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I Am The Life
June 22, 2008
Jesus declared that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that the only path to eternal life with God was through Him. This is the third of three sermons based upon His statement. This time, I examine how Jesus is our life--how that we are dead to God until born again, at which time we are alive to God again. He is also our way to eternal life in heaven.
Bernie Parsons
I Am The Life
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe Church of Christ 06-15-2008, Load 06-22-2008
John 14:1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4: And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5: Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
We have studied how that Jesus is the Way and the Truth, and now we see how that Jesus is the Life.
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2: The same was in the beginning with God.
3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4: In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
John the Baptizer said that life is in Jesus, and that life is our light. We need to look at the life of Jesus to understand how He is the light of the world.
John 11:1: “Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22: But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23: Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24: Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25: Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
Jesus becomes our life when we understand that He has the power of resurrection. That is, death and the grave could not hold Him down. In like manner, we shall be resurrected with Jesus to eternal life, if we walk in His truth and His ways.
2 Corinthians 5:14: “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
The apostle Paul gives us some clarification about how Jesus gives us life. He not only holds out the promise of eternal life in His Father’s house, but he also becomes our life while here upon the earth. Our life is not to be self-centered, nor our righteousness to be self-righteousness. Our life is to be centered on Jesus Christ, for He is the life!
2 Corinthians 4:5: “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
8: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9: Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10: Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11: For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12: So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13: We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
14: Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15: For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16: For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Jesus is our life and our light. We learn His truth, walk in His ways, and carry His light inside of us. We live as Christians while here, and secure eternal life when this flesh succumbs to the dust of the grave. Jesus is our hope and our life. Day by day the flesh perishes, but each day we are renewed inwardly, so that we reflect the life of Christ.
Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Colossians 3:1: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3: For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4: When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Romans 8:10: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11: But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Christ lives in us. By what means? We put off the old man of sin, mortify the sinful flesh, and submit to the will of the Almighty God through Christ Jesus! We learn of Him. We hear His voice. We study His words, His deeds, and His life. We examine His teachings and commandments, and we follow His example. We walk in His ways and let His light shine through our lives. Jesus is the life! People see Jesus in our lives and glorify God.
1 John 1:1: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2: (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
3: That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4: And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5: This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Jesus is the Word of Life. By accepting Jesus for who He is, we enter into a fellowship with Him, with our heavenly Father, and with one another as Christians. We must walk in the truth of God’s word, and in the ways of righteousness. If we confess our sins, Jesus cleanses us through His holy blood.
Galatians 5:13: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14: For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15: But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16: This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17: For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18: But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21: Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23: Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24: And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26: Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”
We live in the Spirit. We must walk in the Spirit. We show the death of Jesus when we are ready to die for Him—for He was ready and willing to die for us—but we show the life of Jesus when we walk in righteousness, putting off the filthy and despicable ways of the flesh. If we continue to do those unholy things that we might have done as unrepentant sinners, we shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Only by living a holy life before God can we know that we have life in us. Only by learning the ways of Jesus, and walking in His footsteps can we truly say that His life is in us.
1 John 5:10: “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
11: And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12: He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
1 John 5:20: “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”
Eternal life is in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one goes to the Father but by Him. Do you believe?
