What God Has Given: Abundant Life
Key Scripture
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 NKJV
Introduction: Two Opposite Purposes
John 10:10 shows us a powerful contrast. Jesus reveals that there are two very different purposes at work in the spiritual realm.
The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus came to give life — not merely survival, not merely existence, but abundant life.
This verse helps us understand something very important: God is not the destroyer of our lives. God is the giver of life. The enemy wants to rob people of what God has given, but Jesus came to restore, redeem, and fill our lives with His goodness.
The theme of this teaching is: What God has given.
Many Christians know what they have lost, what they lack, what they fear, or what they struggle with. But sometimes we forget to ask: What has God already given me in Christ?
1. God Has Given Us Life
Jesus said:
“I have come that they may have life…”
John 10:10 NKJV
The first thing Jesus gives is life.
This means more than physical life. Every person on earth has physical breath, but not every person has spiritual life. Sin brought separation from God, but Jesus came to restore us to the Father.
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
Ephesians 2:1 NKJV
Before Christ, we were spiritually dead. But through Jesus, God gives us new life. We are not merely improved people; we are made alive in Him.
This life begins when we are born again. It is the life of God inside us. It changes our desires, our identity, our direction, and our eternal destiny.
2. God Has Given Us Salvation
The abundant life begins with salvation. Salvation is not something we earn. It is something God gives by grace.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 NKJV
Notice the words: “the gift of God.”
Eternal life is not a reward for good behaviour. It is not payment for religious performance. It is a gift given through Jesus Christ.
This means we do not have to live under constant fear of whether God accepts us. If we have placed our faith in Christ, we belong to Him.
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
1 John 5:11 NKJV
God has given us eternal life, and that life is found in Jesus.
3. God Has Given Us Peace
The enemy often tries to steal peace. He uses fear, guilt, anxiety, offence, confusion, and condemnation. But Jesus gives peace that the world cannot give.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”
John 14:27 NKJV
The peace of Jesus does not depend on perfect circumstances. It is not a shallow feeling that disappears as soon as trouble comes. It is the deep assurance that God is with us, God is for us, and God is in control.
This does not mean Christians never face storms. It means we do not face them alone.
The enemy wants us restless and fearful. Jesus gives peace.
4. God Has Given Us Protection and Care
John 10 is the chapter where Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
John 10:11 NKJV
A shepherd protects, leads, feeds, and cares for the sheep. Jesus is not a careless shepherd. He knows His sheep, calls them by name, and watches over them.
This gives great comfort. We are not abandoned. We are not forgotten. We are not left to figure everything out by ourselves.
The thief comes to destroy, but the Shepherd comes to protect and preserve.
That does not mean we will never experience hardship, but it does mean that our lives are held in the hands of the One who gave His life for us.
5. God Has Given Us His Word
God has not left us in darkness. He has given us His Word to guide, correct, strengthen, and renew us.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105 NKJV
The enemy tries to steal truth and replace it with lies. He wants people confused about God, confused about sin, confused about identity, and confused about purpose.
But God gives light through His Word.
When we live according to the Word of God, we begin to recognise what is from God and what is from the thief. God’s Word teaches us what belongs to us in Christ and what we must resist.
6. God Has Given Us the Holy Spirit
Jesus did not only save us and then leave us alone. He gave us the Holy Spirit.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…”
John 14:26 NKJV
The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Comforter, Teacher, and Guide. He strengthens us when we are weak. He reminds us of God’s truth. He convicts us when we go wrong and leads us back to Christ.
The Christian life is not lived by human strength alone. God has given us His Spirit so that we may walk in His power and not merely in our own effort.
7. God Has Given Us Purpose
The thief wants people to feel useless, hopeless, and without direction. But Jesus gives life with purpose.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
We are not accidents. We are God’s workmanship. He has created us in Christ for good works.
Purpose does not always mean standing on a platform or doing something public. Sometimes purpose is found in faithfulness, prayer, serving, encouraging, forgiving, giving, raising children, helping others, and reflecting Christ in daily life.
God has given every believer a place in His kingdom.
8. God Has Given Us Abundant Life
Jesus did not say He came only so that we may have life. He said:
“…and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 NKJV
Abundant life does not mean a life without problems. It does not mean every Christian will be rich, comfortable, or trouble-free.
Abundant life means the fullness of life that comes from knowing Christ. It is a life filled with His presence, truth, peace, joy, strength, grace, and eternal hope.
It means that even when circumstances are difficult, we still have something the world cannot give and the enemy cannot take away.
Abundant life is not measured only by what we possess outwardly, but by what God has placed within us through Christ.
9. The Enemy Tries to Steal What God Has Given
Jesus warns us that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. This means we must be spiritually alert.
The enemy wants to steal our faith, peace, joy, confidence, purity, relationships, hope, and understanding of God’s goodness.
But we must remember: the thief is not greater than the Shepherd.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7 NKJV
We do not overcome by fear. We overcome by submitting to God, standing on His Word, and resisting the lies of the enemy.
When the enemy says, “You have nothing,” God’s Word says, “You have life in Christ.”
When the enemy says, “You are forgotten,” God’s Word says, “You are His sheep, and He knows you.”
When the enemy says, “There is no hope,” Jesus says, “I have come that you may have life.”
10. We Must Receive and Walk in What God Has Given
A gift must be received. God has given us so much in Christ, but we must believe it, receive it, and walk in it.
“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…”
2 Peter 1:3 NKJV
God has given us what we need to live a life that honours Him. We are not empty-handed. We are not powerless. We are not without help.
The Christian life is learning to live from what God has given, rather than from what the enemy has stolen.
Closing Encouragement
John 10:10 is not only a warning about the enemy. It is also a beautiful revelation of the heart of Jesus.
The enemy comes to take.
Jesus came to give.
The enemy brings destruction.
Jesus brings life.
The enemy brings fear.
Jesus brings peace.
The enemy wants to empty us.
Jesus wants to fill us.
So let us not focus only on what has been stolen, broken, or lost. Let us lift our eyes to Christ and remember what God has given.
In Jesus, God has given us life — and life more abundantly.