“Life is more than merely saying we are living beings. It is more than simply breathing, the heart pumping or the brain running. It is beyond our intellect to explain all the processes that must take place for you and me to live. But Jesus knows what life is. And, even better, He is life; He started it; He created it; and He fashioned it. So, take Jesus away and there is no life.”
The above statement was contained in a sermon preached today by the General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, during the morning session of the Osu District Christmas Convention at the Central Assembly church auditorium, Accra.
Speaking on the topic: “Jesus Christ; The Giver of Life That Gives Light,” Apostle Kumi-Larbi explained that Jesus is an embodiment of both life and light as highlighted by Apostle John in the various books of the Bible he authored (his Gospel account, three epistles: 1, 2, 3 John, and the book of Revelation).
In his sermon, the General Secretary indicated that Apostle John’s testimony of Jesus is worth believing because He was one of the few people who enjoyed a very close relationship with Christ during His time on earth.
Not only was John one of Jesus’ inner circles, but he was also one of His earthly cousins, and thus, might have known Christ from childhood. Moreover, John was one of the three disciples (the others being Peter and James) who witnessed Jesus’ greatest moments of glory and His darkest trials because they were His closest friends, Apostle Kumi-Larbi explained.
In his biblical accounts, the General Secretary pointed out with various scripture references that Apostle John presents Jesus as Life and light, as well as the eternal God.
He explained that the breath of life that was used in God’s creation of mankind distinguished them from all other creatures. However, man lost this life, which he described as the “God-kind of life” (Zoe in Greek) after the fall.
He further indicated that, from the moment Adam and Eve sinned, humans lived in a fallen world. Every human being is, thus, born physically alive but dead in sin and spiritual darkness (separation from God).
He, however, noted that the only way one can obtain the God-kind of life is to be born-again so that the abundant life and nature of God will be imparted into their spirit from God.
This, according to the General Secretary, also denotes that the Lord Jesus is not only the source and sustainer of physical life – the old, fallen, biological life inherited from Adam – but He is also the author and finisher of the new, spiritual, eternal life, which every believer receives by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.
Throwing more light on the born-again experience, Apostle Kumi-Larbi stated that after one accepts Christ as Lord and personal Saviour, God recreates the individual by replacing their old spirit with a brand new one, created in His own image and likeness so that they will become His direct offspring.
“This also means that Zoe is the essence of salvation,” he added.
Reading from 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 2 Peter 1:4, he mentioned that the Zoe life of God brings life to the individual and makes them a divine and new specie.
He also mentioned that the God-kind of life enables one to have an intimate relationship with God (John 17:3), reflect Christ; the one true light (John 1:4, 1 John 5:11,12), partake of God’s divine nature by becoming His vessel of love and blessing on earth. (2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 5:5).
It also enables the believer to work in God’s divine power and authority (2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 1:19, Ephesians 3:20), sets them free from the devil, sin, and eternal damnation (John 5:24, Romans 8:2, 1 John 5:18) and empowers them to live life abundantly, free from oppression and sickness (John 10:10).
Apostle Kumi-Larbi, therefore, urged all who are yet to surrender their lives to Christ to do so in order to obtain the gift of eternal life.
“And if you already have the gift of eternal life, I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened so that you will know that you have the life and nature of God in you. I also pray that you will allow God’s divine nature and power within you to dominate you and flow through you to others,” he concluded.