1 John 5:11, 12 - Eternal Life Is A Relationship With Jesus.
1 John 5:11, 12 (NIV) And this is the
testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he
who does not have the Son of God does not have
life.
COMMENTARY
Eternal life doesn't merely mean going to
heaven when you die and living forever, as amazing
and wonderful as that promise is. Eternal life
involves knowing Almighty God intimately. That began
the moment you entered into a relationship with
Christ, and it will extend throughout eternity.
Eternal life, however, is a quality of
life more than a quantity. It's abundant life.
It's security in the nurturing intimacy of your
personal relationship with your heavenly Father,
contentment in the joy of His presence with you, and
radiantly hopeful because of His promises to you. To
thoroughly experience eternal life in the present as
well as in the future, you must continually
strive to know God more intimately.
Some Christians seem to think that they
have to wait until heaven to truly know and
experience Christ, so they unwisely neglect their
relationship with Christ in this life. Yet Scripture
suggests that we take with us into eternity the
relationship with God that we began on earth.
God invites us to experience and enjoy
eternal life - by knowing and experiencing Him.
Start enjoying eternal life today. [Being
Still With God Every Day by Henry Blackaby re John
17:3]
If you asked people if they are going to
heaven or hell, many of them will likely say, I
hope Ill go to heaven.
But hope just isnt good enough. I pray
thats not your answer. Your eternal destiny is too
important not to know for sure.
Its foolish to be unprepared for what
we all know is inevitable: death. The most
recent statistics show that mortality rates in the
world remain 100 percent!
Youre not guaranteed another minute on
this planet, much less another hour. Dont put
off the most important choice youll ever
make.
The Bible says in 1 John 5:11-12, And
this is the testimony: God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the
Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of
God does not have life (NIV).
Thats about as clear as you can get.
If you have Jesus, you have life. If you
dont have Jesus, you do not have life. You have a
choice. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
We have the desire for happiness deeply
ingrained within us. In other words, God has hardwired
us to be happy. So where do we find this
happiness?
We wont find it is in this world,
because the world bases happiness on how well things
are going. If things are going reasonably well,
then were happy. If things are not going so
well, then were unhappy.
When you obtain everything, when you have
all your dreams fulfilled, when you reach all
your goals and maybe surpass them, you find how
empty it is. And then you realize that happiness
isnt in those things at all.
I think in many cases, the people you
follow on social media and those you admire or look
up to may have a far more miserable life than
you have.
One Gallup study on the subject of
happiness found that spiritually committed people are
twice as likely to report being very happy than
the least spiritually committed people.
Ill take that a step further: Godly
people will be the happiest people. As the Bible
says, Happy are the people whose God is the
Lord! (Psalm 144:15 NKJV).
C. S. Lewis put it this way: God
designed the human machine to run on Himself. He
Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to
burn, or the food our spirits were designed to
feed on. There is no other. That is why it is
just no good asking God to make us happy in our
own way God cannot give us a happiness and
peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.
There is no such thing.
The more we chase after the Lord, the
more godly well become - and the more well
find the happiness that has eluded us for so
long. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com re Psalm 144:15]
God made us: invented us as a man invents an
engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would
not run properly on anything else. Now God
designed the human machine to run on Himself. He
Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to
burn, or the food our spirits were designed to
feed on. There is no other. That is why it is
just no good asking God to make us happy in our
own way without bothering about religion. God
cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from
Himself, because it is not there. There is no such
thing. C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
When you seek My face, put aside thoughts of
everything else. I am above all, as well as in all;
your communion with Me transcends both time and
circumstances. Be prepared to be blessed bountifully by My
Presence, for I am a God of unlimited abundance. Open
wide your heart and mind to receive more and more
of Me. When your Joy in Me meets My Joy in you,
there are fireworks of heavenly ecstasy. This is
eternal life here and now: a tiny foretaste of what
awaits you in the life to come. Now you see only a
poor reflection as in a mirror, but then you will
see face to Face. (John 15:11; 1 Cor. 13:12)
[Jesus Calling by Sarah Young]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE AND
TOPIC
1 John 5:11, 12 - Eternal Life Is A
Relationship With Jesus.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2006/20061214-0741.html
John 17:3 - A Supreme Relationship with
Jesus Christ is Eternal Life.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180823-1030.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio (currently live):
https://bible.awr.org/the-warning/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug
Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
