* { i shall give you the condensed version for clarity, with the understanding that i can supply chapter and verse for every word.
otherwise i should spend hours referencing, typing and retyping for hours additional to annotate. [i'm not a very good typist]
these ideas are the gist of the key concepts from numerous places in scripture excerpted for brevity.} *
for ease of understanding eternal life, i recommend reading - in it's entirety - the Gospel of John -
in the new american standard or the new king james version.
[ John 1 : 1 -18 and John 3 : 1 - 17 . other passages will supply additional details for some of it ]
(especially Jn 3: 16 - " For God so loved the world that he gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. " )
God made man from the dust of the earth. we fell into sin in the garden of eden. we inherited an inclination to sin from our fallen nature.
all have sinned and are in need of a Savior. from before the foundation of the world, God made plans for the salvation of man.
to redeem mankind from sin, a perfect Holy God requires a perfect sinless sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus the Son of God.
John the baptist said of Him "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world". Jn 1 :29
John baptized Jesus and the Holy Spirit landed upon Him in the form of a dove. the Father in heaven spoke and said
this is my beloved Son, hear Him. after Jesus was tempted in the desert 40 days of the devil, Jesus began His ministry.
preaching the fulfillment of prophesies concerning Himself as the Messiah from the time He opened the scroll in the temple to the Book of Isaiah.
when Jesus was born angels sang glory to God. he performed miracles. gave sight to the blind. raised the dead. fed the multitudes.
cast out demons. many more astounding miracles than we have record of. so everywhere He went the Gospel was preached
and was confirmed by the irrefutable Acts of God.
so a rabbi named Nicodemus came at night to Jesus and said we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these
signs unless God is with him. Jesus told him " unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." the rabbi didn't understand.
so Jesus told him " unless one is born of the water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. that which is born of the flesh is flesh.
that which is born of the spirit is spirit." Jn 3 : 3-6
the eternal God breathed life into the dust. made us in His image. the Holy Spirit created in the virgin Mary a saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
now, the Eternal God offers us eternal life through and in His Son. Who died for all the sins of man, and Rose in His Own Body from the dead.
the people from all over would travel to the holy land for the day of pentecost. after Jesus' resurrection, He told them to wait until
they received power from on high. the Holy Spirit landed upon the apostles. Peter in Acts 2 told the people they crucified the Son of God.
every man there from all around the world heard the gospel in their own language. ( another miracle ). they were convicted of their sin
and said men and brethren what must we do ?
Peter said " repent ( turn away from sin ) and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;
( sin is washed away ), and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2 : 38
"those who gladly received his word were baptized" ( Acts 2 : 41) ; and so the Lord started His Church with 3000 people
on the day of pentecost almost 2000 years ago.
we are buried with Christ in baptism ( like John the baptist with Jesus in the river Jordan ). all of ours sins are washed away by the sacrifice
of the sinless Jesus. ( buried with him in baptism, raised to walk in newness of Life with the Holy Spirit within us.
a new spiritual life, partakers of the divine nature of the Resurrected Son of God.) Eternal Life begins.
Jesus said " I am the Way, the Truth and the Life ". he who believes in me has passed from death to life.
"I Am the resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
And he who believes in Me shall never die" Jn 11 : 25,26
you might say our journey to our new home in heaven with God has thus begun. a spiritual transformation has taken place
when the Holy Spirit resides within our body, spirit and soul. we are the children of God Himself sharing His Divine Nature
through the workings of the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.
as God breathed life into the dust to create a man in His Image, so now God has breathed into us the Holy Spirit of Eternal Life.
He has preserved for us His Words in the bible. we are born again unto eternal life in the person of Jesus Christ
until He returns for those who are His Own - the called -. we are the ones who hear the good shepherds voice.
once before He gave His Life that we might live. and now He freely gives us of His Life eternally.
" I Am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, " says the Lord , "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" Rev 1 : 8
from eternity past, to time without end , He offers us His Eternal Life. now and forever in heaven with God