"Is Passed"

   "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me,

hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

John 5:24 Authorized King James Version.

   I don't normally read the KJV Bible, but recently have delved into the words of Jesus in the KJV. Words that I've heard so many times, even at times preached wrongly, that they lost their luster to my eyes. But because I am not as familiar with the King James Version and the language is so different, it hits me fresh and in a new light. The bit of difficulty in the language and need to study harder to find the meaning is rewarding to me. One verse in particular utterly captivated my heart... and commandeered my attention.

"But is passed", not "has passed" from death unto life. I've read this verse so many times in the NIV and other modern translations, but it really caught my attention in the King James Version when I read it. The grammar nazi in me wants it to read "has passed" since both "has" and "passed" are past tense. But it reads "is passed", is being present tense, and passed being past tense. We live in a continuous state of having passed from death into life.     

   As I was contemplating the complexities of this reality, this living in a constant state of having passed from death unto life, another line of thought came to mind. What is the only reason I cannot simultaneously be in both Alaska and Kansas? The answer; Time. Time is the only reason I can not be in both places. I can go to and be in Alaska, and I can go to and be in Kansas. The only thing I can not do is be in both places at the same time. If you take time out of the equation it becomes a whole new playing field. There is no time in eternity. Therefore in eternity we are not limited by time nor tenses (past and future come from having time. In eternity there is only the now, the forever present tense. Or, as I like to say, the forever presence tense). Inside of time we are limited by both time and tenses in our ability to experience. We are not limited in our ability to experience in eternity. We are not limited by tenses in eternity. We can experience the fullness of God WITHOUT LIMIT! A limitless experience... for eternity. 

   We live in a state of having passed from death unto life, and one day will be unlimited in our ability to experience Him. We get to experience God completely for all of eternity! Do you know what that means??? Do you have any idea what we get to look forward to??? No wonder Paul said to die is gain! We have life to the full, for one day we will experience Him to the full! And that, my beloved, is worth living for.

  

Glorious and Inexpressible Joy

   Are you filled with joy? Are you filled glorious and inexpressible joy? Because if you are not, then you are not living as God would have you to live. You are not stepping into the destiny that God has for you. You are not fully accepting the gift from God that was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.

   Joy is an emotion from the Lord. When we feel God’s emotions, when we feel what God is feeling with Him, our hearts become even more intertwined with His than before. When we feel His joy, His love, His tenderheartedness, and when our hearts break when His heart breaks, our hearts become tied together with God’s. Our hearts can become so intertwined together that no one will be able to tell where one begins and the other ends. And there is power when that happens.


1 Peter 1:8 says, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." Our joy comes from knowing what He has done for us, will one day allow us to see Him face to face. We will one day know Him as He knows us (1 Corinthians 13:12). Do you know what that means? Do you have any idea how intimately He knows us? Our thoughts, our deeds, our desires, our emotion, our personality, our tastes. He knows every single nuance and quirk of our being.  He knows every hair on our head. He knows what makes our heart beat faster and what excites us and what long for with all of our being. And we will one day know Him as He know us! Do you know what that means? Even angels long to look into the things we will one day know (1 Peter 1:11-12). If that doesn't make your heart come alive with glorious and inexpressible joy, than you need to fall in love with your Lover. If that does not bring tears to your eyes and fire to your heart I don't know what will! We will one day see Him face to face and know Him just as we are known. Can you imagine? I can not even begin to fathom what that looks like but that is where I find my inexpressible and unending joy. That is where I find my strength to live for another age. That is how I have hope amidst the hardest circumstances.