For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.   John 3:16

For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. (alt: “in your midst.”)  Luke 17:21

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.   John 17:3

 

Speaking to common people (as opposed to the religious elite) toiling to meet their everyday needs and worrying their way through life, Jesus advised “Seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well" [Mt 6:33].   This famous line from the Sermon on the Mount juxtaposes two ways to live: This world, and His. We know what this world is like, the forces that so often prevail, burden, and spoil. We are invited to live in His world, the Kingdom of God, and partake of Eternal Life. And what we need in this world will be provided for; Jesus evidently understands our concern for our lives in the here and now.

Becoming participants in His Kingdom, as opposed to tying all our hopes on to this world, is what we call Salvation [John 3:16].   A world without God is naturally doomed to decay and death. Salvation is not a future event, going to Heaven when we die, but a new life in the Kingdom of God, now [Luke 17:21].   We call life in His Kingdom “Eternal Life” – this is much more than a quantity of life, it is a quality of life – that is, Life with God, both now and forever [John 17:3].

Salvation, Eternal Life, the Kingdom of God, Heaven – all this is a pretty big subject, way too big to grasp in one pass. Rather, our point here is to correct one of the most consequential errors in our understanding of scripture, Jesus’ mission, and our life with God. That error is, in a nutshell, to equate the terms salvation, Kingdom of God, and eternal life, with the idea of heaven. This misunderstanding comes with tragic consequences for our spiritual lives.

***********

Let’s look at these four terms, what they mean and how they relate to each other:
Salvation - how we are brought into Eternal Life, the Kingdom of God, and Heaven, by the grace of God extended to us in Christ Jesus. [John 3:16]
Eternal Life - a quality of life characterized by living in the presence of God as a willing participant in His Kingdom. Put another way, walking in communion with your God. [John 17:3]
Kingdom of God - the reality where God is sovereign, exercising his power to accomplish his good purposes. This Kingdom obviously encompasses what we call Heaven, but is a present reality for those living that quality of being referred to as Eternal Life. [Luke 17:21]
Heaven - the promised afterlife, a future state where all has been redeemed, restored, and perfected, and all evil and suffering banished forever [Rev 20:10; 21:1-6, 22-27; 22:1-5].   Eternal Life and the Kingdom of God will be important dimensions of Heaven, but also exist outside of the time and place called Heaven in Scripture.

As you can see, there is some natural overlap in the ideas these terms represent.  The misunderstanding occurs when we move from “overlap” to “equate” - using them interchangeably, as though they mean the same thing.  And when we use them interchangeably, as is so common in conversation both inside and outside the church, we can easily miss out on the life-giving richness of the Gospel.

At the center of Christianity is the truth that Salvation, Eternal Life, the Kingdom of God, and Heaven are not an earned reward, but rather the free gifts of God through the divine grace extended to us in Christ Jesus.  If our experience of this grace is limited to a future afterlife, then what hope can we have for our lives in the here and now?  It becomes easy to conclude that our lives in the here and now don’t really matter very much.  What we are, or do, doesn’t make much difference — and a sense of purposelessness, meaninglessness, and futility robs us of the life that we were meant for.  Our lives in the here and now are rendered hopeless.

This is the tragic consequence of equating Salvation, Eternal Life, and the Kingdom of God with a future afterlife (Heaven) when they are instead meant to be understood as related but distinct realities.  We can easily find ourselves without any sense of hope for this life in the here and now, and missing out on the abundant life that Jesus said he came to give to us.   

This state of hopelessness is in direct conflict with the whole of Scripture, which tells the story of a God who cares endlessly about us and our lives in the here and now, a God who in his love for us is actively and intimately involved in our lives in the here and now.  It is also in direct conflict with key New Testament ideas like being born again [John 3:3], being transformed (present tense) into a new creation [2Cor5:17], living a life of love [1Cor13], and life under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit [John14:16,23,26; Gal5:22].  To say that the only life that matters is the one that starts after death is ruinously untrue.

***************

 

What, then, is True?

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full… John 10:10

This abundant life that Jesus is talking about, the Eternal Life that was the object of his mission [John 3:16] to earth , surely must be more than simply waiting around for this life to end and for the next life to begin…

So what is Eternal Life?  What does it look like?  What does scripture tell us about it?

At its simplest and yet most profound, Eternal Life is plainly defined for us by Jesus himself at John 17:3, Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  Eternal Life is much more than a quantity of life – it is a quality of life, a life shared together with God.  This is our hearts’ deepest desire – to live, to walk, in communion with our Maker.  This is what we were made for.

Eternal Life has its origin in God’s nature.  To put it another way, Eternal Life cannot exist apart from God.  This is what is meant by “perishing” in John 3:16.  Eternal Life, then, could be most simply thought of as life with God… enjoying his presence, living together with Him.

Living together with Him?  That is an extraordinary idea… and perhaps one of the reasons we so naturally, if erroneously, equate Eternal Life with Heaven.  Yes, we will live together with Him in Heaven...  But here is the extraordinary bit:  Is it possible that we could live our lives in the presence of God in the here and now?  Consider Jesus’ words in John 14:23… “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”  This is a remarkable statement.  The thought that the Father and Son will make their home with them is cool enough… to do so they will come to them…  this is not God beaming us up to heaven, but getting right down here in the here and now to live with us.  How cool is that?!!!

Such a statement argues powerfully for a very “now” dimension to Eternal Life.  Note the very intentional use of present and past tense as Jesus explains in John 5:24, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” 

This “life” - Eternal Life – takes place within “the Kingdom of God,” of which we are now citizens, giving ourselves over to God’s sovereign will and purposes.  Jesus answers the Pharisee’s question as to when the Kingdom of God would come with this simple declaration (Luke 17:21):  For indeed, the Kingdom of God is in your midst (or within you, depending on the translation).”  Both versions speak plainly to a very “now” sort of thing.  

So Eternal Life is something that we are meant to experience in the here and now.  This fact is expanded upon in 2Cor5:17, where Paul describes the transformation, the newness of life we experience as recipients of Eternal Life, as a present, rather than future, reality.  Notice the very distinct usage of present and past tense here…  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

… “the new has come”

****************

 

The phrase “Eternal Life” is perhaps one of the least adequately understood and most mis-used terms in all of modern Christianity; so much so that we are in danger of completely missing its true meaning and essential nature.  By equating Eternal Life with the promised afterlife in Heaven, by insisting that eternal life is a future state, something that begins after death, we strip it of all its richness and relevance for the here and now.  Jesus clearly said that our experience of Eternal Life – that is, life with God – is to begin now.  In failing to appreciate this critical fact, we miss out on the abundant life he came to bless us with.  As we receive his gift of Eternal Life and practice the presence of God in our everyday life, the sense of futility, meaninglessness, and angst that characterize life apart from God are transformed into a very real sense of purpose and significance.  We are blessed, to be a blessing.