We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 26, 2020

We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

1 John 2:24-25

While reading John's epistles it is very helpful to remember that in the New Testament, “life in the age to come,” is the literal translation of the phrase “eternal life.” One of the core foundations of the church is a belief that God is going to establish His Kingdom on earth in the 'age to come.' In this Age to Come, everything will be made right, and truth and justice will flourish. God's Kingdom will be new life on earth, as the paradise God intended. This life in the Age to Come began on Easter Sunday when God's promise was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. God has opened the doors of this age, His Kingdom, to everyone.

John's purpose in this letter is to edify the believers and to encourage them to seek to live the life in Christ now, as they prepare for the full revelation of God's Kingdom. From John's perspective, as well as that of the other writers of the New Testament, if we will focus ourselves on fulfilling Jesus' commandment to love others as He has loved us, we will have a full plate. Literally, we'll have all we can say grace over.

Here, in the end of 1 John 2, the word, antichrist is introduced. John is the only writer in the New Testament to use the word antichrist. He uses it twice in chapter two, once in chapter four and once in his second letter. John uses the word in a generic way to refer to people who deny the humanity of Christ and for those who break fellowship with the church. In either case, John is asserting that the antichrist is denying the sacrificial work of Jesus to establish His church. In response to those who deny the complete work of Jesus, John reminds the disciples of Jesus that we have received the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The Spirit teaches us everything we need to know. (1 John 2:26-27)

My Takeaway: For John, the bottom line is quite simple:

Remain in fellowship with Christ.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.