Jesus announces that unless one’s righteousness “abounds” more than that of the Pharisees, the kingdom of heaven cannot be entered (Mt 5:20).
It is a radical statement, and only a heart changed by the grace of God can bring about a righteous life.
God adds fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life (2 Ki. 20:6, cf. Isa 38:5).
Jesus asks the important question: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
But if we seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, then the other things we need in life “will be added” to us as well (Mt 6:33; Lk 12:31).
Jesus personally claimed the authority to lay down his life and the authority to take it up again (Jn 10:18).
When tempting Jesus, Satan offered him authority over all the kingdoms of the world (Lk 4:5–6), but Jesus refused to take the bait, knowing that through his cross and resurrection he would gain authority over all.
Those who worship God and are cleansed by the blood of Christ have “the right” to the tree of life in that they have access to it through the work of the lamb (Rev 22:14).
Thus, Christian baptism is an end-time event whereby a believer is linked to Christ’s redemptive act accomplished in the past and life with Christ in the kingdom of God promised in the future.
Because God expects his people to look to him for guidance in life characteristics, God also expects faithfulness and integrity from his people (cf.
Often pisteuō means “to have faith or trust in” Jesus (Mt 18:6; Jn 2:23; 4:39; Acts 5:14; 9:42; Phil 1:29; 1 Jn. 3:23) and so to receive eternal life (Jn 3:16; 6:40; Acts 16:31; 1 Jn. 5:13).
Jesus calls for a response of belief to his preaching when he says, “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near.
Blessing is so central to the life of God’s covenant people that “May God bless you” becomes a greeting (Ruth 2:4; cf. 1 Sam. 15:13).
At final judgment, the king will welcome those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Mt 25:34).
God’s blessing is to give his people spiritual blessings in life here and now and eventually welcome them into his eternal kingdom.
There are two major ways makarios may be taken in the NT. First, a makarios individual is “happy” or “fortunate” because of life’s circumstances.
The message of joy is brought to the poor: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3).
God does not allow Israel to consume the dām of a live animal “because the life of every creature is its blood” (Lev 17:14; cf. 3:17; 7:26–27; 17:10).
haima is also used in combination with “flesh” to refer to the natural state of human existence (1 Cor. 15:50; “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;” cf. Jn 1:13 where the NIV translates haima with “natural descent.”)
The camel is especially suited for life in dry and sparse climates.
In Mt 19:24; Mk 10:25; Lk 18:25, Jesus says that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
In certain cases it may describe when something “ceases” (goes away): rain (Song 2:11), dew (Hos 6:4), wind (Ps 78:39), and even human life (“to go the way of all the earth,” e.g., Jos 23:14).
In Hosea, God will “put an end” to the kingdom of Israel (Hos 1:4).
When children do obey their parents in the Lord, they receive promises of a better and longer life (6:3).
When Jesus is speaking to a group of adults, he can refer to them as children: “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” (Mk 10:24).
(a) In the physical sense, nekros pertains to a loss of physical life.
Jesus passed to a state of physical life from physical death, “I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever” (Rev 1:18; cf. 2:8).
Hebrews speaks of “dead works” as that which characterizes the pre-Christian life (Heb 6:1; 9:14).
Thus, when one is resurrected to life, he is raised up from among those who have died (Mk 6:14; Lk 9:7).
(b) In the figurative sense, nekros is applied to those who are not concerned with the priorities of the kingdom, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead” (Mt 8:22; Lk 9:60; cf. Eph 5:14).
The only two valid options we face in life are “life and death” (Deut 30:15, 19).
The OT does not seem to view death after living a long and full life as an evil thing, only a natural thing.
Since the Israelites did not believe in other gods, they acknowledged that life and death are in the hands of their sovereign Lord (e.g., 1 Sam. 2:6; see die).
And when the final kingdom of the Lord comes, the Lord God “will swallow up death forever [and] … wipe away the tears from all faces” (Isa 25:8; cf. Rev 21:4).
Often in the NT thanatos conveys the opposite of zōē (“life”), which reflects the idea of eternal happiness and the magnificence of the resurrection.
thanatos includes exclusion from the kingdom of God through rejection of the Son of God.
Demons are unseen but real beings, intent on opposing God’s kingdom and the gospel of Jesus, and on harming people.
Demons are active today, and it is this spiritual world that stands as the primary enemy in the Christian life (Eph 6:12).
One characteristic of the kingdom of God is that as it spreads into people’s hearts, demons are stripped of their power and forced to leave (Lk 11:20; Acts 26:18).
God rains down fire and brimstone, which overthrows the city and all forms of life within it (Gen 13:10; 19:13–14, 29; cf. vv. 23–25).
Paul uses this sense to contrast the fragility of life with the durability of God’s kingdom when he writes, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1).
The theme is modified slightly in the bread of life discourse in Jn 6, in which Jesus warns his disciples that unless they “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,” they did not have eternal life (6:53, 54, 56).
When James and John seek special seats of favor and greatness with Jesus in his kingdom glory (Mk 10:35–45), Jesus measures their understanding by asking, “Can you drink the cup I drink?” (10:38).
esthiō means “to eat”; it commonly occurs along with pinō for eating and drinking—two necessary actions to sustain physical life.
God clearly communicates the lesson not only that nothing is off limits for the Jew, but also that Gentiles have equal access to the kingdom.
In Hosea, God will “put an end” to the kingdom of Israel (Hos 1:4).
(1) In Gen 6:13 qēṣ refers to the “end” of life.
Paul speaks of the life or death alternatives facing individuals as the final result or goal of one’s conduct (Rom 6:21–22; see also Heb 3:14; 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:9, 4:17).
In 15:24 telos refers to the conclusion of the end-time events, the point at which Christ hands over the kingdom to the Father.
When one is born again and lives a humble, God-glorifying life, one enters the kingdom of God/heaven (Mt 7:21; 19:24; Mk 10:15; Jn 3:5).
It is hard for the rich to “enter the kingdom of God” (Lk 18:24).
Distant times can be the past of one’s own life (Ps 77:5) or the distant future (Exod 15:18).
The implication, however, loses no effect: though humans have an innate sense of life beyond our own, we cannot understand the greatness and eternity of God himself, nor of the scope of his creativity, nor of the way in which he will bring time to a close.
Forty-three times aiōnios is linked with “life,” particularly in John’s writings.
(2) One of the great blessings of salvation is “eternal life.”
Such life originates with God, and we receive it only by his grace.
The rich young man who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life was pointed first to the commandments (indicating the need for righteousness), then to the “impossible” act of faith of selling everything and following him—impossible for a human being, but entirely possible for God (Mt 19:16; Mk 10:11).
(3) God’s kingdom is eternal, having neither beginning nor end (2 Pet. 1:11).
In the latter sense, Paul writes that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking” (Rom 14:17; cf. 1 Cor. 8:4; 2 Cor. 9:10; Col 2:16).
Yet, according to Jesus, we must never forget that “life is more important than food” and clothing (Mt 6:25; cf. Lk 12:23).
Satan showed to Jesus at his temptations “all the kingdoms of the earth and their splendor” (Mt 4:8).
doxa describes God and his dwelling (1 Cor. 15:40), angelic beings (Lk 2:9; Heb 9:5; Rev 18:1), the gospel of salvation (1 Tim. 1:11), humans involved in transcendent circumstances (i.e., Moses, 2 Cor. 3:7–11, 18), or even humans in the next life (Col 3:4).
These passages remind us that whatever blessings we have received in life, we must attribute them to the goodness of the Lord.
Because the Lord is his shepherd, David feels confident that “goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (Ps 23:6).
Those who inherit eternal life will have done good things as evidence of their salvation (Jn 5:29; Rom 2:7, 10; Eph 2:10).
In the gospels, that which is authentic in the kingdom of God is designated as “good fruit” (Mt 3:10; 7:15–20) and “good seed” (13:24, 27, 37–38).
Those who belong to the kingdom of God demonstrate their “good works” as light shining before the whole world.
At times the hand of the Lord is said to be “against” a person or kingdom (Ruth 1:13; 1 Sam. 5:6, 9; 7:13; 12:15).
The imagery of unclean or bloody hands was applied to sin (Ps 24:4; 26:6; 73:13; Isa 59:3); conversely, a person who has lived a godly life can claim “innocent/clean hands” (Ps 24:4; 26:6; 73:13).
Believers are heirs of the kingdom (Jas 2:5) and of eternal life (Tit 3:7).
Nevertheless, the point of all such exhortations is to invite people soberly to seek God who graciously offers them his kingdom and eternal life.
ʿānî describes one who has been humbled or afflicted by circumstances, and who, because of current disability, finds himself or herself dependent on others for life’s necessities.
In a similar context Luke tells of the sinner who goes away forgiven because he has humbled himself (Lk 18:14), and Matthew records Jesus’ teaching that the one who humbles himself like a little child will be great in the kingdom (Mt 18:4; see also 23:12).
From this general meaning of an actor on a stage, hypokritēs was later applied to someone who acted in real life or who pretended to be something that he was not, especially in the moral aspects of life.
They are not to be “hypocrites” in their giving (Mt 6:2), prayer life (6:5), or fasting (6:16).
They are hypocrites because they prevent others from entering the kingdom of heaven (23:13), they only pretend to be concerned about conversion (23:15), they are overly diligent about the minute things of the law while neglecting the weightier matters (23:23), they obsess about what can be observed while neglecting inner reality (23:25; 23:27), and they venerate the tombs of the prophets while being sons of those who murdered the prophets (23:29).
A “parable” is a story from everyday life used to illustrate a moral or religious truth.
It is the primary method Jesus used to teach about the kingdom of God.
Used theologically, the NT speaks of the disciple inheriting salvation (Heb 1:14), which is equated with entering (Mt 25:34) or inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9–10; 15:50; Gal 5:21) and eternal life (Mt 19:29; Lk 18:18).
Segments of Judaism believed that they could do certain things in order to inherit eternal life (Mk 10:17; Lk 10:25); Jesus goes on to stress that a relationship with him is the first and most important thing.
The promise of God is, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Paul is not dealing with an unrelenting sense of guilt that is not absolved by God’s forgiveness and grace (1 Cor. 15:10–11), but he is acknowledging the sin of his life before his conversion.
Yet in 5:19b, Jesus says that any who annuls or breaks even “one of the least commandments” will be regarded as “least” in the kingdom of heaven.
LIFE
ḥāyâ indicates “life” or “having life” and is the generic term for “life” or “to live” in the OT (Gen 5:3–30; 11:11–26; cf. Num 4:19).
It refers to one’s own life (12:13; 42:2, 18, Isa 55:3), the life of one’s parents (Jos 2:13), and of the lives of others.
(1) Joshua spares the life of Rahab (Jos 6:25), God preserves Caleb’s life (14:10), and Noah preserves the lives of animals in the ark (Gen 6:19).
For example, God sends Joseph to Egypt years before the great famine so that he can “preserve for you for a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance (Gen 45:7; cf. 12:13; 47:25; 50:20; Num 31:18, Jos 9:20; also cf. Num 22:33, of saving the life of a donkey).
nepeš has a wide range of meaning; the basic meaning is “breath,” but it can also mean “soul, life, entire being.”
ḥay indicates life or the state of living as contrasted with death.
(1) The psalmist declares that he will praise God as long as he has “life” (Ps 63:4).
Solomon writes that there is nothing better for a person than to rejoice in the Lord and “to do good in their life” (Eccl 3:12).
This latter sense naturally gave rise to “breath” as a sign of life, and hence rûaḥ also means “spirit” or “life.”
anastrophē means one’s “manner of life” or simply “conduct.”
See way of life.
bios denotes the course of one’s “life” or the “material possessions, property” by which that life subsists (1 Jn. 3:17).
Paul uses this term to describe life in general (1 Tim. 2:2; 2 Tim. 2:4).
Note how in 1 Jn. 2:16 translations are split between “the pride of life” (KJV, NASB) and “pride of possessions” (NRSV, NLT); the NIV attempts to incorporate both ideas by translating the phrase “boasting of what he has and does.”
In several NT instances of the word bios, both ideas—life and possessions—are apparent.
For example, in Lk 8:14, bios clearly means “life,” but the word is used in a context in which life is characterized by worries concerning riches and pleasures.
Here the KJV implies this overlap in meaning by stating that she offered “all her living” (Mk 12:44; Lk 21:4)—“material possessions” on the concrete level but “life” in general on the abstract level.
zōē mean “life.”
In the NT this word refers sometimes to present existence (Lk 16:25; Acts 8:33; 17:25; Rom 8:38) and sometimes to eternal life in the future (Mt 7:14; 19:16; Mk 10:30).
“Life” is an especially important theme in the gospel of John.
John emphasizes in his gospel that future, eternal life may be experienced in the present through Jesus: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (Jn 5:24; cf. 11:25–26; 1 Jn. 3:14).
John’s purpose in writing his gospel is in fact to produce eternal life in its readers (Jn 20:31).
Paul agrees with John that eternal life can be entered upon in the present (Rom 6:4; 8:6, 10), though for Paul (as for John) full life is still future.
Consummated life will be a resurrected body in the new creation (2 Cor. 5:4).
The book of Revelation powerfully depicts the new creation as a place where the redeemed may eat freely of the tree of life (Rev 22:2, 14) and drink of the water of life (22:17).
Throughout the NT, Jesus Christ is closely associated with eternal life.
He is the “bread of life” (Jn 6:35, 48), “the way and the truth and the life” (14:6), “the author of life” (Acts 3:15), and the life of believers (Col 3:4), and he has the power of an “indestructible life” (Heb 7:16).
Jn 6:68 says that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and Jn 17:2 says that Jesus has the authority to grant eternal life.
The opposite of life, of course, is death.
But because Jesus gave his life on the cross and came back to life in the resurrection, we who join with Jesus in his death and resurrection have life hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3) and have our names written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev 20:15; 21:27).
In contrast to the classical Greek idea of soul as an entity separate and distinct from the body, the NT word psychē finds its definition in the OT understanding of nepeš, translated “life, breath, soul.”
Herod sought to kill the psychē, the “life,” of the boy Jesus.
In Mt 6:25, Jesus teaches a lesson about the value of the kingdom of God, and in so doing illustrates the connectedness of the soul and body.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your psychē [life], what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not psychē [life] more than food and the body more than clothing?”
Like the Hebrew nepeš, the psychē is both the vital source of life in a person and the seat of the will or mind.
However, “Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his psychē [life] is in him’ ” (Acts 20:10).
This very night your psychē [life] is being demanded of you.’ ” (Lk 12:20–21).
One of the most riveting exhortations Jesus gives to humanity includes the following: “Those who find their psychē [life] will lose it, and those who lose their psychē [life] for my sake will find it” (cf.
We may either pursue our own psychē, and in so doing lose the true life that only comes from Jesus Christ.
Jesus willingly gives his life for the salvation of the world: “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (Jn 10:17–18).
In Mt 21:43, Jesus warns that the kingdom will be “taken away” from those who reject the Messiah.
Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:1), in which he instructs his disciples about life in the kingdom, is traditionally viewed as taking place on the low hills on the northern side of the Sea of Galilee.
There are other significant events in Jesus’ life that take place on a mountain or hill.
And, as in the OT, the most significant mountain of all is “Mount Zion,” which in the NT is a symbol of the eternal kingdom of our Lord (Heb. 12:22; Rev. 14:1).
Jesus summarizes this as follows, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (Mt. 13:11).
mystērion is modified in a number of different ways: “the mystery of the kingdom of God (Mk. 4:11); “the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4; Col. 4:3); “the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19); “the mystery of God” (1 Cor. 2:1; 4:1; Rev. 10:7) “the mystery of God, namely Christ” (Col. 2:2); “God’s secret wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:7); “the mysteries of the faith” (1 Tim. 3:9); and “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim. 3:16).
Each of these uses of mystērion refers to the same basic idea, which can be summarized as knowledge and understanding (in a spiritual sense) of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
A “parable” is a story from everyday life used to illustrate a moral or religious truth.
It is the primary method Jesus used to teach about the kingdom of God: “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?” (Mk. 4:34).
In Mt. 13:24 the kingdom of heaven is “like a man who sowed good seed in his field;” in 13:31 it is like a “mustard seed;” in 13:33 it is like “yeast” that a woman mixes with flour.
When asked why he taught in parables, Jesus answers by referring to Isa. 6:9–10, that while the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to the Twelve, “to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that ‘they may be ever seeing but not perceiving’ ” (Mk. 4:11–12).
While Jesus discloses “the secrets of the kingdom of God” to the disciples in parables, still his enemies have a feeling that he is in fact directing his teaching against them.
David instructs his men to greet Nabal with, “Long life to you!
And good health to all that is yours!” (1 Sam. 25:6, NIV; lit., “A life of peace to you and to your house, peace, and to all which is to you, peace”).
By contrast, in God’s ideal kingdom “the mountains will bring prosperity to the people” (Ps. 72:3; cf. v. 8).
Peace starts with God, is revealed most graphically on the cross of Christ, is observed as a chief fruit in the transformed children of God, and is a major spiritual component of the ever-growing kingdom of God.
ʿānî describes one who has been humbled or afflicted by circumstances, and who, because of current disability, finds himself or herself dependent on others for life’s necessities.
Furthermore, Jesus announces that the poor are blessed and that the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Mt. 5:3; Lk. 6:20).
This seems to be the way James refers to the poor as well: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”
malkût ranges in meaning from an abstract reference to a king’s dynasty or power (Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 20:31) to the more concrete location of a “kingdom” (2 Chr. 1:1; Neh. 9:35).
Jesus remains a priest forever “by the power of his indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16).
(2) The “power of God” secures the victory of his kingdom (Rev. 12:10).
That kingdom will come “with power” (Mk. 9:1; 1 Cor. 4:20).
The gospel, whereby God builds the kingdom, is the “power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18).
Jesus preaches the good news of the kingdom of God (4:43; 8:1), and those who follow him do the same (Acts 8:12).
Paul’s life work is to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:15; 15:20; 1 Cor. 1:17; 9:16; Eph. 3:8).
According to Paul, God, who does not lie, has promised his people eternal life before the ages began (Tit. 1:2; cf. 1 Jn. 2:25).
James states that God promises a crown of life (1:12) and a kingdom (2:5) to those who love him.
As Paul later testifies before King Agrippa, he connects the promise made by God to the fathers (26:6) with the resurrection of the dead (26:8).This is similar to John’s connection between the promise and eternal life (1 Jn. 2:25).
Paul identifies himself as an apostle according to the promise of life in Messiah Jesus (2 Tim. 1:1).
Paul reminds the Ephesians that the command to honor father and mother comes with a promise (Eph. 6:2), and he writes to Timothy that the profit of godliness is that it has the promise of life both now and in the age to come (1 Tim. 4:8).
Thus, while it is true that in this present dispensation, sin and death “reign” (Rom. 5:14, 17, 21), if have received the gift of righteousness from the one man Jesus, grace now “reigns” in us to bring us eternal life (5:15, 21).
Most English versions consistently translate basileia with “kingdom,” though at times it would be better understood as “reign” or “rule.”
Thus, some scholars today prefer to speak of “the rule of God” or even “the empire of God.” See kingdom.
The term occurs 43× in the statements “the rest of the events of …” in Kings and Chronicles as a reference to the summary of the life of a king.
They became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia rose to power.”
Repentance denotes a radical turning from sin to a new way of life oriented towards God.
Repentance is the appropriate response to the nearness of the kingdom of God.
John the Baptist calls people to “repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt. 3:2).
After announcing the arrival of the kingdom, Jesus calls, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15).
Moreover, repentance should mark the life of the Christian, for Jesus warns the churches in Revelation to repent (Rev. 2:5, 16; 3:3, 19).
The terms for “rich” are used most often to refer to material wealth in the form of money or agriculture, or generally speaking a good, pleasant, fulfilling, and favorable life.
Riches can hinder their owner from entering the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 19:23–24; Mk. 10:25; Lk. 18:23–25) and can lead a person to oppress others or neglect the poor (Lk. 16:19ff., the rich man and Lazarus; Jas. 2:6; 5:1ff.).
(2) The end-times sense brings the understanding of a reversal in the kingdom: the hungry are filled while the rich are sent away empty (Lk. 1:53).
The only one who is worthy of receiving riches is the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 5:12), who embodies the kingdom reversal in his own incarnation: “For you he impoverished himself, although he was rich, so that through his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
If we adopt these first two usages, Christians are to act as preservatives in the world by conforming to kingdom norms, and we are to help make life in this sin-filled world more palatable by our deeds of kindness and love.
Both of these verses have to do with living a life of peace and harmony with one’s fellow believers.
Often in opposing him they inadvertently displayed the profound contrast between their “learnedness” and the “ignorance” of the common people, who believed the words of Jesus and were entering the kingdom of God.
Although Nicodemus was a teacher in Israel and sought counsel from Jesus, he was soundly rebuked for his lack of understanding about the kind of kingdom in which God rules (Jn. 3:4).
He says to the crowd, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.
Yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (Jn. 5:39–40).
(1) In the physical world, plants and trees bear seeds (Gen. 1:11–12, 29) and thus perpetuate life.
In his interpretation of the parable of the weeds, the seed stands for the children of God’s kingdom (Mt. 13:37–38), who have to coexist with the wicked while on this earth.
But to those who seek God in a right spirit, “with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 4:29), he promises such wonderful benefits as his presence (2 Chr. 15:2), his loyalty (Ps. 9:10), delivery from fears (Ps. 34:4), and life itself (Amos 5:4, 6).
People are to “search for” spiritual principles and realities such as God’s kingdom, righteousness, glory, immortality, wisdom, and peace (Mt. 6:33; cf. 7:7–8; Mt 5:44; 7:18; 11:9–10; 12:31; 1 Cor. 1:22; 1 Pet. 3:11).
To those who “seek” glory, honor, and immortality, God gives eternal life (Rom. 2:7), and to those “seeking” the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all necessities will be given as well (Mt. 6:33).
His mission is to give his life sacrificially as a ransom for others.
Christ’s life of service becomes the norm for the life of disciples as they serve both Christ and others in humility (Lk. 12:37).
True service to God, true worship, is not something limited to certain times and certain places; it is how the children of God’s kingdom live out their lives day in and day out.
Paul’s fervent stand against this sin calls for its eradication from one’s life.
Paul and John emphasize that those who are pornos are among the sinners who have no inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Likewise, Paul’s teaching is unequivocal, “For of this you can be sure: No pornos, impure or greedy person—such man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ” (Eph. 5:5; cf. 1 Cor. 6:9–10).See
The basic meaning of both verbs is “to show” something (Mt. 4:8, “The devil … showed him all the kingdoms of the world”).
Let him show it by his good life (3:13).”
This means that we must never become too comfortable with life here on this earth, for it last only a short while; life in the heavenly kingdom is permanent and will last forever.
Similar phrases are “before the sun,” meaning “in public” (Num. 25:4; cf. 2 Sam. 12:11, “before the eyes of this sun”), and “see the sun,” meaning “to live and experience life” (Ps. 58:8; Eccl. 6:5).
Thus, it is striking that at Jesus’ death the sun was darkened (Lk. 23:45), showing that the crucifixion is one indication that the events of Jesus’ life were end-time events that anticipated future judgment and resurrection.
Jesus says in Mt. 13:43 that “the righteous will shine like the sun” in the future kingdom.
lāqaḥ can also have the meaning “deprive,” as Solomon being deprived of his kingdom (1 Ki. 11:34) or Elijah being taken away from Elisha (2 Ki. 2:3, 5).
The sword takes away the life of its victims (Ezek. 33:4, 6; Hos. 13:11), and wine may deprive the people of understanding (Hos. 4:11).
Yet Jesus makes it clear that he was not a passive victim in this process, for he says, “I lay down my life—only to take it again.
In addition, when believers hear the message of salvation, they “accept” the gospel message (Gal 1:9), “receive Jesus as Lord” (Col. 2:6), and “receive” the kingdom of God (Heb. 12:28).
In contrast, Jesus brings abundant life.
Paul lists thieves among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10).
Jesus uses the mustard “tree” as an example of how the kingdom of God starts small but grows larger than any of the garden plants (Mt. 13:32; Lk. 13:19).
The image of a large tree with birds roosting in its branches echoes several OT references to a massive kingdom (Ezek. 17:22–24; 31:2–18; Dan. 4:9–27).
And in the new heaven and new earth, God will make available to us for all eternity the tree of life (Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19); the leaves of this tree are for the healing of the nations.
In Acts 13:46, Paul’s decides to focus his evangelistic efforts on the Gentiles when he addresses the Jews in Antioch: “Since you reject [the word of God] and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.”
Twice in the NT strephō refers to change of life focus.
Jesus says in Mt. 18:3, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Paul compares the believer’s work for the kingdom of God to valuable materials, including “gold, silver, costly stones” (1 Cor. 3:12).
timios is not used exclusively of material physical things, however, but can have the connotation of precious or valuable in the sight of the beholder, such as life itself (Acts 20:24), the great promises of God that are so “precious” to the believer (2 Pet. 1:4), and especially the blood of Christ, which is incalculably “precious” (1 Pet. 1:19).
The vine is a source of fruit as well as wine drink and is used, metaphorically, as a symbol of life and fertility (Num. 6:4; Hab. 3:17; Zech. 8:12).
Jesus picks up on the imagery of the vine when he proclaims himself to be the ultimate source of life and spiritual growth (Jn. 15:1, 4). “I am the vine; you are the branches.
In the Synoptic Gospels, when Jesus is with his disciples in the upper room, he says during the Last Supper, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Mt. 26:29; Mk. 14:25; Lk. 22:18).
In order to retain true life and especially to bear fruit, we must remain attached to this vine.
God’s people wait for the coming kingdom (Mk. 15:43; Lk. 23:51), the consolation of Israel (Lk. 2:25), the redemption of Israel (2:38), the resurrection (Acts 24:15), the return of Christ (Tit. 2:13), and even the “mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” that will “bring you to eternal life” (Jude 21).
Figuratively, the NT uses peripateō to refer to the way believers behave or conduct daily life (Mk. 7:5; Eph. 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal 5:16).
Because of the presence of the kingdom of God, the lame walk (Mt. 11:5; 15:31; Acts 3:8–9).
(2) In his gospel and letters, John uses peripateō not just literally but figuratively as well to signify the trajectory of a person’s life.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12; see also 11:9, 10; 12:35).
But in the majority of OT passages, derek is used figuratively to denote the course of a person’s life, often in connection with moral action and character.
Essential here is the covenant overtone; one’s path in life or spiritual journey begins with the Lord, the covenant God.
When Jesus sends the disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God, he tells them: “Take nothing for the journey” (Mt. 10:10; Lk. 9:3).
Nearly half (46×) the occurrences of this word are figurative in meaning, focusing on the course one takes in life.
Jesus speaks of the “road” to life: the gate that leads to it is small, and the “road” itself is small, while the “way” to destruction is through a wide gate and the “way” itself is broad.
Many go to destruction; few travel to life (Mt. 7:13–14).
There are thus, in life, only two possible roads to travel; there is no third option!
Ultimately Jesus is “the way” (Jn. 14:6; Acts 18:25–26; Heb. 10:20) to life as God intends it to be lived.
The metaphor of walking in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4), walking by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 25), walking in love (Eph. 5:2), and walking in him (Col. 2:6) is consistent with and builds on the idea of Christianity as “the Way.” See NIDNTT-A, 401–2.
The idea of witnesses is crucial in the book of Acts, which often mentions Christians as those who give testimony to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection (Acts 1:8, 22; 2:32; 3:15; 10:39; 13:31; 22:15).
It can also denote other members of the kingdom of heaven who are “witnesses” to the life of Christians (2 Tim. 2:2; Heb. 12:2). William D. Mounce, Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 2.
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