What Really Is "Eternal Life"?
We now study the Biblical expression "Eternal Life": what it is, and how we receive and grow in it.
1. Eternal Life - What Is It?
2. It Is Christ Living Within Us!
3. Not Abstract Doctrinal Concepts, But Vibrant Aspects Of Our Personal Relationship With Christ Indwelling!
4. "Life" Is The Ability To Interact, Both Ways, With One's Environment For Specific Purposes
5. Eternal Life Requires Faith Into Christ
6. “Go Away: I Never Knew You”
7. God's Purpose For "Eternal Life" Is Our Love-Motivated Servanthood To Meet The Needs Of Others
8. As We Ever Yield To Him Saturating Us
9. Growing In "Eternal Life"
10. So, Then, How Do We Actually Live "Eternal Life"?
The key essence of eternal life is a dynamic Christ-indwelling relationship with God! Eternal life is the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus dwelling in our human spirits, and thus enabling us to communicate with God Himself. That communication is two-way - both to and from Him - and is via the functions of intuition, conscience, praise and worship through our human spirits. We enter into that communication through study and meditation of His Written Word, prayer, praise and worship. And as a result, we learn to know Him and His ways. Hallelujah, what a privilege!
1. Eternal Life - What Is It?
"Born again...." "Eternal life...." Common expressions on the lips of many Christians; indeed most of us testify to a personal experienceof these concepts. But what do they really mean? "Eternal life" is life! But what actually is "eternal life", what is its significance, and how do we acquire it?
We say, "eternal life is living forever with God (i.e., in Heaven)." Well and good: that indeed is a characteristic or property of it; and in the context of evangelistic outreach to non-Christians, that is an appropriate concept or aspect of eternal life to emphasize. But if we are to leave behind the elementary teachings of Christ and press on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1 & 3), we would see that eternal life means far more than that.
We can see that eternal life means more than "forever in time" by three elementary arguments. First, do not the damned souls live forever (in hell)? Yet they do not have "eternal life"; our elementary teachings in Christ tell us that that is so. Hence "eternal life" must mean more than simply "living forever".
The Greek word used for "eternal", Aionion, does not even mean "forever in time", but rather means "related or pertaining to the (present) eon or age". So, "eternal life" is literally "that life that pertains to (God's purposes) in the (current) eon." What are those current purposes of God? Ephesians 1:10 gives us a clue: "to sum up all things in Christ". Although the full meaning of that phrase is far from clear and obvious, we at least know that "eternal life" is that quality of life that pertains to God currently bringing us into unity with Christ Jesus.
The third argument is Jesus' definition of eternal life. In John 17:3 He defines it as "knowing God the Father and Christ the Son". This is not justmental knowledge about God and Christ, but is also direct inner intrinsic experiential knowledge of Him as a Person. In what sense do we know Christ experientially? As Christ indwelling, living in us (Galatians 2:20)!
Eternal life is not simply aquantity of life (i.e., going on forever in time), but a quality of life: a dynamicrelationship (of a specific type) with God the Father and Christ Jesus the Son, here and now as well as in Heaven bye and bye. It is not intellectual understanding and acceptance of correctdoctrine. It is not personal emotional experience. It is not denominational institutionalstructure. It is life. It is a dynamic two-way interaction, via Christ Jesus, with the domain or realm of spiritual reality, within which everything we know and are is intrinsically embedded.
The expressions "being born again" and "receiving eternal life" do not appear in the Bible until the fourth Gospel, i.e., in John Chapter 3. In the first three Gospels, the emphasis is on what we must do - repent, change our thought patterns, and seek Him. It is not until we come to the Gospel of John that we find the emphasis on Jesus' divine mission of imparting eternal life to us. The mention of "eternal life" in John Chapter 3 is a theological explanation to Nicodemus as to what actually happens in us, i.e., what Jesus actually effects in us, when we obey His command to repent.
When did the Biblical personages receive eternal life? Adam and Eve had that experiential knowledge of and direct communication with God immediately upon God breathing it into them (Genesis 2:7). Christ Jesus knew God before the foundations of the world were laid (John 1:1). His mission today is to impart that dynamic quality of knowing Him, to "all whosoever". He does this by sending His Holy Spirit to dwell in our human spirits. (The Holy Spirit's main function here and now is to reveal God the Father and Christ Jesus the Son to mankind.) He imparted it to the disciples in John 20:22 (an event that occurred before His ascension, and hence at least ten days prior to Acts Chapter 2). And He readily imparts it to us, in response to repentance and seeking of Him on our part.
What is often called the "born-again experience" is therefore more accurately called the "repentance" experience: it is indeed conscious, both in our realization of our need for Christ as our Saviour and in our sensing His forgiveness of our sins! However, since "being born again" primarily involves our human spirit rather than our human soul, the full effect is one of which we are not necessarily aware of.
As in the physical realm, the immediate result of birth is an immature (but very much alive) baby, and at the moment of regeneration we are but mere babies in our relationship with Christ (1Corinthians 3:1, Hebrews 5:13, 1 Peter 2:2 and 1 John 2:1 & 12-13). We are very definitely members of the "Household" or "Family" of God, and totally objects of His love, protection and provision; and we should never lose sight of that, even though we seldom "feel" it.
But He also wants us to grow up in Him. It is one thing to be a baby at the age of one day, and it is another thing to still be a baby in thoughts and actions at the age of 21 years! So we are in His sanctifying process of our being matured, wherein He, Christ Jesus, day by day and minute by minute, works in us to deepen our apprehension of Him and our dynamic personal relationship with Him. God does will that we mature, that we actually live His life in us.
2. It Is Christ Living Within Us!
Our bottom line, the most vital and profound and powerful truth of the Christian walk, is so simply stated: "Christ lives within me". That, and that alone, is eternal life.
Yet we Christians almost universally totally fail to apprehend that truth. We think rather as if "eternal life" is merely some abstract mystical force which enables us to serve Him. So, with assurance, but also with fear and trembling, we proceed - yea, we must proceed. Buckle your seat belt (or, if you prefer a Biblical phrase, gird your lions about you). The bottom line is that we must learn to experientially release our indwelling Lord Christ Jesus!
"Eternal life" involves the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus coming to indwell our human spirit. That, incidentally, is the full meaning of the word "grace". Christ purposes that we allow His Holy Spirit to completely control our entire beings - that He live His life in and though us as He wills, unhindered by our self-interests and desires.
Underlying this is the fact that God, on His initiative, has chosen to work out His purposes through imperfect men, and to not overpower human will in the process. He didn't have to do it that way - He could have clobbered us all, as we indeed deserve, and brought forth a new creation of His choice. But He has chosen to work through us. Our human will must operate in repentance and seeking of Him in order for Him to impart it unto us. Our soul functions must determinedly yield to that indwelling Holy Spirit. Otherwise our soul functions can and alas usually do remain independent.
One of the lies of Satan most believed by most Christians is: Christ delegates/imparts His authority and power unto us, and calls us to deploy that authority and power in ways He commands us to? This thinking is so deeply ingrained in the Christian mentality that most Bible-believing and Spirit-filled believers find it simply incredulous that it is not so. But it is not Biblical. He does not give us "gifts", authority, power, and directives; He gives us Himself! I do not, can not, serve Christ as a member of His Body by living my life according to authority/power derived from Him; rather, I live His life by fully choosing to allow Him to live in me. "... it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me..." (Galatians 2:20). "... for it is God (Christ) who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). The presence and authority of Christ Jesus are never separated!
But He does not dominate our self-consciousness (i.e., the mind, emotions and will functions of our human soul). He is a perfect gentleman and does not override our wills. And so, concomitant with our receiving this new quality of life, He is ever dealing in our lives and hearts to entice us to increasingly choose to yieldto His will. It is those subsequent dealings by Him in our lives that the Bible refers to as "sanctification".
3. Not Abstract Doctrinal Concepts, But Vibrant Aspects
Of Our Personal Relationship With Christ Indwelling!
Most Bible-believing and Spirit-filled Christians are generally aware of these truths. But how do we actually live the Christ-like life according to them? That's where we all fail so miserably: in actually living it. Why? And what can we do about it?
Part of the reason is that these truths are taught and understood only at an elementary and superficial level - more than that, they are truths and understandings only of the human intellect. All of our discussions so far on faith, repentance, eternal life, grace, Christ indwelling, etc., have been on an abstract and superficial level.
These abstract concepts of faith, repentance, eternal life, grace, Christ indwelling, glorifying Him on earth, ..., are beautiful truths. But since they seem to be totally impossible for any of us to live in this life, they must be only theoretical ideas, the results of which we will only see in the 'life hereafter'?
No! That is not what Jesus actually said. Most of us, who think that way, are totally missing the point. "Faith" is not a theoretical truth to be studied in the abstract; it means us choosing to release the power of Christ indwelling! Jesus did not say "because of your faith I have saved you" (Luke 7:50) or "because of your faith I have healed you" (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34 and 10:52; Luke 8:48, 17:19 and 18:42). Rather, in these Scripture passages He said "your faith has saved/healed you"! He said "according to your faith shall it be done ... (Matthew 9:29). And He said "great(er) things ... shall you do" (Matthew 21:21 & John 14:12). We further read that we are partakers of His very divine nature (Hebrews 3:14 & 6:4, and 2 Peter 1:4).
The Lord does not give us intellectual definitions to understand, but guidelines for living. Here are the exact words our Lord used once to explain this to me:
"Those concepts do not exist as separate entities,. and hence cannot be defined in terms of sets of true propositions. Rather, they are attributes of My personal relationship with you, and exist only during those times when our relationship is being exercised. Furthermore, most aspects of our relationship are in spirit, and hence require a much deeper understanding of things of spirit before you can fully grasp them. I therefore do not require you to understand these concepts with your mind; rather I desire that you live them out of love-motivated choice. My Spirit within you will empower you to so live when you choose for Him to."
4. "Life" Is The Ability To Interact, Both Ways,
With One's Environment For Specific Purposes
Again, what is "life"? The essential concept of life is the ability to dynamically interact, both ways, with one's environment: to both affect one's environment and to respond to it, dynamically. Growth, adjustment, reproduction, and various forms of control over one's environment are examples of such dynamic interactions.
Genesis 2:7 reads "Then the Lord God breathed into his (man's) nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being". An important detail in this passage which is lost in most English translations is that the Hebrew word for "life" here, ChYYM, is in the plural: "... breath of lives ...". We received more than one form of life upon creation.
Man was originally created with some spiritual capabilities - i.e., abilities to fully interact with the "spiritual domain". For this, man was created with a (human) spirit as well as with a soul.
What is "spirit" and "spiritual"? The "spiritual world" of God, "heaven", etc., is a veryreal domain that is quite distinct from, and "of a higher order than", the physical domain with which we in the flesh are very familiar. All entities of the Godhead, Satan and his demonic forces, and some characteristics of man, are all of that "spiritual world or domain". Two essential characteristics of God's "spiritual domain" are incredible intelligence and power, both of which being able to be manifested in our physical domain or world.
But man was also a created being. Hence man also has some characteristics which are not of the nature or likeness of God. We call those non-God created characteristics those of the physical domain with which we in the flesh are so familiar. Man was created of flesh as well as with a (human) spirit and a soul. Furthermore, man was commanded both to live in the"spirit" domain with God; and to live in (and rule over) the "physical" domain (Genesis 1:26-30, 2:15 and 3:23). Genesis 2:16 coupled with Genesis 3:22 imply this in the Old Testament, and many teachings of Paul tell us this in the now.
5. Eternal Life Requires Faith Into Christ
Our familiar John 3:16 reads "... whosoever believes (has faith) in Him should ... have eternal life." The word "in" here is translated from the Greek word eis, which really means "into." It is used to describe motion toward, or into, something. So this passage means that we have eternal life by moving into Christ, that moving done by believing.
In John 17:3 Jesus defined "eternal life" as knowing God the Father and Christ the Son. Here again we have the sense of moving into Christ by "believing" and "knowing".
This is the issue: actual life-union with Christ - my identification with Christ, and my focus upon Him. This is the watershed issue for Christians for the next many years: only those who choose to take Christ, indwelling, very seriously, will be able to overcome!
This is not merely a mental exercise, though mental discipline is the heart of it. Nor is it an emotional exercise, though the power of our emotions which are locked into our dysfunctional darknesses must be broken. It is an act of our will, wherein our entire being intensely seeks Christ to enable us to release all weaknesses, all of self, to Him; a seeking of Him which involves every resource, every thought, every feeling, at our disposal.
6. "Go Away; I Never Knew You"
Again we say, eternal life is not a set of doctrines to be regarded as true; it is life to be lived! How do we live "eternal life"? In John 17:3 Jesus defined "eternal life" as knowing God the Father and He the Son.
Do you know Him? That's not just knowing about Him; it's knowing Him. Knowing Him, or having eternal life, means having a personal relationship with Him.
The earliest reference in the Bible to our having "eternal life", though not using that exact phrase, is our having access to the "Tree of Life". Before the Fall of mankind, the Tree of Life was readily accessible to us, and it provided us with all we needed to live accomplish that which God called us to do. The other tree in the garden, the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil", gave mankind (us) the (false) ability to live our lives by our own efforts without God. But once we choose to partake of that, we lost our access to the Tree of Life. That meant we lost access to God Himself, and lost fellowship with Him.
But now, as Revelation 22:14 says, those of us who wash our robes (in the shed blood of Jesus) will have access to Tree of Life and enter back into full fellowship with Him. Fellowship with him means we know Him and He knows us.
But what constitutes He knowing us? Note Matthew 7:21-23:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'"
Only those with Spiritual power could do those things. Does this mean that even "Spirit-filled" Christians aren't necessarily saved? Obviously this passage tells us that simply doing things "in His name", i.e., by using that phrase as some magic words, is not enough. The issue is, does He know you as an obedient member of His kingdom? Or are you trying to serve Him on your own efforts, by your own strength and knowledge? That is a far from trivial question.