Title Two lives (John 5:24-29)
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Everyone in the world lives by their own values. Some value honor more than life; The reason why so many people live together and yet have different lifestyles is probably the unique value standard of each. Many of the Saints here will have their own standards of values.
No matter how different and unique the values may be, no one would give his life for a pile of sand or give his whole fortune to find a rock that often rolls. However, there are those who give their lives or invest their entire fortune in search of gold or precious stones. Because everyone knows that gold and precious stones are precious. So many people flocked to get gold and precious stones, and they did not hesitate to steal, robbery, and even murder. It is because they believe that gold and precious stones are worth that much.
But no matter how precious gold and silver jewels are, would they be more precious than your own life? What good is it if you gain everything in the world and lose your life? That is what God is saying to our lives.
- Matthew 16:26, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? What would a man give in exchange for his life?”
The text of this hour speaks of this precious life. The Lord teaches about two kinds of life in this world. As there are two life, there are also two death. Then, let's ponder the two kinds of death and life that the Lord speaks of.
1. First, a word about the two deaths.
Look up Hebrews 9:27. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
God says death is inevitable for all living things. Therefore, people and animals alike have fear and awe when it comes to the end of life. Because we don't know anything about the path after death. Therefore, many peoples have their own beliefs about the afterlife in their magical beliefs. To that extent, it shows the earnest desire of man for the world after death. God says there are two kinds of death. That is, physical death and spiritual death.
1) Physical death.
Let's look at Genesis 3:19. “In the sweat of your face you will eat food and return to the ground, for in it you were drunk. You are dust, and to dust you will return. do.”
This verse clearly speaks of physical death. The cause of this physical death is sin. Because from 3:14 onwards, God's judgment on serpents and humans who violated the command is recorded. But it has a deeper meaning.
Look at Genesis 3:22. “Behold, this man has become like one of us in the knowledge of good and evil, saith the LORD God, lest he stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”
There is a part in this verse that reveals that human beings are physically finite beings. There was one food that God forbade Adam and Eve. “It is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” However, He did not forbid the fruit of life from the tree of life, which allows us to enjoy eternal life. This is because God has prepared the food of life so that human life in the Garden of Eden can be eternal. That is, the human body can have eternal life because of something God gives. It was expressed by God as the fruit of the tree of life.
- Revelation 2:7, 22:1-2 (He said that human life in the kingdom of God is eternal life. It is said that the basis of eternal life is the water of life and the tree of life.) From this, eternal life in the human body is a special food provided by God. It can be seen that in
God drove man who had sinned from the garden where the tree of life was, and closed the garden. Since then, human beings have become finite and returned to the earth after they lost access to the tree of life.
2) Next is spiritual death.
Look at Genesis 2:16-17. “In the day you eat, you will surely die.”
Death here refers to spiritual death. The soul is never immortal. In Ezekiel 18:4, God says, “All souls belong to me. As the soul of the father is mine, so the soul of the son is mine; and the soul that sins shall die.” You said. God allowed the first man to live only in relationship with God. However, the death that is given when you break the law that God has commanded is spiritual death. What is Spirit Death? It is separation from God. In other words, the soul that God has given us will die the moment our relationship with God is cut off.
- Ephesians 2:1, “He made you, who were dead in your trespasses and sins, alive.”
On the other hand, by eating “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” humans were able to distinguish good from evil. Being able to distinguish good from evil has made humans feel ashamed and guilty. After that, man's free will took responsibility for his actions, and eventually he lost his spiritual life as a result of being cut off from God. The reason people forget to live in the kingdom of God, their hometown, is because the spirit that makes it possible to exist in the kingdom of God has died.
2. It is a word about two lives.
As there are two kinds of death, there are two kinds of life. It is the life of the body and the life of the spirit. The first humans, Adam and Eve, had these two lives. However, since they broke God's law, they have only one life. The reason people are not satisfied with everything, there is no peace, and there is no joy is because one life is lost.
God has given people two chances to find lost lives. One time, it was the “Law” given in the Old Testament times. But people fell into a more serious pit because of that law. Then God sent Jesus Christ into the world as a second opportunity. In other words, to anyone who accepts Jesus as their Savior, life is restored.
We call “born again” when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and restore our spiritual life. This regeneration is the resurrection of the spirit. Therefore, if I believe in and accept Jesus Christ, I become a person who has two lives.
The characteristics of a person who has two lives are hope for the kingdom of God and satisfaction. To hope for the kingdom of God means to trust and depend on God. Satisfaction also manifests itself in joy, gratitude, and peace in all of life. Because you have both lives. And for those who have two lives, there is no more judgment for life. Read verse 24 of the text. The judgment of life is a judgment that judges the existence of spiritual life. For those who already have spiritual life, the judgment of life has no effect. Life judgment is for those who have not received Jesus Christ and have not recovered their spiritual life.
On the last day of the world, all who have died will rise again. The resurrection at this time is the resurrection of the body. The resurrection of the body is given to all who have received Jesus Christ and those who have not believed. However, those who believe will be resurrected for eternal life in heaven, and those who do not believe will be resurrected to go to hell where eternal suffering is prepared and judged according to their deeds (text verse 29).
The resurrected body is transformed into something that never dies, rots, or perishes forever.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, “Look. I tell you a secret, we will not all sleep, but at the last trumpet we will all be changed in an instant, and at the sound of the trumpet the dead will live incorruptibility, and we will also be changed. This perishable will put on immortality, and this mortal will put on immortality.”
Therefore, as Christians, who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, there is no more painful death. Even physical death is not painful, but a short sleep until the Lord returns. When the Lord returns, we will enter the glorious kingdom of God with the resurrection of the body and enjoy eternal joy. Do you believe this?
Now, let me conclude.
Do you firmly believe that you have two lives? You and I, who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, must not forget that we already have two lives. In other words, we need to trust God and live a life of satisfaction. A life of trusting and satisfying God is an acknowledgment of God's sovereignty. In other words, I believe that God plans, governs, and guides everything that concerns me.
God never disappoints those who trust Him completely. And the prayers of believers who trust in God will surely come true at the appointed time of God. Let's move forward boldly, trusting and relying on this God.
Victory Day is not far away. The darker the day, the deeper the night, the nearer the dawn. As we look forward to that day, we pray in the name of the Lord that we may build a little heaven in our life on this earth by looking forward to, comforting, and encouraging each other.