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First, we will see what life is. In order to know life, we must know what life is. It is rather difficult to explain; hence, we really need the mercy of the Lord. According to the teaching of the Bible, at least six points should be mentioned in order to make this subject clear.
When explaining what life is, we must first be clear about one thing — the kind of life in the universe that can be counted as life. First John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” John 3:36 also says, “He who believes into the Son has eternal life; but he who disobeys the Son shall not see life.” These two verses tell us that unless man has the life of God, he does not have life. This shows that in the eyes of God, only His life is life; besides that, no other life can be counted as life. Thus, when the life of God is mentioned in the Bible, it is treated as if it is the unique life (1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6; etc.).
Only the life of God is life, and other lives are not counted as life, because only the life of God is divine and eternal.
What does divine mean? Being divine means being of God, having the nature of God, or being transcendent and distinctive from all others. Only God is God, only God has the nature of God, and only God is transcendent and distinctive; therefore, only God is divine. The life of God is God Himself (later, we will consider this point), and since it is God Himself, it naturally has the nature of God. For example, a gold cup is gold, and since it is gold, it has the nature of gold; in fact, gold is its nature. Similarly, the life of God is God Himself and has God’s nature; God is the nature of His life. Since the life of God is God and has the nature of God, the life of God is divine.
What does eternal mean? Eternal means “uncreated, without beginning or ending, existing by itself and ever, unchangeably existing.” Only God is uncreated; only He is “from eternity to eternity” (Psa. 90:2), that is, without beginning or ending. He is “I AM WHO I AM” (Exo. 3:14), and always “the same” (Psa. 102:27). Since God Himself is such, so also is the life that is God Himself. The life of God, just as God Himself, is uncreated, without beginning or ending, self-existing and ever-existing, and never changing; therefore, the life of God is eternal. Hence, the Scriptures speak of God’s life as eternal life.
Since being both divine and eternal are the nature of God and show forth the characteristics of God Himself, they are also the nature of His life and portray the characteristics of His life. However, not only is being divine a characteristic of God’s life, but it is even more the essence of His life, whereas being eternal is only a characteristic of the life of God. Let us look again at the illustration of the gold cup. Its nature is both gold and rust resistant. However, gold not only characterizes the cup but is also its very essence, whereas its nature of being rust resistant is due to its being gold. Likewise, the reason God’s life is eternal is that it is divine. (Being divine signifies not only that which is of God, but God Himself.) God’s life is eternal because it is divine. In the universe no created life has the divine nature; therefore, no created life is eternal. Only the nature of God’s uncreated life is divine and eternal. Since the nature of God’s life is such, naturally God’s life itself is also such. God’s life is eternal because it is divine. In the universe, only God’s life is both divine and eternal; therefore, only God’s life is considered life.
Only the life that is both divine and eternal can be counted as life because life denotes something that is living, and all that is considered life must be something that is immortal. That which is immortal is unchangeable; it remains the same and continues living even after passing through any kind of blow or destruction. A life that is subject to death and change and is unable to suffer any blow or destruction is neither eternal, immortal, nor unchangeable, and therefore cannot be considered life. That which is life must be something that lives forever and never changes. Only that which is eternal can be such. Then, what is it that is eternal? Only that which is divine! That which is divine is of God, and this is God Himself. God Himself is without beginning or ending, self-existing and ever-existing; therefore, He is eternal. Because only that which is divine is eternal and only that which is eternal can live eternally without change, only that which is both divine and eternal can be counted as life.
All kinds of life in the universe, whether of angel, man, animal or plant, are mortal and changeable; hence, they are not eternal. They do not have the nature of God, nor are they divine. Only the life of God has the nature of God; therefore, it is divine and eternal, immortal and unchangeable, impossible to be held by death, and indestructible (Acts 2:24; Heb. 7:16). No matter what kind of blow or destruction it undergoes, it remains unchanged and stays forever the same. In the universe, beside the life of God, no other life can be such. Therefore, from the standpoint of eternity, only the life of God is life. It not only has the name of life but also the reality of life, and thus, it completely fulfills the meaning of life. Other lives are only life in name, not in reality; thus, they are unable to meet the criteria of immortality and unchangeability of life and cannot be considered as life. Hence, according to the divine and eternal nature of the life of God, God’s life is the unique life in the universe. Because the life of God is the unique life, whenever the New Testament in the original Greek speaks of this life, it always uses the word zoe, which refers to the highest life (John 1:4; 1 John 1:2; 5:12 etc.). Beside this, the original text of the New Testament also uses (1) bios to speak of the life of the flesh (Luke 8:43; 21:4 etc.), and (2) psuche to speak of the soul-life or the natural life of man (Matt. 16:25-26; Luke 9:24 etc.).
Concerning what life is, we must first see that only the life of God is life. Then we must see that life is the flowing out of God. Revelation 22:1-2 speaks of a river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God, and in the river of water of life is the tree of life. Both the water of life and the tree of life signify life. Therefore, we are shown clearly here that life is that which flows out from God. Hence, we can say that life is the flowing out of God.
We have already seen that life must be divine and eternal. Since God is God, naturally He is divine. And the Bible also says that God is eternal. Hence, since God is both divine and eternal, He is life. Therefore, God flowing out is life.
According to the divine and eternal nature of God Himself, God is life. But if God does not flow out, although in respect to Himself He is life, yet to us He is not life. He must flow out; then He will be life to us. His flowing out passes through two steps. The first step is His becoming flesh. This enables Him to flow out from heaven into the midst of men and manifest Himself as life (John 1:1, 4, 14). Therefore, the Bible speaks of this on the one hand as His being “manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16), and on the other hand as the “life, which was...manifested” (1 John 1:2). Hence, when He was in the flesh, He said that He is life (John 14:6). Although in the first step of His flowing out He could manifest Himself as life to us, He could not be received by us as life; therefore, He had to take the second step of flowing out. His second step of flowing out was His being nailed on the cross. Through death the body of flesh that He took was broken, thus enabling Him to flow out from the flesh and become the living water of life to be received by us (19:34; 4:10, 14). The rock in the Old Testament typifies Christ; it was smitten, and from it came living water to be obtained by the people of Israel (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4). He became flesh in order that He may be a grain of wheat that contains life. He was crucified so that He could flow out from the husk of flesh into us — His many fruits — and become our life (John 12:24).
Thus, the life we receive from God is the flowing out of God Himself. This life flowing into us, from our side, is the flowing in of God, and from God’s side, it is the flowing out of God. Then, when this life flows out of us, it is again the flowing out of God. This flowing out of God began from His throne: first it flowed into Jesus the Nazarene; then it passed through the cross and flowed into the apostles; then it flowed out of the apostles as rivers of living water (7:38); it has flowed through the saints in all ages, and eventually, it has flowed into us. Out from us it will flow to millions more and on to eternity, flowing forever without ceasing, just as is spoken in Revelation 22:1-2 and John 4:14.
The waters mentioned in Ezekiel 47 symbolize this flowing out of God. Wherever the waters flow, all things shall have life. Likewise, wherever this flowing out of God comes, there shall be life, for this flowing out is life itself. When this flowing out flows to eternity, then eternity will be filled with the condition of life and become an eternity of life.
At the very beginning, when the Bible speaks of life, it shows a flowing river (Gen. 2:9-14). At the end in Revelation we are shown that, as far as we are concerned, all things relating to life, whether the water of life or the tree of life, flow out from God. This speaks clearly that, to us, life is the flowing out of God Himself. God flowed out from heaven, and through the flesh He flowed into our midst as the life that was manifested to us. Then He flowed out from the flesh into us as the life that we have received.
Concerning what life is, the third point we should know is that life is the content of God. Since life is the flowing out of God, it therefore is the content of God, for the flowing out of God is from God Himself, and God Himself is the content of God.
Since the content of God is God Himself, this content is all that God is, or the fullness of the Godhead. The Bible tells us that all the fullness of the Godhead is in Christ (Col. 2:9). This is because Christ as God’s embodiment was manifested to be the life of man. This life contains all the fullness of the Godhead, which is all that God is. All that God is, is in this life. God’s being God hinges on this life. Therefore, this life is the content of God, the fullness of the Godhead. When we receive this life, we receive the content of God, and we receive all that is in God. This life within us is what God is. Today it is in this life that God becomes our all and is our all; it is in this life that God becomes our God and is our God. Since this life in Christ is the fullness of the Godhead and the content of God Himself, so also in us it is the fullness of the Godhead and the content of God Himself.
We have seen that life is the flowing out of God, and life is the content of God. The flowing out of God issues from God Himself, and the content of God is also God Himself. Since life is both the flowing out of God and the content of God, naturally life is God Himself. This is the fourth point we should know concerning what life is.
In John 14:6 the Lord Jesus said that He is life. After He said this, from verses 7 through 11 He made known to the disciples that He and God are one — and when He spoke this word, it was God speaking in Him. He was God become flesh, and He was God in the flesh (1:1, 14; 1 Tim. 3:16). When He says He is life, it is God who says God is life. Hence, His words show that life is the very God Himself.
We should pay attention to the fact that the Bible seldom uses the term the life of God. The teaching of the Bible mainly reveals that God is life; it speaks mostly of God as life; seldom does it mention “the life of God.” It says that God is our life and speaks of God as our life; it almost never says that God wants us to receive “His life.” The life of God is different from God is life or God as life. The life of God does not necessarily imply the whole of God Himself, whereas God is life or God as life denotes the complete God Himself. Strictly speaking, when we receive life, we receive not the life of God, but God as life. Not only did God give us His life; He Himself came to be our life. Because God Himself is life, His life is His very self.
Then what is life? Life is God Himself. What does it mean to have life? To have life is to have God Himself. What does it mean to live out life? To live out life is to live out God Himself. Life is not different in the least from God. If it were, then it would not be life. We should understand this clearly. It is not sufficient merely to know that we have life; we must know further that this life we have is God Himself. It is not sufficient to know only that we should live out life; we must also know that the life we should live out is God Himself.
Brothers and sisters, actually what is the life that we should live out? What do we live out when we live out life? Is the living out of love, humility, gentleness, and patience the living out of life? No! Because neither love, humility, gentleness, nor patience is life; neither is any goodness or virtue life. Only God Himself is life. Thus, to live out such virtues is not to live out life. Only the living out of God Himself is the living out of life. If the love, humility, gentleness, and patience that we live out are not the flowing out of God or the manifestation of God, they are not life. Any goodness or virtue that we live out, unless it is the expression of God through us, is not life. The good virtues we live out must be the flowing out of God, the manifestation of God, and the expression of God; then we are living out life; for life is God Himself.
Colossians 2:9 and Ephesians 3:19 show us the fullness of God. The life that we receive is this full God. Therefore, this life is also full. In it there is love and light, humility and gentleness, patience and forbearance, sympathy and understanding. All the goodness and virtues that are in God are in this life. Therefore, this life can live out all these virtues from us. To live out these virtues is to live out God, because this life is God. Although this life, when it is lived out, has many manifestations, such as love, humility, gentleness, and patience, yet these are all expressions of God, for they are all lived out from God. That which is lived out from God is the expression of God, or the expression of life, because God is life and life is God.
The Bible shows that life is God Himself. It shows even more that life is Christ. Life was God; then God became flesh, which is Christ. Therefore, Christ is God, and Christ also is life (1 John 5:12). The life that was God, the life that God is, is in Him (John 1:4). Hence, Christ said again and again that He is life (14:6; 11:25), and that He came to earth that man may have life (10:10). Therefore, the Bible says that he that has Him has life (1 John 5:12) and that He in us is our life (Col. 3:4).
Just as life is God Himself, so also life is Christ. Just as having life is having God Himself, so also having life is having Christ. Just as to live out life is to live out God Himself, so also to live out life is to live out Christ. Just as life is not different in the least from God, life is not different in the least from Christ. Just as a slight deviation from God is not life, a slight deviation from Christ is not life, for Christ is God being life. It is through Christ and as Christ that God is manifested as life. Hence, Christ is life, and life is Christ.
After the Lord Jesus said He was life in John 14:6, He made known to His disciples not only that He and God are one (vv. 7-11) but also that the Holy Spirit and He are also one (vv. 16-20). In verses 16 and 17 the Lord referred to the Holy Spirit as “He,” but in verse 18 He changed the pronoun from He to I. By changing the He to I, the Lord was saying that “He” is “I.” This reveals that the Holy Spirit He spoke of in verses 16 and 17 is He Himself. From verses 7 through 11 the Lord showed that He is the embodiment of God — He is in God, and God is in Him. Hence, His being life means that God is life. From verses 16 through 20 the Lord further revealed that the Holy Spirit is His embodiment, His other form; and when His physical presence leaves us, this Spirit of reality who is Himself as another Comforter comes into us and abides with us. This Spirit living in us and abiding with us is just the Lord Himself living in us as our life so that we may live. These two passages therefore show that it is by God being in Him and Him being the Holy Spirit that He is life. God is in Him as life, and He is the Holy Spirit as life. The Lord being life is God being life and is also the Holy Spirit being life. Thus, John 4:10 and 14 say that the living water that He gives is the eternal life. John 7:38-39 further says that the living water that flows out from us is the Holy Spirit, which we have received. This discloses that the Holy Spirit is the eternal life. The Holy Spirit whom we have received is the eternal life we experience, or Christ being experienced by us as life. The eternal life, or Christ as life, is to be experienced by us as the Holy Spirit. For this reason the Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2).
The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of life” because God and Christ being life hinges on Him. He and life are united as one and cannot be separated. He is of life, and life is of Him. Life is His content, and He is the reality of life. Speaking more accurately, He is not only the reality of life but also life itself.
We all know that God is a triune God — Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father is in the Son; the Son is the Spirit. The Father in the Son is manifested among men; therefore, the Son is the manifestation of the Father. The Son as the Spirit enters into man; therefore, the Spirit is the entering in of the Son. The Father is the source of life, the very life itself. Since the Son is the manifestation of the Father (1 Tim. 3:16), He is the manifestation of life (1 John 1:2). And since the Spirit is the entering in of the Son, He is the entering in of life. Life originally is the Father; in the Son it is manifested among man; and as the Spirit, it enters into man for man to experience. Thus, the Spirit becomes the Spirit of life. Since the Spirit is the Spirit of life, man can receive life through the Spirit, and when man sets his mind on the Spirit, it is life (Rom. 8:6). Since the Spirit is the Spirit of life, when man exercises his spirit to touch the Spirit, he touches life. When he contacts the Spirit, he contacts life, and when he obeys the Spirit, he experiences life.
Thus, in summary, life is the Triune God. But to us life is not the Triune God in heaven, but the Triune God flowing out. This flowing out of the Triune God means that His content, which is Himself, first flowed out through Christ; then it flowed out as the Spirit to be received by us as life. Thus, when we touch God in Christ as the Spirit, we touch life, for life is God in Christ as the Spirit.
