of Man; here, they become One, the beloved Son of God, and the Son of Man; this verse refers to that time (when the Lord Jesus took the form of human on earth); what the verse has told in this portion, refers to when the beloved Son of God takes the form of human (from His conception in the womb).
27 and gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man.
The beloved Son of God has taken the form of a human, and all authority for judging humans will belong to His pleasure. Even though the Father created humans but because He has given humans free choice, the beloved Son of God in human form has known the real human way of life, and His judgment will be fair for all humans; in this way, humans can’t say it is not fair for God to judge them if God does not taste what humans go through the suffering of life; but now it is complete judgment here. As we have commented before, in the Father, the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit also exist; when we say that the Father created humans, it also tells us that the Trinity of God created all things.
28 Marvel not at this that the hour is coming, in which all in the tombs will hear His voice,
Do not be surprised when the time is here because the beloved Son of God Himself in human form has passed through death; that is why the verse has told the hour is coming, do not be surprised. There is a level of judgment: at first, to bring the dead to be in judgment before the beloved Son of God that was crucified, they all must hear Him first, and then the judgment takes place. As the Bible has told, He went there, to the death realm, to tell them the good news; in that period of time, the dead that died before He was born on earth will have a chance to hear the good news, and then, when the resurrection comes to receive judgment, it will be fair for them as well. Whatever their soul in that time will contain, it will be used for judgment. Those who did not have faith at all because they never heard about God will also have a chance as well; they did not know about the beloved Son of God, but deep in them where they were alive, they all could notice the creation and could see that everything comes from someone and that someone is the God Almighty; they all have already knowledge about the God of Three (through the creation around them) but did not have a chance to know the Savior, and that is why the beloved Son of God goes there to tell them, to eliminate the unfair in the dark world itself.
After the Lord Jesus’ resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit on earth, through the ministering of the Holy Spirit, everyone has the same chance to know about God Almighty, and the judgment will be fair for all.
29 and will come forth; those that have done good, to resurrection of life; and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.
“And will come forth …” As the verse says, all humans, living and dead, will hear the judgment from the God of Three, no place for any can hide; because some have thought God is God of the living (has power only while they are alive on this earth) and when they die, God can’t touch them anymore, but they all have forgotten that the beloved Son of God in human form has died as well, and went to the death realm to tell about Himself, so even the dead can’t escape the judgment. As the verse has said, at the judgment time, all that have done good and have faith in the Son of God come to the resurrection of life, but all that did evil will come back to receive the judgment of punishment as well.
Therefore, in the context of the authority of the Son of God, what does it mean for us when the Lord Jesus says in John 5:22, “For neither the Father judges anyone but has given all judgment to the Son.” This verse really tells us that we cannot go to the Father except through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the only way to the Father; there is no other way to the Father but only through the Son. There might be more so-called ways to the Son since there are many churches on this earth, but there is only one way to the Father: through faith in the Lord Jesus and His redemptive work on the cross.
Then, the question for us as faithful followers of the Lord Jesus is whether our church presents a clear teaching and doctrine about the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must carefully examine whether the church teaches the fundamentals of faith as presented in the Word of God and by the Lord Jesus Himself in the Gospels. There are fundamental principles of our faith in the Lord Jesus that connect with His authority as God of the Trinity of God. Below, we highlight the most important fundamentals related to the authority of the Son, accompanied by a few Bible references. However, the Word of God provides additional support for these fundamentals, and one can find even more support by reading and meditating on the Word of God. You can also consult our core faith statements by following the link: “Core Faith.”
- The Lord Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:30-35).
- The Lord Jesus is God of the Trinity of God and He is One with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (John 1:1, John 1:15).
- The Lord Jesus came to earth by the will of God the Father to teach us the way to be saved (John 6:38).
- The Lord Jesus is one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God (Matthew 16:13-17, Luke 24:7, Revelation 14:14).
- The Lord Jesus was crucified and died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, so through faith in Him, we might obtain forgiveness for our sins, find peace with God the Father, and be saved (John 3:16, 1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 2:24).
- The Lord Jesus rose from the grave on the third day in the body, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavens on His throne (Luke 24:7, Matthew 17:23, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33).
- The Lord Jesus will return to the earth again to take His own to Himself (Matthew 24:30-31).
- The Lord Jesus sends the Holy Spirit in the world, and He baptizes His followers with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, Acts 2:1-4).
Therefore, every faithful believer needs to independently meditate on the Word of God, understand these fundamentals, and pray, regardless of which church they attend, to ensure they have genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible.
Conclusion
As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must understand the authority of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, honor Him as the God of the Trinity, remain steadfast in our faith as it was delivered to us by the Lord Jesus Himself and His apostles, and always watch and pray so that we will not be led astray by false teachings. The only way one can stay firm in faith is by the help of the Holy Spirit, who is the true teacher of the Word of God, so we must humbly go to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit in His name, and continuously pray for refilling with the Holy Spirit so that we can stay firm on the true path.
Meditation Tasks:
- Read and meditate on the core faith statements we post on the link: “Core Faith.”