What Christadelphians believe about ... Life Have we Eternal Life now? The popular answer would be, Yes. The Scriptural answer is undoubtedly, No. 1 Because eternal life is a matter of promise.
The fact that eternal life is promised is evidence that it is not now possessed. 2 Because it is in the world (or age) to come that eternal life is to be received and enjoyed.
If eternal life is to be given in the age to come, it is clear that it cannot be possessed in the present age, while the age to come is still future. 3 Because eternal (aionios) meaning ‘age-life’ (from aion = age - i.e. the 'age-to-come' life) is life that will never end.
If eternal life is everlasting life, then in the present state we do not have it, since our life comes to an end in the grave. 4 Because eternal life results from a change of the present corruptible and mortal body into an incorruptible and immortal one.
Our present mortal and corruptible state is therefore evidence of our present non-possession of eternal life. There are passages that plainly say we have eternal life, e.g.
What meaning are we to put on them? The only wise answer is to make them all agree. The Scripture is at one with itself: if we make it clash, there is something wrong in our reading of it. You cannot make the idea of present possession of eternal life agree with the passages which tell us it is a future thing: but you can make the idea of future possession agree with statements that speak of it as if it is currently possessed. Note how Scripture speaks of future things that are certain as though they were present. For example:
There are many other examples. A single New Testament illustration may suffice. Jesus in prayer said to the Father, "The glory which thou hast given me, I have given them" (John 17:22), when as yet, even Jesus himself was not glorified (John 7:39). Jesus also said, "I give my sheep eternal life." In the sense in which he gives it to them, in promise and guarantee, they "have" it - in the certainty of its future possession. Christ has it now, and those who possess Christ possess life, for He is our life (Colossians 3:4), and that life is eternal life, and this life is in Christ only (1 John 5:11). Christ dwells in the believer's heart by faith (Ephesians 3:17). In this sense, and in this sense only, eternal life abides in him. But this sense is a very important one, for the possession of eternal life by faith will lead to its actual glorious possession in the age to come.
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