Outfitting for Eternity

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” -John 10:27,28.

Many Christians have been comforted by these words of Jesus, but for some they aren't enough; adding to them their own presumptions for interpretation;

“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” -Proverbs 30:6.

One popular presumption often added as fact is that when a person becomes born again, they immediately receive ETERNAL LIFE. Or as it is usually told to the prospective convert, “You'll have eternal life NOW.” using this as a bait to lure the unsaved “fish.”

Most people associate eternal life with heaven, where the redeemed will be sent after the death of their bodies; yet those presuming to receive it now often use these opening verses from John 10 to justify themselves. When I first heard of this “Eternal Life now” theory I believed it to be off-base, and said to myself, “If this is Eternal Life, it sure is a disappointment.” But feelings alone won't lead us to the truth, and for that we must rest upon the Word of God.

And this topic is well-accounted for in the Bible, which plainly shows that our bodies can't receive eternal life, but a transformation needs to take place; a kind of “outfitting” before taking that significant leap. Jesus' promise in the opening verses is certainly valid, but not until our bodies die. Let me list & go over what the scriptures tell us about inheriting Eternal Life;

“50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” -1 Corinthians 15:50-53.

All bold type in the scriptures has been added for emphasis. These verses are clear, that we cannot inherit the kingdom of God while in the flesh; that all of us will be changed; and that change will bring about our immortality; A.K.A, Eternal Life.

“1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” -2 Corinthians 5:1-9.

We can see in verse 1 the reference to our physical and spiritual bodies, verse 2 describing how we groan from the physical burden to our bodies, longing to be CLOTHED with the spiritual. Verses 6&8 remind us that while we're at home in our bodies, we're separated from God, but we long to leave our bodies that we might be with Him. These verses also clearly identify the separation of the earthly from the heavenly.

“19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God...21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” -Romans 8:19,21-25. Verse 19 affirms we are waiting to discover who are the true sons of God; verses 21&22 emphasizes again the corruption and pain of all flesh, while 23 describes believers as waiting to be adopted as God's children through the redemption of the body. 24&25 remind us the Eternal Life is a hope we cannot see, and MUST wait for! It is simply not yet time for us to receive the treasure that Eternal Life shall be. Even we anticipate gifts for our birthdays, yet still we wait for the appointed time.

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” -John 12:25.

Just the phrase “unto life eternal” indicates that we do NOT have Eternal Life now, but it is yet to come; and almost nobody wants to wait for the gifts God has for us, do they? And if they want this gift now, isn't that a form of loving life here, instead of hating it? But those who wait for the Lord shall be blessed;

“24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.” -Lamentations 3:24-26.

Yet some might say, “But if I'm saved, won't my soul be in heaven? Isn't it safe to say that I have Eternal Life, even if the change scripture speaks of hasn't happened yet?”

My first response would simply be that this isn't what the Bible teaches. But secondly, I think this kind of reasoning reflects a “once saved, always saved” viewpoint that scripture doesn't agree with. Christians are in a daily, lifelong relationship with God through their Savior; and the Bible does indicate that many will fall away. It even goes so far as to show that a believer may be blotted out of the Book of Life, or removed from it (Revelation 3:5, 22:19). I'll leave a few scriptures here, but please visit my blog on The Saving Faith of a Christian for more thorough coverage on the subject.

“They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” -Luke 8:13.

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” -Romans 11:22.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” -1 Timothy 4:1.

If Jesus loved, and died for us when we were still in sin, He won't lightly throw us away now that we're trying to serve Him, but sometimes fall short (Romans 5:8-10). We will always have access to God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:2). The issue isn't one of accidentally “losing” salvation, but of being deceived by the devil and his agents into CHOOSING against our Lord and His teachings. Study the Word and commit to heart, for this will be our deliverance from the “doctrines of devils” spoken of in 1 Timothy 4:1, and carry us through till the time of our outfitting for Eternal Life.

“13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” -2 Timothy 3:13-15.

Here is a link to the video short that I did on this subject, as well https://youtube.com/shorts/PP5lefoAxHk?feature=share