Glory to God! The Lord has been good to us during the past week as He had been good to us all through our life so far. For our fruitful spiritual survival on earth, we are provided by our heavenly Father and we are redeemed and saved by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we are guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is impossible for any human being (righteous or unrighteous) or anything that God created to live on earth without God’s help and provision. As the faithful followers of Christ, we have Christ’s promise that our Father in heaven will provide for all our need (Matthew 6:25-34; also refer to Psalm 23:1; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:20; 2 Peter 1:3). Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi regarding God’s provision for His people: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). God will provide for our physical needs such as food, water, clothes, shelter, and so on; as well as for spiritual needs such as spiritual nourishments and spiritual strength for our soul and spirit; in addition, He will protect our body, soul, and spirit from all harm and danger (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is not very sure whether everyone believe it or not, but the fact is that the Lord God will be there for us and He will provide for all of our needs; and will care for us all through our life journey from earth to glory. Therefore, let us consecrate our soul and spirit and body before Him; and put into practice all that the righteous laws and decrees and commands require of us; and dedicate our life for His ministry; and live our life worthy of His calling in our life.

Praise God that the Lord has blessed us with a very significant Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week, which is taken from John 17:3, which specifically talks about the existence of the One and only true God, the God who created this universe and everything in it (Genesis 1:1-2:3); Jesus Christ, the only one who came from Him who is the only true God (or sent by Him) to this world to reveal Him to the humanity (John 3:16; 4:34; 5:30; 6:40); and eternal life that is given by the only true God to all who believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:15-16; 6:40, 47; 10:28-30; 11:25-26). Jesus said: I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25; also refer to 3:36; 5:24; 10:10b; 14:6; 1 John 5:11-12; Romans 6:23).

Eternal life means perpetual life or everlasting life. It is one of the key topics the Holy Scriptures, especially in the New Testament. Since eternal life is considered as the biggest reward promised to the faithful followers of Christ, it is the most sought-after subject matter in the New Testament for reading, studying, meditating and pondering on. There are numerous references in the Scripture that talks about eternal life: for instance, Matthew 18:8; 19:16, 29; 25:46; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:20; 23:42-43; John 3:16, 36; 4:14; 5:24; 6:27, 40, 47, 54; 10:28; 17:3; Acts 13:46, 48; Romans 5:21; 6:22-23; Galatians 6:8; 1 Timothy 1:16; 6:12; Titus 1:2; 1 John 1:2; 2:25; 5:11, 13, 20; Jude 1:21, and so on.

The teachings on Eternal life is very much important for the followers of Jesus Christ because their momentary life on earth is connected with their life in heaven, which lasts for ever and ever in eternity (Psalm 115:3; Ecclesiastes 5:2; Luke 16:9; 2 Corinthians 5:1). It is well connected between (i) the holy God and redeemed mankind, (ii) Jesus Christ through whom God reconciled the world to Himself and sinful mankind, and (iii) Time (which includes Now/the present time & Eternity/the future time) and Space (here on earth or there in heaven). In any given life situation, eternal life is not earned easily, and it is impossible to attain through human efforts / activities such as religious or social or political or cultural or mental achievements. Attaining eternal life is possible only through one’s absolute faith in Jesus Christ (the Son of God) who was sent by the Father in heaven to redeem humanity from the grip of sin and death. Thus, eternal life is the end result of one’s unwavering faith in Jesus Christ and their personal relationship with God the Father [the One who created us in His image and likeness], God the Son [the One who redeemed us from the grip of sin and death], and God the Holy Spirit [the One who empower us and sustain us from falling away from the truth of the gospel]. Knowing God is the basic thing for attaining salvation and eternal life. Knowing God personally would possibly change a person’s life and would set them up in the path of abundant life, which would gradually culminate in attaining eternal life. Knowing God would lead a person to transform himself/herself into Christ-likeness and would help them keep growing in the Lord by drawing closer to the Throne of Grace on a day-to-day basis.

In order to expand one’s status from just knowing God to a well-rooted relationship with Him, one ought to know God very personally and remain in Him at all times and love Him with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind and with all their strength and keep His righteous laws and decrees and commands. The Bible introduces us to the One and only true God. Apostle John quotes the words of Jesus in which Jesus acknowledges and declares that His Father who is in heaven is the only true God (John 17:3; also refer to Mark 12:29, 32). Moses {(i) with whom the Lord God would speak face to face as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 3:4-6; 33:11; 34:28; Numbers 12:8; Deuteronomy 9:9 ,18; 34:10; Psalm 103:7); (ii) by whom the Lord delivered the Children of Israel from the bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3:4, 10; 12:31; 14:31; Psalm 103:7); (iii) through whom the Lord God promised the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey as their inheritance (Deuteronomy 8:7-8; 26:9); and (iv) through whom the Lord gave His righteous laws and decrees and commands to His chosen people Israel (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 5:1ff; 9:9-11; 11:1; 1 Kings 2:3; Psalm 147:19; Malachi 4:4)}, with his close association with the Lord God, came to believe that from everlasting to everlasting He is God: Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God Psalm 90:2). Moses asserted to the Israelites the truth he believed that the Lord is God and there is none besides Him: The LORD is God; there is no other besides Him (Deuteronomy 4:35; also refer to 4:39; 6:4; 32:39). King David praised God saying: Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting (1 Chronicles 29:10; also refer to Psalm 41:13; 86:10). God revealed Himself as the only true to the children of Israel through His servant prophet Isaiah:

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God (Isaiah 43:10-12; also refer to Acts 1:8).

Prophet Isaiah again quoted the words from the Lord God, who said: I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God (Isaiah 45:5; also refer to 43:11; 44:6, 8; 45:21; 46:9; 49:6). God also spoke specifically through Isaiah inviting people to Him, so that they can be saved: Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22). Prophet Jeremiah [who is known as the weeping prophet] stated that This is what the LORD says: Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD (Jeremiah 9:23-24). And Jeremiah affirmed to the remnant of Israel that The LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King (Jeremiah 10:10a). It is not only just Moses or David or Isaiah or Jeremiah who believed that there is no God besides the Lord God but several of the Old Testament saints declared from their own experiences that the Lord is the only true God (2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Kings 8:60; 1 Chronicles 17:20; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 86:10; Daniel 2:20; Hosea 13:4; Joel 2:27).

Apostle Paul and several other New Testament writers also mentioned that there is only One true God. For instance, Apostle Paul stated: There is no God but one … For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). Also, he repeated ‘the One God’ concept in several of his other epistles, including in his First Epistle to Timothy: For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5; also refer to Mark 10:18; 12:29; Galatians 3:20; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 1:17; James 2:19; Revelation 1:8; 7:12; 22:13).

As we mentioned earlier, it is impossible for a person to reach God by his/her own efforts because God is holy and mankind is sinful. However, God made the plan to send His One and only Son [Jesus Christ] into this world (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Micah 5:2-3; Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11; John 1:29; 3:16; Acts 4:12), so that He can reconcile humanity [and the world] to Himself through the atoning sacrifice His Son Jesus Christ would offer on the cross at the place called Golgotha [Mount Calvary] (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 27:33-35; Mark 15:22-24; Luke 23:33; John 19:17-18; 1 John 2:2) in order to pay the penalty for the sins the mankind committed against the Lord God, which include breaking the righteous laws and decrees and commands the Lord God had given to them (Leviticus 26:14ff; Deuteronomy 6:17; 2 Chronicles 36:14-16; Ezekiel 20:24). The sacrifice [death] of Christ on the cross on behalf of the mankind paid off all the debts of their sin against the Lord God and delivered them from the grip of sin and death and brought them life, abundant life, and eternal life. Thus, mankind is forgiven and redeemed from death to life through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. This is how God the Father displayed His love for us – the humanity. Apostle John wrote: He [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), and John continued, saying: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10). Apostle Paul mentioned while he was writing to the believers in Rome that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God wants everyone everywhere to leave their wicked ways and come to repentance and return to Him. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ and His apostles and all the saints during the Old and New Testaments times started their ministry by inviting people to repentance (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; 5:32; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22; 17:30; 26:20). God is not happy when the wicked perish in their wickedness, which God very specifically spoke through prophet Ezekiel: Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live (Ezekiel 18:23); and God continued speaking through prophet Ezekiel, saying: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel (Ezekiel 33:11; also refer to Isaiah 30:15; 55:7; Jeremiah 3:2-13; 18:7-8). God is still patiently waiting for the sinners to come to repentance, as Apostle Peter mentioned: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Thus, we can understand that the Lord God already prepared the way and means [for those who acknowledge Him as the Lord of their life] to attain salvation and to have an abundant life thereafter with Him in eternity. The only way for us to attain such a blessed life with Him is to know Him as the only true God and know Jesus Christ, whom He has sent to this world to save us all from sin and death and proffer us eternal life (John 17:3). Apostle John stated: … this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:2-3). John continued saying: We know also 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 by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). In order to complete our redemption in Christ Jesus and receive eternal life, we need to live a holy and godly life, as Apostle Peter stated: You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming … a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells … since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him (2 Peter 3:11b-14). Apostle Paul stated:

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:8-11).

Dear friends in the Lord, in light of our reading and studying and meditating the Scripture passage we chose for our meditation this week, let us submit and consecrate our life before the Lord God Almighty – the only true God; and before His Son Jesus Christ whom He sent to this world to save us and give us eternal life; and before the Holy Spirit who strengthen us and enable us to accomplish all that the Lord God has entrusted to us. Let us pray that His presence would go with us until our redemption in Christ is completed and we attain eternal life. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!