GOD – the GREAT LIFE GIVER!

by Leonard V Johnson

In this article, let’s go through some of the New Testament and see why it is that a great many people believe exactly opposite of what God’s living word truly says – and they are participating and practicing customs that are the very antithesis of the things that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, did. Because He said that we should do as He did, and that we should follow His example. 

Why are there people worldwide who believe things that were never believed by our Lord Jesus ── never taught by our Lord Jesus? And, for that matter, never believed or taught by the Church of God that He founded?

So, with your Bible in front of you, let’s go through some of the Books of the New Testament on what our Lord Jesus did teach, as well as what He did not teach. He certainly didn’t teach what so many people are taught and believe throughout the world. Turn to the 5th chapter of the Book of John ── 

“’ For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27) and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28) DO NOT MARVEL at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29) and come forth …’” – John 5:26-28, 29. 

So, where will they be? Well… not up in the third heaven. They will be in their graves, their tombs, their catacombs. And, they shall “ …’ hear His voice and come forth──those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of [judgment]’” – vs 29. 

Notice: Two Resurrections mentioned. One, a resurrection unto life, and the other to judgment. Now, let’s grab our magnifying glass and look more closely at this. Our Lord Jesus DID NOT speak as if there were anyone up in the third heaven that is hearing His voice. In fact, He emphatically says, “’ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, …’” – John 3:13.

Speaking in the third person, He Himself is the Son of Man. He has been with Father God from eternity. We read of this in the 1st chapter of the Book of John ── that He was the Logos, the Word (the Spokesman). And, the word Logos (λόγος) in Greek means the Word. It means the One who does the speaking, who delivers the word. So, our Lord Jesus speaks, and it is done. “’ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … 3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. … 14) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” – John 1, 3, 14; vs 14 KJV.

So, we see here that the Word became our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fact that He has been with Father God from eternity. 

GOD Is... the Life Giver

Now, in a sermon some years ago ── and I believe we have this in article and in audio ── we were looking into scientific proof of the existence of God. Here, let’s focus on whether God is life and has life inherent. Because, after all, where did life come from? Did it ── as so many dreamers proclaim ── arrive on Earth clinging to an asteroid from outer space? Did life originate from what the likes of Carl Sagan had argued? “That the early atmosphere of the Earth was hydrogen-rich, and that the origin of life occurred before the hydrogen was lost, and that such gases sparked, creating life. That life began in the ocean with temperatures that began to fall and the amino-acids, and the proteins and the nucleotides – and how these different chemicals and the different aspects of this old earth – which condensed out of interstellar gas and dust some 4.5 billion years ago – and how they came together to form the earliest stages of life – a kind of organic soup!?” 1

How is it that matter comes alive? And what we found is that science can prove that life cannot come from non-life. Life cannot be imparted from the absence of life. LIFE ONLY COMES FROM LIFE. And we have proved, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God, which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ) is the ONLY SOURCE from whom all life has come. Our Lord and Savior says, “’ For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.’” – John 5:26.

So, God is life, and has life inherent in Himself. What is “life inherent”? It literally means life that exists in someone as a permanent and inseparable element. And sadly, billions of our peoples worldwide have been deceived into believing that they have this life inherent. A life that will survive after this physical body dies, a life that will live for eternity. And I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but let me tell you point-blank. You have been trusting in people without any evidence. Kinda like the Russiagate ── but let’s not get into that. Because the LORD God’s living word says exactly the opposite. We have no life inherent in ourselves. Life comes from the LORD God. And God has not given eternal life to human beings. In fact ── and I’ve mentioned this several times ── that even if Adam had taken of the tree of life,  he was going to die anyway, no matter if they were to choose the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He did not impart eternal life to Adam. There is nowhere in Scripture that speaks about man having eternal life. 

God Personally Taught Adam 

The LORD God (the Elohim) taught Adam, whom They created, in the Way that would have made them much happier. The LORD God “took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” – Genesis 2:15. It was literally Paradise on Earth. Well… There Were These Two Trees that were in the midst of the garden. One tree, the tree of life. The other, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And, the LORD God had commanded Adam & Eve, saying, “’ Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil YOU SHALL NOT EAT, in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” – Genesis 2:16 17.

So, there was eternal life available in the garden of Eden ── the tree of life. But, Adam & Eve never took of that tree, they did not gain eternal life. And, again, the LORD God did not create Adam & Eve with eternal life. And, if anyone reading, watching, or listening to this ── if you can find it within God’s living word, let me know! Show me Scripture that says that the LORD God did! But eternal life was available in the garden of Eden. 

The LORD God said, “ … ‘in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”    

Then, the enchanting Whisperer came along. “ … that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; …” – Revelation 12:9 and said to the woman, ‘O, here, here now. God knows better. Listen Linda, God is lying to you! You can’t believe God! The LORD God is trying to deceive you. Believe me. It is I who has divine authority. Why… just look at that tree. It’s good for food. Isn’t it pleasant to the eyes?’ And indeed, “ … when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” – Genesis 3:6. 

And Satan, shrieking with glee, said to the woman, ‘Ah! Excellent! Now you’ll be just like the LORD God. You will not surely die! You now have life inherent ── you are now immortal.’ – Genesis 3:4, paraphrased. 

But what did the LORD God say to her? “ …’ in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” – speaking of the second death. The eternal death (see: Revelation 20:14; 21:8). “ …’ The soul who sins shall die.’” – Ezekiel 18:4, 20.

Man’s FIRST Sin    

I was watching the old Hollywood Squares ── the one with the original host, Peter Marshall ── and the question of “What was the original sin?” came up. And I quickly answered. “Believing a lie!” But, the famous actor in the square answered, “Eating from the forbidden fruit.” And that’s the standard answer. But, in reality, it was when Adam & Eve believed that most diabolical of lies that spewed forth from Satan the Devil’s mouth, “’ You will not surely die.’” A lie that claims that you have an immortal soul and that you are just like God. Friends, are you continuing to believe this lie ── the Most Horrendous Lie Perpetrated Upon Mankind ── in this twenty-first century? Sadly, nearly everyone on this planet has come to believe this first lie.

Adolf Hitler wrote in his book Mein Kampf, “In the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie.” His Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, simplified this by saying, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

And look what happened. Adam & Eve believed Satan the Devil, thinking that they could be like God ── knowing (or rather, determining for themselves) good and evil. For that is what they desired. That is what they lusted after. That one tree that belongs to God, and to God alone. The knowledge of good and evil. They reached out and stole what the LORD God had commanded them not to touch. Now… they had another god ── an angel of light ── and they obey him! 

The Apostle Paul – under divine inspiration – tells us, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” – Romans 6:16.  

They obeyed Satan. They disobeyed the LORD God. They dishonored their Father ── indeed, they were the children of God. In Apostle Luke’s version of the genealogy of our Lord Jesus, you’ll see that it ends with “the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” – Luke 3:38. And so, Adam was a direct creation of God. Adam was the son of God. He was not born ── and he did not have a belly button. He was created.

Also ── and I won’t go deep into here in this article ── but, in chapter 3 of the Book of Genesis, the LORD God announced, “’ Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.’ … 23) therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.” – Genesis 3:22, 23. 

The LORD God drove man out of the garden of Eden because they had sinned against Them. And, again, “ … sin is lawlessness.” – 1 John 3:4.

They broke the Law of God. They broke the TEN COMMANDMENTS. And, “ … He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the Way to the tree of life.” – vs. 24.

Lest… and focus on this… lest they go back into the garden of Eden, take of the tree of life, and gain eternal life upon their death. And how had they decided that they would live for all eternity? The same as Lucifer ── now known as Satan the Devil. An eternal life in rebellion against the LORD God! 

Adam Never Gained Eternal Life      

As I’ve been mentioning, had they chosen the tree of life, they would still have lived out their days and died; and indeed we find this did happen, “So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years; and he died” – Genesis 5:5 – but would have, after losing consciousness, “in the twinkling of an eye,” been resurrected unto eternal life! The LORD God never granted Adam eternal life. But rather, drove out the man from the garden of Eden lest he go back and eat of the tree of life, and gain eternal life. Why was man now forbidden to eat of the tree of life? Because man had chosen rebellion against the LORD God, of disobeying the Law of God. And, the LORD God had no desire for another being, IN DISOBEDIENCE, having eternal life ── as what had occurred with Lucifer. And, this is the way we’ve been living in this mortal life – in disobedience to the LORD God! You have been living in accordance with and in the customs of men. According to the way of this civilization, this society ── which was originally built upon the kingdom of Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar – see. Genesis 10:8-12. All build upon pagan reasoning, contrary to the holy and righteous Law of God. Just the way that Adam began living – under the spiritual influence of Satan the Devil.

So, man had chosen the way of life that was only going to bring ── in the end ── sorrows, sufferings, and unhappiness. As our Lord Jesus has said, “’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.’” – Luke 13:28. What kind of God would They (cf. Genesis 1:26) have been if They had let Adam & Eve live ── in that state of rebellion ── for all eternity? It would have been a tragic outcome! Adam & Eve would have lived forever in sin and rebellion against the LORD God, without the possibility of salvation through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, returning to this, our Lord Jesus said, “’ For as the Father has life-giving power in Himself, so has the Son, by the Father’s gift.” – John 5:26, NEB.

Yes. Life came from some place ── and it has come from the LORD God! God created matter. Matter is defined as a material substance that constitutes the observable universe. God has life inherent in Himself. God is the great LIFE GIVER.

So, the Word, who became our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” – He divested Himself. And, contrary to the false doctrine of kenosis, which claims, and I quote: “In coming to earth, the Son of God did not cease to be God.” 2 Because, if that was true, He could have resurrected Himself. But He did not. It was God the Father who raised our Lord Jesus – cf. Acts 2:24. Our Lord Himself said, “’ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. …’” – Revelation 1:18. Well… God cannot die, yet He did. Because He had divested Himself of His glory and power and came down to this earth as a human being to die for the sins of all mankind. He plainly said that He could of Himself do NOTHING. (John 5:30).

So, once again, by the glorious gift of Father God, our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected unto life ── life inherent. 

“And this is the TESTIMONY: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12) He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God DOES NOT HAVE LIFE.” – 1 John 5:11-12.

So, here it is IN BLACK AND WHITE! If you have not the Son of God, you have no life ── no eternal life ── abiding in you! 

Again ── not only are you being taught that our Lord Jesus Christ didn’t really die, because “the Son of God did not cease to be God” ── but you’re also being taught the very first lie that Satan the Devil spewed forth from his mouth! “’ You will not surely die.’” And mankind has believed it ever since. But the LORD God has never taught you that! □   

1) Sagan, C., Cosmos, Random House, New York, 1980, pp. 30.

2) Theologians Galore, What is the kenosis? What does it mean that Jesus emptied Himself? Got Questions, Retrieved 25 July 2025.