Continued from Part 9
Although the Greek word 'aionios' traditionally translated as 'eternal' in Western (Protestant, Catholic, etc.) Bibles actually means 'aeonian' or 'age-long' (a fixed, unspecified, though long - and not an infinite period of time) we are leaving the traditional Western translation unaltered in this article so as not to distract the reader from the main points and arguments being made. If you are interested in a biblical examination on time, you can see the Aeonian Time website afterwards.
"I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).
Forever Saved During Mortality?
One will find Calvinists make much of John's words concerning eternal life. They like to claim that "eternal life" means they are forever saved. If we say we have eternal life, the Calvinist concludes his salvation is therefore eternal by definition. He decides that his salvation is eternal or it isn't eternal and since the Bible says it is eternal he cannot fall short of salvation on the last day. Let us first look at the passages which they employ to try and support this notion of theirs. Then we shall expose their error.
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim (God) rests upon him" (John 3:36).
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).
"And this is the testimony, that Elohim (God) gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son..... I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of Elohim (God), that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11,13).
Eternal Life and Salvation and Not the Same Thing
Notice carefully how all the above passages teach that Christians presently have eternal life. The Calvinist also wants you to notice this carefully so that he can conclude that your salvation is an eternal thing which means you are forever saved and cannot fall short of salvation on the last day. However, there is something the Calvinist does not tell you. Let us look at some more passages from Scripture which will now begin to illuminate his error. Notice when eternal life occurs in the following passages:
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to eternal life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2).
"Yah'shua (Jesus) said to them, "'Truly, I say to you, in the regeneration of all things, when the Son of man shall sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life'" (Matthew 19:29)
"When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne... the King will say to those at His right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.... And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (Matthew 25:31-46).
"For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life.... on that day when, according to my gospel, Elohim (God) judges the secrets of men through Messiah Yah'shua (ChristJesus)" (Romans 2:6-16).
"For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from Elohim (God), a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.... We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 4:17-5:1).
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of Elohim (God) our Saviour appeared, He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which He poured out upon us richly through Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) our Saviour, so that we might be justified by His grace and we might become heirs according to the in hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7).
"Keep yourselves in the love of Elohim (God); awaiting the mercy of our Lord Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) unto eternal life" (Jude 21).
Eternal Life is a Future Hope
These passages certainly say something quite different than what the Calvinist wants you to believe about eternal life. Here, eternal life is something which comes when Yah'shua (Jesus) Christ returns. Indeed, Paul has the hope of eternal life. There are several more passages which convey the same idea. So how can the Calvinist claim he already has eternal life if it is not yet given to him until the end of the aeon (age)? Can you have eternal life in a "fuller" way? Of course not. As the Calvinist himself argues, he either has it or he doesn't.
John Speaks of Eternal Life Differently to Other Writers
So how can we make sense out of this? How does one presently have eternal life as described in John's writings, but one does not obtain eternal life until the end of the aeon (age) as described in all the other books of the Bible? The answer is clear and is found in the Scriptures. In John, eternal life means something different than in the other passages of Scripture because he is talking to a different readership (a reason his style is so different from the Synoptists). Notice what eternal life means in the Johnannine writings:
"In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).
"For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself" (John 5:26).
"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).
"For the bread of Elohim (God) is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world" (John 6:33).
"I am the bread of life" (John 6:48).
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh" (John 6:51).
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:54).
"I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).
"I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6).
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life, the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us" (1 John 1:1-2).
"And this is the testimony, that Elohim (God) gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of Elohim (God) has not life" (1 John 5:11-12).
"And we know that the Son of Elohim (God) has come and has given us understanding, to know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Yah'shua (Jesus) Christ. This is the true Elohim (God) and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).
Eternal Life Comes from Being in Union With Christ
Here we can see clearly that in John, the words "eternal life", refer to Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) Himself. This is why Yah'shua (Jesus) repeatedly reminds us that if we have faith in Him, we have eternal life. In other words, if we have a faith union with Him, we have union with Christ and Christ is eternal life therefore we have union with eternal life. When John says anyone has eternal life, he is referring to the power of life in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus), not an abstract condition of infinite salvation. If indeed one has Christ, he has eternal life dwelling in him because Yah'shua (Jesus) is Himself the essence of eternal life. He is the Resurrection and the Life
Eternal Life Does Not Describe Infinite Salvation
This is why we are to have faith in Yah'shua (Jesus), so that we can have eternal life. If we are united to Him in faith, we are united to eternal life because eternal life is what He is. But if we deny Him, we are no longer united to that eternal life. This is why Paul tells people to test themselves to see if Christ is really in them (2 Cor.13:5 - see #5a). If He is in us, we have eternal life dwelling within us because eternal life is what He is. If we find He is not in us, we will not have eternal life dwelling in us, because we do not have Him who is that eternal life. In John, eternal life is not an abstract condition describing the state of infinite salvation. It is a term used to describe Yah'shua (Jesus) Christ who dwells in us and to be saved unto eternal life at the end of the aeon (age), we must remain in Him, the Eternal Life.
Future Eternal Life and Bodily Transformation
When we read through all the non-Johannine passages concerning eternal life, we find that it is a future reality for Christians. This is because we will become like Yah'shua (Jesus), the Eternal Life, when our bodies are transformed to be like His glorious risen body and we enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. This is why John says, "And this is what he has promised us, eternal life" (1 Jn 5:25) and "we know that when He appears we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2; cf. 1 Cor.15:45-49; Phil.3:20-21). In other words, Yah'shua (Jesus) is eternal life and we shall be made to be eternal life just like Yah'shua (Jesus). Paul says it in this way:
"If Christ is in you, your bodies are dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness and if the Spirit of Him who raised Yah'shua (Jesus) from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus) from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit which dwells in you" (Romans 8:10-11; cf. 2 Cor.1:22; 5:5).
If Yah'shua (Jesus) the eternal life dwells in us and we abide in him, then we will become eternal life when he comes.
Calvinists Turn the Living Gospel into a Theological Abstraction
John is not telling anyone they have the abstract condition of eternal life as if it were infinite salvation. He is telling us that if we are united with the Son, then we have eternal life because the Son himself is eternal life. But if we do not remain in the Son we no longer have Him who is that eternal life. Indeed, he tells us that if we remain in what we have heard from the beginning we will receive eternal life as He promised us (1 Jn.2:24-25). For this reason, Yah'shua (Jesus) exhorts His disciples to remain in Him so that they will not be thrown into the fire (John 15:1-6).
Another Piece of Calvinist Trickery Exposed
So we again expose the trickery devised in Calvinism. Having the existential quality of eternal life is something we will receive at the end of the aeon (age) if indeed we are faithful to Elohim (God) until the end. However, we can now be sharers in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and that divine nature is the eternal life of the Son who is the eternal life. So if we have Yah'shua (Jesus), that is, if we are united with Yah'shua (Jesus) in faith, then we have eternal life. But if we depart from faith in Him, we no longer are united to the Son and no longer united to eternal life since He is that life.
Also see Once Saved, Always Saved
More examples in Part 9
Continued in Part 10
