The apostle John was intentional in what he wrote. When we dig into his documents (a gospel, three letters, and an apocalypse), we’ll find four key themes he stressed.
In the first post of this series, we explored the concept of witnessing. Jesus testified of God’s truth, in particular about His status as the Son of God. He also trained and prepared His disciples to bear witness to this good news.
Last week, we determined that faith is the appropriate response to credible testimony. If we want the benefits of the gospel, we have to believe it.
What are the benefits of trusting in the gospel? The New Testament lists several of them.
- Forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43)
- Grace and mercy (Acts 20:24)
- Salvation (Romans 1:16)
- Peace (Ephesians 6:15)
- Glory (2 Thessalonians 2:14)
Praise the Lord, that’s quite a list!
John favors another blessing–eternal life. This phrase occurs 43 times in the New Testament, with 23 of them in John’s works. That’s more than any other NT writer. His gospel mentions eternal life 17 times and his first letter has six instances.
What does John mean by eternal life? And how does it relate to testimony and belief?
When we hear the word “eternal,” we think of endless time, something that’s everlasting. But living forever in our current condition and circumstances doesn’t sound like a good deal. It makes some folks, like British philosopher Julian Baggini nervous:
Human beings are mortal animals. The wise embrace that, and with it the inevitability of their demise. For these sage souls, extreme longevity is a curse disguised as a gift. In Wim Wenders’ film Wings of Desire, angels tire of their lofty, invulnerable lives and long to become mortal. In Karel Čapek’s play The Makropulos Affair, adapted into an opera by Janáček, a woman who discovers the elixir of eternal life is bored to death – unfortunately for her, not literally – after a mere 300 years.
He’s right–if we live apart from a relationship with God. But that’s not what the gospel gives us. It doesn’t offer eternity; it offers eternal life. And that’s much more than ongoing existence. It’s complete and unending fulfillment through Jesus and those loyal to Him.
The Greek word for “eternal” is aionios, which is the word for “age” or “era” made into an adjective. It’s common in the Greek New Testament, occurring 71 times in 69 verses. And as with the phrase “eternal life,” so also with this adjective; John uses it more than any other NT writer. We see it 17 times in John, six in 1 John, and once in Revelation. In every instance, it’s in the phrase, “eternal life,” except for the last verse. (I’m using the NASB for all Bible quotations in this series.)
“And I saw another angel flying in midheaven with an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people” – Revelation 14:6
The people of Israel divided life on earth into two categories: this age and the one to come. The latter would be characterized by God’s abundance poured out on His faithful ones. And of all the blessings of the age to come, the greatest one is knowledge of God and Christ. In fact, this is how John defines eternal life.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” – John 17:3
“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” – 1 John 5:20
A life of knowing God is possible only through Jesus Christ. John makes this clear in the opening verses of his first letter:
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– 2The life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us” – 1 John 1:1-2
And he closes that epistle with a similar thought:
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” – 1 John 5:11
The purpose of gospel testimony is to promote valid belief. And the fruit of such faith is eternal life. As John declares,
“Everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him. 16For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life … 36The 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.” – John 3:15, 16, 36
The life we have with God in Christ is eternal, it’s permanent. But it’s not restricted to a future state. John says that those who accept the testimony about Jesus, have eternal life right here and right now. It’s a present moment experience that’s a foretaste of what awaits us.
Eternal life is the goal of the gospel. It’s the purpose of the testimony of the gospel. And it’s the gift God gives to those who believe the witness of Jesus.
What happens next? If we have eternal life, understood as the knowledge of God through His Son, how do we grow in that life? What challenges might we encounter along the way?
We have one more word to cover!
See you next week!
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