Lesson 9 — What Is Eternal Life? | John 17:3 Explained
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What Is Eternal Life?
What Is Eternal Life According to Jesus?
To understand what is eternal life, we must listen to how Jesus Himself defined it in John 17:3.
Key truth: Eternal life is not merely existing forever or being protected from earthly suffering. Jesus said eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. It begins in Christ now and will be revealed in its fullness when death is no more.
Taking the Hard Questions to Jesus
— One Lesson at a Time
Come sit with me awhile.
We have brought some very hard questions to Jesus.
❓Why is there evil?
❓What happened to mankind?
❓Why can’t we see?
❓Why do we need Jesus?
❓Why can’t the flesh simply make itself good?
❓Why do we hide and lie?
❓What is Truth?
❓What does it mean to walk in the Light?
❓And where is God when people suffer?
Now we have reached the question underneath all the others:
❓What is eternal life?
If people who belong to Jesus can still suffer, become sick, grow old, be harmed, and physically die, what exactly did Jesus promise us?
Thankfully, we do not have to build the answer from human reasoning.
Jesus told us what eternal life is.
Jesus Defined Eternal Life
Before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”— John 17:3 KJV
There it is.
Eternal life certainly includes living forever
—but Jesus reveals that it is far more than endless existence.
Eternal life is knowing God.
Eternal life is knowing Jesus Christ whom the Father sent.
It is not merely knowing facts about God.
It is not merely having heard the name of Jesus.
It is not merely belonging to a religion, attending a church, or knowing how to speak religious language.
It is knowing Him.
That is where all these questions have been leading us.
Not into another argument.
Not into another human opinion.
Not into the promotion of a person, religion, or denomination.
But into knowing Jesus Christ.
Eternal Life Is the Gift of God
Scripture says:
“For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”— Romans 6:23 KJV
Notice the difference:
Sin pays wages.
God gives a gift.
Eternal life is not something we earn by becoming good enough.
It is not a reward for proving that we are better than somebody else.
It is not purchased through religious works.
It is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul writes:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”— Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV
Grace does not tell us sin does not matter.
The cross shows us exactly how serious sin is.
But the cross also shows us how deeply God loves us.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…”— John 3:16 KJV
We could not rescue ourselves from sin and death.
God came for us in Jesus Christ.
Eternal Life Is in the Son
Scripture does not merely say that Jesus teaches us how to find eternal life.
It tells us that life is in Him.
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
— 1 John 5:11–12 KJV
That is why Jesus is not simply one teacher among many.
He said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
— John 14:6 KJV
Jesus does not merely point toward the way.
He is the Way.
He does not merely teach ideas about truth.
He is the Truth.
He does not merely offer advice about life.
He is the Life.
This is why the Gospel is not simply:
Try harder.
Become more religious.
Imitate good people.
Find the goodness hidden somewhere inside yourself.
The Gospel is:
Come to Jesus.
Knowing Jesus Brings Us to the Father
Jesus said eternal life is knowing:
“the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
We do not have to imagine what God is like.
Jesus reveals the Father.
Philip said to Jesus:
“Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”— John 14:8 KJV
Jesus answered:
“he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…”— John 14:9 KJV
And Jesus said:
“no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”— John 14:6 KJV
Through the Son, we are brought to the Father.
The gift is not merely a destination called Heaven.
The gift is reconciliation with God.
The gift is knowing Him.
The gift is belonging to Him.
The gift is life with God that death cannot destroy.
Eternal Life Begins Now
Sometimes we speak about eternal life
as though it begins only after physical death.
But Jesus spoke of it as a present possession
for the person who believes.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”— John 5:24 KJV
Jesus did not say only that the believer will someday have everlasting life.
He said:
“hath everlasting life.”
And:
“is passed from death unto life.”
Eternal life begins when we receive life in Christ.
That does not mean our present bodies immediately become immortal.
It does not mean we never suffer.
It does not mean we have already entered the complete restoration God has promised.
It means that even while we live in mortal bodies within a fallen creation,
the life of Christ is already at work in those who belong to Him.
We begin learning His voice.
We begin following Him.
We begin being transformed by His truth.
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me.”— John 10:27 KJV
This is life with Him.
One lesson at a time.
One step at a time.
One act of trust at a time.
Knowing Him Is More Than Knowing About Him
We can know many things about another person without truly knowing that person.
We can study someone’s words, repeat what others say about them,
and still never walk with them personally.
The same danger exists spiritually.
We can collect information about Jesus
without learning to follow Jesus.
We can defend Christian ideas
while refusing to let Christ search our own hearts.
We can examine everyone else while never asking:
“Lord, is it I?”
Paul had religious knowledge, position, and accomplishments.
Yet after meeting Christ, the desire of his heart became:
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection…”— Philippians 3:10 KJV
Paul did not say merely:
“I want to know more information about Him.”
His desire was:
“That I may know him.”
That does not mean Scripture is unimportant.
Scripture is how we learn the truth about the living Christ
rather than creating a Jesus according to our own imagination.
The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to teach us, correct us, renew our minds,
and lead us into truth.
But the purpose is not merely information.
It is knowing and following Jesus.
Does Physical Death End Eternal Life?
No.
In the last lesson, we learned that belonging to Christ does not mean we will escape physical death in this present world.
Our outward bodies remain mortal.
But Jesus said:
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believest thou this?”— John 11:25–26 KJV
Jesus did not say believers would never experience physical death.
He said that physical death cannot take away the life He gives.
He is the resurrection.
He is the life.
Because Jesus rose from the dead, the grave does not have the final word over those who belong to Him.
Paul writes:
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”— 1 Corinthians 15:26 KJV
Death is still called an enemy.
Christianity does not ask us to pretend death is harmless or that grief does not hurt.
Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus.
But death is a defeated enemy whose final destruction is certain
because Jesus Christ rose again.
The cross was not the end.
The grave was not the end.
Jesus rose.
And because He lives, those who belong to Him will live also.
Eternal Life Will Be Revealed in Its Fullness
We possess eternal life in Christ now,
but we are still waiting for the complete restoration God has promised.
Creation still groans.
Our mortal bodies still experience weakness.
We still see suffering and death.
But Scripture shows us where God is taking His people:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
— Revelation 21:4 KJV
No more death.
No more sorrow.
No more crying.
No more pain.
This is not because human beings finally repair the world through their own goodness.
It is because Jesus Christ makes all things new.
What was broken through sin will not remain broken forever.
What was lost in the Fall will not have the final word.
God’s purpose ends in restoration
—not because mankind saves itself, but because Jesus saves.
Eternal Life Changes How We Live Today
Eternal life is not merely a promise we place on a shelf until we die.
Knowing Christ begins changing how we live now.
When I know that Jesus is the Truth,
I no longer have to hide behind a lie.
When I know that He is the Light,
I can bring what is hidden into His presence.
When I know that He is the Way,
I do not have to invent my own path.
When I know that He is the Life,
I no longer have to depend upon my own strength to produce what only He can give.
Jesus said:
“I am the vine, ye are the branches… for without me ye can do nothing.”
— John 15:5 KJV
Life flows from abiding in Christ.
We do not obey in order to purchase eternal life.
We obey because His life is working within us.
We do not love so that God will finally accept us.
We learn to love because He first loved us.
We do not walk in the Light to convince Jesus to save us.
We walk in the Light because Jesus is saving, teaching, correcting, and transforming us.
This is not perfection produced by human strength.
It is learning Christ.
Lord, Is It I?
As we finish this series, perhaps our most important question remains:
Lord, is it I?
Have I been trying to know about You without truly coming to You?
Have I been looking for eternal life in religion, accomplishments, goodness,
or the approval of other people?
Have I been examining the darkness in everybody else
while hiding my own heart from Your Light?
Have I wanted Your gifts
without wanting to know You?
Have I treated eternal life as merely a future destination
instead of life with You beginning now?
Lord Jesus, teach me to know You.
Teach me to hear Your voice.
Teach me to follow You.
Reveal what I cannot see.
Correct what I have misunderstood.
Bring what is hidden into Your Light.
Let Your truth make me free.
And let Christ be demonstrated in my life.
Can I Really Come to Jesus?
Jesus said:
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”— John 6:37 KJV
What a promise.
“Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
You do not have to repair yourself before coming to Jesus.
You come because you need Him.
You do not have to understand every mystery before coming.
You come because He is the Truth.
You do not have to answer every hard question before trusting Him.
You come because He is trustworthy.
Faith is not pretending we understand everything.
Faith is trusting Jesus enough to follow Him when we do not.
Where Did the Hard Questions Lead Us?
We began with questions about evil, murder, abuse, suffering, deception, and death.
Scripture took us back to creation.
God created good.
Man sinned.
Sin entered.
Death entered.
The human heart began hiding, covering, and blaming.
Cain murdered Abel.
Mankind needed more than better behavior.
We needed a Saviour.
And God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
Jesus entered our suffering.
He bore the cross.
He died.
He was buried.
He rose again.
He offers forgiveness, freedom, reconciliation, resurrection, and life.
And now we can finally see where all the questions have been leading:
To know Him.
Why would anyone search for another religion when Christ is standing
before us saying:
“Follow me”?
We may not receive an explanation for every suffering from where we are standing.
But we have been shown the One to whom we can bring every question.
We have not been promised that we will understand everything.
We have been invited to know Someone.
Jesus Christ.
This Is Life Eternal
The answer was spoken by Jesus from the beginning:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”— John 17:3 KJV
Eternal life is not merely living forever.
It is knowing God through Jesus Christ.
It is life received as a gift.
It is life found in the Son.
It is life that begins now.
It is life physical death cannot take away.
It is life that will one day be revealed without sorrow, pain, or death.
It is life with God.
And perhaps this is the beautiful truth beneath this entire study:
Peace is not found by understanding everything.
Peace comes from knowing Someone.
Jesus Christ is still teaching.
He is still calling.
He is still worthy of our trust.
I do not have every answer.
I am learning too.
But I know where I want to keep looking:
Jesus.
And when I do not understand:
Lord, teach me.
Lord, is it I?
Help me see.
Thank you for walking through these hard questions with me.
Thank you for opening the Word of God with me.
Thank you for learning beside me as Christ teaches us
—one lesson at a time.
We love you in Christ, and this is why we share.
Thank you for sitting with me awhile.
Karen, a fellow learner
Hope in Today
Soli Deo Gloria!
To God be the glory!
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