Scripture: John:24-29
I. Your union with Jesus means you have eternal life.
A. Jesus answers the question right away about how you get eternal life in John 5:24. By hearing the Good News Jesus preaches and believing Him who sent Jesus. God the Father sent Jesus. Jesus and the Father are united as one. They both have life in themselves (vs. 26). John 1:4: “In (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men.” As the words and deeds of the Son are the words and deeds of the Father, so faith placed in the Son is placed in the Father who sent Him. How do you get eternal life? By placing your faith in Jesus.
B. Is eternal life a gift only for the future? Or is it a gift we receive immediately? When someone believes in Jesus according to John 5:24, such a person has eternal life. Present tense. Because we have eternal life now, we are getting a taste for heaven that is making us hungry to go there and experience heaven all the time. When Jesus went to Lazarus’ tomb in John 11:43-44, “he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out.” Jesus gave physical life to a dead man with just his word. And if Jesus’ word could resurrect the physically dead, His word also has the power to resurrect the spiritually dead today.
II. Your union with Jesus means your sins have been judged.
A. In John 5:24 we see that it is not just eternal life that Christians experience today. You also experience an end to God’s judgment on your sins today. Notice the verb tense. He does not come into judgment. Present tense. Verse 27 says that God has given Jesus authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Daniel 7:13-14: “Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.”
B. Every day we step into a courtroom. We are judged by both ourselves and by others. But you need to listen to the right judge. According to John 5 and Daniel 7 Jesus is your judge! And according to Jesus, your trial in the courtroom is already over. Court is adjourned. The verdict is found in Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” Because you are united with Jesus, God says the same thing to you as He said to Jesus at His baptism in Matthew 3:17: “This is my beloved Son, with whom am I well pleased.”
Application:
Your union with Jesus by faith means that you already have eternal life. You are not guilty.
Sources:
The Bible
“Union with the Resurrected Christ” by G.K. Beale.
Commentaries by D.A. Carson, Josh Moody, Edward Klink and Richard Phillips
Sermon Discussion Questions
1) How do we see the union of Jesus and God in John 5? Since God and Jesus are united, believing in God means believing in Jesus. How do we gain eternal life according to John 5:24?
2) How do we know that eternal life is not just for the future but is something we are meant to enjoy today? How did Jesus prove in the Gospel of John that He had the power to give life?
3) What authority has Jesus been given as the Son of Man according to Daniel 7:13-14? Jesus is king and judge (John 5:27). What is God’s judgment on those who have placed their faith in Jesus?