Divine Life and Light

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.(John 1: 4-5 KJV)

Consider life for just a moment. Try to define it. Try to put it in words. It is more than merely saying we are living beings. It is more than simply breathing or our heart pumping or our brain running. It is beyond our intellect to try to explain all the processes that must take place for you and me to live. It is overwhelming to consider what all is needed for us to truthfully say we are alive. But Jesus knows. And, even better he is it. He started it. He created it. He fashioned it. He is life. Take Jesus away and there is no life.

Consider light for just a moment. Can you imagine the moment when light burst forth to overwhelm darkness? We, for the most part, have never known total darkness. Picture total darkness in your minds-think about the fear and the anxiety that comes with being in the dark. Feel your heart racing, your palms sweating, your body shaking. Then, imagine God saying "Let there be light." And light burst forth to overwhelm the darkness. I suppose a blind person receiving their sight might have an inkling of understanding of this transcendent moment. I read of a blind man who gained his sight saying: "I never knew that red was so vibrant; the sun sets were so beautiful; the grass was so green; and the smiles so precious." Yet Jesus was there. He ignited light.

In Jesus we have the embodiment of both life and light. As John continues his introduction of Jesus, he focuses on the pair of words: Light and life. John wrote, "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:4-5). In this verse, through these two words, Jesus is saying, "I will show you the way to God."

Life and light are the two basic words on which John's introduction of Jesus is presented. These words reveal two more truths about Jesus.

I. The Truths
A. Jesus is the life-giver
John says, "In him was life." John uses the term life thirty-six times in his gospel. Jesus says time and time again that he is the giver of life, the author of life. To Maratha as her brother Lazarus lay dead in the tomb, Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25)
To Thomas, who was bewildered about death and the afterlife, Jesus states, "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). To a crowd of people, Jesus utters, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).

The word John uses for life is zoe in which the English words zoo and zoology are derived. It refers to life as God has it. It is the essence of life not limited by time, nor hindered by death. The word zoe stands in contrast to another Greek word for life, bios, in which the English word biology is derived. It refers to the duration of life-one's life span, the time between one's birth date and one's death date; or it refers to the necessities of life-one's food, shelter, and clothing.

As a divine gift, the life became the light that points people to God. Now, John presents the second truth.

B. Jesus is the light-bearer.
John continues, ". . . that life was the light of men." There is an interesting grammatical construction here. In the Greek text both "life" and "light" carry the definite article. So this phrase could be translated as it is printed: "that life was the light of men" or "that light was the life of men." Either way works. Either is true. Just as John links life with Christ, so does he link light with Christ. Just as the first Creation began with "Let there be light!" so the New Creation begins with the entrance of light into the heart of the believer. The coming of Jesus Christ into the world was the dawning of a new day for sinful man.

John uses this word light twenty-one times in his gospel. Jesus said on two occasions, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12, 9:5). To the people of John's day, light was symbolic of deity. The Rabbis used light as a name for the Messiah that was promised to come. When John said Jesus is the light, he is claiming that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. It was another way he was saying that Jesus is God.

C. Darkness is the villain.
Over against light and life is darkness. In John's story Jesus is the hero, and darkness is the villain. John continues, "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." The darkness stands as the antithesis to the light and life. Darkness stands for life without Christ, and especially for that which has turned its back on Christ. With one word, darkness, John introduces Satan, who, by the way, is called "the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). 

The cosmic struggle between God and Satan is revealed. In fact, Satan strives to keep people in the darkness, because darkness means death and hell, while light means life and heaven.

The words not understood mean simply that the world cannot understand the demands of Christ. We see this over and over again in John's gospel that the people will not understand what Jesus is saying and doing and, as a result, they will oppose him. And, in the end, they kill him for their misunderstanding. But, the words not understand can also mean never overcome, a reminder that Satan will never overcome Jesus. Try as it might, the darkness cannot extinguish the light. The people killed Jesus. It appeared that Satan had won. But Jesus rose from the dead, victorious.

II. The significance
What does all of this talk about life, light, and darkness mean to us?

A. Jesus gives you something you could never get on your own.
The point that John is making is that Jesus has brought us physical life but he wants to give us eternal life. We may know life as humans have it, but not know life as God has it. We can be breathing, our heart pumping blood, but not have everlasting life. The life that Jesus gives is infinitely and eternally different than the life one possesses now. Jesus wants to give you something you could never get on your own-eternal life.

The clearest statement that Jesus made about this gift is the most quoted and most endearing verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

B. Jesus gives you something better than you deserve.
Not only does Jesus gives you something you could never get on your own-eternal life, he gives you something better than you deserve-abundant life. Here's the twist. Jesus promises to give us eternal life, meaning that when we die, we live with him for eternity. But before that happens, he promises to give us an enhanced life while we are here on this earth. The life that he gives is not only eternal; it is abundant. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Jesus quantifies this life. The phrase "have it to the full" (John 10:10) is translated "abundantly" or "fullness" or "overflowing." The word means to have a superabundance of a thing. It carries with it the idea of overflowing the container, more than one can handle, that which goes beyond necessity, life beyond our wildest dreams. It takes the characteristics of vitality, meaning energy, purpose, significance, outlook, hope, and joy. In our modern vernacular, we could say Jesus gives an upgrade on life.

Have you ever received an upgrade?  Who doesn't like upgrades?

Whether it is on rental cars, hotel rooms, carpet for your home, or memory for your computer. We like upgrades. We want upgrades.

Perhaps you have never thought of it this way before, but the life that Jesus gives is an upgrade. He upgrades despair to hope, bondage to freedom, perplexity to peace, and illness to health (to mention but a few). His most significant upgrade for us is in moving us from a predicament of lostness to the paradise of salvation, from a destination of hell to heaven. While we don't deserve it, he gives it.

Who doesn't want eternal life? Who doesn't want abundant life? If we have any sense, we should be saying, "Point me to it." Which Jesus does.

C. Jesus shows you where to go when you could never find it on your own.
Jesus is the light. The first definition for "light" in the dictionary is "something that makes vision possible." In other words, light makes it possible for us to see. Without light, we are hopelessly blind-blind to our spiritual predicament, blind to the way out of spiritual darkness. Light makes it possible for us to see clearly, to see things as they really are. Jesus came as light to help a blind world regain its sight, to show people the way. Jesus said, "I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (John 12:46). On another occasion Jesus said, "I have come into this world, so that the blind will see" (John 9:39). Jesus brings us the light that restores us from spiritual darkness.

While on maneuvers, a battleship lookout noted a light in the dark, foggy night. After noting the light's coordinates, the captain recognized his ship was on a collision course with the other vessel. The captain instructed, "Signal the ship: We are on a collision course; advise you change course 20 degrees." The return signal countered, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."

The captain signaled, "I'm a captain, change course 20 degrees." The response was, "I'm a seaman second class, you'd better change your course 20 degrees." By this time the captain was furious. His signal curtly ordered, "I'm a battleship. Change course 20 degrees." The reply: "I'm a lighthouse. You make the call."

Without Christ we are like a ship lost on the open sea in a dense fog, groping for the eternal shore, waiting with beating heart for someone to dispel the darkness with the light of salvation. That is what Christ has done, he has provided the light in the darkness of our sin, our doomed existence, so that we can see God and be rescued from our ill-fated damnation.

Are you walking in the light today or are you still in darkness? Do you need to change your course so as not to meet your eternal demise?

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).

III. The trust
These benefits of eternal life, abundant life, and spiritual life exist only in relationship with Jesus. Notice in John 1:4, John says, "In him was life." John uses the words "In him" not "by him" or "through him." In other words, the life that Jesus brings both the quantity and quality does not exist apart from a relationship with Christ. The life that belongs to God becomes ours when we enter into a relationship with Jesus.

Jesus reiterates this thought: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). The I in this verse is emphatic, meaning that life is found in no other than him. Life is entered by no other than Jesus himself.

Physical life is granted to all who are living. Eternal, abundant, and spiritual life, while offered to all, is only possessed by those who trust in Jesus. Life! Not just living, but true, genuine life. Life that gives us light that darkness cannot steal away. That's why God sent Jesus! Thankfully that light still shines and all of Satan's horses and all of Satan's men cannot put their deepest darkest darkness together again! Hallelujah!

Life has one source; spiritual eyesight is obtained one way; heaven can be entered through one access. And the single means of admission to all that is life and light is Jesus. 

What must we do? Trust in the life-giver and follow the light-bearer, Jesus.

Today's Prayer
For every good and perfect gift, for the light I have even in my moments of deepest darkness, for the hope I have of living with you in glorious and unapproachable light, I thank you and praise you with eternal joy, now and forevermore. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Don't Neglect Christ in Us

Christ is in you... It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God.(Colossians 1:27) To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, (Romans 8:10)

Certain religious teachers attempt to systematize the revelation in the New Testament.   Under the influence of such systematic teachings, some suppose that since Christ is in the third heaven He cannot be elsewhere, particularly not in us. Nevertheless, the Bible says that Christ is both in the third heaven and in us as well. Furthermore, although Christ is in us already, He is coming. This means that He is both here now and He is coming. I cannot reconcile this. I simply believe both aspects because the New Testament reveals both.

The problem many believers have is that they have been religiously indoctrinated regarding the objective aspect of the Lord's coming, to the neglect of the subjective aspect. They pay their full attention to the Christ in heaven and firmly believe in His coming back. However, they neglect the fact of the indwelling Christ, perhaps not even realizing that Christ is now within them. As we are awaiting Christ's coming back from the heavens, we need to enjoy Him inwardly. 

The Lord Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). 

The Lord's word here indicates that He is here already. How we need to experience the living, subjective, indwelling Christ!

My burden is to minister such a Christ to the Lord's people. What is the use of knowing how to rightly interpret the Bible if we do not have a direct, precious, and intimate enjoyment of the living Christ?

You Have the Spirit of Christ
The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,  and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:7-11)

What´s Different about You?

Now at the beginning of verse 9 the issue is: What´s different about you? The verse begins, "But you . . ." So there is a group of people who are different from those described in verses 7 and 8. These are true Christians. So here we learn what it means to be a true Christian. And oh what a difference it makes to be such a Christian! Would that the world knew what this says!

So if you wonder what a Christian is, listen carefully to the Word of God. It is not the family you grow up in. It is not whether you were baptized or confirmed. It is not whether you have been to Christian schools. It is not what church you go to or what denomination you belong to. What is it? What makes you different, if you are a Christian the way Paul describes it here?

How Christians Are Similar to and Dissimilar from Those in the Flesh
If we take just verses 9-11, Paul describes five ways that you are unlike the rest of the world (those who are "in the flesh"), and one way that you are like the rest of the world. Let´s take these one at a time. And, Christian, learn here who you are and whose you are. This is no small thing. These are breathtaking truths about yourselves that you are about to hear. Ask God to help you feel the wonder of these things, so your life will show them more.

And, non-Christian, listen well and you may become a Christian, because these things I am about describe come true for us by faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). I pray that God may bring you gently and reasonably and freely to see and welcome and embrace Christ through his Word.

1. The Spirit Dwells in You
First, you, Christian, are different because "the Spirit of God dwells in you." Look right in the middle of verse 9 to see this (and there is a reason why I start in the middle): "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." This is the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. It is not merely a matter different ideas. It is the very presence of the Spirit of God dwelling in us.

The word "dwell" is important. It´s more than "be there," like you might be in a bus station or in a train or in a car or in a store. "Dwell" (oikeM) comes from the word "house" (oikos). And so the implication is that the Spirit of God is not present in you as if you were a stopover. He has taken up residence here. This is where he lives. This is his home. The implication is nearness and familiarity and influence. If someone makes your house their home, they will be near you a lot. They will become familiar with you and you with them. And they will have an influence on you and the way you live. Know this about yourselves, Christians: the Spirit of God dwells – makes his home – in you. If you are not becoming very familiar with him, and communing with him, and being influenced by him, something is profoundly wrong. Don´t ignore him or grieve him or resist him. What better Christmas gift could the risen Christ give you than the Spirit of God to dwell in you?

Paul describes this first distinguishing thing about Christians in two other ways: He says, next in verse 9, "you have the Spirit of Christ." And then, at the beginning of verse 10 he says, "Christ is in you." So the first distinguishing thing about being Christian different from those who are "in the flesh" is that we are "inhabited" people. And he says it three ways: 1) "the Spirit of God dwells in you" (v. 9b); 2) "you have the Spirit of Christ" (v. 9c); 3) "Christ is in you" (v. 10a).

The change in names here is full of treasures. "Spirit of God," "Spirit of Christ," "Christ" – all of them referring essentially to the same presence. The Spirit is equally the Spirit of God the Father and the Spirit of God the Son, Jesus Christ. And the Spirit communicates so much of Christ that it is fitting to say Christ himself is present in you.

Listen to the way Jesus said it while he was still on earth.  "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:16-18)

Do you see what he says? Verse 16: He will send the "Helper," the "Spirit of truth." Then he suggests (in v. 17b) that this Spirit is one with himself: "He abides with you and will be in you." In other words: I am with you now. But I will be in you after I return to my Father and send the Spirit of truth. Then (in v. 18) he speaks explicitly about himself: "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

So for Jesus and Paul the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) – is one with the Spirit of Christ and communicates so much of Christ that Paul and Jesus say: When he is present in you, Christ is present in you.

There are treasures for you here, Christian. Give yourself time to ponder these things and revel in them. You are never without Christ. Never far from Christ. He is never at a distance. He has said, "I will be with you to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20), and now we know how close he really promises to be.

That is the first thing that makes you different as a Christian:
The Spirit of God dwells in you. You have the Spirit of Christ. Christ is in you.

2. You Are in the Sway of the Spirit
Now here is the second thing that makes you different. The second clause in verse 9: "You are in the Spirit." Note this carefully. This is not saying, "The Spirit is in you," but, "You are in the Spirit." And this is what distinguishes you from those who are in the flesh. Verse 9a: "However, you are not in the flesh but [you are] in the Spirit."

What does it mean that "you are in the Spirit"? It means that you are in the sway of the Spirit, under the power of the Spirit. It means that the Spirit is the decisive influence on your life. I don´t say only influence. He has his enemies and competitors. But to be "in the Spirit" is to come from the power of darkness into the power of God (Acts 26:18). I base this mainly on the parallel with being "in the flesh" and what Paul says about that in verses 7-8. To be in the flesh is to be held in bondage to the flesh, to be under the sway and captivity of the flesh, so that we can´t submit to God´s law and can´t please God. Now he says, "You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit." So I take him to mean that the Spirit has broken that dominion of the flesh and now holds the reins of your life. You are in his hands, not in the hands of the flesh.

Now to connect these first two distinctions of being a Christian and see another treasure: Paul connects them for us in verse 9: "[You are] in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." In other words, the Spirit liberates us and holds sway over us from inside of us. If he dwells in you, you are in him – in his sway and under his decisive influence. This is precious because it calls to mind all the inner transformation that makes us free in the service of Christ. The Spirit is not just outside barking commands at us to influence us. He is inside, working a new heart and a mind conformed to Christ, so that we will delight to do what he commands. This is one of the great evidences that he is there.

3. You Belong to Christ
The third thing Paul says about our difference as Christians is that we belong to Christ. Note the last two clauses of verse 9: "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." So the reverse is true too: If you do have the Spirit of Christ, you do belong to him. So as Christians we should think of ourselves as belonging to Christ – as Christ´s possession.

In what sense are we Christ´s possession? Paul connects the ideas of indwelling and possession in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 in a way that explains: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" In what sense? He explains in verse 20: "For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." Paul describes two ways that Christ makes us his own: purchase and habitation.

There was a time in this country when you could lay claim to a piece of land in the west by simply going there and living on it, homesteading it. And of course there is the more traditional ways of obtaining land, paying for it. Christ did both in order to possess a people for himself: he bought us, and he homesteaded us. "You are not your own. For you have been bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) – that´s the purchase. "You are the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . You are not your own" . . . "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9) – that´s the homesteading. He bought us with his blood, and he moves in by his Spirit. If you are a Christian, you are not your own. You belong to Christ.

We are inhabited by Christ, under the sway of Christ, and owned by Christ.

And here too there are treasures for you to ponder and enjoy. One of the main treasures in Paul´s mind seems to be the absolute security that this gives us, even in the face of death. Christ takes care of his own. He did not buy us to lose us. He bought us to have us and keep us.

You see Paul´s concern with this in the last two points. I said there were five things that set us apart from non-Christians, and one thing that showed how we are the same. Let´s take the point of similarity next.

Christians Are Like the Rest of the World in That Their Bodies Remain Mortal

Verse 10: "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin . . ." So here´s the point of similarity. In this age our bodies remain mortal, and will die even though we are inhabited by Christ. In other words, redemption happens in stages. And the redemption of our bodies does not happen now in this age. We wait, verse 23 says, for the redemption of our bodies. Your bodies are as good as dead because you are part of a sinful and fallen humanity. In that way we are like the rest of mankind. We will die.

But now there are two other things that make Christians different from non-Christians and that take the sting out of our mortality.

4. Your Spirit Is Alive Because of the Righteousness and the Presence of Christ
The fourth difference from those in the flesh is at the end of verse 10: "The spirit is alive because of righteousness." Yes, the body is mortal and doomed to die. But two things make it different for our spirit: the gift of righteousness and the presence of Christ. You see them both in verse 10: "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness." The gift of righteousness secured at the cross obtains our life, and the presence of Christ in us applies the life to us as an experience now and forever.

We don´t have to wait for the redemption of our bodies to be spiritually alive. The righteousness is ours now, and Christ is ours now, and therefore life is ours now. Know this about yourself, Christian. Know that the gift of righteousness is the ground of your life now. Not just later. Now. You are alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). And you can never die. The perfection of Christ in your place and the presence of Christ in your heart secures you forever.

5. Your Mortal Bodies Will Be Raised
If you die and your living spirit separates from your mortal body for a time, that separation will not last forever. Verse 11: "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

So even though redemption happens in stages, the stages will come. That´s the point. Your resurrection is as certain as Christ´s resurrection because the Spirit that raised him from the dead dwells in you. God did not create the body to throw it away. And Christ did not purchase the body to throw it away. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. And just as Jesus raised up the temple of his own body in three days, he will raise us up and live in us forever and ever.

O Christian, know whose you are. And know the treasures that you have in him. And if you are listening without Christ, come to him and believe. Trust him. Receive him. Call on him. He will save you and make you his own.