Getting An Understanding - The Ressurections
/By Joseph L. Watkins
In some of our recent papers, we have shared with our readers some of our thinking on the great subjects of life in Christ Jesus, and death in our father Adam. One of our readers has asked me to do a study on the two resurrections that we find in John 5:29.
Here we have verses 20 to 29 for you as we find it in the Greek text:
V. 20: For the Father loves the Son, and every thing makes known to Him which He is doing even greater (works than) these made known to Him to work in order that you marvel,
V. 21: For as the Father raiseth the dead and make alive, even so also the Son Whom (He so) desires He makes to live.
V. 22: For not the Father determines no not one but the decisions every one (is) entrusted (with) the Son;
V. 23: In order that every one honor the Son even as (they) honor the Father, the ones not honoring the Son, never honors the Father, the One sending Him.
V. 24: So be it, so be it, (as I) said to you because the One the word of me hearing and (even) believing the One sending Me has life ageless, and unto judgment (is) not to come but crossed out of the death (in Adam) unto the life (in Christ Jesus)
V. 25: So be it, it is said to you is coming an hour and now is when the dead hear the voice of the Son of the God and the ones hearing live (again).
V. 26: For even as the Father has life in Himself, so (He) gave also to the Son life to have in Himself
V. 27: Also authority (He) gave Him also judgment making because Son of man He is
V. 28: Do not marvel at this because coming the hour in which everyone in graves hearing the voice of Him.
V. 29: And coming forth the ones the good doing unto resurrection of life and the ones the evil doing unto resurrection of judgment
As we come face to face with any serious study of the holy words of our holy Creator, we must never allow our study of God's truths to be without the first truths we have both received and rest our faith upon, even as a sure foundation to build upon. As we read in 2 Tim. , "...continue in the things which you have learned and hast been assured of knowing of Whom thou hast learned them;"
Yes, we must always be obedient unto the divine law of right division, and also one truthful fact that we have been so wonderfully assuredof, is that if any person is to have any kind of resurrection, that resurrection can only be realized as that person is in Christ Jesus. Truth that is out of God can not and will not be changed, no matter how man would work to put their own personal spin on it. Truth is absolute, as we read in Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin - is death." There is no more, and there can be no less. But the gift of God, is ageless life, in Christ Jesus.
And as we also learn from 1 John 5:11,12: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us ageless life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life,and he that hath not the Son hath not life." This life can only be found in the Son, and this is "resurrection life" and there is no other resurrection life. Here in John 5:29 we find that there are to be two resurrections - one is the resurrection of life, and the other is to be the resurrection of judgment. Yes, this is the right word here, it is #2920. You will find this word some 48 times: 41 times it is rendered with the word judgment, on three occasions the translators used the word damnation, two times the word condemnation and also two time the word accusation. Without question the correct word here should also have been the word judgment.The evil that is found resting on the shoulders of these translators is almost condemning, for using the word damnation in this verse, for such a word strongly reflects "a verdict" that has already been rendered. These men seemed to have bypassed any trial or work of judging, and just gave to us their own verdict, and these men's verdict is death, or damnation, even as most men have already read it.
We must now consider the words good (#18), and the word evil (#5337), and this word we find but four times. In our Bible, however, the Spirit of Truth had at least 13 other Greek words that have been rendered with our word evil, but here in John 15:29 he used the word #5337, which in the Greek concordance its literal meaning is worthless, as being worth less than its true value, because it is marred. Mr. Thayer's Lexicon has: easy, slight, ordinary, mean, of no account, ethically bad, wicked, base. In Vine's Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words, we have: slight, trivial, blown about every wind, mean, common, bad, paltry and contemptible, belonging to a low order of things. And in John 5:29, we find: "those who have practiced evil things." But here Mr. Vine allowed his thinking to be influenced by this word damnation.
The word good (#18) is most interesting. As our God views it, the one thing that we can do that He considers as good work is believing His word - John 6:29: "This is the work of God (the work He wants us to be doing), that ye believe on Him..."
Now, many, many folks have come under His promise of an ageless life in Christ Jesus, and this "resurrection to life" is of no difference, for all in Christ Jesus are to have this same free gift of life, and this a wonderful life. However, that is it, that is all they are to have, the life of Christ Jesus, and this new life is to be experienced upon the new earth. But we must also know that with each new dispensation our all-loving Creator has had his "called-out ones," His few that have answered His callings in faith and have become a chosen one in Christ Jesus. These have entered into a sonship position and are to have a portion, yes, a higher ranking and an inheritance - all of this is "in Christ Jesus."
jlw
