THE SECRET TO LIFE
John 1:2-5
By Cleavon P. Matthews
August 2000
INTRODUCTION
It is possible to be alive and still not have life. At this moment all of us are alive. We have the appropriate signs of life. We have brain function. Our hearts are contracting. Our major organs are performing. But some of us are among ‘the living dead.’ We are void of the vitals signs of spiritual life. We have been born from below but not from above. We have breath but not belief. We have appetites for the world but not for the Word. The CT Scan of our life indicates an absence of true life. The EKG of our heart reveals a love for darkness rather than light. The MRI of our brain reveals stubbornness and rebellion. Our blood chemistry shows evidence of kidney failure, which is hindering our ability to properly filter the detrimental devices from, our lives.
Yes, we are alive. People, pains, pressures, and problems let us know we are alive. We go to work everyday; but we find no satisfaction from our labors. We have families but subconsciously we are isolated. We have houses but no place to call home. We have clothes but we feel naked and vulnerable. We have friends but they don’t understand us. We have spouses but they don’t listen to us. We have parents but they don’t care about us. We have children but they don’t appreciate us. We have baby daddies but they don’t help us. We come to church and we still aren’t any better. Yes, we are alive but we have no life!
What is life? Life is contentment under all circumstances. Life is having provision and protection from within. Life is loving the unlovable. Life is giving to those who are hurting you. Life is forgiving those who wrong you. Life is appreciating those who take you for granted. Life is having peace in the midst of chaos. Life is the ability to say everything is going to be alright. Life is the ability to remain faithful to an uncaring spouse. Life is being able to say, I am a new creation in Christ. Life is to be completely satisfied. Life is to have your cup running over.
Why don’t most of us have this life? Why are most of us alive but without true life? What is the Secret to life? The secret to life is Living from the Inside! Most people live from the outside. They attempt to achieve life through outside influences. They approach the fulfillment of life through the accusation of things. The thinking process is this: I will be alright or I will be happy when I am able to purchase my dream home. I will be alright when I get my dream vehicle. It becomes a continuous thirst for things. These things only provide a minute sense of wholeness. The things often become a burden. It is impossible for those who are seeking ‘Life’ to find it in things!
Others live from the outside by seeking completeness in positions and popularity. They anticipate a sense of completeness when they acquire the position or popularity status. This happens on all levels. They don’t consider themselves to be whole during the process or while climbing the ladder. They only believe they can be whole or have life once they have become the supervisor on the job, the city councilman, the college graduate, the great athlete, the superstar, or the owner of their own business. They need the approval of others in order to feel good about themselves. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do well and achieve high goals. But you should not seek them with the hopes of them making you complete or whole.
Others live from the outside by attempting to be self-sufficient. They crave independence. They boast denying the need for anyone. This is a grave danger because no creature is perfect. What will happen to the self-sufficient individual when they become ill? What will happen when they find themselves in a situation too big for them to handle?
Others live from the outside by attempting to find ‘Life’ through relationships with other people. This person is characterized by their devastation whenever anyone lets them down. They define themselves through their relationships with others. They need to be in the center. They need to be in favor with everyone. They need this desperately because without it they feel dead and alone.
John reveals the Secret to life. John illuminates the pathway to life. John provides us with the road map whose destination is ‘Life.’ True Life is found on the inside. Life is a major theme of John’s writing. In fact the purpose of this gospel is that those who read it might believe in Christ and have life in His Name. The word ‘Life’ is found 44 times in this gospel. What does John tell us about Life?
I.GOD IS THE CREATOR OF LIFE
John 1:2-3 “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
John’s inspired choice of words in verse two is not a repetition of verse one when John says, ‘In the beginning.’ Verse one addressed eternity but verse two addressed the ‘beginning’ of creation. In other words verse two picks up with Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’
The Word was the channel through which all things came into existence. Everything both seen and unseen is a direct result of the Lord. The Word has originated all life. There is no life independent of Him. He brought everything into existence. Paul says in Colossians 1:16, ‘For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.’
There is life because as the Father’s will pronounced ‘Let there be’ the Word released His power and produced the results of all created things. Can you understand the significance of Him being the cause or creator of all things? God alone can create! Man only has the capability to use the materials already here. We use things He has created to advance our purposes.
The Wright Brothers built the airplane but they used things already here
Graham Bell invented the telephone but he used things already here
Humanity has built…pyramids, sky scrappers, shuttles, automobiles, computers, homes, speedboats, stadiums, and medical equipment but all of it was built with things already here!
The same is true in the spiritual realm. If anyone is going to have spiritual life they must receive it by receiving God. God is both the cause of physical life and spiritual life. No man can take this initiative to himself. He cannot achieve spiritual life independently of God. John states emphatically in 1:12-13 “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
The Secret of life is not found in mysticism and the New Age Movement. The Secret of life is not found in Psychic readings. The Secret of life is not found in Eastern Religions. The Secret of life is not found in crystals. The Secret of life is not found in the self-help gurus. The Secret of life is not found in Mohammed or Buddha. The Secret of life is found in God. The Secret of life is only found in the Trinitarian God of the Holy Scriptures because He is the cause of life. If you want to have true quality of life you must begin with God.
II.GOD IS THE CENTER OF LIFE
John 1:4 “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
There are only two options for those who are physically alive. We are either spiritually dead or we are spiritually alive. Spiritual death was the instant result of sin. Sin snatched life out of us. Sin caused a void of emptiness inside us. Sin stripped humanity of peace. Sin stimulated a continuous harsh reality. Sin has caused detriment to every facet of human life. Sin has turned us away from God. Sin damaged us spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. Sin has ripped at our families. Sin has brought about a degree of spiritual death that only has one way out! John states: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
God must become the center of your life if you want to be spiritually resurrected. God has life in Himself. God gives life to those who are properly related to Christ. It is necessary to change your approach to life. You must begin to LIVE FROM THE INSIDE! You must find your life in Him. You must find your purpose in Him. Spiritual life has many parallels with physical life.
You need food for your body. The food provides nutrients and calories to energize you with strength and power. You need the food. You cannot live without the food. You will die without the food. If you want spiritual life you must have food. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread, which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51). Whatever you consume becomes a part of you. By believing in Christ you receive food from heaven. You receive His life. This life enables you to do what you could not otherwise do. As the Bread of Life Christ strengthens, sustains, and satisfies!
You need water for your body. The water refreshes your organs. It helps to keep your electrolytes in balance. It is necessary for cell production. You cannot live without the water. You become dehydrated without the water. You become weak without the water. If you want spiritual life you must have water. Jesus said to the woman at the well, “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Notice Christ’s statement regarding the place of life! Jesus said life must be lived from the inside. When one is rightly related to Christ they gain an internal source of completeness. They have everything they need on the inside. They don’t boast like the independent fool. They realize God supplies the source of life. Like the woman at the well they no longer go back to the wells and water pots of the past in hopes of quenching thirst! Life now flows within.
You need protection. You need immunizations to protect your body from disease. You need shelter to protect you from storms. You need laws to protect you from criminals. But you also need protection for your soul. Jesus says: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (10:9). Again He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (10:11). There is never again a need to feel vulnerable. There is no longer a need to have fear. You are in the hands of the Chief Shepherd. He will protect you from the wolves. He is not like the hireling. He will defend you from the lions and bears. He will provide you with green pastures. Pastures sufficient for rest. Pastures sufficient for grazing.
His life provides you with a radiant illumination. His life becomes your light! His life poured into your soul gives you guidance. It provides peace. It confirms assurance. You are no longer a victim of circumstances. So many of us allow ourselves to be shaped by outside influences. We always find ourselves on the defensive. We have become expert firefighters. We spend all of our time responding to fires. The Secret to life is paying attention to the things you can control! You have the power to choose your response to any circumstance. You have the life of Christ illuminating your path to victory.
III.GOD IS THE COMPREHENSION OF LIFE
John 1:5 “And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
God defines life. Turning to God helps you understand life. The motif of light and darkness goes back to the account of creation. In the beginning darkness filled the earth. “Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called night. So evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5).
Darkness means you have no medium through which to see. Darkness is a state of blindness. Darkness is to have no understanding of God. Darkness is not consistent with life. In order to have ‘life’ one must have light. The light makes manifest that which was concealed by the darkness.
The darkness attempts to conceal evil. Many creatures hunt in the darkness because they are concealed from the sight of their prey. Darkness is a place of comfort for the wicked. They attempt to hide their evil in the darkness. They feel safe in the darkness. They don’t have to face their evil in the darkness. They can hide among the crowds in the darkness. They love the darkness because their deeds are evil.
Darkness obscures the truth. Many are living in darkness. Depression is one form of living in darkness. Depressed people seek refuge in darkness and sleep. They don’t have to think about their reality during sleep. The darkness of sleep gives them a false sense of safety. The darkness of life may also include various addictions which are devices used in an attempt to escape the truth of the light. John mistakes a profound statement regarding light and darkness in 3:19-20, “And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
The light should not be feared because the light comes to save and deliver. The light exposes the truth in order to provide redemption. The light exposes both the good and the bad. The light reveals an alternative perspective. The light uncovers the true perspective. All of us are naked and exposed before the light. But the light radiates through us in a way, which reveals the potential good in us.
The light provides us with an opportunity to have ‘life.’ The light reveals God. The light reveals God’s grace. We can then understand the sufficiency of God’s grace inspite of our sins. We can grasp His grace by watching His response to a sinful woman caught in the very act of adultery, His offer of living water to the wayward woman of Samaria, and His benevolent gesture of washing the disciples feet.
The chief aim of the light is to reveal God. The light reveals God’s love for the world. We can see God’s love through the Light. God loves us because He is good. God loves us with an infinite and powerful love. God’s love liberates us. God’s love covers us. God’s love fills us on the inside and causes us to love others. God’s love moves Him to act mercifully on our behalf. God’s love penetrates us like nothing else can. God’s love provides us with life. Although others may turn away from us and refuse to give us love; we now know God’s love will continue to abide in us. God’s love causes us to obey Him. In John 14:21 Jesus said, “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”
Can you comprehend what the text is saying? Can you comprehend the light? Jesus is the Light! The Lord said, “…I am the light of the world he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life” (8:12). Comprehending the Light leads to rebirth! God gives new life. The darkness holds you hostage. But when God brings new birth by way of the water and the Spirit (3:5) souls enter spiritual life.
Do you see? At one time all souls were in the darkness of death but He came and rolled away the stone. He called souls out of the grave. He resurrected lives. This is the truth. He saved the best for last. He revealed the Secret to life! You can now have everything your heart longs for. You can now have peace. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (14:27).
CLOSING
The Secret to life is in God. God is the creator of life. God is the center of life. God is the comprehension of life.
God has silenced the accuser
God has borne our burdens
God has cleansed our consciences
God has detoured our doom
God has eliminated our evil
God has finished our fight
God has garnished us with grace
God has healed our hurts
God has increased our illumination
God has joined our joy
God has kindled our kindness
God has annihilated our anxiety
God has redeemed our souls
Our prayer should be for the light to continue in our lives. God never stop revealing Your mighty magnificent self to us…
I never knew God’s mercy until I experienced misery
I never knew God’s longsuffering until I lingered in sin
I never knew God’s power until I was powerless
I never knew God’s faithfulness until I experienced trials
I never knew God’s grace until I needed salvation
I never knew God’s love until I experienced hatred
I never knew God’s wisdom until I reveled in foolishness
I never knew God’s holiness until I recognized my unholiness
I never knew God’s longsuffering until I was troubled
But thank God I know the Lord now!
He is absolutely awesome
He is spectacular and splendid
He is eternal because He has no beginning and no end
He is the uncaused cause
He is the creator and sustainer of all things
He is omniscient because He knows your thoughts before you think them
He is omnipresent He is every where
He is omnipotent He has all power
Life is knowing the Lord….
He took nothing and made everything
He threw the stars against the dark canvas of the night
He is the creator of gravity
He spins the earth on its axis
He causes the rain to fall, the winds to blow, and the waters to roll
He put the heat in fire
He put the wet in water
He put the jump the rabbit
He put the leap in the leapfrog
He put the teeth in the shark
He put the roar in the lion
He put the flight in the bird
He put the speed in the Cheetah
He put the grace in the Gazelle
He put the beauty in the rose
He put the fragrance in the flower
God has been good to me and He’s been good to you!
He picked up when I was down
He cleaned up when I was dirty
He fixed me up when I was broken
He brought me in when I was cast out
He filled me when I was empty
He gave me hope when I was hopeless
He gave me joy when I was miserable
He gave me pardon when I was guilty
He gave me peace when I was in chaos
God has been good to me!
He’s the Author and the Finisher of MY Faith
He’s the Alpha and the Omega
He’s the Good Shepherd
He’s the Mighty God
He’s the Prince of Peace
He’s the Wonderful Counselor
He’s the Ancient of Days
He’s the Lilly of the Valley
He’s the way, the truth, and the life
He’s the Only Begotten Son of God
His Name is Jesus because He saved us from our sins
His the Bright and Morning Star
And every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
Neither is salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved! (Acts 4:12)
