Glorious Everlasting life (contd)

Eternal Salvation

The life which mankind has standing in Christ after His death and resurrection is spiritual and eternal. But when one believes and receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he receives the right or authority to become a child of God, an adopted son. He is then translated from the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. At the point of acceptance, and translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, the individual receives eternal salvation. Christ gives them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of His hand (John 1:12; Colossians 1:13; John 10:28-29).

Eternal Salvation is to believe and accept what transpired on the cross. It is to believe in Jesus Christ as the Beloved Son of God who divested Himself of His divinity to become the Son of Man, so that, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15; Romans 10:8-13).

Those who choose to believe Jesus Christ and receive Him have been born again, “not of blood [human life], nor of the will of the flesh [human passion and desires], nor of the will of man [one’s determination], but of God” (John 1:12-13).

It is, by grace we have all been saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. Eternal life is Jesus Christ, who is also the substance of faith, He is God’s gift to all mankind, and in whom we all stand.

Eternal Life therefore constitutes two things:-

• Eternal existence of the spirit:

• Eternal salvation of the spirit

Everlasting Life however is different from both the eternal existence of the spirit, and the eternal salvation of the spirit. It is the everlasting existence of the human body, which has a beginning and would have naturally ended, for it is appointed unto man to die, but it will be made to live forever. In contrast, eternal life has eternally existed, and will continue to exist forever. Eternal death is not the cessation of life as with physical death, but it is separation from God.

Everlasting life therefore, is the immortality of the human body which Christ alluded to by saying, “Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is of born of water [flesh] and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

In order for anyone to inherit the kingdom of God, the mortal must put on immortality, and the corruptible must put on incorruptibility, because Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God: nor does corruption inherit in-corruption” (1 Corinthians 15: 50-53; Romans 8:11, 23).

Everlasting life or immortality is guaranteed only to those who, not only believe in Jesus Christ as the Beloved Son of God, who became the Son of Man and died for the sins of man, but who also believes in Jesus Christ as the Begotten Son of God who became our resurrection and the life.

While eternal life is a gift, everlasting life however is a reward for righteous living, which leads to holiness, and at the end one reaps the reward of everlasting life or the redemption of the body. For it is written; “Now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is everlasting life.” Whereas eternal life is a free gift, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:22-23).

Furthermore we have been warned saying; “Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked, a man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature will reap destruction (corruption), and the one who sows to please the Spirit, will from the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:7-8).

It is those who believe in Jesus Christ as the begotten Son of God, the resurrection and the life and who walks as Jesus Christ walked that should not perish but have everlasting life. The truth of the matter is, Christ became the begotten Son of God at the resurrection when He was; “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Romans 1:4).

As God alone, Christ could not have saved humanity, because as God He cannot die. As man alone He could not save us either, for He could have only saved Himself. He had to be both God and man.

As the Son of Man, Jesus Christ was made lower that the angels for the suffering of death. As the begotten Son of God, He is crowned with glory and honor. “For to which of the angels did God ever say; ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten you? And again, ‘I will be to Him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? But when He again brings the first born [from mortal to immortal] into the world, He says; let the angels of God worship Him” (Hebrews 1:5-6).

The Son of Man became the Begotten Son of God by the quality of life He lived as the Son of Man. This life is indicative of how His followers ought to live because, He came to set us an example that we should follow His steps and, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6).

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, but became the first born [from mortal to immortal] among many brethren who will receive the adoption as sons. And so we are told that, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 1:6, 2:10, 17, 18; Galatians 4:4-5).

Everlasting life therefore, is the immortality of the human body which will differ from one degree of glory to another, as there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in in-corruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.