John 17:3, ‘This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’
Jesus saying to the Father,
V2, ‘even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life’.
How do we hold and exercise our authority which God gives us? The only authority Jesus had, is that ‘He might give the eternal life’.
We do have authority at Church, at home, at workplace; Let us judge ourselves and see how do we exercise our authority, in the decisions that we make in different areas. There are different people whom we need to handle. Some are weak, slow, rebellious, new to work, etc. When we have authority in guiding them, how do we exercise our authority over them? Let us repent and exercise the authority and impart the eternal life, which belongs to God.
Matthew 6:33, ‘But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’
What are we seeking, at home, at workplace and in the Church? Are we seeking our own kingdom or His kingdom? If we are seeking God’s kingdom, we will be always thinking that what is it that rightly belongs to God’s kingdom? Seek to fulfill it. If we are seeking our own kingdom, then we will be seeking our own comfort, our ease, our preferences – the way things should be, at home, at workplace etc. We need to truly seek His kingdom first. We can have our choices and preferences but actively chose to have His kingdom. Is it our desire that our home should be a place where God’s presence and peace dwells? When we raise our children, what is our goal? Are we seeking that our children must learn God’s kingdom here? That they may live and grow in holiness?
Jesus prays,
Matthew 6: 10-13, ‘‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done,On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]’
The kingdom rightly belongs to God. This is what, we need to pray – ‘For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
The be – attitudes,
Matthew 5:3, ‘“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’.
V10, ‘Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’.
The kingdom of God rightly belongs to God. Jesus is the King. The poor in Spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven – we are also a part of it. We believe that the authority in God’s kingdom also works like, what we see in the military; where there is a line of command, a command comes from the top, it goes through the series, till it reaches to the bottom, to be executed. Kingdom rightly belongs to God and by the end of the line, we can also inherit; what is part of God’s kingdom.
Seek first His righteousness and His kingdom; when we are doing this, are we aware that we are part of this kingdom and He has given us authority. Bible says, all the authorities we see in this world, are ordained by God. This authority comes down to the family, as a father and mother, we have authority over our children. We need to recognize this authority and use it as to be a part of the kingdom of Heaven.
He gives us eternal life. He wants us to enter this eternal life.
Matthew 7:14, ‘For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it’.
We have a life here. Jesus when He says about the eternal life, mentions that the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life. We need to enter into this eternal life.
Matthew 18:8, “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell’.
Enter life.
Matthew 25:46, ‘These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Jesus says about the separation of sheep and goats at the time of judgement. There is a life that is coming, eternal life. Do we see it as a new life that we are entering into it, or do we just see it as another life? Jesus is saying, ‘enter into life’. He means it as ‘The Life’. Every day, seek to be a part of this eternal life.
1 John 2:25, ‘This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life’
1 John 5:13, ‘These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.’
God has promised us – eternal life.
V20, ‘And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.’
This is eternal life that we may know God and His son, Jesus Christ, who came down to earth, who gave His life for us. Let us know Him and seek Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has sent, that we may have eternal life.
John 17:2, ‘even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life’ V3, ‘This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’
Amen.
