For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart
Hebrews 4:12
This morning, I was studying out of The Promise by Shiela Walsh and this verse was in the reading:
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement but has passed from death to life.
John 5:24
Its simple, right? Whoever hears His (Jesus's) Word and believes in Him (God) who sent Jesus, has eternal life. He doesn't come into judgement, (because of Christ's death on the Cross paying the penalty for sin) but has passed from death to life.
Before, this verse has struck me because of the simplicity in receiving Christ and gaining eternal life. Hear and believe? Done! I'm not going to be judged for all those times that I missed the mark of God's holiness, whether by what I did or by what I thought or even when I did something good with the wrong intentions? Great!
Praise Jesus for these truths in this verse.
So, if He's already hit those home with me... what is the new thing that popped out today?
Let's read that verse one more time, this time with emphasis added.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement but has passed from death to life.
John 5:24
Now, correct me if I'm wrong... but, I'm pretty sure that this is saying I have already passed from death to life if I am a believer in Christ.
Woah. Pause.
Eternal life has already begun.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
I guess I've never really given it much thought, but it seemed to make sense that eternal life begins after we die in our earthly bodies and put on those shiny new things that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5.
But doesn't it make so much more sense that when we put our trust in God, we die to ourselves and eternal life begins then?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
So, why does that even matter? Regardless, believers are living for eternity in the presence of our Creator, the Holy and Perfect God.
Well, let's just take a moment and relish in that statement, because that deserves some serious praise. But, seriously, what does it mean for me, today, that my eternal life has already begun?
Confidence
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
Because my eternal life has already begun, I can be confident that I am sealed in Christ. There is nothing I can do that would put an end to eternity- its eternity. The very nature of eternity is that it has no end. I can stop doing. I can stop working. Instead, I can start worshipping. All the good works? Those are just an overflow of a heart full of worship.
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Gracious, if that's not good news... I'm not sure what is.
Courage
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:8-10
Satan is so annoying. Sometimes I just wonder if he doesn't have better things to do than to pick on me or the people I care about. Spiritual warfare is by no means my favorite.
But, knowing that I already have eternal life, resisting him becomes so much easier because I know that Satan can do absolutely nothing to take that away from me. I have courage in my fight against him. Yes, he may make this life harder and he may make my spiritual journey have a few extra obstacles in it- but he has no power in choosing my destination. It's already been decided. And my ticket there? It was paid on the cross.
Boldness
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
1 John 5:13-15
Because I am secure with Christ and have already passed from death to life, I can approach the throne boldly with my requests because of the Spirit living inside of me. He is faithful to hear. I just need to be faithful to ask.
Worth
Because I have been stamped with the seal of Christ and have already entered into eternal life, my soul is eternal. My body may be wasting away, but one day I'll get a new one.
I am eternal.
And the last time I checked, eternal things go for a pretty high price.
