Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is when, for example, Jesus says "I have come that they may have life"......are we sure it's HIS life versus eternal life? I know "zoe" is often taught as "the uncreated eternal life of God".....but I am not 100% sure myself that's true. When we see "eternal life" in the Bible.....it's not always just "zoe". It's often "aionios zoe". i.e., it actually has the adjective "eternal" in front of it. There are instances where "zoe" on its own even means standard, human, mortal, fleeting, physical life, and not "the uncreated life of God".
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I might misunderstand your passage. But I want to share my understanding.
In John 10:10, Jesus said he came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Life in the verse includes two meanings:
1. the eternal life after the new birth.
2. the way of living a life after the new birth.
In John 10, Jesus said,
"I am the door." So by him, we can be saved and enter into eternal life. (V.9)
"I am the good shepherd." So He gives his life for his sheep. His sheep have His life(eternal life) and live a life for Him. (the way of life).
Spiritually, John 10:10 goes with Rom. 8:28–39, 2 Cor. 9:8, Phil. 4:13,19,Heb. 13:5–6, 1Cor. 1:6, and 1 John 3:1–3.
After the "New Birth," Christians get not only eternal life but a better life here on the earth than he deserves or expects. It is not just the “longevity.” It is the "way(quality)" of living that makes it "exceeding abundantly above all." (Eph.3:20).
(I don't know Greek, and I don't refer to Greek when reading the Bible. However, I can understand the scriptures in the context most of the time.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
I can't get away from Adam and Eve having access to the tree of life in the garden of Eden. That tree of life is what was said to allow them to live forever, and that tree of life is what we see again in Revelation.....presumably because Christ paid our debt and we are allowed access to it again. In John 10:10 when Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life"....this is what I assume is meant - He takes the punishment for our sins so we can regain access to the tree of life and thus life forever.
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Adam and Eve did have the chance of accessing the tree of life, but they chose to eat the forbidden one first. They fell, and God expelled them out of Eden before they had a chance to get the tree of life. God even placed Cherubims to prevent them from getting back in.
And Yes, the tree of life is allowed them to gain eternal life.
But we, Christians, don't need the tree of life to get eternal life, for the "eternal Spirit" indwells in us the moment when we are saved, and we sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. Adam and Eve need the tree of life because they don’t have what we have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
I am just struggling to see evidence in Scripture for the thought of "His life does xyz". It disembodies Christ from His own life and it makes it sound like His life has a separate mind of it's own. Is there biblical evidence for "Christ's life doing something" versus just "Christ doing something"?
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To me, it sounds like a philosophical question, and I avoid it.
Can we really separate "Christ's life" from "Christ?" Can we separate "Trapped's posts" from "Trapped?" Obviously, I am not a philosopher at all.
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John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Three absolutes; no indefinite articles.
All LIFE, physical or spiritual, comes from “THE LIFE.” ( Col. 1:13–17; John 1:1–4; and Rev. 1:8.)
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I interpret STG's "inner life"
as the way a Christian lives his life after being saved, walking not after the flesh but after the Spirit. In other words, Christians live a life under the law of the Spirit of life. And eventually, we are all conformed to the image of the Son of God.