Even though we know that the Bible is a book of life and that Christ is life, to some extent we are still short of the revelation of life.
Why is it that the Bible begins and ends with the tree of life?
After creating man, God put him in a garden in which was the tree of life. From this picture it is clear that the man created in God’s own image did not have the life signified by that tree. We can also see that it was God’s intention for man to have that life, rather than only his human life.
There are several kinds of life mentioned in the Bible. Besides the divine life and the human life, there are also the animal life and the plant life. God’s life is the highest and the plant life the lowest. Further, within us as human beings there are three kinds of life. The physical life is called bios (Gk.); the psychological life, psuche; and the divine, eternal life, zoe. God created us with the bios life for our body and the psuche life for our soul. When a person dies, it is the bios which ceases; the psuche lives on.
God did not put the divine life into man when he was created. Rather, He gave man a free will that he might choose the divine life, symbolized by the tree of life. As we know, man did not so choose.
Then the Lord Jesus came. In the Gospel of John He is described as the Word and as God, and then we are told, “In Him was life” (1:1, 4). I used to wonder what the tree of life was. I was familiar with lots of different trees, but the tree of life I did not know. In time I came to realize that the tree of life is the Lord Jesus. John 1 mentions life but not the tree. But when you come to John 15 there is the tree. It is a vine tree. A grapevine is not useful in providing lumber for building, nor is it good for burning. It is only good for life. By bringing John 1 and John 15 together, we have the tree of life, the Lord Jesus Himself. He said, “I am...the life....I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (14:6; 10:10). He also told us that He is the bread of life (6:35) and has the water of life (4:14). The bread of life is good for eating, the water of life for drinking.
Christ is also called the Prince of life (Acts 3:15). The word translated prince could also be translated originator or author. However we translate it, it indicates that life pertains to Him.
In the Epistles there is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), the word of life (Phil. 2:16), and Christ our life (Col. 3:4).
From all these verses we can see that life is a Person, not a condition. Suppose in a meeting people are jumping up and shouting. Would this be an indication that they are full of life? If so, there is more life at a ball game because more shouting and jumping go on there. Jumping is not life, though life may jump. Jumping is a condition; life is a Person, Christ our life.
At the end of the Bible the first promise to the overcomers is, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7). Here the tree of life comes into view again. Then the picture in the last chapter includes the tree of life. In the holy city there is a river flowing out of the throne of God; on either side of the banks of the river is the tree of life. I used to wonder how a tree could grow on two banks, but once I realized this tree is a vine I could see how it would spread to both sides. This tree grows in the water of life. When you get into the water, you get the tree. Thus, the last invitation in the Bible is, “Let him who is thirsty also come; he who wills, let him take the water of life freely” (22:17). The one who takes the water of life will surely have the tree of life also, because the tree is included in the water. There is the implication that it grows in the water of life.
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