Eternal Life and Fellowship with God in Christianity
Eternal Life and Fellowship with God in Christianity
Eternal life is a central concept in Christianity, described as a life of acquaintance with God in Christ [6]. According to Jesus' own words, "This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ" [2]. This definition emphasizes the relational aspect of eternal life, highlighting the importance of knowing God personally.
The biblical basis for eternal life is rooted in various passages throughout the New Testament. In John's Gospel, Jesus is quoted as saying that he gives eternal life to those who believe in him (John 10:28) [11]. The apostle John also writes that "God has given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life" (1 John 5:11-12) [9, 13]. Eternal life is not just a future promise but a present reality for believers, who experience a newness of life derived from Christ (Romans 6:4) [1].
Fellowship with God is closely tied to the concept of eternal life. It involves a deepening relationship with God, characterized by mutual affection, agreement with God's designs, and enjoyment of his presence [3]. This fellowship is not limited to the individual believer but is also experienced within the community of faith, where believers share in duties, ordinances, and mutual interests (Romans 12:4-5, 13; Hebrews 13:16) [3].
Different Christian traditions have nuanced understandings of eternal life and fellowship with God. The Eastern Orthodox tradition emphasizes the importance of experiencing God's loving-kindness and glory, with worship and devotion directed towards the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit [8]. In the Reformed tradition, eternal life is seen as a gift from God, received through faith in Christ, and characterized by a life of justification and sanctification (John 3:16; Romans 6:8) [11, 12]. The Methodist/Wesleyan tradition highlights the promise of eternal life to those who believe in Christ and continue in communion with the Father and the Son [10].
The concept of eternal life is contrasted with eternal death or punishment, which is described as a miserable fate for the wicked in hell (Matthew 25:46; Mark 3:29) [4]. The duration of eternal life is emphasized by the use of terms like "aionios" and "aidios," which convey a sense of timelessness and eternity (1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 1:18) [4].
The hope of eternal life is a fundamental element of Christian character, joined to faith and love (1 Corinthians 13:13) [5]. Believers are described as having a lively hope of the inheritance reserved for them in heaven, which is characterized as eternal, incorruptible, and never fading (Ephesians 1:18; 1 Peter 3:15) [7].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Eternal life — This expression occurs in the Old Testament only in Dan. 12:2 (R.V., "everlasting life"). It occurs frequently in the New Testament (Matt. 7:14; 18:8, 9; Luke 10:28; comp. 18:18). It comprises the whole future of the redeemed (Luke 16:9), and is opposed to "eternal punishment" (Matt. 19:29; 25:46). It is the final reward and glory into which the children of God enter (1 Tim. 6:12, 19; Rom. 6:22; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 1:16; Rom. 5:21); their Sabbath of rest (Heb. 4:9; comp. 12:22). The newness of life which the believer derives from Christ (Rom. 6:4) is the ”
- John “This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. -- John 17:3”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Fellowship — (1.) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will (Job 22:21; John 17:3); agreement with his designs (Amos 3:2); mutual affection (Rom. 8: 38, 39); enjoyment of his presence (Ps. 4:6); conformity to his image (1 John 2:6; 1:6); and participation of his felicity (1 John 1:3, 4; Eph. 3:14-21). (2.) Of saints with one another, in duties (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:1; 1 Thess. 5:17, 18); in ordinances (Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:46); in grace, love, joy, etc. (Mal. 3:16; 2 Cor. 8:4); mutual interest, spiritual and temporal (Rom. 12:4, 13; Heb. 13:16); in sufferings (”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Eternal death — The miserable fate of the wicked in hell (Matt. 25:46; Mark 3:29; Heb. 6:2; 2 Thess. 1:9; Matt. 18:8; 25:41; Jude 1:7). The Scripture as clearly teaches the unending duration of the penal sufferings of the lost as the "everlasting life," the "eternal life" of the righteous. The same Greek words in the New Testament (aion, aionios, aidios) are used to express (1) the eternal existence of God (1 Tim. 1:17; Rom. 1:20; 16:26); (2) of Christ (Rev. 1:18); (3) of the Holy Ghost (Heb. 9:14); and (4) the eternal duration of the sufferings of the lost (Matt. 25”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Hope — One of the three main elements of Christian character (1 Cor. 13:13). It is joined to faith and love, and is opposed to seeing or possessing (Rom. 8:24; 1 John 3:2). "Hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity (1 Pet. 3:15; Heb. 10:23). In it the whole glory of the Christian vocation is centred (Eph. 1:18; 4:4)." Unbelievers are without this hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:13). Christ is the actual object of the believer's hope, because it is in”
- John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 17:3: this is--that. life eternal, that they might--may. know, &c.--This life eternal, then, is not mere conscious and unending existence, but a life of acquaintance with God in Christ (Job 22:21). thee, the only true God--the sole personal living God; in glorious contrast equally with heathen polytheism, philosophic naturalism, and mystic pantheism. and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent--This is the only place where our Lord gives Himself this compound name, afterwards so current in apostolic preaching and writing. Here the terms are used in their stri”
- Ephesians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ephesians 3:6: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs,.... With the Jews, of all the blessings of grace, of lasting salvation, and of the eternal, incorruptible, and never fading inheritance in heaven; that they should be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus, and inherit all things: and heirs they are by being Christ's, and on account of their special adoption through him, and their justification by his righteousness; and which appears by their regeneration to a lively hope of the inheritance reserved for them in heaven: and of the same body: coalesce in one and the ”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 & 2 Corinthians: loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and always, and unto all the ages of eternity. Amen.”
- 1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 5:12: the Son . . . life--Greek, "THE life." BENGEL remarks, The verse has two clauses: in the former the Son is mentioned without the addition "of God," for believers know the Son: in the second clause the addition "of God" is made, that unbelievers may know thereby what a serious thing it is not to have Him. In the former clause "has" bears the emphasis; in the second, life. To have the Son is to be able to say as the bride, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine" [Sol 6:3]. Faith is the mean whereby the regenerate HAVE Christ as a present possession, ”
- 1 John (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 John 2:25: This is the promise - God has promised eternal life to all who believe on Christ Jesus. So they who receive his doctrine, and continue in communion with the Father and the Son, shall have this eternal life.”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 10:28: And I give unto them eternal life,.... Christ gives eternal life to his sheep, or people now; he gives them a spiritual life, or a life of grace, which issues in eternal life; he gives them himself, who is the true God and eternal life, and whoever has him has life; he gives them the knowledge of himself, which is life eternal; and he gives them his righteousness, which is their justification of life, or what entitles them to eternal life; and he gives them the foretastes of it, in faith and hope, in the enjoyment of himself, and the discoveries of his love; he gives t”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 6:8: Now if we be dead with Christ,.... This does not imply any doubt about it, but is rather a taking it for granted: seeing we are dead with Christ by union with him, as our head and representative, and by communion with him in the benefits of his death, and being planted together in the likeness of it; or being dead to the law, sin, and the world, through the virtue and efficacy of Christ's death: we believe that we shall also live with him; not only a life of justification by faith in his righteousness; and a life of sanctification from him, and to his glory; the cont”
- 1 John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 John 5:11: And this is the record,.... The sum and substance of it, with respect to the person of Christ, and the security of salvation in him, who is the true God, and eternal life: that God hath given to us eternal life; which is a life of glory and happiness hereafter; in the present state is unseen, but will in the world to come be a life of vision, free from all the sorrows and imperfections of this; and will be of the utmost perfection and pleasure, and for ever. This is a pure free grace gift of God the Father, proceeding from his sovereigns good will and pleasure, and ”