John 5:26: Jesus' divinity proof?
How does John 5:26 affirm the divinity of Jesus?

Text

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” — John 5:26


Immediate Context

John 5 records Jesus’ healing of the lame man at Bethesda on the Sabbath. The ensuing debate (vv. 16–30) centers on His authority to work on the Sabbath and to claim equality with God. Verse 18 states explicitly that the Jews sought to kill Him “because He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” Verse 26 therefore functions as Jesus’ direct answer to the charge of blasphemy: He possesses the same intrinsic life that characterizes the Father, an unmistakable claim to deity.


Old Testament Background of Divine Aseity

Yahweh alone is described as the self-existent source of life.

Exodus 3:14 — “I AM WHO I AM.”

Psalm 36:9 — “In You is the fountain of life.”

By appropriating this uniquely divine attribute, Jesus aligns Himself with the “I AM” of the Old Testament (cf. John 8:58).


Jesus’ Claim to Share the Divine Prerogative

Only the Creator confers life (Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:25). Throughout John:

John 1:4 — “In Him was life.”

John 11:25 — “I am the resurrection and the life.”

John 5:26 therefore reiterates and intensifies an existing theme: the Son does not merely mediate life; He originates it.


Trinitarian Implications: Equality and Distinction

The verse safeguards both unity (shared aseity) and personal distinction (Father “grants,” Son “has”). Classic Trinitarian formulations (Nicene Creed A.D. 325; Athanasius, De Synodis 51) hinge on this text to argue homoousios—one essence, three persons.


Early Christian Reception

Ignatius (c. A.D. 110, Letter to the Magnesians 7) calls Christ “our God” who is “life eternal.” Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.16.3) cites John 5:26 to refute Gnostics, affirming that “He Himself is life who gives life.” The unanimous patristic witness underscores an original apostolic teaching, not a later doctrinal accretion.


Philosophical and Theological Significance

Aseity (self-existence) is a non-communicable attribute; contingent beings cannot possess it. If Jesus truly “has life in Himself,” He must be non-contingent and therefore God. This aligns with the Cosmological argument: the temporal universe requires a timeless, self-existent Cause. John 5:26 identifies that Cause as the Father and equally the Son, solving the philosophical need for an uncaused First Cause while grounding it in revealed Christology.


Answering Common Objections

1. “Granted” implies inferiority. — Intra-Trinitarian “granting” denotes relational order, not inequality; the granting is eternal, not temporal.

2. Jesus could be a created god. — Created beings cannot possess aseity; Scripture forbids polytheism (Isaiah 44:6).

3. Textual corruption. — Earliest manuscripts and patristic citations demonstrate authenticity.


Practical Implications for Worship and Life

Because the Son shares the Father’s intrinsic life, He is worthy of the same honor (John 5:23). Salvation rests securely on a divine Savior who can impart eternal life (John 10:28). Believers glorify God by recognizing and proclaiming the full deity of Christ, trusting Him as the self-existent Life-giver.


Conclusion

John 5:26 affirms Jesus’ divinity by attributing to Him the uniquely divine quality of self-existent life, upheld by consistent manuscript evidence, Old Testament background, early Christian testimony, and coherent philosophical necessity.

How does recognizing Jesus' authority in John 5:26 impact your faith journey?
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