The Giver of Eternal Life

Who is the Giver of eternal life? According to the Bible, it is Jesus Christ, our Lord. In His high priestly prayer (John 17), Jesus confessed: authority over all people was given to Him. In addition, all people who the Father gave to Him — to them He gives eternal life. According to Jesus, the ultimate contrast to eternal life is eternal punishment (Mt 25:46).

Our interest in this matter is to know God in more than a factual way (Jn 17:3). It is to understand that when we are saved, we move from death to life (Jn 5:24), from judgment to salvation, so that, the wrath of God no longer abides on us (Jn 3:36). Those who do not perish in the second death are believers in Jesus Christ. Thus, our questions are: Who believes in Jesus? Why does one believe and another one does not believe in Him? How does one become a believer in the only true God and in His Son, Jesus Christ?

First, those who are appointed to eternal life believe “in Christ” (Acts 13:48). This transfer from death to life is from the domain of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:13). It is not by the will of man; but it must be the will of God (Jn 1:12–13). Jesus said, “For this is the will of My Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life (Jn 6:40a).”

The natural man loves this world (Jn 3:19; 1 Jn 2:15–17). He loves his life in this world (Jn 12:25). Sin is a sick pleasure to those who are dying because of sin (Jn 3:19; Rom 6:23). It is appointed once for a man to die and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27). News of this pending judgment effects sinners differently. Some do everything they can to avoid the inevitable death; while others simply deny the terrible reality of the second death, which is eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:41, 46; Jude 7; Rev 20:14–15).

Eternal life is the gift of God, given by Jesus Christ (Jn 10:28; Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8–9). It is manifested to us (1 Jn 2:1) by the life-giving Holy Spirit, who is the token of God’s promise to His people (2 Cor 5:5; 1 Jn 2:25) — a well of water springing up to eternal life (Jn 4:14). Thus, if this new life is now in the soul of a man, it becomes obvious to him and to those who have witnessed the powerful transformation. Simply put, the recipient of eternal life is a new creature in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). He walks in newness of life (Rom 6:4).

The life of God in the soul of man abides in Him who has been made alive, spiritually (Eph 2:5; 1 Jn 3:15). New life that is eternal is also abundant life (Jn 10:10). To this, the elect, redeemed are called to (Mt 11:28; 1 Tim 6:12). We become witnesses of Christ, who is our life (Acts 1:8).

Knowing God is eternal life; and we know the Father from the Son, whose Spirit is our Teacher (Jn 14:26). In the mutual indwelling, Christ is in us by His Spirit (Gal 2:20); and we are positioned “in Christ” (1 Cor 1:30), who is positioned at the right hand of the Father in Majesty (Heb 1:3; 8:1), having been resurrected from the dead. For us, this resurrection life is already evident in our regenerated souls (1 Pet 1:3); but it is yet pending for our bodies (Jn 5:28–29; 1 Cor 15).

In the resurrection to life, on the last day, at Christ’s second coming, we will be raised to life with glorified bodies to be conjoined with our glorified souls (Rom 8:30). Together, Christ’s church, His body of members will be caught up together with Him in the air (1 Thess 4:17), in a twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:52), at His coming. We will always and forever be with Him, who loved us and gave us this life that is everlasting and immortal.

In summary, our hope of eternal life is based on the appointment God made for us before the foundation of the world (Acts 13:48; Rom 11:5–6; Eph 1:4–5). It manifested in time when the Holy Spirit caused us to be born again of God (Jn 3:1–8; 1 Pet 1:3), who made us new, according to the promise made long ago. The promise of our salvation is “yes” and “amen” in Christ (2 Cor 1:20), who gives us eternal life, that is, our salvation as a gift of His grace, according to the predetermined plan foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23).

We hear of our eternal salvation from the Scriptures, when Christ, who is our life, is faithfully preached to us by the man of God sent to us, who is filled with the Spirit of God. In this, we join the Apostle Peter in declaring that there is no one and nothing else that has the Word of life for us to behold Christ (Acts 4:12).

In conclusion, we acknowledge, the two groups manifested as the spiritually dead (1 Cor 2:14), in contrast with those made alive (1 Cor 2:15). Eternal life is an appointment to new, abundant, resurrection, and everlasting life. Christians are witnesses to this life in themselves and in others who evidence the fruit of the Spirit being gathered up for the life that never ends (Gal 5:22–23).

Eternal life is from eternity. It is here and now. It has a future that will never end. It has a quality to it that is utterly alluring for us. For this reason, the beloved gather each week to be reminded that this is our inheritance reserved in heaven for us (1 Pet 1:4). We are partakers in this grace granted to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, let us live the good life, under the guidance of Him, who loves us, lives in us, and who will never leave us nor forsake us.

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

November 1, 2024

John 17:2–3