In this message we shall begin to consider the many attributes of God revealed in the New Testament. Attributes refer to something more than virtues. When we speak of God’s attributes, we refer to all that belongs to God. Of course, when the things that belong to God become our experience, they become our virtues. Therefore, with God there are attributes, and with us there are virtues. For instance, life is an attribute of God, not a virtue. But when the life of God becomes our experience, it produces virtues. Hence, with respect to God we use the word “attributes,” but in relation to ourselves we use the word “virtues.”
The divine life may be considered as the first and the basic attribute of God. Although the word “life” is used many times in the New Testament, the phrase “the life of God” is found only once. Ephesians 4:18 is the unique verse that speaks of the life of God: “Being darkened in their understanding, estranged from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.” The life of God is eternal, uncreated. Man did not receive this life at the time of creation. After being created, man with the created human life was placed before the tree of life (Gen. 2:8-9) to receive the uncreated divine life. But man fell into the vanity of his mind and became darkened in his understanding. In such a fallen condition man is not able to touch the life of God until he repents (has his mind turned to God) and believes in the Lord Jesus to receive God’s eternal life (Acts 11:18; John 3:16).
Actually in the whole universe only the life of God can be counted as life. First John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” This verse indicates that unless we have the life of God we do not have life. In the sight of God only His life is life. Therefore, when the life of God is mentioned in the New Testament, it is treated as if it is the unique life (John 1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6).
The life of God is divine and eternal. The word “divine” means being of God, having the nature of God. The word “eternal” means being uncreated, without beginning or ending, existing by itself, and ever, unchangeably existing. The life of God is uncreated, without beginning or ending, self-existing, ever-existing, and never changing.
The life of God, being divine and eternal, is immortal and unchangeable; it remains the same and continues living even after passing through any kind of blow or destruction. All other kinds of life in the universe-angelic life, human life, animal life, and plant life-are mortal and changeable. Only the life of God is divine and eternal, immortal and unchangeable. No matter what kind of blow or destruction it undergoes, it remains unchanged and stays forever the same. Therefore, from the standpoint of eternity only the life of God is life. According to the divine and eternal nature of the life of God, God’s life is the unique life. Because the life of God is the unique life, whenever the New Testament in the original Greek speaks of this life, it uses the word zoe, which refers to the highest life (John 1:4; 1 John 1:2; 5:12).
God’s intention in His creation of man was that man would partake of the fruit of the tree of life and thereby receive the eternal life of God. But in the fall Satan’s evil nature was injected into man. As a result, man had to be barred from the tree of life. According to Genesis 3:24, the Lord “drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Thus, man was estranged from the life of God. The cherubim, the flame, and the sword signify God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. These three things kept sinful man from receiving God’s eternal life. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He fulfilled all the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. Therefore, through the redemption of the Lord Jesus, the way has been opened for us to contact God as the tree of life once more. This is the reason Hebrews 10:19 says that we have “boldness for entering the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus.” The tree of life is in the Holy of Holies. As believers in Christ, we have been brought back to the tree of life, and the divine life in the Holy of Holies may now be our daily enjoyment. The unbelievers, however, are still estranged from the life of God.
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