In John 10:10, our Lord Jesus Christ boldly declares: “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly “. To have it abundantly connotes two things, namely: you can multiply it and secondly, the level of abundance is an individual responsibility.
As believers, we often quote the scripture, but most do not go beyond recitation to know the depth and content of this life that Christ has come to give. The life that our Lord Jesus came to give is more than a breath and it is also more than an endless state of existence. Death is also an endless state, but there is a substance in this life that our Lord Jesus gives which makes it enviable, something to strive for and lay hold of. The book of 1Cor 2: 2 talks about the need for us to have an understanding of things freely given to us of God. This life we have received of God in Christ is a complete package; Apostle Peter in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3 describes it as “all that pertains to life (existence) and godliness.”
What is inherent in this life that Christ came to give?
Romans 8 verse 2 gives us a starting point, it states: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.”
The scripture in 1Cor 15 verse 56 makes us understand the relationship between law, sin and death. It states: “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” Did Christ come to abolish the law? By no means no, but He came to set us free from the guilt of sin, free from the consequences of breaking the word of the law by fulfilling the law as us and paid the wages of sin by His death on the cross for man. Having been thus set free from sin and death (for it is written the soul that sins, it shall die), we were made partakers of godliness. This is a fundamental treasure inherent in the life that our Lord Jesus gave us, that is Godliness. This is not a one of thing, it is meant to be our endless state reality. 1Tim 4 verse 8 says: “but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”. Psalm 82 verse 2 accentuated this, it says: “I said ye are gods and all of you are children of the Most High.”
Having been set free from the bondage of sin and death and restored into godliness, we have liberty as children of God to be partakers of God’s divine nature. Just like a child in the natural is a partaker of his father’s inheritance, so also by reason of life in Christ we are made partakers of God’s inheritance which Apostle Peter calls “His divine nature” in 2 Peter 1: 4
Having been restored to a godly estate in Christ, what are the other things freely given to us of life that we had received?
If the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death, by what operation?. Book of Romans chapter 13 verse 8 says love is the fulfilment of the law. Love is a fruit of the Spirit talking of which the bible emphatically says in Galatians chapter 5, there is no law. So love is inherent in life, you cannot separate the two for God is Love and He is Life. Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 enumerates the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Philippians 1 verse 11 call them fruits of righteousness which comes by Christ unto the praise of God. Our righteousness though a gift from God, if it shows no fruit puts a question mark on us who thus confess. Apostle Paul thus prays in verse 9 of this first chapter of Philippians that our love may abound more and more in knowledge and deep spiritual insight. This spiritual insight is listed out in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 13.
Godliness and love are not the end of the matter, being heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8: 17), we inherit all that the Father has in Christ. John 4 verse 24 says: “God is a Spirit”, so we inherit this divine nature also and the book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 2, gives us an understanding of the tangibility of this divine nature, which are: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. This is what is inherent in the life which our Lord Jesus gives and which we are partakers of. 1 Corinthians 1:30 similarly affirm and says “But of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom…” So in Christ (who is life), we are heirs of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the Lord. Being heirs, we are partakers of these and we cannot afford to remain as babes as admonished in Galatians 4 verse 1, we benefit nothing if we so remain though we are heirs of all things. The knowledge of our inheritance of life should ginger us to grow into maturity, so we are able to partake and abound of all that is ours of the life that Christ has given us.
Lest we forget, our Lord Jesus came to preach about the kingdom, and He reminds His audience that it profit a man nothing to gain the whole world and lose his soul. In the gospel of Luke chapter 12 verse 32 our Lord revealed that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. He also in the gospel of Matthew chapter 16 and verse 19 declares “I give you the keys of the kingdom. So part of the inherent benefits of the life given by our Lord Jesus gives is the kingdom, and not the kingdom of this world which passes away, but rather an everlasting kingdom, the kingdom of God where His dominion is fully manifest and His will done. So when we confess we have received of Him, life, we are confessing that we are not of this world though we live in it. Book of Hebrews chapter 11 verses 13 to 16 has somewhat to say of this regarding the patriarchs: “… and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country…But as it were, they desire a better country, that is, heavenly one: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.” We are to be so focused like the patriarchs on this kingdom that has been promised us for we who heirs of His life are also heirs of His kingdom. His promise in John chapter 14 verse 3 is for us.
The book of Revelation gives us further insight into what we are partakers of Christ. In Revelation chapter 5 verse 12 we read of throngs of Angels in a loud voice declaring: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power, riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.” Our Lord Jesus Himself declare in John 17 verse 22: ” And I have given them the glory You have given Me so that they may be one as We are one.” So all that Christ Jesus our Lord has received of the Father, we are partakers of same together with Him. As it were, we are heirs of His power and riches and strength and honour and glory and blessing. These are inherent treasures of the life we have received of Jesus Christ our Lord.
What a treasure we have in earthen vessels. So when we declare we have life and have it abundantly, we should picture in our minds these awesome treasures couched in this life that we confess. The world does not have what we have and we should not go after them less they corrupt our knowledge and trample upon what we have. In Matthew chapter 7 verse 6 our Lord Jesus forewarned us: “Do not give dogs (outsiders of the commonwealth in Christ) what is sacred, do not cast your pearls before swine lest they shall trample upon them with their feet and turn against you and tear you in pieces.”
Our salvation came at a great price, the death of our Lord Jesus. It also comes with a great gain. By knowledge a house is filled, we abound in these divine treasures as we increase in the knowledge of Christ, which predisposes us to be conformed to the image of Christ. Nothing in this world compares to the treasures of; Godliness, Love (and the fruit of the Spirit), Spirit of the Lord, the Kingdom of God and the Riches in glory; that are inherent in the life we have received of our Lord Jesus.
In conclusion, the admonition of Apostle Paul in 1Timothy 6 verse 12 is good for us to pay earnest heed to. It says” Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold of the eternal life to which we were called…”
