"Eternal Life"
Quality vs Quantity
After reading this study, you will know how the Bible makes a distinction between eternal life as a quality of life, (how we live) vs eternal life as a quantity of life, (how long we live). But before we start, it's important to understand that there is no such thing as an immortal soul. The immortal soul doctrine was adopted by the Jews because of their interaction with pagans, and in particular, the pagan philosopher Plato. They began teaching it, even thought it's not taught anywhere in the Scriptures.
The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato, its principal exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian and Egyptian views were strangely blended" (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1941, Vol. 6, "Immortality of the Soul," pp. 564, 566).
There is only one being, who ALONE is immortal, and who ALONE lives forever, and that's the Almighty God, the Father.
1 Timothy 6:15 For, at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only Almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.
Here is what the Bible says about how man's soul can die, because man is mortal, not immortal.
Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
James 5:20 Remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
The fact that no one lives forever is actually an act of God's love. Let me explain. When Adam sinned, he lost his connection to God, and eternal life. If Adam ate from the "Tree of Life" he would live forever in his fallen condition, and God would not be able to correct what Adam did. As as a result, God did not let Adam eat from the "Tree of Life" because if Adam did, he would have to live in his fallen condition forever.
Genesis 3:22-23 Then the Lord God said, “Now these human beings have become like one of us and have knowledge of what is good and what is bad. They must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live forever.” So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil from which they had been formed.
No one lives forever, apart from Messiah, because we are all spiritually dead, this is why we need to be "Born Again".
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Being born again causes us to be reconnected to God's Spirit, through His Son.
Colossians 2:13 When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins.
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It's important that we understand what being saved means. Being saved means, we were once spiritually dead, because of our sins, but now we are spiritually alive in Christ. This new birth is a free gift from God, for all who believe.
Ephesians 2:1-5 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved.
Did you notice the words, "We were dead in our sin, but God made us alive in Christ. It's by grace you were saved". Being saved is to be made spiritually alive from being spiritually dead, this is eternal life. Eternal life is to be spiritually alive by being connected to Messiah, and being connected to Messiah is done by faith.
1 John 5:11-12 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
The above verse is referring to eternal life as a quantity, i.e. to live forever. We only have eternal life today because we're connected to Messiah. We will have eternal life apart from Christ if we remain connected to Him through abiding in His word, because His words will produce a life within us that will be eternal apart from Christ, through the resurrection.
John 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
The above verse speaks of the the quality of life that comes from abiding in the words of Messiah. Abiding in the words of Messiah will allow us to have eternal life of our own, through the resurrection.
Now, pay close attention to the next verse because it contains both the quantity of life when we believe in Messiah, and the quality of life through obeying Messiah. If we believe in Messiah we have eternal life, but if we don't obey Messiah, we will never experience having eternal life of our own, which happens at the resurrection.
John 3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Today, we only have eternal life because we're connected to Messiah by being spiritually alive.
John 5:26-27 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.
Being made spiritually alive is a free gift, but it's our responsibility to remain spiritually alive by remaining connected to Messiah. If we stay connected to Messiah, through our obedience, we will have the right to the "Tree of Life" and receive eternal life of our own, apart from Messiah.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.
Having the right to the "Tree of Life" is because we were first connected to Messiah by faith, and obeying Messiah through faith in order to produce that life within us that will allow us to receive eternal life, and immortality of our own, through the resurrection.
Romans 2:5-8 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.
1 Corinthians 15:51-54 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
We need to have our own eternal life, because right now, we only have it because we're connected to Messiah, by faith. When we're connected to the Son, because we believe in the Son, we have eternal life, but if we don't continue being connected to the Son, through obedience, we will never receive our own eternal life.
John 3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
If we're not living a righteous life, as God defines righteousness, or we're hating another believer, knowing what Messiah said about this kind of behavior, we don't have the "quality" of life within us that will allow us to eat from the, "Tree of Life" and live forever.
1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
John 12:49-50 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”
Salvation, and eternal life, has to do with Messiah saving us from our past sins, which God calls, justification, but eternal salvation happens when we allow Messiah to save us from our future sins, which God calls, sanctification. Salvation from out past sins takes place in a moment in time through justification by faith, but eternal salvation is a work in progress that carries on throughout our entire life through sanctification. Being saved from out past sins is by faith, but eternal salvation happens through faith and obedience i.e. sanctification. Sanctification happens by learning the truth taught by Messiah, and obeying it. Sanctification is what produces that quality of life within us that will be eternal.
John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Hebrews 5:8-9 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.
Remember, the key to salvation, and living forever is to become spiritually alive through faith, and remaining spiritually alive, through obedience, all the way to the end.
Hebrews 3:12-14 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
We can’t earn becoming spiritually alive, because it’s offered freely, and is accepted by faith, but remaining spiritually alive is our responsibility. We remain spiritually alive by saying no to our sin nature, and saying yes to submitting to the Spirit we received when we believed in Messiah.
Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
James 1:14-16 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Spiritual death does not happen in an instant, spiritual death is a process. It's like a branch that is broken off from the tree. The branch doesn't die right away, but it withers for a while, and then it dies. The withering phase is when we need to confess, and repent, to remain spiritually alive.
Here is the process of spiritual death, first comes the temptation, temptation is not sin, because Messiah was tempted, yet He never sinned. It's when we give into temptation that causes us to sin, but that's still not spiritual death. Spiritual death happens if we continue in that sin, by refusing to confess and repent. This leads to a heard hearth, and a turning away from God, which is spiritual death. We can avoid spiritual death, after we've sinned, by confessing it, and then doing better next time. Confession allows God to cleans us of the unrighteousness of our sin that will eventually harden the heart, and turn us away from God.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 2:1-4 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
Believing, and accepting the death and resurrection of Messiah on our behalf, is the key to receiving the Spirit, and becoming spiritually alive, which is eternal life. Now that we have the Spirit, and eternal life is abiding in us, we must work at living a righteous life, which is what keeps us spiritually alive, and connected to eternal life.
Romans 6:22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.
Living a righteous life, and loving other believers, is how we can identify the difference between the children of God vs the children of the devil.
1 John 3:10 So, now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
If we don’t continue to walk by the Spirit, we will die spiritually, and that holy life we once lived will be gone.