TWO KINDS OF LIFE

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12 NKJV)

 

Simply put, what Jesus Christ came to give or offer the fallen mankind is “Life”

Jesus declared this loud and clear.

John 10:

 10 “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. (NKJV).

If what Jesus Christ came to give us is life, it simply means that life is all that we need!

But does this mean we didn’t have life before Jesus Christ came into the world?

Obviously, we have life but not God’s kind of life!

We were born with a natural or physical life. But what Jesus came to give us is divine or supernatural life, the kind of life that God has in Himself (John 5:21, 26).

How is the divine life Jesus came to give us different from the natural life we were born with?

First, the Life Jesus gives is spiritual, divine, supernatural and heavenly:

It is the very life of God!

John 5:

 20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

 21 “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

 22 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

 23 “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

 24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

 25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

 26 “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. (NKJV).

The nature or quality of life that Jesus gives to everyone who believes in Him, receives Him, and submits to Him is the same as the life in God. It is not a life inferior to that which God has. It is the very life of God!

The spiritual, divine or supernatural life imparted to a believing heart at the point of spiritual regeneration transcends everything on this earth, for it comes from above (John 3:31).

It is an overcoming, victorious, or winning life, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). Therefore, anyone who has the spiritual, divine, supernatural or heavenly life in him has divine capacity or ability to overcome, triumph, prosper and succeed in this world.

In contrast, the life we have through the natural birth is physical, human, natural and earthly. It is a weak, inferior or deficient life that is susceptible to sickness, poverty, failure, frustration, and death (Eccl. 2:23).    

Job 14:

 1 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.

 2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. (NKJV).

Second, the Life Jesus gives imparts divine or supernatural nature:

The life of God is responsible for His nature. The born-again believers have become partakers of the very nature of God because they have received the very life of God at New Birth (2 Pet. 1:4).

The nature or character of God is the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

Your born-again spirit has the same divine, holy, and loving nature of God. But, you can only manifest God’s nature in your born-again spirit to the degree or extent to which you renew your physical mind (Rom. 12:2).

In contrast to divine life, the human life imparts fallen, corrupt, sinful and rebellious nature.

Third, the Life Jesus gives imparts God-consciousness:

The life of God gives us the spiritual capacity to worship God in spirit and truth, and to enjoy a personal and intimate relationship or communion with God.

It is also the life of God in the believers that creates and sustains undying desire, hunger or thirst in their hearts for spiritual truths, God’s Word. It is impossible to love, worship and serve God acceptably without having His life in you (Psa. 27:4, Phil. 3:7-12).

In contrast, the natural life imparts self-consciousness. This is why the unbelievers are only self-seeking and self-centred.

The physical or earthly life also imparts love and hunger for the things of this world. This is why the unregenerate people are passionately and unrelentingly pursuing the ephemeral pleasures, riches and material prosperity at the expense of their souls (Matt. 6:31-33, 1 John 2:15-17).

Fourth, the Life Jesus gives imparts spiritual understanding:

Eternal life is a spiritual capacity to know God intimately and to receive, know, understand and believe spiritual truths.

The Scripture amply testifies to this truth.

John 17:

 3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (NKJV).

1 John 5:

 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (NKJV).

Moreover, it is the supernatural life in the believers that gives them the supernatural ability to know, understand, discern or recognize God’s voice (John 10:14).

The life of God transmits the light of life or spiritual knowledge to the believer’s soul (John 1:4).

John 8:

 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (NKJV).

In contrast, a natural man, who is alienated from God’s life, is without a spiritual light or understanding, but he is spiritually blind, walking about in spiritual darkness (Eph. 4:17-18).

The natural life only imparts the natural ability to operate by the five natural senses. A natural man is limited to natural wisdom, knowledge or understanding.

1 Corinthians 2:

 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (NKJV).

Lastly, the Life Jesus offers all mankind is infinity, timeless, limitless, or everlasting.

Death cannot terminate God’s life in the believers. Divine life swallows up death in victory. This is why the Scripture calls it “everlasting life.”

John 3:

 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (NKJV).

John 6:

 47 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (NKJV).

Death only has power to terminate the natural and temporal life, but not the divine and eternal life.

The Lord points out this truth to Martha.

John 11:

 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

 26 “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (NKJV).

Beloved, divine or supernatural life is not something abstract, but it is a divine personality. It is Jesus Christ Himself!

John 14:

 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (NKJV).

The person of Jesus Christ and the life He came to give us are inseparable. The life Jesus gives is the expression of His person. Therefore, no one can have divine, supernatural, or heavenly life without believing in and confessing Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord.

The Scripture amply attests to this truth.

1 John 5:

 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. (NKJV).

John 3:

 35 “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

 36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (NKJV).

Friend, believe in Christ today and you will receive everlasting life, the very life of God!

 

Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for offering me everlasting life in the person of Jesus Christ. Today, I receive and confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and thus receive the gift of eternal life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.