ETERNAL IDIOMS (HOLY GRAMMAR II)

Martha said unto him, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said unto her, “I AM the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” – Joh 11:24-25.

In grammar, an IDIOM is an expression with nonliteral meaning; i.e. it’s a fixed collection of words whose meaning cannot be deduced from the combined meanings of its actual words.

The New Testament has one of such; it’s called ETERNAL LIFE.

It is spiritual grammatical error to assume the meaning of Eternal (or Everlasting) Life is simply “living forever”. Human beings by virtue of their spiritual nature do not cease to exist at death; so, everyone, technically, will live forever, (Dan 12:2).

But not everyone has everlasting life.

In the New Testament, Eternal Life is an idiomatic phrase used to denote the inseparable union we have with God the Father through Jesus Christ. It is quantitative as well as qualitative in nature.

Most people see only the quantitative aspect of it, the part that deals with living forever in heaven after they die. But the New Testament severally describes Eternal Life as something that the Believer is meant to experience here and now as well, (John 3:36; 5:25; 6:47; 1Jn 5:13).

Just as our Lord corrected Martha (John 11:24,25), Believers shouldn’t be looking forward to “Resurrection Day”  when they already have Him with them right now.

So, if Eternal Life is a spiritual idiom that means more than the meaning of “Eternal” + “Life”, what does it then mean?

The best person to answer that is the “Resurrection and the Life” Himself. He said in John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

This is God’s definition of Eternal Life. Not mere conscious and unending existence, not playing harps with angels for a million billion years, but having a personal, intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.

So Beloved, do you have eternal life now? Or is it something you expect to get some time later?

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN