LIFE IS A PERSON
Then what is life? Life is God Himself. Life is Jesus! In John 11:25 and 14:6, Jesus says, “I am…the life.” Colossians 3:4 speaks of “Christ who is our life.” Life is a wonderful Person!
Simply to say that life is a Person is quite easy, but it takes time for us to get into the experience. The very life which we received when we believed in the Lord Jesus is a Person! Do you know the difference between a person and a life? With a person there is a personality with a will, desires, intentions, and emotions. But a life may not have all these aspects. A tree has life, but this life has no personality, no will, no intention, and no desire. But the life which we have received of the Lord Jesus is not a mere life; it is a Person! It is a Person with a divine and a human personality. This Person has a will, an intention, and a desire. This is the life which we have received of the Lord.
THREE KINDS OF LIVES
According to the Greek New Testament, there are three different kinds of lives: the bios (physical) life, the psuche (psychological) life, and the zoe (eternal) life. We must realize that the zoe life is not merely a life; it is a divine-human Person. The Lord Jesus is the unique Person with both the divine personality and the human personality. The zoe life which you received when you were saved is a Person. Hallelujah!
THE STRONGEST PERSON
But with such a Person there is a problem. If zoe was merely a life, it would be easy to deal with it. But since the zoe life is a Person, we have some problems. Simply to take a life is easy, but to take a Person is not so easy. If I were just a mere life, it would be easy for you to deal with me. But in fact it is really difficult for you to deal with me because I am a person.
The main problem between husbands and wives is that they are persons with different personalities. A man has a male personality, and a woman has a female personality. When two personalities are put together, there really is a problem. If all the brothers’ wives had no personality, it would be wonderful! But the problem is that each of our wives has a unique, strong personality. And the brothers’ personalities are just as unique and strong. The problem always arises from the matter of personality. This is why life is a problem.
The Lord Jesus, who is our life, is a Person. If we do not take Him as a Person, then we do not have life. If we take life, we must take Him as a Person. 1 John 5:12 says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” The Son is a Person. This verse does not say that he that has the life of the Son has life. It says that he that has the Son has life! The Person is the life. If we do not take this Person, it will be rather difficult for us to get the life. The life is the Person! If this vision could be wrought into us, it would be wonderful. We all must be clear that the zoe life is a Person.
Moreover, Christ is a Person with the strongest personality! We can be assured that His personality is much stronger than ours, and that it can never be subdued by ours. He is waiting continually to subdue our personality with His.
Zoe is not merely a life without a personality, but a Person as life. If we take zoe as our life, then surely we must take Jesus as our Person, because this life is a Person.
(Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)
