Level 1 Lesson 1 Questions
ETERNAL LIFE

Level 1, Lesson: 1
ETERNAL LIFE LESSON TEXT

The Bible states in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Most people focus on the part of this verse that promises we won't perish. Although it's certainly a wonderful promise, it is not the focus of this verse. The primary purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was not forgiveness of sins, but to give us eternal life.

Sin separated us from God so Jesus dealt with sin. However, His payment for sin was just a step toward His ultimate purpose of reconciling man to God. If someone believes that Jesus died for his sins but doesn't go on to enter into the close fellowship with God that Jesus made available, then he is missing eternal life.

Eternal life is not a length of life, but rather a quality of life. Eternal life is intimacy with the Father and Jesus (John 17:3). Many people have been done a disservice in being told that Jesus came to forgive their sins, "period." If that was all He did, it would have been wonderful, and much more than we deserved - but much less than what He actually accomplished.

Today, take full advantage of your salvation and go beyond the basic forgiveness of your sins into intimacy with Almighty God.

1. According to John 3:16, the real message of the gospel is that God wants you to have what? Eternal Life.

(a)According to John 17:3, eternal life is what? Knowing God and Jesus Christ.
(b)How is the word "know" used in scripture according to Genesis 4:1? Of a close intimate relationship and union.
(c)When the Bible says eternal life is "knowing" the only true God and Jesus Christ, it is saying what? Eternal life is having an intimate and personal relationship with God.

Jesus came to give us intimacy and a personal relationship with Himself. How does Ephesians 5:31-32 show this? He uses marriage to illustrate the kind of personal relationship He wants with us.

How does Romans 5:6-8 show God's love for us? God's love was demonstrated to us while we were sinful and going our own way.

Level 1, Lesson: 1
ETERNAL LIFE
by Andrew Wommack

One of the most familiar passages of scripture is John 3:16. It seems like everybody seems to knows that verse at a young age, yet I believe it has really been misunderstood and misapplied. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life".

Traditionally, this scripture has been used to teach that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we wouldn't perish. As true as this is, this verse is saying that the real purpose of Jesus coming to this earth and dying for us is so that we could have everlasting life. It just so happened that our sins were a barrier that stood between us and this everlasting life.

It is true that Jesus did die for our sins, and it is true that if we believe on Jesus we will not perish, but there is much more to the gospel than that. The real message of the gospel is that God wants to give you everlasting life. Now let me explain that.

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus was praying and He said this in John 17:2-3: "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

This says that everlasting life is knowing God, the only true Father and knowing Jesus Christ whom He has sent. That's what everlasting life is. Many people think that everlasting life is living forever. Well, every person lives forever. It's a misconception to think that when a person dies he ceases to exist. The spirit and the soul go back to God. The body decays in the grave. The truth is, every person who has ever lived on the face of the earth will continue to live in spirit form. So to say that eternal life is living forever is not the whole truth - everybody lives forever. This verse makes it very clear that eternal life is not given to everyone.

Some people would say, "Eternal life is living forever in heaven versus living forever in hell," but that's not what this verse is talking about. In John 3:36, it says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life . . ." Right there it says that everlasting life can be a present tense position - a possession. It is not something that's going to take place in the future, but something that is a reality right now. I John 5:13 says "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God; that ye may know that ye have (present tense) eternal life . . . ."

The scriptures reveal that eternal life isn't just living forever and it's not just living forever in heaven or hell. Eternal life is just what Jesus said in John 17:3—"to know God and Jesus Christ." It's more than an intellectual knowledge. This word "KNOW" is used throughout scripture to describe the most intimate, personal relationship that you can have. For instance, in Genesis 4:6, the scripture says that Adam "knew" his wife, Eve, and that she conceived and had a son. It's talking about the sexual relationship between a man and a woman – intimacy. So when the scripture says that eternal life is "knowing" the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, what it means is that eternal life is having intimacy—a personal relationship with God.

Now include this with John 3:16 and this verse says that God loved you and me so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that we would not perish but have intimacy, closeness, and a personal relationship with God Almighty. This has not always been the message that we've heard. Often you hear, "Repent or else; turn or burn; either repent or you will go to hell." There are many people who are drawn to the Lord out of fear of going to hell. They confess the Lord out of desperation because they do not want to go to hell.

Now let me say this: If the only benefit of salvation is getting your sins forgiven so you will not go to hell, then that would be more than you deserve. It would still be goodness on God's part and still worth preaching and sharing with people, but the scriptures reveal that there is much more to salvation than just getting your sins forgiven. If all a person does is come to the Lord to get his sins forgiven so that he will not perish, and that is his only motivation, he may be born again and have a ticket to heaven, but he will miss out on the real purpose of salvation.

The real purpose of salvation is not missing hell. The real purpose of salvation is not living forever in heaven, as great as that will be. The real purpose of salvation is to have intimacy—a personal relationship with the Lord God. There are multitudes of people who have cried out to God for the forgiveness of their sins, but have never had intimacy with God as a goal.

By not explaining the real purpose of salvation, we are doing a disservice to the gospel. When we present salvation as something that deals with just spiritual things that will only benefit us in the future, in eternity, we are not helping people. There are some people who are living in such a literal hell right now on earth. Many are depressed, living in poverty, dealing with strife, rejection, hurt and failed marriages. People are just trying to survive day to day. They are just trying to keep their heads above water. By making salvation something that deals only with the future, many people will put off that decision because they are too busy just trying to survive today.

The truth is that Jesus came to affect our eternal destinies so that we can live forever in heaven in blessing instead of the punishment and the curse of hell, but Jesus also came to deliver us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4). Jesus came to give you intimacy and a personal relationship with God the Father today.

The first century church had a concept of this that I believe our modern day church has lost. We can see it in many writings, and also in history. I went to Rome when I was 18 years old. I remember going to the Circus Maximus and to the Coliseum where they threw Christians to the lions and burned them at the stake. I remember reading an inscription on a wall in the catacombs. The Christians had to bury their dead in the walls of the catacombs because the Romans would deface their graves. They would bring their dead back and put them in the walls. This inscription had been translated into about five or six languages. I read it in English and it said, "Here lies my wife and six-month old daughter who gave their lives today for the glory of Jesus Christ in the Circus Maximus." It was written like something this man was proud of, something he was glorifying God for. You didn't sense grief in what he wrote. There wasn't despondency.

These people had a quality of relationship with God that was so dynamic that there were actual accounts of Romans jumping out of the stands and running out in the arena, knowing that they were going to be put to death. They would confess this Jesus that the Christians had died for, because they saw such joy on their faces. Nero stuck his fingers in his ears and said, "Why must these Christians sing as they die?" There was such a grace, such a joy, that there are accounts of Christians actually fighting over who got to go first to be martyred. I am telling you this to point out that there was a quality of relationship with God that I believe was the true intent of Christianity that we sometimes miss today.

Jesus didn't come only to forgive you of your sins, as wonderful as that may be. Sin was just a barrier that stood between you and intimacy with God. Jesus came to bring you back into close personal relationship with Him. Jesus loves you. Jesus wants to know you personally. Jesus wants to give you a quality of life that is greater than anything you could obtain through any other source.

Jesus put it this way in John 10:10: "The thief (speaking of Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." God wants to give you eternal life. God wants to give you abundant life, and I believe that you need that today—that you want that. Christ died not only to forgive your sins, but to bring you close to Him. If you don't know the Lord, you need to know Him for that purpose. If you've already been born again, you need to go beyond just getting your sins forgiven and enter into everlasting life with the Father.

Here are some questions to think about for this lesson

Level 1 Lesson 1 Questions
ETERNAL LIFE

Here are some questions to think about for this lesson

1. According to John 3:16-17, what was the purpose of God sending Jesus into the world?
2. Explain "know" in the biblical usage of Genesis 4:1.
3. According to John 17:3, what is eternal (everlasting) life?
4. According to John 5:11-13, when does eternal or everlasting life begin?
5. According to John 10:10, what kind of life did Jesus come to give us?
6. Do you believe that God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die for the sins of the world, thereby giving us who believe eternal/everlasting life?
7. Is it clear to you that eternal/everlasting life is not only a length of time (eternity), but a quality and quantity of life?

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