Life. What a powerful word. We are designed to be filled with life. So then, what is life? If we are alive, we have life in our bodies. That is always something to be thankful for. But life is much more than being physically alive. Life is also used in the context of the well being of a person. When we say, How is life Life can either be good, bad or ugly for some people. There are many factors that contribute to our life in this context. It can be what is happening, what is not happening, the relatives, the family and the list goes on. All the things that are going on around us in some way can cause our lives to be enriched or sapped.
The most important definition of life would be in the circle of what Jesus was referring to as life. Jesus told us that He came to give us life and more than that. He came to give us abundant life. Looking back at the other uses of the word life, we see that Jesus had something far different in mind in his reference to this word. He actually puts it in the context of a kingdom conflict. He also wanted to make clear the distinction between His activity and the motive of the devil. Jesus told us that there is a thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
If we look at the definition of life, the word that Jesus used, it is the zoe of God. In the Hebrew definition it is chayah meaning to breathe life into. Then he adds the but to the phrase saying, BUT I’ve come to give you life and more abundantly. God has created us for life, not death. He has made us know life in its fullest expression. The power of the life that God gives dominates all other aspects of life, bringing everything under the rule and creative life of the Spirit of God.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
In the garden, God breathed the breath of life into Adam. God could have just spoken the word, live! But He didn’t. He breathed the spiritual life of heaven into Adam. Jesus came as God in the flesh to breathe life back into us. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Life. He is the same Spirit that resurrected Jesus from the grave! Jesus said, I’m with you, but shall be in you. That same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in those who are His. The breath of God is the same Spirit of Life. When we are quickened by the life of the Holy Spirit, this life overflows into all other areas of our being. Our physical well being, our souls well being, all of our earthly interaction comes under the dominion of the life of Jesus Christ. Winter is past and springtime has come when the Holy Spirit is welcomed to breathe His life into us.
Know that His life has come to bring all that concerns you under His feet.