Daily Bible Verse of the Day
And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent
– John 17:3
Thoughts on Today’s Bible Verse:
The greatest desire for anyone who believes in the Lord is to obtain eternal life. While many people may think that simply believing in the Lord is enough to attain eternal life, in reality, it’s not that simple. The Lord Jesus tells us that the only pathway to eternal life is through knowing the one true God and knowing Christ in the flesh. So, how do we come to know Christ incarnate and obtain the way of eternal life? Read this text, and you’ll discover the way!
This verse tells us that the mystery of eternal life lies in knowing God, knowing Christ. In fact, knowing Christ is the specific way to know God. Christ is the embodiment of the Spirit of God, the incarnation of God Himself, and the one true God. Thus, to know the incarnate Christ is the pathway to eternal life. So, how can we come to know the incarnate Christ and embark on the way of eternal life? God says, “He who is God incarnate shall possess the essence of God, and He who is God incarnate shall possess the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He intends to do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon him, and point the way for him. Flesh that does not have the essence of God is decidedly not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. If man intends to inquire into whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, then he must corroborate this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, to corroborate whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, one must discriminate on the basis of His essence. And so, in determining whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key lies in His essence (His work, His utterances, His disposition, and many other aspects), rather than external appearance. If man scrutinizes only His external appearance, and as a result overlooks His essence, this shows that man is benighted and ignorant” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface). The word of God makes it clear how to understand God in the flesh. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. The divinity of Christ is primarily revealed through expressing the truth and carrying out the work of God Himself. Therefore, knowing the incarnate God is not based on His outward appearance, birth family, or social status and power, but rather on whether He possesses the essence of God and whether He can express the truth and carry out the work of God. That is the key factor. As long as He can express the truth, express the dispositions of God, what God has and is, and perform the work of redeeming and saving humanity, regardless of how normal His humanity is, how humble His background, or whether He holds any social status or power, then He is indeed the incarnate Christ, the one true God. This is an undeniable fact. Therefore, to know the incarnate Christ, we must understand Him through His work and words. Just like in the Age of Grace, when Jesus came to work, He was born into an ordinary carpenter’s family, laid in a manger, and had an unremarkable appearance. He had no status or power. However, He could express the truth, grant people the way of repentance, and forgive sins. Those who loved the truth, such as Peter, John, and the Samaritan woman, saw the authority and power of God in Jesus’ works and the truth He expressed. They then recognized Him as the coming Messiah and followed Him, receiving salvation and having the hope of eternal life. On the other hand, the Jewish religious leaders—chief priests, scribes, and the Pharisees—who detested the truth and pursued status, disregarded Jesus because of His ordinary appearance and lack of power. Regardless of how much truth Jesus expressed or how many miracles He performed, they turned a blind eye and treated Him as an ordinary person. They even resisted and condemned Jesus, eventually conspiring with the Roman authorities to crucify Him, who was able to express the truth. They committed a heinous sin, offending the disposition of God and incurring God’s curse and punishment. This is the consequence of believing in God without truly knowing Him yet resisting and condemning Him.
According to the prophecies of the Lord Jesus, He will come back in the last days and become incarnate as the Son of man. Jesus once said, “Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:44). “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). Here, the term “Son of man” refers to the Spirit of God taking on flesh and becoming the Son of man, which is God’s incarnation. Therefore, seeking and knowing the incarnate Christ of the last days is crucial for us to obtain eternal life. Just as God says, “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path by which man gains life, and it is the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by words, and shackled by history will never be able to gain life nor gain the perpetual way of life. This is because all they have is turbid water which has been clung to for thousands of years instead of the water of life that flows from the throne” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life).
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