He came to give us life

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

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Supremely, in John’s Gospel, Jesus came in order that we might know for ourselves the very life of God through faith in him (5:26). “In Christ was life” (1:4). He is “the bread of life” and “the light of life”. Even more specifically, Jesus twice says, “I am the life” (11:25; 14:6).

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So Jesus came from heaven to give life (6:33), his words are life (6:63) and this life is experienced by all who believe in him (3:15-16; 6:47; 20:31). This life is often described as eternal. It is the life of the age to come – the life of heaven, the life of God. As such it has no end and is everlasting, but eternal life is primarily about quality more than duration. It is abundant life, life to the full.

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This means that our experience of eternal life begins now, not when we die (5:24). Because Jesus himself is the life, if he is present in our lives through his Spirit, then we already have a present foretaste of the life of the age to come. Simply and clearly put, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12). This is why Jesus came.