John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
What a promise, everlasting life! But what is everlasting life? Well, simply put it is just that, life without end. Unfortunately, that doesn’t fully express it. People might be prone to think of everlasting life as this life never ending: work, pain, weariness, stress, bills, tears, sickness, brokenness, death... I say emphatically, that is not what everlasting life is!
So what is it? Let me offer three passages that speak to this:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First, eternal life and everlasting life are the same thing, it’s just the joy of the English language.
Second, everlasting life is contrasted with perish, punishment, death. Clearly, perish, punishment, death are not good. On the other hand, everlasting life is good. It is life everlasting, the emphasis being life.
Jesus said, And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Eternal life is not only or merely unending life, it is a certain kind of life: knowing God, fellowship with Him. Eternal life is life lived with God, in His presence, participating in His life. Where God is there is light, life, joy, health, peace; no death, no sorrow, no pain, no heartache, no brokenness. That is eternal life. Eternity without God is exactly the opposite. One word that comes to mind to describe eternity without God is torment. Eternal life, on the other hand, is bliss.
So, how do I get this everlasting life?
Romans 6:23 above says, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a gift, something God gives us. You can’t earn it or buy, it is God’s gift to us.
It is through Jesus Christ. Eternal life is not some thing God gives us, like a Christmas present, or a package from Amazon. It is not something we can go to the store and pick up. Eternal life is through Jesus, it is in Him. He has eternal life because He is life. As the Apostle John says, he who has the Son has life.
John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Everlasting life is all about God giving. He gave his only begotten Son so that through him he might give us everlasting life. And to whom does he give everlasting life? To whosoever believes in Jesus. And what does it mean to believe in Jesus? It means I believe he is the Son of God, the Savior, who died on the cross, rose again from the dead, and is now Lord; believing these things I trust him with my life and commit to following him as my Lord. When we believe in Jesus he gives us everlasting life!
Eternal life: sharing the life of God, in the presence of God, forever. Everlasting!
Here are a few verses if you wish to read more about what the Bible says about everlasting life. These verses also speak of what is often called heaven, because everlasting life and heaven go hand in hand:
Psalm 16:11, Psalm 17:15, John 14:2-3, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:3-5
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