He Lives

Background and Story of "He Lives"

Believing that Jesus was the Living God incarnate, the Messiah, was “easier” to comprehend prior to his death:

• Matthew 16:16: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
• Matthew 22:32: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
• Mark 12:27: He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
• John 6:51: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
• John 14:10: Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

People of Jesus’s day—even his followers—struggled to comprehend that Jesus lived after he died. Resurrection? Unbelievable. 

• John 4:12: "Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
• Matthew 26:63: "But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, 'I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.'”
• Luke 24:5: "In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead?'"

Yet, God. The disciples became witnesses to his resurrection. As 1 Corinthians 15:6a says, “After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time.” Despite the absurdity of resurrection, they preached the truth they could not deny, and were killed for their convictions. 

• Peter: "He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead." (Acts 10:42)
• Paul: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." (Colossians 2:9)
   

More Bible Verses That Describe a Living God

Matthew 4:16, Luke 1:79, Luke 20:38, John 6:57,  Acts 7:38; 9:31; 14:15, Romans 6:10; 9:26; 14:9, 2 Corinthians 13:4,  1 Thessalonians 1:9, 1 Timothy 3:15; 6:16, 2 Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 3:12;  7:8; 24-25, 9:14-17; 10:31; 12:22, 1 John 2:14, Revelation 15:7

A Keyhole View of Heaven 

What does Scripture say about “Eternal hallelujahs To Jesus Christ the King!”?

While exiled to the isle of Patmos, the apostle John glimpsed a future version of heaven. For our sake, God parted the curtain and allowed John to peer inside and see Jesus the Lamb, living and active. John witnessed that death is not our end, nor God’s. Because God lives, so will we. 

• 2 John 1:2:  because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
• Revelation 7:17: For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

More Glimpses: John 11:26,  1 John 2:17, Revelation 4:6-10;  5:6-11;  6:1-7; 7:2; 10:6; 19:4

God Living Within Us

“He lives within my heart,” the words written by Ackley, are echoed throughout the New Testament. 

• John 7:38: "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
• Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
• 1 John 3:24: "The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."
• Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
   

More Verses of God Within Us

John 4:10-11; 14:17, Romans 8:9-11, Ephesians 2:22, 1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Timothy 1:14, Hebrews 10:20, 1 Peter 1:3; 23

The Take Away

Ackley’s “He Lives” was more than an answer to a Jewish man’s question. The lyrics were a reflection of Ackley’s own relationship with Christ. As a minister and hymn writer, Ackley invested his time, money, and energy in telling people about Jesus. “He Lives” likely provided Ackley with reassurance—yes, I am on the right path—and this is why I do what I do.

1 Timothy 4:10: "That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."

Many people confuse works and grace in relation to God. Many people strive to “do good,” to earn God’s favor. But Ackley got it right. Ackley’s good deeds were a response to God’s love for him, rather than a checkbox attempt to earn God’s love. 

Believing in something we can’t see is difficult and requires a great amount of faith. John wrote to encourage first-century believers on this very topic. John’s answer to their doubt sounds similar to Ackley’s. We know God is real because He lives within us. 

"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us." (1 John 4:12-16)

If you wrote your own hymn or letter about why you believe Jesus is real and why you follow Him, what would it say? 

Revelation 1:18: I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

See Also: Romans 7:17; 7:20; 12:1, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Philippians 1:22, Colossians 2:6; 3:1, Titus 2:12 , 1 John 3:6 ,  1 Thessalonians 2:8-12, Hebrews 11:13-38; 13:5, 1 Peter 2:4-12;  3:2; 4:2,  2 Peter 2:8; 3:11, John 2:10; 3:16-21,

Popular Hymn Lyrics with Story and Meaning

Day by Day and With Each Passing Moment
Jesus Loves Me
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Blessed Assurance
Nearer My God to Thee
Abide with Me
His Eye Is On the Sparrow
Be Thou My Vision
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty
Amazing Grace
And more!

Resources

https://web.archive.org/web/20080320002100/http://www.joy-bringer-ministries.org/hymn3.html
https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/i-serve-a-risen-savior
https://www.thebanner.org/departments/2015/01/he-lives-within-my-heart

Author Samantha Evans Tschritter, The Grief Advocate: Unedited, specializes in articulating grief and loss, hope and healing. Learn more at LoveUnedited.com or find her on social media at Linktr.ee/LoveSamEvans.