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men the title of my sermon this morning is Jesus equality with God Jesus equality with God if you look down at verse number 18 there in John chapter 5 it says therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him because he had not only broken the Sabbath but said also that God was his father making himself equal with God so the Bible says here that Jesus Christ had made himself equal with God and this made the Jews so angry that they want to kill him over this very issue and yet in the following verses Jesus Christ actually digs in and gives many examples and many situations in which he is equal to God and further demonstrates his equality with God and before we look at those we're going to go over to Philippians chapter 2 so if you would flip over to Philippians chapter 2 and I just want to point out that when the Bible says God was his father he said that God was his father making himself equal with God then we understand that when it says equal with God it means equal with God the Father because Jesus Christ is God okay but he is also equal with God the Father sometimes when the Bible says the word God in the New Testament it is just specifically referring to God the Father other times it's referring to God in general in this context it's clearly referring to God the Father God his father it says in the verse itself you see Jesus Christ according to John chapter 1 verse 1 was in the beginning with God and he was God it says in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 8 but unto the son he saith thy throne Oh God is forever and ever first Timothy 3 16 says that God was manifest in the flesh God was justified in the Spirit preached a vain it pre or goodnight I'm quoting it wrong I got it I got to read it to you because I don't want to get it wrong it's it's too too good of a verse here it says God was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world received up into glory now here's the thing about that God is the subject of all of those verbs that's the important thing to realize so you could say well God was manifest in the flesh but you know no no here's what it says God was manifest in the flesh and then you have the same subject justified in the spirit so you could literally read this as God was manifest in the flesh God was justified in the spirit God was seen of angels God was preached unto the Gentiles God was believed on in the world God was received up into glory because God is the subject of all of those verbs in that sentence and therefore clearly the one who's received up into glory is Jesus and he's clearly being called God and so that's just a couple examples obviously I could spend a whole sermon on the deity of Christ so we understand that Jesus is God but this sermon is about Jesus equality with God and specifically we're talking about his equality with God the Father what do we mean by that well the first thing that we number one is that Jesus Christ is equally divine Jesus is not any less God than God the Father is God they're both equally divine they're both equally God Christ is not some kind of a lesser deity Jesus is equal with God the Bible says in Colossians chapter 2 you're there in Philippians 2 but in Colossians 2 it says in him Jesus dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily okay that's a pretty clear verse now the word Godhead is kind of an old word we would say probably in 2024 something more like God hood Godness right but this is an older word God head which means divinity or Godness or Godhood sort of like there's an old word maidenhead which is a synonym for virginity maidenhood maidenhead Godhead it's just an old suffix that we don't use anymore and so in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily Jesus Christ is fully God he is equally divine with God the Father look at Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 here's another clear scripture that states that Jesus is equal to God it says in verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God now what does that mean he thought it not robbery to be equal with God it means that by being equal with God or by declaring himself to be equal with God or as it said in John chapter 5 by making himself equal with God he's not stealing anything it's not a robbery because that is a status that rightfully belongs to him and so he thought it not robbery to be equal with God and get in spite of that look in the next verse he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men now look by the way if Jesus Christ can be humble you can be humble too if Jesus Christ can humble himself we can all humble ourselves because if anybody had the right to just not humble himself and to just be proud and boastful as a human being it would be Jesus he's God in the flesh and yet although he thought it not robbery to be equal with God yet he made himself of no reputation took upon in the form of servant you know sometimes you'll hear people defending some of their really prideful and arrogant heroes of this world like Donald Trump or Andrew Tate or some of these ultra prideful people and here's what they'll say about them they'll say well you know he's got a right to be prideful because look at his achievements I mean look what he's done look what he's accomplished look what he owns you know they could say you know look at Donald Trump's great wealth and success and whatever look at you know Andrew Tate or whatever you know that living piece of excrement but anyway the point is people basically say well these men you know you can kind of give them a pass for being prideful no my friend because God in the flesh wasn't even prideful even God in the flesh even Jesus Christ who thought it not robbery to be equal with God yet he made himself of no reputation he took upon in the form of a servant and Jesus said that I've given you an example that you should follow in my steps and just as the Son of Man Jesus Christ came not to be minister done too but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many Jesus Christ washed the Saints feet he said you ought to wash one another's feet if Jesus can be humble we can surely be humble because it's easy for us to see all of our shortcomings and all of our inadequacies and failures unless we're delusional like some of the people I just mentioned they can't see any faults in themselves you're not the best you're not the smartest you're not the best-looking you're not the most talented you're not the richest you just aren't okay but even if you were you're not greater than Jesus and even he was humble so you better be humble too so he says that he was made in the likeness of man at the end of verse 7 verse 8 and being found in fashion as a man and by the way this doesn't mean that he really had great taste in clothes you know we don't misunderstand that when it says being found in fashion as a man it's talking about he was formed and fasted his physical body is that of a man being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross wherefore God also had highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth so right away we see that number one Christ is equally divine not robbery to be equal with God and him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily but number two we see that Christ is equally worthy of worship because the Bible says here that the proclamation is the proclamation from God the Father is that every knee should bow and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Jesus is the name that is above every other name there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be safe so I'm just gonna bypass that name of Jesus and just kind of go you know go straight to the top cut out the middleman nope no man cometh unto the Father but by him and so you cannot cut out that middleman Jesus is that mediator between God and men and it's God's will that everyone worship Jesus that everyone bow the knee and worship Jesus now look this is because Jesus is equal to God and God is not threatened by this it's not taking away from the glory of God the Father rather it says that every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father so worshiping Jesus Christ actually brings glory to God the Father although God is a jealous God and he doesn't want to share his glory with anyone else right yet worshiping Jesus Christ doesn't violate that because of the fact that Jesus is equal with God Jesus was in the beginning with God Jesus was God it's a trinity folks right the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost these three are one three persons one God so with that in mind let's go back to John chapter 5 and let's see what Jesus tells these angry Jews who are so upset about him making himself equal with God what is his response to them now what I've noticed is that when people got mad at Jesus because of something that he preached he typically just digs in and just preaches it more he just figures okay well I guess we've touched a nerve here let's go I guess this is what people need to hear I remember one time when Jesus is preaching and the the lawyers come to him and they say master thus saying thou reproaches us also you know you're preaching against the scribes you're preaching against the Pharisees but you know it kind of sounds like the stuff you're saying applies to us we're offended here we lawyers and then he literally just switches the sermon well woe unto you lawyers and then he just starts explicitly calling out the lawyers right because Jesus Christ is preaching the truth and it doesn't matter whether people like it or not we as preachers in 2024 America we need to preach the truth we need to preach what the Bible says popular or unpopular instant in season out of season so in John chapter 5 he digs in right verse 18 said that he had made himself equal with God they're ready to kill him he says in verse 19 that answered Jesus and said to them verily I say unto you verily verily I say unto you the son can do nothing of himself but what he seeth the father do for what things soever he doeth these also doeth the son likewise so the first point that I want to make here is that Christ and God the father both have the same agenda right it's not that Jesus Christ is is operating as some kind of a you know a free agent doing his own thing on his own program but rather he is doing the will of God the father so number one he's equal in deity number two he's equally worthy of worship and number three he and the father have the same agenda the same plan the same will the same desire now some people will say you know well there's there's one will between God and the father and in many ways that's true because obviously you know they both want the same thing there's there's one will of God you know that they're both seeking to fulfill but at the same time we have a very clear scripture in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus Christ says not my will but thine be done so you know what do we do with that right so we have to understand that sometimes these things aren't as simple or clear cut as they at first seem I think the best way to understand this by taking all scripture into account is that God the father and Jesus have the same plan the same agenda they both want the same thing ultimately but that Jesus Christ when he's in the garden of Gethsemane obviously he's going through a different experience than what God the father is experiencing in heaven and so as the person down in the garden of Gethsemane who's actually going to be beaten who's actually going to be spat upon who's actually going to be crucified obviously no one wants to go through that do they I mean nobody says hey I want to be beaten up and whipped and crucified nobody wants that and by the way the bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross watch this despising the shame so Jesus Christ despised the shame he did not want to be mocked and ridiculed and beat and spat upon and for the reproaches of them that reproached the father to fall upon him but yet for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross despising the shame and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God and so what we need to understand is that God the father is not the one who suffered and died on the cross for us that was Jesus who actually did that who had that experience so God the father and Jesus Christ are having two different experiences okay so Jesus Christ in the garden he's saying well not my will not as I will but as thou will you know if it's possible for this cup to pass from me let it pass from me but not as I will but as thou will he's basically saying look I don't want to do it because nobody wants to get beaten spat upon and mocked but he's saying I'm willing to do it because ultimately my will is in line with your will so you know there's a nuance here when you want to just say one will because sometimes people get a little carried away and they start making it seem like oh God and and Jesus and they're both just experiencing all the same things doing all they're distinct persons there you know the father isn't the one who suffered and died on the cross for us that was the son the father sent the son to be the savior of the world and so yes it is accurate in one sense to say that there is one will of God because of the fact that the son is on the father's program they're both on the same part they both want the same thing but that's not contradicted by just a human statement in the garden of of Gethsemane saying look you know I don't want to do this in a sense right not as I will but as thou wilt I'm going to do it and also by doing that Jesus Christ is setting the example for us guess what in life we're going to have to do some things that we don't want to do if we're going to follow God if we're going to serve Christ there are going to be some times that we end up doing things that we don't want to do you might say I don't really want to go to church today go to church anyway well you know I don't really want to go sowing do it I don't want to read my bible read your bible right now ultimately though we could say well you know I'm willing my will ultimately is to be a good Christian but to be a good Christian and fulfill that will I kind of have to do some things that in the short term or in the immediate term I don't really want to do you know like I don't want to skip this piece of chocolate cake but at the same time you know my will is that I'd you know be healthy or whatever and so uh some of these things are a little more complicated but ultimately the key point to take away here is that Christ and the Father both have the same plan the same agenda Christ is not just operating on his own but rather he is fulfilling the will of the Father he's sent by the Father he's doing always those things which please the Father and ultimately one overarching will of God is being carried out or performed so number one Christ is equally divine with God the Father number two he's equally worthy of worship number three they both have the same agenda the same plan the same will and then number four Christ is equally able to give life look if you would at John chapter 5 verse 20 the Bible reads for the Father loveth the Son and showeth him all things that he himself doeth and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel watch this for as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them even so the Son quickeneth whom he will right so just as the Father has the power to give life so does Jesus Christ have that power to give life now that's what the word quicken means right the word quick in the Bible it's often not referring to speed like hey that was quick that's a different meaning of quick right when the Bible says that God has made him to be the judge of the quick and the dead the opposite of dead is quick quick means living okay so the quick and the dead is a reference to the living and the dead it's just an old word that we don't use in that way any longer and so so when the Bible says here the Father raises up the dead and quickens them even so the Son quickeneth whom he will now you say is that redundant to say he raises the dead and quickens them those are actually two different things believe it or not because on the surface they sound like the same thing right raising the dead quickening them well because it's possible to raise the dead without quickening them okay i'm not trying to get weird here i'm not talking about zombies or anything undead or something but if you want to talk about the biblical undead the real scriptural undead the Bible says that the final judgment there is going to be a resurrection of the dead and the Bible says i saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and the dead were judged according to those things which were written in the books according to their works and so we see here that the people who are standing before God at the end of the world at the final judgment those people are called dead and they're standing before God they're not they have not been quickened they're not alive they're dead and so the Bible says that there's going to be a resurrection of life and there's going to be a resurrection of damnation some are going to be resurrected to eternal life others are going to be resurrected to eternal damnation shame and everlasting contempt and so God the Father has the power to raise up the dead and to quicken them to give life to bring them to life so does the son also quicken whom he will meaning who he wants to he also has the ability to quicken to give life to so Christ is equally able to give life now here's why this is significant back in Deuteronomy we just went through Deuteronomy 32 on Wednesday night which is a really cool passage but in verse 39 here's a review from Wednesday night God said I even I am he and there is no God with me he's basically saying I'm the only God there's no other God that exists and he says I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand so God the Father has life in himself the Son of God also has life in himself he has the power to kill and he also has the power to make alive even to bring back from the dead even to quicken the dead that is what God the Father can do but Jesus Christ can do that as well now it's interesting because in Deuteronomy 32 God is saying well I'm the only one who can do that you know and again the reason why this is accurate is because Jesus Christ is God right and also the Bible says for example in the book of Isaiah that the Lord Jehovah God says that I am he and there's none else before me there was no God formed neither shall there be any God after me he said I am he and there's none else and beside me there is no savior so Jehovah says beside me there is no savior of course we know Jesus Christ is our savior because Jesus Christ is Jehovah because Jehovah the Lord God these are overarching terms referring to God in general who eternally exists as the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three persons are one God that's what the Bible teaches and so Christ is equally able to give life look at verse 22 of John chapter 5 for the Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son and so here we see number five Christ is equal in his authority to judge just as God the Father is qualified to judge has the authority to judge Jesus is equally qualified and has equal authority to judge and in fact God the Father has delegated judgment to the Son so that the Son is the one who actually carries out that judgment it says in verse 22 that God the Father has committed all judgment unto the Son basically put it all in his hands he is the one to whom that is delegated look at verse 23 that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father he that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which sent him and so number six we see that Christ is equally worthy of honor so remember Jesus Christ had made himself equal to God the Jews are mad the Jews want to kill him so Jesus starts explaining how he's equal to God and we know of course that he's equally divine he's equally worthy of worship but right here in John chapter 5 he explains that he and the Father have the same agenda he is equally able to give life even as the Father is able to give life he is equally in authority to judge and he is equally worthy of receiving honor because the Bible says that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father I mean whatever honor you would give the Father you should honor the Son in the same way why because the Son is equal to the Father equally worthy of receiving worship honor glory praise etc this is why it is his name that has been exalted above all other names that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved you know people out here want to de-emphasize the name of Jesus are super misguided right because the you can't over emphasize the name Jesus right Jesus is the name above all names according to the Bible and so it says in uh verse number 20 did we read verse 23 yes we did look at verse 24 the Bible says in verse 24 verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life and so seventh and finally believing in Christ is equal to believing in God the Father right so this is the seventh way that we're going to go over this morning about how Christ is equal to God flip over if you would to John chapter 12 John chapter number 12 just a few pages to the right in your Bible there since you're already in John 5 just hop over to John chapter 12 and we're going to start reading in verse number 44 believing in Christ is equal to believing in God the Father now what do we mean when we say that uh Jesus is equal to God and we're specifically in context talking about God the Father now Jesus Christ and God the Father are not the same in every way one of them is the Father and one of them is the Son right one of them died on the cross for us the other didn't the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world so they're not the same in every way they are distinct persons but they're equal what does that mean the Bible tells us what that means right equally divine equally worthy of worship equally worthy of honor right equal in their will or plan or agenda equally able to give life equally able to pass supreme and ultimate judgment right these are the ways in which the Father and the Son are equal and none of this takes glory away from the Father the fact that the Son is equal with them but what about other ways in which they are not equal right because what about when Jesus said my Father is greater than I like what does that mean because last time I checked greater than symbol is different than the equal symbol you know what's he talking about well here's the thing is that there is a chain of command within the trinity because of the fact that the Bible says in 1st Corinthians chapter number 11 this is a very crystal clear verse that a lot of people choke on but it's true it's real it says in 1st Corinthians 11 verse 3 but I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God the head of Christ is God now does the fact that the head of Christ is God take away from Christ's glory absolutely not does it take away from his honor no does it take away from his divinity no it doesn't take away from his deity or his divinity or his honor the fact that the head of Christ is God that's a biblical fact you say well that you know that was just while while he was on this earth you know that was a temporary well last time I checked 1st Corinthians 11 wasn't written while he was on this earth last time I checked when 1st Corinthians 11 was written decades had gone by since Christ was on this earth we don't know exactly the date that it was written but it was clearly written much later than the the the ascension of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is already seated at the right hand of the father for many many years and yet the apostle Paul in the present tense says the head of Christ is God not only that in chapter 15 he explains that in the end times after Christ has ruled and reign on this earth then he will ultimately deliver up the kingdom to God even the father and that he will deliver up the kingdom to the father and that the son himself will be subject unto the father even in the far future in the final act of end times Jesus Christ is subject unto the father that's what the bible says now does this take away from it no in fact it just makes Jesus Christ even that much greater this is part of the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ because the only people who think that it's dishonorable or degrading to submit to legitimate authority are just people who don't understand Christianity they don't understand biblical doctrine they don't understand life I mean do you think that it is degrading for a child to submit to their parents or for a wife to submit to her husband or for a boss or excuse me for an employee to submit to his boss at work I mean this is godly this is virtuous this is righteous okay and here's the deal marriage in many ways is a good analogy for the relationship between the father and the son and people freak out about this but here I'm not the one who made this up it's literally in the bible verse it literally says that the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God like it's only the same breath in the same verse it uses it as an illustration now in what way is this an effective illustration is that you could say in many ways that men and women are equal now look if someone asked me do you think men and women are equal I would say yes amen because I do not believe that men are more valuable than women I do not believe that men are better than women okay I do not believe that men and women are unequal in that way that you know well you know men are a little better a little smarter a little more you know no that's stupid that's wrong men and women are equally valuable in the sight of God they're equally human they're equally important they're of equal worth they're equally worthy of honor and respect and dignity but but in what ways are they not equal well there's this thing of authority right the Bible says wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands the Bible says that wives should be obedient unto their own husbands crystal clear Colossians chapter 3 Ephesians chapter 5 1 Peter chapter 3 I mean go check it out my friend because it couldn't be any clearer okay even as Sarah also obeyed Abraham calling him Lord whose daughters you are as long as you do well and are not afraid with any amazement but yet the Bible says that the husband should give honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel so here's another way that men and women are not equal they're not equal in physical strength now obviously you could find the exception of the weakest dude that you can find and the biggest you know burliest betty that you can find and basically you could show well this particular man is weaker than this particular one obviously if you find these outliers but in a general right 99 percent men especially with respect to their upper body are stronger than women now this doesn't make men better than women it just makes men different than women women have other abilities and strengths we're all different different people have different strengths and weaknesses men are better at certain things women are better at other things at the end of the day men and women are equal because they they both have the same value worth dignity humanity they're both children of God through faith in Christ Jesus and so in that way they're equal but does that mean there's no authority there no chain of command in marriage that there's no uh differences no and it's and that's a good analogy for understanding the difference between the father and the son the father and the son are not identical they're not exactly the same they're distinct persons they're both co-equal in the sense they're both equally divine equally worthy to be worshipped equally worthy of honor and praise and glory that they both have the same agenda the same will ultimately but also we need to understand that when Jesus makes a statement like well you know my father's greater than I what's he saying he's talking about authority it's sort of like when Joseph says to Potiphar's wife there's no one greater in this house than I am he's not saying like I'm the greatest you know like like nobody's better than I am he's not like look believe me he's not like pulling a Donald Trump like hey look believe me you know you want to talk about people who are good inside you know I'm the best in this house everybody knows it they know it I know it my enemies know it I'm the best that's not what he's saying when he says no man is greater than me in this house what's he saying he's talking about the fact that all authority has been committed unto him and that the only one who's greater than him in that house is Potiphar the only one who's greater than him in Egypt was Pharaoh because he was second in command to Pharaoh right we're talking about authority and so the father is not better than Jesus the father is not superior to Jesus the father is not more divine or more god or more ancient no they're both equal in those ways it's just an authority difference where the the the son is subject unto the father and this doesn't take away from his deity and if you think it does then I would question your heart and maybe your relationship with your earthly authorities if you walk away saying well well how could Jesus be submitted to God the father and still be equal with him you know then I would suspect you might be a person who thinks that you have to rebel against authority in order to prove somehow that you're just as good or it sounds like you've got a chip on your shoulder and then you're trying to project that onto Jesus like Jesus has a chip on his shoulder Jesus doesn't have a chip on his shoulder Jesus always did those things which pleased the father and there's no issue there right and and maybe if we would actually fully grasp that doctrine about Jesus then we could actually apply that to our own personal lives and then we would not have a chip on our shoulder where we have to go around proving that I'm just as good as you are you know it'd be like if a wife said to her husband well I'm just as good as you are I'm just as smart as you are you know why can't I make the decision it's not that you're not as good or as smart or as effective it's just that you're not male that's the problem oh so just because you're male yeah right you got it right just because you're biologically male yes that's exactly right and again it's only degrading if you don't understand the trinity don't understand the bible don't understand life okay so think about that ponder that understand the trinity and then use that as a model for how you can understand other relationships in this world right because we have father-son relationships in this world we have husband-wife relationships in this world we have boss-employee relationships there's a lot to learn from the trinity and scriptures about the trinity john chapter 12 is where I had you turn look down at your bible there in verse 44 it says Jesus cried and said now here the word cried again this is an older use of the word cry it's talking about shouting or yelling it's not weeping when the bible is talking about tears it's typically going to use the word weeping Jesus wept but here it says Jesus cried and said he's basically yelling out in a loud voice he that believeth on me believeth not on me but on him that sent me and what was that seventh point that I brought up believing in Christ is equal to believing in God the father and here's the proof right here because Jesus said he that believeth on me believeth not on me but on him that sent me so if you believe on Jesus who are you ultimately believing on you're believing on the one who sent him which is God the father and the reverse of that is also true if you don't believe in Jesus you don't believe in the one who sent him that's what the bible is saying okay so in john 5 24 which is one of my favorite verses in the whole bible it said verily verily I say to you he that heareth my word right Christ is saying he there my word and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death to life so if you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior you have also automatically believed on the one who sent him God the father and you have therefore been passed from death unto life it's done it's over you've already made that transition you will not come into condemnation you have been passed from death to life you have everlasting life meaning that it will never end once you are saved you are saved forever you are saved eternally and so he says in verse 44 he that believeth on me believeth not on me but on him that sent me and he that seeth me seeeth him that sent me and so remember that Jesus Christ is the express image of God the father's person which is why Jesus is able to say if you've seen me you've seen the father right because they're like show us the father well the problem is nobody can see God the father's face and live right if anybody were to see God the father's face they would die and so this is why people in the old testament were so freaked out even just by seeing an angel of the Lord or even uh old testament appearances of Christ or something because of the fact they knew that no man shall see God's face and live because that's what God told Moses right and so he showed Moses just his hinder parts when he passed by Moses and put Moses in the cleft of the rock and Moses just caught a glimpse of the rear parts of God and his face shone so brightly from that vision that he had to have a veil over his face so that people could even be around Moses because his face was so bright okay and so the way to see the father is by seeing the sun because the sun is the express image of the father's person right it'd be like if two people were identical twins and somebody said hey i really want to see a picture of your identical twin and you could just kind of say well you know if you've seen me you've seen him right because we both look the same i am the express image of his person and so if you've seen one you've seen the other that's the idea here with jesus saying he that seeth me seeth him that sent me verse 46 i'm come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness if any men hear my words and believe not i judge him not for i came not to judge the world but to save the world he that rejected me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him the word that i have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day so jesus is here specifically explaining in what way judgment has been committed unto the sun it's christ's word that will ultimately be the final judge in the end times at the final judgment for i have not spoken of myself but the father which sent me he gave me a commandment what i should say and what i should speak and i know that that his commandment is life everlasting whatsoever i speak therefore even as the father said unto me so i speak so again we see a lot of the earlier points reiterated so let's close at the end of chapter five go back to chapter five if you would verse 46 and we'll close on this thought we've seen that jesus christ is equal to god the father right how number one christ is equally divine number two christ is equally worthy of worship number three christ and the father both have the same agenda the same goal the same will the same ultimate plan and purpose number four christ is equally able to give life as the father is able to quicken the dead number five christ is equal in his authority to judge number six christ is equally worthy of honor and number seven believing in christ is equal to believing in god the father that's a lot of equality my friend and jesus really explains this to them and makes this clear to them right after they're mad about it he says well here let me just give you even more details about this he doesn't back down from his equality with god but the last point i want to make in verse 46 here is that believing the new testament is equal to believing the old testament the bible says in verse 46 for had you believed moses you would have believed me for he wrote of me but if you believe not his writings how should you believe my words he said look if you would have believed moses you would have believed me because he wrote of me and if you don't believe one you don't believe the other right i mean look if somebody came to me and said well i only believe the new testament i don't believe the old testament's god's word i would just say like this person's not even saved i would just say that they're a liar because you either believe them both or you believe neither just as much as the jew is a liar who says oh i believe moses i believe the old testament he's lying right so well there are lots of people who only believe the old testament nope not a single one right there are people who lie and say that they believe the old testament but jesus says if you would have believed moses you would have believed me you know and so believing the one is equivalent to believing the other just as you cannot believe in only jesus or only god the father you you either believe in both or neither really you believe in all three or neither right because we got the father the son and the holy ghost but at the same time you either believe in both old and new testaments or neither you can't just pick and choose and say well i only believe this part of the bible and this other part of the bible i don't believe you know and and and you're picking and choosing no my friend god's word is a package deal it's not a smorgasbord where you just show up and and you take the things that you like and you put certain things on your plate and you skip other things nope my friend this is one of those situations where you just you hand your dish to the lunch lady and she's going to serve it up for you and she's giving you a little bit of everything and you don't get to pick you this isn't burger king have it your way all right you get what is given and it's 66 books and that's what it is you take it or leave it it's not a smorgasbord and and it's so funny how many people we talk to and what do they say uh well i believe parts of the bible right you've had people say that to you right like well i believe the bible i just don't believe all of it i believe most of it i believe a lot of it but what do they mean when they say i believe most of it or i believe a lot of it here's what they believe here's what they're saying you know i believe it until it says something i don't like as long as it's saying stuff that i like as long as it's saying stuff that i already agreed with going in then i believe it but as soon as it says something that i disagree with well then that must be the part that's not inspired you know thomas jefferson the third president of the united states author of the declaration of independence he famously came up with his own bible the jefferson bible where he basically just went through and just took out all the stuff that he didn't feel like jesus really said why because he's trying to make god in his own image and he's thinking well i don't like this part so i don't think jesus would have said this and this is what he basically said he said well it's clear that a lot of the stuff in the bible you know came from some some really great minds and then other stuff in the bible came from some really lesser minds and so he's going to be the final judge who's going to go through and separate that out and you know the parts of the bible that are inspired the parts that are good the parts that are excellent versus the you know the parts no my friend it's all excellent and what's funny is like like even the idea of such a task is bizarre to us who are actually saved because we don't find ourselves reading the bible and just being like oh this part's kind of lame like you know like man the gospel of luke's lame i just love john you know nobody nobody thinks that way you know what i mean nobody's like oh this part's super lame this part's really good i really like this proverb this proverb's kind of dumb like nobody thinks that way who's actually saved to those of us that are actually saved god is speaking to us through the word the holy ghost is within us teaching us and speaking to us and our hearts burn within us as we read god's word and we're not sitting there and thinking well you know half of this is awesome and the other half isn't no we're just seeing continual awesomeness you know i mean even when someone says what's your favorite of the four gospels or what's your favorite book of the bible you know sometimes i mean you know everybody's got their favorite or whatever but it's it's it's a tough decision it's not like oh well that's easy the only one i even like is this one it's like well no it's tough because you like them all you know when you know typically my favorite of the four gospels is the one that i'm reading right now you know because they're all great in their own way and and also by the way you go through different seasons of life where books are more and less meaningful to you you know yeah of course teenagers love and ecclesiastes because they got a weird dark attitude sometimes you know and when i was a teenager i often sought refuge in the book of ecclesiastes about how meaningless it all is you know you know so different books minister to you at different phases in your life right other times when you're feeling a little more positive and joyful about things you know you're spending time and you know i don't know the book of song of solomon or something right you're spending time in some of the more positive psalms and then there are those times when you're like where's that part about breaking my enemy's teeth and you know and you know it just life has stages but it's not like oh this part about breaking teeth is mean it's like well no it's just that it's for a different stage it's for a different situation it's all excellent in its own way and so believing in the old testament is equivalent to believing in the new testament and vice versa because it's just the word of god and all the people who truly believe the old testament when jesus showed up they received him as the messiah and the ones who did not receive jesus the messiah were simply being made manifest that truly in their hearts they did not believe what moses had prophesied and so make no mistake about it my friend jesus christ is god jesus is divine but not only is he divine he is also equal to god so he's not a lesser divinity he is equally god just like god the father what's part of the word of prayer father we thank you so much for your word we thank you for our lord and savior jesus christ and lord help us to honor and glorify him in all that we say and do and to worship him and and praise him even as we worship and praise you and it's in his name we pray amen