Bible Dictionary
Eternal life
Eternal life is the unending life and blessed fellowship granted by God to the redeemed through Jesus Christ. It begins in the believer’s present spiritual life and reaches its fullness in the future glory of God’s people.
Definition
Eternal life is the endless life and blessed future belonging to the redeemed. It is God’s gift in Jesus Christ and includes the final reward, glory, and rest into which God’s children enter. The newness of life received from Christ is already connected with the future life of glory.
Biblical Usage
The expression occurs rarely in the Old Testament but frequently in the New Testament. It is opposed to eternal punishment, is described as the reward of the faithful, and is inseparably connected with the believer’s present life in Christ and future blessedness.
Scripture References
Daniel 12:2
Matthew 7:14
Matthew 18:8
Matthew 18:9
Luke 10:28
Luke 16:9
Matthew 19:29
Matthew 25:46
1 Timothy 6:12
1 Timothy 6:19
Romans 6:22
Galatians 6:8
1 Timothy 1:16
Romans 5:21
Hebrews 4:9
Romans 6:4
Romans 6:8
2 Timothy 2:11
2 Timothy 2:12
Romans 5:17
Ephesians 2:5
Ephesians 2:6
Romans 6:23
John 3:36
John 5:24
John 6:47
John 6:53-58
Matthew 19:16
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
This expression occurs in the Old Testament only in Dan. 12:2 (R.V., “everlasting life”). It occurs frequently in the New Testament (Matt. 7:14; 18:8, 9; Luke 10:28; comp. 18:18). It comprises the whole future of the redeemed (Luke 16:9), and is opposed to “eternal punishment” (Matt. 19:29; 25:46). It is the final reward and glory into which the children of God enter (1 Tim. 6:12, 19; Rom. 6:22; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 1:16; Rom. 5:21); their Sabbath of rest (Heb. 4:9; comp. 12:22). The newness of life which the believer derives from Christ (Rom. 6:4) is the very essence of salvation, and hence the life of glory or the eternal life must also be theirs (Rom. 6:8; 2 Tim. 2:11, 12; Rom. 5:17, 21; 8:30; Eph. 2:5, 6). It is the “gift of God in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). The life the faithful have here on earth (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 53-58) is inseparably connected with the eternal life beyond, the endless life of the future, the happy future of the saints in heaven (Matt. 19:16, 29; 25:46).