JESUS IS... THE LIFE

Throughout the New Testament there are various references to JESUS being the LIFE. They can vaguely be categorised as follows:

1. Jesus is LIFE in the sense that, as God incarnate, Jesus is the physical embodiment of divine life;
2. Jesus is ALIVE in the sense that, even though Jesus died on a cross, he rose from the dead and is now alive forever;
3. Jesus is OUR LIFE (Spiritual & Eternal Life) in the sense that, in his divine nature as God, Jesus gives LIFE to all who place their faith in him and who are 'born again' in accordance with the scriptures (cf. John 3:3-8).

Nb. Some of the following scriptures could potentially be placed in more than one category

1. Jesus is LIFE

Jesus is...

1. The Life (1 John 1:2a). John explains that divine 'Life' was made manifest in physical form when Jesus became a human being. John is referring to the spiritual divine Life of God that was made tangible and entered the physical realm through Jesus' incarnation because Jesus is the Life of God. Despite his incarnation (by which the immortal, undying one became mortal and subject to death) Jesus continued to be granted this same divine Life in himself. Jesus affirmed that his Life is the same divine Life which God the Father possesses (see John 5:26).
2. Eternal Life (1 John 1:2b). John explains that 'Eternal Life' was made manifest in physical form when Jesus came to earth from God the Father and became a human being. John also asserts that the Eternal Life that God gives to the church is the [Eternal] Life that is in [and received from] Jesus (1 John 5:11). John goes on to assert that Jesus is 'the true God and Eternal Life' (1 John 5:20) [Note: opinion can sometimes be divided over whether John is referring to Jesus, or God the Father in 1 John 5:20, but the Greek text naturally points to this affirmation of divinity being about Jesus. Furthermore, John has already affirmed in his gospel that Jesus is the Word of God who is God (John 1:1-2) and has already made it clear that he views Jesus as Eternal Life made manifest (1 John 1:2b).]
3. The Word of Life (1 John 1:1). In John's gospel, Jesus was introduced as being the divine 'Word of God' who became flesh (John 1:1-2, v14). John stated that Jesus was greater than Moses because, even though the Law was given through Moses, when we look to Jesus we see that grace and truth and the full revelation of God the Father came through him (John 1:17-18). Expanding on this comparison: Moses taught the Israelites that obedience to God's word (the Law) would bring life (Deut 32:45-47). However, whereas the Old Testament taught people that they needed to obey God's word to gain life, the New Testament teaches the importance of faith in Jesus. This was the message that Jesus brought to the Jews of his day; instead of searching the scriptures in order to gain life, they instead had to come to Jesus himself (see Jesus' words in John 5:37-40) as he is the Word of Life made manifest in physical form.

2. Jesus is ALIVE

Jesus is...

1. The Living Bread (John 6:51). Jesus had just miraculously fed 5,000 men with five small loaves of bread (John 6:5-13). But the people were focussing on natural things instead of spiritual things, so Jesus wished to emphasise the central importance of faith (see John 6:26-29). He proceeded to tell the crowd about himself being the Living Bread that came from heaven. Jesus was setting himself in contrast to the Old Testament manna which was known as bread from heaven (see John 6:31-33). Jesus was explaining that he originated from heaven (because Jesus has divine life in himself). Jesus explained that the metaphorical 'Bread' was symbolic of his 'flesh', but very soon the Jews became focussed on this symbolism in an unhelpful way by focussing on the natural life of Jesus instead of the spiritual LIFE within Jesus. Once again Jesus had to bring the conversation back to his divine nature as the Living Bread, and he declared, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63). Jesus was looking for the Jews to have faith in him as the Living Bread, but many continued to see him as merely a physical man instead of the Living Bread from heaven (see John 6:64-69). See the full story in John ch. 6. [Jesus is also the Bread of Life, see notes below]
2. The Living One / Alive forevermore (Rev 1:17-18). In these verses, Jesus calls himself the Living One, who was dead, but who is now alive forevermore. Jesus would refer back to this statement when he spoke to the church in Smyrna (Rev 2:8), to encourage the church that he is able to give them life and victory over death (Rev 2:10-11). He can reassure them because he has already won the victory over death. The resurrection is proof that Jesus possesses Indestructible Life (see Hebrews 7:16), and that he is (and always will be) the Living One who conquered death.

Jesus is OUR LIFE

Jesus is...

1. The Bread of Life (John 6:35, 6:48). We have already considered that Jesus is the Living Bread [see notes above], and we have considered that Jesus was trying to get the Jews to focus on the spiritual aspect of his life instead of his natural flesh. However we must not overlook the importance of Jesus' flesh which was given so that others may live (John 6:50-58). Although the Jews made a mistake by focussing on the natural instead of the spiritual, at the same time we must not forget the physical death that Jesus would endure on the cross. In fact, this is the one thing that Jesus told his disciples to constantly remember (see 1 Cor 11:23-26). Jesus is the Bread of Life because he gave his life up on the cross so that we might live (when we place our faith in him).
2. The Light of Life (John 8:12). The concept that 'light' was a metaphor for 'life' was already contained in the Old Testament (see Job 33:28-30, Ps 56:13) but Jesus used this metaphor in a fresh way to demonstrate that he is the Light of Life. Jesus began by applying the metaphor of light to himself by claiming, 'I am the Light of the world'. Having established that the Light is a metaphor to explain his true nature, Jesus then reminds his listeners that Light is also a metaphor for Life. In this way Jesus demonstrates that he is the Light of Life. John understood this when he wrote his gospel, and he also used the metaphor of Light as symbolic of the Life of Jesus (see John 1:4), and proceeded to demonstrate that those who received the Light were enabled to be born of God (see John 1:5-13). [Note also that, in John's writings, Light can symbolise Purity (contrast those who live in darkness, John 3:19-21, with those who live in the light, 1 John 1:7); Jesus can also be viewed as 'the Light of Life' by the fact that he embodies a Life that is absolutely pure and without sin.]
3. The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). It was after Lazarus had died that Jesus declared himself to be the Resurrection and the Life; Jesus subsequently raised Lazarus from the dead as proof of this (see story in John 11:1-45). Jesus had previously affirmed that he would raise up from death all who believe in him (see John 6:40).
4. The Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). On the night before he was crucified, Jesus spoke to his disciples about his imminent departure to heaven to be with Father God (cf. John 13:1). During the conversation, Jesus talked about the 'way' (or road or pathway) that he was taking to go to the Father. If the disciples wished to follow his way to the Father, then they had to acknowledge that Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life (see John 14:2-6). Jesus then promised the disciples that they would live because Jesus lived (see John 14:19). Jesus is the Way to the Father, and also the way that the disciples can experience Life with the Father.
5. The Author of Life (Acts 3:15). (See context in Acts 3:1-16). After a crippled man's legs were healed by faith in Jesus, Peter describes Jesus as the Author of Life to explain how such a miraculous healing can occur. At the same time Peter points out the irony that, in killing Jesus, the crowd had brought death to the One who brought life. Although Peter states that it was God who raised Jesus from the dead, by naming Jesus as the 'Author of Life', Peter is also giving credit to Jesus as the primary author of the resurrection; Jesus had already affirmed this when he declared that he had the power & authority to lay down his own life and the power & authority to take it up again (see John 10:17-18).
6. The Life-Giving Spirit (1 Cor 15:45). Paul was writing about how human beings will be resurrected after death when he stated that Jesus is 'a Life-Giving Spirit' and that Jesus is able to give his people a resurrection victory over death. Paul uses the Old Testament example of Adam, who was made from the earth and who received life through the breath of God (Gen 2:7); all of Adam's descendants share the same life as him. By way of contrast, Paul describes Jesus as 'the last Adam', who came from heaven and who is the Life-Giving Spirit; all who place their faith in Jesus can share in his resurrection life (see context in 1 Cor 15:35-57).
7. Our Life (Col 3:4, KJV). Paul tells the church that Jesus Christ is 'our Life'. Paul had already explained to his readers that their previous flesh life (in all its sinfulness) had been cut off (or circumcised) by Jesus. Jesus had died, yet had risen again with a resurrection body; likewise, by trusting in Jesus, Paul's readers had experienced the death of their sinful nature, and had received a new life given by God (Col 2:9-13). This new life is centred in Jesus, as he is our Life (cf. 1 John 5:12). Based upon the spiritual reality that Jesus is our Life, Paul encourages his readers to live out that life and ensure that their physical actions reflect this spiritual reality (see Col 3:1-14). [Nb. Depending on the Greek text used, some translations show Paul telling the church that Jesus is 'Your Life' (e.g. see ESV); this does not affect the central message that Jesus is the Life of all born again believers in the church.]