Life Abundant in Christ - Jo..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. John 10 1 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

The figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door.

If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.

And I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father. There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, he has a demon and he's insane.

Why listen to him? Others said, these are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Amen. And we're brothers and sisters, it's been a couple of months now since we started in the 10th chapter of the fourth gospel, the gospel according to John.

And we've been through several sermons already. And in those sermons, I believe that Christ, our Lord, is teaching His listeners, His audience, and us, that is us as well, because He has preserved His Word in the written scripture that we have before us. As I said earlier, in a language we understand because it's intended for His people in all generations until He returns. This scripture is God breathed. It is from the heart of God, it's the life of God given to His people that we would receive that life.

And it will feed our souls, so it's being given to us. And Christ has taught already, thus far in the 10th chapter, so many very important facts, very important details about who He is as the Good Shepherd, why He has come, He's already taught these people, and we've gone through through our sermons, what it is to enter into the kingdom of God. How is it we enter into the kingdom of God, this sheepfold of God? How is it that we can become the sheep of God? Who is the shepherd?

There are many shepherds. There are competing shepherds in the world and in our text. Christ is not the only shepherd. He is the good shepherd. He is the true shepherd.

He is the only door unto salvation, the only door unto the people of God, the fold of God. Yes, unique exclusivity. Faith in Christ is the only way. That one is to be saved and to be included into the household of God. There is no other way.

But there are other shepherds. And Jesus calls them thieves and robbers within his mind. He's speaking in particular to a particular people group in this day. The Pharisees, who are meant to be the most holy amongst the group. Who are meant to be, at least in their self-designation, the shepherds of the people of Israel.

They knew the Word. They'd memorized it, they'd had it in their heart, so they taught it. They thought they lived by it. They pressed the people to live by it. But Jesus now here, in this text, thus far, as we've seen in previous weeks, has now called these false shepherds thieves and robbers.

Because they take claim to what does not belong to them. They take claim to what is not lawfully theirs. God is the one who appoints true shepherds. God did not appoint the Pharisees to lead his people. So Christ is speaking about the authenticity of God's people, how one enters into God's people, who God's sheep are, how they are known, and also he's already spoken about who the true shepherd is and what he has come to do.

How he has called his people out of the world. How he's called his people out of that communal sheepfold where many sheep were roaming around and many shepherds. But when he came he called his own. His own heard his voice. They follow after him and he takes them to a fold whereby he and he only is the door.

No one can come in and no one can come out unless they come through the door that is Christ. So what we've seen thus far in the verses that we've examined together as a congregation is we've seen the good shepherd on one hand, and that is Christ. And then we've also seen the competing shepherds, those who Jesus calls thieves and robbers, false shepherds. And verse 10, which is the verse by God's grace that we'll be spending our evening together this evening, is no different. Because what we have before us is a contrast.

A very clear contrast between Christ, the good shepherd, the one who is appointed by God, the true Messiah, and on the other hand, what we have is the illegitimate shepherds. The fakes. the frauds, the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees in particular, who are now standing before the Lord, the counterfeits, on the other hand. The principle is laid for us, and I hope that we'll come to see that that principle is not only applied to the particular people, the Pharisees in those days, but really a principle to all false shepherds. any people group, or any system, or any fake religion, or any form of Christianity, so to speak, which is only a counterfeit Christianity.

Those who lead people down a path, or an ideology, or a philosophy That is, apart from Christ being the chief shepherd. Because we need to understand, although this text speaks to Christ being the true shepherd, the only true shepherd, He appoints under shepherds. But He remains the chief shepherd, as Peter tells us in 1 Peter chapter 5. But He is, and He alone, is the chief shepherd. Christ and Christ alone.

He's already said in verse 8, that all who come before me are thieves. and robbers. So Christ is putting himself in a category, and he's putting all the rest in a different category. That if there is Christ, the true shepherd, on one hand, and then you have all the rest, it doesn't matter who they are. In particular here, the context speaks to the Pharisees, but the false, illegitimate shepherds on the other hand, that's the other category, and Jesus puts them in a category of thieves.

and robbers. Two categories only, and that's important. Because the animal that Jesus is using as a metaphor or an analogy is sheep. Sheep can't exist on their own. They need a shepherd.

They're not that smart. They're not that clever. They will get themselves in all sorts of danger. To survive, sheep need to be led. They need a shepherd.

And brothers and sisters, all sheep are led. Remember the analogy here when speaking of sheep. Most times when we speak about sheep in the Word of God, it's pointing to the people of God. But in the context, People is what Jesus is referring to, not so much sheep. People.

All people are led by a shepherd. There is no one who is a lone ranger. There is no one out these doors who says, I'm on my own. I'm not led by anyone. Yes, you are.

Because the Bible is very clear. You either belong to the family of God or you belong to another family. He who is the father of lies, the one who is the murderer from the beginning. Oh, no, you are being led. You are being led by the powers of darkness.

He is your shepherd. It may have minions that you're under in false religions and cults, but you are being led. And Christ is saying there's only two categories. You're either being led by me, you've either walked through that door who is me, You've either heard my voice, and I am now leading you, and you're following after me, and I'm caring for you, and I'm taking you to green pastures, or you belong to the other category, and you're led by darkness. Two categories.

The other category, Jesus calls them, thieves. And so when we read through this text, one would have to continually ask himself or herself, who is my shepherd? We all have shepherds. Who is our shepherd? Is it Christ?

Or is it filled in the blank? It matters not. Because, beloved brothers and sisters, they are, as we'll see, polar opposites. The difference between having Christ as our shepherd, the only true shepherd, or having one of these thieves, is the difference between night and day. It's the difference between darkness and light.

It's the difference between death and life. Because one path, one shepherd, leads down a path that leads to life. And the other, the thieves, the false shepherds, the counterfeits, they will lead down a path also, but the path they lead down. is one that leads to death and destruction, and then eternal torment in the lake of fire. So we have a contrast between the two.

Let's read verse 10 together in our hearts and in our minds. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it. abundantly. This is a glorious verse.

There is so much in here, and I know by the time we're done, I'm going to leave much on the table. Over the years, you've gotten used to, from this pulpit, hearing men preach expositionally. That is, that we come to the text and we dig deeper. Because we know this is the Word of God. It's infinitely rich.

You can dig deeper and deeper and deeper, and there's so much in here. We can swim like the ocean. And the more you swim, the more you can swim. And the more water or territory you go into, the more there is remaining. This is God's Word.

It is infinitely, infinitely rich. So we dig deeper and we try to extract and reveal what is written within the text. So we examine the original languages. We also examine the grammar and the syntax. We look and meditate upon every clause and every phrase and every word.

Because as I said, it's a limitless well of rich content to feed upon. In a way, you could say we take the magnifying glass to the text and we ask many questions of the text. Like, for example, in this passage, we can ask the question, so why did Jesus use kill and destroy. The enemy, he says, the thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. In our vocab, kill and destroy.

Are they not one and the same? Are they not like synonyms? Are they not very much the same? To kill someone, you've destroyed them. To destroy someone, you've also killed that person.

We can ask that question, and we will a little later on. We can spend some time in the weeds and I think it's good for us to do that because there's gems in this word as we study and meditate upon it. But beloved brothers and sisters, sometimes the message is so clear, all we need to do is just stand back and read it. Just to stand back and read it, and then you and I will understand exactly what Jesus is saying in these words. And I think John chapter 10 is one of those texts.

As I said, we'll take the magnifying glass a little bit later on. We will use it. But let me ask you to stand back and look at the text, verse 10 of John chapter 10. John 10, verse 10. Stand back and look at the contrast.

And I want you to think in your minds now. I want you to come up with one word, a single word, a verb to give you a hint that describes the goal and the objectives on the one side of the thieves and the goal and objective on the other side of Christ, who is the good shepherd. Give me a word, what word comes to mind? The thieves come only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Simply said, the thief takes away. The thief takes and takes and takes. Christ has come to give.

Brothers and sisters, truth be told, the self-centered hearts of false shepherds, of thieves, of the false religious leaders, the cult leaders who masquerade around looking like truth-tellers, but they are corrupt to the soul as every man and woman is apart from Christ. And so their actions, although under the facade of holiness and goodness and righteousness and care and concern, in fact is only to be satisfying the sinful indulgences of the lusts that are within. And man is insatiable in his hunger for more of what feeds his lust and his sinful nature. To take and take and take, to fulfill the cravings of that nature is what we see in sinful man. And it's no different when we're dealing with false shepherds, false prophets, false leaders.

They're selfish and they're needy. They want to take your stuff, that's what Jesus is saying. They want to steal your stuff. They want to steal your life. They want to steal your soul.

Empty is what they are. And they want to fill up on others because they are empty. Empty. Facade of holiness, but they have no substance is what our Lord is saying. They'll fleece the sheep because they're takers, they don't givers.

You know why they continue to take and that's all they want to do? Beloved, it's because they have nothing of substance to give. Nothing of substance to give. They claim to know the truth, but they don't know the truth. They don't have the truth.

So what they espouse is nothing more than lies because they're governed and led and they've been the new to the father of lies, have nothing to give, they're empty in their tank, so they take and take and take. But Christ, Christ has come to give. In a way He does take, in a way He does take away our sin. But the glory of this Good Shepherd is in what He has come. to give and beloved let me tell you something the thief desires what you have the robber desires what others have the false shepherds Those leaders of cults, those who are masquerading as ones who have concern for people, even God's people, but they don't have a concern.

It's because they want something that you can give. There's something that you have that they want, and so they'll steal it unlawfully. We'll get into that in a few moments. But Christ, did you know that there's nothing that you have inherently that He desires? What can you do or give to Him to add to His perfection, to His goodness, to His absolute completion?

He is completely content in who He is, completely satisfied. His life, His goodness, His righteousness is not contingent upon anyone else. It doesn't matter what you and I think. He is what He is and He is good in all His ways. He doesn't need to steal.

He doesn't need to take because His tank is full. The thief, his tank is empty and he wants to take Christ. His tank is full and not only full but overflowing. He's come to give. False shepherds, the thieves.

The Pharisees have demonstrated that taking ability, the stealing ability in the previous chapter, in chapter 9. You remember the man that was born blind Jesus made to see? You remember the interrogations of the Pharisees who brought this man, and because this man did not blow the wind under their sails that they were expecting? He didn't see things eye to eye with them. He didn't go and conform to their system and their ways.

He didn't submit to them. And so instead of caring for this man, of being concerned for truth, instead of all these things, what do they do? They excommunicate him. Essentially, they kick him out of the community. They take away his relationships.

They take away his income. They take away his worship. They take away his freedom. Essentially, they take away his life as he, you know, steal, come to take. And that's the same, brothers and sisters, with any false religion, with any cult, with any ideology, with any philosophy, with any of the systems of this world.

Apart from Christ, they'll only take, they'll only steal what doesn't belong to them. They'll look nice and shiny on the outside. But they are run by the god of this age, by the prince of the power of this, of the air, his minions. And so they'll act like their father. It's interesting that the text tells us that this is their sole objective.

Did you see that? That's the sole objective of the thief. And I don't want us to miss that word that is in there that I, frankly, have missed for so many years. Put your heads down to that text. The thief comes.

What comes next? Only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I don't know about you, but I've memorized this verse. And the way I memorize this is the thief comes to steal and to kill and to destroy.

And I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly. What happened to the word only? It wasn't in my memorization. And that's careless on my behalf. Because it's important.

That word only is incredibly, incredibly important. I think that's why Jesus settles on the title thief and doesn't call them false shepherds. Because the thief and the false shepherds have This one attribute, this one property in common. They always take what doesn't belong to them. Always.

And that's their only motivation. That's what the text is telling us. That's their only motivation. Actually, in the original, the way the verse reads is something like this. The thief will not come unless...

The thief will not come not interested to get out of bed unless he comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. Think about that for a moment. Think about the sole purpose of a thief and the fact that Jesus is now calling the false shepherds of the day thieves, because that attribute is shared by both. They both have ill intentions, and those intentions are to steal, to kill, and to destroy, and only to do these things. This is a very terrifying reality.

You see, there's no neutrality If there's no neutrality, if there's a place that is espousing to be a true church, for example, but you know it's not, then people that you know that are in that place, they're not just going to sit there in neutral form. There is someone, there is power of darkness that will take advantage of that person, to steal from that person, to kill that person, and then to finally destroy that person, and we'll get to that. There's only two categories. That's it. Jesus says you're either in the category that Christ is the good shepherd.

How do I know that? Because there's one door. Either you've entered through the door that is Christ and you're part of his fold, or you belong to the flurry of other sheepfolds. And you have any one of a plethora of other shepherds. Matters not.

One leads to life. The other leads to being stolen from, being killed, and being destroyed. And that's the motivation of the false prophets. It's scary. See, the Christ is the one who leads you.

He's the one who guides you, the one who cares for you and loves you. Or you're gonna get fleeced. That's it. Does that not break your heart? No matter what system, what religion, what cult, what counterfeit Christianity, if you don't belong to Christ, the end is your destruction.

We've been given an example of the fleecing of the sheep, an example of the shepherds who do the wrong thing, who become false shepherds, who become shepherds who no longer take their obligation from God seriously. And this is in Ezekiel chapter 34. You may remember a few couple months ago I did read, you don't need to go there, but I want to read to you only the first few verses. And this is how it reads from verse one. The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.

Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds. Thus says the Lord God, Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep?" He's asking that question. Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with wool.

Where did they get that wool from? They fleeced the sheep. You slaughtered the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened. And the sick you have not healed.

The injured you have not bound up. The stray you have not brought back. The lost you have not sought. And with force and hardness you have ruled them. The Lord is speaking to Israel's kings, even kings appointed by God in the line of David, but ones who have turned their back from God and have acted as though they were false shepherds.

And instead of caring for the sheep, they did what false shepherds do best. They became thieves and took what did not belong to them. They had an insatiable desire that drives the sinful heart to take and take at the expense of the sheep. They were greedy for money and they took the money. Hungry for attention, they took the attention.

They starved for reputation, for prestige, for popularity, and they took these things because they're the things and the desires of their hearts. But one thing that we'll find consistent with false shepherds, those who lead a group of people whose hearts haven't been changed, whose hearts don't belong to the Lord, is not only do they steal from people, but they fall into grievous sin like sexual immorality. We see it through the Kings. And how many stories do you and I have from around us, from in the world today, that we know of where there has been false shepherds in false churches. who sink into the sin of sexual immorality and take advantage of the sheep.

That we're supposed to be taking care of. Acting indecently with the sheep. That is because they have no truth. The sadness is that there are some among them who are injured, who are hurt emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and are seeking. But the problem is, there is no balm to make them better, because there's no truth in that place.

And we know that our Lord is the Good Shepherd. He draws His own out. But think of the judgment that will come upon the false shepherds. Empty words. is what they give, and they rob the sheep emotionally, psychologically, mentally, spiritually.

They rob the sheep of joy and of peace, and they rob the sheep of any rest that they can have in Christ, because they don't teach of the rest they can have in Christ, because the truth is devoid from that place. And the Lord sees all, and the Lord knows all. The thief comes not only to steal, but also to kill and destroy, we're told. He gets a little bit more egregious. or simply taking the sheep's stuff, but now they desire to kill and destroy.

It makes sense, because as I said before, they don't act in and of their own power, do they? Remember, even the false shepherds are shepherded by someone. They have a power over them. God is the sovereign of the universe. We heard that this evening, but He allows.

the prince of the power of the air, the god of his age, the ruler of this world, as the apostle John will call him. And they are like father, like son. He's the father of lies, and they will do the same. But he's also a murderer from the beginning. He's a killer.

He's a murderer from the beginning. And his minions who follow him, his minions who bend their knee to him, they will follow in his footsteps. The question I asked earlier is a question that is, I think, legitimate. Why say both? Why would Christ go ahead and say that they come to kill and to destroy, if he's using those two terms as synonyms, would that not be a little bit redundant to use both?

Are they the same thing? Is it, in fact, the same, to kill and to destroy, or to destroy and to kill? No. No, they're not. You see, the word translated kill in our Bible is used some 14 times in the New Testament.

In fact, only once in the Gospel according to John, and only here in John chapter 10. There's another word the New Testament authors use in the Greek to kill, and it's used far more abundantly. It's 74 times they've used that one. But this one is only being used 14 times. And it always, without exception, connotes a physical type of death.

Your heart is beating, heart stops beating. One has blood in them, no more blood. You basically die physically. In all 14 instances, the word is used to describe the slaughter of an animal. So when the life of an animal comes to an end, that's very interesting.

It's fitting, because here in John chapter 10, the context is sheep. Jesus is talking about sheep, animals. Remember, you're supposed to draw the analogy from the sheep to people, but Jesus is speaking of sheep in this figure of speech. Does that make sense? You would use that word, but here's the thing.

According to my count, every time, without exception, every time this word that is translated now in the Bible as kill is used throughout the New Testament with any sheep or any lambs around the place, it is translated not kill, but sacrifice. Sacrifice. And to sacrifice, beloved, you know is an act of worship to a deity. Not only are these false shepherds before us here to steal and fleece the sheep, to take their stuff, but ultimately the physical lives of their sheep that end in death, whether knowingly or ignorantly, God knows their hearts, is an act of allegiance and essentially an act of worship to their God, the devil. Remember back in John chapter 8, as I said, only two families.

You either belong to God or you belong to the devil, and each one does his or goes about his father's work. That's a pretty scary thing. Apart from Christ, all the false shepherds. are acting under the power and the influence of the devil. There's no neutral ground.

They're doing Satan's bidding. You remember these words? Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel over land and sea to make a single proselyte, that's a single convert, and when he becomes a proselyte, You make him twice as much a child of hell as yourself. Who are they working for? They thought they were working for Yahweh.

Christ stares them in the eyes here in Matthew chapter 23 and says, no, you're not. You're doing the bidding of Satan. And that's a scary thing, because they thought they weren't. They thought they were doing the bidding of Yahweh. They thought they were obedient to Yahweh.

They thought they were servants of the Most High God. Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. And that is the God we worship, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of Moses. That's the God we thought we worshipped. And Jesus is saying otherwise.

As I said, kill connotes a type of physical death, even a sacrifice. But to destroy, on the other hand, the word connotes something of eternal consequences. I said kill was only used once in the Gospel according to John, but we have more instances of that word destroy. In fact, it's used ten times in the Gospel according to John alone. And the other places where that word that's translated in our Bibles here in John chapter 10 as destroy, in other places it's translated perish or to be lost.

Every time, without exception, it's used to signify eternal damnation. Eternal damnation of the soul. Now you know where this word has been used before. Remember, translated perished or lost. John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not what?

Not simply die, right? Perish. Eternal condemnation. Not shall not perish but have everlasting life or eternal life. So on the one hand, you have eternal life.

A life that does not ever come to an end, it's eternal in existence, and on the other hand you have a perishing happening, a condemnation happening, a judgment happening that is also of eternal consequences. To destroy goes beyond the physical act of killing. It's an eternal lostness of the soul. And the contrast is seen really beautifully, I think, and painted well for us in Matthew 10, verse 28. It's a passage or a verse that you, I hazard a guess, that you all know, and maybe some have memorized.

You remember the passage that reads, and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. There's a contrast, kill. This is the temporal stuff. Rather, fear him who can destroy. Destroy both soul and body.

in hell. The final destruction under the eternal wrath of God in hell is God's prerogative, right? That's what Matthew 10, 28 is telling us. But we also know by what Christ is telling us in John chapter 10, verse 10, that the inclination and the motivation and the goal and the objective of the heart of the thief, the false shepherd, is to that end to bring a full and final destruction upon the soul of their followers. Because they are deceived by the evil one.

They are under the darkness of the evil one. And they pursue that deception, rather than pursuing the light. They corrupt the truth. They pervert the truth. And they lead their followers on a path of lies, rejecting the true light, and pressuring their followers to reject the life.

You remember chapter 9 again, we go back there. You remember when they, the second interrogation of the man who was made well, because they interrogated him once and they went to his parents and they went back to him. And the second interrogation, if you remember how they began, they said, give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner. This man that you're trying to say healed you, we know he's a sinner.

We know he's not from God. That's what they're trying to say. Pervert the truth. The sinful, the sinless, holy one of God. The only one who's lived on this planet, who's never committed a sin, who's lived in perfect obedience to the Father.

The one who's righteous and holy and perfect without sin. He is a sinner, they said. We know he is a sinner. Perversion. of the truth.

And before we get to the end of the passage here in John chapter 10, the Pharisees will also open their mouth to declare something of God, of Christ in fact. Some will say that he is insane. Don't listen. He's an insane man. And others will say what?

That he is demon possessed. There's a problem with that. Because if they are muffling and cancelling the truth, if they're concealing and perverting the truth, and in John chapter 8 our Lord said that it's the truth that sets them free, then there's a problem with that. Then how can the soul of a man be set free if he doesn't know the truth, the one who is truth? And the one who is truth, it presented to the people, and it was just in that chapter earlier when they said, he is a sinner.

Beloved brothers and sisters, if you believe Jesus is a sinner, if one believes Jesus is a sinner, there's no salvation for that person. There is none. You cannot believe in a Christ who is a sinner and be saved. Full stop. That's not the Christ of the Bible.

You cannot believe in a Christ who has sinned even once. Because if you do, then the resurrection makes absolutely no sense. Then your salvation makes absolutely no sense. Then the righteousness of God makes absolutely no sense. Then the justice of God makes absolutely no sense.

You believe Jesus committed one single sin and your whole faith falls apart. We know this man is a sinner, liars. Conceal the truth because the truth shall set you free. The danger of being amongst false shepherds. There's only deception.

There's only darkness. There's only death. There's only destruction in a system like that. But here is the contrast. Praise be to God.

The good shepherd. He has already declared himself to be the light of life. Remember that, I am the light of the world. He who follows after me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy.

Remember that word, only. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. We've heard of the motivation of the thief. What gets them out of bed? Only to steal and to kill and destroy.

Now what is the purpose and the goal of Christ's worship? It's to impart life. Jesus has come to impart life. And to impart that life abundantly. Overflowing, exceeding life.

What type of life does Jesus impart? What type of life is he speaking of here in this text? Of course, it's spiritual life, it's eternal life, it's the life of God. In fact, in the Gospel according to John, whenever you read that word life according to my count, apart from one instance in John chapter 4 when he speaks to the royal official's son who's being made well, every other time he's mentioned life in the Gospel according to John always connotes spiritual life. Eternal life.

The life of God. It's almost always, life is almost always, in the Gospel of John, it's almost always a synonym for eternal life. And that's also clear here in the context, because the context is important. Because it could be that it's used that way every other time, but one time it's not. So the context is important.

We derive our understanding from the context. But the context suggests to us that this is a brand new type of life that Jesus speaks of. It's a type of life that she don't already have. I want us to realize what is written, beloved, and how it is written. Because sometimes we can be careless, like the example I gave you earlier, without remembering that word only, that makes a huge difference to that verse.

Sometimes we can be careless, and we can pronounce, or we can try to memorize, or at least paraphrase. Nothing wrong with paraphrasing the Word of God if that's the way you remember it. But sometimes we say things that we shouldn't say. How many times have you heard, Jesus Christ came to give you a more abundant life? I haven't gone as far as to say what that looks like yet.

I haven't landed in heresy. But Jesus has come to give us a more abundant life. You know what that sounds to me? It sounds authentic on the surface. That's great.

Jesus has come to give me a more abundant life, to enrich my life, to enhance my life, to deepen what I already have. And that's the problem. He hasn't come to deepen and enrich and to sugarcoat what you already have. He's come to give you something absolutely brand new. I came that they may have life.

The inference is they never had it. I've come that you would have something that you never ever had. And I've come to give you something brand new. I'm the one who imparts to these what He's saying. And I want you, and I want you to have it upon you.

It's come so that they may have life. And then he points back to the life and he says, and I want you to have that life abundantly. He's not talking about a brand new category right now, or a brand new detail. He's actually pointing back to life and saying, that's the life, but I want you to have it abundantly, abundantly, abundantly. Not more of the same.

Not more of the same. This is absolutely brand new type of life. You see, the reason we can know also that this is not a physical life, is because the people listening are already alive, right? And the sheep are already chirping, or whatever they are doing in this analogy. The people around Christ have heard Him speak, they've seen Him witness, they've followed Him and seen His activities.

They're alive. Jesus is not saying, I'm going to give you physical life. My heart beats. My lungs are filling with air. I'm okay.

I've got that life. No! He's referring to a spiritual life, an eternal life. It's to be born from a Bible, as Jesus said when he spoke to that great teacher of Israel, Nicodemus. It's to be born again.

This is more than what you and I have, or every other human being who's roamed the planet who's ever had a heartbeat has. They have had life, and that life has also been given by God. But that's not the life that Jesus is speaking about in this passage. The life that Jesus is speaking about in this passage is a brand new life. And why is that so important that we know, so important that we understand it?

It's this. It's because Adam, Adam died in the garden. That was the promise of God. In of all the trees in the garden, for the tree of the knowledge of the good and evil, you shall not eat. For the day, the day, the day, the day you eat of it, die, you shall die.

The day. From my memory, Adam lived to 930 years. He wasn't that young, he wasn't that old, I'm sorry, when he ate from the tree. And from that point, he had all his children, and the posterity grew. But from that, on that day, you eat of it.

Die, you shall die. Adam died in the garden. It wasn't physical, it was a spiritual death. He was alienated from the life of God. He was separated from the life of God.

And because God is spiritual life, Adam was separated from the life of God. He died spiritually, and here's the dilemma. Every single person who's ever born on this planet, in Adam, that is every human being, is infected by that sin and corrupted by that sin. Every one of us are born here, dead. You say that out there, it makes no sense.

You think you're speaking about a stillborn person. But this is the truth. We are born dead spiritually. As dead people in enmity with God, separated from the life of God, Then every person who is born dead, apart from divine intervention through the one true shepherd, through the one saviour, through the one mediator between God and man, apart from Christ, we are heading, every human being is heading at breakneck speed into the eternal damnation under the wrath of God for all eternity in a place called hell. But there's good news.

I came that they may have life. have it abundantly. So how do we understand these words? How do we understand what Jesus is saying about life? What is this life that he imparts?

How is it that Christ is the one who imparts this life? Now it's no secret, the gospel according to John is a great place to start. Now we can go throughout the scripture, it's all consistent, but the gospel according to John. John himself says so much about life. In fact, life is a major theme in the gospel according to John.

You remember? Let me start here. You remember the woman at the well? You remember the context? The unfaithful woman.

The woman at the well who had five husbands and four and so forth. And Jesus meets her there in Samaria at the well of Jacob taking up water. Remember what Jesus said? This is what he said. He says, everyone who drinks of this water, speaking about the water that's plunged up from the well of Jacob, They'll become thirsty again, he says, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 5 verse 21, For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wills. So when Jesus spoke to the woman at Samaria, or the woman at the well, He was telling her that I have the right to give that life. You're drinking from that water, you're thirsty, but if I give you the water that I give, so I can give you a type of water, that will well up in you into eternal life. That life is mine to give.

I can give you that water. And then we hear in John 5, verse 21, we're told by Christ himself that he's the one who gives that life according to his own will. He's heard that. He says there, he says, For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom? He wills.

He's the one making the decisions. The decision. Like he said to the woman at the well, I'm the one who can give that life. And here in John chapter 5 he says, I'm the one who wills, who gets the life, and who doesn't. It's his beloved.

But how is that life given? Well, for God so loved the world. That's the John 3, 16 passage I recited before. For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, that whoever wants So how is that life imparted by Christ? Whoever believes in him, he will not perish, but have everlasting life.

But still, it's a bit abstract. We believe we are given eternal life by faith in Christ and in Christ alone. What is exactly that life? Why is Jesus uniquely equipped to impart this life? Is it simply, as the modifier says, eternal life, which is very much a synonym of life, as I said earlier in the Gospel According to John.

Is that how we are to understand eternal life, spiritual life, that it is a life that never ends, that it goes on and on and on and on? Is it a quantitative life that we ought to think about when the Lord speaks about life or eternal life? It's true that life doesn't come to an end, but that's a property. That's an attribute of that life. But what is that life in essence?

Now you know the answer, because you've heard us preach it from this pulpit many times over and over again, and it's replete with the Word of God. But I'm going to let scripture answer that question for you. Because the more I read of scripture, the less I have to say, and in fact he says it far better than I can say it anyway. So let's start at the beginning, literally. In the beginning was the Word.

And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him was nothing made that was made. It is in him was life. And the life was the light of man.

I am the light of the world, Jesus said in John chapter 8. Let me take you to John chapter 5 verse 25. So here in John chapter 1 we hear that in him was life. In John chapter 5 verse 26, for as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. In him was life, John chapter 1 verse 4.

In John chapter 5, there's life in himself. Where is that life? It's in Christ. He said to the Samaritan woman, I can give it to you, but here we're hearing that Christ has that life in himself. Are we getting the picture now?

We're getting the picture of what this life is that Jesus has come to give. John 6.35, you know it. I am the bread of life. John 7, 37, on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the scriptures have said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water, water of life. You see, as I said earlier, the Samaritan woman said, if you drink of the water that I give you, from you, you'll have a well that grows into eternal life. But he didn't give her the specifics. But here in John 7, verse 37, he's calling the crowd. Jesus stands and says, come if you're thirsty, drink of me.

Come to me and drink of me. And from the drink, you'll have rivers of living water flowing. What I am, if He drinks of me, of me, if what I am becomes to you I, if He takes of me, if He eats of me, if He drinks of me, He will have His life. On chapter 11, our Lord says, I am the resurrection and Gevurah, the cross. Jesus never spoke so plainly as he did with the apostles, with the disciples on that wonderful night in the upper room discourse.

And there our Lord says these words that you have heard us speak many times over from this pulpit. I am the way, the truth. And just in case that wasn't clear enough in answering the question, what exactly is the life that Jesus has come to give? Let me just give you the words of the Apostle John in his first letter in 1 John, in chapter 5 from verses 11 through 12. Listen to what he says.

And this is the testimony. Brothers and sisters, listen to what he says. This is the testimony that God gave us eternal life. And this life is in his Son. Let me continue.

Whoever has the Son has life. And whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Can you see the contrast? Just like the one that we have here, you're either in my group, in my pen, you've either walked through me, the door, or you belong to the thieves. I've come that you may have life.

My sheep have life. The Apostle John says in 1 John that if you have the Son, you have Christ. Let me ask that question to you. What is the life that Jesus came to give? Himself.

Himself. Christ is that life. Christ is the spring and the fountain of life. He's the source and the substance of life. He's God in flesh.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I came that they may have what they don't have. I came to give them something brand new. The glory of this eternal life, beloved brothers and sisters, is Christ. He came to give Himself.

It came that you would receive Him by faith, and by receiving by faith Jesus Christ, you're united with the life of Christ. You're one in spirit with Christ. That's what 1 Corinthians 6 is. Joined. His life becomes your life, my life.

That's why the Apostle Paul can say, Christ is our life. Christ is the light. Oh, if you get all excited that Jesus came to give life, Jesus came to give Himself to be excited over. Christ and the experience, your experience and my experience of this life, of this spiritual life that has reconciled us to God, our experience of this eternal life. Do you know how best explained it is in the word, in the mouth, or the words of our Lord Himself in high priestly prayer?

In John chapter 17, when he prays to the Father, you may remember, in John chapter 17 verse 3, this is what Jesus says, and this is our experience of eternal life. He says these words, and this is eternal life. How wonderful is our Lord. He's given us a dictionary of definitions. What is eternal life?

We've been asking the question for the last 45 minutes. Longer. Sorry, longer. Let's just go on to the dictionary of our Lord. This is eternal life, Spirit, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, who you are.

Let me ask you this. Christ lives in that life. and the experience of that eternal life is known, is to know God, the God of the universe, the only true God through the Son, his Son who he has sent, Jesus Christ himself. And what is the abundant life that Jesus speaks of? What is the abundant life that Jesus speaks of?

I think it's self-explanatory. If I read that verse one more time slowly, knowing that Jesus is the life, I want you to think, what is the abundant life that Jesus speaks of? I have hum. Sorry, let me read it from the beginning. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.

Now here is the part. I came that they may have life. They'll know me, the Father. I've come that I would give them myself, and through giving myself I will be known by the Father and to the Father, and they will know me. And then he says, and have it.

What's the it referring to? What's the antecedent? What's the it referring to? Have it, which is the life. So I have come.

They may have life and have it have life abundantly. The abundant life that Jesus speaks of is a full and overflowing life, exceedingly superfluous life. That he speaks of is of the same DNA, but exceedingly more of the same. You see? Upon entering into that door, upon entering into that door of the shepherd, you become a part of the people of God.

He becomes your shepherd. His voice is now heard by the heart. You now recognise the Saviour. You recognise the shepherd, the true shepherd, the good shepherd. Praise be to God.

But it says, I've given you life now. You've now no longer alienated from the life of God. Now you've been reconciled to the life of God. But now swim in it. Go in of it.

Go take this Word, the Word of God, and come and learn of it. Learn of me. Know who I am. Know who my Father is. Give yourself to the Word of God.

Give yourself to this life. This is eternal life that they know you doing through God and me. So that's the life, that's the eternal life. How do you get it abundant? It's by coming and pressing into the Lord and saying, Lord, reveal, illuminate my heart through your Word to know you more, to love you more, to cherish you more, to serve you more.

It breaks my heart that these passages are taught in several places to speak about the abundant life being something other than Christ. He's an appendage. He's added on, but then the abundant life is to get the things of this world. That's not what Jesus is saying here. Yes, the Lord is able to bless in any way.

He's the one who gives the energy or the sustenance to make wealth, He says. He's the one who is sovereign over your life, and it may be His will that you have a good Life, in the sense of the physical things. It may be one who makes your work prudent and your health well, and it may be all these things, but is your heart going to be set upon them? Do you honestly think that this is the life that Jesus has come to give? The things that are temporal?

The things that fade away? The things that are here tomorrow and gone? The things that will never, ever, ever, ever, ever satisfy the longings of your heart, because you'll always go back for more. Your lust in the lust of the flesh will always want more. It's never, ever satisfied.

And you might ask the question, how is it? How is it that the things of this world have the The effect on man, that man will always go back for more, and more, and more, and more. And on the other hand, Christ is the same, because we continue to go back for more, and more, and more, and more of Christ. There's a difference between the two. The reason why you go back, or the sinful nature goes back to more of this wealth is because it's unsatisfied.

They eat, and they enjoy temporarily, and then it dies down, leaves them empty, and they want to go back more to fill up, and they're empty again. But the difference is when you go to Christ, you fill up, and you fill up, and He gives you greater and a greater capacity. You're at 100%, and He'll give you a greater 100%. It means that you go back, not because you're unsatisfied, or because you're empty. It's because you enjoyed it so much, you want more.

Nothing different. It's not a house here, and a house there, and a type of car one day, and a different type of car another. It's more Him. It's more Him. He's the life.

Jesus is the life. He's the one who has come to give himself, his life, and have it more abundantly, to swim in it, to enjoy it. He's the gift. I'll finish with this. Brothers and sisters, if the Lord has placed in our hearts a recognition that the things of this world will leave us empty, will leave us longing for more, longing for change, continually longing for what seems to be greener on the other side.

Beloved brothers and sisters, be careful that could in fact be the sinful nature poking its ugly head out. The Spirit of God who is given to every believer upon faith in Jesus Christ, He is sanctifying the believer through the power of the word and one of his responsibilities is this, to purge the remnant of the world out of you. Not to bring more in. Anytime you hear a theology or a teaching that says that's what you want, warning signs. Warning signs.

Beloved brothers and sisters, Jesus is the light. Go eat of his flesh, drink of his blood, consume more of him, and be satisfied. The true satisfaction is only found in Christ and it's found in no one else. Come to his feet and learn from him. Beloved brothers and sisters, pursue Christ.

Pursue Christ. He is the life. Take him on his word, when he says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. How can you rest? How can you have safety?

How can you have security? How can your souls be at ease, my soul be at ease, if we don't know who our shepherd is? The more we know, the more we love, the more we rest, the more we find ourselves satisfied. Strive to know the Lord. I'll finish there.

Thank you.