And 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 God’s plan for man. Over the years, many have believed that man was restored to what Adam lost in the garden. As true as that may be, there is so much more God made available to man than what Adam lost in the garden. What many have communicated—that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin was introduced into the world—is true. Throughout the Old Testament, we see symbols that are only understood through the eyes of the New Testament and point to Christ Jesus.
Our Lord Jesus says in our opening verse, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3). In the above verse, Jesus reveals the plan of the Father. Recall that Jesus mentions this in John 10:10b: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The life Jesus referred to couldn’t have been human life because the people weren’t dead. The life of God—eternal life—was what Jesus was communicating to the Jews—that He came to make the plan of God accessible to everyone. Do not believe the misinformation being peddled by some that eternal life is only available in the hereafter.
The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, shares this plan as a reminder to believers. “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2). From the above verse, it is evident that what God promised before the beginning of the world was much more than what Adam had in the garden. God’s promise of eternal life predates Adam! This life is only available in Christ Jesus. God has made eternal life available to man, and accepting it—by believing and confessing Jesus as Lord—is the only means through which eternal life is imparted in your spirit.
CONFESSION
God’s eternal life is at home in my spirit because I am born again—not of a corruptible seed but incorruptible by the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Glory to God!