101. Live
John 11:25, 26 I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Death is a separation: spiritual death is separation of the soul from God; physical is separation of the soul from the body; eternal death is separation of soul and body from God forever. We are 1) born spiritually dead 2) surely going to die physically and 3) going to die eternally unless forgiven and saved.
When Jesus says we are dead (“though he were dead”) He means spiritually dead, and because of that separation we will physically die. If we are spiritually dead we will also be eternally dead, unless life is given. Then He says we are alive (“yet shall he live”): we are spiritually alive, connected with God right now; though we will physically die we will immediately live again; and we are eternally alive with God forever.
He that believes in Jesus will live: spiritually, physically and eternally. The Life is God’s Life and we have it now and we have it forever. We are connected to God; we are in a mystical union with God because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Jesus will never die. Faith and Life are always connected closely in the Gospel of John, according to Jesus. The converse is also true: Unbelief and Death are also connected. If we believe we will live and not die; if we do not believe we remain in our sins and thus we shall die in all three ways, spiritually, physically and eternally. We humans cannot create life or give life; all we can do is kill and take life away. We cannot give life but we can receive it; we do so by faith in the Gospel. By ourselves we cannot choose to believe, but the life-giving Spirit gives life when He creates faith.
Natural man is driven to survive, and not die; the spiritual man is driven to thrive, and not allow spiritual life to slip away. Therefore, we go to the Bible and to church to hear the life-giving Gospel: to believe and not die, but live.