It is written in John 10:10-11: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” In the scriptures above, what is the life that Christ claimed He has come to give? What is the meaning of having the same life more abundantly?
It is true that by the death and resurrection of Christ, all men can now have access to God's grace and can come boldly to the throne of God in the name of Jesus Christ by faith in His blood. It is also true that Christ through His sufferings bore our griefs and sorrows, took away all our infirmities, and by His stripes we are healed (Isa 53:4-5, Matt 4:23, 8:17, Acts 10:38). It is yet also true that there are many more benefits and blessings that we now have in Christ by reason of His crucifixion and resurrection. But then, does Christ refer to all these blessings and benefits as the abundant life He has come to give, the life that is only in Him? Many have taught that “life more abundantly” as written in John 10:10 refers to material prosperity, good health, riches, blessings, high positions, etc. This has caused many professed Christians to seek the world and the things of this world, which the Bible clearly declared that we as Christians must not love because we have a heavenly calling. For as it is written: if any man love this world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15-17). It is the good pleasure of our Heavenly Father to bless us and give us all that we need in this world but we are to first seek His kingdom and His righteousness, then He shall add all these things to us as “additions". This is according to the promises we have received from Him.
Now, the abundant life mentioned in John 10:10 could not be referring to blessings, riches, good health, prosperity, etc. It could not refer to material prosperity. This is impossible! There are many rich men in the world today that do not know Christ. There are many that are healthy and have prospered in all their dealings but yet without Christ. If abundant life is primarily about material prosperity and blessings, then it is certain that it does not come by Christ alone, for Satan can also give wealth to his own people at the expense of their soul. Even Nicodemus, a Jewish Rabbi and a member of the Sanhedrin, who came to Jesus by night, was a very rich man; he was one of the three richest men in Jerusalem at that time, but yet he had not known Christ until he came. Therefore abundant life cannot primarily refer to material prosperity. If this abundant life comes through Christ alone, then it cannot refer to things of the flesh. It must refer to something greater than flesh and blood. What then is this abundant life? This abundant life is the eternal life that is in Christ alone. This is the sole and most important thing that Christ came to give all men by His death and resurrection; that men might be reconciled back to God and live with Him eternally in His kingdom. Eternal life is to know God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ whom He has sent to the world to save it. Again, this life is only in Christ. All these things are plainly written in 1 John 1:1-2; 2:24-25, 5:11-13, 20; John 14:6; 17:2-3; 6:53-54; 11:25; 1:4 and many other scriptures. So, to paraphrase, John 10:10 declares: I have come that they might have eternal life, and that they might have this eternal life that is much more than all. The Greek word for abundantly is perisos which literally means over and above, much more than all, more than is necessary, superior.
This eternal life has nothing to do with the physical body, but the spirit of man. That is why after salvation nothing happens to the body, but the spirit is reborn, being born from above (John 3:3). So, if this life has nothing to do with flesh, then it must be that the abundance of this life also cannot have to do with flesh. By referring to this life as abundant, the Lord was only referring to the richness and the quality of this spiritual life that He has come to give. It is the life that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden, that the Lord came to restore. This life is the true life. Not the life that we live in this world. All saved men in Christ while in this world have entered into this eternal life by profession only but have not yet experienced it. The real experience of eternal life begins when one leaves this world and enters into the infinite world of God in heaven where all things are eternal, where saved men finally enters into the true meaning of all the spiritual principles that they have been taught and which they have practiced while on earth.
Eternal life is synonymous with the kingdom of God in heaven. This is proved in Mark 10:17-23 when a rich young ruler came to the Lord and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. The Lord told him to keep the commandments and he claimed he had done it. Then the Lord told him to go sell all that he had and give the money to the poor and then he shall have treasure in heaven, and he should then come and follow the Lord thereafter. Then the rich man went away sorrowfully because he had great riches. Then The Lord said it is difficult for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God. That the rich man asked what he must do to inherit eternal life and that the Lord said it is difficult for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God proves that the rich man was actually asking the Lord what he must do to enter the kingdom of God. This proves that to inherit eternal life is to enter into the kingdom of God in heaven.
When the Lord said He is the way, the truth and the life and He is the bread of life (John 6:48) and He has come to give life and the abundance of this life (John 10:10), we understand that this life is not available to anyone without Him. And so also the abundance of this life cannot be available without Him. But then we also know that many people do not need the Lord to have prosperity, riches, wealth, health, affluence, and all the things of this world. Again, this proves that this life and the abundance thereof has nothing to do with what you can acquire of yourself or by the help of man in this world. You can only have this life in the only begotten Son of God for He is that eternal life (1 John 1:2). The richness, the abundance, and the fullness of this life will come to realization when we enter into eternity itself and enter into the joy of our heavenly Father, where we'll see things that are beyond the beauty of this world. This is why the Lord said we should lay up our treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy. This means that we should live in this world in such manner so as to eventually enter into the abundance of the eternal life that we have received by faith and profession while in this world. The reality of this life is in heaven and it is a real life, better than the life on this earth.
As Christians, we are to walk as our Lord Jesus Christ walked, if we claim we are abiding in Him and we have His life in us (1 John 2:6). He sought the things above and not the things of this world and lived and preached the kingdom of God and this eternal life, so that many may enter in. This world is not our kingdom, but we live in this world to go to where we belong, therefore we cannot be lusting after the things of this world. And this also the apostles understood and lived by, not seeking the power and riches of this world, for we are not to love this world and the things in it (1 John 2:15-17). We are to possess and use these things with the mind of leaving them behind. We are to know that they are vain and as a result do not trust in them. It is written: if the only hope we have in Christ is in this world, we are the most miserable of all men. Now pastor, take a break from your prosperity preaching and preach the kingdom of God and His righteousness! Peace be to you all. Maranatha.
