Bringing Life To The Living

Jesus came to a planet of living beings and brought life.

Since His coming, we have seen attacks against Christianity and the Bible. These will continue because people in darkness hate the light. But the light is life. Jesus shows us what life is about. He shows us how to live!

It should be obvious that the Bible does not reveal the complete knowledge of God within its pages. How could any book contain such knowledge? However, He has expressed to us what we need to know.

In 1 Corinthians 2:7-16, Paul wrote about the role of the Holy Spirit in giving us the Word of God. The Spirit revealed the wisdom of God that had previously been hidden. This was the plan of God for the abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10.

The Bible reveals what was once hidden. God is able to communicate so that we can understand Him. With effort, we can understand the Bible. It was written for us to understand life and to access the promises and the power of God for our salvation.

Of course, there are misinterpretations and alleged contradictions, but these are unnecessary. Thorough learning and continued study can reveal truth. And as for contradictions, they have never been successfully proven. Since the words were first recorded people have attempted to set them aside by various means. There have been hundreds of accusations made against the Bible. All of them have been overturned by study and analysis of the Bible.

Second Timothy 3:16-17 teaches us that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God. The word "inspiration" literally means "God-breathed [out]". It is the expression of God Himself. Thus it is profitable for "doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness."

For us, the above means that the Bible is complete. Second Peter 1:3 tells us that we have been given "all things that pertain to life and godliness" through the knowledge Jesus has. This knowledge was passed to us through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles (1 Corinthians 2). We have no need to look anywhere else to find how to live a life pleasing to and blessed by God.

The Bible is the means to our salvation. Jude 3 teaches us the importance of the faith--that it is worth fighting for (figuratively). Paul wrote in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. So what the Bible provides is not just "good advice" to consider. It provides the very information we need to be saved from destruction and punishment from God. It tells us how to find the blessings of God's promises.

There is no replacement for the Bible. It is the expression of God. It is authoritative, complete, and unblemished.

With our noses in the book, our feet on the path, and our eyes watching carefully for dangers, we will be granted the promise of Jesus: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

Jesus came to a planet of living people and brought life.

A Life of Living

What Is Life?

When we think about living life we think of it in terms of life being the opposite of death. “The body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26). But we also know that the Bible teaches about life after death. All humans will continue to exist beyond physical death. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 the Holy Spirit stated that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Obviously we must think of life and death in different ways if we want to understand the Bible.

 

Once our spirits separate from our physical bodies, the question of life takes a new turn. Once we die we can no longer think in terms of life being the opposite of physical death. But if we cannot define life in comparison to physical death, how can we define “life”?

Existence Versus Extinction?

Some have chosen to define life in terms of length beyond the grave. These people suppose that after death people will either enter heaven or eventually simply cease to exist (or be caused to go out of existence by God’s wrath). Thus they define life as existing in eternity and define death as ceasing to exist.

That idea violates many passages in the Bible. Jesus Himself said that those who are “on the right hand” (i.e., in favor with God) would enter “eternal life” while those on His left hand would receive “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46).  We cannot define life after death by thinking of it in terms of existence versus extinction. Even the evil people will continue on forever while being punished. That state of continual punishment is not called “life”. It is called death.

Revelation 20:14 calls the Lake of Fire the second death. Jesus said those people would receive “everlasting punishment”. They are not going to cease to exist. And they are going to die a second death. Obviously, we cannot think of life and death in terms of existing and extinction.

Quality and Source

 We must look at life (and death) in a way that involves the Source of life. Life resides within God’s nature. John wrote, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). When we think of what life is after death we must think of it in terms of the nature of God. As such, life after death is a matter of quality.

As a way of illustration, consider Satan. The Bible teaches that Satan exists as a personality; however, the Bible never says that Satan is living. If that is difficult to accept as possible, please consider John 1:4-5. The life that resides in Jesus was a light to the world. If life is described as “light”, what would “darkness” be? Jesus came to a whole world of people who existed, but they did not have LIFE! That is why Jesus said He came that we might have life in John 10:10. But notice that life is only extended to those who are His sheep. That is, life is extended to Christians!

Jesus did not come so that Satan could have life. He did not come so that everyone on earth would automatically receive life. He came to offer anyone who would listen a chance to live! John said that as many as received Jesus, “to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). That life comes from the nature of God. It is found “in Him” (John 1:4).

Spiritual death is the absence of God. Satan is an entity that exists in the spiritual realm. He has personality. He has thoughts and intentions. He has many attributes that humans also have. But he is not living because spiritual life is a matter of quality, and that quality relates to the nature of God Himself.

When we understand this concept about life, it will help us understand the importance of 2 Peter 1:4-7. That list does not merely give good suggestions for having a better life. The attributes in that list relate to the very nature of God. Peter is telling us that we can be “partakers of the divine nature”. Being like God is not just a good idea. It is the essence of spiritual life! Without that divine nature, we are not living.