August 19, 2020 -- John 6:47 -- Awesome and Awe-filled Everlasting Life

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

John 6:47 English Standard Version

That seems too simple, doesn’t it? Believe in Jesus and whoever believes in Him has eternal life. Right now. Eternal life that begins now, will not be defeated by death, and stretches throughout eternity. The verb to believe is used about 100 times in the Gospel of John. It is the work of believers, to put their trust and whole confidence in Jesus Christ. So sure is this promise that Jesus uses the emphatic expression truly, truly. The double use of truly (some translations have “amen, amen” which is also accurate) underscores how sure this promise is.

Believing in Jesus means our lives reflect our confidence in Him. We tell others. We ask questions about Who He is. We desire to know more. We find the things of God sweet and good. It does not mean we are perfect. I was listening to a wonderful sermon by A. W. Tozer where he noted Christians are not morally better than others. Christians are those who are drawn to Jesus Christ. As we are drawn to Him we are indeed, transformed and changed. But look at the evidence of history. Paul and Barnabas had such a row that they had to go their separate ways. Euodia and Synteche, sisters in the Lord, had to be called out for their disagreements. Those are just two examples. Scripture is filled with stories and examples which prove we are not morally superior to anyone else, we are those who are been called by the Father and given to Jesus for the glory of His Name and are guarded in this new life by the Spirit.

Thanks be to God He has made the way clear for us to be healed in Christ. Thanks be to God the way is not shut against us when we sin. He has given us His Spirit so that we will be convicted of our sins and drawn back to the way of salvation. We are neither lawless Christians who serve our own purposes nor are we driven merely to keep laws for their own sake. We are born again, so that our souls hunger and thirst for the Living Jesus. This is what distinguishes us from all others. We confess our sins as the Spirit points them out to us. We turn from them, learning to hate them and trusting the Spirit will continually root out all that is not holy, all that is not true.

It is beautiful as well that Jesus emphasizes eternal life. He is the Living Bread, the True Bread from heaven. Those who believe in Jesus have life, now, it is ours. And death will not be able to hold us down. The grave is already defeated. In fact, death and the grave will serve one last purpose for us who are in Christ, it is the final resting place for our sin. Death and the grave will affirm Jesus’s victory at the cross. When, after our death, we rise to new life in Christ we will not be able to sin, we will be free from sin and its contaminations. This is what it means to know Jesus as the Bread of Life. This is what it means to partake of Him. What joy and blessing is ours now already.

Jesus thank You for the wonderful gift of life which has taken hold of us! Thank You for the rich and glorious promise that our new life has already conquered death. Direct us by Your Word and Spirit so that we will conform more and more to Your will and Your ways thus bringing glory and praise and honour to our Father in heaven. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7TFuqp97cs