Doctrine of Eternal Life

1 John 5:20, Fall 2009

 

A. Definition:

 

1. Even though “Eternal Life” was anticipated in the Old Testament, its concept for the believer is a New Testament revelation. It is specially noted in the Gospel of John and 1 John. ZOE is found 134 times. The verb form ZAO is found 143 times and is similar in meaning. AIONIOS appears 78 times, usually translated “eternal”.

 

2. Both the terms eternal and life are difficult to define except descriptively. ZOE used in Christian shades of meaning in Scripture, some­times little different than BIOS which occurs only eleven times in the NT and refers to earthly life only. ZOE is found in the following meanings:

a. Life principle, or that which makes one alive physically, John 10:11, 15, 7; 13:37.

b. Life time, or duration of man’s life, similar to BIOS, Heb. 7:3; James 4:14.

c. The sum of all activities comprising life, 1 Cor 6:3-4; 1 Tim 2:2; 4:8.

d. Happiness or state of enjoying life, 1 Thes 3:8, verb form; cf. John 10:10.

e. As a made of existence given by God, whether physical or spiritual, Acts 17:25.

f. Spiritual or eternal life, a state of regeneration or renewal in holi­ness and fellowship with God, John 3:15-16, 6; 5:24; 6:47); the life which is in Christ and God; divine life itself, John 1:4; 1 John 1:1-2; 5:11.

 

    3. Though ZOE is sometimes used without ad­jective to denote eternal life, 1 John 5:12, in many instances AIONIOS is used to distinguish eternal life from ordinary physical life. The adjective AIONIOS corresponds to the noun AION­ which refers to life in general, or the age in which a life is lived.

 

4. The idea of eternity seems to be derived from the fact that eternity is a future age which eclipses other ages, and thus is the age pre-eminent. Hence, eternal life or age-life is that which anticipates and assures fellowship with God in eternity as well as having promise of entering into that eternal fellowship in time.

 

5. The Scriptures describe but do not formally define eternal life. It is characterized as God’s life and the nearest approach to a definition is given in John 17:3 where Christ stated: “This is life eternal, that they might now thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

 

6. Eternal life is described in its experimental aspect of knowing God and having fellowship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ.

 

7. Eternal life is contrasted in Scripture with ordinary physical life. Though human life is endless in its duration, it does not possess in­herently the qualities which enter into eternal life. Hence, one having physical life without eternal life is described as “dead in trespasses and sins”, Eph. 2:1. The lack of eternal life is equated with the state of being unsaved, condemned, or lost, in contrast to those who have eternal life who are declared to be saved, and promised that they shall never perish, John 3:15-16, 18, 36; 5:24; 10:9.

 

8. Even in the case of the elect, eternal life is not possessed until faith in Christ is exercised, Eph 2:1, 5.

 

9. Eternal life is not to be con­fused with efficacious grace, or that bestowal of grace which is antecedent to faith. Nor is it to be confused with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, though this ac­companies and manifests eternal life.

 

10. Eternal life is to be identified with regeneration and is received in the new birth. It is resultant rather than cause of salvation, but is re­lated to conversion or the manifestation of the new life in Christ.

 

11. Eternal life is given by the work of the Holy Spirit at the moment of faith in Christ. As in the case of the incarnation of Christ, however, the Trinity is related to the imparta­tion of life. According to James 1:17-18, the Father is said to beget his spiritual children.

 

12. The life which is bestowed upon the believer is identified with the life which is in Christ, John 5:21; 2 Cor 5:17; 1 John 5:12. In other passages, the Holy Spirit is declared to be the one who regenerates, John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5.

 

13. The impartation of eternal life is embodied in three principal figures in the Scripture.

a. Regeneration is described first as a new birth, being “born . . . of God”, John 1:13, or “born again” John 3:3. The bestowal of eternal life therefore relates the believer to God in a father and son relationship.

b. The new life in Christ is described as a spiritual resurrection. Not only is the believer “raised together with Christ”, Col. 3:1, but is “alive from the dead”, Rom 6:13. Christ antici­pated this in his prophecy: “The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live”, John 5:25.

c. The bestowal of new life is compared to the act of creation. As Adam became a living soul by the breath of God, so the believer becomes a new creation, 2 Cor 5:17. The possessor of eternal life is declared to be “created in Christ Jesus unto good works”, Eph. 2:10. The concept of a new creation carries with it not only the pos­session of eternal life, but involves a new na­ture which corresponds to the life, “old things are passed away; behold, they are become new, 2 Cor 5:17.

 

B. Distinction between human life and eternal life.

 

1 A sharp distinction must be made between human existence which by its nature continues forever and the gift of God which is eternal life.

 

2. Humanity is not wholly conformed to time. Every human being will be living on forever, even after it has been decreed that time shall be no more. Thus humanity intrudes into eternity and must, in the end, conform to the eternal mode of existence.

 

3. Each human being has a beginning. In this he is unlike God.

 

4. Each human being, however, has no end of his existence. In this respect he is to some extent like God.

 

5. That human beings have no end is a solemn thought; but on those who receive God’s gift of eternal life the very life of God is bestowed. That life is a partaking of the divine nature. It is no less than “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

6. Thus by regeneration all who believe become possessors of that which in God is itself eternal. In 1 Cor 13:12 it is declared, accordingly, that the believer one day will know even as now he is known of God, that is, the finite mind will be superseded by the mind of God. Even now it is said that the believer has the mind of Christ, 1 Cor 2:16. This is in contrast to the unbeliever who does not have eternal life but will live forever in torment, Rev 20:13-15; Mat 24:41; Jude 1:7.

 

 

C. The Gift of Eternal Life

 

1. Eph 2:8-9, clearly identifies eternal life a gift from God based on our non-meritorious act of faith.

 

2. This is also supported by John 3:36, “He that believes on the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”Note:  The change to pitch (12) and font (1) must be converted manually.

          a. Attitude toward Christ determines whether we have eternal life or not.

          b. The Greek word PISTEUO in the Present tense means you have eternal life the moment you believe and continue to have it.

 

3. A person is given by God and therefore has eternal life the moment he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior.

 

4. Eternal life is imputed to the human spirit, which is created for you by God the Holy Spirit at regeneration.

         

5. For the believer who dies in time prior to resurrection, there are three categories of eternal life.

          a. The believer has eternal life while living on the earth, having both earthly and eternal life.

          b. The believer has eternal life after death while living in heaven and waiting for his resurrection body.  This can be classified as having both interim life and eternal life. So the interim body refers to the manner of existence of the human soul and spirit in the interval between death and resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 that, should this “earthly house of this tabernacle” be dissolved, “we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” and that the human spirit earnestly desires not to be unclothed or disembodied but to be clothed upon; and to this end a body “from heaven,” eternal - with respect to its qualities as any body.

       c. The believer has eternal life forever in a resurrection body, which is resurrection life and eternal life, 1 Cor 15:20-21, 35-57; 1 Thes 4:13-18; 5:9-10.

         

D. The Doctrine of Sleep.

 

1. In the New Testament the word sleep is the softened term for the believer’s death. Christ employed it in the case of Lazarus, John 11:11-13, and the Apostle Paul used it likewise, cf. 1 Cor. 15:51.

 

2. Some have confused the fact that the body sleeps with a notion that the soul sleeps. No ground is found in the Word of God for the supposed sleep of the soul.

 

3. On the other hand, by terms which cannot be mistaken it is declared that those who die go on in consciousness, and, in the case of believers, into the immediate presence of the Lord.

       a. To the thief on the cross Christ said, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise”. Luke 23:43.

       b. The Apostle Paul, speaking of the believer’s death, said, “To depart, and to be with Christ is far better”, Phil 1:23.

       c. He also noted, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, (for we walk by faith, not by sight), we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord”, 2 Cor 5:6-8.

 

4. Temporal life has a body of corruption with the Old Sin Nature, but eternal life has a body, which experiences no more pain, tears, sorrow, Old Sin Nature, or sickness, Rev 21:4.

 

5. Since death is never represented as an unconscious condition, the souls and spirits of all men, because they remain cognizant, are subject to both location and conditions.

 

E. Eternal life is attainable only in time.

 

1. Eternal life can only be received while a person lives on earth in his temporal life.

 

2. You cannot get eternal life once you die as an unbeliever. 

 

3. Eternal life begins in time, 2 Cor 6:2. You cannot get eternal life in eternity; you have to get it now.

 

F. Eternal life belongs only to the believer.

 

1. The three categories of eternal life do not apply to the unbeliever, who is described by John 3:18.

 

2. Eternal life belongs only to the believer who is never without a body. You always have a body with your eternal life.

 

G. Rewards and Eternal Life.

 

1. Much Scripture sustains the truth that rewards are to be given to faithful believers for their service while in the world, 1 Cor 3:12-15; 9:16-2 7; 2 Cor 5:9-11; Rev 3: 11; 22:12. These rewards are to be bestowed by Christ from His judgment seat in heaven, after the believer has been received into heaven.

 

H. The Marriage of the Lamb

 

1. Like an interlude between the record of the judgments that are recounted in Revelation chapters 17 and 18 and the description of the glorious coming of Christ set forth in chapter 19, is the statement that the marriage of the Lamb has come, which event is accompanied by the marriage supper, Rev 19:7-9.

 

2. There is a chronological order being ob served, since the marriage and the supper occur in heaven before the King returns.

 

3. In this connection, light is thrown by Christ upon the order of events through a word spoken to Israel in Luke 12:35-36, “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.” Israel is always on the earth, and the return of Christ is to His earthly people accompanied by His Bride.

 

4. Distinction is called for at this point between the marriage supper which is in heaven and celebrated before Christ returns, and the marriage feast, Mat 25:10; Luke 12:37, which is on the earth after His return.

 

I. Life in the Millennial Kingdom

 

1. An extended body of prediction anticipates human life in the kingdom. Eternal life will have been inherited and the Spirit will have been poured out on all flesh. It will be the time of Israel’s glory and, with Israel, some of the Gentiles will be blessed, cf. Isa 11:10; Mat 25:34; but Gentiles must serve Israel, cf. Isa. 14:1-2; 60:12; 61:5.

 

J. The Creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth

 

1. Of all the final works of God, none could surpass the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, Rev 21-22. Though only the angels may have witnessed the creation of the present order, all living creatures will observe the final act of creation.

 

2. There must be an everlasting new earth because God has given Israel the promise of an everlasting possession of the land, Deut. 30: 1-10. It is further declared by Isaiah that the new earth and the new heaven shall so surpass the present, that these will never be called to mind again, Isa. 65:17.

 

K. The Destiny of the Saved

 

1. Among those who stand in eternal favor with God are the earthly citizens whose destiny it is to go on into eternity as the dwellers on the earth, cf. Rev 21:3-4; Isa 66:22, and the heavenly citizens whose destiny it is to occupy the new heaven,  cf. Heb 12:22-24; Rev 21:9- 22:7; John 14:1-3.

 

L. The Future Estate of the Redeemed.

 

1. It is clearly asserted that heaven is “far better” than the earth, Phil. 1:23. It is in heaven that the child of God will be conformed to the image of Christ,  Rom 8:29; Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1-3, he will know then even as God knows now, and believers will be together with the Lord, 1 Thess. 4:16-17.

 

2. As citizens of heaven our bodies will have been transformed, our whole being will have been conformed to Christ, we who are now joined to Christ will then be forever with Christ in glory. Being now in Christ, we are partaking of what He is, and being married to Christ we will share with Him in all things as a bride enters into the position and estate of her bridegroom.

 

M. Heaven the Suitable Abode Of God And His People.

 

1. Heaven is also the appropriate home of Christ, of the Spirit, of the Church of the first-born, and of the “spirits of just men made perfect”, cf. Heb 12:22-24.

 

N. Some Essential Features of Eternal Life. Nowhere does Scripture give details of the life in the eternal kingdom of God. Occasionally we are give slight glimpses of that life, of which our present experience with Him is only “a foretaste of glory divine.” Yet, certain features are disclosed respecting heaven and these may best be stated in the words of Scripture.

 

1. A LIFE OF FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM.

a. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face”, 1 Cor 13:12.

b. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”, 1 John 3:2.

c. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also”, John 14:3.

d. “And they shall see his face”, Rev 22:4.

 

2. A LIFE OF ABUNDCE.

a. “For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come”, 1 Tim 4:8.

b. “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost”, Rev 21:6.

 

3. A LIFE OF REST. “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them”, Rev 14:13.

 

4. A LIFE FULL OF KNOWLEDGE. “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known”, 1 Cor 13:8-12.

 

5. A LIFE OF JOY. “and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away”, Rev. 21:4.

 

6. A LIFE OF HOLINESS. “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life”, Rev 21:27.

 

7. A LIFE OF SERVICE. “There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him”, Rev 22:3.

 

8. A LIFE OF WORSHIP. “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’”, Rev 19:1, with Rev 7:9-12.

 

9. A LIFE OF GLORY. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison”, 2 Cor 4:17; “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory”, Col 3:4.

a. The truth should ever be in mind that heaven and hell are not attained by mere accident. They are presented in Scripture, with a view to human responsibility, as depending upon the human determination.

b. This truth is asserted in such passages as, “Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” and “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” That so great a variation in destiny is possible for human beings is set forth in conformity with man’s viewpoint and represents the greatest of all human responsibilities.

     

O. Conclusion.

 

1. No redeemed individual could ever fully understand the glory of the prospect set before him. John summarized the an­ticipated glory by saying, “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him”, 1 John 3:2. The glory of our expectation is that we shall be transformed into His likeness, being sinless, deathless, and experiencing the perfection of development.

 

2. There is the danger that the redeemed one will become so occu­pied with the anticipation of his own experience of glory that the supreme glorification of the Godhead is lost.

 

3. Our occu­pation in the eternal state will not be with our position or glory but with God Himself. John writes: “We shall see Him as he is”, 1 John 3:2. We shall be fully occupied with the One “that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” Rev 1:5-6, ascribing “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever”, Rev 5:13, saying, “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen”, Rev. 7:12, for ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing”, Rev 5:12.

 

The bride eyes not her garment,

But her dear bridegroom’s face;

I will not gaze at glory,

But on my King of Grace—

Not at the crown He giveth,

But on His pierced hand:—

The Lamb is all the glory

Of Immanuel’s land.

 

 

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