Eternal life

 BY Argie Simonis

One of the most familiar passages of scripture is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Traditionally, this scripture teaches that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we wouldn't perish. As true as this is, this verse is saying that the real purpose Jesus coming to this earth and dying for us was so that we could have everlasting life, because our sins were a barrier that stood between us and this everlasting life. 

All of this is true, but there is much more to the gospel than that. The night before His crusifixion, Jesus was praying: "And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17:3.

This is Jesus giving us the definition of eternal life. He says that everlasting life is knowing the Father, the only true God and knowing Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Many people think that everlasting life is living for ever. Well, every people lives forever. When a person dies they don't cease to exist. The spirit and the soul goes back to God. The body decaysin the grave. Every person in the face of the earth will continue to live in spirit form and this verse makes it clear that etrnal life with God is not automatically given to everyone.    

Eternal life is not living for ever in heaven versus living forever in hell. As Jesus said it is to "know God and Jesus Christ". This word know comes from the greek word "epignosi" which is more than intellectual knowledge. This same word is used throughout the Scripture to describe the most intimate, personal relationship that you can have. The same word "know" was used in the book of Genesis, when Adam "knew" Eve and she bore Cain:   

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD."

The real purpose of salvation is not living forever in heaven, as great as that will be. The real purpose of salvation is to have intimacy, a personal relationship with the Lord God. When we present salvation as something that deals with just spiritual things that will only benefit us in the future, in eternity, we are not helping people. There are some people who are living in such a literal hell right now on earth. Depression, poverty, strife, fear, rejection hurt, broken marriages. They are trying to survive day by day. By making salvation something that deals only with the future, many people put off that decision because they are too busy trying to survive today. Eternal life begins here and now: 

"And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life." 1 John 5:11-12. 

Eternal life has already been provided by God by His grace to us and is received through faith, by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord in our heart. Jesus loves you and wants to know you personally:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20

He wants to give you a quality of life that is greater than anything else you could ever obtain through any other source. 

In John 10:10 we read: "The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

God wants to give you eternal life, abundant life and you need this today! Christ died not only to forgive our sins, but to bring you close to Him. If you don't know the Lord, you need to know Him. If you have already been born again, you need to go beyond just getting your sins forgivenand enter into everlasting life with the Father.