JOHN 5:39 Ye THINK Ye Have Eternal Life

John 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 41 I receive not honour from men. (bold, italics added)

 

The Jews to whom Jesus was here speaking wanted Him dead because He had indirectly declared He was equal to God:

John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

It was to this belligerent audience that Christ spoke “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life.” But the truth is, the Scriptures, as valuable as they are, do not in and of themselves provide us with eternal life – coming to Christ gives us a chance – note he says “might” rather than “will.” In other words, both are required – searching and following the Scriptures and following the precepts of Jesus.

Notice that Jesus does not say “that ye shall have eternal life,” but rather “that ye might have eternal life.” Confessing Christ to be the Savior is a good start, but if we stop there, it will not take us across the finish line. We must also follow Jesus.

 

Matt. 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (also quoted in Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; see also John 12:26; (bold added)) 

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (bold, italics added)

 Jesus did not say “read about what I said” but rather “hear” my voice. How to hear Jesus? He is talking about inspiration, about personal revelation.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

What does it mean then to follow Jesus? We do what He did – we do his works.

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (bold added)

 We must continue to receive inspiration:

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (bold added)

Remember that the word, in the which we continue, is the word we hear and then do.

Conclusion:

·      Searching the Scriptures can give us direction and knowledge of Christ, because they testify of Him, but that direction and knowledge alone will not save us;

·      Coming to Christ, or following Him, offers us a chance to have [eternal] life;

·      Following Christ means we believe on him, and do His works;

·      We must not seek our own will, but rather the will of the Father who sent Christ.

·      We must endure to the end, to continue in doing Christ’s inspiration. Then are we His disciples indeed, and then we have eternal life. All we need to do to obtain eternal life is listen for the promptings of His spirit, and follow them. Those promptings guide us to repent, believe on Him, hear His word (guidance to do good) through inspiration, continue (don't give up), and to be at peace with ourselves knowing that we are his disciples indeed!

·    Added thought: Churches that have as their foundation study, scholars, degrees, learning, consensus on the correct translations of the many varied ancient Biblical manuscripts, and mere confession of Christ’s divinity, thinking  therein they have eternal life, are missing the mark. Among the churches that rely on prophets, inspiration and revelation, thinking and doing good rather than just hearing, there might be found the correct path.