This great truth is plainly stated in Scripture. We read, " We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. THIS IS THE TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE." (1 John 5:2020And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)).
" For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that ETERNAL LIFE, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." (1 John 1: 2).
If we reflect what wondrous meaning is wrapt up in these two words, ETERNAL LIFE, we shall see two things clearly,
They stand for life, that is life INHERENT, the SOURCE of it.
That life is ETERNAL, that is, it never had a beginning, and can never have an end.
To whom can this description apply? Not to mortal man, with whom life has both beginning and end, whose days are as a weaver's shuttle, so quickly do they pass away (Job 7:66My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. (Job 7:6)). Not to the life of the Christian, for eternal life has for him a beginning, when he first receives it as a gift from a gracious God; though, thank God, it will never have an end. To whom then can the two words, ETERNAL LIFE, apply? It is most obvious that they can only apply to Deity, with whom alone, life has neither beginning nor end.
Eternal life has a beginning with the believer for we read, " God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE." (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
It may be asked at this point, If our Lord is the Eternal Life, and gives eternal life to the believer on Him, would this not mean conferring Deity on believers? The question of course brings its obvious answer. By no means can it mean any such thing. There is not A SINGLE WORD IN SCRIPTURE to suggest such an idea. It is plain that Deity cannot be conferred on any creature. That our Lord is the Eternal Life, and that believers receive the gift from God of eternal life, are two statements equally true. But we must ever bear in mind that there is all the difference between our Lord, who is the Life inherently, that is as the Fountain and Source of life, of whom we read, " In Him was life " ( John 1:44In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4)); and believers, the recipients of eternal life as God's good and gracious gift.
In a footnote in Letters of J. N. Darby, Vol. 3, p. 103, we read, concerning eternal life: " This... the believer has, not as a gift, which on its bestowal becomes detached from its Source and Spring, but in inseparable connection with Himself, where it is enjoyed in common, or in communion with Him."
Thus we can trace the stream of eternal life up to its Source, even to our blessed Lord, " The TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE." What is bestowed on believers is a life answering to the moral qualities of God, but in no wise lifting them up to the level of Deity: an utter impossibility.
There is an analogous Scripture confirming what we have just said. The Apostle Peter wrote concerning God's Divine power these words:
This Scripture does not state that believers partake of Deity, but are " partakers of the Divine nature," that is, apart from omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, believers have conferred upon them a spiritual life, which can exhibit the moral features of the life of God, such as love, truth, holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, compassion, tenderness, enabling them to live a life pleasing to God.
We come now to a point that puzzles many Christians. In the Gospel of John we read again and again that the believer on the Lord Jesus receives the gift of eternal life; whereas in the Epistle of John we read these words,
" And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is IN HIS SON.' (1 John 5:
John's Gospel says that the believer has eternal life. John's Epistle tells us that this life is in His Son. Both statements are true, and there is no contradiction in them.
" Doth not even nature itself teach you?" (1 Cor. 11:1414Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (1 Corinthians 11:14)). We know that a leaf has life in it, just as the believer knows that eternal life abides in him. But we can say equally truly that the leaf has life in the tree, and only in the tree, just as Scripture tells us that the believer's life is in the Son. It is plain that apart from the leaf's connection with the tree, it would at once perish. In our Lord's parable of the Vine and its branches, it is only as the branch abides in the Vine, that it lives. What security is the believer's, that his life is in God's Son, in our Lord, for He never fails nor breaks down. The Apostle Paul put the same idea thus, " Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead, and your life is hid WITH CHRIST in God." (Col. 3:22Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)).
What blessed security has the believer that his life is hid with Christ in God, that his life is in the Son of God. Nothing can be more wonderful.
Finally the Apostle Paul wrote of eternal life as something to be lived. By no means does he contradict the Apostle John in this matter. We read, " But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end EVERLASTING LIFE. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:22, 2322But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:22‑23)). Ιn this Scripture the Apostle Paul looked at eternal life as God's gift, but he also looked at eternal life from a practical standpoint, that is, living the life, as something to be laid hold of.
Again he wrote, giving a solemn charge to Timothy, his son in the faith,
Again he exhorted the rich to lay hold on eternal life in a practical way, " Charge them that are rich in this world... that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." (1 Tim. 6: 17-19).
The Apostle John looked at the subject from the Divine side, what God does in sovereign grace, imparting eternal life to every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ., The Apostle Paul looked at it from our side, the aspect of the believer's privilege and responsibility. His exhortation should be laid to heart. We believers possess eternal life. Are we diligently living the life?
It is as if two neighbors owned gardens adjoining each other. The one garden is neglected and full of weeds; the other is tidy, filled with flowers, fruit and vegetables. Both men own their gardens, just as believers alike have the possession of eternal life. One man neglected his garden; the other put hard and intelligent work into his garden with happy and profitable results. Many believers are carnal and slack in their Christian lives, and are certainly not laying hold on eternal life. Others are earnest diligent Christians, seeking to follow the practical exhortations of Scripture, and are thus laying hold on eternal life.