What Is Eternal Life? How Does One Gain Eternal Life?

Editor’s Note: To gain eternal life and to receive the promise and blessings of God is the greatest wish of every true believer in the Lord. Then, what is eternal life? How does one gain eternal life? This article will guide you to find the answers.

What Is Eternal Life?

To put it simply, eternal life means living forever. To put it in details, it means that we gain the truth as life, practice according to God’s words in everything, thoroughly wrest ourselves from the fetters of sins and Satan’s influence, do not sin, resist or rebel against God anymore, can obey, worship and love God, are completely compatible with God and become ones who follow God’s will. Just as the verse says, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). If one gains eternal life, they will never die and will inherit God’s promise and blessings to enter into God’s kingdom.

Can One Gain Eternal Life by Faith in the Lord Jesus?

Many believers in the Lord think that they will gain eternal life after accepting the Lord Jesus’ salvation, because the Lord Jesus once said, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). No one can deny that the Lord Jesus’ words are the truth, but we need to understand the Lord’s words correctly. At that time the Lord said so in order to testify to man that only God Himself has the way of eternal life, because the Lord Jesus is the incarnate God, has God’s identity and essence, and He Himself is the truth, the way and the life and possesses the way of eternal life. But this doesn’t mean that one can gain eternal life after accepting the Lord Jesus’ salvation. This is because in the Age of Grace, what the Lord Jesus did was the redemptive work and what He bestowed upon man was the way of repentance. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

We all know that in the later period of the Age of Law, people couldn’t keep the law, committed more and more sins and were in danger of being condemned and sentenced to death by the law. In order to save mankind from death, God came to earth in the flesh to do the redemptive work, bestowed upon man the way of repentance, taught man to confess sins and repent, not to commit sins or do evil, asked man to bear the cross to follow Him, be humble and patient, love enemies and forgive others seventy times seven times, etc. This is the way for man to repent. When man came before the Lord Jesus, confessing sins and repenting, their sins would be forgiven. Just as the Lord Jesus said to His disciples after the resurrection, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:46–48). From this, we can see that what the Lord Jesus did was teaching man to repent and its effect was for man to confess sins and repent, so that their sins could be forgiven. But it is undeniable that although man’s sins are forgiven, their inner nature of sinning still exists, so they can commit sins and resist God at any time and any place. For example, directed by the arrogant disposition, in our interactions with others, we always want others to listen to us. If they do not, we might become heated and admonish them. Dominated by our selfish and despicable satanic nature, we act based on the principle of self-interest. We always want to take advantage of others when getting along with them. In our belief in God, we are making a deal with God, always demanding grace and blessings from God. Once we encounter sufferings and tribulations, we will utter complaints against the Lord. Controlled by our deceitful satanic disposition, we often tell lies and cheat others in the matters which concern our interests, being two-faced. The list goes on and on. These manifestations are sufficient to illustrate that our sinful nature hasn’t been removed and we are still ones who often commit sins and resist God involuntarily. The Lord Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8:34–35). And Revelation 21:27 records, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defiles, neither whatever works abomination, or makes a lie.” God is holy. Directed by our satanic corrupt dispositions, we live in the state of constantly committing sins and confessing them, unable to get rid of the bonds of sins. So, we belong to the servants of sin, who are unqualified to enter the kingdom of heaven, much less gain eternal life.

How Does One Gain Eternal Life?

Since what the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace was the redemptive work and we haven’t gained eternal life, how can we gain eternal life? Actually, the Lord Jesus has long ago told us. The Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47–48). The Bible says: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). It can be seen from this that in the last days when the Lord returns, He will express the truth and do a stage of work of judgment beginning with God’s family to solve our sinful nature and to thoroughly save us from the bonds of sin and purify us, so that we can enter into God’s kingdom and gain eternal life. So, to gain eternal life, we must follow the Lamb’s footsteps and accept God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days.

Nowadays, The Church of Almighty God publicly testifies that the Lord Jesus has long ago returned in the flesh as Almighty God, Christ of the last days. On the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, Almighty God expresses all the truths of saving and purifying man and performs the work of judgment beginning with God’s family, bringing us the way of eternal life. Almighty God says, “Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his satanically corrupted disposition. And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.”

“Christ of the last days uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the substance of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the substance of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. All these different methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced about God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt essence and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the essence of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him.”

“By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt essence within his own self, and he will be able to change completely and become clean. Only in this way can man become worthy to return before the throne of God.”

From God’s words, we can see that Almighty God does the work of judgment and chastisement on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work and expresses all the truths of purifying and saving man. This is the way of eternal life God bestows upon man in the last days. Almighty God’s words expose the inside truth of God’s work of the six-thousand-year management plan, the inside truth of three stages of work, the mysteries of God’s incarnation, how God does the work of judgment in the last days, the substance and the fact of mankind being corrupted by Satan, how man can achieve fear of God and shunning of evil, what true human life is, how man can live out a meaningful life, and more. Almighty God has revealed the mysteries of all these truths. These truths Almighty God expresses are the way of eternal life God bestows upon man in the last days.

On experiencing the judgment and chastisement of Almighty God’s words, we can have a true knowledge of our satanic nature and see that we are arrogant, self-conceited, selfish and despicable, living by satanic philosophies and principles. Everything we do, we do for our own fame and benefit. Even in our work and sermons, it is for the sake of reputation and status, for the sake of being looked up to by others, and so on. Judged and exposed by God’s words, we see that we have been corrupted by Satan so deeply that we do not have conscience, reason, integrity and dignity and we’re not worthy to be called a human. Thus, we have a true hatred of ourselves from the bottom of our hearts and are willing to practice the truth to satisfy God. Meanwhile, we also know God’s holy, righteous and unoffendable disposition, develop reverence of God in our hearts, dare not do willfully, begin to forsake the flesh and practice the truth and our corrupt disposition is purified and changed gradually.

It can be seen that to gain eternal life, one must accept and obey the judgment and chastisement before the seat of Christ of the last days. Through accepting the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, we can understand the truth, know God’s righteous disposition, develop reverence of God and completely live by God’s words. This is the only way to gain eternal life. If we do not accept the way of eternal life expressed by Christ in the last days, we will surely not be approved by God but will fall into the great disasters to be punished for often sinning and resisting God. Just as what Almighty God exhorts us, “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path by which man gains life, and it is the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by letters, and shackled by history will never be able to gain life nor gain the perpetual way of life. This is because all they have is turbid water which has been clung to for thousands of years instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God?” Since we understand the way to gain eternal life, whether we can follow the Lamb’s footsteps and gain eternal life depends on our own choice.

Editor’s Note: After reading this article, do you now know what eternal life is and how to get eternal life? If this article has been helpful to you, please share it with others. If you have any further confusion or questions, please feel free to contact us using the online chat buttons at the bottom. We are online 24 hours a day ready to answer your questions.