Who created the universe, and who gave Adam life? “Well,” you say, “God did!” Now, that’s true – but John surprises us by saying that it was really Jesus. Jesus created the world and breathed into Adam the breath of life.
John’s Gospel is devoted to teaching us that Jesus Christ is God. That is why he begins his Gospel the way he does. He begins by saying that Jesus is the Word – who is also God. Then John says some truly astounding things. In John 1:3 he says, “All things were made by him.” That is, everything was created by Jesus. Then in verse 4 he continues, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” That is, the origin of life in every living thing is Jesus.
Now, those are amazing statements, and John spends the rest of his Gospel proving that those things are true. “In him was life,” means you can’t have life apart from Jesus.
The words “in him,” are a prepositional phrase indicating the location or source of something. In other words, life exists in Him and, therefore, He is the source of life.
It’s like there’s a power in the battery and so, when the battery gives its power to the car, then the car comes to life. The source of a car’s life is in the battery. Now in a greater sense, that is what John is saying concerning Christ: He was the source of life in creation, and He is also the source of eternal life.
Later in his first epistle, John will say, “And this is the record that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son; he that has the Son, has life, and he that does not have the Son does not have life.”
You see, only Jesus has life. So, if you want to have eternal life, then you have to come to Jesus and accept Him as your Savior. “In him was life.”
Now you know the real meaning of the word. This is Dan Hayden.
So you see, trying to get eternal life without Jesus is like trying to start your car without a battery.