100 BIBLE LESSONS

These lessons were originally given at Manila, Philippines, in 1958 and 1959 by former missionary to
China, Alban Douglas. Give these lessons to people you visit, youth groups, hospital patients, church
visitors and new members. Use them in Sunday School, bus ministry, jail services, nursing homes,
Christian schools, small discussion groups and many other places. God’s Word will answer your
questions and help solve your problems.

LESSON 15 – LIFE

INTRODUCTION

In John 11:25 and 14:6, Jesus says that He possesses life and that He is life. Jn.
11:25, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life… Jn. 14:6, Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life…

Story told by Mr. McCully at Grace Church, February 18, 1959. A few years ago Nehru
of India was visiting the U.S.A. and requested the pleasure of visiting Einstein who was
probably the greatest brain that ever lived. Request granted. They talked of politics,
travel, etc., and then Nehru said, “Mr. Einstein, the question that I came to ask is this,
Have you found the meaning of life?” Einstein bowed his head and replied, “No, I have
not found the meaning of life.”

Does the Bible give us the answer to this question? My English student asked, “Why
was I born? Why did God make me? Why am I here? What is the purpose of life?”

I. DEFINITION OF LIFE

Dictionary: “It is the union of soul and body; the state of being alive; the period between
birth and death; the property of a plant or animal that involves growth, nutrition,
respiration and reproduction.”

The truth is that life is very difficult to define. Life is a trust, a loan from God for a short
period of time. Acts 17:25, He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. Acts 17:28,
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being… Job 1:21, Naked came I out of my
mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath
taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Life is an intangible gift from God. We can neither see it, feel it, or bargain with it. Life
is an unsubstantial flimsy thing. It is here today and gone tomorrow.

II. THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

Where did you get life from? From your parents. And where did they get it from?
Inevitably one goes back to Eden and the creation of man. Gen. 2:7, And the LORD
God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul. All life comes from God. 1 John 5:20, This is the

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true God, and eternal life. Life is a characteristic, an attribute, the very nature of the
Almighty God.

III. KINDS OF LIFE

The Bible speaks of three kinds of life:

1. Physical life which was given to man at the time of creation.

2. Spiritual life. This is the new life that God gives to the believer in Jesus Christ.
Eph. 2:1, And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and
sins. This new life is a gift from God to the repentant sinner.

3. Eternal life. This is the nature and characteristic of the Lord God.

IV. KINDS OF LIFE

In Genesis 5, before the flood, the life span was an average of 846 years. In Genesis
11, after the flood the life span was reduced to 393 years. In Moses’ time, Psalms
90:10, The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Psa.
89:47, Remember how short my time is. Job 14:1, Man that is born of a woman is of
few days. James 4:13-15, Life is like a vapour that quickly vanishes away.

Life is limited to a set time. Job 7:1, Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?
God in His sovereign will has set the span (length) of our lives.

V. COMPARISONS

1. Life is like a journey. Genesis 47:9, And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my
pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult.” We are
travelling on this journey whether we like it or not. Birth is an automatic start. To some
it is a lone, long journey. To others it is a very short one.

2. Life is like a dream. Psa. 73:20, As a dream when one awaketh. How long is a
dream? Only a few seconds. Can you recall a dream? No. Life is short, fleeting and
transient.

3. Life is like a shadow. Eccles. 6:12, For who knoweth what is good for man in this
life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? A shadow is such a
poor imitation of the real thing. Can you recognize a person by his shadow? Shadows
can be so deceiving, so long, so short. Life is like that.

4. Life is like vapour. Jas. 4:14, For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. If all that we knew about water was
what we saw in steam, how limited our knowledge of water would be. You cannot drink

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steam. Water and ice are other forms. Life on earth is like a bud that will open and
develop in eternity. Life is too short.

5. Life is like a tale. Psa. 90:9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we
spend our years as a tale that is told. Life is like an interesting story that is soon told
and the people look for another form of entertainment. This was Shakespeare’s
observation, too: “Out, out, brief candle, life’s but a walking shadow, A poor player that
struts and frets his hour Upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by
an idiot, full of sound And fury, signifying nothing.

6. Life is like water spilt on the ground. 2 Sam. 14:14, For we must needs die, and are
as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. In a moment the
earth absorbs the moisture and it disappears.

7. Life is like a flower. Job. 14:1-2, Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full
of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow,
and continueth not. First we see the blade, then leaves, and afterwards the beautiful
bud. Slowly it opens and we gasp at its beauty. Then it withers and is gone – gone so
soon, so quickly. Some flowers never bloom. They are cut down in their prime; the
harvesting sickle.

VI. THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

Life is a moment of time in which to prepare for the long, long, eternity. In this brief,
fleeting, second of time we are asked to answer one question. The question: “Where do
you wish to spend eternity?” There are two great eternities. We must choose one or
the other. No neutral ground.
1. The blessed privilege of living forever with the Lord Jesus in heaven.
2. The terrible anguish of living forever with Satan in a burning hell.
The purpose of life is to let you personally choose the abiding place of your soul.

CONCLUSION

Paul said in Phil. 1:21, For to me to live is CHRIST. Christ is life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What kind of life does Jesus refer to in John 11:25, and 14:6?

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2. Define life.

3. Where did life come from?

4. List three kinds of life.

5. What was man’s average life span (a) before the flood (b) immediately after the
flood (Gen. 11) (c) in Noses’ time?

6. What verse teaches that God sets the length of life of a human being?

7. List 7 comparisons or pictures that the Bible gives regarding life.

8. In what two ways is life like a dream?

9. What are the three dimensions of life and water?

10. What is the purpose of life?