Eternal Life, 2

~ 10 Aspects of Eternal Life ~

God Is Its Source  ~  Jesus said, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26). 

The Risen Christ Is Its Channel  ~  “Who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:16). 

The Holy Spirit Is Its Power  ~  “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). 

Faith Is Its Receiver  ~  “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). 

Fruit Is Its Evidence  ~  “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life” (Romans 6:22). 

Christ Himself Is Its Embodiment  ~  “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

Glory Is Its Manifestation  ~  “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).   

Eternity Is Its Duration  ~  Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). 

Union With Christ Is Its Meaning  ~  “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day’” (John 6:53-54). 

Its Secret Is Knowing God And Christ  ~  Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). 

Do you have eternal life?  Are you sure?  You can be absolutely confident! 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Eternal Possessions

~  4 Present Eternal Possessions Of All Believers ~

God’s Everlasting Love  ~  “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you’” (Jeremiah 31:3).   

Everlasting Life  ~  Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47).   

Everlasting Salvation  ~  “But Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever.  For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other’” (Isaiah 45:17-18). 

Everlasting Strength  ~  “Trust in the Lord  forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4).   

If the one is eternal, enduring forever, so are the others.  To limit one is weaken all. 

Do you have eternal life?  Are you sure?  You can be absolutely confident! 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Christ—Jehovah, 1of9

~ The Name “Jehovah” ~

Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). 

There are quite a number of Jehovah titles.  This series will focus on seven Jehovah titles which embrace the fullness of Jesus Christ for His people.  These titles include the completeness of Jehovah’s name as it is manifested in the life of Jesus Christ for His people.  These titles show how the Messiah completely meets His people’s need from their guilt to their future glory.  But first it is essential that we consider the name “Jehovah.”

Background and Meaning  ~  The name “Jehovah” is erroneously transliterated from the Masoretic Hebrew.  The meaning of our word “Jehovah” (Yahweh, Jahveh) is “to be” or “I AM that I AM.”  This is what “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’” in Exodus 3:14a.  This word “Jehovah” appears nearly 7,000 times in the Word of God. 

The Hebrew word consists of the consonants JHVH or JHWH—with the vowels being a separate word “Adonai” (Lord).   What the original vowels were is partly a matter of speculation because the scribes of that day considered texts such as Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 24:11 to sacred for verbal expression. 

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7, see also Leviticus 24:10-23).

Later “Jehovah” became the standard rendition by the Hebrew translators since they did not realize what had been done by the scribes. 

The result of their reverence for the name is that they began substituting the word “Lord” and transliterated the vowels into the consonantal expression JHVH. 

Emphasis  ~  The emphasis of the original word contains the thoughts of  “being,” or "He who is" (or self-existence).  Jehovah is the One who in Himself possesses essential life, or permanent existence.  Jehovah is “our eternal God.”  Jehovah is the holiest of all the names of God.  It was considered to be such a holy name that following the Jewish exile from Babylon it was removed from Scripture and replaced with the tetragrammaton “YHWH.”    

Pronounciation  ~  Cases can be made for either “Jehovah” or “Yahweh.”

Usage  ~  The name is used as a proper noun for God as a person and how He relates Himself to all of Creation.  For example consider “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). 

“Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’  And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you”’” (Exodus 3:13-15).

Significance  ~  Remember that the word has roots in the Hebrew verb “to be” and the tense used is the indefinite which combines past, present, and future (without time).  In other words God says, “I have always been, I am, and I always will be.”  God is always with us.  God has been with us all along.  God is with us now.  God will always be with us.  There never has been, is not now, and never will be a time in which God is not with us!  What a wonderful comforting thought.

Comment  ~  Please keep this background in mind as we look at future posts in the series of seven specific titles of Jehovah.  

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Messiah, 135

~ Messiah Would Be An Eternal King, 4 ~

“Search the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”

— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)

The Scripture

“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

The Messiah 

“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

“But to the Son [Messiah—Jesus Christ] He [Jehovah] says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8).

~~~ EXPLANATORY “MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~   

(1)  Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a Hebrew Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which was fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(2)  While extensive it will not be a complete list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have been fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.

(3)  It is important that there are many more prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.  A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

(4)  These posts will typically consist only of Scripture—which speaks for itself.  Sometimes italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.

(5)  The numbering of these fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the Messiah).  The posting sequence will, for the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.

(6)  Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above) we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the Scriptures.

(7)  These serial posts are in addition to our regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.

(8)  Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.  Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW