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One thing is certain: to be content, there must be enough. If we don't have enough, we cannot be content. But how can we have enough when there seems to be so much more we need?
Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b).
“Life, and all that is sufficient!” A truly powerful promise! What does the Lord mean by this? What kind of life is he talking about? Don't all people have life? A few verses later, we read the answer: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). The life Jesus wants to give is eternal life. Of course, it means exactly what it says: that the recipient lives eternally, that is, without ceasing.
But if we study the Bible more closely, we realize that Jesus meant more by it. A few chapters later, he gives a precise definition of eternal life: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
The deeper meaning of eternal life, therefore, is to know Jesus Christ. That is why eternal life begins here on earth and not only after physical death. For: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). The believer has eternal life! It is already their possession here and now!
But if it is true that the Lord desires to give us life and complete fulfillment, why do we often lack sufficient resources and consequently live unsatisfactorily? It seems that many feel an inner emptiness, a vacuum they try to fill with worldly, but sometimes also seemingly spiritual, things. They indulge themselves, enjoy luxuries, and treat themselves here and there. There is no trace of contentment. Others try to exhaust themselves spiritually, serving, working, and toiling, but even here they find no true abundance. So where does this peace, this contentment, lie?
The footnote in the Schlachter translation explains the main verse as follows: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
"Full contentment" is translated here as "overflowing abundance." And that's the key point. Someone who has full contentment also has overflowing abundance. They are full, not empty. They don't need to travel here and there. They don't need to buy this or that. They don't need to entertain themselves with worldly things or countless services. No, they are full. They have overflowing abundance!
But what is this fullness? How do I attain this fullness? Paul already considered it important that the newly founded churches live in the fullness of God. Therefore, he knelt and prayed that the Ephesians might come to know the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, so that they might be filled with all the fullness of God (cf. Eph 3:14-19).
Paul knew how important, indeed fundamental, it is to recognize the love of Christ. He calls it the surpassing knowledge, and he describes how this knowledge fills people to the fullness of God. While it is important that we contemplate and internalize God's holiness and His righteousness; that we are always aware of His omnipotence, infinity, and omniscience, it is unmistakably true that it is His love that fills us to the fullness of God and enables us to live holy lives.
Interestingly, Paul calls this love "the love of Christ." He doesn't call it "the love of God" or "the love of the Father" here. The love of Christ! The love of the Savior! The love of the one who humbled himself even to death on a cross (cf. Phil 2:6-8). The love of the one who, although he is the Son of God, became human to save us.
The love of Christ immediately reminds us of the Gospel. The Gospel reveals this love of Christ. And in the Gospel we recognize Jesus Christ. That is the mystery of eternal life!
The love of Christ testifies to God's personal love for each individual. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains how profound and incredible the love of Christ is: “For Christ died at the appointed time for the ungodly while we were still powerless. Now it is rare for someone to die for a righteous person; though for a benefactor someone might choose to die, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
God has proven His love! He, the Almighty, needs to give nothing to anyone, let alone prove anything. And yet, He, who created the universe and through whom all things exist, proves to us wretched and corrupt human beings that He loves us. Yes, when we were still powerless, when we were still sinners, He loved us with this incomprehensible love so much that He, the Holy One, died for us godless as the spotless and unblemished Lamb! He, who has no need of us, nevertheless deemed it necessary, indeed, considered us so precious that He redeemed us with His own blood.
These verses speak of God's unconditional love. Before we were even capable of doing anything good, He loved us. And when He adopted us as His children, He already knew how much we would still fail and sin. How often we would run away from Him. How long it would take until we finally dedicated our whole hearts to Him. And even though God knew all of this, He loved us!
We talk about how salvation costs us nothing, and that's true. But how much did it cost Him! Six hours hanging on that cross, bleeding and in agony, mocked and ridiculed by His own creation! Isaiah describes it best when he says: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of sorrows and familiar with grief. As one from whom people hide their faces, so he was despised and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5).
"Jesus loves you!" A phrase many have heard so often that it has become almost meaningless. But therein lies the secret of God's fullness: recognizing God's personal love, that He did it for me. Understanding is more than mere knowledge. Understanding is the inner revelation of truth, which only the Holy Spirit can and desires to bestow upon us.
Paul, the great apostle, what was his secret? Where did he draw his strength from? Why was he so strong? He had a deep conviction within him: “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20b). Paul took the love of Christ personally. “Who loved me!” Not just others, not just all people, no, the one who loved ME! He even goes so far as to relate the entire work of redemption to himself personally: “Who gave himself for me.” Paul knew: “He did it for ME! God loves ME!”
“Jesus loves you! [...] Therein lies the secret of God’s fullness.”
John, the great apostle, what was his secret? Where did he draw his strength from? Why was he so strong? He always refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (cf. John 13:23, etc.). Some claim that this is why he was Jesus' favorite disciple. But that would contradict God's nature, for He shows no favoritism and treats everyone equally. No, what John understood was simply the fact that Jesus loved him, him specifically. This was so overwhelming for him that he referred to himself in his Gospel as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."
The Bible explains the gospel to us. It describes the great effort God made to save us. The more we understand the gospel, the more deeply we will come to know Christ and His love, and the more we will receive this abundant fullness.
“In the Gospel we recognize Jesus Christ. That is the secret of eternal life!”
Dear reader, I want to encourage you to study the Gospel again on your own. Read the final chapters of the Gospels and reflect on Jesus' suffering, agony, and death. Consider the opening chapters of Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, and Galatians, and recognize that redemption is completely accomplished: He bore our sin, guilt, and punishment. Yes, there is forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, peace, assurance of salvation, freedom from the power of sin, and true life in the Spirit. And all this is based on the simple Gospel! This is the way to the fullness of God! This is true sufficiency! Jesus alone is enough!
If, despite reading and reflecting on it, the simple Gospel seems empty to you, and Jesus' love no longer means anything to you, then get off your desk and go under your desk. Kneel like Paul and ask the Holy Spirit to glorify Christ anew for you, so that you may understand what Jesus truly accomplished on the cross. Why He had to suffer and die so! And the love of Christ will fill you to the fullness of God.
“Grace and peace be with you more and more in the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:2).
Fabian Kebernik
Municipality of Stapelage