We need to know what life is, so this lesson is on the definition of life. All the verses cited in the Scripture reading above are very crucial. Ephesians 4:18 speaks of being alienated from the life of God. Revelation 22:1 says that out of the throne flows the river of water of life. In John 14:6a the Lord said that He is the life. First John 1:2 mentions the eternal life. First John 5:12a says that he who has the Son has the life. Colossians 3:4a refers to Christ who is our life. Romans 8:2a uses the phrase the Spirit of life, and 2 Corinthians 3:6b says that the Spirit gives life. These verses are crucial to our understanding of the definition of life.
The first point we need to see is that life is not devotion. Many Christians consider devotion to be the spiritual life, but devotion is our exercise of piety. It is an exercise on our side by our own effort. Paul said in Galatians 2:20a, "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." This shows that life is Christ living within us. We need to help the saints to realize that we should never consider devotion as life. One may be very devotional and yet not have much life. Some nuns and priests in the Catholic Church may be very devotional, but that is merely their kind of pious exercise. Life is not any kind of activity. Life is altogether Christ Himself. We must stress this to the uttermost, helping the saints to know that life is Christ Himself. Nothing can replace life.
Generally speaking, Christians consider that if a person's behavior is good, he has life. When I was in China, I observed that a number of the disciples of Confucius behaved better than the Christian missionaries. They were so gentle, patient, and humble. They were also very meek, having the virtue of giving in to others. But this is not life. This is merely good behavior. Confucius said that we need to develop the "bright virtue" within us, which is actually the development of our conscience. But we need to stress that life is not good behavior springing from our own effort to develop our conscience. Life is Christ.
Man was created good, but man was corrupted and damaged by the fall. Still there is something good within man which was created by God. The teachings of Confucius are to help develop man's good nature, the natural, good virtues created by God within man. These virtues have been damaged but are still left in man's nature. The good behavior developed by man is according to his doing, but life is Christ lived out from us. Life is not our doing. Paul said in Philippians 1:21a, "For to me, to live is Christ." Thus, life is not good behavior; it is Christ lived out of us. First Christ lives within us, and then Christ lives Himself out of us. This is life.
We have to train the saints to discern the difference between good behavior and life. We may admire a certain brother because he is gentle, meek, humble, and patient. We may think that he is full of life, but this means that we do not have the proper discernment. This brother whom we admire may be expressing his natural virtues in his good behavior. Life, however, is Christ expressed from within us and lived out from within us.