I Introduction
This study will prayerfully take a biblical look at what Jehovah God tells us about eternal life with Him.
II Eternal Life is Lopsided
Eternal life is lopsided—it has a relatively short beginning over against an infinitely long “ending” (John 6:44-47). Hearing Jehovah God (“Show us the Father”, “Drawn”), learning about Him (“Be Holy”), believing in Him (“Righteous Faith”), such as these are relatively short-lived dynamics compared to the unfolding of eternity (in God’s presence). Okay, some would say that the child of God is known from the bowls of eternity past, thus eternal life is not lopsided in this way of thinking, but perfectly symmetric. Nevertheless, there must needs come that instant of believing, which brings us to the next section.
III The Resurrection and the Life, Jesus Christ
The Resurrection and the Life was sent by Jehovah God. Hearing God, learning about God, believing in God, could turn out to be very abstract, and relative sorts of religious notions, with as many ideas concerning the same as there are folks engaging the process, so one would expect that the true God should somehow set concrete, definite standards in this regard. But how? By Him engaging the process personally. Thus did Jesus engage the process personally. Hearing God, learning about God, believing in God, is each made lucid and standard by Jesus Christ. We want to think about believing in God in this section. It is not abstract nor possibly relativized nor fanciful belief in God that leads to eternal life—it is precisely and specifically belief in Jesus Christ (“A Letter of Invitation”, background, an invitation). He alone gives comprehensive and accurate expression to “God,” and, it would follow (or, maybe stronger said: one would expect), precisely He was sent by God (“He Who Sent Me”). So, no surprise at all that eternal life comes by believing in Him because only God can give expression to “God” with integrity. Belief in Jesus is tantamount to belief in God, who in turn imparts eternal life (John 11:25-26, 6:39-40). And the key point is, belief is the only payment required by God’s design for eternal life. But note please the next section.
IV To Eat the Flesh and Drink the Blood of Jesus is Eternal Life
This is so oft misunderstood. It means, to believe in Jesus Christ, that’s it. Simple enough. What is being communicated is the depth of belief in Him that garners eternal life—to “eat Him.” To the carnal Jews of Jesus’ day, these words in their hearing must have been a shocker, as it is to not a few carnally minded folks per se (John 6:53-58).
V Eternal Life is for the Children of the Resurrection
The Children of the Resurrection are like the angels, they are God’s children; they will not nor can they die. And no marriage in that age because our exceeding infatuation will be with God. And the Children of the Resurrection are precisely those whom God considers worthy to participate in His Salvation (“A Letter of Invitation” unto said worthiness), that is, worthy to participate in life eternal in His presence (“Children of the Resurrection,” Luke 20:35-36).
VI Eternal Life in a Spiritual Body Fit for Eternity
Scripture speaks of our natural body and our spiritual body in the same breath such that one might conclude that it is the body with which we are familiar down here in the land of the living that we shall be enjoying throughout eternity, with the significant difference being that it shall be a reconstituted spiritual body, nevertheless one with our old familiar features, yet perfect—imperishable, quite glorious—like unto our resurrected Savior Jesus Christ’s body (1Corinthians 15:42-46, Fig. 1). That is the kind of ever-functional body we, immortal, shall forever possess and certainly enjoy. And we shall identify with who we are in Jesus Christ, as unified—body and spirit—spiritual beings, with a distinct “personhood” that knows not sin anymore. That is life at its fullest. What a loving gift from our Father God. And with that kind of a body, how shall we utilize it for God’s glory throughout eternity? Well, that God would put us into that kind of an awesome body must mean that He has some awesome services in mind for us. And if our spiritual bodies are that fantastic, imagine the environs that they were made fit to engage! All of this is unimaginably glorious. Of course, these new bodies were made for us so that we could be up close and personal with quintessential holiness, and omniscience, and omnipotence; that is, we shall be able to fellowship with the awesome holy God Jehovah in a very intimate way. Thus, we have come full circle from the Fall here, and intimate fellowship with holy Jehovah God is restored, and He and we shall have many walks and talks together, in the cool of the evening as it were, enjoying one another forever and ever—He and we and we one to another as Family, the Family of God together with God, the way it was meant to be from the beginning (“In the Beginning”). What a Work He has done to bring us full circle back to restored fellowship. Praised be His gracious and loving and wonderful Name for doing it. We love you Papa God Jehovah and can’t wait for the Day. We thank you for what you have made possible.
VII Concluding Comments
Let us revisit the above sections in summary and expound a little more where necessary.
We started out talking about a “lopsided” eternal life, and the thought that struck us when proposing that was how incredibly little is required upfront to gain so much at the end. Salvation is simple and it is easy to own. (As is always the case when one gets something for nothing or very close to nothing, it is because someone else paid a lot along the way, here Jesus Christ.) Of course, there is a process that the Holy Spirit brings us through to appreciate and respond to the drawing of our Father God, and it takes a while, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending upon the individual, but all of that just does not amount to much, timewise or whatever, compared to the duration of eternity and the inestimable Prize of eternal life intimately in God’s presence. It just seems lopsided to us; God made eternal life lopsided in our favor we should say.
The next couple of sections focused on belief in Jesus Christ because that is singularly what God requires from us—no belief, no eternal life. So, we would like to spend a little more time talking about that. Jesus Christ identifies Himself as the Resurrection and the Life—most fitting in this context. When we believe in Him, we by default believe in Him resurrected and alive. That’s for starters, and it is so nicely consistent with our subject. And, we expect to be resurrected—that’s the whole idea here. Thus, we believe in Jesus resurrected. That’s it. Nobody can buy eternal life, but anybody can attain to it (simply) by believing in the Resurrection and the Life. That’s doable, but for some, it is not so doable—too many “issues” get in the way of this elegant and simple Salvation. Now, how else can one build a Family but by requiring doable things from those one wishes to include? So, God makes it doable. Okay, that is the Resurrection part, but there is the Life part. The Resurrected One raises up, and the Once Deceased One imparts Life. This He demonstrated on several occasions during His ministry, thus, our belief in Him, and the faith that grows up out of that belief, is founded on primary source testified fact. God gives us all we need to make our belief doable. But He is not going to “twist your arm” here dearest reader, you must decide for Him yourself.
We followed this up with a section on the quality of the belief here spoken of—it must be as though one were “eating Him,” Jesus Christ. This of course bespeaks of ingestion. The picture is clear enough.
The last couple of sections were intended to move us out of this mundane realm and to begin thinking about heaven, the attendant environs, our spiritual bodies, and the big picture of restored, intimate fellowship with Jehovah God. Restored, intimate fellowship with Jehovah God for all of eternity is the salient feature of Eternal Life. The entire Christian Bible turns on that (thus it turns on Jesus Christ, who made this possible). Notice carefully that God’s children are Children of the Resurrection. Here we are forced to loop back again to The Resurrection and the Life Jesus we discussed. Children of the Resurrection are believers in the Resurrection and the Life. Very beautiful and consistent connections here. There is just no getting away from Jesus and His resurrection when discussing eternal life for humankind. The Children of the Resurrection are immortals. There is something science will never attain, though that is its primary goal—eternal life, yet apart from God[1]. Better stick with God in and through Jesus Christ dearest reader if you want to live forever in His presence (”A Letter of Invitation”). The sobering fact is, that all souls will in fact spend eternity somewhere—the spirit cannot die (consider Luke 16:19-31)—thus the qualifier eternal life in God’s presence speaks volumes.
And then there is that wonderful spiritual body we shall possess for all of eternity. With this new body it will be possible to be up close and personal with the awesome holy God Jehovah in a very intimate way, which brings us full circle back from the Fall, and so in the end and for all of eternity the Family of God shall be together with God, the way it was meant to be from the beginning.
Praised be your Life-giving, blessed Name great Jehovah God. Amen.