Entering Into God’s Presence Knowing God Through His Names

the LIFE (Sphere of Media)

To Study and Ponder

• Jesus declared, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth” (John 17:3). Eternal life is not only a future quantitative experience which one experiences after death. It is the qualitative nature of life lived in close, intimate relationship with God. And it can begin even now. Jesus comes so that we may experience a “a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).

• The Greek word used for life - zōē, refers to “the absolute fulness of life” belonging to God, and also to the real .. genuine, ..active and vigorous life given to those who follow Jesus - in this life and forever. (OLIVE TREE ENHANCED STRONGS DICTIONARY)

• True life now, and on into eternity can only be found through Jesus:-

  • -  Jesus was recognized as the “author of life” Acts 3:15

  • -  His purpose is opposite that of his enemy, Satan: The thief comes only to steal and kill and

    destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 (ESV)

  • -  And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will

    never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. John 3:36

  • -  The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. Joh 5:26

  • -  Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for

    everyone. Romans 5:18b

• The Holy Spirit is a deposit of the life of God within us!

  • -  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control

    your mind leads to life and peace. Romans 8:6

  • -  But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. Gal.6:8b

  • -  he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment

    that guarantees everything he has promised us. 2 Corinthians 1:22

• The book of Revelation is full of images of life. Those who listen will be given fruit from “the tree of life” 2:7; believers' names are written in the “Book of Life”, are given a “crown of life” 2:10, 3:5, 21:27, and will be led to “springs of life-giving water” 7:17. John is shown “ “a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flying from the throne of the lamb” that flowed through the city providing water from trees of life with constant fruit and “leaves used for medicine to heal the nations” 22:1-3.

• God is a life-giver and calls us to be life-givers too. Life is God’s greatest gift and it is therefore to be treasured and protected. Nothing is to be done which harms or undermines life. This is the primary presupposition undergirding the rationale of the last six commandments dealing with the horizontal relationships between people in God’s foundational Torah. (Exo 20:12-17 and Deu 5:16-21)

  5) “Honor your father and mother” – why? Because they gave you life.
  6) “You must not murder” – why? Because life is valuable. You are not to take life away. 7) “You must not commit adultery” – why? Because short of murder, the most destructive

  thing that can be done to a person’s life is to steal away the most precious part of that

  person’s life – their spouse.
  8) “You must not steal” – why? Because material objects – though inanimate – represent

  the fruit of life’s labor; the hours spent gaining the resources needed to acquire the possessions people possess. Theft does not steal all of life like murder, but it does destroy part of an individual’s life relationships and thus diminish the quality of life.

  10) “You must not covet” – why? Any thought that springs up in the human heart which would end up destroying some aspect of someone else’s life if the idea matured to its full implementation is damaging to life.

• The goal of all communication (media) should be to enhance life. “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences” (Proverbs 18:21). In light of this, Peter said to Jesus, “You have the words that give eternal life” (John 6:68). In fact, Jesus is “the Word [that] gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone” (John 1:4). When an angel opened the prison doors for the apostles he instructed them to ““Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!” (Acts 5:20)

Memory/Meditation
Lower Grades: Jesus told them “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the

Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NLT)

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

1John 5:11-12 (NLT)

Middle Grades: I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. John 5:24 (NLT)

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:7-10 (NLT)

Upper Grades: Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:8-9 (NLT)

He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

Acts 17:24-25 (NLT)