What is Real Life?
Intro:
1. God created man & breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Man, then, became a living being (Gen 2:7).
2. What kind of life did God intend for you to live?
a. Is this life just existence? Is it simply to find as much pleasure & comfort as possible & that’s it?
b. If God created you, then there’s got to be more to life than mere existence - or why bother?
c. ILL: The Typical Daily Routine.
3. What’s the answer? Life needs to have purpose!
a. The world’s concept of purpose is to be a success, be popular & own a lot of stuff. But Lord Jesus says, a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. - Lk 12:15.
b. The most noble worldly purpose is to raise & care for children in a fine disciplined home until they are old enough to be on their own. But Paul says, If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. - I Cor 15:19.
4. So - what is real life?
I John 1:1-4
I. What is Real Life?
A. v2 - It is a life that can be seen & demonstrated.
1. When you look at the world, you don’t see real life the way God intended it.
2. So - Jesus came to earth, lived it & demonstrated God’s life as an example to you.
3. When you look at the life of Christ found in the Gospels, you can say, “Yeah, that’s it! That’s the way life should be lived!”
4. Jn 1:4 - In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
a. His life consisted of words to be listened to - for Peter asked, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. - Jn 6:68.
b. His life was seen & heard. When Peter & John were told not to teach about Jesus, they replied, For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. - Act 4:20.
d. His life was handled with hands. When Jesus appeared to Thomas, He said, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. - Jn 20:27.
5. This real life you can live is the visible witness that you have been possessed by Lord Jesus! I Jn 5:11-12 - 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.
2. When Moses was in the presence of God, his face was so bright he had to wear a veil.
3. People will know you’ve been in the presence of God when they see your changed life!
B. v2 - It is a God-like life.
1. This life was “with” the Father - the idea of nearness & closeness. This is God’s life!
2. The purpose of Jesus coming to us was to make this life available. He said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - Jn 10:10. (KJV & NAS both say “have it abundantly”)
C. v2 - It is an eternal life.
1. This rich, purposeful, abundant God-life that you can have right now will last forever!
2. I Jn 2:25 says that eternal life was God’s promise.
3. What is eternal life? Jn 17:3 - Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
II. What Does This Life Do for You?
A. v3 - It gives you a true bond with others.
1. Fellowship (κοινωνία) = a common shared experience.
a. A bond with the Son & the Father. I Jn 2:24 - See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
b. A bond with other believers. Jn 17:20-21 - My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
2. ILL: The bond we felt with believers in other countries.
3. ILL: The bond we felt with Christians in our military units.
B. Do you have doubts as to whether you have this real life?
1. The purpose of this book of I John was to remove those doubts!
2. I Jn 5:13 - I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Study this book & then measure your life by what it says.
You’ll not have doubts again!
http://biblelifemessages.org/