#20 Jesus Teaches About the Issue at God’s Final Judgement
Matthew 7:21-23
1. Those who only say Lord, Lord will not enter the Kingdom. Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
a. Those who only say, Lord, Lord, will not enter (Matthew 7:1). This is profession only. It does not include submitting to the Lord. Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
b. For the Kingdom, see on Matthew 5:3-12; 6:33.
c. Their true destiny is in Matthew 25:41 as follows, “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
2. Those who say Lord, Lord, and do God’s will do enter the Kingdom.
a. What the Lord means by the “will of my Father” in Matthew 7:21:
1) Matthew 12:50 says, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” So, those who do the will of God the Father are the true Christians, and not the mere professing believers who do not do His will. In the context, they are as close to the Lord as even His mother. And His mother is only in the Kingdom if she does the will of God.
2) Doing the will of God is submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King. The test is, “Will they submit to God’s Messiah or not?”
3) The will of God the Father is His desires and precepts as taught by the Lord Jesus. Matthew 21:31 says, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They answered, ‘the first one.’ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you; the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”
4) Jesus said the above to Chief Priests who were challenging His authority. They refused to submit to the Lord. They crucified Him.
5) In the parable that follows, the son who said he would not work in God’s vineyard represents the Jews. Most of them, led by the Chief Priests, refused to give God the glory that He deserved. Finally, He sent His Son to them, and they rejected and killed Him
6) Matthew 21:45 says, “When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them.” They insisted on the death of Christ. God’s will for them was believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
7) Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is doing the work of God. The work of God which He wants us to do is in John 6:28-29, which says, “Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
8) Wanting to do the Father’s will leads to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 7:17 says, “If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.”
9) God listens to the one who does His will. John 9:31 says, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.”
b. Doing the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21): The word “doing” is a present participle. So, the meaning is “keeps on doing.”
1) A Christian cannot live a lifestyle of sin due to God’s sovereign grace being in him. 1 John 5:4-5 says, “because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.” 5Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
2) Those who have temporary sanctification are reprobates. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Evaluate yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” NLT
3) God calls those who have temporary sanctification “reprobates” in the KJV of 2 Corinthians 13:5.
4) The Greek word for “reprobates” is adokimos. Dokimos, is the last 7 letters of adokimos. It means, “approved,” or “passed” as in “passed” the test. The letter “a” at the beginning of adokimos means “not.” So, to say that someone is “not approved” is to say that God gives the person an “F” for the test. If the person is adokimos, He does not have the kind of life that a born-again Christian has. God gives him a test and he fails it.
5) God assesses every Christian to prove if we have genuine faith or not. Then He tests us at His final judgment as well.
a) God evaluated the Israelites at the Red Sea by allowing them to be in a crisis. Evidence that they passed the test was that they asked God for deliverance from Pharaoh. They did pray, but it was a prayer of unbelief. They panicked. They blamed Moses for the crisis. God delivered them anyway, but they failed His test.
b) God then assessed the Israelites at Marah, where they were thirsty, having no water (Exodus 15:22). When God led them to water, it was poison. Again, they failed the test and grumbled at Moses, saying that He wanted them to die in the desert. God delivered them by a miracle, but they had failed His test. They did not have living faith.
c) God gave the Israelites ten tests, all of which they failed. Finally, after He gave them an “F” or a “disapproval” on all ten tests, He did not allow the adults to enter the promised land. On each test God simply said He wanted them to trust Him. But they failed all His tests.
d) Numbers 14:22-23 says, “not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times— 23not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it.”
e) The Israelites thought that instead of God testing them, they would put Him to the test. God designed tests to show who a person thinks is God. If they failed the test, they believed that they were their own God. Then, they believed that the gods of the world were their God. If they passed God’s test, they believed that Yahweh was their God.
f) Remember that God saves us by grace through faith. But He judges our works to prove that our faith is alive. At the final judgment, God does not look for faith. He looks for works that prove that our faith is genuine. Works are only an extension of what He does during our Christian life here. Faith without works is dead.
6) We must trust God always, but especially when He evaluates us. By that, we pass His test.
a) Suppose you have one of those bad days. Your mother dies; your son goes into the hospital in critical condition; your car will not start; your boss calls and says you no longer have a job.
b) Now, what do you do?
(1) Here is what absolutely must be first on your list of things to do that day: Recognize that God is assessing you. It is a test from Him to prove that you will do His will, glorifying Him. This is a day of opportunity to glorify God.
(2) Rest in God’s promise that the trials of this day are common to man. Pray to God.
(3) Realize that God is faithful and will not allow you to suffer beyond your ability.
(4) Look for your God-provided escape. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There has no temptation (test) taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful and will not test you beyond your ability. He provides, with the test, a way to escape.”[1] Often the escape is simply obeying your Savior.
c) Whatever you do, do not fail God’s test.
(1) Do not become angry with God. Instead, honor Him in everything that you do.
(2) Your duty is to your son in the hospital. Be with him. Call a relative or friend for transportation or take a cab.
(3) Get someone at work to intercede for you with your boss, telling him your whole story. Even his response is in God’s hands. Read Proverbs 21:1.
(4) Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus the entire day. He made it through the day on the cross, which is worse than your dreadful day. And God will deliver you out of this also. Follow Jesus’ example.
(5) Make the arrangements for your mother’s funeral if it is your responsibility.
(6) Tell everyone what happened and that you are trusting God and are not mad at Him. Be humble!
(7) If you do this, you are dokimos, that is, God marks you “approved.” You pass His evaluation. You are doing His will for that day.
(a) But if you do not do this, you are adokimos You get an F on your test.
(b) This assessment did not prove that you have genuine faith. Maybe another one will. Be ready for it.
(c) Look back on your day and debrief yourself. Wait for the next test to prove to God that your faith is of the right quality to pass His tests, proving that you have living faith. If you are truly born again, your faith will have life in it.
7) A person who proves himself to be a reprobate is one who once knew and lived the truth of Christ, but then failed God’s tests. He is not a Christian and never was. To be a reprobate, he must fail many tests that God gives him. Then he must abandon the faith and disown God. If he does this, he may never be able to repent. It is impossible for a true reprobate to repent (Hebrews 6:4-12). It proves that he is his own God or that he worships another god.
8) At His final judgment, God judges our works, not our profession of faith. Works invariably prove the kind of faith we have, whether living or dead.
a) Faith without works is dead faith. Dead faith does not cause us to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.
b) James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” At the final judgment God is looking for the proof that our faith is spiritually alive. The evidence is in our deeds.
c) God may run the video back for you, so that you can see if there is any evidence that your faith overcame the world.
d) Speaking of God’s final judgment, 2 Timothy 1:12 says, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” From this Scripture there are three aspects of living faith. Here they are.
(1) First, we must know Christ by faith. If we know Him, we will always know Him. It is not knowing about Him. It is knowing Him.
(2) Second, God must have convinced us that He backs His promise to keep our soul free from condemnation at the judgment on the last day.
(3) Third, we must commit our soul to God to keep for us. If we commit our soul to Him, He will guard it for us during our entire life and at the final judgment.
(4) The result of this is that you will be able to say, “I know Jesus by faith. I have committed my life to Him to keep. I know I am safe at His final judgment because He keeps His promises, and He promised me.” He is my God indeed.
e) Some prayed this bedtime prayer to God as a child “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
f) When you believe on Jesus for salvation, it is like praying the prayer above, except that you are not just asking God to keep your soul overnight and take it if you die in the night. Instead, you are asking Him to guard your soul forever, even at His final judgment.
g) That is where God’s tests come in. He tests us to prove that our faith is genuine. If we pass His tests by faith, God has objective evidence to show the angels and all others that our faith is genuine. And we know it also. If we know it, we know that we are going to Heaven – no doubt.
h) God could judge every person Himself and simply declare that the judgment is just. But He uses the judgment to prove His righteousness. Angels and saints are His audience in His court.
i) When we sin against God, it shakes our faith. We wonder if God is really saving us or not. But when we observe His warnings and promises in the Bible, we turn from our sin again, and we know for sure that our destiny is Heaven.
j) So, conclude that Christ changed you when He saved you. You are born again. God changes the old sinful nature in regeneration and in sanctification. You were a sinner. Now you are a saint. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
k) 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,” 10”nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” 11”And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
l) God eradicates a portion of our old sinful nature when He first saves us. He replaces the eradicated portion with a new holy nature.
m) We become a new creation of God (2 Corinthians 5:17).
n) As we grow as Christians, He progressively changes more of our sin nature into His holy image.
(1) Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”
(2) Ephesians 2:5 says, [He] “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!”
(3) Notice, you were dead in sin and now you are alive. God changed you from spiritual death to eternal life.
(4) Colossians 1:21-23 says, “Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.” 22”But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy ,unblemished, and blameless in His presence—" 23”if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
(5) So, you were alienated from God and hostile to Him. But now you are His friend. God does this.
c. There will be a great protest at the judgment on the last day.
1) Matthew 7:22 says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’”
2) The time of the protest will be “on that day.”
a) It is the Old Testament “Day of the LORD.” Zephaniah 1:14 says, “The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.”
b) The “Day” is a period of undefined length, marked by certain characteristics.
c) Scriptures that speak of that day:
(1) Matthew 10:15 says, “Truly I tell you; it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”
(2) Matthew 25:41 says, “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
(3) Matthew 11:22 says, “But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.” See also Matthew 11:24-26.
(4) Matthew 12:36 says, “But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”
(5) Matthew 24:29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’”
(6) Matthew 13:41-43 says, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. 42And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
(7) How many will participate in the great protest on the momentous day? The answer is, “many,” according to Matthew 7:22.
3) The substance of the protest on the Great Day:
a) “Lord, Lord” – They emphasize the title of Jesus by repeating it twice.
b) They are in panic.
c) They are still using the Name of the Lord in vain, since they do not believe that He is the Lord.
d) Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
e) These are people who pretended to serve the Lord during their lifetimes yet did not submit to Him before their deaths. Pretenders have always been in the visible Church.
f) They said, “We prophesied did we not?
g) “We exorcised, did we not?”
h) “We worked miracles, did we not?
i) “It was all in your name, was it not?
j) We represented your authority, did we not?
k) We honored you as the source of wisdom and power, did we not?
4) The big question is, “What is the true source of their deeds? Is it the Lord? Or is it themselves? Or is it the Devil?
a) Unbelievers can copy true Christians. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 says, “The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, 10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.”
b) Acts 16:16-17 says, “One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Highest God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!’”
c) God permits Satan to influence the physical creation (Job 1:12; 2:6-7). But the result is always God’s victory (Job 19:23-27; 42:5-6; Exodus 7:12).
d) God uses the wicked to proclaim truth. Acts 16:17 says, “This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Highest God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!’” She is saying this, but she does not know the Lord and He does not know her.
d. The Lord will make a counter-protest. Matthew 7:23 says, “And then I will declare unto them, 'I never knew you; depart you from Me, those working lawlessness.'”
1) The decisive moment:
a) “I will profess to them.” There is a dialogue at the final judgment between the Lord and the one claiming to have served God.
b) Perhaps He will speak to all those who claimed to serve Him but who did not.
c) He knew what the sinful workers did in His name. He also knew that He did not know them.
2) “I never knew you.” What is He saying?
a) He is not saying that He does not know everything, because He knew what they had done in the past. He knew that those He judged were workers of iniquity
b) Jesus could not heal anyone or save anyone unless God the Father gave them to Him to save or to heal. John 5:19 says, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” So, in that sense, the only ones whom He knows are those whom the Father chose.
c) Since the Lord Jesus did not know non-elect people, He could not love them like He loves those whom his Father gave to Him.
d) The only woman that the groom “knew” was his bride. He did not even know his mother in this sense unless she was a believer.
e) Genesis 4:25 says, “And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth,” (ESV) From this Scripture, we learn that “knowing” one’s wife is the act of copulation. When the Lord said that He never knew these workers of iniquity, He was saying that, though they say that they were working for Him, yet He did not know them in an intimate way. In other words, He had not saved them.
f) To never have known one’s spouse is to never have established the special form of love for her. Not all Church members are the bride of Christ. God loves everyone in a lower way. He loves Israel as His favorite nation. But He loves the elect in Christ, with the same love that He has for His Son.
g) Ephesians 1:6 says, “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One,” God loves Christ’s people with the same love as He loves His only begotten Son.
h) And the Lord Jesus is saying that He never knew the false prophets at any time. He did not know them before the foundation of the world. He did not know them because God the Father did not give them to Him. He did not know them when they were born. And He did not know them when they were doing all these wonderful works in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In their protest, they were wrong to think that He should know them at the final judgment.
i) No one ever knows Christ until he turns from his sin and trusts Christ who died for his sins. He knows Christ spiritually, by faith.
j) The Lord Jesus did not know the false prophets because they were not His works.
k) People did not become Christians whom God the Father did not foreknow before creation. The elect did not exist back then. They existed only in His mind and heart if He elected them unto salvation (Ephesians 1:3-6).
l) Romans 8:28-30 says, “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
m) John 17:2-3 says, “For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him. 3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
n) Thus, the Lord Jesus only personally knew those who knew Him by faith. This was true, whether before creation, at the time of salvation, during their Christian lives, or at God’s final judgment.
o) Galatians 4:9 says, “But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?”
p) Notice in Galatians 4:9 above, that God only knows the people who know Him by faith in Christ.
q) Psalm 1:6 says, “for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (ESV)
r) The Lord never knew the workers of iniquity as His sheep. John 10:14 says, “I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,”
s) The Lord saw them in Church meetings, but He never knew them personally.
t) The Lord never saw any of them doing works for His glory. He may have seen them doing works, but not for His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).
u) They would never enjoy Him in Heaven, and He would not enjoy them. They were workers of iniquity, and no sin can enter Heaven.
3) “Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).
a) This is about the presence of Christ. John Gill, in his commentary on Matthew says, “For as it is His presence that makes Heaven, it is His absence that makes hell.”
b) They must depart, but they cannot be anywhere they want. The place for them is hell.”
c) If Christ banishes them, none of the blessings of Heaven will be theirs.
d) God must be more powerful than the devil, since He can guarantee that they will be in hell.
4) Everyone will admit and confess that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:11).
5) These lawless workers preached themselves rather than Christ. They said, “We did,” and “in your name we did.”
6) Psalm 6 is a Messianic Psalm. So, it is the words of Christ.
7) Psalm 6:8-10 says, “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.” 9The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.” 10All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.”
8) Evident in the Psalm is the fact that these workers of iniquity:
a) They had no regard for His suffering on the cross.
b) They will be ashamed and dismayed at the final judgment.
c) They will turn back in sudden disgrace.
d) They lived a lifestyle of sin.
9) Other Scriptures on the judgment at the last day:
a) Romans 2:6-8 says, “God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.”
b) Romans 2:9 says, “There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;”
c) Romans 2:10 says, “but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.”
d) Again, we see that the final judgment is a judgement of works that proves whether God saved a person or not.
e) John 5:29 says, “and will come forth--those having done good to the resurrection of life, and those having done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
e. There is no Scriptural evidence that God separates the two judgments by time. There is no evidence that the Judgment Seat of Christ is at a different day than the judgment on all humankind.
1) Romans 2:6-10 puts the judgment of saved and lost together.
a) Romans 2:6-8 says, “God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.”
b) Romans 2:9-11 says, “There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; 10but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. 11For God does not show favoritism.”
2) Matthew 24:26-31 puts the judgment of saved and lost together.
3) Matthew 25:1-13 puts the judgment of saved and lost together.
4) Matthew 25:14-30 puts the judgment of saved and lost together.
5) Matthew 25:31-46 puts the judgment of saved and lost together. Jesus shows here that He separates the sheep and goats before the judgment. Jesus judges the sheep at a separate judgment, but at the same time. The sheep have the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from all sin and satisfies God for us. But the goats have no protection from the wrath of God.
6) Some godly brothers point to the “brothers” of Jesus (Matthew 25:40), thinking that they are Jesus’ natural brothers. But He identifies the brothers of Christ in Matthew 12:48-50 as follows: “But Jesus replied, ‘Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?’ 49Pointing to His disciples, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers. 50For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, sister, and mother.’
7) So, it is wrong to say that the brothers in Matthew 25:40 are unsaved Jews.
8) 1 Corinthians 3:12-14 isolates the judgment of the sheep from the judgment of the goats. It says, “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.” Though this judgment is only for the Church, it is at the same time as the judgment of all men. Paul calls it “the day.”
9) 1 Corinthians 4:5 sets the time of this judgment as “when the Lord comes.” Paul knows nothing of multiple “comings” of the Lord and of multiple judgment times. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise f8rom God.”
10) In keeping with Paul’s view that the judgment of the sheep is at the same time as the judgment of the goats (Romans 2:5-10), Paul seems to believe that the fiery trial of the last judgment is not able to burn the sanctified portion of the saved person’s works. Thus, God saves the godly portion of the Christian’s life, “yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). The fire destroys the godless works of the Christian but retains and rewards the godly ones.
11) There are no godly works in an unsaved person for God to retain.
12) Revelation 20:13 says, “The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds. These were all lost people.
13) Revelation 20:14-15 says, “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
14) Those in the Book of Life are Jesus’ sheep, of whom Jesus is shepherd.
15) At the final judgment, the judgment of the sheep precedes the judgment of the goats (Matthew 25:34).
3. An observation: Jesus makes three claims in John 5:22:
a. He is the Lord of the universe.
b. He is the judge of all men. John 5:22 says, “Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son.”
c. He is the only begotten Son. He calls God His very own Father.
d. John 5:17-18 says, “But Jesus answered them, ‘To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.’” “18Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”
e. Jesus is a Son in 4 senses:
(1) In His humanity, He is a creation of God. Acts 17:28 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’”
(2) Officially He is the Messiah (the Christ), the one anointed to fulfill the promises of God as prophet, priest, and king. Psalm 2:2 says, “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:”
(3) He is born of a virgin. Matthew 1:20 says, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
(4) He is the Trinitarian Son. He has the same nature as His Father. He is the same Being, but not the same Person. John 10:30 says, “I and my Father are one.”
NOTES
[1] The Holy Spirit uses the same Greek word for trials and temptations. The word is peirasmos. He uses it in 1 Peter 1:6 where we translate peirasmos as “trials.” (“while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials.”) He also uses peirasmos in Matthew 6:13 where we translate it as “temptation.” (“lead us not into temptation.”) It is the same word as in Luke 4:13 where the Devil is the source of the temptation as follows: (“the devil had ended all the temptation.”) So, a trial cannot occur unless God removes a portion of His protective hedge, giving the devil an opportunity. But God does not solicit us to do evil. James 1:2 says, “when you fall into various temptations.” The devil solicits us to commit evil, not God. One must know the context, to know how the Holy Spirit is using the word. James 1:2 refutes a misunderstanding that arises on this very point. The Holy Spirit uses the same Greek word for trial as for temptation.
