Eternal Life; Not What You Think

We have all seen the signs at baseball, football, soccer, hockey, rugby matches; John 3:16. If you grew up going to church then you memorized its words in Sunday School. It has been the core verse of outreaches, evangelism movements and big tent revival meetings. And for good reason, it is a verse that summarizes so much of what makes us who we are, what makes us Christians.

However, what many protestants thinks this means and what it actually means are not the same thing. “Oh no!” “Oh yes”, I am going to kill some sacred cows and likely get in trouble, but it needs to be addressed. So many protestants look at salvation as getting your ticket punched so you can get into heaven. If at some point you accepted as true that Jesus died for your sins and trusted in that then you are going to heaven where you will live forever. Nothing after that one point in time matters whether you became a serial killer or an atheist who rejects Jesus and teaches others to as well. Sorry to be the barer of bad news but that is not what this verse teaches at all.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who is believing in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (EOB)

for God did so love the world, that His Son — the only begotten — He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during. – John 3:16 (YLT)

Both the Eastern Orthodox Bible and the Youngs Literal Translation capture most clearly the sense of the original Greek. The first issue is the text doesn’t allow in any way for the faith to be something that I had in the past because it is an active present participle which translates as “while believing” or “is believing”. Secondly, the verbs “perish” and “have” are both in the subjunctive.

Subjunctive – Is the mood of possibility and potentiality. The action described may or may not occur, depending upon circumstances.

Eternal life is only possible when I accept who Jesus is and what He has done as true, trust in it living by its implications. It only remains possible while I accept who Jesus is and what He has done as true, trust in it living by its implications. Does this mean anytime I have doubts I am excluded. Faith has three parts; knowledge, agreement and responsibility or conviction to the truth you have agreed upon. Having doubts doesn’t mean you have given up on it. We all have doubts but still live as if it were so. We may have been confronted by some information but that doesn’t mean we agree and have decided to abandon our convictions.

John 17:3 (ESV) And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John 17:3 (YLT) and this is the life age-during, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send–Jesus Christ;
John 17:3 (EOB) This is eternal life: that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.

But what then is “Eternal Life”? It is formed from two greek words. The first is aiōnios  which is an adjective accusative to zoe that means without beginning or end or everlasting and the second is zōē which means life, everlasting life, or vitality. From this we would think it means to live forever. But God gives us a new definition for “eternal life” or a new way to look at it. In John 17:3 we see God says “Eternal Life” is to know God the Father and Jesus His Son. The phrase “to know” in the Bible always describes a deeper close relationship. The whole purpose of salvation is not so that you get into heaven the purpose of salvation is to re-establish the relationship with God that was lost at the fall. To be united with Jesus moving forward in a relationship in which we are reconciled to the Eternal I AM.

10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation. [Rom 5:10-11 CSB]

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. [Ecc 3:11 ESV]

We were meant for a relationship with God, the eternal self-existent I AM, but many times we try to fill eternity with the stuff of this world and wonder why we feel so empty. Our appetites are never satisfied, and they never could be by the stuff of this world that is merely temporary. Our salvation is not faith without a purpose and only an end goal. Saving faith is to be with God the Father as His children living a fulfilled life living for God’s purposes here and now going forward with Him to eternity.