The Doctrine of Eternal Life

Related Articles

FULFILLMENT OF A PROMISE, THEN CONFLICT

April 6, 2023

THE CONCEPT OF ORIGINAL SIN AND THE RESPONSE OF GUILT AND BLAME

April 6, 2023

SYLLABUS for the book of GENESIS

April 5, 2023

Return to Syllabus

COURSE IN ADVANCED BIBLICAL DOCTRINES

Lesson #19

• The Doctrine of Eternal Life
  • There is no doctrine as beautiful as that of eternal life explained to us in the Holy Scriptures.
  • Many religions promise many blessings but no religion can deliver eternal life.
    • Eternal life is found only in the person of Jesus Christ and not in any religion.
    • Read Joh 14:6
  • God, the Holy Spirit, is the giver of life:
    • From the beginning in Genesis God reveals himself as the giver of life.
      • Read Gen 2:7
        • All plants, all animals, and all people were given the breath of life. This breath of life distinguishes the living from the dead.
        • Read Psa 104:24, 29
      • God originally created man to live forever. He gave man the tree of life from which to eat in the midst of the Garden of Eden.
        • Read Gen 2:9
      • However, with the first sin by Adam and Eve, death entered man’s experience both physical death and spiritual death (separation from God).
        • Read Gen 2:17
        • Physical death came gradually to Adam and Eve as they began to age from that day forward.
        • Spiritual death came immediately to Adam and Eve as their relationship with God was suddenly broken, and God removed them from the Garden of Eden and their access to the tree of life in the garden.
    • Early in the Old Testament, Israel is told to choose life with blessings or choose death with destruction. Therefore, while it is God that gives life, it is man that makes the choice between life and death.
      • Read Deu 30:15-20
      • Read Jos 24:15
    • In the New Testament, we are told that the Holy Spirit of God is the giver of life.
      • Read Joh 6:63
      • It is the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
      • Read Rom 8:11
  • In the Bible life is always associated with blood.
    • Physical life.
      • Read Lev 17:11-14
      • God said that life is in the blood. If you drain the blood from a man or an animal, physical death is the result.
    • Spiritual life.
      • To emphasize that spiritual life is in the blood, God had the Israelites sacrifice animals so that the blood of the animal covered the sins of the people until Christ came to remove all sin.
        • The life blood of the animal was substituted for the life blood of the person.
        • Without a substitute sacrifice, spiritual death becomes the person’s experience.
      • Read Heb 10:11-12
      • Read Joh 6:54
        • In Joh 6:54, Jesus is speaking spiritually concerning belief in Him.
        • When a person has a continual and constant relationship with Jesus Christ he is feeding on the Words of God.
        • When a person has a continual and constant relationship with Jesus Christ he is trusting in the blood of Christ to forgive him of his sins.
      • Read Joh 20:31
        • The forgiveness of sin in Jesus Christ is the beginning of eternal life.

Just as the first sin caused the beginning of spiritual death, the forgiveness of sin is the beginning of spiritual life.

Because the wages of sin is death, the forgiveness of sin is life.

Without forgiveness of sin there is no eternal life.

Only God can forgive sin.

• • • • • Read Mar 2:6-12
  • Jesus Christ is the narrow gate to eternal life. Unfortunately the majority of humans do not find their way through this narrow gate. Therefore believers will always be a minority.
    • Read Mat 7:13-14
    • Read Joh 10:7,9
    • Read Joh 14:6
  • The difference between spiritual life and eternal life:
    • Spiritual Life:
      • Spiritual life begins the minute a person believes and receives Jesus Christ into his heart as his personal Lord and Savior experiencing the forgiveness of sin.
      • This spiritual transaction of belief and repentance through Jesus Christ is the New Birth.
        • Read Joh 3:3-8
      • Spiritual life begins when a person’s name is written in the Lamb’s book of life the minute he is born again.
        • Read Rev 21:27
    • Eternal Life:
      • Eternal life begins the minute a person believes and receives Jesus Christ into his heart as his personal Lord and Savior but is not manifested until the believer receives a new incorruptible body able to live forever.
        • Read Eph 2:6

Paul tells us that we are already seated with Christ in heaven.

This is our heavenly position the minute we are born again.

• • • • • Read 1Cor 15:52-57

The believer in Jesus Christ receives his new incorruptible body at the rapture of the church.

This is the manifestation of eternal life because only an incorruptible body can live eternally.

• • • • Eternal life is not just living an endless number of days.
        • Eternal existence is the absence of time as we know it today.
        • God has always existed outside of time, and the believer in Jesus Christ will eventually live outside of the restriction of time.
      • In the Old Testament, the understanding of eternal life is limited but it is present.
        • Read Psa 71:9
        • Read Job 19:25-27
      • Therefore, the idea of eternal life is more fully developed in the New Testament with the first coming of Jesus Christ.
        • Read Mat 6:25-34
        • Read Mar 10:17-31

Jesus spoke about a dimension beyond the basic cares of life in this present world.

Notice that eternal life is obtained by faith that forsakes the things of the world in exchange for eternal life with God.

• • • • It is in the gospel of John that God develops more fully the concept of eternal life.
        • Read Joh 1:4 Life is in Jesus Christ.
        • Read Joh 3:15-16 Whosoever believes has eternal life.
        • Read Joh 5:26 God put eternal life into Jesus Christ.
        • Read Joh 6:33, 35, 40, 48, 51, 63 The words of Jesus Christ are the bread of life.
        • Read Joh 10:10 Jesus Christ gives abundant life.
        • Read Joh 11:25 Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Jesus did not say, “I am the guide to eternal life”. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” What did he mean?

Eternal life is state of being in the eternal presence of God without time limits or limits of space.

• • • • • Read Joh 17:2 Eternal life is God’s gift to those that believe in Christ.
      • Eternal life was made possible through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
        • For this reason the concept of eternal life was not fully developed in the Old Testament. It waited for the coming of the Messiah in the New Testament.
        • Read Rom 5:10, 21
        • Read Rom 6:3-4, 22-23
        • Read Gal 2:20
  • The Bible’s description of eternal life with God:
    • Eternal life is the condition of life in the eternal presence of God and His Son Jesus Christ.
    • It is an existence without evil, without sin, without pain, without tears, and without death.
    • It is an existence of ultimate peace, joy, beauty, freedom, and love.
    • It is life without the limits of time and space.
    • Read Rev 21:3-6
      • God will return man’s access to the tree of life that Adam lost with man’s first sin.
      • Read Gen 3:23-24
      • Read Rev 22:2-6