© Wendy Anne Clark, 2025

The Bible uses many things in the physical world to help us understand things in the spiritual world. For example, the Apostle Paul tells us that Creation reveals things to us about God’s eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20). We can observe nature in the physical world and learn something about God and the unseen spiritual world.

God as Father and Jesus as the Son, gives us an insight into the relationship between God the Father and Jesus. It’s not the exact relationship; the Father didn’t get married and bear a child–not in the physical sense. But there is something about a father-son relationship, especially a healthy one, that can help us to understand God as Father and Jesus as Son. They have different roles and are not exactly the same in what they do even as they are the same in nature and character. The Father is holy. The Son also is holy. The Father is trustworthy. The Son also is trustworthy. All of the qualities of the Father also refer to the Son and to the Spirit.

Jesus submits to the will of the Father. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38). This is an eternal relationship and not anything new. It has always been (I Corinthians 14:24-28). The problem that we, as human beings, often have is that we do not rightly understand submission. We think of it as making one party lesser or of less significance than the other. But this is a distortion of what God demonstrates to us about submission.

A Bible teacher was once asked, “Is Jesus equal to the Father?” His answer was, “Almost.” Hmmm. While I think I understand where he was going, I don’t agree. Jesus is equal to the Father. They share the same nature and attributes, and yet Jesus willingly submits His will to the Father–His human will. As God, He always shared the Father’s plans and purposes and will.

Jesus also says that the Father gave Him all authority. How is it that the authority had to be given to Him? I’m not sure, but Jesus says that it was. Jesus has all authority even as He submits to the Father. I’m not sure that we can fully wrap our human minds around this relationship, but our human relationships are supposed to help us. I’m sure that is why the enemy is constantly distorting and corrupting our human relationships, to make it harder for us to understand how the Father, Son, and Spirit relate to each other.

The Son willingly submits to the will of the Father and is in agreement with the Father. He speaks only what the Father gives Him to speak (John 12:49). The Spirit willingly submits to the Son and reminds us of the things the Son taught (John 14:26). The Father, Son, and Spirit work in agreement with each other. There is no disagreement, disunity, or rebellion–not ever. Jesus prays that we might have this same kind of unity in the Body of Christ with agreement and willing submission and cooperation. In our case, sin becomes a very real barrier to overcome. There is no sin or selfishness or rebellion within the heart of God.

Marriage of a man and a woman demonstrates something to us of Jesus as a bridegroom and the Church as His bride. Jesus is described as a bridegroom, preparing a place for His bride. When the place is ready, He will return for His bride, and there will be a wedding feast, a celebration. We are meant to attend our wedding celebrations and think of what is planned for the future of all those who are in Christ Jesus. We are meant to watch a loving groom, who is excited for his bride, who is waiting for her and preparing for her, and we are reminded to think of Jesus in this same way, excited for us, waiting for us, preparing for us, and coming back for us.

Will there be an actual feast where we all sit down at a gigantic table and share a meal together? Jesus seems to refer to this at what we call “the Last Supper” when He says, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). I imagine a real feast, a real celebration. Think of the most amazing feast that you have ever attended. Something far better is being prepared for us. With all the time to prepare, I anticipate something too amazing to describe.

What then of the Book of Life? Is this an actual physical book, sitting up on a podium somewhere? Are there physical pages to be turned and consulted?

Chad Bird (pastor, professor, scholar) poses an interesting perspective on the Book of Life in his article “How Do I Know My Name is Written in the Book of Life?” He writes, “This book is not a dusty volume laid to rest and forgotten, but a flesh-and-blood testament of the power of an indestructible life, raised for you . . . . Christ Jesus is the Book of Life. In him and him alone our names are written.”

Interesting. 

I have never stopped to think about whether the book is an actual book or just meant to point us to something else. Of course, I have considered the significance of the Book of Life, but I like the idea of looking at the book and seeing a person.

Consider this: Jesus is the Word of God, the logos, spoken in the beginning. He was both with God, and He was God (John 1). Those whose names are written in the Book of Life were written there from the creation of the world (Revelation 17:8). In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul tells us that everyone who is “in Christ” was chosen before the foundation of the world to be adopted as God’s children (Ephesians 1:3-6). God has engraved the names of His people on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). Is this a reference to the crucifixion and all who would be in Christ? Are those names, written in the Book of Life, also engraved on the palms of the hands of Jesus?

It is in Christ and through His shed blood on the cross for our sins and our repentance and submission to His sacrifice on our behalf, that our names are written in that book, “The Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:23-27). The Lamb’s Book contains the names of those who are saved by the Lamb.

So then, is the book an actual book, sitting up on a celestial podium in the spiritual realm? Maybe. It’s quite possible that there will be an actual book that is referenced. It’s also possible that it is simply an image for us to understand the nature of our salvation. It is written down, recorded. It is written in ink and will not be blotted out. It is personal–my name is there–in the book and on the hands of Jesus. My name. Me. It is not a collective recording of the Church as a whole, but of each person who is in Christ Jesus.

And God has known all along that I would respond to the Gospel, run to Jesus, and be saved, and God has determined long ago many things that will be mine because my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

And if you are in Christ Jesus and have turned to Him as Savior and Lord, your name is written there too.