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man, the God-Man. He knows men, has a fellow feeling for them , and this qualifies Him for th e service. He is the MAN w ith th e wounded hands. There are four judgm ents, and it is well to note this and make th e m atter clear to your scholars: (1) Judgm en t for Sin which is past. (Rom. 8:1) “ T h e r e is therefore now
is developed in the discourse th a t fol lows. These seven words, when understood, present an unanswerable argum ent for the claim to Deity by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I t is one of tho se* sudden flashes in which the robe of His hum anity is throw n back and we have a' profound utterance in which Jesus uses language which distinguishes Him . from all others. The “Verily, verily,” of v. 19 reveals th a t C h rist, is speaking from th e pro- foundest depths of His consciousness and ascends, as it were, to the very point of His mysterious union between His F a th e r’s •w o rk in g - and H is own. It expressed, as Godet says, “th e absolute, immediate and perm anent fidelity with which th e Son enters every in stan t into the F a th e r’s work. I t is th e profound- est law f. His being which Jesus here reveals in th is concise and original form. This description is th e opposite of th a t which characterizes th e life of sinful man, acting from his own in itia tive.” The Jews who h eard these words of Jesu were cl ar as to w hat He meant, ' th a t He was claim ing a unique relation to th e F ath e r, a relation which w as nothing less th an equality w ith God. Three attem pts to kill Jesu s are re corded in John, all connected w ith His claim to Deity. (See 8: §.8, 59; 10:30, 31). Jesus claims God is His F a th e r in th e sense th a t He is not th e F ath e r of anybody else. We m ust ever remember th a t He is the only begotten Son of God. The Jews were not mis taken. They understood Him correctly. “God was His own F a th e r.”
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tion t o th em wh ich ar e I n C h r i s t Jesn s, wh o w a lk no t aft er th e f l e s h , hut a fte r' the S p i r i t. ”
We were judged and found guilty, and Jesus paid th e penalty on the Cross. (I Pet. 2:24)
“W h o his own s e l f b ar e o n r si ns I n his o w n b o d y on t h e tree , t h a t we, be in g d e a d to sin s, sh ou ld l iv e unto ri gh te ou sn es s t b y who se stripes y e were he al ed .” (2) The Judgm en t fo r Service of Believers, a t th e Lord’s Coming. This is a judgm ent for our works (1 Cor. 3:12-15) “ N o w If any m a n b ui ld u p o n t h is fou n- n a ti o n gold, silv er , p rec io u s sto nes, w o o d , h a y , s tu b b le ; Eve ry m a n ’s wo rk sh a ll b e m a d e m a n i f e st : for th e day sh a ll d ec l a re i t , b ec au se i t sh a ll b e reve al ed by f i r e ; a n d t h e f i r e sha ll tr y ev ery m a n ’s wor k o f wha t s or t i t is . If an y m a n ’s work a b id e which he h ath built th e r e u p o n , h e sha ll re ceive a r e w a r d . I f any m a n ’s wor k sh a ll b e b u r n e d , h e shal l s u ff e r los s: but h e hims el f sha ll b e sa ve d , y e t so as by A r e .”
Be sure th a t you have some good work, work th a t brings glory to Him. (3) The Judgm ent of Hiving Nations, '(M a tt. 25 :32 ). This will he a judgm ent of the nations for th e ir treatm en t of th e Jews. (4) The Judgm en t of th e Unsaved Dead, Rev. 20:11-15 All who were not believers, whose names were not in the hook of life. We who are His own will participate with Him in th is judgment. n SUGGESTIVE COMMENT By Rev. S tew art P . MacLennan “My F a th e r w orketh h ith e rto and I work” v. 17 These are pivotal words in th e chap ter, containing th e germ -truth th a t
We need to be on our guard in p re senting th e Deity of Christ th a t we do not teach Tri-Theism. There are not th ree Gods, but one God in th ree P er sons, a tri-unity. Christ and the F ath e r are one. The work th a t Jesu s Christ did was th e F a th e r’s work. The words Jesus Christ spoke were th e F a th e r’s WHAT BETTER WORK CAN YOU DO THAN WORKING
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