What does eternal life means? FOREVER. Eternal life is just that - eternal. It means "forever." The meaning of the word ETERNAL is having infinite duration: everlasting. Lasting forever and always existing (temporal).
How do we receive Eternal Life? In the Gospel of John, the entire seventeenth chapter is Jesus' prayer for Himself, His disciples, including those of us who follow Him today. Jesus says, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom those hast sent" (John 17:3). The obtaining of eternal life is simple, and Jesus makes is so very plain by telling us that it is by knowing God the Father himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal life requires entering into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. When we admit our sin and turn away from it, Christ's love lives in us by the Holy Spirit.
As Jesus' prayer continued for Himself and for His disciples, He said, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:4-11). Jesus reveals to us that eternal life is not just merely about living forever, but it is about knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. This statement is both profound and transformative.
Before Jesus came to earth, he was one with God. Now that his mission on earth was almost finished, he was asking his Father to restore him to his original place with Him - God. Jesus' resurrection and ascension attest that Jesus did return to his exalted position at the right hand of God. In Jesus' prayer he tells the Father that his disciples are his glory. What a fantastic truth, that Jesus glories in us and that our lives can bring him joy. Are you living in a way that brings Jesus joy? Does he glory in you? Then Jesus continues by asking that the disciples be united as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united, and that is the strongest of all unions.
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this is in his Son. He who has the son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13). Question? What do we need to know about this wonderful possession call "eternal life?" It means that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. It is a total devotion to Jesus Christ as Savior. It is a total and complete faith in Jesus as God's Son, in the sacrifice that was made as the payment for our sins, in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is the total trust in Jesus as the only Way to obtain and possess eternal life.
So many people in this world today are trying to water down the truth about the Gospel. Many are not just suggesting, but they are saying that there are other ways to obtain eternal life. Just the other day I heard someone say that it doesn't matter what you believe or who you believe in as long as you are a spiritual person. A Newsweek poll of Americans found that..."Nearly half (48 percent) described themselves as both "religious and spiritual," while another 30 percent said they were neither religious nor spiritual. To some people a spiritual person is someone that is kind to people and to animals. To some people a spiritual person is someone who does yoga and meditates daily. To some people a spiritual person is someone that attends church on a regular basis and to other it's anyone that can work Tarot Cards. The Bible says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because the are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).
The wonderful good news is that those who truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that His death paid the price for our sins, that His resurrection secured the possession of eternal life, are the ones who possess eternal life. But this does not put us on Easy Street. Why? Because there is a serious war going on in the mind and heart of every Christian believer and it is a battle between the Spirit (as in the Holy Spirit) and the flesh (our nature). That is why the Bible tells us, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please (Galatians 5:16-17). This is why we are constantly reminded to deny self, to deny the flesh, to die daily, and to crucify the flesh.
There are only two groups in the end, those who have eternal life and those who do not have it. To disobey Jesus is to reject Him. To reject His testimony and the Gospel really means, plain and simple, that you have cut yourself off from the wonderful rewarding heavenly benefits that is only available through Jesus. Those who rejects Jesus will only experience the wrath of God. God's wrath is His final judgment and rejection for ALL sinners. For all of those people that has made a decision not to follow Jesus, they have made a fatal decision because Jesus is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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