So That

C H A P T E R 8

So That
We May Live
Together With Him

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:10 ~

Up to this point, so much has been discussed. We could write substantially more, but if God’s purpose for us as it relates to Christ is not explored, our work would be incomplete.

When we discussed endurance, wisdom, fruitfulness, hope, temptation, the body of Christ, and comfort, we tried to make clear the eternal perspectives, which all point to Christ. It’s not for the sake of earthly treasures that Scripture encourages us to endure. The desire for wisdom is not solely to accomplish a worldly goal, though that would not be altogether wrong. The objective was to highlight that the fruit of the Spirit originates with God and that biblical hope is rooted in eternity. We examined the details of how resisting temptation, and forgiveness from sin, are tied to our relationship with God. It was made clear that all believers are part of, and have a role in, the body of Christ, and it was noted how the comfort we receive comes from God and is meant to be shared with others. With that foundation, this chapter will build on the eternal perspective as we see God’s purpose in Christ Himself, namely, our eternal life in Him.

But God…

God is loving, gracious, and immeasurably generous.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (emphasis added).

~ Ephesians 2:1-5 ~

To truly appreciate the life that God offers, we must first understand the predicament we were in. As Ephesians 2:1 tells believers, we were dead in our transgressions. As a drowning swimmer being pulled from the raging ocean, we had no ability to perform lifesaving procedures on ourself. We could not save ourselves, and our future was bleak. This is where the “but God” of verse 4 above comes in. We were (past tense) dead… but God.

By the grace of God, and our faith in the price Jesus paid for our sin, God “made us alive with Christ.” We were dead, but now we are alive, spiritually. This is what it means to be “born again,” to be “saved.” These are not some cuckoo ideas that some might make them out to be. This is the clear teaching of Scripture.

Jesus, the Life

Scripture identifies Christ with God, and life. Jesus does this in part by way of His seven “I am” statements. In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to Moses by referring to Himself as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). As such, “I AM” is understood as a name for God. While there are seven “I am” statements in the book of John, John 14:6 is one of the more well-known. It reads: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

It’s important to understand what Jesus said and what He did not say. Jesus did not say He is a way, one of many truths, and a part of life. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life. He doesn’t stop there. Jesus continues to bolster His identity by saying that there is no other way to the Father except through Him. In this verse, we read that no one can have eternal life apart from Jesus, and in John 3:16 and 1 John 5:12, we read that “whoever” believes in Jesus has eternal life. Anyone who believes can have it, but there is only one way to it. It is both entirely inclusive and entirely exclusive at the same time. In terms of contrast, I can’t think of a greater one. These are bold claims, but as someone who is identifying Himself as, and with, an eternal, self-existent God, identifying Himself with eternal life is a natural logical consequence.

Jesus often explicitly aligns Himself with life. Jesus not only associates His purpose with life but amplifies it by comparison. In John 10:10, we read, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The “thief” represents hypocritical religious leaders and ultimately the Devil himself. These thieves offer nothing but bondage by misleading our hearts and minds as they try to wreck our faith, even before we have it. Jesus, on the other hand, delivers eternal life, effective immediately, and saturates that life with the fruit of the Spirit. This is the “full life.”

John writes a lot about the concept of life, and at the end of his Gospel, John tells us his purpose in writing it: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). This life is the “life” that the chapter verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:10, ultimately speaks of.

Jesus was not shy about declaring Himself to be the life, and Paul was not shy about teaching a more personal rendition of this truth. In Colossians 3:1-4, Paul begins by establishing that the believer’s faith in Christ should result in a heavenly perspective.