What does it mean to have eternal life?

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Buzzfruit

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Luke 18:30 (ASV)
[sup]30 [/sup]who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the world to come eternal life.


What is eternal life? Does it mean being like the angels in Heaven?
Eternal life is not immortal life. Immortal means unending life but eternal life means life without a begging or an end. Thus, it means that we will have uncreated life......the very life that only God has He has given to us. Not even the angels in Heaven has eternal life; they only have immortal life.
 

Vengle

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If eternal life and immortality are two different things then it would be a lie that death is ever swallowed up forever.

I believe the error is to think that God who grants immortality cannot also take it away. The idea that immortality cannot be taken away is what I do not find in the scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
 

Buzzfruit

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If eternal life and immortality are two different things then it would be a lie that death is ever swallowed up forever.

And I don't believe the world forever is used. Is just says, "Death is swalled in victory."

I believe the error is to think that God who grants immortality cannot also take it away. The idea that immortality cannot be taken away is what I do not find in the scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.


When the Bible speaks of immortality it is talking about our bodies. The body will be immortal but it is not eternal because the body has a beginning. But when it comes to our life, it will be eternal because God is and has giving us His life and His life is eternal, uncreated, without a beginning. Remember, the Bible says we will inherit all things. Nothing that God has will be withheld from us. The Bible also says we have been partakers of His divine Nature. Like child that inherits their parents' genetic makeup, even so we have inherited what He is....life, creator and sustainer.
 

Prentis

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We are made partakers of the divine nature, yes, and that is eternal life, to have communion with him.

Only as long as we are here on this earth, we are running a race, and in the possibility of falling out of communion with the Lord, being cut off again after being grafted in, not abiding.
 

veteran

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I believe the error is to think that God who grants immortality cannot also take it away. The idea that immortality cannot be taken away is what I do not find in the scriptures.


You hit that on the nail. Lot of brethren have huge trouble digesting that Bible truth. It's mostly because of their thinking with their 'carnal' nature. Say 'body' and most automatically think of a flesh type body, and not the resurrection body which is a "spiritual body" according to Apostle Paul.
 

Vengle

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Hey Buzzfruit, thank you. (And I don't believe the word forever is used. Is just says, "Death is swalled in victory.")

You are right. It tickles me to find little places like that where I read too much in. I surely cannot think ill of others for having the tendency to do that. All we can do is rejoice in being able to find out our error. Being correct is not what I consider important. God is correct, not me. I consider learning from God to be the most important thing. And my experience has taught me that my seeing myself too quickly as correct that learning stops happening.

Bless you brother for pointing that out!!!
 

Buzzfruit

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Hey Buzzfruit, thank you. (And I don't believe the word forever is used. Is just says, "Death is swalled in victory.")

You are right. It tickles me to find little places like that where I read too much in. I surely cannot think ill of others for having the tendency to do that. All we can do is rejoice in being able to find out our error. Being correct is not what I consider important. God is correct, not me. I consider learning from God to be the most important thing. And my experience has taught me that my seeing myself too quickly as correct that learning stops happening.

Bless you brother for pointing that out!!!

Yes, that is one reason why I have been reminding Christians to study the Bible for themselves. Most times well meaning pastors teach things that is not supported in the Bible and the members take it as the gospel truth and run with it.
 

Prentis

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If we follow any man that has been religiously trained, we will fall into error. Those who trust in men, according to the Bible, receive a curse.

We must follow the Spirit!
 

veteran

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If we follow any man that has been religiously trained, we will fall into error. Those who trust in men, according to the Bible, receive a curse.

We must follow the Spirit!

That's a rather brash statement brother, for it would mean you would have to not read Paul's Epistles especially.

Not everyone trained in the seminary colleges is a fake either.
 

Buzzfruit

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We are made partakers of the divine nature, yes, and that is eternal life, to have communion with him.

Only as long as we are here on this earth, we are running a race, and in the possibility of falling out of communion with the Lord, being cut off again after being grafted in, not abiding.

The thing is no one is perfect so when a pastor says something from the pulpit it must be compared to what the scriptures say. But unfortunately not many Christians study the Bible and even less do their own personal study at home.
 

Prentis

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That's a rather brash statement brother, for it would mean you would have to not read Paul's Epistles especially.

Not everyone trained in the seminary colleges is a fake either.

Point taken! You're right, the comment goes too far...

But then again, Paul had to unlearn everything he knew and learn fromthe Spirit, to be led of God. Unless a man is trained in this, and knows the ways of the Lord, the ways of the Spirit, how may he train others?

The thing is no one is perfect so when a pastor says something from the pulpit it must be compared to what the scriptures say. But unfortunately not many Christians study the Bible and even less do their own personal study at home.

The issue lies deeper than that. It's not just that we 'don't each check the scriptures', it's that the whole way the church functions stops the Spirit from leading and puts men at the helm.
 

Buzzfruit

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Point taken! You're right, the comment goes too far...

But then again, Paul had to unlearn everything he knew and learn fromthe Spirit, to be led of God. Unless a man is trained in this, and knows the ways of the Lord, the ways of the Spirit, how may he train others?



The issue lies deeper than that. It's not just that we 'don't each check the scriptures', it's that the whole way the church functions stops the Spirit from leading and puts men at the helm.

I don't believe as human beings with the Holy Spirit that we are separate from the Holy Spirit. From the Scriptures once the Holy Spirit has been joined with a human being they both become one. So when the Holy Spirit does something it will be doing it through that person whom has the Holy Spirit. The problem comes when we don't value God's word as much as we should. So we don't go to it to learn what God has to say. For the most part God is not going to tell us personally what He has already has inspired to be written down in His word.

But I have not been to any Church outside the one that I attend in very long time. So I may not be up-to-date on some of the things that goes on in many of those Churches you might be hinting at.
 

Prentis

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I understand what you are saying, and I do agree that much instruction is in the word.

But the scriptures do not 'lead us', yes they serve as a map to situate us, but that's so that we get somewhere. The purpose is that, like Christ, we would do only what we see the Father doing, being led of the Holy Spirit. Yes, there is a time he doesn't tell us, and we just have to be faithful and keep the word in our hearts and minds, but in the end, I think we need to get to a place where the Spirit is actively doing his work THROUGH us. :)
 

veteran

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Point taken! You're right, the comment goes too far...

But then again, Paul had to unlearn everything he knew and learn fromthe Spirit, to be led of God. Unless a man is trained in this, and knows the ways of the Lord, the ways of the Spirit, how may he train others?

The issue lies deeper than that. It's not just that we 'don't each check the scriptures', it's that the whole way the church functions stops the Spirit from leading and puts men at the helm.

If you'll research Paul's Epistles where he was pulling from Old Testament Scripture in many, many places, you'll find that he very often used it to support the witness of Christ's Apostles, and The Gospel itself. Paul was an excellent Hebrew scholar, which our Lord used him for in preaching The Gospel, especially regarding OT prophecy. Lot of my Christian brethren have the error of thinking that Paul had to reject all that he had learned and was taught in the Old Testament. No so. What Christ removed from him by The Holy Spirit was the confusion of traditions of the Pharisees, which were NOT Scriptural to begin with.

The Pharisee religious traditions came out of the corruptions during the Babylon captivity. They created a philosophy that went around much of Old Testament Scripture. That's mainly what today's religion of Judaism is based on still, the Babylonian Talmud, with OT Scripture being made secondary. This is why we as Christians should always know this difference, because Christian Doctrine never originated from a Talmudic base, but from the Old Testament based on The Gospel prophecies. Thus the term 'Judeo-Christian' is a false term, since it wrongly assumes Christian Doctrine sprang off of Pharisaic Judaism.
 
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Prentis

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I agree. There are both sides to it. :)

If we indeed come to knowledge of the Lord and learn to walk in his ways, all these things will become useful. But we must come into that life, and continue in it, letting nothing of this world get in the way. I would say this is the experience of only very few who are 'religiously trained' and lead today's NA churches.
 

Perspectives

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Luke 18:30 (ASV)
[sup]30 [/sup]who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the world to come eternal life.


What is eternal life? Does it mean being like the angels in Heaven?
Eternal life is not immortal life. Immortal means unending life but eternal life means life without a begging or an end. Thus, it means that we will have uncreated life......the very life that only God has He has given to us. Not even the angels in Heaven has eternal life; they only have immortal life.
Looks like you answered your own question.
 

veteran

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I agree. There are both sides to it. :)

If we indeed come to knowledge of the Lord and learn to walk in his ways, all these things will become useful. But we must come into that life, and continue in it, letting nothing of this world get in the way. I would say this is the experience of only very few who are 'religiously trained' and lead today's NA churches.


I think one of the biggest heresies seminary students are taught involved the movement of Gnosticism in the early 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Some of the early Church fathers wrote whole treatises against it as a warning for the Church in their days. If we stay in God's Word as written, we should be able to automatically discern when some idea is pushed that is foreign to God's Word and judge its fruit. But alas, just how many truly are studied in all The Bible today?
 
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Prentis

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I think one of the biggest heresies seminary students are taught involved the movement of Gnosticism in the early 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Some of the early Church fathers wrote whole treatises against it as a warning for the Church in their days. If we stay in God's Word as written, we should be able to automatically discern when some idea is pushed that is foreign to God's Word and judge its fruit. But alas, just how many truly are studied in all The Bible today?

Yes, the Bible hold many wonders.

What we also need is to have our spiritual senses trained, both by the Lord and 'iron sharpening iron' that we might discern not only the words, but the power behind them. After all, our battle is spiritual, and it is agaisnt principalities.

Unless we discern the spirit that is behind something, we very well might get fooled by the words.
 

aspen

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Having eternal life means existing beyond our own egos......we are much more than the false selves we have spent so much time supporting......instead, we are the crowning glory of God's creation - created to love Him and each other. As soon as we submit to Christ and allow Him to help us overthrow the false self, we will experience eternal life - a life that exists beyond the ego and beyond dualism, wherever it may physically exist.