Jesus Christ is The Word of Life
Of
all the individuals to have ever lived, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God born
of the Virgin Mary has had the greatest influence on Western thought. His
teachings have had the most impact on beliefs and actions. Fortunately, we have
numerous texts written about Jesus Christ and his teachings. To some he may
simply be Jesus of Nazareth but in reality he is so much more. Jesus Christ is:
The Everlasting Father[1] ,
The Messiah[2], The
Messenger of the Covenant[3], Our Redeemer[4], The
Son of the living God[5],
King of the Jews[6],
The Word[7], The
Light of the world[8],
The bread of Life[9],
The way, the truth, and the life[10],
The Prince of Life[11],
The Deliverer[12],
The head of the Church[13],
Author of eternal salvation[14],
King of Kings[15],
and the Word of Life[16].
Christ has many powerful titles due to his ministry and what he achieved for
all mankind, which is life eternal. Thus, Jesus Christ is the Word of Life, for
all mankind.
When
John one of Jesus Christ’s twelve apostles witnessed of Jesus Christ he refered
to Christ as “the Word of Life,” he said:
That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life;
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew
unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto
us;).[17]
Through these scripture
passages it is witnessed that Christ is the “Word of Life” because it is
through him that one gains eternal life. John confirms Christ’s purpose when he
states, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son.”[18]
God’s son is Jesus Christ, whom He gave to mankind as a way to obtain
life. Nephi, an ancient American leader
also testified of Christ’s divine role, he stated, “Wherefore, if ye shall
press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold,
thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”[19]
Like John the apostle, Nephi understood that Jesus’s words bring eternal life
to man. When referring to Christ the Apostle John states, “And this is the
promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”[20]
Thus it is a promise to all mankind that if we head the “Word of Life” we shall
have eternal life. The scriptures clearly state that Christ is the way to
obtain life, without Christ eternal life would not be obtainable because of the
opposition that exists.
Opposition
is needed in order for Heavenly Father’s plan to make sense. In The Book of Mormon the ancient American
prophet Lehi taught this principle to his sons:
“ if ye shall
say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there
is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no
righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor
happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if there is no God we are not,
neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things.”[21]
Happiness,
righteousness and God do exist thus also does misery and sin exist. Likewise if
we are not obeying the laws of God as outlined by Christ we are moving in the
opposite direction of eternal life. Although the apostle John stated that
eternal life is a promise we have to choose this in order to obtain it. God gave us this agency to exercise for ourselves;
Lehi said “Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for
himself.”[22]
Through our agency we choose spiritual death or eternal life.
Eternal
life cannot be achieved on our own. After Heavenly Father created the earth he
placed the first man, Adam and first woman, Eve in the garden of Eden a place
where they would remain, Lehi stated “in the same state in which they were
after they were created…they would have had no children; wherefore they would
have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery;
doing no good, for they knew no sin.”[23]
However, Adam and Eve were given the choice, if they took of the forbidden
fruit then they would be cast out of the Garden of Eden, and given the
opportunity to progress and experience joy, this choice is referred to as “the
fall.” Lehi explains Christ role in “the fall”:
“the Messiah
cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the
fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free
forever, knowing good from evil… and they are free to choose liberty and
eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and
death, according to the captivity and power of the devil.”[24]
The Messiah, the great
Mediator refers to Jesus Christ. Thus, it is through Jesus Christ that man can
choose eternal life. However, it is not simply having the knowledge of Jesus
Christ’s divine existence that saves us; we must act upon his words.
Throughout
the scriptures we are given the words of Christ and how man is able to live the
words in order to gain life eternal. Lehi and Alma both give great metaphors of
ways we attain eternal life. Lehi was given a vision of the tree of life (the
love of God or eternal life through the Savior). Through Lehi’s vision we gain
a better understanding of how we are able to gain eternal life. Lehi a prophet
of the Lord had a dream where he beheld a tree that had fruit which was
“desirable to make one happy.”[25]
Lehi was able to partake of the fruit and described it as most sweet and white
“to exceed all the whiteness,”[26]
the fruit filled his soul with exceedingly great joy, so much so that he
desired for others to partake with him. When Lehi looked out in search for his
family he saw a river of water, on one side of the river was a rod of iron
through a mist of darkness, on a straight and narrow path leading to the tree
which ran along the bank of river. On the other side of the river he saw a
“great and spacious”[27]
building filled with people mocking those partaking and in search of the fruit.
Lehi saw multitudes of people let go of the iron rod in search of the building
but who ended up drowning in the river. This tree, also called the “tree of
life”[28]
represents the love of God exemplified through His son Jesus Christ. The fruit
of the tree represents eternal life which can only be attained by following the
straight and narrow path and holding onto the iron rod which is the word of God
or the ministry of Jesus Christ. The mist of darkness surrounding the rod
represents the many temptations of the devil and the great and spacious
building represents the pride of the world and the persecution of Jesus Christ.
The river of water represents Hell and wickedness. Through Lehi’s vision we learn that in order
to attain eternal life and overcome spiritual death we must hold onto the words
taught by Jesus Christ.
Alma, the chief judge and high priest over the church in
ancient America, used a metaphor to teach how we can use the word of God taught
by Jesus Christ to gain eternal life. Alma tells the people to compare the word
of God to a seed. He told them to take that seed and plant it in their heart,
being careful to not cast it out by unbelief and a resistance to the Spirit of
the Lord. The seed will begin to swell within and they will recognize that it
is good, causing them to say “for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it
beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to
me.”[29]
Once the seed is planted, additional nourishment and care is required to become
a tree. Alma tells the people “as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let
us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and
bring forth fruit unto us.”[30]
Alma goes on to warn that if the tree is neglected then it will wither. But if
nourished properly with diligence, patience, and continuing faith the tree will
spring up “unto everlasting life”[31] and allow you to “pluck the fruit thereof,
which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is
white above all that is white, year, and pure above all that is pure.”[32] Jesus Christ echoes the words of Alma when he
said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his
will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak
of myself.”[33]
Christ words are the word of God, we know this to be true when we test his
doctrine in human life, when we plant the seed and watch it grow.
Lehi taught that one must hold fast to word of
God into order to reach the tree of life and Alma taught how to hold on to the
word of God in order to eat of the fruit of everlasting life. Other scriptures
give further insight on how we are to accomplish eternal life. In an Epistle to
the Corinthians, Paul taught that Jesus Christ said “Wherefore I beseech you,
be ye followers of me.”[34]
We must first follow Christ’s teachings and especially the example he laid out
during his ministry. We are also taught to believe in Christ, “And this is his
commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love
one another, as he gave us commandment.”[35] We
must gain a testimony of the divinity of the Savior as we follow him. Christ taught, “for this is the message that
ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”[36] Central to Christ’s message was love. To not
only love those around us but to first and foremost love God. Christ was the
greatest example of unconditional love. The apostle Paul taught us specifically
what the doctrine of Christ is in his Epistle to the Colossians
“…Christ is all,
and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even
as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on
charity, which is the bond of perfectness…Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom.”[37]
Paul teaches us as Alma
did to “let the word of Christ dwell” in us. We must know and act upon the
words of Christ in order to obtain eternal life.
In
order to prove that living the words of Christ truly is life, it is necessary
to witness what happens to civilizations when they do not follow Christ. After
Christ visited the people living on the American Continent there was peace and
prosperity for all because all were converted and believed in Christ. All the
people were committed to living the word of the Lord. But three generations
after the coming of Christ the people began to forget and to be lifted up in
pride. Nephi one of the disciples of Jesus Christ said “in this two hundred and
first year (since the coming of Christ) there began to be among them those who
were lifted up in pride, such as wearing of costly apparel.”[38]
They no longer shared all they had with each other “they began to be divided
into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain,
and began to deny the true church of Christ.”[39]
Those who first fell away from the church of Christ not only began to sin
amongst themselves they also started to persecute those who still believed in
Christ; Nephi explained, “there was another church which denied the Christ; and
they did persecute the true church of Christ.... Therefore they did exercise
power and authority over the disciples of Jesus who did tarry with them, and
they did cast them into prison,…and did seek to kill them.”[40]
Those who rejected the gospel did not simply dwindle in unbelief but did
“willfully rebel against the gospel of Christ,”[41] and did teach their children to hate the children
of God.[42]
By
two hundred and forty-four years after Christ visited the Americas the majorities
of the people were wicked and became strong;[43] “and it came to pass that when three hundred
years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become
exceedingly wicked one like unto another.”[44]
Once the majority of all the inhabitants became wicked, wars broke out and they
fought until almost all their people were killed, leaving no civilizations in
existence. Thus we see that without the Word of Christ man has no civility
towards each other and end up destroying each other. Christ not only gives life
to individuals but his words also provide a way for civilizations thrive.
Without
the “Word of Life” man cannot overcome death and cannot receive eternal life. Nephi emphasized the necessity of Jesus
Christ:
“And now, behold my beloved brethren, this is
the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man
can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of
Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.”[45]
Jesus Christ is the
only way man is able to be saved. When God created this world he gave man a
means to return to Him and that means is Christ. Redemption cometh only through
Christ, Lehi taught,
“Wherefore,
redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and
truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of
the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto
none else can the ends of the law be answered.”[46]
All of mankind has need
of redemption, thus all have need of the words of Christ. Without Christ’s redemption
mankind is unworthy to return to God and gain eternal life. Christ is our
Advocate with the Father, the Apostle John wrote “My little children, these
things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world.”[47]
Sin is inevitable because no man is perfect and because adversity and
opposition exists everywhere pulling man away from righteousness; but through
the word of life we are able to be forgiven of our sins in the eyes of
God.
Although
some sin is inevitable, because we have agency, we can choose to resist sin as
much as possible. Nephi taught “…whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and
would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations
and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead
them away to destruction.”[48]
Man is able to overcome the adversary through the words of Christ and then
worthy to dwell in the presence of God in Heaven, having obtained eternal life.
Lehi said “there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be
through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah…that he may bring
to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.”[49]
The Holy Messiah, referencing to Jesus Christ, not only provided a way for us
to gain eternal life for those who hearken to his words, through his sacrifice
he brought life to all mankind through his resurrection. All mankind will be
resurrected because of his actions. In the Bible
Dictionary as way of defining Christ it states: “He rose from the grave and
brought to pass the bodily resurrection of every living this and the salvation
and exaltation of the faithful.”[50]
Jesus Christ is literally “the Word of Life” for all mankind no matter his actions
because all will achieve bodily resurrection (life) because of his sacrifice.
However in order to achieve the blessed state of eternal life man must follow
and live Christ’s words.
From
the beginning of time here on earth the adversary existed with the sole purpose
of pulling man away from God. Our Father in Heaven knew mistakes and sins would
be committed because his plan included agency. Thus, we choose for ourselves
whom we will follow, but despite our greatest efforts, mankind would sin. For
this reason God gave us His son, Jesus Christ to provide a way for us to return
to Him. Just like in Lehi’s dream we must hold steady to the rod which is the
words of Christ to reach the tree of life. We must choose to follow Christ in
order to be saved. Without the presence of “the word of life” in the hearts of
man the adversary is able to gain more power over man. This was exemplified in
ancient America when all civilizations ceased to exist due to the wars provoked
by the adversary. Christ is needed not only for our physical bodies to receive
resurrection and be reunited with our spirits but for our spiritual beings to
achieve the blessed state of eternal life. Thus, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of
God born of the Virgin Mary, is literally the Word of Life because without him
we would only know death both physically and spiritually.
[1] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Isaiah 9:6
[2] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Daniel 9:25
[3] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Malachi 3:1
[4] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Isaiah 49:26
[5] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Matthew 16:16
[6]The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, Matthew 2:2
[7] The Holy Bible, King James Version, John1:1
[8] The Holy Bible, King James Version, John 8:12
[9] The Holy Bible, King James Version, John 6:35
[10] The Holy Bible, King James Version, John 14:6
[11] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Acts 3:15
[12] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Romans 11:26
[13] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Ephesians 5:23
[14] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Hebrews 5:9
[15]The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, Revelations 17:14
[16] The Holy Bible, King James Version, 1 John 1:1
[17] The Holy Bible, King James Version, 1 John 1:1-2
[18] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1 John 5:11
[19] The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31: 20
[20] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1 John 2:25
[21] The
Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2:13
[22] The
Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2: 16
[23] The
Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2: 22-23
[24] The
Book of Mormon, 2
Nephi 2: 26
[25] The
Book of Mormon, 1
Nephi 8:10
[26] The
Book of Mormon, 1
Nephi 8: 11
[27] The
Book of Mormon, 1
Nephi 8: 26
[28] The
Book of Mormon, 1
Nephi 11: 25
[29] The
Book of Mormon, Alma
32:28
[30] The
Book of Mormon, Alma
32: 37
[31] The
Book of Mormon, Alma
32:41
[32] The
Book of Mormon, Alma
32: 42
[33] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, John 7:16-17
[34] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1 Corinthians 4:16
[35] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1 John 3:23
[36] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1 John 3:11
[37] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, Colossians 3:11-16
[38] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:24
[39] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:26
[40] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:29-31
[41] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:38
[42] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:39
[43] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:40
[44] The
Book of Mormon,
4 Nephi 1:45
[45] The
Book of Mormon,
2 Nephi 31:21
[46] The
Book of Mormon,
2 Nephi 2:6-7
[47] The
Holy Bible, King
James Version, 1 John 2:1-2
[48] The
Book of Mormon,
1 Nephi 15:24
[49] The
Book of Mormon,
2 Nephi 2:8
[50] The
Bible Dictionary,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, p.633
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