THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE
Keith J May
John 4: 7-14; 5: 24-27; 17: 1-3
I have a simple thought before me, dear friends, as to what God gives, and in particular that He gives eternal life. Men in this world are concerned that they should live, and most of them would like to live as long as possible. God has something much greater than, and different from, that life lived here, and God has gone a very careful way about it, that men should have eternal life. I understand that there are very rich men in this world who have invested a lot of money to try to find a way to live for ever. Even if that was possible in some way, it would not be what God has in mind for men: God has something much greater in mind, and much happier and more blessed; for God’s thoughts are always far above our thoughts, Isa 55: 9.
God desires that people should come to know Him, and as they come to know Him, they can enjoy His great gifts to them. It says in chapter 3, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal”, v 16. Stark alternatives are given there. God gives them and He warns men; He does even today: it is a question of perishing or having life eternal. This woman of whom we read in chapter 4 was looking for something better than her present experience. She had had a difficult life, an unsatisfied kind of life, and that goes for many today, but God would have you to be satisfied; not satisfied with yourself, but with some sense of being here for Him, because what pleases God will inevitably please the one in whom God has worked in salvation. This woman had had five husbands, and the one she had presently was not her husband. She was living with him, as is fairly common today, but it seems to denote a heart not satisfied. God would perhaps raise the question with each one of us - is your heart satisfied? You will never find satisfaction in this world, because Christ is not accepted there. You might enjoy life to some extent and seem to get on well, but does it last? Does your joy last? Or is it the kind of joy that perhaps ebbs and flows?
The Lord Jesus approaches this woman in a very gracious way. He simply asks her for a drink. You might say, ‘What a simple thing, to ask someone for a drink’. But for her it was rather startling, because she was not accustomed to being approached by Jewish men at all. Whether she actually gave Him a drink I am not sure, but the Lord speaks to her about the water she would draw from the well, and then about the water which He could provide her with: “Every one who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst for ever”. That water would meet thirst for ever. The woman is obviously attracted to this water. He goes on to say, “but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” Then she says, “Sir, give me this water”.
I wonder if there is anything in your heart that would be attracted to what God would give, eternal life? There were several people in the gospels who asked the Lord Jesus about eternal life, and what they should do to attain it. The Lord Jesus answers them, of course, as He does: He graciously answers every one. But I want to ask each one of us: do we enjoy eternal life? How would we describe it if we do enjoy it? It is beyond the comprehension of the human mind; it is the gift of God but it is only realised as we know the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we know God. I would like to think that every one here knows God, and knows the Lord Jesus Christ. God is freely giving eternal life, but it is something that did not come without cost to Him, because man naturally, like this woman, is unacceptable to God. Romans 2 speaks of those that are inexcusable, that find fault with everyone else but cannot see that they are doing the same things that they criticise in others, v 1.
How sad that is, but man in God’s sight without faith and belief in God is inexcusable. Man has been given evidence from God. This woman had the evidence from the Lord Jesus. She spoke to Him, and listened to Him; He spoke to her, she came to an acknowledgement of who He was. We must come to an acknowledgement of the Lord Jesus, who He is, the Son of God. The woman says, “I know that Messias is coming, who is called Christ; when he comes, he will tell us all things”. Then Jesus lets her into that wonderful secret. He says to her, “I who speak to thee am he”. What that must have meant to that woman! What does it mean to us? The Lord Jesus Himself would speak to you. What would He say to you? What evidence is there with you, what joy is there with you as a result of your following Him, of being in His favour, of pleasing Him, of finding your eternal satisfaction in the One who has given His all? He has died to save you. His precious blood has been shed; He did that for this woman. I know this is before He was crucified, but she could not have been saved and come into eternal life, were it not that the Lord Jesus went that way, as He did for each one of us.
What is your relationship with the Lord Jesus? Is He someone that you would do anything for? He has done everything for you. What could you do more for Him? That is a challenge to us all - what could we do for Him? It is not that it makes much of us, but it glorifies Him. Maybe we have enjoyed a certain amount, we have come to a certain knowledge of Him, we have believed that He has died to save us, as He has. Have we believed that He has given the Holy Spirit, which He has? How good God is; how gracious God is! Sometimes we hear of somebody describing a scene in a certain painting, and the Lord Jesus is saying, ‘This I have done for thee, what hast thou done for Me?’. Have you committed yourself wholeheartedly, without reserve, to the Lord Jesus? That is how you will come into the enjoyment of eternal life. It is not just by going along with the crowd, but by a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Himself that you will never regret. He is faithful - we might fail and we do from time to time, but how wonderful to enjoy what is eternal! There is much in this world that is not lasting, and many can see that the world is a mess. The governments of the world are weak and are unable to do certain things, although they might boast of their strength but there is One who is over all.
Let me come back to this, because I am exercised about it for myself: what place does the Lord Jesus have in my heart? I might have come a certain way, and maybe He is saying to us, ‘There is a step more to take: will you take that step, to be faithful to me in my absence, in a scene where men have cast Me out?’. We might suffer for His Name. Many do. We may find it difficult to confess His Name, but that is one of the ways in which salvation is known and enjoyed, by confessing His Name. I wonder when you last confessed His Name. He is worthy of it, He is absolutely worthy of it, He has done everything that He could for you, and He has perfectly satisfied God. All that He has done has perfectly satisfied God so that each one of us as putting our trust in Him is perfectly clear before God as to our sins and as to our sinful state, as to our eternal destiny. Eternal life is not exactly linked to our eternal destiny; it is something that I believe we enjoy now as having to do with Him.
I thought these verses would encourage us - “he that hears my word, and believes him that has sent me, has life eternal”. Are you conscious of that, of a link with the Lord Jesus Christ, that cannot be broken? Once you put your trust in Him, that link cannot be broken. He is faithful - we might not be faithful, but He remains faithful. We might have sorrow that we fail from time to time, but “he abides faithful, for he cannot deny himself”, 2 Tim 2: 13. It is one of the things that God cannot do: He cannot deny Himself.
Where I read in chapter 17, the Lord is speaking to His Father. It is a very intimate moment and we might just enjoy it; He says, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee”. Think of what was involved in that: “glorify thy Son”. He was glorified in going through with all that God required, that God might be able to approach man in righteousness and in grace. The Lord Jesus bore for us the penalty that was due to us because of sin; He bore it completely according to the satisfaction of God. Then in order to demonstrate His satisfaction, God raised Christ from among the dead. As it says, “raised for our justification” (Rom 4: 25) - we are set forward completely clear in God’s sight from all charge against us. Nothing and no-one, not even Satan, can raise a word against one who is justified. God honours that, and He does. May that be your portion; may it be something that you really enjoy and live in. As He says, “as to all that thou hast given to him”, then, almost as a bonus, as it were, “he should give them life eternal”.
I just desire, dear ones, that we might enjoy life eternal. I desire that we may enjoy a link, an indissoluble, every day of the week link, with the Lord Jesus, so that He consumes our life. He is worthy of it. He fills God’s heart. Why should He not fill your heart? May He become ever greater to you, and may you consider whether in your life there is something that you could do for Him, that would please Him more. Each of us will have a different answer to that. It is not that we ourselves naturally can please Him, but as we give the Lord Jesus more room in our daily lives, how pleased He is with that.
May He be glorified, may He be honoured in every heart here tonight, for His Name’s sake.
Colchester
8th October 2023