Jesus stated in John 10:10 (Amplified) that changes everything we may have thought about eternal life and the Life of God within us, saying, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
We received the life of God (Spirit Life), the God kind of life when we received Jesus as our Lord. We've mostly looked at this as being for the future and going to heaven when we die. Jesus said that, "We were to have this life and have it in abundance, till it overflows."
The Gospels show us how Jesus ministered this abundance life to those who were broken. The overflow of life from Jesus even raised the dead to life. The overflow of life from Jesus was more life than the disease of leprosy could remain in contact with and the life drove out the disease. This abundant life restored the diseased flesh back to normal.
The life emanated from Jesus was more than death could withstand. There was such an overflow of life coming from Jesus, all death that had come upon man, couldn't withstand. Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the life giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and life." In John 1:1-4 (Amplified) we read that Jesus and the Word are One and the same. Verse 4 says, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."
In Luke 4:4 (Amplified), Jesus spoke to satan in the wilderness saying, "It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone, but by every Word and expression of God." Bread or natural food can sustain a limited life in the natural body, but the quality of even that life is limited. We strive to eat correctly and exercise to keep our bodies fit, but Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified) that, "The flesh conveys no benefit whatever."
Even those who try obtaining a "higher quality of life," fail to do so. Even as Christians, we fall prey to many sicknesses and disease. Simply eating correctly cannot restore the Life that our natural bodies need to have and enjoy life. Even though we've been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, we still fall prey to many things satan uses to "steal, kill and destroy."
Proverbs 4:20-27 (Amplified) reads, "My Son, attend to My Words; consent and submit to My sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh." Verses 24-27 say, "Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you. Let your eyes look right on (with fixed purpose), and let your gaze be straight before you; consider well the path of your feet; and let all your ways be established and ordered aright. Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil."
The Holy Spirit spoke in Proverbs 3:1-8 (Amplified) about the Word of Life saying, "Length of days and years of life (worth living) and tranquility ( inward and outward and continuing through old age till death) these shall they (His Words) add to you." Verse 8 says, "His Word will be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones."
I believe that if we would spend more time in God's Word (the true Word), then we, through Jesus, would have the quality of life overflowing into our natural bodies to walk in divine health. By feeding on God's Word (through the Holy Spirit), we can and should have enough overflowing to heal and minister to those around us by this abundant life we received through Jesus.
Many of us read God's Word in the carnal mind or the flesh and don't receive anything from it. Remember, John 10:10 tells us that, "The flesh conveys no benefit whatever." As long as we allow the Holy Spirit to give Life to the Word, it will continually give Life to us. We haven't fed on the Life of the Word of God, even though we've received Jesus as our Lord. The quality of our lives here on earth can be greatly improved by feeding our new spirit man on Spirit food, the Word.
We don't receive life after we go to heaven, but Life, God's life in us, will completely swallow up death at our resurrection, according to 2Corinthians 5:4 (Amplified) which says that this dying body will be completely filled with the Life of the Word of the Living God. If life can "swallow up death" in this natural body, then it can also minister health and healing to it while I remain on earth.
When Jesus spoke the Words of Life or laid hands on the sick, we saw the overflow of the Word of Life in Him, heal and break the bonds of death over them. If we were to feed on His Word like Jesus fed on His Word, then the same Word that gave us life, will also give life to others.
We have excelled at speaking the Word of Life to the spiritually dead man (the unsaved),and believed it gave life. Why then, haven't we pursued this life and fed on the Word until it brought health and healing to the natural body? A newborn has life, but not the quality of life that will come from learning and taking in good nutrition. The newborn will never have anymore life than he has, but the quality of that life can mature.
When we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we received God's very Life instantly! We will never have anymore life than what we received at that time, it is the Zoe, "The God kind of Life." Paul wrote about this in Hebrews 5:12-14 (Amplified) saying, "For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you will actually need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles of God's Word; You have come to need milk, not solid food. For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought and action) for he is a mere infant (not able to talk yet)." Verse 14 goes on, "But solid food is for full grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law."
Paul never said that they don't have Life, but that the Life never grew into the"abundant, joyful and overflowing" Life that it should produce. He compared it with the life in a baby to the life in an adult. Both have life, but the measure or quality of that life is supposed to grow to overflowing life into the people around them as well as the believer it resides in. This Life reflects His Image.
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