Joh 5:21, Rom 4:17, 1Cor 15:36 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 21. As the Father raiseth up the dead . God has power to raise the dead. By his power it had been done in at least two instances--by the prophet Elijah, in the case of the son of the widow of Sarepta ( ), and by the prophet Elisha, in the case of the Shunamite's son, . The Jews did not doubt that God had power to raise the dead. Jesus here expressly affirms it, and says he has the same power. Quickeneth them . Gives them life . This is the sense of the word quickeneth throughout the Bible. Even so . In the same manner. By the same authority and power. The power of raising the dead must be one of the highest attributes of the divinity. As Jesus affirms that he has the power to do this in the same manner as the Father, so it follows that he must be equal with God. The Son quickeneth . Gives life to. This may either refer to his raising the dead from their graves, or to his giving spiritual life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins. The former he did in the case of Lazarus and the widow's son at Nain, ; . The latter he did in the case of all those who were converted by his power, and still does it in any instance of conversion. Whom he will . It was in the power of Jesus to raise up any of the dead as well as Lazarus. It depended on his will whether Lazarus and the widow's son should come to life. So it depends on his will whether sinners shall live. He has power to renew them, and the renewing of the heart is as much the result of his will as the raising of the dead. (s) "the Son quickeneth"

John 5:21

Verse 21. As the Father raiseth up the dead. God has power to raise the dead. By his power it had been done in at least two instances--by the prophet Elijah, in the case of the son of the widow of Sarepta (1Kgs 17:22), and by the prophet Elisha, in the case of the Shunamite's son, 2Kgs 4:32-35. The Jews did not doubt that God had power to raise the dead. Jesus here expressly affirms it, and says he has the same power.

Quickeneth them. Gives them life. This is the sense of the word quickeneth throughout the Bible.

Even so. In the same manner. By the same authority and power. The power of raising the dead must be one of the highest attributes of the divinity. As Jesus affirms that he has the power to do this in the same manner as the Father, so it follows that he must be equal with God.

The Son quickeneth. Gives life to. This may either refer to his raising the dead from their graves, or to his giving spiritual life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins. The former he did in the case of Lazarus and the widow's son at Nain, Jn 11:43,44; Lk 7:14,15. The latter he did in the case of all those who were converted by his power, and still does it in any instance of conversion. Whom he will. It was in the power of Jesus to raise up any of the dead as well as Lazarus. It depended on his will whether Lazarus and the widow's son should come to life. So it depends on his will whether sinners shall live. He has power to renew them, and the renewing of the heart is as much the result of his will as the raising of the dead.

(s) "the Son quickeneth" Lk 8:54, Jn 11:25, 17:2

Romans 4:17

Verse 17. As it is written. Gen 17:5.

I have made thee. The word here used in the Hebrew (Gen 17:5) means, literally, to give, to grant; and also, to set, or constitute. This is also the meaning of the Greek word used both by the Lxx. and the apostle. The quotation is taken literally from the Septuagint. The argument of the apostle is founded, in part, on the fact that the past tense is used---I have made thee--and that God spoke of a thing as already done, which he had promised or purposed to do. The sense is, he had, in his mind or purpose, constituted him the father of many nations; and so certain was the fulfillment of the Divine purposes, that he spoke of it as already accomplished.

Of many nations. The apostle evidently understands this promise as refering not to his natural descendants only, but to the great multitude who should believe as he did.

Before him. In his view or sight; i.e., god regarded him as such a father.

Whom he believed. Whose promise he believed; or in whom he trusted.

Who quickeneth the dead. Who gives life to the dead, Eph 2:1,5. This expresses the power of God to give life. But why it is used here has been a subject of debate. I regard it as having reference to the strong natural improbability of the fulfillment of the prophecy when it was given, arising from the age of Abraham and Sarah, Rom 4:19. Abraham exercise power in the God who gives life, and who gives it as he pleases. It is one of his prerogatives to give life to the dead (νεκρους) to raise up those who are in their graves; and a power similar to that, or strongly reminding of that, was manifested in fulfilling the promise to Abraham. The giving of the promise, and its fulfillment, were such as strongly to remind us that God has power to give life to the dead.

And calleth, etc. That is, those things which he foretells and promises are so certain, that he may speak of them as already in existence. Thus is relation to Abraham, God, instead of simply promising that he would make him the father of many nations, speaks of it as already done, "I have made thee," etc. In his own mind, or purpose, he had so constituted him, and it was so certain that it would take place, that he might speak of it as already done.

(t) "I have made thee a father" @Ge 17:5 (1) "before him whom" or, "like man" (u) "quickeneth the dead" Eph 2:1,5 (v) "those things" 1Cor 1:28, 1Pet 2:10

1 Corinthians 15:36

Verse 36. Thou fool. Foolish, inconsiderate man! The meaning is, that it was foolish to make this objection, when the same difficulty existed in an undeniable fact which fell under daily observation. A man was a fool to urge that as an objection to religion, which must exist in the undeniable and every-day facts which they witnessed. The idea is, "The same difficulty may be started about the growth of grain. Suppose a man, who had never seen it, were to be told that it was to be put into the earth; that it was to die; to be decomposed; and that from the decayed kernel there should be seen to start up first a slender, green, and tender spire of grass, and that this was to send up a strong stalk, and was to produce hundreds of similar kernels at some distant period. These facts would be as improbable to him as the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. When he saw the kernel laid in the ground; when he saw it decay; when apparently it was returning to dust, he would ask, How CAN these be connected with the production of similar grain? Are not all the indications that it will be totally corrupted or destroyed? "Yet, says Paul, this is connected with the hope of the harvest, and this fact should remove all the objection which is derived from the fact that the body returns to its native dust. The idea is, that there is an analogy, and that the main objection in the one case would lie equally well against the acknowledged and indisputable fact in the other. It is evident, however, that this argument is of a popular character, and is not to be pressed to the quick; nor are we to suppose that the resemblance will be in all respects the same. It is to be used as Paul used it. The objection was, that the body died, and returned to dust, and could not, therefore, rise again. The reply of Paul is, "You may make the same objection to grain that is sown. That dies also. The main body of the kernel decays. In itself there is no prospect that it will spring up. Should it stop here, and had you never seen a grain of wheat grow-- had you only seen it in the earth, as you have seen the body in the grave--there would be the same difficulty as to HOW it would produce other grains, which there is about the resurrection of the body."

Is not quickened. Does not become alive; does not grow.

Except it die. Jn 12:24. The main body of the grain decays, that it may become food and nourishment to the tender germ. Perhaps it is implied here, also, that there was a fitness that men should die in order to obtain the glorious body of the resurrection, in the same way as it is fit that the kernel should die, in order that there may be a new and beautiful harvest.

(a) "which thou sowest" Jn 12:24