John 6 - What is Eternal Life?
Thus far in John 6, we’ve touched on a few recurring themes within Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse. Last time, we considered Jesus’ repeated reference to the Father. We learned that if one is to be saved, one must believe that Jesus has been given to us by the Father. We also learned that it was important to Jesus that we know that it is the Father who gives us to him.
Then, a few weeks back, we explored Jesus’ miracle of feeding the thousands on the grassy plain. We considered the application that he made afterward in calling men and women to stop labouring for things that don’t truly satisfy and to instead come to him for true satisfaction.
Remember that it was within this context that Jesus began using the metaphor of bread. They wanted physical bread for temporary satisfaction, so he used the occasion to present himself as the heavenly bread that brings genuine satisfaction.
This morning, we are going to continue looking at this passage but with a focus on another related theme. As we read John 6:27-58, I want you to look for the repeated theme of life.
John 6:27-58 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 ¶
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Did you catch Jesus’ emphasis on life?
John 6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
o53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Jesus came to bring life. And what kind of life? According to verses 27, 40, 47, 54 and 58, it is eternal life.
This morning we simply want to consider what is this eternal life, why is it necessary for us to have it, how it is that Jesus has brought it to us, and how one can be sure that they have it.
First of all, we should define eternal life.
We must be careful when we think about eternal life to not conceive of it as life as we know it now but going on forever. In fact, eternal life speaks more to the quality of that life than its quantity. That is, eternal life is a life wholly different than what we might know as natural or earthly life.
When the Jews considered eternal life, they automatically linked it to life in the eternal kingdom which was promised to come. To them, eternal life was “life of the age to come.”
We see this reflected in the only Old Testament passage to reference eternal (or everlasting) life. In Daniel 12 we find some of Daniel’s prophecies regarding the end times. He says:
Daniel 12:1-3 ¶ “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
According to Daniel, in the end, some will be resurrected to everlasting life. In Chapter 2, Daniel described that eternal state as a Kingdom established by God to remain forever. He said:
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
Eternal or everlasting life to the Jews then was life lived in God’s eternal kingdom. It was the life of the kingdom age to come.
It was the longing of every faithful Jew to know that they had a part in this eternal kingdom life. For these faithful men and women, this longing would only be intensified as they considered how the kingdoms of this world and their personal daily experiences fell woefully short of the promises of that age. The kingdoms of this age continually fell into rebellion against God and became subject to his judgment. In fact, when Daniel wrote, Israel was suffering under captivity in Babylon as a consequence of their rebellion.
The history of Israel and the personal experience of every Israelite testified to the fact that mankind was in a sad state and incapable of rectifying their situation. Although God had given them grand promises of a Kingdom in which he would be their God and they would be his people, they continually rebelled against him and forfeited such an arrangement.
But why was this the case? Why is human history one of rebellion against God? It all started in the Garden:
Genesis 2:8-9 ¶ And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground Yahweh God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:16-17 ¶ And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
When God made Adam and Eve, placing them in the Garden, he gave them a choice – life or death. The tree of life was in the midst – eating of which would sustain them forever, and also was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – eating of which would cause them to die.
Of course, you know the story. Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s command and partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At that moment, their disobedience consigned them to death.
Prior to this they lived in harmony with another and creation and they had unfettered communion with God. Subsequent to their rebellion, they became alienated from one another, from creation, and, worst of all, from God himself. They became severed from the life of God.
Since Adam was the representative head of all of mankind, his rebellion consigned all of humanity to the same fate.
Romans 5:12 …sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Romans 5:19 … by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners…
The pages of the Old Testament from Genesis 3 onward testify to the fact that mankind is fallen. As God would later say after the flood, “… the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth (Gen 8:21).” The death which Adam chose in the garden spread across all of humanity so that all were severed from the life of God.
Mankind in his natural state is separated from God, and subject to his judgment. The Bible describes humanity’s condition as being lost, walking in darkness, being blind, and, of course, being dead. Everyone born into this world is born separated from the life of God and in need of reconciliation with God.
God was merciful, however. He withheld his judgment against sinful humanity, chose a people to be his own, made gracious covenants with them and promised a day when he would make a way for them to escape death and partake of divine life once again. This is the promise we see in Daniel 12.
When Jesus finally came, he came to bring this life to men.
John 1:4-5 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 ¶ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
When Jesus came, it was like dawn breaking in perpetual darkness. The light had come to drive away the darkness. Life had come to finally overcome death.
Matthew described his birth this way:
Matthew 4:15-17 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
All of humanity was dwelling in the shadow of death, but Jesus came, bringing the light of life. Jesus said:
John 8:12 ¶ … “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
And notice in Matthew 4 that Jesus immediately followed talk of light and life with the invitation to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For the Jews, eternal life was synonymous with the “life of the age to come.” Jesus is saying that this age had dawned. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The age of life was dawning, and repentance was required to enter in.
After thousands of years of death and darkness, the time had come for God to provide the means by which humanity could be perfectly reconciled to him and become partakers of the divine life from which they had been severed. John said in his first letter:
1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In God’s love, he sent Jesus into the world. He sent him to bring life so that those who were destined to perish might live.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
So, eternal life is the very life of God. The life from which mankind, in its natural state, is severed. The Jews looked forward to the day when God’s Kingdom would dawn, and his people might enter in – thus inheriting everlasting life. They looked forward to the day when they would dwell in constant communion with their God while sharing his divine nature.
When Jesus came, he came not only possessing this life from the Father but also possessing the authority from the Father to give it to whomever the Father chose. He prayed to the Father in John 17:
John 17:1-2 …“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
So then, when Jesus came, he came with an invitation to come to him. Why? Because he was the one whom the Father had ordained to be the giver of life (6:27). He and he alone had this life to give.
John 5:26-29 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Thus far, we’ve considered the necessity of eternal life. We’ve seen that Jesus is the only source of eternal life, and we have started to consider the nature of eternal life. Now, let’s explore some of the benefits of eternal life further.
First of all, when we talk about the eternal life that Jesus came to bring, we should think about it as entailing intimate communion.
1. Intimate Communion
It may be surprising for you to learn that Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God. Returning to his prayer to the Father in John 17, we read this:
John 17:1-3 … “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Jesus gives us a wonderful definition of eternal life. He says that it is “that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” Eternal life is knowledge of God. This speaks of relationship. More than that, of an intimate relationship. John repeated this in his first letter.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Jesus Christ came with the authority to grant men and women a reconciled and intimate relationship with God in which they actually share in the life of the Father. This eternal life is a matter of having fellowship with God the Father and God the Son.
1 John 1:1-3 ¶ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
To have eternal life means to share in the life of God. It is to have fellowship with the Father and the Son. It is to know God. This is far more than simply living forever. This is a matter of intimate communion. It is a personal relationship. That’s why Jesus could say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Since Jesus was the life, he could bring us to God. He could usher us into a relationship with him. He could bring us into intimate communion with him.
So then, when we think about eternal life, we shouldn’t fall prey to the idea that it is only about life after death. Eternal life is experienced by believers here and now.
Remember what we learned last time? It is the Father who has given Jesus to us and who has given us to Jesus. The Father has drawn you to himself through Jesus so that he might have a relationship with you.
Jesus came to make the Father known. He came so that you might have a relationship with God.
We are accepted by the Father because we have his life in us.
Our prayers are heard by the Father because we have his life in us.
We can confess our sin and be forgiven by the Father because we have his life in us.
We can rely upon the Father for our daily provision because we have his life in us.
We can be confident that he loves us and works all things for our good because we have his life in us.
We can come boldly to him in times of need because we have his life in us.
This is all possible because Jesus Christ has given us eternal life. He has brought us into the very life of God so that we might know him.
Next, when we talk about the eternal life that Jesus came to bring, we should think about it as bringing continual satisfaction.
2. Continual Satisfaction
Remember that in John 6 Jesus uses a powerful metaphor to describe himself as the source of spiritual satisfaction. He says:
John 6:48 I am the bread of life.
John 6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Jesus was calling the crowd to stop trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment in earthly temporary things and to begin thinking about the spiritual and eternal. True joy and satisfaction come when one’s soul is reconciled to God. Everything else can be falling apart, but if one knows that they are right with God and loved by him, they can be continually satisfied.
The metaphors of hungering and thirsting speak to our shared human condition. Always feeling empty. Always feeling like we need more. Always looking for the next thing to satisfy. Well, Jesus said:
John 6:35 “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
This speaks of continual satisfaction. We learn something else very important about eternal life here. Not only is eternal life something we possess in the hear and now, but it is something that is continually sustained by Jesus.
John 6:53-58 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
To keep the metaphor, Jesus is the living bread and our spiritual life is sustained as we continually feed on him. Notice in verse 56 he says “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in him, and I in him.” This reminds us of John 15, where Jesus teaches the same truth but uses a different metaphor. He says:
John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
This speaks of an on-going, sustained, continually maintained, dependence upon Jesus as our source of spiritual life and satisfaction. As believers, we are forever dependent upon Jesus for life. Like a branch must be attached to the vine to live, so we only live because we are attached to Jesus.
How are you doing this morning feeding on Jesus? Do you live every day as one who is aware that he is fully dependent upon Jesus for spiritual life? Not merely that Jesus did something for you in the past, but so you have something to look forward to in the future. But that Jesus is the spiritual life giver who imparts eternal life to you as you continually abide in him?
Do you pray like one who is aware that she is continually dependent upon Jesus?
Do you read the word like you are one forever in need of his spiritual guidance?
Do you face the anxieties of life like one who has a perpetual life-line to Jesus?
Do you face daily temptation like one who needs and has access to spiritual strength through Jesus?
Do you live like one who understands that true satisfaction can’t be found in the things of the world?
Do you live like one who draws continual satisfaction from Jesus and the spiritual life which he has given you?
Because Jesus has invited us to daily “feed” on him, or “abide” in him, we can have continual satisfaction. Lastly, in addition to having intimate communion, and continual satisfaction, to have eternal life means to have a guaranteed resurrection.
3. Guaranteed Resurrection
We’ve said that when we think about eternal life, we should not merely think of it as something we will attain after death. This does not however mean that it is not that. Eternal life is indeed “the life of the coming age.” The fact is, when Jesus came, he ushered in a foretaste of that new age. In a certain sense, the Kingdom of God has already come. But in another sense, the Kingdom is still coming. His Kingdom will not come in fullness until after his return. We will not experience the fullness of eternal life until that time.
However, having been granted eternal life by Jesus now guarantees that we will be resurrected and enter into the fullness of that life in the future.
John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
With this resurrection comes another promise. On that day, when Jesus returns, he returns not only with reward but also with judgment. On that day, some will not enter into the Kingdom. Some will not rejoice because they know they will finally experience eternal life in its fullness. Instead, some will face judgment. The promise to believers is that since they have come to Jesus for life, they will not face judgment but will receive the fullness of eternal life at his return.
John 5:21-29 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
To bring it full circle, this is the same life that Daniel prophesied of in Daniel 12:
Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
To have eternal life means the guarantee of future resurrection. Of course, this contributes to our ability to have continual satisfaction in the present. We have the assurance that no matter what happens in this life, we are looking forward to resurrection in the next. As Paul encouraged the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
So, in conclusion. How can one know for sure that they have eternal life? Can one know for sure? Absolutely. John says this about why he wrote his gospel:
John 20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
And this is why he wrote his letters:
1 John 5:12-13 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
We can know for sure and should. So how?
John 6:54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
It’s an odd and striking metaphor, isn’t it? It conjures up some grotesque imagery, doesn’t it? Its striking nature is what makes it so impactful. But what does he mean? Compare verse 54 to verse 40.
John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
To feed is to have faith. To feed on his flesh and to drink his blood is to look upon him and believe. Believe what?
To believe that Jesus is the Son of God sent by the Father as the only source of eternal life. It is to believe that he came to give himself on the cross so that the world might have life. It is to believe this in such a way that you trust him and him alone for eternal life and to then go on to live your life wholly dependent upon him for your spiritual sustenance, all the while living in anticipation of his future coming and your future resurrection.
If you are already a believer this morning, live your life as one who has been brought into intimate communion with the Father. Live as one who is continually satisfied with Jesus and wholly dependent upon him. Live as one who has been delivered from God’s wrath and promised future resurrection and a place in the Kingdom which is to come.
Live in this way because that is what it means to possess eternal life.
