Something very tragic happened inside our evangelical minds somewhere long ago. And that’s the idea that eternal life means going to heaven when you die. It’s tragic because it misses the whole point of why God redeemed us in the first place.
And, yes, if we believe in the finished work of Christ for salvation, we do get heaven when we die, but it’s only in a greater glory of what we already have right now.
Jesus came to give us eternal life. The word “life” in its simplest and most generic form means “connection;” whereas, death would mean separation. But it’s much more than that.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3
Jesus’ main purpose was to re-connect us to our Father. That we may “know” Him, but there’s more to it than that.
And shouldn’t it be quite strange to us for Jesus to come in the flesh, fulfill the requirements to reconnect us to God in the flesh, suffer and die in the flesh, be raised from the dead in glorified flesh, and then send us the Holy Spirit to come live in us in the flesh…only so we could sit in church and wait until we leave this flesh to be with Him?
Jesus came to give us everlasting life and not perish. The word “perish,” like in John 3:16, can mean “rendered useless.” So, when we receive Christ our lives are not wasted. We now have the opportunity to live a fulfilling life with real meaning and purpose. But it’s also means so much more than that.
Here’s my paraphrased version of the very familiar John 3:16 passage. I paraphrased it, I believe accurately, so that you could see something wonderful, maybe something you have not caught before.
“For God is a Father who loves you so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that you would believe in Him and not be rendered useless, but be able to enter into God’s very own life.” John 3:16 (My paraphrase)
I highlighted the part I want you to see. This is where we’re getting to the heart of the matter. Let’s look at this further.
Jesus told the woman at the well something profound.
“but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14
What’s profound is what we find in the two little words, “everlasting life.”
I don’t want to belabor the original Greek here, but the word “everlasting” (αἰώνιος – aiṓnios) basically means, “without beginning or without end.” In other words, existence outside of our time dimension in the time-space-continuum. The word for “life” (ζωή – zōḗ), in this particular context, does not mean our living and breathing, or our natural life…it means “God’s very own life.”
So, let’s think about this for a moment. What Jesus was inviting the woman at the well to, and is now inviting you and I to, is entering into God’s very own life…a life that transcends this four-dimensional box we think is reality. Actually, transcending all created dimensions in the quantum world. This is a Divine life that supersedes this age and even time itself.
And the point is, you enter into this Divine life as soon as you “drink” this water. And when you drink this water, it not only lives in you, it flows out of you too! (Jn.7:37-39).
As C. Baxter Kruger points out (“Jesus and the Undoing of Adam”), when Jesus, eternally God and eternally Man, ascended to the Father…“At this moment, a human being lives and dwells and abides inside the circle of all circles, inside everything that it means to be God, inside the very life and fellowship of the Father, Son and Spirit.”
So, Jesus came to invite us into this “circle of all circles,” into this great transcendent Fellowship, this Divine life of God now. And shouldn’t a life like this, by its very nature, overflow?
We are to follow Jesus in this way. For He is the “way, the truth and the life…to this place in the Father. This is why we’ve been given His Spirit. They have come to make their abode in us (Jn.14:23). Oh, what Divine fellowship! What glad tidings that brings great joy!
Our life is Christ’s very own life (Gal.2:20; Col.3:3). Where He is right now, as the Divine human being, eternally God, eternally Man, sitting at the right hand of the Father, is where you and I are right now (Eph.2:6; Col.3:1-2). This is our real home because of who we are in Him.
This is eternal life.
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In My Father's House 
Thank you for this incredible teaching this morning! What I especially needed to hear as it confirmed again something my Father is teaching me is in your paraphrase of John 3:16– “and not be rendered useless, but be able to enter into God’s very own life.” You highlighted the God’s very own life, but I was caught up in the and not be rendered useless.- the struggle of a mom with kids growing up and leaving the house- now what? But because I am entered into God’s very own life, I will not perish- not be rendered useless. Oh how I wish Cornerstone Church weren’t hundreds of miles away! I would love to worship with your Family!– Someday 🙂
Thanks for your comments. Kathleen. I love how God works in us so uniquely and in such a timely way! And, as awesome as it is, you are much more than a mom with kids. Although, you will never lose that. Your life and identity in Him transcends and gives greater fullness of joy to all of your other relationships.
Maureen and I have our three adult sons home visiting right now. 🙂 And we love this time together. But, the reality is, they live 2,000 miles away from us and have their own lives, and we miss them when they’re away. So I know what you mean. We are not in that season of our life anymore, but we can enjoy and appreciate what we have now, living in this greater context of life we have in God. There’s always more…there’s always joy!
You will go from glory to glory, entering into new chapters of your life, never losing what you had, but getting so much more. 🙂 Blessings.
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Thanks. Encouraging words. God is good and he wants us to have heaven here on earth and not wait for the “sweet by and by.”
You’re welcome, and amen! We have to stop acting like the religious elder brother to the prodigal son and avail ourselves to our Father’s kingdom. Thanks for your comments and the referral on you blog. 🙂 Blessings.
Love this post. What a privilege it is that we are in Him and He is in us. Praise the LORD! 🙂
Amen! It just gets more amazing and astounding the more I understand it. I think I want to blow up sometimes. 🙂
Thanks for your comments. I’m with you, praise the LORD!
🙂
I found your blog through a suggested related post on WordPress. I’ve looked at two articles, and you probably wouldn’t like my theology very much. Nonetheless, this is a really excellent article. It seems like I should be more specific, but I liked everything: We can live God’s life now; our goal is fellowship with our Father; the life we receive from Jesus is divine, incredible, and ought to make us exuberant with joy.
Excuse any poor paraphrasing of what you said, but I was really encouraged by this post (like the other commenters were), and you know we need that every day (Heb. 3:13). Thanks.
No, you paraphrased it pretty well, Paul. Thanks for stopping by and for your encouraging comments. I’m glad I can be an encouragement to you too. And we don’t have to agree on all theological points to relate to each other. As believers, we’re all learning and growing in our desire to become more like Christ. We are not bound together by our agreement but by God’s love expressed through Jesus’ finished work on the Cross, and by His Spirit freely given to us. Blessings to you, brother.
This post is wonderful. I’m excited because God has me on the same page. Lately I’ve been pointing out Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift OF God is eternal life…” Prepositions are beginning to stick out like sore thumbs all over in the Scriptures for me.
Take the above verse, for instance. It’s taught as if we “accepted” Jesus and were handed a gift-wrapped package in which we would find “eternal life.” As I read this verse today, I see that the gift is God HIMSELF! It’s about the “with God” life, not just living forever (which every person will do, by the way…the distinction being destination, not “alive in heaven” or else “dead.”)
\o/
Amen. Isn’t it funny how single little words like “of” in a biblical phrase can just jump out and transform you. It’s like you have a whole new Bible! And, yes, the “gift of” is God Himself! You can’t get any better than that! And not only this, but it brings real clarity to the point of salvation, which is not about our behavior or religious rituals, good or bad, but about Christ in us the hope of glory. But how easy it is to forget this point in the circumstances of living out our everyday life. Thanks for bringing this out. Blessings.
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Awesome article. indeed eternal life is actually knowing God.However, remember what Jesus told Philip– That you already have seen the father and you already know him simple because he accepted jesus and his gospel. Eternal life is accepting the gospel of salvation.
Yes, of course. John said elsewhere we enter into this eternal life when we believe on Him who the Father sent (John 5:24; 6:40;17:8, 21). Thanks for your comments. Blessings.
can a person be so closed to God? I ask these question because is long i have asked to have encounter with God,to be filled with the holy spirit,glory,power,goodness and God’s presence but nothing happened .i’m longing for a change in my life.
Thank you for your question, mampuru. First, if you have given your life to Christ, you have been placed IN Him. You can’t get any closer than that! All of what you’re asking for, you already have. It’s resident with your spirit. You are complete in Him (Col.2:10). You are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor.5:17). You are holy, full of His Spirit and power. There is nothing to add, but only receive. But we still may not know it in our experience, with our natural senses.
Because everything in the Kingdom of God, and with God, is received by faith. We receive the free gift of God by faith, we receive His power, infilling, His joy, love, His manifest presence…all by faith. And faith is agreeing with God when you don’t see it or feel it with your natural senses. It’s believing that He already answered your prayer. So, it’s not just in the asking but in the believing. And when we believe the Truth of what God says, the Holy Spirit will bring it into our experience. You start with faith, then the feelings come later. We need to have our minds renewed by His Word so that we will start believing the word of God like God believes it.
I hope this helps. I pray that God will give you a revelation of what I’m talking about. It will change your life forever. Know that you are loved and that God is with you in whatever situation you are in. Blessings.
yes christ has redeemed us from the snares of the enermy. May u pray with me i’m dignosed having high blood pressure so that God can heal me.
Yes, I will pray. Know that Jesus was beaten horribly 2000 years ago for your healing. You WERE healed on the whipping post (1 Pet.2:24). Now, receive the free gift by faith. If you’ve given your life to Christ, He lives in you. Let Him touch this and make it whole. And keep believing until the doctor agrees that you don’t have high blood pressure anymore.
I have a Scripture verse that I believe God gave me for you…it’s from Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I hear the Lord saying for you to rest in Him, receive His peace. Let all anxiety and fear and worry flee away in His embrace. He has all things in His hands. And you are in His hands. Receive His unconditional love for you today. Blessings to you. I will be praying for you.
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