Every human, at least once in their life, thought about receiving the gift of eternal life. Such a desire is quite reasonable because any person is afraid of the unknown; they have no idea about what will happen when they die. This is a part of human nature; being scared of what is unclear, humans strive to know the upcoming events that will happen to them. With perpetual life, the future becomes clear, the anxiety fades away, and life becomes easier. John uses the concept of eternal life throughout his gospel, explaining it and how an individual may have it. In his teaching, John states that everyone who lets God in their heart receives the gift of eternal life.
John’s gospel is a piece of art, the mantra, which guides its readers toward God’s paths, and opens their eyes and hearts to Him. The teaching consists of materials that are targeted at any audience. It must be appreciated and studied appropriately in order to understand the meaning of it and the message John aims to convey. The meaning of John’s gospel makes the readers aware of the concept of eternal life, inspires them, and provides them with knowledge.1 The audience will benefit from the gospel by deriving wise spiritual conclusions and insights, which will fulfill people as the children of God.2 It is fundamental to spread the word from the teaching to others, educate them on Jesus, help let Him in their hearts, and, consequently, provide people with the gift of perpetual life.
John, in his gospel, draws attention thoughtfully to eternal life. His concept of it distinguishes it from the one the majority of people have, so it is fundamental to understand what he means by that. Firstly, he claims that eternal life begins with the present, not the future.3 Such an attitude and perspective are highly rational and have a good influence on people. Many humans tend to postpone anything good that comes to their lives for later. They save money for a rainy day, hold candies to eat only on holidays, dive into work to earn money, and have a good life only when they are retired. This is destructive and irrational to live this way: people must remember that they have to start enjoying their life at this moment.
John’s concept of eternal life shows that a person can have it now and not after death. It helps people live their lives to the fullest without postponing pleasure and a good life. Only one thing that needs to be done is to follow God and let him in their heart. Knowing, admiring, respecting, and understanding God, ordering a life around Him, and learning to see Him in any situation will give a person eternal life.4 This concept teaches people that they must enjoy, savor the current moment, and be mindful. Eternal life is a more spiritual concept, so it cannot be measured by time or science; there is no breakpoint when it begins or ends. Thus, there is no need to wait for death to enjoy eternal life because anyone can have it right now. Although John emphasizes the meaning of the present time in infinite life, he does not refuse the future of it.
As was mentioned, God’s followers and those who let him in their hearts will be given perpetual life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”5 Jesus was sent to the Earth to tell and reveal to people God and tell all the truth about him. His birth was a notable and crucial event in history. More than two thousand years passed, and nowadays, people are still joining God and following Him. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, spread God’s word and His will, so if anyone aims to see what God’s life is like, they only have to look at Jesus’s life.6 Thus, letting God in a heart will bring a person to a new spiritual level, which will provide them with eternal life.
In John’s gospel, the eternal life concept is more contextual than literal. Many scholars believe that the concept of eternal life John uses in his gospel stems from the Jewish “the life of the age to come,” which is a blessing after a resurrection.7 The word “life” consists of the concept of time, space, and quality. John emphasizes the quality of life in this concept and does not talk about the duration of it. Writing about eternal life, he means the non-materialistic one, which cannot be destroyed. It seems that he shows the perpetual life as something that is bounded by neither time nor anything earthly. The phrase “the life of the age to come” is ambiguous and is hard to translate in English or explain properly in plain words. Such a concept must be perceived on a spiritual level; it is something immeasurable, ubiquitous, and conceptual.
To fully understand the meaning of John’s eternal life, a person must quit everything earthly and refuse the old concept of perpetual life they knew before. When it comes to God, to understand His word, it is needed to forget about the materialistic world because sticking to everything earthly; a person will not let Him in their heart. Letting the old concepts and systems go, refusing everything that held a human from the highest level of spirituality will set them free and provide them with the space where divine energy will enter. When a person needs to put something new in a vessel, it must first be empty and contain sufficient space for it. Thus, by freeing the heart, an individual will free the space for Jesus. Therefore, a person will come to a new level, the spiritual one, starting feeling the blessing of eternal life now.
Thus, to be provided with eternal life, any person should believe in Jesus, as John states. However, in his gospel, he writes that He did not commit Himself to the believers. The reason for that is quite simple: people cannot be trusted. Even though Jesus believed in humans, he could never rely on them and always had to be careful.8 Such an attitude impresses, and it is highly rational and wise. Despite Jesus’s mercy and virtue, he did not undergo for His emotions and stayed level-headed. Many people have to consider it and adopt this thought. It is true: no matter what person it is, they may always betray their close and beloved ones. Unfortunately, it is human nature that can never be trusted. It is fundamental to respect people and show them mercy, but at the same time, stay composed and rational as Jesus did.
Man’s nature was like that for thousands of years, which was a considerable problem. Like any problem, this one had to be solved, so Jesus Christ came on Earth.9 Due to their sins, humans were sent to hell for infinity and banished from heaven. It is said that everyone, who commits darkness, refuses any light, so Jesus aimed to help people, make them aware of their actions, and spread his word. As it is clear, he provided every person who believed in him and allowed the light in their lives with eternal life. The conditions of receiving perpetual life were simple for everyone who truly desired it to be able to get it. Jesus said that everyone who hears His word and believes in God receives eternal life.10 Here people can see how lenient and warm-hearted Jesus is and what sacrifices he made to come to Earth and rescue people.
In conclusion, everyone who lets God in their heart, respects, understands, and listens to Him will be provided with eternal life. John’s concept of it is clear: he claims that anyone can be blessed with it; the only thing needed is to believe in God, trust Him, and order life around Him. This concept shows people how lenient and warm-hearted God is. Furthermore, perpetual life is something that a person can have at the moment without any need to wait for death and then savor it. This concept is highly powerful and must be understood with an open soul, more at a spiritual level, than on a materialistic one.
Bibliography
Bible. New Testament. Gospel of John. 3:16.
Church of the living God. 2021. “Eternal Life Begins Now (1 John 5:2-13).”
Elliff, Jim. 2021. “What the Book of John Says About Eternal Life.” Cristian Communicators Worldwide.
Keener, Craig. 2022. “Eternal Life in John.” Bible Odyssey. Web.
Andreas Köstenberger. Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective. Baker Academic, 2nd Edition, 2013.
Judith Lieu, and Martinus Boer. The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies (Oxford Handbooks). Oxford University Press, 2018.
Myers, Jeremy. n.d. “Eternal Life vs. Discipleship in the Gospel of John.” Redeeming God.
Philosophical Investigations. 2018. “Extract – John’s Gospel in Eternal Life.”
Smith, Colin. 2018. “What Jesus Says about Eternal Life.” Open the Bible.
Johnson Thomaskutty. The Gospel of John: A universalistic reading. Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2020.
Footnotes
- Johnson Thomaskutty. The Gospel of John: A universalistic reading. Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2020.
- Andreas Köstenberger. Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective. Baker Academic, 2nd Edition, 2013.
- Craig Keener. “Eternal Life in John.” Bible Odyssey. Web.
- Church of the living God. 2021. “Eternal Life Begins Now (1 John 5:2-13).” Web.
- Bible. New Testament. Gospel of John. 3:16.
- Philosophical Investigations. “Extract – John’s Gospel in Eternal Life.” Web.
- Judith Lieu, and Martinus Boer. The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies (Oxford Handbooks). Oxford University Press, 2018.
- Jeremy Myers. “Eternal Life vs. Discipleship in the Gospel of John.” Redeeming God. Web.
- Jim Elliff. “What the Book of John Says About Eternal Life.” Cristian Communicators Worldwide. Web.
- Colin Smith. “What Jesus Says about Eternal Life.” Open the Bible. Web.