Are you Alive?

Are you Alive?

36 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

When people read John 3, most focus on verse 16. It is the famous verse that even makes it out to sports games on placards and signs. It is a very good verse, summing up the entire plan of salvation in just a few words. But John 3 is full of really important texts. This verse here, John 3:36, has an amazing message that many people miss.

It seems simple enough. If you believe in Jesus you have eternal life but if you don’t believe you don’t have it. Most people would just say amen and start the next chapter but that isn’t actually what the verse is saying.

The first half is simple, yes believing in Jesus can give you eternal life but the second half is saying something very different. You’ll notice that it doesn’t speak of eternal life but simple life. In fact, not believing in Jesus means you don’t even get to see life. What does that mean?

In God’s way of seeing the world and life, you must have all aspects of his original created version of humanity to be alive. That means you must have a physical body, a mind and the Holy Spirit breath in you (See Genesis 2:7).

When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost that Holy Spirit connection. That is why God said that when you eat the fruit you shall die. Although they were still standing, breathing and talking, in God’s eyes both were already dead.

For God, you only begin to live when you reconnect with him. This verse here is not the only time Jesus speaks this.

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Matthew 19:16-17
Here again, the young man speaks of eternal life but Jesus says ‘if you want to enter into

life’. Jesus was telling the man that he wasn’t even alive yet, he hadn’t entered into life yet.

So what does this all mean? Obviously our view of life is very different from Gods. You can ask the question, the person in ICU at a hospital who is in a coma who will never breathe on his own or get out of bed and be fed by a tube, is that person alive? Scientifically its yes of course but most people would say that that is living.

So the main question now- are you alive?

Blessings
Pr. Steven Couto