Our hope of eternal life

RIVERSIDE INDONESIAN FELLOWSHIP
Go to content

Our hope of eternal life

Riverside Indonesian Fellowship
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2009 · 15 November 2009

“So that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” And our particular focus this evening will be on that last phrase "heirs in hope of eternal life."

I want us to think deeply about that phrase in an effort to understand the content of biblical hope. This evening is our fourth week of understanding "What should we as Christians be hoping for?" So that it will there for us to battle the tough life experiences.

Last week we've seen that the content of our hope includes "the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). And now this evening from Titus 3:7 we read that our Christian hope also centers on ‘eternal life’.

To help direct our thoughts about our privilege of being "heirs in hope of eternal life", I want to ask and then answer three questions. What is eternal life? Why does Paul speak of the "hope of eternal life"? And what does it mean to be "heir in hope of eternal life?"

First of all, then, what is eternal life? The phrase is a regular part of the speech and prayers of most Christians. But precisely because this expression is used so common it is important to know what it means.

Most people who use that phrase often have a difficult time explaining exactly what it means. So for the sake of the clarity of all our thinking and for the joy of all of our hope, I'm going to try to give a biblical definition of eternal life.

When we use the adjective "eternal" to describe someone or something, we mean that that person or thing is free from all the limitations of time. When we say that God is eternal, we mean that He has no beginning and that He has no end. God always was and He always will be.

Now in that sense only God is eternal, because only God has no beginning. Everything else created by God has a beginning; everything else has a starting point in time, including the eternal life promised to his children in Christ.

But we call our new life in Christ eternal life because it is not bound by time with regard to the future. There are no limits to its duration. That means our eternal life in Christ will last forever and ever and ever. It will never be cut short and will never come to an end.

Now if you're like me, it's very difficult to imagine anything that goes on forever. And it's even more difficult to try to put that concept of eternity into word. The last verse of that great hymn "Amazing Grace" perhaps does it as well as anyone can.

”When we've been there [in heaven enjoying eternal life with the Lord] 10,000 years; Bright shining as the sun; We've no less days to sing God's praise; than when we'd first begun.”

Imagine that! Ten thousand years doesn't mean anything in eternity! Ten thousand years in comparison to eternity are like one tick of the clock. No wonder that in light of eternity the apostle James says that our lives "are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14).

My friends, this life is very short and eternity is very long. Don't fall into the trap of living your life as though the next 10, 20, or 50 years were all the mattered. Think hard about 100 years from now; think hard about 10,000 years from now.

But there's more. Not only are there no quantitative limits to eternal life, there are also no qualitative limits or restrictions to it. The joy and satisfaction of our eternal life in Christ will know no limit.

To put it simply, it keeps on getting better and better and better, forever. None of the things that diminish the quality of our life here on earth will trouble us then. Sin will be gone completely. Disease will be no more. Interpersonal conflicts will all be healed. Every wrong will be righted. Injustice will be done away with. All will be joy.

Listen to the apostle John describe eternal life in the new heavens and new earth in Revelation 21:3-4, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."

Think back over that past year of your life and focus in on the greatest and most joyful event you experienced in that year. Perhaps it occurred on a Sunday or during a private time you had alone with the Lord.

Perhaps it happened in a context of ministry. Perhaps it involved an experience with your wife or husband, your children or parents, roommate or going out with friends. Perhaps it was a time of intense satisfaction on your job.

But whatever it was, focus in on the joy you experienced at that moment, and then multiply that joy a thousand-fold, and then another thousand-fold, and then you can start to get a glimpse of the joy of eternal life.

But we're not done yet. The really mind-boggling part is that this unbelievably heightened joy that you're imagining is only the beginning. The joy of your eternal life in Christ will start from that point and keep on getting better, and better, and better, forever.

But to convince ourselves that this is true, we need to look at exactly what eternal life is like. I say this because many of us still have a conception of eternal life that is not right and seems anything but joyful.

One writer described this all-too-common view as "spending eternity in space as disembodied spirits floating from cloud to cloud plucking golden harps in an endless day off". Well that is not true!

While it is true for a time we will be, to use Paul's words, "away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8), that will only be a temporary existence, one in which we eagerly await the resurrection of our bodies on the last day. Eternal life will be lived in new bodies, glorified bodies (Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15:35-57).

Eternal life calls for a new earth on which to live and work and play to the glory of God. Scripture reveals that God intends for the eternal state of his universe not only a new heaven, but also a new earth (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-2) on which his redeemed saints will reign (Revelation 5:9-10).

And eternal life is not meant by God to do nothing. No, the Bible contains glimpses of the activity that will fill the life of God's people for all eternity. In Revelation 22:3 we read, "The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him," and in v. 5 of that same chapter we read, "And they will reign for ever and ever."

In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, the master's reward to the faithful servants is this: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much" (Matthew 25:21). In other words you are responsible for much.

And in the parable of the pounds in Luke 19, the master rewards the servant who made ten pounds by giving him authority over ten cities (verse 17) and he gives to the servant who made five pounds authority over five cities (verse19).

In both parables, the reward for faithfulness to God in this life is not idle rest, but active, challenging service. Can you imagine yourself spending eternity fully engaged in activity that is as busy and challenging and fulfilling as that of being the mayor of a big city?

Paul speaks in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 of the future of those Christian brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep (that is, who have died in the Lord). He says that when the Lord Jesus returns, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those believers who are still alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.

And then Paul concludes, "And so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). That is Paul's view of eternal life. Eternal life is a life of being with the Lord forever. And that preposition "with" is a very rich one, for it denotes not just proximity but intimacy, fellowship, warmth and joy.

Listen to how Paul describes this eternal state of affairs in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.”

When we are experiencing eternal life in all its fullness, then we shall see him face to face. Then we shall know and understand fully. Then our fellowship with our Maker and Redeemer will be perfect, undivided, uninhibited, uninterrupted, unhindered by any moral defects within ourselves, forever and ever.

And in conceiving of eternal life this way, Paul is in line with the promise of Jesus in John 14:2-3, “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

And listen to how Jesus prayed to his Father for you in John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which You have given me in your love for me before the foundation of the earth.”

Paul writes concerning eternity in 1 Corinthians 15:22-26, 28, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death . . . When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all."

Every enemy to the glory of God and to the fullness of our eternal joy will be put under the feet of the risen Christ and destroyed. We will be in perfect fellowship forever with the Lord Jesus who then in turn will submit himself to God so that God might be all in all.

And God is infinite! He is an inexhaustible well-spring of joy for everyone who puts their trust in him. Now can you see why Paul wrote that "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9)?

Well, that's an attempt, to try to give you a glimpse of eternal life. Now we need to move on to our second question and ask, "Why does Paul speak of the "hope of eternal life"? In what sense is this eternal life something we hope for?

Eternal life is a proper object of biblical hope because it is truly a good and desirable thing, indeed it is infinitely good and desirable for all those who love God. And eternal life is a proper object of biblical hope because our full enjoyment of it as Christians is in the future.

We do experience the first fruits of eternal life now. We have in a worship service like this, in our own personal walks with the Lord, in loving and being loved by family and friends foretastes of eternal life and glimpses into its glory and joy.

For example John says in 1 John 5:11-12, "And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life." But as real and as glorious as these experiences are, they are only glimpses into future when we will experience eternal life to the full.

And at this point Paul's letter to Titus helps us greatly for it points us very clearly to the ultimate reason why a Christian's hope of eternal life can be confident and assured. And that ultimate reason is God himself.

So Paul speaks of the "hope of eternal life" in Titus 1:2 and immediately ties it into God's promise. God's elect have the hope of eternal life because God promised it would be so. And God's promise will most certainly be fulfilled, because the God who promised is a God who never lies.

So what is our present status with regard to eternal life? And the word Paul uses to describe our present status in Titus 3:7 is the word "heir." We as Christians don't yet possess eternal life, but we are "heirs in hope of eternal life."

And in Titus 3:7 becoming an "heir in hope of eternal life" is an intended result of the mighty working of God's saving mercy. Verse 5: "He saved us." All the rest of these verses describe when, why, how, or to what end He did it, but the focus of this whole passage is on those words in v. 5: "He saved us."

Those who by God's grace have believed in God and thus are heirs in hope of eternal life are to be careful to apply themselves to doing good. For Paul, the hope of eternal life is no "pie in the sky" that makes no difference at all in this life. It is real, it is practical, it leads to great joy and earnest efforts toward righteousness.

Being an heir in hope of eternal life will change everything in your heart and in your life if you really love the God. There is a condition involved in God's promise of eternal life. He only will give it to those who want to fight for it.

Dependence on God never means passivity; reliance on God never means inactivity. The Christian life is difficult and Paul likens it to the labors of a soldier, an athlete, a farmer and a worker. Each of these vocations requires vigorous exertions.

We all need to pray to God for help, wisdom and strength, but who does the fighting? We do, this is God’s will. And yes, we are only strong “in the Lord” and we only fight “in the strength of His might” (Eph.6:10).

Eternal life is assured, but only as we enter the battle with the energy of the soldier, the competitive spirit of an athlete and the hard working ethics of a farmer and a laborer. Are you ready to get going when the going gets tough? We can because we have a heavenly hope, Amen?



JOIN OUR MAILING LIST:

© 2017 Ferdy Gunawan
ADDRESS:

2401 Alcott St.
Denver, CO 80211
WEEKLY PROGRAMS

Service 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Children 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Fellowship 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Bible Study (Fridays) 7:00 PM
Phone (720) 338-2434
Email Address: Click here
Back to content