I believe in eternal life (The Apostles' Creed 13/13)

This article was first published in French at TSPG.

Have you ever wondered what the eternal state will be like? Do you think it’s an important subject to explore? The authors of the creed certainly did. And they chose for this confession of faith to begin at the very beginning, with creation, or rather with the Creator, and ends with eternity, with life everlasting. In that way, it follows the example of the canon of Scripture. The Bible begins with God making everything out of nothing, and it ends with God making everything new (Rev. 21:5). The Bible doesn’t paint a clear picture of all that eternal life will entail. But we do know a few things: 

1.     We were created with a longing for eternity.

Our belief in eternal life is not a crutch to help the weak get through the trials of life. It’s what we were intended for. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tell us that God put eternity into man’s heart.

 

In fact, in the beginning, God created Adam and Eve to live in communion with him forever. The rebellion of our first parents changed that by introducing death into the world, but it didn’t overturn God’s plan for humanity. Because as his image-bearers, we were designed by our Maker for more than this mortal life, and in his time, he provided a way to undo what was done in the Garden.

 

2.     Eternal life is not exclusively in the future. It begins now.

One of the themes of the Gospel of John is eternal life, and in speaking of it, John consistently uses the present tense (Jn 17:3, 3:16, 1 Jn 5:13). John does not write, “this will be eternal life,” nor “…will have eternal life.” He writes, rather, “This is eternal life,” and “…have eternal life.” The moment we put our trust in Christ alone for salvation, our eternal begins. 

            

3.     Eternal life is communion with Jesus and not merely length of life.

Along similar lines, given that eternal life begins now, the emphasis in Scripture is on fellowship with Christ. Yes, we will also be reunited with loved ones who have gone to be with the Lord before us. But our greatest longing of all is not merely a family reunion, but rather being enveloped into Christ’s Bride in order to be united to our Bridegroom at the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-10).

 

Certain unbelievers may accuse us of escapism because of our view of the afterlife. Ligon Duncan addresses this concern well:

 

For the true believer, you see, Jesus is not just a means to an end. He's not your transport mechanism out of this world. He's not just the way that you get to live everlastingly, but He's the reason you want to live everlastingly. He's the One you want to fellowship with everlastingly. He is everlasting life.

 

4.     It’s set in contrast to eternal death.

Everyone will live forever, the just and the unjust, the justified and the condemned. But only the saints will experience what the Bible calls eternal life. For those who reject Christ’s atoning work on the cross, Scripture speaks of everlasting contempt (Dan 12:2), eternal punishment (Mt 25:46), and judgment in the lake of fire that burns forever and ever (Rev 20:15). 

 

5.     The Bible describes it more by what will be absent than by what will be present there.

Revelation 21 and 22 paints a portrait for us of all that will not exist in eternity:

·      The first heaven and the first earth (21:1)

·      The sea (21:1)

·      Tears (21:4)

·      Death (21:4)

·      Mourning (21:4)

·      Crying (21:4)

·      Pain (21:4)

·      Former things (21:4)

·      A temple (21:22)

·      The sun (21:23)

·      The moon (21:23)

·      Anything accursed (22:3)

·      Night (22:5)

·      The light of lamp or sun (22:5)

 

6.     We won’t be married.

In Matthew 22, the Sadducees try to discredit Jesus by asking him a question they think he won’t be able to answer. They create a scenario in which seven brothers are all married to the same childless woman. They then ask which man will have her in the resurrection. Jesus silences them with his answer, which begins with this statement. 

 

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (Mt 22:30)

            

For those of you who are married, this may be hard to imagine. But C.S. Lewis’ insights into this question are helpful. He speaks specifically of sex, but it applies to all of the intimacy shared in marriage:

 

The letter and spirit of Scripture, and of all Christianity, forbid us to suppose that life in the New Creation will be a sexual life; and this reduces our imagination to the withering alternatives either of bodies which are hardly recognizable as human bodies at all or else of a perpetual fast. As regards the fast, I think our present outlook might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure, should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer ‘No,’ he might regard [the] absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him that the reason why lovers in their raptures don’t bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of. The boy knows chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that excludes it. We are in the same position. We know the sexual life; we do not know, except in glimpses, the other thing which, in Heaven, will leave no room for it.

 

7.     We will not be married, but there will be a wedding.

There will be a glorious spiritual marriage that all physical marriages were designed to point toward, the marriage of Jesus Christ to his Bride, the Church! We will all be part of the same marriage forever. And that is something we can all look forward to with great joy and anticipation. 

 

8.     It will take place on the new heavens and the new earth. 

This vision of the eschaton is not limited to Revelation 21 and 22, as we find this imagery throughout the Old Testament, and specifically in Isaiah 65:17-19, 66:22. And the apostle Peter also alludes to this in 2 Peter 3:13:

 

13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

 

So, contrary to popular belief, we won’t be in heaven forever. Heaven is an intermediary place where the departed saints await the resurrection.  

 

9.     It will be the same, but different.

Many wonder what we will do for eternity. What could possibly be so interesting that we will enjoy doing it forever? Won’t we get bored? Won’t we miss our old lives on earth? To answer that question, I want to share an illustration. Several years ago, on a return trip from East Africa to the U.S., I was accidentally upgraded to first class. It was a very long flight, and the luxury of first-class service was amazing! Not once did I think to myself, “I miss the cramped seating and mediocre food they’re serving in coach.” So it will be with heaven. Our reality will exceed anything we’ve experienced in this life so that we won’t give this present one a second thought!

 

Also, I want you to think about this: Jesus told the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The word in Greek for paradise can also be translated as park or garden. Think of the most stunning park you’ve ever been to. Does that sound like a boring place? And this isn’t the only place in which the Scriptures speak of eternity in these terms. Revelation 2:7 says, 

 

To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

            

Does anything in this verse sound familiar to you? It takes us back to Genesis 1 and 2, doesn’t it? Thus, we see a return to the original plan of God for humanity: communion with him in the Garden of God. But this will be different from Eden, because the tree of life will be there, but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That tree had been placed in the garden to test Adam and Eve. A test which they failed, but Christ, the Second Adam, passed the test when he became a curse for us on the tree (Gal 3:13).

 

Another element of God’s plan in the garden was that humanity work and tend to the garden (Gen 2:15). In this way, they would both worship and serve the Lord. So, if you’ve ever wondered if you’ll work, practice hobbies or sports, enjoy art or music or cooking in the new creation, many commentators believe that any activity or service we can enjoy for the glory of God will be possible there as well. And since our eternal home includes both a garden and a city, there will be something for everyone to enjoy, from the country lovers like to the city people!

 

Implications

1.     It reminds us that this world is not our home.

A couple of years ago, with the help of my very generous mom, my husband and I were able to purchase our first home. Little by little, we’ve enjoyed doing renovations that have transformed it into a sanctuary for us, especially during the long months of confinement that characterized the past year and a half. But, as much as we love our little house, it is not our true home. We are only passing through. Our eternal home awaits us in the New Jerusalem. So, as we await that glorious day, we hold loosely to the things that are fleeting and we hold tightly to Jesus. May this be the case for you as well. 

 

2.     It anchors our affections.

Along similar lines, if Christ is going to be the object of our worship and service forever, don’t we want to prepare for eternity now by living in light of that reality? If so, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us in order to run the race set before us (Heb 12:1). 

 

3.     It dignifies our work.

Have you ever thought that work is a result of the fall? Well, the truth is that tending to the garden was a gift from God to his image-bearers, and it preceded the fall. So, if God created us to glorify him through work, then we don’t have to look at it as drudgery. We can pursue our respective vocations with joy, for God’s glory.