the line of life in the Bible (part 2): Samuel, David, Daniel, the Lord Jesus, the believers, Paul, etc

Yesterday we saw many persons in the Old Testament that were on the line of life – those who loved God, called on the name of Jehovah, walked with God, and were even one with God. Throughout the Bible there are people who not only worshipped God but were specifically in the line of life by enjoying God as the tree of life.

They fulfilled the purpose of God in creating man – they enjoyed God as the tree of life! God does not care whether we are good people or bad people, and He doesn’t want us to be moral or ethical persons; God cares for us taking Him in as the tree of life so that He in us may do what is on His heart.

The way God wants to relate Himself to man is not Him giving us orders and we doing our best to obey them; rather, God wants to dispense Himself into us as our life and become our very constitution! As our life and our continual life-supply, God in us can do things for Himself which we never could do in ourselves! May we also choose to be such persons – people on the line of life!

Here is the “second batch” from the list of persons on the line of life in the Bible, from both the Old Testament and the New Testament (not a FULL list, but a list with the main persons on the line of life):

• Samuel prayed for the people of Israel and called on the name of the Lord (1 Sam. 12:23; Psa. 99:6). He told the people of Israel that he will not sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for them – he prayed for the people of Israel all the time! Samuel called on the name of the Lord and stood in the presence of God… he really enjoyed God as the tree of life by calling on the name of the Lord! What a pattern of a person on the line of life!
• David trusted in God, looked to God, and enjoyed God’s life (1 Sam. 17:37; 30:6; Psa. 27:4; 36:8-9). When he was chased by Saul and when he was a king afterwards, David trusted in God. Even more, the secret of David’s life, according to Psa. 27:4, 8, 14, is that he desired to dwell continually in the house of God and to behold His beauty. He loved God and His house, and he enjoyed the presence of God. He enjoyed God as the fatness and as the river of joy (Psa. 36:8-9) – even in ancient times, David enjoyed God’s life as the tree of life and as the river flowing within him…
• Daniel was a man who prayed constantly and contacted the Lord continually in total dependence on Him (Dan. 2:17-23; 6:10-11; 9:2-4; 10:1-3). Even when he was interdicted by a king’s command to pray to God, he still genuinely prayed to God towards Jerusalem three times a day. He lived a holy life in the heathen land of Babylon from his youth, and he refused to eat the king’s food (which was previously offered to idols). He refused to eat the king’s food and so God blessed him very much. He was called by God, man of preciousness, even preciousness itself. He really enjoyed God as the tree of life.
• The Lord Jesus is the tree of life and the Son of God, and He lived because of the Father (John 6:57; 14:10). The Lord Jesus was the first New Testament person fully on the line of life – He Himself was the tree of life! He came from the Father and He depended on the Father in everything He did. He lived, walked, and worked according to the Father who was working within Him. He never did anything apart from God the Father. His work was not His but the Father’s; His words were the words He heard from the Father; the signs and wonders were from the Father – Christ lived because of the Father!
• We as the New Testament believers live because of the Lord by eating Him and by abiding in Him so that He may abide in us (John 6:57; 15:5). This is our experience today and our glorious destiny – to eat the Lord and live because of Him, and to abide in Him and allowing Him to abide in us! Every day we need to eat the Lord Jesus because He is our life and our life supply – He is both our life within and the supply for the divine life in us to grow and develop! He comes to us in the form of food to be enjoyed and eaten by us – He is the tree of life for our enjoyment! We can be on the line of life today by enjoying Christ as the tree of life!
• Paul lived out the Lord for His magnification (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:19-21). In Gal. 2:20 we see that Paul was crucified with Christ and it was no longer him who lived but it was Christ who lived in him! And even the life which Paul lived, he lived by the faith of the Son of God! Eventually Paul said, for to me to live is Christ(Phil. 1:21). The Apostle Paul enjoyed Christ so much that Christ became his life and his life supply, and Christ became even his expression and his living without. He is indeed a pattern to us as one who enjoyed God continually as the tree of life.
• The church as the Body of Christ enjoys Christ and depends on Christ as its life (Eph. 1:23; Col. 3:4). It is impossible for the body not to enjoy the head or not to be vitally connected to the head – such separation means death… The entire church, composed of all the believers in Christ, is the Body of Christ, the ones who depend on Christ and live by Christ as life. As long as we are in the church, we have the privilege and the opportunity, even the responsibility, to enjoy Christ as our life and our life supply!
• The New Jerusalem is the consummation of the line of life with the tree of life and the river of life (Rev. 22:1-2). In the center of the city we see the throne out of which there is a river flowing, and on both sides of the river there’s the tree of life. For eternity all the believers in Christ will enjoy Christ as the tree of life and the water of life as their portion forever! The New Jerusalem as the city of life is the consummation of the line of life!

[sharing inspired from the Life-Study of Genesis, as quoted in the Morning Revival on the Crucial Elements of the Bible; become a fan on Facebook for more updates.]

Lord, make us those who are on the line of life today! Keep us enjoying You as the tree of life! May we not sin against You by not praying for God’s people! Keep us praying in Your presence – living in oneness with You continually! We trust in You, Lord! Make us those who love to dwell in Your courts, those who love Your house! Lord, we love You and we love the church! We love eating You as the tree of life in many ways! You are our continual nourishment every day…