THE PROMISE OF HEAVEN PART 6

TEEN TREE OF LIFE
The Promise of Heaven
Part 6
October 13, 2019

Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1JOHN 1:9: If we confess [name] our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

We are at our final week of study of The Promise of Heaven. Let’s begin by reviewing Our Lord and Savior’s Words of comfort to His disciples on the night He was betrayed: Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (JOH 14:1-6)

We’ve already looked at how Jesus Christ is “the way, and the truth” and now we’ll look at how He is “the life.” The Greek word for “life” in this verse is zoe (pronounced zōā) which refers to the Uncreated, Eternal Life of God. It also refers to the Divine Life uniquely possessed by Him. Zoe also appears in a very well-known verse. The Living Bible translates it beautifully: Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it. (JOH 1:1-5 The Living Bible)

In the Greek language, there are two additional words — bios and psuche — which are translated as the word “life” in English. And each has a different meaning than zoe.

Bios is used by Our Lord and Savior in LUK 8:14 (New International Version): “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s [bios] worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” In this verse, Bios refers to the life of the physical body. It’s where we get the word biology.

Psuche (pronounced psoo-khay) is also used by Jesus Christ in MATT 16:25: “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it.” Psuche refers to the psychological life of the human soul – which is the mind, emotion, and will. It’s where we get the word psychology.

God The Son is The Life because of God The Father: For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. (JOH 5:26 New International Version) And because God has “has granted the Son also to have life in himself” – Jesus Christ is also the source and giver of this life to those that believe in Him: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies. . . (JOH 11:25) The zoe life is the polar opposite of being dead in sin. It’s a life in which slavery to sin is taken away because of Our Lord’s finished Work at The Cross. Any member of the human race can acquire the Grace Gift of Salvation and the zoe life by simply believing in Jesus Christ.

The purpose of the zoe life is to be conformed to the image of Christ: God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. (ROM 8:29-30 The Message Bible)

Zoe refers to the supergrace life, which is the objective of all the Bible doctrine we learn. The zoe life is God’s fantastic Grace Provisions. The Lord Jesus Christ said in JOH 10:10 (New International Version): “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life [zoe], and have it to the full.” Paul wrote in 1CO 2:9 (The Message Bible): “No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—What God has arranged for those who love him.” No matter how wild and seemingly impossible your dreams may be, God has provided something far greater than anything you have or every could imagine!

This zoe life is a life filled with inner happiness and contentment. It allows us to be free from worry, anxiety, and frustration. By learning God’s Word, we’ll learn to remain confident because we’ll be at peace. The zoe life is a manifestation of God’s Glory within us. When believers reveal God’s Glory, there will be one basic characteristic and quality that follows them wherever they go: the zoe-life – a life filled with inner happiness and contentment, which is alive in them. This information is what Our Lord comforted His disciples with that night in the Upper Room!

The life that Jesus Christ gives to His followers is not one of ease, filled with the pleasures of this world. It’s a life filled with joy that transcends circumstances in which comfort is found by faith in Him and His promises for both this life and for eternity. He is so powerful that He works all things together for good for those that love Him. Our suffering ultimately has a good purpose, which is to lead us to Spiritual maturity. And even death, which may feel like our enemy in the present, is not one we have to fear any longer because Our Savior has won the victory and He promises us eternal life!

Our Lord and Savior is the Only Way to God The Father. He is the way, the truth and the life, and because of that, His proclamation in JOH 14:6 that “no one comes to the Father but through Me” is unquestionable. There is no other means by which you can be reconciled with God and forgiven. There is no other path to Heaven. Belief in Him is the only ticket in!

It is an absolute truth that NO ONE comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. You either come to God through the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, or you do not come at all. You cannot be brought to Him through the false gods of other religions. You cannot reach God through religious rituals or good works no matter how diligent and pious you may be in performing them. The only way to God The Father is through God The Son. John, the apostle, put it this way in JOH 1:12-13 (New International Version): Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Our Lord sends out a booming invitation that says: “Return to Me; come and share My Eternal Home and be with Me where I am.” That is Heaven! Who wouldn’t want to be where He is?