What is eternal life? Does this question matter to you?
The Bible defines it with this 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 NKJV
Eternal Life is defined by Jesus as knowing God as the only true God and in knowing Jesus Christ, the sent one, to accomplish salvation.
Knowing Jesus is to understand what He came to do and to appropriate His work to you by believing that His work was done for you – that He came to die for your sins, sins for which you deserve to die an eternal death in Hell for.
If you know Jesus in this saving way, then you also know the Father who sent His Son.
“For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” John 17:8 NKJV
Jesus glorified His Father in doing His will.
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.” John 17:6 NKJV
To each of them, Christ has revealed Himself as the Righteousness of God, by His grace and mercy.
Jesus intercedes for His people, those whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Note, He does not pray indiscriminately, for His grace is a discriminating grace, and His love is a discriminating love.
His death is a discriminating death. He died for those given to Him by the Father.
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.”
He prays for them, not those of the world.
Not only does He pray for them, but He preserves them in their salvation. Christ brings His salvation to them, but preserves them in their state of salvation. No one can snatch them from this state of salvation.
“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:28 NKJV
Not only does Christ grant them salvation, but He maintains and secures it by His death, resurrection and ascension. As their King, He accomplishes salvation by His power and preserves them by His power.
They will NEVER perish.
Believer, take comfort in this. If you trust in Christ, you will NEVER perish. You will only know life in union with Christ, both in this life and the life to come.
You have resurrection life both now and forever.
He is in essence declaring, ‘by My death You will grant to them pardon from their sins.’ He is effecting their salvation on Calvary’s cross for them.
So, if you are trusting in Christ Jesus and His work for eternal life, you certainly have it.