The title of what would be discussed in this piece is; Eternal life: Gods Ultimate Intention for Man. You can also personalize this title, eternal life; Gods ultimate intention for me, Gods ultimate intention for you, Gods ultimate intention for each and every one of us. The essence of this article is to actually show us what Christianity is all about, and by the end of this message we are going to be evaluating and also asking ourselves, am I actually a Christian? What kind of life am I supposed to model on the face of the earth? And also in the course of this article, the issue of complacency and lukewarmness would be addressed. Jesus was speaking in the book of Revelations, and He said I wish you are either hot or cold, He because you are neither hot nor cold, He said I will spew you out of my mouth. And I pray that that will not be our portion in the name of Jesus. And that’s why this writing is coming to us at such a time as this.

The third reason why this article is coming us is to announce a possibility that probably the next generation of Christians, if some of us does not walk in this experience, in this possibility, the next generation is going to walk in this possibility. Let me begin by saying this; Eternal life is an experience, and the Holy Spirit is the means to that experience.  So, if you want to have eternal life, there is a channel that gets you into that experience. And it is via the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ; the Holy Ghost. There is something else I want us to note and I want us to keep at the back off our minds as we move on. Eternal life is an available victory over flesh, it is not a thing of the future it is now.

Don’t say eternal life is when we get to heaven; eternal life actually begins now. As we move on, as we proceed, the Holy Spirit is going to be opening us up to certain things that He wants us to understand as a body of Christ. As Christians and as disciples who are following after Christ, this is the intention of God for us. I want to begin to build my background from the book of Genesis chapter 1 we will read from verse 20 to verse 22. The Bible says;

Genesis 1:20-22. “So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” There is something the Holy Spirit pointed out to me, and He showed me here. This blessing that was given, if you take note of it, it was to the animals if you take note of it, if you check, it was the same kind of blessing that God gave to man. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 28, it says; “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply.” So, when you dwell in the realm of blessing that is not the ultimate intention of God for you, it is eternal life.

You have been praying God bless me, but the real intention of God is much more than blessing. When God created man He gave man this exact blessing, He said be fruitful and multiply. So, if God can give the birds and the creatures of the sea and the animals that creeps on the earth the same blessing with man what then differentiates man from the animals? I am going to dwell on Genesis 1 verse 26, but I am going to jump to verse 30 then I will read Genesis chapter 2 verse 7. Genesis chapter 1 verse 30.  It says; “and to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that moves on the ground—to everything in which there is the breath of life—I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so [because He commanded it]. Then we saw another thing called the breath of life. When you look at Genesis chapter 2 verse 7, the Bible was making reference to the fact that after God has formed man He breathed into His nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.

When I looked at 1 Corinthians 15 verse 45 the Bible says; “And so it is written, the first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam became a life giving Spirit.”  Everlasting life is the capacity of a man to be able to impact the same way God impacts. The Bible says God breathed into the nostrils of man and man became a living being. Jesus came and modelled another life. The Bible says in John 20; And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  And He was saying, just as the Father has sent me, I have also sent you and there is a breath that is required. So, He began to impact His disciples with eternal life. How much life do you have, that you are impacting the people around you? How much life do you have that you impact the world around you? And He said go into the world and make disciples of all nations. It is by impacting the life of the Spirit. What differentiates a man from living creatures?

It is in your ability to impact lives with the Spirit of Christ. So, Apostle Paul can come in the midst of believers and ask have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? And they said we have not so much heard of it, haven laid hands on them they began they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are life. Genesis 1 Verse 26. The Bible says; “Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; And I also want us to take note of that, it says spiritual. So, how man was fashioned is that he should be a spiritual being. That is what actually differentiates us from every other being, it is more than blessing and power. They are some of the things you will encounter as you journey on your way to eternal life. But there is an ultimate intention of God for us, it is called eternal life. And the Bible said; “and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” (Amp)

 

Man will only be a living creature if the breath of life has not come upon the man. Let me put it this way, until you begin to walk in the spiritual identity that God has given to you, you have not actually attained to the intention of God for your life. Then it says let them have complete authority over the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle and over the entire earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the face of the earth. So, what are you living above? Eternal life is the life that is above. You can be on the earth and yet be connecting to the life that flows from above. That is the real and actual intention of God for man. If man was going to carry out the dominion mandate on the earth, then there is a kind of life that is required from man. Eternal life is not that you can go to heaven, you did not give your life to Christ so that you can go to heaven, it is far more than that. As much as it is good, eternal life is a life you begin to express and experience on the earth.

You can look at this in another form. The Bible says there is a Spirit that is in man, and the breath of the almighty that gives him understanding. Don’t forget we said man is a spiritual being, for that spirit to be able to interact on the earth, there was a spirit that was put in man. For the body to make an impact on the earth, it needs to connect with a Spirit. That was the Scripture says there is a Spirit that is in man and the breath of the almighty that gives him understanding. So, now you see why Jesus Christ was impacting His disciples with the breath of the Holy Spirit. And when I began I said the Holy Spirit is the channel to the experience that we need to have. So how can men see eternal life in you? By the expression of the Spirit of wisdom, by the expression of the Spirit of understanding, because when men come in contact with you, there is something that is above that must be expressed through our earthen vessels.

How much of this Spirit find expression through us? How much does the Spirit of counsel find expression through us? How much does the Spirit of might find expression through us? Eternal life! What is eternal life? It is a life reflected on the earth realm among men but sourced from the spiritual realm. The Bible was talking about Jesus, it said; In Him was life and the life became the light of men. The life cannot become a light on the earth realm if you have not interacted with the Spirit of light. There is an interaction that must take place with the Holy Spirit which is the spirit of eternal life, the Spirit of eternity, and then it begins to express itself through this flesh. What is eternal life? It is a life that exist outside time, a forever life, a timeless life, an unending or everlasting life.

 

It is a life that cannot be limited, it is a life that cannot be exhausted. What is eternal life? Eternal life can simply be said to be a spiritual existence after the death of the flesh. You may decide to see this in two different form, but I am going to be talking about the spiritual perspective of it. This truth is a truth that you can see in two different ways; it is a life that exist after the death of the flesh.

So, when the flesh refuses to die or give way, in which ever way you want to see it, eternal life cannot be experienced. Whether it is the physical flesh or the flesh that needs to give way for the Holy Spirit to find expression through you, eternal life can never become an experience. Man is left with two choices whether to live or to die, but if man chooses to live, then he will die. But if he chooses to die then he will live. At this point I want to say something; the reason why we feed, it is because we must die. What do we feed on? We feed on the word of God. So, man is not supposed to feed so that he can live. So, when men begin to feed on the things that are not spiritual, then they cannot experience eternal life. So, what do you feed on so that you can die? It is the word of life. Jesus said those who feed on Me, will live because of Me.   

So, Jesus was speaking in John 12:24. “Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves His life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” So, how much do you want your flesh to die? Apostle Paul said let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of Christ. At a pint he said I die daily. And this is how eternal life is expressed through Apostle Paul. This is how grace is made manifest through him, this is how the power of God is expressed through him; eternal life is an experience.

So, eternal life begins at salvation and peaks at holiness. John 3:16. “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] ^[a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” So, the intention of God for man was beginning to come through a medium called Jesus Christ. And after He came and died, He sent His Spirit to us. How was God able to achieve this? He achieved it through His Son Jesus Christ. It said; whoever believes in Him! This is where it begins; salvation. But it does not just stop at the level of salvation, it does not stop at confessing I am the righteousness in Christ Jesus. There is a journey that must begin from there.

And that’s why Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Having received the indwelling of the Spirit, because you have confessed Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior and His Spirit has indwelled you that is where the journey begins. It peaks at holiness. Holiness talks about become one with God. Holiness talks about attaining perfection with God.  

That we might all come to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ. The reason why we must journey from the realm of salvation and not just dwell here it is because we want to attain the level that God wants us to attain. So, as you are journeying from salvation, as you are journeying from the place where you have accepted Christ, and His peace has come into your heart, then you must never be comfortable at that level, there is a need to begin to journey deeper because God expects that from us. What are you doing with your salvation? The Spirit of God that is dwelling inside of you, what are you doing with it? God expects you to come up, God expects you to go deeper, God expects you to be grounded. What are you doing with your salvation? How are you yielding to the dealings of the Spirit? 

I don’t want to begin to say don’t fornicate, pray often, fast often. There was something the Holy Spirit showed me and I believe that it was the summary of how to begin to walk from salvation, and then begin to journey towards perfection in God. It is something that was just written briefly in the book of Luke 5:16; the Bible says; “So, He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” All these while I was thinking before Jesus began His work of ministry He retreated because He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and He fasted 40 days and 40 nights and was tempted by the devil and then He returned in the power of the Spirit. Here the Holy Spirit began to open me up, that Jesus did it often. The Bible says in Luke 4:2; “and in those days He ate nothing.” So, what is the consecration of God for your life? For John the Baptist, he ate locust and wild honey. How are you walking according to the dealings of the Holy Spirit for your life? How are you attaining perfection in God?  How are you listening to the voice and the dealings of the Holy Spirit? God is saying work out your salvation with fear and with trembling.

What are the truths we need to know about eternal life?

#. It is the fulfilment of Gods intention and promise to man. The Bible said in Genesis 25:8. “Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.” He died in a ripe old age, an old man satisfied with life but he was gathered to his people. This word is coming to someone, He has been taken to the bosom of Abraham, there is no need to cry because his name is written in the book of life. Jesus Christ rejoiced with His disciples not because the demons were subject to them, because their names were written in heaven. I want you to rejoice because his name has been written in heaven. You must be strong and you must be courageous, when the time comes and it seems as if you will break down, God is speaking to you, be strong and be courageous because his name has been written in heaven and he is at the bosom of Abraham.

It’s just a digression, we will continue. It said; “now he was gathered to his people.” What does it mean by being gathered to his people? It talks about decay. Now in Acts chapter 13:32-37, the Bible says; in verse 36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; 37but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.” That is why when I began, I said there is a possibility that the Christian will soon begin to walk into, and this is part of it. I noticed something with Jesus Christ, He also died by the will of God, I believe we will agree with me on that; He died by the will of God but He was not gathered to His fathers. The Bible said He resurrected on the third day. And that was not all, He ascended into heaven. And Apostle Paul when He came into the light of Christ, He began to probe into this matter, that was why he began to say in Philippians 3:10-11. “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. If by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

There were certain things that were promised to the fathers that they didn’t see, but there is a generation that is coming that will walk in the experience of this dimension, that will walk in the possibility of this dimension. When you begin to read from verse 32 of Acts 13, it says; “And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers.”  So, what was the promise that was made to the fathers? That we may not return to corruption, that we might not see corruption. Jesus modelled this to us. So, when Apostle Paul came to the knowledge of this; the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Corinthians 15:54. “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”  Eternal life, Gods intention for every man.

So, Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:4, “So while we are in this tent, (talking about the flesh) we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.” He said we groan under this burden because we have come to realize that there is a promise that has been made to the fathers, we have come to realize that there is a dimension we must walk into, we have come to realize that there is something in God that is deeper than power, there is something in God that is deeper than blessings, he said we began to groan. How did Jesus do this thing? The Bible says and as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered. What does it mean to be altered? It means to be transfigured, to be changed. So, if Jesus Christ can model this possibility on the earth, then it is a possibility that a Christian must walk into.

That man can actually be on the face of the earth and interact with heaven. Now, when I was drawing our attention to that word ‘over, over and over’ in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, it was over everything, the Bible says we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, and we are far above principalities and powers. So, God has placed us in a realm, in a dimension which is spiritual. Until you begin to walk in that realm, you cannot attain to this experience called eternal life.

#. Eternal life is the life that comprehend the mysteries of the kingdom. When I began, I talked about the fact that there are Spirits that man must interact with, the seven Spirits of God that man must interact with; as it was spelt out in Isaiah chapter 11 verse 2. And all these Spirit’s you don’t interact with them by flesh, you interact with them in the spirit. So, if there is any of the Spirit that wants to find expression through you, it does not come by power, nor by might but by the Spirit of God. Interacting with the Spirit. Jesus was speaking in Matthew 16:17. And He was speaking to Simon Peter, He said; “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” How was it revealed to Peter, how did Peter come to know these mysteries? It was because there was a Father who is in heaven and there was a channel that began to interpret and explain certain things to Peter.

So, Jesus began to explain to us that it is possible and then you can be reading the writings that is written in heaven. There is an experience that we must all walk into as believers, but there is a realm that we must interact with. 2 Corinthians 12:2. Says; “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.” He said I was caught up into another realm. At a point in 2 Corinthians 12, and He was saying that there were certain things that was explained to him, that were not lawful for mouth to utter. That was an experience. Matthew 13:11. He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

#. Eternal life is the mystery that explains rapture. This is the possibility the church is about to enter. What is rapture? It is the act of carrying, Conveying, transporting or sweeping along by a force of movement. Or the fact of being carried along.  I began to ask myself; What happened to the body of Elijah? How did he leave the earth? What happened to the body of Enoch? What happened to the body of Jesus Christ? how were they caught up into the heavens? And the Holy Spirit began to reveal certain things to me, the Bible says in Genesis 5:24; “And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].” That is why I said it begins at the realm of salvation and it peaks at the realm of holiness. A point where you can become one with God. The Bible says God took him.

A chariot of fire came and picked Elijah, 2 Kings 2:11. “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” That was the promise, there was something God was trying to model to man. There was something God was trying to show men; that there is a possibility like this. I saw something in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 52, “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” So, there are sounds, certain people have been hearing sounds, but the last sound that will raise those who are dead it is the las sound of the trumpet.

#.  Eternal life is a life aligned with the sound of heaven.  Revelation 11:12. “And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.” So, there was a sound. Each time a sound is made from heaven, how much do you fall in alignment to it.  John said in the book of Revelations 1:10; “I was in the Spirit on the Lords day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet.” How much are we aligning to the sound of heaven? This is an experience. What is the speakings of heaven at a particular time? What is God saying at any given moment? How much are we in tune? But until your ears are open, until your eyes are open you will not be able to see and hear, you will cannot experience this dimension. It is by aligning to the sound that is being made from heaven. John 12:49-50. “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”

The Scripture said concerning Jesus, He will not judge by the seeing of his eyes nor by the hearing of his ears. It is by alignment with heaven.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

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