The Ancient Word...

In this series, we have learned that the Greek phrase John uses for "eternal life" (aionios zoe) literally means "age life." It refers to the life of the "last age" or the coming Kingdom of God. Such life is a future reality experienced at the Resurrection of the dead. However, "age life" is also a present reality inasmuch as those who embrace Christ as Lord have  already entered the Kingdom of God.

To track the quality and strength of physical life, doctors monitor a series of "life signs" or "vital signs." These include the patient's pulse rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and blood pressure.

In his first epistle, "Dr. John" shows us how to check our "vital signs." He says,

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (aionios zoe ). (1 John 5:13, NIV)

But what are the signs of "age life"? How do we know we are living "eternal life" right now?

First, John says check your faith, which is a mark of the presence of God's Spirit:

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. (1 John 4:15; compare 4:2-3)

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12; compare John 3:36)

Second, check your obedience:

We know that we have come to know [Christ] if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him...Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:3-6; compare 3:24; 5:2-3; John 14:21)

Third, check your love -- particularly your love for other Christians:

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death...This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers...Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:14, 16, 18; compare 2:9-11; 4:7-12, 19-21; John 13:34-35)

Believing in Christ, obeying his commands, and loving one another are three "vital signs" that show we are alive and healthy in Him.

... for Today

These three simple vital signs of authentic and healthy "age life" -- faith, obedience, and love -- stand in contrast to the more common measures of godliness in our own day.

We tend to honor financial generosity to the church, consistent attendance at church meetings, stability, and reliability. Thus, we receive honor for being decent people and sharing some of the burden of keeping the machinery oiled.

These qualities are indeed commendable, but do they really capture the essence of "age life"? John's summary statements touch on very different issues.

Colin and Kasey are a young married couple without children. Right now, Colin is battling cancer. His fight includes gamma-knife surgeries on the brain, repeated chemotherapies, and contrast tests to measure the possible spread of the disease elsewhere in his body. His energy levels remain low; his susceptibility to sickness high.

Recently, Kasey wrote that they have stopped prescribing what God should do and now simply trust Him for what He will do. They've found enormous release and freedom in just trusting Him, obeying Him, and loving each other deeply through this crisis.

Their crisis has yielded the fruit of authentic "age life" -- measured not by attendance, participation, or organization, but by deliberate faith, obedience, and love.

The pathway to "age life" for all of us -- the road to knowing God, seeing God, experiencing the presence of God, and encountering the freedom of God -- winds through the fertile pastures of faith, obedience, and love. Such a journey ends in "life to the full" (see John 10:10).

Discuss...

1. How does your life measure against the yardsticks of faith, obedience, and love?
   
2. Describe some practical ways we might grow in faith, obedience, and love. And decide on a "next step" you could take this coming week.

Publishers Note...

This issue concludes our series on Eternal Life in John. After a holiday break, we will launch a new series on Causes of Suffering during the first week of January 2007. We wish you a wonderful Christmas season, and we thank you for receiving Bare Roots throughout 2006.

Chris Davis, PhD & David Timms, PhD
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

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