"Eternal Life"

Rom. 6:23 speaks to us that we earn death. You sin, you die! That's straight forward. But the second part of the verse speaks that eternal life is a gift you can't earn. Eternal life is not just an endless life. Too many are making eternal life something in the future. Eternal life is for us NOW! It is the quality of life that one has in Christ Jesus. Those who come into Christ share in His life now which will take us to eternity.

One of the greatest mistakes we make is to reduce eternal life to forgiveness of sins. Hear me out please. To boil our relationship to Christ on forgiveness alone will rob us of His riches and glory and power! When we entered into Christ, our sins were all forgiven but what happens after that? Our lives are to take on His nature, His power and stand on His strength. That's what Paul was describing for the Ephesian brethren in Eph. 3:14-19! Gaining the glory of Christ and His power is what eternal life is. Our lives should be committed wholly to Jesus because we share in His eternal life.

John really helps us see the eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested to him and the apostles (I John 1:1-4). Read it carefully. John is not talking specifically about Jesus but the eternal life Jesus possessed! It was a spectacle to behold. The eternal life that was with the Father was brought to man in Jesus and they witnessed what eternal life does, thinks and acts. They had fellowship with the Father and His Son and John writes so the reader can be assured they too have the eternal life of God in them presently! The one who has the Son has the life and the one who does not have the Son does not have the life (I John 5:11-12). Maybe we need to re-think what is eternal life.