What Is The Meaning Of Eternal Life In The Bible? (Verses & Quotes)

Romans 6:23 says we will be punished for the wrongs we have done on earth if we have not accepted Jesus as our savior.

We all deserved death, but Jesus took all the penalties, sins, over Him, and gave a beautiful gift of eternal life, making us spend the rest of the infinite time with Him.

What a great gift it is!

It’s a Love Story

The gift of eternal life begins with a love story. God’s love story to humankind! It begins with a Bible verse that many people have clung to for generations.

When I think about eternal life, I think about how much we are loved. God loved us so much that he gave his Son over to a sinful man.

There he would endure much affliction and die on the cross, so we would one day be able to reign in Heaven forever.

Infinite Love for the Unworthy

To hand over this gift, He had to lower Himself in all aspects of His life on the earth. The Son of God came down to earth to set us free, and we cannot hang on with our sin to reach the heavens to have our eternal life.

What is eternal life? Eternal life is something which cannot be earned of our self by any means. It was made available only by Jesus by offering Him as an eternal sacrifice to earn life for us in heaven for our sins.

I want to start by saying that the Bible can better be understood if we look at some words and then compare them with their opposites.

Take, for instance,

light and darkness,

life and death,

hell and heaven,

righteousness and sin,

God, Satan, etc.

Those sets of words give us a look at what the Scripture is all about.

The book Bible is about God and all that He is and offers humanity – life, light, righteousness, heaven, etc. And about Satan and all that he represents – death, darkness, hell, sin, etc.

Now, I’d like to say that the Bible talks about two eternities.

One is eternity with God, which is called eternal life,
and the other is eternity with Satan, which is called eternal damnation.
They are both eternities – they have no end.

Now when a person who formerly did not know God, one who is said to be dead in sin and iniquities (remember the term life and death) receives Jesus into his spirit as His Savior and Lord, he that hitherto was dead spiritually in this case, comes alive in God with the very life of God.

He is quickened by the breath (Spirit) of God. That spiritual life that the person receives at that instant is called eternal life.

This is what Scripture means in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And 1 John 5:11-12:

Did you get that? I know you did.

Why is this life Eternal?

Now you want to ask, what is eternal about this life or why is it called eternal.

One, it is eternal because it is the very life and nature of the eternal God Himself. (See 2 Pet. 1:4 and Acts 17:28)

Two, it is eternal because it cannot be destroyed, dammed, or go into extinction. (See 1 Pet. 1:23)

Third, this life is the very breath of God in the new man himself. (See 1 Cor. 6:17 and Eph. 4:24)

Four, life is eternal because it conquers death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Cor. 15:54-55)

But I like for you to notice something; the term eternal life in the Bible is descriptive. It doesn’t completely tell what LIFE is exactly, but it only gives us a description of it.

It says it is eternal, which means it is incorruptible, indestructible, and even a life that lives itself. There is so much to the life of God that we may never know this side of the universe.

God is all life and gives life. Everything He is and does is life.

That is what we received in Jesus when we were born again, the very life of God in all its fullness. Though we may never know all, there is to the LIFE until we get to heaven.

What Is Eternal Life, Therefore?

I want to reiterate that life is all that God is. He is life itself. He is one who imparts life to all creation.

Whether it is animal, vegetable, human, angelic life, He is the source of it all, for they all come from Him. (See John 1:4) Yet the very life of God differs from all these kinds of life.

He is indestructible and endless life. God has made it available to the fallen man through Christ. Thus, eternal life is possible in Jesus Christ.

Eternal Life beats beneath the chest of God. It is God’s heartbeat. He breathes and lives an eternal life. It is the very nature of God.

We are humans because we have human life. We could have been animals if we had animal life. God is God because of the eternal life that He is. But thank God that He called humans to partake of this very life as God has it.

The gift of God – Great Sacrifice and Great Gift for the Unworthy

It hasn’t been an easy task for the Father to give up His Son for our sins. Rom 5:8 shows off how much God loves us despite knowing that we are sinners and that Father was ready to offer His Son.

Jesus rearranged the words of “Evil” to “Live” so we can have our eternal life with Him. The greatest gift that anyone can receive.

All that the loving God expects us to trust Him and believe Him as the true God and live a sinless life to reap the eternal life He is offering for all. John 3:16-18 tells us the clear picture of God’s Love and shows us the gift He will give to His people who believe in Him.

It says, “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

It is mentioned “Whoever” regardless of whom it may be in this world. If he or she is going to accept Jesus as a personal savior and will lead a pure life, he’ll receive the gift “Gift of God is eternal life”.

Eternal life in the Bible

Does eternal life begin the moment that we die? The answer to that question is no. Eternal life and eternal salvation begin the moment that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

We will all have to die a physical death, but we will never spiritually die.

The Bible says,

Therefore, our loved ones that have died a physical death are now in the presence of Jesus! Can you imagine that? That would be so wonderful! They are in a place where they will never experience sickness, tears, or sadness anymore.

They are now walking down the golden streets of Heaven. We will one day be reunited with them if we believe as well.

With that said, I am reminded of a story in the Bible about Nicodemus. One day, Nicodemus walked up to Jesus and asked him: what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again.

Nicodemus was confused and wondered how he could enter his mother’s womb twice? However, it was not about being born twice by physical birth. Instead, Jesus was talking about being born in a spiritual sense. Once you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually born into His family.

When does eternal life begin?

The importance that needs to be remembered is it’s a here-and-now thing. “Eternal life” also refers to the quality of the life that we live here, based on that eternal life is given as a gift.

Jesus is giving the gift through Him. Accept Him, live holy, trust Him; we will be taking us along with Him in the Rapture.

Accepting a Gift

Eternal Life is a blessing if you are willing to take this gift that God offers. However, everyone has a choice whether they want to accept it or not. For example: Imagine someone bought you a birthday present, handed it to you, and you accept it!

You begin to unwrap it and decide it is one of the most delightful gifts that anyone has ever given to you. However;

you could have looked at that person and said that you didn’t want it.
You could have demanded that they take it back to the store!
You could have demanded this because you did nothing to deserve their kindness or their gift.
Furthermore, you could have even thrown this gift straight into the trash and walked away.

This is what we do to God every so often. We treat his gift of eternal life like we don’t deserve it, and to a degree, we don’t! But we shouldn’t throw the gift away when He tries to give it to us in love.

So, what does the Bible say about eternal life? It’s the most excellent love story ever told! It is when Jesus hung on the cross, stretched out his arms, and died. He loved us that much!

How To Receive Eternal Life

One, you must acknowledge that you are a sinner, spiritually dead and separated from God’s eternal life through sin (See Ephesians 4:8, Romans 3:23)

Two, you must acknowledge your need for the salvation that God provides in Jesus, which is itself eternal life (Acts 17:26-27)

Third, you must accept God’s provision of salvation, made available to you. He is Jesus Christ (John 17:3)

Fourth, you must accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as your substitute for salvation (See Romans 10:9-10)

When you have successfully and genuinely walked your way through the steps above, the salvation of God has come to you, that you have received it, that you are now born again, and then a possessor of eternal life itself.