For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
The Father himself judges no one but has laid the whole work of judging humanity upon the Son, and neither angels nor any other are the Judge. This commission proves His full divinity and oneness with the Father, so all must honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He is fitted to be Judge because as Son of man He took humanity, lived a pure and perfect life, suffered rejection, temptation and death, and now stands at once as Advocate, Intercessor and merciful High Priest who bore human guilt. At His second coming He will hold a universal and public judgment before all worlds, raising the dead, examining every work and secret thing by God's law, and pronouncing reward and punishment with wisdom, tenderness and unquestionable justice. Therefore no human being has been given the seat of judgment over others, and people are to leave the judging of hearts and motives to Him who cannot err while examining their own character by God's standard.
Context and Wording
These words were spoken by Christ himself in the discourse that followed his healing of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, when he was accused by the Jews of Sabbath-breaking.
The Father does no judging himself but has put all judgment into the hands of the Son and laid all the work of judgment upon him, so that neither the Father nor the angels are the Judge. Christ himself gave this as his own answer to who he is, declaring his divine authority and his right to the same honor as the Father. He who took humanity upon himself and in this world lived a perfect life is to judge, and he only can be Judge because he took humanity that he might be Judge.
The Son does not act independently of the Father but works in unity with him and in harmony with him, with judgment placed in the Son's hands as part of his equal standing with the Father. His divine authority must therefore be acknowledged and not rejected in the name of the Father or the law. Those entrusted with responsibilities answer to God and must not separate their work from him. Honoring the Son is essential to honoring the Father.
Since he came to earth as Redeemer, all men are responsible and accountable to him, for the Father has placed all judgment in his hands and committed judgment over all people to him as Judge of the whole world, including the Jewish rulers who accused him and judged his works of mercy by narrow bigotry. He took the burden of humanity to save men from the consequences of their sins, having tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation and having victoriously withstood the temptations of Satan on behalf of man, and the Father gave this work into his hands knowing he will understand human frailty and sin and deal with men with wisdom, justice and grace. He is at once Advocate and Judge. As Redeemer who died to make cleansing from sin and keeping God's commandments possible, he will himself be the Judge in the future judgment, and this is to be opened as a revelation of God's dealings with the world and with individuals in working out his great plan, so that men and women realize their accountability and responsibility.
Son's Divine Authority
The committing of all judgment to the Son proves His full divinity, equality with the Creator, and oneness with the Father. He is God manifest in human flesh, the pre-existent I AM, the mighty God with the government upon His shoulder, One far greater than any created messenger and greater than all supposition. This was Christ's own declaration and answer concerning who He is, that the Father judges no one Himself but has laid the whole work of judgment upon Him, even as He stands as Judge of all the world including the rulers who accused His works of mercy.
Because all judgment is His, all are to honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The Son acts in unity and harmony with the Father, so honoring the Son is essential to honoring the Father who sent Him. To refuse that honor to the Son, to honor Him not, is to honor not the Father, and to fail toward the Son is to fail toward the Father.
His authority to judge is joined to His power, even as the Father's, to raise the dead and give life to whom He wills. He shares the Father's work of quickening, He is the author of the resurrection with power over death and the grave, and He will call the dead from their graves to the resurrection of life or to the resurrection of damnation. That life-giving power, displayed when He raised Lazarus, belongs together with His judgeship as proof of His divine authority and oneness with the Father.
Qualified Merciful Judge
All judgment is entrusted to the Son because He is the Son of man, who took humanity upon Himself, was made like His brethren, and lived a pure, sanctified, perfect life in this world. He who so took humanity is God manifest in the flesh, and His human life qualifies Him alone to be the Judge. No other is appointed to that work, for He only can be Judge because He took humanity that He might be Judge.
His fitness to judge lies in a human life of suffering, rejection, weakness, sorrow, and temptation. He tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation, was arraigned before Herod and Pilate, was rejected by His own nation, was condemned though declared without fault, was scourged, spit upon, degraded, crowned with thorns, mocked, and put to death on the cross. In glorified humanity He knows every difficulty, circumstance, upbringing, infirmity, weakness, and frailty that besets humanity. The same patience, love, self-denial, and forgiveness that marked His life on earth suit Him for this exalted role.
By personal experience He is acquainted with the warfare between good and evil that has gone on constantly since Adam's fall. Having tasted human affliction He victoriously withstood Satan's temptations on man's behalf, overcame the enemy for every created intelligence, overcame Satan in heaven and on earth and cast him out for rebellion and apostasy, and as the seed of the woman bruises the serpent's head. Had He failed even once there would be no salvation for humanity.
He is at once Advocate and Judge, Intercessor and King and Judge, merciful and faithful high priest, the one mediator between God and men, substitute and surety. He took the burden and the case of fallen man upon Himself to save men from the consequences and penalty of sin, offered His own life to ransom transgressors from the penalty of God's law and to bear their guilt, and through His merits intercedes for them. By Him alone can anyone enter the kingdom, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and through Him partaking of the divine nature and a second probation with privilege and power to form character after the divine image are made possible.
He therefore deals with men with wisdom, justice, and grace, with justice and tenderness, with understanding and pity. Made in all points like His brethren to be touched with the feeling of human infirmities, having passed over the ground humans must pass and knowing the circumstances of every case and the value of human souls, He does not see as man sees nor judge as man judges but judges righteously. His decisions at the judgment of the great day will be beyond question as to their justice, from His decision there is no appeal, and He will shut no one out of heaven unless the safety of heaven requires it. His patient, loving character makes His judicial authority a comfort to Christians and cause for rejoicing and boldness in every tried, tempted, struggling soul, because in His humanity He knows the difficulties that beset humanity.
Final Judgment Described
The judgment committed to the Son is universal and public, concerning the whole world and taking place before the universe, before the whole world and the unfallen inhabitants, in the presence of all worlds. All are gathered before Him as Judge, and His judgment is based on God's law. The unrepentant will see the full record of their sins and understand their guilt, while the loyal overcomers will be present when they are crowned.
He exercises that judgment at His second coming, when He calls the dead from their graves to the resurrection of life or the resurrection of damnation. As Judge He is also the author of the resurrection, with power over death and the grave and the right to give eternal life, and His raising of Lazarus represented the general resurrection of the righteous. It is exercised at the judgment seat of Christ, where everyone must render an account to God for day-by-day life and for how God-entrusted gifts have been improved by blessing humanity. Daily lifework is bound up with the second advent because material for that searching judgment is now being laid up, and when the Lord returns He reckons with His servants and requires results and gives reward proportionate to the talents given and the work done, everything measured and accurately estimated without mistake.
That final judgment examines every case, every work whether good or bad, including secret things hidden from people, daily life, words, and how gifts were improved, and there is no appeal from its decisions. Christ measures service by what human observers cannot see, and human opinions do not determine the final decisions. His judgment can reverse human rankings, placing some whom people regarded as first last, and raising some whom people put last to first. It is a daily examination of character in which God requires truthfulness in speech without deception, and a person's words contribute to being justified or condemned. He measures each person's actions and responsibility and makes the final decision about the rewards of the loyal righteous and the punishment of the disobedient, disloyal, and unrighteous.
He will publicly pronounce each person's reward or punishment according to works, declaring the reward of those loyal to God and to His law and condemning transgressors. He crowns the loyal overcomers and gives them their crowns, making the value of eternal life clear. In so doing He vindicates God's law and government, and His glory, character, and government, in which justice is as much an expression of love as mercy. The one condemned by human judges will be recognized as the Judge of all.
The redeemed will welcome and recognize in their Judge their Teacher and Redeemer, the One whom sinners crucified, with the marks of crucifixion still visible. His authority and kingship will be recognized by the heavenly universe and the fallen world, and He will bestow the saints' crowns. He took the case of fallen man upon Himself as substitute and surety, Redeemer and Intercessor, offering His own life when death was proclaimed as the penalty of sin so man might have a second probation with privilege and power to form character after the divine image. His pledge as the sinner's surety does not lessen obligation to the divine law, and as Judge He is the star of hope who contests Satan's claims, the seed of the woman who bruises the serpent's head, who overcame Satan in heaven and cast him out because of rebellion and apostasy.
Until then the Father delays the execution of death, while the Son offers Himself as a sacrifice to bear humanity's guilt and punishment, redeem people from death, and intercede for them. Through the Son's merits, the Father promises to receive people again into favor and restore holiness to those who accept the atonement and obey God's law. Jesus, given as a sin offering for the world, is presented as the Saviour whose righteousness and invitation offer people mercy throughout their probation, with God giving warnings and opportunities before judgment. His divine work is to save and restore people in God's image, not to destroy them, and He is the Redeemer who died to make cleansing from sin and keeping God's commandments possible, yet He Himself as Advocate will judge. Those who reject Christ and persist in sin face the wrath of the rejected Lamb, and this is to be opened as a revelation of God's dealings with the world and with individuals in working out His great plan, so that men and women realize their accountability and responsibility.
Leave Judging to Christ
No human being has been appointed to be a judge of others, for all judgment of humanity has been taken out of human hands and committed to One who cannot err. The Father is not the Judge, and the angels are not, but He who took humanity upon Himself and in this world lived a perfect, pure, sinless life is to judge, and He only can be the Judge because He took humanity that He might be our Judge, having been placed at the head of humanity. Therefore no one must place himself on the judgment seat, for human beings have no place there over one another, and judging and condemning others has not been given to any person. Christ exercises that judgment at His second coming at the judgment seat of Christ, where everyone must render an account to God for day-by-day life and for how God-entrusted gifts have been improved by blessing humanity. Daily lifework is bound up with the second advent because material for that searching judgment is now being laid up, and when the Lord returns He reckons with His servants and requires results and gives reward proportionate to the talents given and the work done, with everything measured and accurately estimated, for Christ makes no mistake.
Christ alone is the true standard of character, so anyone who sets himself up as a standard for others or presumes to judge their motives usurps the Son's prerogative and puts himself in Christ's place. No human being is appointed to judge the hearts and motives of Christ's redeemed people. People must not take the judgment seat over their brethren because God reads the heart while they cannot read hearts, and they are ignorant of one another's motives. Human judgments are fallible and they cannot see as Christ sees, but Christ knows each person's circumstances, upbringing, and temptations, and judges with understanding and pity.
Instead it is all anyone can do to discipline himself, and all must come down from the judgment seat in humility. Each person is to examine his own heart instead of watching fellow workers to find fault with them, and to measure his own character by the truth contained in the Scriptures, by God's unerring standard, which God can enable him to do and impress on his mind what he must do to inherit eternal life. Words and works are judged by God's unerring standard, not by one's own view of them, and this judgment examines each person daily, requiring truthfulness in speech without deception. A person's words contribute to being justified or condemned, and each is accountable for the harm caused by speaking evil and sowing bitterness in others' hearts, so great care must be taken in how one judges and in not passing judgment or speaking evil of brothers and sisters. Watching to find fault and condemning dishonors Christ as Leader, is work led by Satan and must cease.
When others judge or scorn him, a person has reason not to become angry or discouraged, but to remember that Christ holds the judgment and to keep the heart pure and faithful. Those entrusted with responsibilities stand answerable to God in Him, bought with a price, and must not separate their work from Him.
The Father himself judges no one but has laid the whole work of judging humanity upon the Son, and neither angels nor any other are the Judge. This commission proves His full divinity and oneness with the Father, so all must honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He is fitted to be Judge because as Son of man He took humanity, lived a pure and perfect life, suffered rejection, temptation and death, and now stands at once as Advocate, Intercessor and merciful High Priest who bore human guilt. At His second coming He will hold a universal and public judgment before all worlds, raising the dead, examining every work and secret thing by God's law, and pronouncing reward and punishment with wisdom, tenderness and unquestionable justice. Therefore no human being has been given the seat of judgment over others, and people are to leave the judging of hearts and motives to Him who cannot err while examining their own character by God's standard.
Context and Wording
These words were spoken by Christ himself in the discourse that followed his healing of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, when he was accused by the Jews of Sabbath-breaking.
The Father does no judging himself but has put all judgment into the hands of the Son and laid all the work of judgment upon him, so that neither the Father nor the angels are the Judge. Christ himself gave this as his own answer to who he is, declaring his divine authority and his right to the same honor as the Father. He who took humanity upon himself and in this world lived a perfect life is to judge, and he only can be Judge because he took humanity that he might be Judge.
The Son does not act independently of the Father but works in unity with him and in harmony with him, with judgment placed in the Son's hands as part of his equal standing with the Father. His divine authority must therefore be acknowledged and not rejected in the name of the Father or the law. Those entrusted with responsibilities answer to God and must not separate their work from him. Honoring the Son is essential to honoring the Father.
Since he came to earth as Redeemer, all men are responsible and accountable to him, for the Father has placed all judgment in his hands and committed judgment over all people to him as Judge of the whole world, including the Jewish rulers who accused him and judged his works of mercy by narrow bigotry. He took the burden of humanity to save men from the consequences of their sins, having tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation and having victoriously withstood the temptations of Satan on behalf of man, and the Father gave this work into his hands knowing he will understand human frailty and sin and deal with men with wisdom, justice and grace. He is at once Advocate and Judge. As Redeemer who died to make cleansing from sin and keeping God's commandments possible, he will himself be the Judge in the future judgment, and this is to be opened as a revelation of God's dealings with the world and with individuals in working out his great plan, so that men and women realize their accountability and responsibility.
Son's Divine Authority
The committing of all judgment to the Son proves His full divinity, equality with the Creator, and oneness with the Father. He is God manifest in human flesh, the pre-existent I AM, the mighty God with the government upon His shoulder, One far greater than any created messenger and greater than all supposition. This was Christ's own declaration and answer concerning who He is, that the Father judges no one Himself but has laid the whole work of judgment upon Him, even as He stands as Judge of all the world including the rulers who accused His works of mercy.
Because all judgment is His, all are to honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The Son acts in unity and harmony with the Father, so honoring the Son is essential to honoring the Father who sent Him. To refuse that honor to the Son, to honor Him not, is to honor not the Father, and to fail toward the Son is to fail toward the Father.
His authority to judge is joined to His power, even as the Father's, to raise the dead and give life to whom He wills. He shares the Father's work of quickening, He is the author of the resurrection with power over death and the grave, and He will call the dead from their graves to the resurrection of life or to the resurrection of damnation. That life-giving power, displayed when He raised Lazarus, belongs together with His judgeship as proof of His divine authority and oneness with the Father.
Qualified Merciful Judge
All judgment is entrusted to the Son because He is the Son of man, who took humanity upon Himself, was made like His brethren, and lived a pure, sanctified, perfect life in this world. He who so took humanity is God manifest in the flesh, and His human life qualifies Him alone to be the Judge. No other is appointed to that work, for He only can be Judge because He took humanity that He might be Judge.
His fitness to judge lies in a human life of suffering, rejection, weakness, sorrow, and temptation. He tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation, was arraigned before Herod and Pilate, was rejected by His own nation, was condemned though declared without fault, was scourged, spit upon, degraded, crowned with thorns, mocked, and put to death on the cross. In glorified humanity He knows every difficulty, circumstance, upbringing, infirmity, weakness, and frailty that besets humanity. The same patience, love, self-denial, and forgiveness that marked His life on earth suit Him for this exalted role.
By personal experience He is acquainted with the warfare between good and evil that has gone on constantly since Adam's fall. Having tasted human affliction He victoriously withstood Satan's temptations on man's behalf, overcame the enemy for every created intelligence, overcame Satan in heaven and on earth and cast him out for rebellion and apostasy, and as the seed of the woman bruises the serpent's head. Had He failed even once there would be no salvation for humanity.
He is at once Advocate and Judge, Intercessor and King and Judge, merciful and faithful high priest, the one mediator between God and men, substitute and surety. He took the burden and the case of fallen man upon Himself to save men from the consequences and penalty of sin, offered His own life to ransom transgressors from the penalty of God's law and to bear their guilt, and through His merits intercedes for them. By Him alone can anyone enter the kingdom, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and through Him partaking of the divine nature and a second probation with privilege and power to form character after the divine image are made possible.
He therefore deals with men with wisdom, justice, and grace, with justice and tenderness, with understanding and pity. Made in all points like His brethren to be touched with the feeling of human infirmities, having passed over the ground humans must pass and knowing the circumstances of every case and the value of human souls, He does not see as man sees nor judge as man judges but judges righteously. His decisions at the judgment of the great day will be beyond question as to their justice, from His decision there is no appeal, and He will shut no one out of heaven unless the safety of heaven requires it. His patient, loving character makes His judicial authority a comfort to Christians and cause for rejoicing and boldness in every tried, tempted, struggling soul, because in His humanity He knows the difficulties that beset humanity.
Final Judgment Described
The judgment committed to the Son is universal and public, concerning the whole world and taking place before the universe, before the whole world and the unfallen inhabitants, in the presence of all worlds. All are gathered before Him as Judge, and His judgment is based on God's law. The unrepentant will see the full record of their sins and understand their guilt, while the loyal overcomers will be present when they are crowned.
He exercises that judgment at His second coming, when He calls the dead from their graves to the resurrection of life or the resurrection of damnation. As Judge He is also the author of the resurrection, with power over death and the grave and the right to give eternal life, and His raising of Lazarus represented the general resurrection of the righteous. It is exercised at the judgment seat of Christ, where everyone must render an account to God for day-by-day life and for how God-entrusted gifts have been improved by blessing humanity. Daily lifework is bound up with the second advent because material for that searching judgment is now being laid up, and when the Lord returns He reckons with His servants and requires results and gives reward proportionate to the talents given and the work done, everything measured and accurately estimated without mistake.
That final judgment examines every case, every work whether good or bad, including secret things hidden from people, daily life, words, and how gifts were improved, and there is no appeal from its decisions. Christ measures service by what human observers cannot see, and human opinions do not determine the final decisions. His judgment can reverse human rankings, placing some whom people regarded as first last, and raising some whom people put last to first. It is a daily examination of character in which God requires truthfulness in speech without deception, and a person's words contribute to being justified or condemned. He measures each person's actions and responsibility and makes the final decision about the rewards of the loyal righteous and the punishment of the disobedient, disloyal, and unrighteous.
He will publicly pronounce each person's reward or punishment according to works, declaring the reward of those loyal to God and to His law and condemning transgressors. He crowns the loyal overcomers and gives them their crowns, making the value of eternal life clear. In so doing He vindicates God's law and government, and His glory, character, and government, in which justice is as much an expression of love as mercy. The one condemned by human judges will be recognized as the Judge of all.
The redeemed will welcome and recognize in their Judge their Teacher and Redeemer, the One whom sinners crucified, with the marks of crucifixion still visible. His authority and kingship will be recognized by the heavenly universe and the fallen world, and He will bestow the saints' crowns. He took the case of fallen man upon Himself as substitute and surety, Redeemer and Intercessor, offering His own life when death was proclaimed as the penalty of sin so man might have a second probation with privilege and power to form character after the divine image. His pledge as the sinner's surety does not lessen obligation to the divine law, and as Judge He is the star of hope who contests Satan's claims, the seed of the woman who bruises the serpent's head, who overcame Satan in heaven and cast him out because of rebellion and apostasy.
Until then the Father delays the execution of death, while the Son offers Himself as a sacrifice to bear humanity's guilt and punishment, redeem people from death, and intercede for them. Through the Son's merits, the Father promises to receive people again into favor and restore holiness to those who accept the atonement and obey God's law. Jesus, given as a sin offering for the world, is presented as the Saviour whose righteousness and invitation offer people mercy throughout their probation, with God giving warnings and opportunities before judgment. His divine work is to save and restore people in God's image, not to destroy them, and He is the Redeemer who died to make cleansing from sin and keeping God's commandments possible, yet He Himself as Advocate will judge. Those who reject Christ and persist in sin face the wrath of the rejected Lamb, and this is to be opened as a revelation of God's dealings with the world and with individuals in working out His great plan, so that men and women realize their accountability and responsibility.
Leave Judging to Christ
No human being has been appointed to be a judge of others, for all judgment of humanity has been taken out of human hands and committed to One who cannot err. The Father is not the Judge, and the angels are not, but He who took humanity upon Himself and in this world lived a perfect, pure, sinless life is to judge, and He only can be the Judge because He took humanity that He might be our Judge, having been placed at the head of humanity. Therefore no one must place himself on the judgment seat, for human beings have no place there over one another, and judging and condemning others has not been given to any person. Christ exercises that judgment at His second coming at the judgment seat of Christ, where everyone must render an account to God for day-by-day life and for how God-entrusted gifts have been improved by blessing humanity. Daily lifework is bound up with the second advent because material for that searching judgment is now being laid up, and when the Lord returns He reckons with His servants and requires results and gives reward proportionate to the talents given and the work done, with everything measured and accurately estimated, for Christ makes no mistake.
Christ alone is the true standard of character, so anyone who sets himself up as a standard for others or presumes to judge their motives usurps the Son's prerogative and puts himself in Christ's place. No human being is appointed to judge the hearts and motives of Christ's redeemed people. People must not take the judgment seat over their brethren because God reads the heart while they cannot read hearts, and they are ignorant of one another's motives. Human judgments are fallible and they cannot see as Christ sees, but Christ knows each person's circumstances, upbringing, and temptations, and judges with understanding and pity.
Instead it is all anyone can do to discipline himself, and all must come down from the judgment seat in humility. Each person is to examine his own heart instead of watching fellow workers to find fault with them, and to measure his own character by the truth contained in the Scriptures, by God's unerring standard, which God can enable him to do and impress on his mind what he must do to inherit eternal life. Words and works are judged by God's unerring standard, not by one's own view of them, and this judgment examines each person daily, requiring truthfulness in speech without deception. A person's words contribute to being justified or condemned, and each is accountable for the harm caused by speaking evil and sowing bitterness in others' hearts, so great care must be taken in how one judges and in not passing judgment or speaking evil of brothers and sisters. Watching to find fault and condemning dishonors Christ as Leader, is work led by Satan and must cease.
When others judge or scorn him, a person has reason not to become angry or discouraged, but to remember that Christ holds the judgment and to keep the heart pure and faithful. Those entrusted with responsibilities stand answerable to God in Him, bought with a price, and must not separate their work from Him.