Reply To: Covenants Group Discussion 1

[Paulpraze]

When it comes to the issue of lifespan in the Bible, there are a number of texts in the Scriptures that have divided opinions, and generated differing ideas on the subject.
The first of these texts that comes to mind is GENESIS 6:3.
There are those who believe that the
There are those who believe that the one hundred and twenty (120) years referred to in this text speaks to the lifespan of man set by God Himself. Proponents of this school of thought believe that the radical and drastic reduction in the lifespan of mankind after the flood of Noah is as a result of this decree from God.
While it is true that there was radical reduction in the lifespan of mankind, there were still people who lived above and beyond 120 years after the flood. GENESIS 11 shows that Noah’s sons and grandsons lived above 120 years after the flood. If GENESIS 6:3 was God setting man’s lifespan, this could not have been the case.
There are others, however, who believe that this time frame in the above text was not God fixing or determining the lifespan of man. They believe that it was a reference to the time gap between when God spoke to Noah about the flood and when the flood actually happened.
According to HEBREWS 11:7, God’s conversation with Noah was a warning about “things not yet seen”. The apostle Peter even described this time period as the period of the “longsuffering of God”. (1 PETER 3:20).
Another interesting text that comes up in the lifespan conversation is PSALM 90:10.
While it is true that the general experience of mankind seems to validate the notion that this is the biblical fixed lifespan for mankind, it is also very important for us to note for the preceding verses and the verse itself, that this text says nothing about God fixing 70 – 80 years as man’s lifespan. What we see rather is a description of the experiences of people who were under sin’s grip and rule.
In the New Testament, we do not find any text that speaks to specific numbers concerning the believer’s minimum time on the earth.
However, like we saw in our previous class, the idea of abundant life has to do with not just quality but quantity as well.
Some people might argue that Jesus lived only thirty three years and 6 months on the earth, suggesting that He did not long. What they fail to recognize is that His death was substitutionary. He was died in our place and for our sins for the very reason that sin and it effects should no longer have dominion over us, including but not limited to dying prematurely. ROMANS 5:11-21.
Finally, we see the apostle Paul showing us in very clear terms that the man in Christ has a say in his or her time of transitioning from the earth. Between PHILIPPIANS 1:20-24 and 2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8, we can see that an untimely or premature death of a believer is an error, in spite of what people’s experiences may suggest.
If men under the rule of death live 70 – 80 years on earth, Caleb gunning for a new adventure in God at 80 years of age (JOSHUA 14:12), and the apostle having a say about his time of death and living until such a time when he could confidently say that he has been “poured out as a drink offering”, then it is my conclusion that the man in Christ should live the abundant life indeed, both in quality as well as in quantity.