It has been a beautiful period of fellowship with the Lord; grace has flourished; and we intend to go higher for knowledge of God and His Christ bequeath grace and peace (2Pet.1:2).
Today, we shall be considering another important subject matter:
Topic: LIFE ABUNDANT FROM THE LORD
Subtext: Jn.10:10
Success comes by acquiring knowledge and using it punctually and profitably. Many lack because they don’t know what to do; others know what to do but don’t know how or and when to go about it, hence opportunities are lost (Hos.4:6; Eccl.10:15). But the will of God is that the righteous should always progress (Pro.4:18, Deut.28:1-3, 3Jn.2).
From our subtext, the Lord Jesus spoke of a kind of life that He brought to be enjoyed abundantly (Gk. Perissos meaning superlatively or beyond measure). It is called Zoe (Gk) – God’s kind of life. Life is simply the state of existence of a being. There are 3 classes of life viz (i) Biological (Gk.Bios), (ii) Soulish (Gk.psuche), (iii) Spiritual (Gk. Zoe).
Bios: is the state of an organism (man) characterized by certain processes and abilities: metabolism, growth, reproduction, response, etc. It is about physical existence.
Psuche: is the breath of life. That vital force that animates the body and shows itself in breathing (Gen.2:7). It is the life controlled from the senses (soul). It is a lower from of life that comes from the flesh and is dependent upon temporal form of life for its support (Rom.8:3-8). It is the life that loves the world (1Jn.2:15-17). It is self-serving and belongs to the sense world (Matt.6:24; Jas.3:15). It was laid down by Jesus at the age of 33 and ought to be laid by all disciples (Jn.10:15,17; 12:24,25; Matt.19,25, cp. Col.3:1-2).
Zoe: Divine vitality is life in the absolute sense as God has it, which the Lord manifested in the earth (Jn.5:26; 14:6; 1Jn.1:2). It was enjoyed by Adam until the fall (Eph.4:18) and it was restored at salvation when an erstwhile sinner is raised from death, by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit to sit with Christ in the heavenly places (Jn3:15; 5:24; Eph.2:4-6). It has inherent power to last into eternity; hence called everlasting or eternal life (Jn.5:24; 3:15; 6:54,68; 10:28).
It is this zoe-life that can birth and sustain divine love with other godly qualities (2Pet.1:3,4; 1Jn.4:8).
Its operation is resisted by fleshly activities – works of the flesh (Rom.8:1-8). The saints of the Old Testament had limited enjoyment of this highest order of life; and Jesus came and gave it in abundance (Jn.10:10; 15:13; 19:30).
As soon as the sinner repents and accepts the Lordship of Jesus Christ, this divine life is birthed in him.
The quality of life (Zoe) permits the Spirit of God to produce fruits in the child of God (Gal.5:22-25; Rom.8:13).
The sinner must repent and receive this life tonight, while the saints must resolve to grow the life through spiritual exercises: prayer, scripture reading and meditations, fasting etc (Gal.6:8; Jos.6:63; Gol.3:16). Zoe carries divine capabilities (Gen.1:1-3; Jn.20:21)