The Doctrine Of Eternal Life

I.            Introduction:

              The final phrase of John 3:16 reads, “ … anyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” The verb “believes” is the present active participle of:

                             / pisteuo / - with the pronoun / pas / it is translated “anyone who believes.”

                             present:              Gnomic; refers to that which is an aphorism.  An aphorism is a brief statement of a principle.  When found in Scripture it becomes a universal point of doctrine that is always true.

                             active:   Any member of the human race, under the principle of unlimited atonement, can believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life.

                             participle:           Circumstantial indicating volitional contingency.

              This belief is directed toward the Person and work of Jesus Christ which is indicated by the prepositional phrase:

/ eis /, plus the accusative of the pronoun / echo /, translated “in Him,” meaning that Jesus Christ is the object of merit toward which the unbeliever directs his faith. This faith alone in Christ alone results in the avoidance of the lake of fire, noted by the term, “shall not perish” and the acquisition of “eternal life”:

/ aionios /, translated “eternal,” plus the accusative singular noun / zoe /, which means “life.”

              The gnomic present of / pisteuo / means that the result becomes a reality at the moment an unbeliever puts his faith in Christ. Further this new believer continues to have eternal life without end.  The word “eternal” contains the concept of infinite duration.

              The eternal life of God has “infinite duration” that extends into eternity past as well as into the eternal future. It is God’s desire to impute His very own life to anyone who believes in His Son for salvation.  Such a person possesses eternal life that has infinite duration into the eternal future.

 

II.           Segments of Eternal Life:

1.           While in time.  The believer has eternal life while living on earth in a mortal body.  During this period he possesses eternal life in his human spirit but his soul is bound to the body and remains so until physical death or the rapture of the Church occurs.

2.           Between physical death and the rapture.  When a believer dies he obviously does so prior to the rapture at which point the resurrection body is issued.  Therefore, in the interim the believer is granted an interim body with eternal life.  All believers are in heaven but without the distinguishing features of winners or losers.

3.           At the rapture.  Resurrection bodies are issued to believers at the conclusion of the church age.  All believers, dead or alive, have eternal life.  Those who are dead return in interim body and receive their resurrection bodies.  Those who remain alive are transformed from mortal bodies to resurrection bodies.  All follow Christ into heaven.

 

III.          Characteristics of Each Segment:

              Human life, which is soul life plus biological life, experiences regeneration at the moment of salvation.  Although human life goes on, eternal life now exists in the newly created human spirit but in a body of corruption.  The body’s genetically inherited sinful nature continues to be a source of temptation for the soul until this segment of eternal life is concluded at physical death.

At the beginning of this segment the demonstration of the love of God results in eternal life being imputed to the person who places his faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.  The following passage describes how the love of God provides salvation and eternal life to any who believe:

Titus 3:4 - When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

v. 5 -      He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

v. 6 -      Whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

v. 7 -      that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

              These verses enable us see the gracious acts of God on our behalf.  He finds us in total depravity but provides the means by which we might enter into eternal life with Him, not through our own works but rather through the substitutionary work of Christ.

              In verse 4 we see the love of God expressed in the grace of God.    The word translated “kindness” is the nominative subject:

/ chrestotes / -  Can be translated: mild, kind, helpful, friendly.   

              However, these are very weak terms that better describe characteristics of human interaction rather than the character of an almighty God. In context, God is dealing with totally depraved and spiritually dead people who are in total opposition to the righteousness of God and under judgment.  It clouds the dynamics of God’s love to describe His approach to us in such humanistic terms as mild, kind, helpful, and friendly.

              What is going on here is the demonstration of the love of God through the grace of God based on the righteousness of God and executed by the justice of God. The full phrase from verse 4 is: / he chrestotes tou theou /: “the gracious acts of God.”  This is a subjective genitive with a noun of action: The word in the genitive case, / theou /, “God,” produces the action implied by the noun of action, / chrestotes /, “gracious acts.”  With this translation in mind the following commentary is helpful.  It is taken from:

 

Friedrich, Gerhard.  Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley.  Vol. 9.  (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 488:

One might define / he chrestotes tou theou / as God’s gracious restraint in face of the sins of His people in the time prior to Christ.  It has special reference to God’s act of grace effected in and through Christ.  For Paul / he chrestotes tou theou / is the gracious action in which God has been constantly engaged, but which He has completed in a special way and a special act, and made universal, in and through Christ.

 

              Verse 4 also speaks of God’s “love for mankind” and how it “appeared.”  This makes reference to the demonstration of God’s love through the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, and the cross.

              When an unbeliever expresses faith alone in Christ alone then his soul is saved from eternal condemnation in the lake of fire. Faith alone in Christ alone is nonmeritorious and therefore cancels any dependence upon one’s own “deeds … done in righteousness” mentioned in verse 5.  Such deeds find their source in self-righteous attitudes sponsored by the sinful nature and produce deeds of darkness.

              The “washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” makes reference to the creation of the human spirit, the forgiveness of presalvation sins, and the imputation of the 39 irrevocable assets.  All of these things are “according to His mercy”:

/ kata / plus / eleos /, “according to the standards of His mercy.”

              The preposition / kata / refers to standards under which one functions.  It can be translated “according to, in accordance with, in conformity with, or corresponding to.”  These standards make reference to the righteousness of God and are expressed in His dealings with fallen humanity.  It should be translated, “according to the standards of His mercy.” The word “mercy” is the accusative noun:

/ eleos /, which means mercy, compassion, or clemency.  This can be done on the part of man toward man or on the part of God toward man.  The latter is obviously the case here.

              / eleos / is an action that assumes need on the part of the person who receives it, that the one who decides to meet those needs possesses the adequate resources to do so, and then proceeds to demonstrate them.

              Now let’s take a look at verses 4-5 in an expanded translation:

Titus 3:4 - When the gracious acts of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared [ the demonstration of the love of God through Jesus Christ ],

v. 5 - He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness [ the self-righteous production of human good ], but according to the standards His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

 

              The final two phrases have to do with the salvation ministries of the Holy Spirit.  The “washing of regeneration” has to do with the creation of the human spirit while “renewing by the Holy Spirit” refers to being transformed into a new spiritual species with 40 operational assets. The origin of the Holy Spirit’s ministries to Church Age believers is the subject of verse six and refers back to Acts 2 where the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred for the first time.

              Another doctrine of soteriology is mentioned in verse 7 and makes possible the reception of escrow blessings in time and eternity.

              The word “justification” is / dikaioo / and refers to the vindication of the believer before the righteousness of God due to faith alone in Christ alone. Justification is the result of Judicial Imputation #2 which is made possible by Judicial Imputation #1.

              Judicial Imputation #1 is the imputation of the sins of all mankind to Christ.  Since divine righteousness demands righteousness then it must demand condemnation of our sins in Christ. Whatever righteousness demands, justice must execute.  Consequently, justice must judge our sins which are imputed to Christ.

              When we believe in Christ we receive the forgiveness of all our presalvation sins.  The “washing of regeneration” results in divine righteousness approving of the believer’s expression of faith toward God’s demonstration of His love. Now free from sin and forgiven of them, we qualify for the judicial imputation of God’s righteousness to us.  This is Judicial Imputation #2. The possession of God’s righteousness sets up a grace pipeline through which justice can bless the believer.

              The first blessing received is vindication before the Supreme Court of Heaven.  This vindication is mentioned in our verse by the word / dikaioo / or “justification.” With this grace pipeline established, God is free to impute blessings to us as we advance in His perfect plan. There are certain things that we inherit due to our faith in Christ and one of them is mentioned: eternal life.

              We are to have great confidence in our eternal life because the word translated “hope” but the better renderings is “confident expectation of something that is secure and guaranteed.” Titus 3:6-7 look this way in corrected translation:

Titus 3:6 - Whom God poured out upon us [ baptism of the Holy Spirit ] through the agency of Jesus Christ our Savior,

v. 7 - that being vindicated by His grace through the imputation of divine righteousness we might be made heirs according to the confident expectation of eternal life which is secure and guaranteed.

 

              This passage documents the fact that we receive eternal life at the moment of salvation and it mentions several doctrines that make our relationship with God possible in time. Although we remain in this life in mortal and corrupt bodies, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are a new spiritual species, and we have eternal life.

              This arrangement continues until the moment of our physical death.

              At physical death the believer’s human spirit, which possesses eternal life, and his immortal soul are dismissed from the body of corruption and they enter into the eternal state. The segment of eternal life that takes place after physical death but before the resurrection of the Church is referred to as the believer’s “interim life.” This segment of our eternal life transpires for an unknown duration but begins with physical death and ends with the resurrection of the church.

              Since interim life for Church Age believers occurs before the rapture of the Church then we must conclude that there is no distinction between winners and losers during this segment of our eternal life. Further, there are indications in Scripture that we will also possess an interim body during this segment.  It will be visible to others and we will be recognizable to those who know us. This is brought out first of all by the grammar of:

2 Corinthians 5:6 - Therefore, being always of good courage knowing that while we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord.

v. 7 -      For we walk by faith [ led by means of Bible doctrine resident in our souls ] and not by sight.

v. 8 -      Therefore, we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body [human body of corruption in time] and to be at home face-to-face with the Lord [interim body in heaven].

 

              The phrase “face-to-face with the Lord” is derived from the preposition / pros / plus the accusative of the noun / Kurios /.  This proposition plus the accusative case is best translated, “face-to-face with the Lord.” This indicates that our presence in the third heaven includes an interim body to accompany our human spirit, soul, and eternal life.  This segment of eternal life is called “interim life” and the body is called the “interim body.” The Lord Himself provides us documentation of the interim body in Luke 16:19-31.

 

              The final segment of eternal life begins at the resurrection of the Church called the Rapture and continues to infinity.

              The Rapture is a term that refers to the resurrection of all Church Age believers.  The biblical term is the noun / harpazo /, which means, “to seize, take suddenly, or take away.”  The English word “rapture” is taken from the Latin noun raptus, defined by the:

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “rapt” and “rapture”:

Taken and carried up to heaven.  The act of seizing and carrying off.  The act of conveying a person from one place to another, especially to heaven.

              We can see from these definitions that the Greek / harpazo / and the Latin raptus are synonymous.  The word / harpazo /  appears in several verses but the one that is best known is in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 -    If we believe that Jesus died and rose again [ and we do ], even so God [ omnipotence of God the Father ] will bring with Him [ Jesus Christ ] those who have fallen asleep [ Church Age believers who have died physically ].

v. 15 -    For this doctrine we communicate to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord [ those who are physically alive in human bodies at the Lord’s return for His Church ] shall not precede [ not receive their resurrection bodies first ] those who have fallen asleep [ Church Age believers, who died physically during the dispensation, return with Christ and receive their resurrection bodies first ].

v. 16 -    For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout [ the voice command of the archangel, Gabriel ] and with the trumpet of God [ the reveille of resurrection ]; in fact, the dead in Christ shall rise first [ those who died physically beforehand ].

v. 17 -    Then we who are living and who remain on the earth shall be caught up [ future passive indicative of / harpazo /: raptured ] together with them [ dead believers ] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord [ eternal life now in resurrection bodies ].

 

              The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit provides a resurrection body for the living believers at the Rapture, replacing their bodies of mortality with resurrection bodies of immortality.  This is noted in another resurrection passage, 1 Corinthians 15:53-54.

           There is yet another synonym for “rapture” in Scripture.  It is an / hapax legomenon / found in:

Philippians 3:11 - If by any means [ Paul speculates whether he will be physically dead or alive at the moment of the Rapture ] I shall arrive at my eternal inheritance at the point of the exit resurrection from the dead [/ exanastasis / ].

 

                                           The Rapture or Exit Resurrection is characterized by the imputation of a resurrection body to every Church Age believer, a transformation described in:

1 Corinthians 15:50 -      Now this I confirm, brethren, that flesh and blood [ the human body ] cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does corruption [ the genetically formed sinful nature in every cell of the human body ] inherit incorruption [ resurrection body ].

 

                                           Biological life was designed by our Lord to function only in time and space.  In order for us to function in the eternal state there must be provided a body that has the capacity for eternal life.  This is referred to as a body of immortality and incorruption, i.e., it is eternal without the sinful nature.

v. 51 -    Behold, I communicate to you a mystery [ Church Age doctrine ]. We shall be changed in a moment,

v. 52 -    in the winking of an eye [ a chronon of time ], at the last trumpet [ Gabriel blows his horn ]: for the trumpet shall sound [ resurrection reveille ], and the dead shall be raised incorruptible [ a resurrection body ], and we [ those alive at the Rapture ] shall be changed.

 

                                           One generation of the Church Age believers will go from a body of corruption to incorruption, from a human body to a resurrection body, without an interim body.

1 Corinthians 15:53 -      For this corruptible [ human body with a sinful nature ] must put on incorruption [ a resurrection body free of the sinful nature ] and this mortal [ human body afflicted by the aging process ] shall put on immortality [ a body with capacity to exist forever in the eternal state ].

v. 54 -    Now when this corruption has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality [ resurrection body plus eternal life ], then the doctrine that stands written will occur: [ Isaiah 25:8 ] “He will swallow up death as a result of victory for all time.

v. 55 -    “O, death, where is your sting? O, death, where is your victory?

 

                                           God decides the time, manner and place of our death.  Nothing can take us out of this life apart from God, not even at the Rapture. When we know God’s will for our lives, death has lost its sting and the grave has no victory.  And the believer who advances in the double column to spiritual maturity has lost his fear of death.

v. 56 -    The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law,

v. 57 -    But thanks be to God, Who gives to us the victory [ over death ] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

              During his time on earth, the Church Age believer is left free to use his own volition to advance in God’s plan or not.  Those who advance will be rewarded while those who do not will loose the conveyance of their rewards. In other words, we determine whether we will redeem and invest time or ignore and flout time.  But God determines whether we die physical death or are a member of the Rapture generation. Only divine sovereignty decides which generation will be the one and only divine omniscience knows when the Rapture will occur. Whenever it occurs, believers at the Rapture thus enter into the third and final segment of eternal life: immortal soul plus resurrection body in eternal life that will exist forever in the eternal state.