EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

CHAPTER ONE

WHAT IS LIFE?

First, we will see what life is. In order to know life, we must know what life is. It is rather difficult to explain; hence, we really need the mercy of the Lord. According to the teaching of the Bible, at least six points should be mentioned in order to make this subject clear.

ONLY THE LIFE OF GOD BEING LIFE

When explaining what life is, we must first be clear about one thing—the kind of life in the universe that can be counted as life. First John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” John 3:36 also says, “He who believes into the Son has eternal life; but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life.” These two verses tell us that unless man has the life of God, he does not have life. This shows that in the eyes of God, only His life is life; besides that, no other life can be counted as life. Thus, when the life of God is mentioned in the Bible, it is treated as if it is the unique life (1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6; etc.).

Only the life of God is life, and other lives are not counted as life, because only the life of God is divine and eternal.

What does divine mean? Being divine means being of God, having the nature of God, or being transcendent and distinctive from all others. Only God is God, only God has the nature of God, and only God is transcendent and distinctive; therefore, only God is divine. The life of God is God Himself (later, we will consider this point), and since it is God Himself, it naturally has the nature of God. For example, a gold cup is gold, and since it is gold, it has the nature of gold; in fact, gold is its nature. Similarly, the life of God is God Himself and has God’s nature; God is the nature of His life. Since the life of God is God and has the nature of God, the life of God is divine.

What does eternal mean? Eternal means “uncreated, without beginning or ending, existing by itself and ever, unchangeably existing.” Only God is uncreated; only He is “from eternity to eternity” (Psa. 90:2), that is, without beginning or ending. He is “I AM WHO I AM” (Exo. 3:14), and always “the same” (Psa. 102:27). Since God Himself is such, so also is the life that is God Himself. The life of God, just as God Himself, is uncreated, without beginning or ending, self-existing and ever-existing, and never changing; therefore, the life of God is eternal. Hence, the Scriptures speak of God’s life as eternal life.

Since being both divine and eternal are the nature of God and show forth the characteristics of God Himself, they are also the nature of His life and portray the characteristics of His life. However, not only is being divine a characteristic of God’s life, but it is even more the essence of His life, whereas being eternal is only a characteristic of the life of God. Let us look again at the illustration of the gold cup. Its nature is both gold and rust resistant. However, gold not only characterizes the cup but is also its very essence, whereas its nature of being rust resistant is due to its being gold. Likewise, the reason God’s life is eternal is that it is divine. (Being divine signifies not only that which is of God, but God Himself.) God’s life is eternal because it is divine. In the universe no created life has the divine nature; therefore, no created life is eternal. Only the nature of God’s uncreated life is divine and eternal. Since the nature of God’s life is such, naturally God’s life itself is also such. God’s life is eternal because it is divine. In the universe, only God’s life is both divine and eternal; therefore, only God’s life is considered life.

Only the life that is both divine and eternal can be counted as life because life denotes something that is living, and all that is considered life must be something that is immortal. That which is immortal is unchangeable; it remains the same and continues living even after passing through any kind of blow or destruction. A life that is subject to death and change and is unable to suffer any blow or destruction is neither eternal, immortal, nor unchangeable, and therefore cannot be considered life. That which is life must be something that lives forever and never changes. Only that which is eternal can be such. Then, what is it that is eternal? Only that which is divine! That which is divine is of God, and this is God Himself. God Himself is without beginning or ending, self-existing and ever-existing; therefore, He is eternal. Because only that which is divine is eternal and only that which is eternal can live eternally without change, only that which is both divine and eternal can be counted as life.

All kinds of life in the universe, whether of angel, man, animal or plant, are mortal and changeable; hence, they are not eternal. They do not have the nature of God, nor are they divine. Only the life of God has the nature of God; therefore, it is divine and eternal, immortal and unchangeable, impossible to be held by death, and indestructible (Acts 2:24; Heb. 7:16). No matter what kind of blow or destruction it undergoes, it remains unchanged and stays forever the same. In the universe, beside the life of God, no other life can be such. Therefore, from the standpoint of eternity, only the life of God is life. It not only has the name of life but also the reality of life, and thus, it completely fulfills the meaning of life. Other lives are only life in name, not in reality; thus, they are unable to meet the criteria of immortality and unchangeability of life and cannot be considered as life. Hence, according to the divine and eternal nature of the life of God, God’s life is the unique life in the universe. Because the life of God is the unique life, whenever the New Testament in the original Greek speaks of this life, it always uses the word zoe, which refers to the highest life (John 1:4; 1 John 1:2; 5:12; etc.). Beside this, the original text of the New Testament also uses (1) bios to speak of the life of the flesh (Luke 8:43; 21:4; etc.), and (2) psuche to speak of the soul-life or the natural life of man (Matt. 16:25-26; Luke 9:24; etc.).