A Good Life with God Class
Opening Class Questions:
1. What are some of the things our culture emphasizes as elements of "The Good Life" (optimal human wellbeing)?
2. What are some images our culture promotes as depicting The Good Life?
3. What do you think of when you think of "living the Good Life"?
Popular Notions:
* Living out your values (meaning)
* Happiness (optimism and positivity)
* Personal Fulfillment ("living the dream")
* Good physical and mental health (lack of suffering)
* Meaningful relationships (belonging)
* Achievement (dopamine)
Ideas From Philosophy
* Self Mastery of our animal passions (Socrates)
* Stability, Safety and Opportunity (Plato)
* The acquisition of virtues (Aristotle)
Aristotle's summary word = Eudaimonia (happiness, welfare) Literally "a good spirit"
Modern Notions – Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
1. From this perspective, The Good Life would satisfy all five key levels of personal needs, including physical, social, psychological / emotional, and transcendent needs.
Question: As far as you currently understand any biblical notions of The Good Life (i.e. A Good Life with God), where do you see alignment?
Question: What is missing from humanistic notions of The Good Life when compared to biblical notions of A Good Life with God, as you currently see it?
Hebrew Notions of The Good Life (Chaim Tovim)
Introduction to Biblical Ideas of A Good Life with God
A. Shalom(peace) –
· Not only an absence of conflict but the presence of wholeness and harmony with God, oneself, one’s family and community.
B. Tikkun Olam (repairing the world)
· Engaged with making society and the environment more just and high-functioning (purpose)
C. Mitzvot (commandments)
· Alignment with God’s will through knowing and obeying the Torah (faithfulness, constancy, stability)
D. Joy and Gratitude (celebration) celebrating life’s moment and expressing thanks to God for His blessings, living in gratitude
Conclusion
Popular Images of The Good Life in Western Culture are anchored in:
· Abundance(consumerism) – “He Who Dies with the Most Toys Wins”
· Unlimited Personal Freedom – “Winning” (according to Charlie Sheen) = Getting Everything You Want
· Family and Belonging, Ideal Relationships
· Fun – Disneyland = “The Happiest Place on Earth”
Popular Image of The Good Life is a fine home, great job or career, happy family, secure retirement, leisure time, the admiration of others, etc.
Philosophical Images of The Good Life are anchored in:
· Virtue (to be of admirable character)
· Self-Mastery (not subject to self-sabotage)
· Personal Excellence (achievement, status)
Modern Positive Psychology
Images of the Good Life are anchored in:
· Positivity, meaning, and “well-being” plus “flow”.
Expressed by phrases such as “in the groove”, “born for this”, “in my happy place”.
· All five components of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are being satisfied as a matter of lifestyle
NEXT CLASS:
What are the key notions of The Good Life according to the Bible and what are some of the biblical images that illustrate them?
A GOOD LIFE WITH GOD CLASS
Refuge Calvary Chapel, Fall 2025
Bill Faris, MPC
WEEK TWO – Biblical Notions of The Good Life
Biblical Assumption Number One – Eden is a Biblical Archetype of A Good Life With God
Characteristics of a Good Life with God in Eden
Purpose – to rule over (tend to) the environment
Enough – fundamental human needs were met by divine provision (they had enough)
Genesis 1:30,31 – “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.”
Fellowship With God – (God “walked” the garden, had conversation with Adam, etc) –
Genesis 3:8 –“the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”
Human Companionship – (Not good for the man to be alone) –
Genesis 2:18 – “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Rest – (Sabbath) –
Genesis 2:2 – “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
Delightful Choices – (Common Graces) –
Genesis 2:16 – “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden”.
Eden Images Keep Recurring as “Good Life with God” Themes Throughout Scripture
In the Tabernacle / Temple design – a “mobile Eden” (Ex. 25-27)
1. Garden imagery of trees, flowers, etc. on doors, pillars (I Kings 6:15; 31-36)
2. The temple lampstand resembles a tree of life (Ex. 25:31-36)
The Promised Land is compared to the “garden of the Lord” (Gen. 13:10)
Images of Eden restoration in the Prophets and Revelation (Eze 28:14) –
The garden on top of “the holy mountain of God” from which rivers flow.
1. In Revelation, John carried away “in the Spirit” to a “great high mountain” from which point he sees the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven” with the declaration that “God’s dwelling place is now among the people and He will dwell with them” (Rev 21:3, 10).
2. The full picture (Rev 22:2) includes The River of Life flowing from the Throne of God, straddled by The Tree of Life bearing 12 crops of fruit as well as healing leaves.
The metanarrative of Scripture is that God’s people are destined to experience the ultimate expression of The Good Life with God at the end of the age as represented in various word pictures.
A Good Life with God (optimal human wellbeing), now, is only a small taste of things to come at the end of the age.
In His goodness, God blesses us in this life with hints of the things that He has prepared “for those who love Him”!
Key Images We Will Use in This Study = Agricultural
Psalm 1 (Unspecified) Tree –
(The one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers)
* Planted – rooted, stable, secure
* By a river – nourished, supplied
* Fruitful – nourishing, reproductive
* Leafy in season – healthy, flourishing
* Prosperous – effective, impactful
* A shelter – (Mustard seed: “birds of the air”)
Jeremiah 17:7,8 (Unspecified) Tree - (the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him)
* Planted – rooted, stable and secure
* Rooted by a stream – nourished, supplied
* Leafy and Fruitful – healthy, reproductive, flourishing
Psalm 52:8 Olive Tree - (trusting in God’s unfailing love forever and ever)
* Flourishing in “the house of God”
Hosea 14:5 – 7 Olive Tree and Cedar of Lebanon (the people of God – Israel – after they return to the Lord)
Cedar of Lebanon
* Rooted and brimming with new life
* Fragrant (healthy, lively)
Olive Tree
* Splendorous (brimming with health and “fruit”)
* Providing of shade (giving shelter to others)
Psalm 92:12-14 Palm Tree, Cedar of Lebanon - (the righteous)
Palm Tree and Cedar
* Planted in the house of the Lord
* Flourishing in the courts of our God
* Enduring – “bear fruit in old age”
* Staying “fresh and green”
Matthew 13:31,32 Mustard “Tree” - (the kingdom of God)
* Starts Small, but becomes Sizable
* Gives shelter to the birds (nations)
The Tree of Life – Genesis 2:9: Proverbs 3:18; Rev. 22:2
Ultimate archetype tree –
* Gives life, healing in its leaves, bears fruit, flourishing in the ultimate courtyard of God at the end of the age in the New Jerusalem
What the Tree of Life Tells Us About a Good Life With God
Component Parts of a Tree – all Cited in Scripture
1. Roots
* They draw life from the soil and from water flow,
* Creates stability. Allows the rest of the tree to grow tall and wide and flourish
* Roots are hidden from view, unseen but essential!
* A good life with God is sustained and stabilized by our deep, private, and personal walk with God
2. Trunk
* The strong center of the tree. Connected to roots. Supportive of branches. Firm. Enduring (tree rings).
* Contains the record of the life of the tree.
Our testimony, our history with God is being created and strengthen year-by-year. Our branches spread from this strong center.
3. Branches
* How the top of the tree spreads. They develop leaves. They support the production of fruit. They provide shade and nesting.
* Our branches are our reach, our works, our invitation to come and find rest and strength.
* The “fruit” contains the future and feeds the present.
Conclusion / Summary
3. The key agricultural image we will be using in this study is The Tree Planted by the Waters (and The Tree of Life).
A good life with God is pictured as a rooted, enduring, flourishing, and fruitful tree.
A GOOD LIFE WITH GOD CLASS
Refuge Calvary Chapel, Fall 2025
Bill Faris, MPC
WEEK THREE – Vines and Branches
We have been noticing how life in Eden becomes the recurring archetype of a good life with God.
In Eden, before the Fall, the original humans experienced a form of Optimal Human Wellbeing that included six elements:
· Purpose (I am needed and invited to partner with God in making my world better – Tikkun Olam)
· Enough (My basic human needs are generally being satisfied)
· Fellowship with God (I experience an active connection to God)
· Human Companionship (I have meaningful give and take with other people that includes loving and being loved)
· Rest (I accept regular times of mental, spiritual, and physical rest as a sabbath gift of God)
· Delightful Choices (Common Graces such as availability to natural beauty, music, good food and drink, etc)
We also beheld the prophetic image of consummate optimal human wellbeing in the New Jerusalem of Revelation.
We looked at how the agricultural imagery of Scripture provides vivid word pictures of a good life with God –
Trees (such as the Psalm 1 tree) of Life, Palm Trees, Cedars of Lebanon, etc.
Another image of this kind is the fruitful vine. This is where we will focus today.
The Vine Teaching of Jesus: John15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples”.
Of Trees and Vines...
Trees, as we have been seeing, represent “the upright” – those living in vitalized relationship with God. “We” are the whole tree – roots, leaves, and branches.
Jesus uses a different image – that of a vine – to highlight the elements of a fruitful relationship with him. In his vine teaching, the branches and the vine are identified as distinct from one another.
Jesus refers to Himself as the vine. We are not the vine. He is. The branches refer to us. Jesus is not the branches. We who abide in Him are. In the Old Testament tree images, the tree bears its own fruit. There is no distinction between the roots, trunk, and branches. The whole tree is “fruitful” (Psalm 1).
In the vine example of Jesus, the branches (we who abide in Christ) either do or do not “bear fruit” (grapes). The focus here is on the interrelationship between branches and vine (trunk). Branches that abide naturally fruit, while those that do not abide naturally do not.
The mechanism of fruitfulness comes down to the branches being vitally connected to the living vine. No matter how much effort they might make, branches can’t “fruit” apart from life flowing into them from the vine.
Jesus is giving us the secret of fruitfulness – whether you are a “vine” or a “tree” = the secret is that we draw our life from the Lord, Himself. Plug into Jesus, and fruiting happens!
This teaching of Jesus is a callback to several Old Testament texts where grapevines are utilized to represent God’s people, tended by the Divine Vinedresser:
Isaiah 5: The Song of the Lord’s Vineyard
“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well…”
Psalm 80: 8 -11: The Transplanted Vine
“You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River”.
In both cases, the vine represents the people of God, Israel, as they have been planted in good soil by The Lord, who is the Vinedresser.
Back to John 15…
In John 15, Jesus puts a magnifying glass on this earlier image.
If we “look closely” at how branches successfully fruit (thanks to Jesus) we can see that the secret is for the branches to “abide” in Him.
So, let’s put it all together: The Father plants the vines is good soil of His choosing. Those that successfully fruit are the ones who draw their life from the well-planted vine itself.
But, The Father’s work is not done at this point. In Jesus’ image, it is The Father who then prunes and maximizes the vitality and fruitfulness of the grape vines as He oversees their health.
“Being confident of this very thing, that He that has begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).
Understanding A Good Life with God as becoming “Fruitful Branches”
We see now that a good life with God is actualized through a vital connection with Jesus.
Optimal Human Wellbeing come from abiding in Christ.
Let’s run that idea back through the six-point grid from Eden.
· Purpose – (Jesus invites me to partner with Him in healing our world as I live out my connection with Him – Tikkun Olam with God)
· Enough – (My connection to Jesus is the key to my having “enough”)
· Fellowship with God – (To abide in Jesus is to maintain interactive communication with God as His beloved).
· Human Companionship – (My closest companions are those who draw their life from Jesus, as I do)
· Rest – (Striving does not make me fruitful. Allowing vine life to flow through me is what makes me fruitful.)
· Delightful Choices – (My connection to Jesus and my experiences of delight are in harmony with, and build upon, one another).
A Good Life with God is a life lived vitally connected to Jesus!
“Eternal Life” – A Good Life with God
Again and again, the Bible leads us to expect “eternal life” through our new status as God’s Redeemed and Beloved people.
But what is “eternal life”? Usually (and not incorrectly) we focus on the quantity of life – life into the ages of ages (zoe aionios). But eternal life is not only quantity, but also quality!
It is sharing in the life of God, God kind of life (unending, transcendent, radiant with vital energy).
Eternal life is not limited like temporal earthly life – the length of our earthly days!
Eternal life begins now, and continues beyond our temporal existence: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have (present tense) eternal life.” (I John 5:13) .
So, “a good life with God” is participation in God’ kind of life through abiding in Christ as The Father tends to us with His wise and loving hands.
Summary
Moving from the agricultural images of the trees we have looked at in the Old Testament, we shifted our focus to the teaching of Jesus regarding the vine and its branches.
In this image, we understood that a “good life with God” (fruitfulness) is powered via our vitalized connection with Jesus, the True Vine.
Optimal Human Wellbeing is a product of our genuine relationship with Jesus. We then ran that through our six-point grid from the Eden story and saw how each aspect of A Good Life with God is powered via our relationship with Jesus
Finally, we took a closer look at the eternal life – the “God kind of life” - which flows to us through our connection with Jesus.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
(John 10: 27-29)
A GOOD LIFE WITH GOD CLASS
Session Four
Refuge Calvary Chapel, October 2025
Introduction and Review
Last week, we focused on the passage Jesus uses to describe His relationship with believers from John 15 – The Vine and The Branches
We noted how Jesus calls upon the agricultural imagery of the Old Testament, especially from Isaiah 5 (The Song of the Vineyard) and Psalm 80 where vineyards are utilized to express God’s cultivation of Israel as His special people.
We also noted how Jesus updates this imagery in John 15.
· Jesus is the Vine
· We, as believers, are the branches
· The Father is the vinedresser (husbandman)
We noted that Jesus emphasizes that our fruitfulness is the naturally occurring byproduct of “abiding” in Him – doing life with Him – in big and small ways.
Finally, we emphasized how – to have a good life with God – is to experience the six characteristics of Eden life with Jesus.
Bearing Fruit
Seeing as how fruitfulness is so important to Jesus in John 15 and so central to all the agricultural imagery of Scripture, let’s look more closely at what “fruit” represents.
What “Fruit” is Not
Perhaps it would be useful to examine what is not meant by fruit in the biblical examples.
Fruit is not strict observance of religious traditions, customs, and outwardly righteous behaviors. In the “Seven Woes” discourse, Jesus confronts this:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matt.23:23-26)
Fruit is not evangelism (per se) without discipleship. In His commission to His disciples, Jesus calls them to not just “save souls” but to:
“…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:19, 20)
And fruit is not self-generated character qualities and virtues that testify to your own self-discipline, willfulness, and self-improvement efforts, i.e. being a “really good boy” or “really good girl”.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others”(Phil. 2:3,4).
So, if these things are not what is meant by the “fruit” God is looking for in Scripture, what is the real fruit we are meant to display?
Real Fruit
Fruit refers to both our inner transformation AND the outward behaviors that develop due to our intimate connection with God.
Two Categories of Fruit: Inward and Outward
Inward –
· Fruit = A Changed Heart. Specifically, a heart that loves God back, loves one’s neighbor, and appropriately loves our redeemed self
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12:29-31)
· Fruit = The inner virtues that proceed from divine power at work within us:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)
· A Good Life with God is a life fueled by the internal transformation we experience because of the way God’s power transforms and regenerates us.
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by a
all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of
God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior”
(Titus 3:3-6)
Fruit Versus Self-Improvement / Self-Transformation
Self-transformation without God is self-exalting, not altruistic, not humble, and not “holy” – even if it is fueled by religious guilt!
Dr. Henry Cloud in How People Grow: The “sin model” of growth and transformation came down to:
1. God is good. 2. You’re bad. 3. Stop it! (or, as I like to put it, “try harder”).
Self-improvement / Self-transformation that is not fueled by the inner work of the Holy Spirit is potentially motivated by:
· Vanity (Look at me!)
· Willpower (MY will be done!)
· Religious Guilt (Impress God with my efforts)
Holy Spirit generated changes within are not just for us. They are for others. We are growing, improving, changing not only for our own benefit, but so that others may experience the overflow of grace at work in us.
· This leads to Outward expression or visible fruitfulness
Outward
Outward Fruit involves our visible actions that are motivated by the inward work of the Spirit.
· This fruit always has an “other-oriented” aspect to it.
No legitimate spiritual fruit makes ONLY our own lives better. Our growth, our changes will impact others in ways that benefit them and, ultimately, glorify God.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God”. (Micah 6:8)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. (Eph 2:8-10)
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9, 10),
Conclusion / Summary
Abiding in Christ will naturally produce fruit in our lives
After noticing what fruitfulness is not, we noted that true fruit is both inward(elevated character traits) and outward (visible acts of service, righteousness, and goodness).
In contrast to self-improvement or self-transformation (for our own benefit and to the praise of our own efforts), spiritual fruit is other-minded and is, ultimately, to the glory of God.
Optimal Human Wellbeing is an alignment of elevated, Holy Spirit derived inward characteristics and visible, outward actions and behaviors.
A GOOD LIFE WITH GOD CLASS, SESSION 05
Refuge Calvary Chapel, October 2025
LIVING TO THE GLORY OF GOD
Review
In our last class, we reflected further on the idea of “fruit” in light of the Vine/Branch illustration of Jesus in John 15 and other passages that describe spiritual fruit.
We first described some things NOT meant by fruit, such as numbers of converts we have made, strict observance of religious traditions, etc.
By contrast, we looked at some things that are related to fruitfulness involving both INWARD transformation (a changed heart) and outward expressions of this internal transformation in how we treat God, neighbor, and our self.
A good life with God, aka Optimal Human Wellbeing with God or the notion of Fruitful Believers (attached to the Vine) involve both inward transformation AND the outward expressions of those changes.
By His work in us, God is seeking to create a new humanity – one that bears the “fruit of the Spirit” and whose lives reflect His rule and priorities.
In this class, we will look at this more closely as we consider what it is that we can actually offer God -- that He would want from us.
All the Me I Can Be - to God's Glory!
The Psalmist asks “What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12) or, as the Message paraphrase puts it:
“What can I give back to God
for the blessings he’s poured out on me?
I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!
I’ll pray in the name of God;
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
and I’ll do it together with his people.
When they arrive at the gates of death
God welcomes those who love him.
Oh, God, here I am, your servant,
your faithful servant: set me free for your service!
I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice
and pray in the name of God.
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
and I’ll do it in company with his people,
In the place of worship, in God’s house,
in Jerusalem, God’s city.
Hallelujah!” (vss 12-19)
The one thing we can offer to God that (1) He wants and (2) no one else can offer in the ways we can is OUR UNIQUE AND VITALIZED LIFE!
In other words, the thing I can really offer God in this lifetime is the best, the most vitalized, the most genuine, the most fully actualized (mature) version of myself – “The glory of God is man fully alive”.
The philosopher Martin Buber relates a story from Hasidic (Ultra-Orthodox) Judaism about a certain “Rabbi Zusya”. (Rabbi Zusya of Hanipol).
On his deathbed he, the Rabbi, began to cry uncontrollably and his students and disciples tried hard to comfort him. They asked him, “Rabbi, why do you weep? You are almost as wise as Moses, you are almost as hospitable as Abraham, and surely heaven will judge you favorably.”
Zusya answered them: “It is true. When I get to heaven, I won’t worry so much if God asks me, ‘Zusya, why were you not more like Abraham?’ or ‘Zusya, why were you not more like Moses?’ I know I would be able to answer these questions. After all, I was not given the righteousness of Abraham or the faith of Moses and I tried to be both hospitable and thoughtful.
But what will I say when God asks me, ‘Zusya, why were you not more like Zusya?’
Fully Alive – LOVE, CREATIVITY, GROWTH, SERVICE
A Good Life with God is a life that displays God’s glory and character in four primary ways:
LOVE – The Great Commandment to Love God and Love Neighbor as yourself is at the heart of a Good Life with God.
· I accept, internalize, and embrace the love God has for me and follow HIS lead in appropriately loving myself.
· I express love of neighbor not in word only, but in deed:
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”. (I John 3:18).
My loving attitudes and actions that honor God, myself, and others make up the “three legs” of the Three-legged Stool of Honor.
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”. (Eph. 5:1,2)
CREATIVITY – A Good Life with God includes expressions of creativity for we are made in the image of God who is Himself creative.
“Perichoresis” is a theological vision of the genesis of creation with roots in early Christian theology. Perichoresis (literally “to dance around”) describes the dynamic interaction between the members of the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This “dance” of “movement” of the Trinity is empowered by the divine love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Creation was generated out of this Divine Dance of Love, and, in some ways bears witness to it.
It is possible to understand our own creativity as “inspired” by our interactions with the Holy Spirit’s dynamic presence in our lives.
God’s Spirit can inspire us to release and refine our creative efforts so they become an offering that points to God’s glory. Sometimes this is overt (as in the composition of a hymn or worship song) or indirect (as in coming up with creative ways to organize something).
God’s creativity brings beauty, order, symmetry, and wonder from chaos or disorder. A Good Life with God can reflect this – in our own ways – to God’s glory! (Bach: “SDG” on his manuscripts “To the Glory of God Alone” – Soli Deo Gloria)
GROWTH – A Good Life with God involves growth, development, maturity of every available kind.
RQ, SQ, EQ, IQ
Maturity is (when you think about it) the fullest becoming of a thing that it can be. For example, a fully mature corn stalk is not just a stalk (though even that is, specifically, a ‘corn stalk’), or a green ear of corn, but a fully mature stalk with fully mature ears of corn. A fully mature acorn is an oak tree.
What does a “fully mature” version of you look like? All the “you” you can be – to the glory of God! What else do we really have to offer the Lord?
SERVICE – A Good Life with God involves serving God and others.
Phil. 2:2-4 “…make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others”.
There is an element of joy and “the good life” known only to those who give freely of their time, talent, or treasure to benefit another.
We serve one another “according to the grace given us”. As my friend likes to say, God is inviting us to “surrender to the sweet spot” of where and how we can serve others best.
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves”. (Romans 12: 6-10)
Conclusion
To bear fruit is to participate with God in life by maturing (becoming all the “us” we can be), as we use our gifts and express His work in us outwardly through Love, Creativity, Growth and Service.
A GOOD LIFE WITH GOD CLASS, SESSION 06
Refuge Calvary Chapel, October 2025
Introduction and Review
In our last class, we looked at living to the glory of God as a way of expressing a Good Life with God.
We noted that a key feature of living to the glory of God is to express His life through our lives (= “Fruit”) by being the best “me I can be”.
We noted four ways we glorify God in the unique ways only we can as individuals by expressing: Love, Creativity, Growth, and Service.
All of these expressions are motivated by our awareness that we are benefactors of God’s grace, love, and eternal life and that, as such, we are partnering with Him, by the Holy Spirit, to bring him glory. “The glory of God is man fully alive”.
This Class
In this concluding class, I want to pull together all of the things we have covered into a unified teaching that ties the themes together.
Class One:
1. What it means to live “The Good Life” is a human reflection that has been going on for centuries.
2. A way to think about this is to ask ourselves what Optimal Human Wellbeing requires.
3. The themes that are typically picked up in these reflections include the ability to meet our fundamental needs, the opportunity to experience purpose, freedom of expression, material abundance, happiness, meaningful relationships with others, the development of virtues and character, positivity, and transcendence (a “flow” state).
4. Many of these themes are worthy of more discussion and reflection but we noted that our idea of “Chaim Tov” (the Good Life) necessarily includes a vitalized relationship with God.
5. How does the Bible develop this notion? What does it mean to live “A Good Life with God”?
Class Two
1. In Class Two, we dove into the Bible and visited the Genesis story of the first humans (Adam and Eve) in Eden as an essential picture of A Good Life with God.
2. Eden’s themes will continue to repeat and grow throughout the Scriptures up to and including the concluding chapters of Revelation.
3. We identified Six Characteristic themes of Eden life that are essential to our understanding of Chaim Tov with God:
· A purposeful partnership with God
· Enough – fundamental human needs are met
· Fellowship with God
· Human Companionship
· Rest
· Delightful Choices (the Common Graces)
4. We then turned to Psalm 1 as an inspired image of a flourishing and fruitful Good Life with God – a fruitful and leafy tree planted by a flowing and refreshing water source.
5.We noted that examples of agricultural flourishing will continue to communicate key notions of Chaim Tov, Optimal Human Wellbeing – including Cedars of Lebanon, fruitful Olive Trees, stately Palms, and flourishing Vineyards, just to name some (we didn’t even get into the animal husbandry images of sheep, flocks, etc).
6. We focused on The Tree of Life, The Tree by Rivers of Water, and – eventually – the return of The Tree of Life in Revelation as a worthy image of our quest for Chaim Tov.
Class Three
1. In this class, we reflected on the teaching of Jesus in John 15 regarding The True Vine (Jesus) and it’s branches (we who believe) as an illustration of the actual mechanism of A Good Life with God – how it actually works.
2. We noted that, in His teaching, Jesus is recalling a familiar image of the Hebrew Scriptures – a flourishing Vineyard planted by God – to describe our abiding interrelationship with Him.
This comes down to “doing daily life WITH Jesus” as we partner with God in each day’s challenges and opportunities.
3. Optimal Human Wellbeing (a vitalized and fruitful life) comes from receiving the flowing life of the Vine (Jesus) into our lives (Branches) resulting in Fruit (more on this later) that glorifies The Father (Vinedresser).
4. We noted that the life that Jesus shares with us in the Vine/Branch relationship is ETERNAL LIFE – God’s kind of life. Such life is not only measured in quantity (into the ages of ages) but quality (the kind of life that God enjoys and offers us to share).
Class Four
1. Having established the Vine/Branch image of our relationship with Jesus, we turned to the question of what is meant by “fruit” in this image – and other biblical examples.
2. We dismissed misconceptions of fruit as “converts”, “religiosity”, or self-generated “self-improvement” efforts before turning to a more biblically faithful understanding of fruit.
3. In our reflection on Real Fruit, we identified two elements of fruitfulness:
· Inward transformation (a changed heart) – an elevated character (the “Fruit of the Spirit”) resulting from the life-flow we experience via The Word and The Spirit.
· Outward expression of these inward changes – visible actions rooted in faith, hope, and love -- that uniquely express the work of God in our inward being.
Class Five
1. Finally, we emphasized the uniquely personal ways we can glorify God. What can we give to The Lord for all He has done for us? We can offer ourselves, as fruit-bearing expressions of His divine life, redeeming grace, and creative genius!
2. We shared the Hassidic Jewish tale of Rabbi Zusya who realized, at the end of his life, that the one thing he could offer God was to be “all the Zusya” he could be!
· We can LOVE – God, Ourselves, and Others appropriately and valiantly as we follow the lead of our Father’s love expressed in Christ.
A way to think about this when making decisions, facing tough questions, or dealing with puzzling dilemmas is to refer to the “Three-legged Stool of Honor” – Honor the Lord, Honor Others, Honor Yourself in the best combination of ways available.
Such love is not in word only, but in deed (how we treat God, ourselves, and others).
· We can express CREATIVITY of every kind. We noted the Greek term “perichoresis” as one way of describing the dynamic energy of the shared love of the Trinity. Perichoresis literally means “Dance About” or “Move About”.
His creativity expressed through us creates movement that results in a practically unlimited number of expressive ways!
· We can GROW and MATURE, enhancing our RQ, SQ, IQ, and EQ.
Maturity implies a thing becoming all it can be in its fullest expression of design, i.e. a corn seed becoming a stalk, then maturing to produce ears of corn, which then ripen to bear even more corn.
We can mature to express “all we can be” as we allow a Good Life with God to move us to higher states of Optimal Human Wellbeing.
· We can SERVE God and others “according to the grace given us” as we (as my friend puts it) “surrender to our gift”.
To sum it all up:
I am invited to live A Good Life with God as I allow His Word and His Spirit to heal me, transform me, and grow me from the inside out. My vital connection is with Jesus. I do everyday life with Him. As a result, I am inspired to surrender to my gifts, honor God, myself, and others, and be all the me I can be -- to the glory of God! What comes from this is "fruit" that uniquely reflects God's timely work in me and His timeless promises to all believers. Ultimately, this is what I have to offer to God for all He's done for me!