Eternal life is a metonymy for God’s life. Merriam Webster defines “metonymy” as “a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated.”[1] For example, the “White House” is often used as a metonymy for the Office of the President of the United States. Eternal life is God’s life, which He wants to share with us. Eternal life is a participation in the life of God.
In the New Testament, “eternal life” is also a “collocation,” meaning a pair of words often used together. Being eternal is a unique attribute of God. This idea was first developed in the Old Testament. At Psalm 93:2, we read, “Your throne is established from of old; You are from eternity.” The Hebrew noun ʿôlām is defined as “always and continuous existence.”[2] In the New Testament, the Greek adjective aiōnios is uniquely paired with the noun zōē 43 times. Aiōnios is defined as “perpetual, forever, eternal.”[3] Zōē is defined as “life.”[4]
Eternal life includes the idea of an eternal existence, but eternal life is much more than a never-ending existence. We receive the gift of eternal life at the moment we first believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Eternal life is a unique type, kind, and quality of life produced in us humans by God’s Spirit and Word. However, eternal life is also something that we must take hold of or as to which we must lay hold (1 Tim. 6:12). As a result of our spiritual growth, we can, more and more, share in the life of God. Furthermore, God’s life also includes the praise, glory, and honor uniquely due to God. For example, at Psalm 29:2, we read, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.” Glory is another attribute of God. Incredibly, God wants to share His praise, glory, and honor with us. At 1 Peter 1:6-7, we read,
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious that gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It has been God’s plan from the beginning that He (God) will give us humans the opportunity to share in God’s rule over His creation. God has had big plans for humanity from the beginning. At Genesis 1:26, we read, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule….” At 1 Corinthians 6:3, Paul wrote, “Do you not know that we will judge angels?”
With all of this in mind, let us continue to take a look at the subject of “eternal life” in the epistles of John, the Elder. At 1 John 1:1-4, we read about John, the Elder’s, description of Jesus Christ:
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
In this passage, we learn that Jesus Christ (God incarnate) manifested and modeled eternal life for us. Further, we learn that eternal life is an experience of fellowship with Jesus Christ and the Father. Sharing in God’s life includes living in fellowship with God and sharing in God’s joy and happiness. Our relationship with God should be our primary relationship, and we are required to experience all of the rest of God’s creation in light of and in fellowship with God.
At Matthew 19:16, a rich, young ruler came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded, “Why are you asking me about what is good? There is only One who is good, but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). In order to experience God’s life, we must follow God’s commandments. We must walk by the Spirit and Word. Also, Jesus is implying that He knows what is good because He is from God, and He is, in fact, God. All of God’s commandments are summed up in the first and foremost commandment: “And you shall love the Lord God with all your heart and soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5).
If we want to participate in the life of God, we must first believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and then we must think, speak, and act in ways that are pleasing to God by means of God’s Spirit and Word. We all live under a moral imperative to do God’s will. We must have perseverance in seeking God and doing good. At Romans 2:6, God warned us that everyone will be rewarded according to his or her works or deeds. At Roman’s 2:7, Paul wrote, “to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He [God] will give eternal life.”
At Galatians 6:8, Paul wrote, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” The Apostle Paul used the example of the human labor expended in sowing seeds to produce a future harvest of wheat, fruit, or vegetables as an image of walking by the Spirit, which then produces the experience of eternal life. As believers, we can sow to the flesh, or we can sow to the Spirit. If we sow to the flesh, we will be led by and dominated by our feelings and inherent desires. If we are led by the Spirit, we are primarily guided and directed by God, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. We must give precedence to the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit and Word over our feelings and inherent desires. We reap (share in God’s life) by means of God’s Spirit and Word. Sharing in God’s life includes the sharing in God’s wisdom. Eternal life is a life of knowing God and living in fellowship with God (1 John 5:20).
At Matthew 19:28, Jesus told His followers,
‘Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.’
The Greek noun palingenesia is defined as the “spiritual renovation, messianic restoration, [or] regeneration,”[5] which will occur at the return of Jesus Christ to Planet Earth. As we see in this verse, a part of sharing in the life of God is sharing in the rule and special blessings of God, which will be inaugurated visibly here on Planet Earth at the return of the Messiah.
For more information about Eternal Life, please see this YouTube Bible Class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxeQ52sgxE0
[1] “Metonymy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metonymy. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.
[2] “H5769 – ʿôlām – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Dec, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5769/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
[3] “G166 – aiōnios – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Dec, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g166/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
[4] “G2222 – zōē – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Dec, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2222/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
[5] “G3824 – palingenesia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 27 Dec, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3824/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
