The word of life

Erwin Schrodinger wrote a book called 'What is life?' and the question remains one of perennial interest. I believe we find the only true answer to this question in the Bible.

Quotes and comments;

1. "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god and the word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by Him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.'' - [John 1:1-4]

- For Christianity life is a matter of intelligence, the wisdom of the all powerful, all knowing, eternal God. The source of all things is the intelligence and wisdom of God.

Life is for the Christian a revelation of God, it's evidence of God's existence. In life we see something of God and God's nature. It is God revealing himself to us. We take life for granted for the same reason fish take water for granted, but in doing so we make a grievous mistake. We should meditate on the miracle that is life, for it is not the 'natural' product of matter plus time that the Materialist tells us it is.

In living organisms we see how God can make the impossible possible. Every day we stare at miracles on every side. Without the wisdom and creativity of God all that would exist (at best) would be inert matter. We often hear people wonder 'why there is something rather than nothing' and the answer is God. We look around and say with wonder, 'it's impossible that this should exist' - and without God, it would be.

In some sense life is something all organisms and God share, for God is alive even as we are alive; God lives even as we live. All creatures are animated by the divine intelligence that created and informed them at the Creation. We can think of life as intelligence and wisdom. All creatures are the 'incarnation' of divine intelligence.

2. John (1 John 1:1,3) speaks of Jesus as the 'word of life.'

- In creation we see the word of life made manifest. Life on the earthly realm can only come from life, and God is life itself. What we call life is better seen as intelligence; it can have no merely physical origin.

3. 'Because God made all things, all things are revelational of God; they witness to the triune God. [3.]

- In the creation we see that the wisdom of God makes the impossible possible or manifest. In terms of human wisdom the universe is impossible, but yet it exists. The incongruity of our existence is more something to praise than to puzzle over. Some people say the universe is impossible, some say that God is impossible, and if we rely on human understanding this will be as far as we get. The fact the impossible exists is evidence that our understanding is incomplete, is evidence of something beyond us, something transcending us.

We have no evidence life can come from non-life, this phantasm is something no one has observed. What we do have (in the gospel of John and elsewhere) are the observations and experience of men and women who saw in the figure of Jesus, Life itself. It's to our great demerit that men will search test tubes for signs of life, but will not search the scriptures for the 'living word' - for Life itself. The word was the origin of life, and He is not hiding and is available for all to see.

4. 'Others have called attention to the fact ''in the beginning'' can also mean ''at the root of the universe.'' [4.]

- The true tree of life has Christ at its base; for Christ is the 'common ancestor' of all creatures.

5. "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 1:14

- We see in the incarnation (the son of God, walking as man in the world) something of the 'mechanics' of creation; for living organisms (including man) are the 'incarnations' of God's wisdom; they are god's wisdom made manifest, they are god's wisdom clothed in flesh. The creatures (kinds) of the original creation were words (small w) made flesh... small harbingers of the day the Word would be made flesh.

'Peter speaks of life as grace from God.' [6]

- This verse appears to be referring to spiritual grace granted to the christian, but I think it can be seen in a more general light as well. i.e. our existence can be seen as an act of favor and goodness freely given to us by God.

The life given to Adam was a gift, an act of grace, and we all share in that gift. There is nothing in matter that merits life; life is unmerited grace.

- M. Johnson

Notes;
3. Gospel of John - R. J. Rushdoony p. 2.
- book available free online at Chalcedon.org
4. above
5. In Genesis we're told that god 'breathed' into Adam and he became a living soul. I wonder if we can translate this as god spoke to Adam and he became a living soul. i.e. it was the 'word' (the intelligence) of God that brought clay alive.
- in psalm 33:6 we're told that the heavens were made by the ''breath of his mouth.''
6. 'Peter speaks of life as grace from God.' [1 Peter 3:7] above p.6
Grace;
a. 'An act of kindness or favor accorded to or bestowed on another; a good turn or service freely rendered.'
7. John 1:14