Jesus is the
Gateway to enter God’s rest which is true life.
Jesus makes a point that we are to enter through Him, not because of Him
or with knowledge of Him, but through Him.
I have a picture in my mind of literally passing through Jesus in a relational exchange which He becomes an essential part of our life.
There is this ethereal energy with flows from Jesus into us as we pass
through Him. This is what we know as the Holy Spirit.
I am not one
for Stargates and such, but I believe that the understanding of these types of
things has become corrupted by Hollywood and the entertainment industry. These portayals gave illegitimate attention and mocking of spiritual things. Jesus is our spiritual gateway to the
Father. In the previous verses, Jesus
says that those who came before Him were thieves and robbers, that is a strong indictment
of everything that came after the creation.
That even includes this natural life which was only a slight shadow of
what the spiritual world is like.
Jesus said “To
enter through me is to experience life…”, what He is speaking of here is zōē
life. So what is the definition of zōē
life?
- of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him, both the substance and essential nature of the triune God exists. The "logos" (written word) and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human form and nature.
- Life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever.
Life without
the chains and restrictions of the natural laws which limit our lives in every
way possible, that is the result of sin.
Through Jesus is “…life, freedom, and satisfaction” which is the
expression of the fullness of the zōē life in Christ.
Apart from
what we have been taught, Jesus states plainly that the reason for His coming is “…to
give you everything in abundance, more than you expect” these are the words
of Jesus, not mine. This is the result
of life in Christ, the power of a connected life. To show you what is meant, the Greek word
for power is Dunamis, which we get the English word dynamo and dynamite. There is dynamic, explosive power made
available to us when we are connected through Christ.
That was the
“new-normal” that Jesus came to establish, not business as usual. It is when we are corporately connected to
His body (other believers) to express this life of power, we demonstrate
love at a new level. Power is released
for healing, miracles, and direction with Jesus being the Head of the
Church. The Kingdom life becomes evident
and sustaining as we engage with Jesus on a higher level.
Jesus
finishes this passage by telling us that we can be filled with “…life in its fullness
until you overflow!” It reminds me of the other description Jesus gave in John 7 where He
gives another example of this:
"Believe in me so that rivers of living
water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just
like the Scripture says!” John 7:38
(TPT)
The word living
is again the word zōē, but in the active verb form zaō which means active, in-motion. This is what the zōē life looks like, like a
torrent of river water flowing out from us, not a trickle, not a stream, but an
unrestricted flow. That is what Jesus provided
for us, a means to know and experience the love of the Father to such a degree
that we would desire nothing less.
May you know
the Love and Life of Jesus that you may overflow with the goodness and grace
that have been given to you in abundance and in power.
Blessings to
you;
Stephen
Barnett
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