Eternal Life

John 3:16 is a widely known Scripture that describes in one sentence the redemptive work of Christ for humanity. However, not many fully understand its implications. The essence of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is to give those who believe eternal life. But what is that eternal life?

To answer this question, we need to go back to the very beginning. God created man in His image and likeness and placed him in the Garden of Eden. The Bible records that in the garden, God would regularly come to have fellowship with man in the cool of the day. This was man in his perfect state.

After the fall, Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. The garden was designed for man and it represented the place where God met with him. When they were chased out, they became separated from God’s presence and from the perfect environment created for them. They now had to toil and work to survive.

So what changed after the fall? Death. This death was separation from the presence of God.

Now when the Bible says that those who believe in Jesus—the second Adam—will have eternal life, it is saying that they will be restored to God’s presence. Eternal life is not referring to the length of years, but to the nature of the life that exists in God’s presence.

Eternal life does not start when we exit this world. It starts here on earth. This is the abundant life that Jesus talks about in John 10:10.