Guest shiloh357 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Understanding that for life to be eternal, it has to have no beginning and no end. If you are a person who holds to the belief that those who are saved were chosen for salvation from the foundations of the Earth, then this would be clearly the case. Eternal life is God Himself, not a length time. When speaking of Eternal Life, we need to get rid of the "linear" concept of life/time. Eternal Life is a person, not a length of time. Eternal Life is Jesus and He lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus more than once refers to Himself as Eternal Life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs Posted September 9, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 45 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,081 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 53 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/13/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted September 9, 2008 Understanding that for life to be eternal, it has to have no beginning and no end. If you are a person who holds to the belief that those who are saved were chosen for salvation from the foundations of the Earth, then this would be clearly the case. If, on the other hand, you are one who believes that salvation begins when you make a choice to be saved, then everlasting life would be a more accurate use of the language. This use of the word indicating that your life has a beginning point as a created being. But, the one thing that is for certain, it means that we spend the rest of time with JESUS. I believe the Bible teaches that Christ's bride is elect. I do not believe that we had no beginning. I fail to see how those two beliefs would mesh? Salvation is from the hand of God and it is not a process it is a one-time justification. Sanctification is the process. No matter if a person is Arminian or Calvinist, true Christians believe that all people whether saved or lost, live forever. It seems then that everlasting life doesnt just mean "living forever in eternity" since everyone will anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry 2 Posted September 9, 2008 Group: Senior Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 40 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 791 Content Per Day: 0.12 Reputation: 205 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/29/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 Understanding that for life to be eternal, it has to have no beginning and no end. If you are a person who holds to the belief that those who are saved were chosen for salvation from the foundations of the Earth, then this would be clearly the case. If, on the other hand, you are one who believes that salvation begins when you make a choice to be saved, then everlasting life would be a more accurate use of the language. This use of the word indicating that your life has a beginning point as a created being. But, the one thing that is for certain, it means that we spend the rest of time with JESUS. I believe the Bible teaches that Christ's bride is elect. I do not believe that we had no beginning. I fail to see how those two beliefs would mesh? Salvation is from the hand of God and it is not a process it is a one-time justification. Sanctification is the process. No matter if a person is Arminian or Calvinist, true Christians believe that all people whether saved or lost, live forever. It seems then that everlasting life doesnt just mean "living forever in eternity" since everyone will anyway. To me there is a difference in Eternal life with Christ and Eternal death in the lake of fire. Those cast into the lake of fire is known as the second death Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs Posted September 10, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 45 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,081 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 53 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/13/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2008 To me there is a difference in Eternal life with Christ and Eternal death in the lake of fire. Those cast into the lake of fire is known as the second death Yes thats true. Even though they live forever it is in the lake of fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricH Posted September 10, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 366 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 10,933 Content Per Day: 1.57 Reputation: 212 Days Won: 1 Joined: 04/21/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2008 To me there is a difference in Eternal life with Christ and Eternal death in the lake of fire. Those cast into the lake of fire is known as the second death Yes thats true. Even though they live forever it is in the lake of fire. Yes, death is best understood as separation. Not ceasing to exist. God warned Adam and Eve that on the day they ate of the fruit they would die. They did not cease to exist that day. They became separated from true relationship with God. One of the symptoms of that separation was eventual physical death and the soul separating from the physical body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovedya Posted September 10, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 375 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 11,400 Content Per Day: 1.43 Reputation: 125 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/30/2002 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/14/1971 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I have heard it explained this way - The moment we believe we inherit God's own eternal life (Without beginning or end) everlasting Eternal life is God's own life living in us and through. We have eternal life today, right now. The word is the same in Hebrew and Gree, for everlasting or eternal. Eternal life is not a quality of life or even a length of time, which is why it has no beginning or end. It is not linear. Eternal life is a person Eternal life is Jesus, Himself who indwells us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. That is why we have a know-so salvation. We are saved right now because God's very life is in us right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kross Posted September 11, 2008 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 44 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1,773 Content Per Day: 0.31 Reputation: 51 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/04/2008 Status: Offline Birthday: 12/27/1957 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Understanding that for life to be eternal, it has to have no beginning and no end. If you are a person who holds to the belief that those who are saved were chosen for salvation from the foundations of the Earth, then this would be clearly the case. Eternal life is God Himself, not a length time. When speaking of Eternal Life, we need to get rid of the "linear" concept of life/time. Eternal Life is a person, not a length of time. Eternal Life is Jesus and He lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus more than once refers to Himself as Eternal Life WHATEVER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovedya Posted September 11, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 375 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 11,400 Content Per Day: 1.43 Reputation: 125 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/30/2002 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/14/1971 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Understanding that for life to be eternal, it has to have no beginning and no end. If you are a person who holds to the belief that those who are saved were chosen for salvation from the foundations of the Earth, then this would be clearly the case. Eternal life is God Himself, not a length time. When speaking of Eternal Life, we need to get rid of the "linear" concept of life/time. Eternal Life is a person, not a length of time. Eternal Life is Jesus and He lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus more than once refers to Himself as Eternal Life WHATEVER He's right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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