John 5:21


John 5:21-29 (see also 1st Corinthians 15:22)
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

There is coming a day in which there will be a “resurrection of life” for those who are in Christ, and a “resurrection of judgment” for those who remain lost in Adam.
















Notice the similarity of this passage to 1st Corinthians 15:21-22: “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” And John 5:28-29 confirms this. All will be made alive for a physical resurrection. For some, it is the physical “resurrection of life” while for others, the physical “resurrection of judgment.” All get a resurrection, one way or the other, whether to eternal life or eternal death.

​Question: Is this passage talking about the physically dead or the spiritually dead?

Answer: Jesus mentioned “all who are in the tombs,” which implies the physically dead.

John 5:21-29 contrasts eternal life with eternal death, and explains how eternal life is achieved: “He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life.” (v.24) The main point of argument with Calvinism concerns v.25: “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” This builds up to the resurrection of life and the resurrection of judgment. The dead are the physically dead, such as Lazarus, and when Jesus called to him, he answered, and came forth.  


















​If Jesus had not prefaced “come forth” with “Lazarus,” then all of the physically dead from Genesis would have come forth. However, this was not the final resurrection, and Lazarus would later go on to die again.

Nevertheless, Calvinists place a unique meaning on “the dead” at John 5:25, to infer the spiritually dead:

Calvinist, William MacDonald, explains: “Who are the dead spoken of in this verse? Who are they who would hear the voice of the Son of God and live? This may refer of course to those people who were raised from the dead by the Lord during His public ministry. But the verse has a wider meaning than this. The dead referred to are those who are the dead in trespasses and sins. They hear the voice of the Son of God when the gospel is preached. When they accept the message and receive the Savior, then they pass from death into life.” (Believers Bible Commentary, p.1494, emphasis mine) 

Calvinism’s “wider meaning” refers to Irresistible Grace through Preemptive Regeneration:

Calvin adds: “Christ does not refer indiscriminately to all ‘the dead,’ but only to the elect, whose ears God pierces and opens so that they can receive the voice of his Son, which brings them back to life.” (John: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.132, emphasis mine) 

Jesus states: “For an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” So it’s not Calvinism’s elect, as Calvin argues, whose ears are pierced, but rather, all men. This is the resurrection of life for those who believed in the Son of God, and the resurrection of judgment for those who did not. No secret calls; all will be summoned unto judgment.

Calvin infers Irresistible Grace: “As spiritual death is nothing else than the alienation of the soul from God, we are all born dead, and we live dead until we are made partakers of the life of Christ; hence also John: ‘The hour now comes, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live’ (John 5.25).” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, p.139, emphasis mine)

If Calvin was talking about a physical resurrection, as Jesus did, then there would be agreement, but Calvin is talking about the alleged hour when Calvinism’s elect are given regenerative spiritual life through Irresistible Grace. Calvinists would like for you to picture Lazarus coming out of the physical tomb, when he heard the call of Jesus, just like each member of the elect comes out of a spiritual tomb, when they each hear the call of Irresistible Grace. Yes, Calvinists do take liberties.