John 5: 26
” For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.”
This verse stands out to me for a couple of reasons. One is that the Greek word for “life,” is “Zoe,” which happens to be my granddaughter’s name. It is a very appropriate name for her as she is full of life in every sense of the word.
The other reason this stands out to me is the concept of the Father having “life in himself.” What does that mean?
Obviously, since the Father is not flesh and blood, we are not talking about the kind of life we usually associate with a living organism. We are talking about the kind of life Jesus talks about when he says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5: 24)
Q: How is the life Jesus is talking about different than what people might normally think of as “life?”
Spiritually eternal,..that’s all I got,..
I think John Got it. We will live in a state of perfection.
I think it is important to recognize that the biological life we live and see today is not as it was supposed to be. We could debate forever on the effects of the fall/sin on the world, but we would all agree that it brought death to humanity where there once was true life – life that comes from God.
I never want to distance true life from being physical as Creation started out “good” and Jesus resurrected body is a physical body although clearly different from ours. I think the end of the verse helps to clarify Jesus meaning, “but has crossed over from death to life.” Before Christ our end is death & judgment, but from him we receive forgiveness & eternal new life.
Interesting topic, isn’t it? What kind of life does the Father have in himself that he grants to the Son, who in turn grants it to us? The Father is spirit. In a sense the question about what it means to truly be alive.
Life spiritually as in heaven, vs life if this fallen world.