The An Abundant Life John 10:10 The First Message In A Series Addressing The Abundant Life In Christ Pastor Larry Goding Community Church At Sun Village Surprise, Arizona
Listen to the words of Jesus: The Good Life - Part One An Abundant Life I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly [John 10:10 NKJV]. Just what did Jesus mean by the above statement? By the time he came to earth, life had been going on for thousands of years. But as early as the time of creation itself that physical life was marred by sin. And although life has continued for these millennia, there has been a separation between God and man whom He created for His own glory. A Crowning Creation. Go back in your mind to the beginning of time when God created the world and all that is in it. His crowning creation was a perfect design He called man whom he said would be created in His own image. When God gave Adam physical life He also endowed him with certain likenesses to Himself. 1
26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them [Genesis 1:26-27 NIV]. Man being created in the image of God was equipped with intelligence beyond all others within the animal kingdom. God fitted him with emotion whereby he could express all kinds of feelings. And he was given the will to choose, which would enable him to live life according to his own conscience, initially in close fellowship with God. In that way man was created in the image of God. Into that creation God breathed the breath life. God s breathing the breath of life into man transformed his physical form into a living being literally, a living soul. This made man a spiritual being, with a capacity for serving and having fellowship with God. That loving act of God began physical life for man so physical life has come to all mankind. Throughout the 2
millennia human beings have lived and died, all according to the plan and purpose of God. So, let us attempt to understand what Jesus is talking about. Obviously, he is not talking about physical life, but spiritual life. That brings us to the account of Jesus and Nicodemus that John has recorded for us in the third chapter of his gospel. A New Creation. Nicodemus represented the best in the nation. He was a teacher, a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. But he had some real questions about things pertaining to God. Nicodemus first approached Jesus with some flattering words, Rabbi to Rabbi, acknowledging his exceptional ability to do things and speak as one who had come from God Himself. His query came almost as a question concerning by what authority Jesus was able to speak and act as he did. First of all, we must be reminded that Jesus and Nicodemus are not on the same level. Jesus has, in fact, 3
come from above. He is God in the flesh. On the other hand, Nicodemus was born an earthly being as is every human being and has been since the beginning of time. The acts that Jesus did were clear evidence that there was something significantly different about him, which was becoming apparent to Nicodemus. So Nicodemus is seeking to determine if there was really any truth to the notion that Jesus had, in fact, come from God. It was obvious to him that the works that Jesus did could only be done by God himself. Jesus responded to Nicodemus concern with a bold statement, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God [John 3:3 NKJV]. Like me, you may be asking, How does that answer the issue that Nicodemus was concerned about? Jesus was saying, Nicodemus, what you really need is a spiritual transformation. You are acting according to the flesh, doing what you can do with your limited knowledge and experience. What I do, is because I have come from God. You will be forever limited in your 4
understanding of God unless you are born again have a spiritual transformation. To have a spiritual transformation is to take a person out of the kingdom of darkness, where Satan rules, and place him firmly into the kingdom where God is supreme. The apostle Paul tells us: 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins [Colossians 1:13-14 NLT]. The heart of the message to Nicodemus went like this: Nicodemus, what you need is a new life. You need a spiritual rebirth. That comes from within the heart of a man. It comes when as the apostle Paul puts it, You confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation [Romans 10:9-10 NKJV]. So, let s go back to the statement of Jesus in order to understand what he is saying. To understand it we need to look at the context. Jesus is speaking in the form of a 5
parable and speaks of himself as the good shepherd who cares deeply for his sheep, different from the thief and robber who is intent on stealing sheep away from the shepherd. The thief does not care about the wellbeing of the sheep. He comes with the intent to kill and destroy. But the good shepherd is deeply concerned for the welfare of each of the sheep. He wants them each to live the best life they can possibly experience. By way of application, we move from the four-legged sheep feeding on the grasses of the pasture land to the ones the psalmist says, are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand [Psalm 95:7]. That is a reference to all who have chosen to make God their God. In that context Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, of which we are the sheep who follow him, and he talks about the life that he has come to give. That They Might Have Life. In the first part of his statement he says, I have come that they may have life. He is talking about spiritual life just as he did to Nicodemus. It is life that began for you 6
when you said, Jesus, I ask your forgiveness for my sin that has separated me from God and I accept your death for me upon the cross of Calvary as payment for my sin. I give my life to you and ask that you fill me with the life that is eternal like what you spoke about to the woman at the well in Samaria. That is what Jesus called, being born of water, a possible reference to John s baptism unto repentance, and the regeneration that comes by the Spirit. That is what got you started on the path to eternal life. As the apostle John begins his gospel he makes it abundantly clear that Jesus not only came from God but is, in truth, God. In verse 14 he identifies the one he refers to as the Word in the first five verses. 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His 7
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth [John 1:1-5, 14 NKJV]. Life is man s most important asset. To lose life is tragic, but to lose life without Christ is more tragic by far. John affirmed that in the ultimate sense, life is in Christ. Man s physical and spiritual life come from Him. 1 Through his miracles and teaching, Jesus had antagonized certain members of the Jewish elite who took it upon themselves to persecute him, some even advocating killing him. On the occasion when he healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years, those who opposed him took issue because he had raised the man on the Sabbath day so he was able to walk. John records the incident. They became adamant for two reasons: Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God [John 5:18 NKJV]. Jesus responded by declaring to them that what he was able to do was because he was given that power and authority from his Father in heaven. Their responsibility 1 Walvoord and Zuck. 8
was to honor him and in so doing would honor the Father. In doing so, they would gain eternal life. In his own words, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life [John 5:24 NKJV]. The apostle John reminds us: He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life [1 John 5:12 NKJV]. Jesus said, I have come that they might have life... That They May Have Life In Abundance. The second part of the statement says,... that they may have it more abundantly. Having spiritual life is one thing but having it in abundance is another. It is not enough that a believer remain satisfied with having been saved from sin in order to be assured of eternity in heaven. Sadly, that is the way many Christians think and act today. They call themselves Christian but their manner of life does not necessarily reflect a Christian lifestyle. 9
Jesus says, I have given them spiritual life, but I want them to experience it in abundance. John uses a Greek word that serves as a double superlative, suggesting superabundant in quantity or superior in quality. It is sometimes translated exceeding abundantly above. 2 Here, it gives the idea of superabundance. It is a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate. In short, Jesus promises us a spiritual life far better than we could ever imagine, a theme that the apostle Paul takes from the prophet Isaiah [Isaiah 64:4]: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him [ Corinthians 2:9 NIV]. That leads to the question, What does he mean by the abundant life? Let us understand, first of all, that abundant life does not consist of wealth, position, or status. In terms of economic, academic, and social status, most Christians do not come from the privileged classes. 2 New Exhaustive Strong s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. 10
Clearly, then, abundant life does not consist of an abundance of material things. The abundant life does consist of diligent discipleship learning and following the teachings of Christ as found in the Word of God. The apostle Paul admonished young Timothy and so admonishes each of us, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth [2 Timothy 2:15 NASB]. The abundant life begins with our new-found faith in Christ and is nurtured through our diligent discipleship. Diligent disciples will allow themselves to be trained by and guided by the Word of God. So, when Jesus talks about having life more abundantly he is talking about spiritual abundance, not material. In fact, God is not overly concerned with the physical circumstances of our lives. It is enough that He assures us that we need not worry about what we will eat or wear because He will provide [Matthew 6:25-32 and Philippians 4:19]. Physical blessings may or may not be part of a God-centered life. Neither our wealth nor our poverty is a sure indication of our standing with God. 11
That brings us to the matter as to how a life of abundance manifests itself. The abundant Christian s life revolves around growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the words of the apostle Peter, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [2 Peter 3:18 NKJV]. It is a continual process of learning, practicing, and maturing, and sometimes failing, recovering, and overcoming, because, in this life we do not see the whole picture as God sees it and we are dependent upon Him in order to live life to the glory of God. What the abundant life comes down to is a life filled with spiritual blessing. The apostle Paul gives us an idea as to what spiritual blessing is. What we have wrapped up in that spiritual blessing is a host of smaller blessings that impact our Christian life. 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us 12
into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son [Ephesians 1:3-6 NLT]. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure. [Ephesians 1:7-10 NLT]. In that passage, Paul unwraps five blessings. First, we are blessed because of our union with Christ made one with him through his death and resurrection. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was [Romans 6:5 NLT]. His death gave us spiritual life. His resurrection gives us eternal life. 13
In addition, we are unconditionally loved by God. By that we can know that nothing will or can separated us from that love. We are forever loved by Him. He has chosen to adopt us into His family, to become His beloved children. He purchased our redemption from sin by the blood of Jesus Christ making our salvation possible and secure. Furthermore, He has showered us with His loving kindness. That loving kindness brings to bear all of His attributes so that He gives us all things pertaining to Himself so we can enjoy and worship Him here on earth [1 Timothy 6:17]. Finally, He has shown us His plan and purpose that He has designed for His own pleasure. Abundant living is a total surrender to Jesus Christ. It is a lifetime commitment to serve him. It is a purposeful action on our part to separate ourselves from the world system that would lead us away from loving God with our whole heart. Unfortunately, many Christians live only an adequate spiritual life, rather than an abundant one. Though 14
they go through the motions of being good Christians, they do not enjoy the power, peace, and joy that God intends believers to experience. To them, Christianity feels more like a burden than a source of delight and comfort, and habitual sins hold them in bondage Conclusion The statement of Jesus should not be understood as though it gives some promise of an improved physical life for the Christian. Such a view, in light of the context, is shallow, and it overlooks the profound truth of the passage. From the passage we learn that superior, superabundant spiritual life is possible life empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Because Christians have the Spirit of God who, lives within them, they have all the potential of the superabundant life. Jesus promises a spiritual dimension to life, not physical abundance. A focus on the physical trivializes the profound depth of Jesus words. 3 I have come that they 3 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. 15
may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly [John 10:10 NKJV]. 16