John 5:26

“For as the Father hath life in himself, etc.] Is the living God, the fountain of life, and is the author of life to all living creatures; or rather has eternal life in his mind, his heart, his counsel, and his covenant, and in his hands, for all his chosen ones, which seems to he the peculiar sense here: so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; he hath not only made the purpose of it in him, and given the promise of it to him; but even eternal life itself, he has put into his hands, and secured it in him for them, (<620511>1 John 5:11), to give it to as many as he has given him: and he does give it to all his sheep, so that not one of them shall perish; which shows that he and…”

“given to the Son, &c.--Does this refer to the essential life of the Son before all time (Joh 1:4) (as most of the Fathers, and OLSHAUSEN, STIER, ALFORD, &c., among the moderns), or to the purpose of God that this essential life should reside in the Person of the Incarnate Son, and be manifested thus to the world? [CALVIN, LUCKE, LUTHARDT, &c.] The question is as difficult as the subject is high. But as all that Christ says of His essential relation to the Father is intended to explain and exalt His mediatorial functions, so the one seems in our Lord's own mind and language mainly the starting-point of the other.”

“As the Father hath life - God is the source of all life. He is thence called the living God, in opposition to idols which have no life. Acts 14:15; “we preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities (idols) ‘unto the living God,’” Joshua 3:10; 1 Samuel 17:26; Jeremiah 10:10. See also Isaiah 40:18-31. In himself - This means that life in God, or existence, is not derived from any other being. Our life is derived from God. Genesis 2:7; God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” - that is, a living being. All other creatures derive their life from him. Psalms 104:30, Psalms 104:29; “thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; thou takest away…”

“He hath given to the Son - By eternal generation, to have life in himself - Absolute, independent. John 5:27”

“hath life: Exo 3:14; Psa 36:9, Psa 90:2; Jer 10:10; Act 17:25; Ti1 1:17, Ti1 6:16 so hath: Joh 1:4, Joh 4:10, Joh 7:37, Joh 7:38, Joh 8:51, Joh 11:26, Joh 14:6, Joh 14:19, Joh 17:2, Joh 17:3; Co1 15:45; Col 3:3, Col 3:4; Jo1 1:1-3; Rev 7:17, Rev 21:6, Rev 22:1, Rev 22:17 John 5:27”