You and Jesus have the same life. If you’re a Christian-a follower of God, through serving Jesus Christ, then the same abundant life (zoe) that was in Jesus, when He was on the earth, is in you. Jesus said, in John 10:10, that He came that we might have life and that more abundantly. He wants us to have the same life that He had-and still has. I John 4:17 states that as He is so are we in this world. Not the one to come, but this one, here on this earth. How can this be done apart from having the same life? It can’t of course.

What does this mean, in simple terms? It means that the same life (zoe) that Jesus enjoyed here on earth is in the Church. Not a denomination, but THE Church, made up of all who have confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, out of a believing heart. That means every person in the world; young and old, male and female, who is serving God, through Jesus Christ His Son has within himself or herself, the ability to live in this life as Jesus did in His entire time on the earth.

Something to think about: You have a head and a body. Your head gives instructions to your body, which your body then obeys. Your body gets its commands from the head, which your body carries out. Your head doesn’t carry out commands-it gives them. Really, your head is helpless apart from your body. Likewise, the body is completely dependent upon the head to give it direction. Your head doesn’t pick things up-your body (hopefully) does. Your head can’t drive a vehicle, but it does give commands for the body to carry out to enable a vehicle to safely operate.

Since the Bible clearly shows us that we, as the Body of Christ, have the same life that Jesus has on the earth, why do so many Christians suffer sickness, disease, depression, poverty, fear, for examples? Why are most Christians going through life on earth with their nose to the proverbial grindstone?

Who’s fault-if anyone’s-is it? God’s? No, that can’t be true because that would violate His Word, which is His will. God never wishes anything for the world that doesn’t line up with His written word, including the two verses listed earlier. What about the devil getting the blame. No, that won’t work either, because Jesus soundly defeated the devil, as described in Colossians 1:13, 2:15, and Hebrews 9:12, to name but a few verses. Jesus’s victory over the devil was complete. A 100% annihilation of Satan and his emissaries. And the victory that Jesus won He won for you and me.

If not complete then Jesus failed in His mission, and we’re in a heap of trouble. Fortunately, Jesus’s victory was absolutely complete, defeating sin, sickness (I Peter 2:24 and I John 3:8), and poverty as well (II Corinthians 8:9, 3 John 2). He wiped the slate clean, so to speak. As believers we now have everything we need, in Christ, to make us a success in this life. We have God’s Word, including the armor of God, and the use of Jesus’s own Name. Additionally we are covered by the precious Blood of Jesus, and are led by the Spirit of God. Jesus won the battle, with room to spare.

So, if not God’s or the devil’s fault, whose is it? To be blunt-it’s ours. Either through ignorance or just plain disobedience, we have failed to grasp the reality described above: that the same life (zoe) that Jesus (our Head) had on the earth now belongs to every believer as part of the Church, Christ’s body, hopefully including you. This truth is so strongly opposed by the devil, because he knows that once a person finds out and walks in this truth, Satan’s influence over that person greatly diminishes.

There’s so much to cover in this area that Part 2 will be coming out soon. For some not knowing, zoe (zo-a (long a sound) is the Greek word for life in so much of the New Testament.