In Him is Life and the Life is the light of men. We usually do not think of life as being light. But the Light, the understanding of God comes to us only through the Life of Christ. It is vain for us to attempt to understand God, His salvation, or the Scriptures. All understanding of God, salvation, and the Scriptures comes to us as we live by the body and blood of Christ. All else is Babylon—man attempting to reach God by his own strength and wisdom.

At one time we were dead. Now we are alive because we have believed in Christ and have received Christ into our personality. If we remain on the path of life the day will come when we are a life-giving spirit capable of bringing life to the dead sea of mankind.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30)

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening [life-giving] spirit. (I Corinthians 15:45)

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2)

Let us look now at some of the elements of eternal life. What is the nature of the life Jesus brings to us? How does Divine Life affect us now? How will Divine Life affect us in the future? Is eternal life an experience we have when we receive the Lord Jesus, and our ticket to Heaven, or is it a daily transformation of our personality that requires an unrelenting pursuit of Christ?

Some of the following elements are themselves life and produce life. The other elements are an evidence of eternal life abiding in us. We would not want to be immortal, to live forever, if these elements were not included in our personality.

While some of the elements would be true of us on the basis of our being admitted to Paradise, our possession of them would then depend on our environment rather than on what we have become through Christ. Therefore there is a possibility that we could lose them, just as Satan lost them.

But if through the travail of our soul as Christ is formed in us we gain an eternal life-giving personality, we have all that Paradise can offer, and much, much more.

Elements of Eternal Life

Being in the moral image of Christ—the desire and power to behave in a righteous, holy manner and to be sternly obedient to God.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)

To be in the moral image, and finally in the bodily image, of the Lord Jesus Christ is a calling so high as to be nearly incredible. Yet this is what God has said through Paul and we must never stagger at the promises of God.

To be continued.