READING • JOHN 3
The Gospel offers life
Human life is mortal and ends in death. The wonderful message of the Gospel is that God offers everlasting life through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a gift of grace, not something any of us can earn.
Mortal man—and the hope of immortality
Adam was formed from the dust of the ground and received the breath of life from God. When Adam and Eve sinned, death entered human experience. Their descendants share mortal nature, and all of us also sin. As Paul says, “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Jesus was different in one vital respect: although he shared our mortal human nature, he never sinned. God raised him from the dead, and he now dies no more.
“Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.”
Romans 6:9 • King James Version
God is the source of immortal life
Scripture describes God as possessing immortality in Himself. Paul speaks of the Almighty as the One “who only hath immortality”. This does not mean that no other beings can live for ever; rather, God alone is inherently immortal and is the source of life for all others.
“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
1 Timothy 6:16 • King James Version
The Lord Jesus has received life beyond the power of death, and Jesus says that those accounted worthy of the resurrection “cannot die any more” and are equal unto the angels (Luke 20:36).
Life and immortality brought to light
“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
2 Timothy 1:10 • King James Version
Death is still present in the world, so “abolished death” does not mean that nobody dies now. Through Christ’s resurrection, however, death has been defeated in principle, and God has revealed the way by which faithful men and women may finally be delivered from it.
Everlasting life cannot be earned
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 • King James Version
A wage is something earned. A gift is something received. Eternal life is God’s gift through Christ. No amount of good works can put God in our debt or make us deserve immortality.
Yet receiving a gift does not mean that our response is unimportant. God calls us to believe Him, repent, be baptized, and follow His Son. Our obedience does not purchase salvation; it is the response of faith to God’s grace.
Seeking the life God offers
“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.”
Romans 2:6-7 • King James Version
Paul does not say that good behaviour earns eternal life. He describes the direction of a faithful life: those who trust God seek what He has promised and patiently continue in the way He has commanded.
“Eternal” and “everlasting” life
The original lesson tried to make a sharp distinction between “eternal life” and “everlasting life”. That distinction is not necessary. In the King James Version, both expressions are used for the enduring life God gives through Christ. The important contrast is between our present mortal life and the life that will never end.
A simple definition
Everlasting life is life beyond the power of death—life received from God, lived in righteousness and harmony with Him, and never brought to an end by mortality.
When will everlasting life be given?
Scripture connects the gift of immortality with resurrection, judgement and the return of Jesus. Daniel looked forward to a future awakening from the dust:
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Daniel 12:2 • King James Version
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
John 5:28-29 • King James Version
As Lessons 25 and 26 explained, resurrection is followed by judgement. The faithful are then changed and given immortality.
The faithful of earlier ages shared this hope
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, David and many other servants of God died without receiving the final fulfilment of the promises. They looked forward in faith to what God would do in the future.
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them ...”
Hebrews 11:13 • King James Version
The apostles looked forward to the same gift. Paul wrote of the “hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2), and John wrote, “this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life” (1 John 2:25). The hope is one hope, centred in God’s purpose through Christ.
What does an immortal body mean?
The Bible does not answer every question we might ask about immortal life, but it does tell us enough to show that the resurrection hope is real and bodily. After his resurrection, Jesus was recognisable, could be touched, and ate with his disciples.
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
Luke 24:39 • King James Version
We should not build more doctrine into the phrase “flesh and bones” than Scripture itself gives us. The verse proves that the risen Jesus was not an immaterial ghost. It does not, by itself, tell us every detail of the physical constitution of an immortal body.
From mortality to immortality
“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
1 Corinthians 15:44 • King James Version
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Corinthians 15:53 • King James Version
OUR PRESENT MORTAL LIFE
THE IMMORTAL LIFE PROMISED
Subject to death
Cannot die any more
Weakness and corruption
Raised in power and incorruption
Temptation and failure
Perfected for service to God
Life is temporary
Life continues without end
Paul calls the resurrection body a “spiritual body”. This does not mean an unreal or bodiless existence. It means a body transformed and sustained by the life-giving power of God.
Life with Christ in the Kingdom
Those accepted by Christ will share in the work of his Kingdom. They will no longer be limited by mortality, sickness, age or death. They will be fitted for faithful service under the righteous rule of the Lord Jesus.
A saint
In the New Testament a “saint” is a holy one—someone set apart for God. It does not mean a special class of Christians created long after death. Believers are called to be holy now, and the faithful will be perfected when Christ gives them immortality.
Recognisable—but transformed
Scripture gives reasons to expect personal identity to remain. Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the prophets as recognisable in the Kingdom (Luke 13:28), and the risen Jesus was recognised by his disciples. Yet the immortal body will be transformed beyond our present weakness.
“Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”
Luke 20:36 • King James Version
The final victory over death
The thousand-year reign of Christ is not the end of God’s purpose. 1 Corinthians 15 describes a final stage when every enemy has been subdued, including death, and the Son delivers the Kingdom to the Father.
“And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”
1 Corinthians 15:28 • King James Version
Revelation describes the completed purpose of God in words of extraordinary comfort:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.”
Revelation 21:4 • King James Version
This is the ultimate destination of God’s purpose: not immortal souls leaving the earth for heaven, but death itself removed and God’s creation brought into lasting harmony with Him.
“Powers of the world to come”
Hebrews 6:5 calls the miraculous gifts experienced in the first century “the powers of the world to come”. Christadelphians therefore see those gifts as a foretaste of the coming age. Scripture does not, however, give a detailed catalogue of exactly what abilities immortal saints will exercise, so we should avoid going beyond what is written.
A hope worth seeking
Everlasting life is far more than merely extending our present existence. God promises freedom from corruption and death, perfect fellowship with Him, and meaningful service in the Kingdom of His Son. It is a future worth preparing for now.
The promise should affect the way we live. If we truly believe that God offers immortality through Christ, we will want to know His Word, trust His promises, repent of sin, be baptized into Christ, and continue faithfully in the life of discipleship.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Matthew 6:33 • King James Version
From mortal life to God’s completed purpose
NOW
AT CHRIST’S RETURN
GOD’S COMPLETED PURPOSE
We are mortal
The dead are raised
Death is finally abolished
We live by faith
Christ judges righteously
God is “all in all”
We seek the Kingdom
The faithful receive immortality
Sorrow and pain are ended
We follow Christ
The saints serve with him
Creation is at peace with God
SUMMARY
1
Human beings are mortal.
Because of sin and mortality, our present life ends in death. We do not possess immortality by nature.
2
God is the source of immortal life.
God alone possesses immortality inherently; Jesus has been raised to die no more, and angels cannot die.
3
Everlasting life is a gift.
It cannot be earned. God offers eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ.
4
The gift is future.
The faithful receive immortality in connection with resurrection, judgement and the return of Christ.
5
The resurrection is bodily.
The faithful are not disembodied spirits; their mortal bodies are transformed into incorruptible, spiritual bodies.
6
Immortality means freedom from death.
Those accepted by Christ will be perfected for service and will “die no more”.
7
God’s purpose ends in complete victory.
After Christ’s work is complete, death is abolished and God is “all in all”.
Passages to read
Daniel 12:1-3 • John 17 • 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
LEARN BY HEART • 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.”
John 3:16 • King James Version
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