ACC ~ John 5 v22 - 24

OVERVIEW:

Christ exercises our minds here in trying to understand seemingly contradictory statements regarding his relationship with the Father. When he says that the Father judges no one, he is not saying that the Father will not judge at the last judgment. Rather, no one will see the invisible Father in the judgment; they will see only the visible Son of man, who will return to judge in the same way he ascended (AUGUSTINE). It is also true that the Father has given judgment to the Son from the beginning (TERTULLIAN) in the act of generation (AMBROSE). This judgment in some sense is a gift, as Jesus here alludes to the authority his Father has given him as judge at the last judgment (HILARY). As judge, however, he is also our advocate (AMBROSE).

Those who try to denigrate Christ’s honor because he speaks of honoring the Son even as they honor the Father should realize that here too Jesus is establishing his equality with the Father because Father and Son are alike in nature (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). One cannot acknowledge and worship the Father who does not acknowledge and worship the Son (LACTANTIUS), since only things of the same nature can be considered equal in honor (HILARY). Christ defers the glory of salvation to the Father when he says that the one who believes in the one who sent him has eternal life (CHRYSOSTOM). Such a person does not enter into judgment because he listened to Christ and trusted his promises (AUGUSTINE). In fact, he not only will avoid the tribulation of judgment but also will be honored by the judge (THEODORE). He will pass over from the death of unbelief to the life of faith, or from the death of the old Adam to the new life, which is everlasting. More care and labor should be spent on preparing for that which is eternal than seeking to extend what is only temporary (AUGUSTINE).

5:22 | The Father Judges No One

CHRIST EXERCISING OUR MINDS

AUGUSTINE: A little before we were thinking that the Father does something that the Son does not do, [1] … as though the Father were doing and the Son were seeing. In this way there was creeping in on our mind a carnal conception, as if the Father did something the Son did not do but that the Son was looking on while the Father showed what he was doing. Then, as the Father was doing what the Son did not do, just now we see the Son doing what the Father does not do. How he turns us about and keeps our mind busy! He leads us here and there, not allowing us to remain resting with our human conceptions so that by changing he may exercise us, by exercising he may cleanse us, by cleansing he may render us capable of receiving, and may fill us when made capable. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 21.12. [2]

[1] See Jn 5:20.

[2] NPNF 1 7:142**.

THE FATHER STILL JUDGES, BUT THROUGH THE VISIBLE SON OF MAN

AUGUSTINE: How can it be said, “The Father judges no one”? For since the Father has begotten the Son equal to himself, the Father does indeed judge with the Son. Therefore Jesus must have meant that in the judgment, it is not the form of God but the form of the Son of man that will appear. Not that the Father, who has committed all judgment to the Son, will not judge, because the Son identifies him as “one who seeks and judges.” [1] But… it is as if it was said: No one will see the Father in the judgment of the living and the dead, but everyone will see the Son, because he is also the Son of man so that he can be seen even by the ungodly. ON THE TRINITY 1.13.29. [2]

[1] Jn 8:50.

[2] NPNF 1 3:34**.See also Augustine Tractates on the Gospel of John 21.13 (NPNF 1 7:142-43) and Sermon 214.9 (WSA 3 6:156).

THE SON AS JUDGE FROM THE BEGINNING

TERTULLIAN: The Father has given judgment to the Son even from the very beginning. For when he speaks of all power and all judgment and says that all things were made by him and all things have been delivered into his hand, he allows no exception [in respect] of time, because they would not be all things unless they were the things of all time. It is the Son, therefore, who has been from the beginning administering judgment, throwing down the haughty tower and dividing the tongues, punishing the whole world by the violence of waters, raining upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone, as the Lord from the Lord. AGAINST PRAXEAS 16. [1]

[1] ANF 3:611*.

JUDGMENT GIVEN AS ACT OF GENERATION

AMBROSE: He has given [judgment to the Son], that is to say, not out of largess [1] but in the act of generation. [2] See, then, how unwilling God was that you should dishonor his Son—even to the point that he gave him to be your judge. ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 2.12.100. [3]

[1] Ambrose seems to be contradicting Hilary of Poitiers below, but this has more to do with the purpose of their writing in seeking to guard Christ’s distinctiveness and his equality.

[2] Augustine offers some caveats to this understanding in On the Trinity 1.13.

[3] NPNF 2 10:237*.

JUDGMENT A GIFT FROM FATHER TO SON

HILARY OF POITIERS: The statement that all judgment is given to the Son teaches both his birth and his Sonship. Only a nature that is altogether one with the Father’s could possess all things. And a Son can possess nothing except as a gift. But all judgment has been given to him since he gives life to whomever he will. Now we cannot suppose that judgment is taken away from the Father, although he does not exercise it. For the Son’s whole power of judgment proceeds from the Father’s since it is a gift from him. ON THE TRINITY 7.20. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:126*.

THE JUDGE IS ALSO OUR ADVOCATE

AMBROSE: But if there is fear that the judge may be too harsh, think about who your judge is. For the Father has given every judgment to Christ. Can Christ then condemn you when he redeemed you from death and offered himself on your behalf? Can he condemn you when he knows that your life is what was gained by his death? JACOB AND THE HAPPY LIFE 1.6.26. [1]

[1] FC 65:136*.

5:23 | Honoring the Son as the Father Is Honored

THE “AS” OF EQUAL HONOR

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: [Our opponents] say that the word as does not altogether always introduce equality of acts in those things to which it is affixed but often marks out a kind of likeness, as in, “Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful.” Does this, they say, imply that we are just as merciful as the Father because of the word as?… What then is our answer to this?… When “as” is applied to things unlike in their nature, it does not wholly introduce absolute equality but rather likeness and resemblance. But when it is applied to things in all respects alike, it shows equality in all things and similitude. So, for instance when speaking of the brightness of the sun in heaven and the brightness of silver here on earth, their natures are diverse…. In this case, we rightly say that earthly matter cannot attain to equal brightness with the sun but only to a certain likeness and resemblance, even though the word as is used. But take the example of the holy disciples Peter and John, who, both in respect to nature and piety toward God, do not fail as accurate likenesses of one another. And then say, “Let John be honored by all, even as Peter.” Is the “as” here powerless so that equal honor should not be paid to both?… According to this analogy then, when the “as” is applied to the Father and the Son, why should we shrink from crowning both with equal honors? COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.8. [1]

[1] LF 43:262-63**.

YOU CANNOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE FATHER IF THE SON IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED

LACTANTIUS: He who has not acknowledged the Son is unable to acknowledge the Father. This is wisdom, and this is the mystery of the supreme God. God willed that he should be acknowledged and worshiped through him. On this account he sent the prophets beforehand to announce his coming so that when the things that had been foretold were fulfilled in him, then he might be believed by people to be both the Son of God and God. Nor, however, must the opinion be entertained that there are two gods, for the Father and the Son are one. EPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES 49. [1]

[1] ANF 7:242*.

THE HONOR OF CHRIST INSEPARABLE FROM THE HONOR OF GOD

HILARY OF POITIERS: It is only things of the same nature that are equal in honor. Equality of honor denotes that there is no separation between the honored. But the demand for equality of honor is combined with the revelation of Christ’s birth. Since the Son is to be honored as the Father, and since they do not seek the Son’s honor, even though he is the only God, he is not excluded from the honor of the only God. For his honor is one and the same as that of God…. He who does not seek the honor of the only God does not seek the honor of Christ also. Accordingly the honor of Christ is inseparable from the honor of God. ON THE TRINITY 9.23. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:162-63*. See also Athanasius Against the Arians 1.18, 33; 3.7.

5:24 | Hearing and Believing

WORDS CHOSEN CAREFULLY TO AVOID BOASTING

CHRYSOSTOM: Christ did not say, “He who hears my words and believes in me,” since they would have thought this was empty boasting and arrogance…. To say “believes in him who sent me” was a better way of making his discourse acceptable when they learned that those who hear him believe in the Father also. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 39.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:139**.

WHO WILL NOT COME UNDER JUDGMENT?

AUGUSTINE: But who is this [favored person]? Will there be any one better than the apostle Paul, who says, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ”?… And do you dare to promise yourself that you shall not come into judgment? I would never promise this to myself, you say. But I believe the one who made the promise. The Savior speaks; the truth promises. He is the one who said these words to me…. I then have heard the words of my Lord, and I believe. Although I was an unbeliever, I now have become a believer. As he instructed me, I have passed from death to life so that I do not come into judgment. This was not by my presumption but by his promise. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 22.4. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:145-46**; CCL 36:271-73.

HONORED BY THE JUDGE

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Actually, he tells what the benefit is for those who honor or believe in him…. The one who obeys, he says, my words and believes is made a participant in eternal life. Such a person will not only avoid the judgment, that is, the tribulations of judgment, but will even be held in honor, and certainly honor will be attributed to him by the judge himself. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 2.5.24. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:117-18.

FROM DEATH OF UNBELIEF TO LIFE OF FAITH

AUGUSTINE: Just in case you think that faith will save you from bodily death… be assured that you will pay the penalty, death, which you must pay for Adam’s transgression. For Adam, in whom all of us were then, heard the divine sentence, “You shall surely die.” And the divine sentence cannot be voided. But when you have suffered the death of the old Adam, you shall receive the life of the new and shall pass from death to life. Meanwhile, make the transition of life now. What is your life? Faith: “The just shall live by faith.” [1] … Christ has enlightened you, and now you believe, passing immediately from death to life. Abide in that to which you have passed, and you shall not come into judgment. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 22.6. [2]

[1] Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17.

[2] NPNF 1 7:146-47**; CCL 36:226. In Letter 55.1 Augustine interprets this passage in light of the Passover from death to life (NPNF 1 1:303-4).

THE CARE AND LABOR SPENT ON LENGTHENING LIFE

AUGUSTINE: Because people love being alive on this earth, they are promised life. And because they are very afraid of dying, they are promised a life that is eternal…. But we see the lovers of this present transitory life strive so hard for it, that when the fear of death looms up they do everything they can, not to eliminate death but simply to put it off. The pains a person will take, the trouble he will endure when death looms ahead, running away, going into hiding, giving everything he has and paying his ransom, struggling, enduring all sorts of torments and afflictions, bringing in doctors and whatever else a person can do! But notice how one can take endless pains and spend all of his means in order to live a little longer; but when it comes to living forever, he can do nothing. If so much care and labor then is spent on gaining a little additional length of life, how ought we to strive after life eternal? And if those people who try in every possible way to put off death are thought to be wise, even though they can only live a few days longer, how foolish are they who live in such a way that they lose the eternal day? SERMON 127.2. [1]

[1] WSA 3 4:282**; PL 38:707.