“Life” in the Gospel according to John can at times refer to one’s physical existence, but most often denotes a dimension behind the physical. Jesus spoke to the Jews and said, “… if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (Jn 8:51). The Jews mistook Jesus’ words as meaning death of the physical body and found Jesus’ words absurd. But Jesus was speaking about a spiritual existence beyond this life.
Jesus promises, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (Jn 11:25). A believer of Jesus may die physically as everyone else, but he possesses a life that extends beyond the grave.
This is a life that knows no end. It is called “eternal life,” a phrase that appears 17 times in this Gospel. (See references to <phrase id=”15503″ from=”OGNT” type=”identical” filterby=”Jn”>“eternal life” in John</phrase>).
Jesus says, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (Jn 12:25).[footnote text=”Note the use of ψυχή, psychē, for “his life” and ζωή, zōē, for “eternal life.” The former may be lost, gained, and laid down; the latter belongs to God and is imperishable.”] Our earthly life may perish or extend to eternal life.
God as giver of life
God the Father is the source of life. As Jesus states in Jn 5:26, “the Father has life in himself.” God is the giver of life. In His discourse on the bread of life, Jesus affirms that sustenance of life originates with the Father: “… 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” (Jn 6:32). In His prayer to the Father, Jesus makes it plain, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3)
Man’s need for life
Man does not have the life of God because he is in sin. Jesus said to the people in His day, “… for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (Jn 8:24). Sin results in death. Those who sin are also slaves of sin (Jn 3:34). They are not able to free themselves from sin’s dominion. Unless a person believes in the Son of God, he is condemned already (Jn 3:18), and the wrath of God remains on him (Jn 8:36). His end is destruction.
Life is in Jesus Christ
Out of His love for the world, God sent His only Son into the world in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in the Son of God will not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16–17).
Jesus Christ is the Word who was in the beginning with God, and He was God. Being God Himself, Jesus Christ is the source and giver of life. That is why in the prologue (Jn 1:4), the Gospel according to John tells us that in Him was life.
As the Son of God sent into the world, Jesus Christ received authority from His Father to grant life. Jn 5:26 states: “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. He has granted Jesus Christ His Son the authority to also be the giver of life.” In His prayer to His Father, Jesus says, “…you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (Jn 17:2). So, by the authority given Him by the Father, Jesus is the giver of eternal life.
Jesus declares that He is the source of life
The Gospel according to John records numerous occasions in which Jesus Himself declares that He is the source of eternal life.
John 4:14 – “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal 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….”
John 6:33 – “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:35 – “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.”
John 6:39 – “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. ”
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 6:57 – “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.”
John 6:58 – “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.””
John 7:38 – “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””
John 8:12 – “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””
John 8:51 – Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:27–28 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
John 11:25 – “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”
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.”
John 14:19 – “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”
Jesus’ signs demonstrates that He is the source of life
Jesus also demonstrated through the signs He performed that He is the source of life.
An official at Capernaum came to Jesus and implored Jesus to heal his son because he was at the point of death. Jesus healed his son with His words, “Go; your son will live.” (Jn 4:50). As the official was returning home, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. The Greek word for “recovering” may be translated “living.” So the sign of healing the official’s son highlights Jesus’ authority as the giver of life.
Jesus’ discourse on the bread of life from heaven is preceded by the sign of feeding of the great multitude (Jn 6:1-13). Jesus performed this miracle not only to satisfy the crowd’s physical hunger, but also to convey an important truth. Through this sign, Jesus revealed that He is the bread of life, and that whoever eats this bread will live forever.
In the sign of raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus all the more demonstrated that He alone is the giver of life. Before calling Lazarus out of the tomb, Jesus assured Martha, saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (Jn 11:25-26). The resurrection of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, was a visible sign that substantiated Jesus’ claim to be the resurrection and the life.
Jesus’ death as the means to bring life to all
To grant life to those who believe in Him, Jesus must lay down His life.
When Jesus speaks about laying down His life or losing one’s life, the word for life is ψυχή, psychē, which is sometimes translated “soul.” The Bible does not mention laying down or losing ζωή, zōē, the predominant term used of the eternal life that God gives through Jesus Christ.
Jesus employs the analogy of a grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies in order to bear much fruit to illustrate how His death would bring life to the many (Jn 12:24).
Caiaphas, the high priest at the time, unwittingly prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation lest the whole nation as well as all the children of God (Jn 11:49-52)
As the good shepherd, Jesus lays down His life for the sheep (Jn 10:11, 15). He lays down His life of His own accord. He has authority to lay it down, and He has authority to take it up again (Jn 10:17-18).
Thus, the life that Jesus brings to the world is intricately bound up with His death, resurrection, and glorification. Jesus alludes to the miraculous healing of the Israelites in their wilderness journey to speak of the divine necessity of His own death and exaltation, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15).
How to receive life
Believe
Faith is the means by which we receive the life of Jesus Christ. This is a central truth that pervades the entire Gospel.
John 3:15 – “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
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.”
John 3:36 – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John 5:24 – “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.”
John 6:35 – “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.”
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 6:47 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”
John 7:38 – “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””
John 11:25 – “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ”
John 11:26 – “and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?””
John 20:31 – “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.”
Terms synonymous with “believe”
Jesus also uses terms synonymous with faith in reference to how we are to receive eternal life.
Come to Jesus
John 5:39 – “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, ”
John 5:40 – “yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
John 6:35 – “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.”
John 6:37 – “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
John 6:44 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:45 – “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—”
John 6:65 – “And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.””
John 7:37 – “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
Feeding on Jesus
John 6:57 – “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. ”
John 6:58 – “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.””
Knowing the true God and Jesus Christ
John 17:3 – “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Obedience stemming from faith
Faith in Jesus involves accepting His words. Jesus said, “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” (Jn 5:25). To hear the voice of the Son of God is to receive and obey His words. In His discourse on the bread of life, Jesus explains that His words are life, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (Jn 6:63). Peter and his fellow disciples remained steadfast in their faith when other disciples have forsaken Jesus. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68-69). To believe in Jesus, the Holy One of God, is to hold to the end His words of eternal life.
As Jesus’ public ministry comes to a close, Jesus announces, “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me” (Jn 12:49-50). Jesus has been sent to speak that commandment of the Father, which is eternal life. Therefore, believing in Jesus invariably involves obeying Jesus’ commandment.
Related to obedience to Jesus is the notion of following Jesus. Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). Our belief in Jesus translates into a way of life that yearns to imitate the light of Jesus Christ. That is to say, we have a desire to carry out Jesus’ command in our own lives and to imitate His personal example.
Jesus also uses the vine to elucidate our faith in Him. He tells His disciples, “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. 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.” (Jn 15:4-5). There is no life apart from Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to be connected to Him. According to Jn 15:6, to abide in Jesus entails having His words abide in us. For example, just as He has commanded us to love one another, we need to put His commandment into practice. Only then shall we live and manifest the life of Christ.
A life of faith in Jesus Christ manifests itself in good deeds. According to the Lord, our deeds will decide our eternal destiny. On the final day of resurrection, those who have done good will receive the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil will go to the resurrection of judgment (Jn 5:29).
Submitting to the words of Jesus and following Him invariably involves denying ourselves. Jesus describes this self-denial as “hating one’s life,” which is a prerequisite to preserving our spiritual life: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (Jn 12:25)
Jesus Gives Us His Life through the Sacraments
As we can see in the Gospel according to John, faith in Jesus involves accepting the new life Jesus gives us through the sacraments.
A new life begins at birth. Jesus tells Nicodemus that a spiritual birth is the beginning of Spiritual life. He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:5). “Water” is a reference to baptism, which is a testimony that our Lord Jesus has brought from heaven to earth. Accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God means accepting His testimony. The washing of water in baptism and the working of the Holy Spirit, a person is born anew from above.
When Peter adamantly refused to let Jesus wash His feet, Jesus said to him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (Jn 13:8). Jesus’ words revealed that receiving His footwashing means having a share with Him. Then the Lord sent His disciples to do just as He had done to them (Jn 13:15-16). Receiving the sacrament administered by the church that Jesus has sent is to receive the Lord Jesus and the One who sent the Lord Jesus (Jn 13:20). Footwashing is a sacrament through which Jesus loves those who are His own (Jn 13:1). As evident in Jesus’ discourses to His disciples subsequent to the footwashing, having a share in the Lord is to know the way, the truth, and the life and to be where Jesus is (cf. Jn 14:1–7). Having a share with Jesus is to share in the life of Jesus the True Vine (cf. Jn 15:1–5). Having a share with Jesus is to receive eternal life from the Lord Jesus (cf. Jn 17:2).
In John chapter 6, Jesus speaks extensively about His being the living bread that came down from heaven. Towards the end of the discourse Jesus begins to use the language of the Holy Communion to speak about eating his bread of life. Jesus says, “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. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 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.” (Jn 6:53-57). If we cross-reference the Synoptic Gospels, we notice that Jesus here is making use of the language of the Holy Communion, namely eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Although the message of this discourse extends beyond the sacrament, Jesus words have conveyed to us the effect of the sacrament of the Holy Communion. Besides remembering our Lord Jesus, eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood through the Communion actually results in receiving eternal life and the promise of resurrection on the last day.
Jesus Gives Us His Life through the Holy Spirit
On the last day of the feast in Jerusalem, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (Jn 7:37–38). The passage explains that Jesus was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive (Jn 7:39). The Holy Spirit whom believers in Jesus were to receive is living water that flows from our hearts. “Living water” suggests that the Spirit brings life unending, and this life quenches our spiritual thirst.
Eternal life begins in the present
A prominent feature in the Gospel according to John with regards to the life of Jesus Christ is that eternal life beings in the present.
Jesus promises, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (Jn 3:36). “Has” is in the present tense, meaning that we may obtain eternal life even now. Similarly, He says in Chapter 5, “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.” (Jn 5:24). He who believes in Jesus has already passed from death to life. This entrance into a new spiritual reality occurs in the here and now. We see the same message in Jesus’ teaching about the bread of life, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn 6:54). Eternal life begins now, and it extends to the final resurrection and beyond.
The truth that eternal life encompasses both the present and the future is clear in Jesus’ words concerning the resurrection. In [bible text=”John chapter 5 verse 25” ref=”John 5:25”], Jesus declares, “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.” Our Lord Jesus Christ has brought eternal life to us by coming into the world. The hour that was coming has now come. Hearing the voice of the Son of God makes us alive spiritually even now. This is the present aspect of eternal life. However, eternal life also determines the outcome at the final resurrection. Thus Jesus continues to say in [bible text=”verses 28 and 29” ref=”John 5:28-29”], “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” These words pertain to the future aspect of eternal life. Those who have received the eternal life of Jesus Christ will enter the resurrection of life when Jesus the Son of God comes again.
Eternal life is much more than living forever after we die in this world. Having the life that Jesus gives also means enjoying a vibrant spiritual life while we are alive. It means experiencing the riches in Jesus, including living in the light and strengthened by His joy and His peace. Jesus told the Samaritan woman by the well, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14). Drinking of the water that Jesus ensures that we will never be thirsty again. The spiritual fulfillment in Jesus is available even in this life.
Many other imageries in the Gospel also relate to experiencing the present benefits of eternal life. They include being satisfied with the food that endures to everlasting life (cf. Jn 6:27, 35), walking in the light of life (cf. Jn 3:21; 8:12; 12:47), freedom from sin (cf. Jn 8:34–36), gaining sight (cf. Jn 9:39), finding pasture (cf. Jn 10:9), and bearing much fruit (cf. Jn 15:5). All these teachings of Jesus are symbolic of a new life that those who believe in Him enjoy in the present life.
