On page 3 of the Book, God gave the man He’d just created a promise: In the day that you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die.Gen 2:17
You know the story. He ate; and he died. And ever since then death has been ruthlessly certain. It’s just a matter of when.
Mercifully, against the backdrop of death is another promise—the promise of life. 2 Tim 1:1 Neither rebellion nor death would have the final say. God would! The promise of life would be in Christ Jesus. “I came that they might have life,” Jesus said. “Whoever believes in Me will live even if he dies.” “I am the bread of life.” “I give eternal life to them and they will never perish.” “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
So did God give the promise of life to nullify His earlier promise of death? No, not exactly. The promise of death still stands. But Christ Jesus took our death and gave us His life. He took what we deserved—death. And gave us what was rightfully His—life. And that’s how we come by the promise of life.
It never gets old, does it? Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. I cannot comprehend it.
Scripture references in the order cited: Jn 10:10; Jn 11:25; Jn 6:35; Jn 10:28; Jn 14:6; Ps 139:6