The abundant life

John 10:10 - The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.Fulness of life 


The abundant life does not necessarily consist of an abundance of material things. You would have noticed that Jesus, except for one or two places,  hardly spoke about material blessings. But He did speak much about suffering, carrying the cross and seeking the Kingdom of God. In fact the beatitudes, the principles that govern the kingdom of God are paradoxical and out of this world. So to equate fulness of life to physical blessing may be a misnomer. 


There is always the tendency to compare the Old Covenant of the Law with the New Covenant of Grace. There are several overlaps but there are also clear distinctions. It takes a careful diligent student of the Word to know the distinction. A failure to do so will result in distortion of the scriptures and wrongly diving the Word.

 

Fulness of life is spiritual abundance which starts with a relationship with God. The special relationship that allows us to call God our Father and to enter into His Holy of holies with boldness. This is a fulness that degenerate man fails to understand. To a born again believer, this matter more than anything, much more than silver of gold. It is to enjoy God and rejoice in Him - Hab 3:18. Moses understood this when he said - If you will not come with us, we will not move from here (Ex 33:15). For David, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" - Ps 84:10. And if we have not experienced this, we are not living in the fulness of life.

 

The abundant life is eternal life which begin the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. The abundant life is a continual process of learning, practicing, and maturing until we see Him face to face. Mat 9:29

 

The abundant life is a Spirit filled life which involves bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and being led by the Spirt. A life that is marked by love, joy , peace. I think this is the abundance the Lord is speaking about. Gal 5:22

 

Of course the Lord will bless us with all the necessary blessings but they are not the primary source of an abundant life. I would call then fringe benifits. The beatitudes are a good example to follow. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…

 

Anything other than this will fall dangerously close to the prosperity gospel.

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