Hi yearegods,Hope the Lord can enable me to help you. If not..mayhap He will lead you to the answers you seek as your questions do run over each other to varying degrees.
Why did Jesus say "he who lives and believes in me shall NEVER die"? And what about John 3:16? When does eternal life start? Does it depend on our dying physically? If so, then eternal is not eternal, it is a grave and not life until death. That doesn't even make logical sense.
John 11: 25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Someone said the Spirit was put into our corrupted flesh, or words to that effect, but what about "we are dead to sin and alive to the Spirit"? What about "putting on the new man"? Is it only about behavior change? If that is so, then why did Jesus have to die to make it happen? We all know that people who are not born again can alter their behavior, for good or evil.
We can only mortify the deeds of the body by the Spirit, but to get the Spirit, Jesus had to die. Once we have been bought by His Blood, we are made a new creature in Christ for believing in Jesus as Our Saviour and thus able to receive the Spirit.2 Corinthians 5: 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;Matthew 9:17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.Thus by maing us new creatures hence new winebottles, we are able to receive the Holy Spirit for Him to abide in us forever and able to be preserved as in saved. Thus we are reconciled to God, and now we have a restored relationship with Him as we walk with Jesus in this fallen world in this corruptible state in the hope in Him for eternal life as well as in Him to live this life as His by grace that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection in living that christian life by the grace of God.Romans 8: 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.People that are not born again can alter their behaviour for good and evil, but they cannot know God except through Jesus Christ the Lord. And since scriptures says no one is good.... that all have become corrupt... I would not buy into that outward appearance of man at all. Everybody needs the Saviour.