Want to Know What Eternal Life Is?

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

1Jn 5:20  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. He is the true God and eternal life. ESV

Have you given any thought to eternal life? Do you think it means living in heaven forever? Jesus has something to say on the matter. He referred to eternal life in the prayer that is recorded in the 17th chapter of the book of John.

The apostle John also wrote about eternal life near the end of the 5th chapter of his first letter. Neither place does it mention Heaven. Nor do these passages refer simply to living forever. If we want to understand what eternal life really is we ought to consider what God has to say about it in Scripture.

Take a look at what Jesus said. This is eternal life. That they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom God sent. Notice that it doesn't just say that eternal life is to know God. It says it is to know God and Jesus Christ whom God sent. I believe Jesus worded it that way because God is spirit and we are incapable to truly knowing God on our own. God had to come in the flesh as both the Son of God and Son of Man so He could be observed and heard and clearly written about for following generations of people like you and me.

Consider this other thing that Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:;6 (ESV)

 Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the life. To have the life that is eternal we have to have Jesus. To know what eternal life is we have to know Jesus. To truly know Jesus, He has to make Himself known to us and the principle way He does that is through what is written in Scripture.

Do you want eternal life? You can't have it apart from knowing Jesus Christ. So if you do want eternal life then look to the Bible to see what God has to say about Himself and His Son who is God in the flesh. Keep in mind that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. We may not like that to be true but we're not the one who decides what is true or fair. We're not perfect. God is.