John 5:21-28
‘The Son quickens whom He will…. He that hears My Word…, has everlasting life and…has passed from death…. The hour is…now, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God…. They…shall live…. All…in the grave shall hear His Voice, and shall come forth!’ John 5:21-29.
Calvin comments: “We must note the way in which Christ bestows life on us. Because He found us all dead, it was necessary to begin with the resurrection…. For it would not have been sufficient for us to be rescued from death, without Christ fully and substantially restoring life to us….
“We would rather perish voluntarily, than surrender in obedience to the Son of God and be saved by His goodness! Christ…came to raise the dead…. He who receives Christ with all His merits, is reconciled to God and acquitted from the condemnation of death…. He who has been given the Holy Spirit, is clothed with heavenly righteousness — so that he may walk in newness of life…. We are out of death’s danger, because we are acquitted through the benefit of Christ….
“‘(He that hears My Word…has everlasting life and…) has passed (from death to life)’…. The transition from death has already taken place…. The incorruptible seed of life is in the children of God from the time they are called…. They already sit in the heavenly glory…. That they are besieged on every side by death, does not prevent them having peace — since they know that they are safe enough through Christ’s protection…. Believers are now in life…. The Spirit Who dwells in them…is life — and He will at last destroy the remnants of death….
“This passage does not refer to the complete destruction of death or to the substantial revelation of life. But though life has only made a start in us, Christ says that believers are so sure to obtain it — that they must not fear death…. The voice of His Gospel…is powerful…. We are all dead, before He quickens us…. By faith, we receive the life…offered us…. The elect…catch the Voice of His Son, which restores them to life…. Christ expressly commends to us this twofold grace, when He says — ‘The dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God; and they that hear, shall live!’…
Calvin also says in his Institutes II:5:19 & III:14:5 & 15:6 & 24:5 & 25:4,7 & IV:16:26: “Our Lord says, ‘The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God’…. God ‘has raised us up together, and has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ’…. He who believes in Him…, passed from death to life…. When He enlightens us with the knowledge of Himself, He…raises us from the dead and makes us new creatures…. Christ declares that the Voice of the Gospel gives life…. The promise of our Lord is clear — ‘he that hears My Word…, has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but has passed from death to life’…. ‘The hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His Voice — and shall come forth!'”
Calvin also says in his Psychopannychia: “It would…be easy to understand that eternal life has begun! He Who cannot deceive, promised thus — ‘Whoso(ever) hears My words, has eternal life and does not come into condemnation but has passed from death to life!'” Do you so believe in Him?
