All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age

(Matthew 28:18-20)

Why this is important: As disciples of Jesus at our workplaces, we will happy knowing we have eternal life. That is our guarantee from Jesus. That confidence gives courage and hope. Both are essential in our “faith walk” at work. Our colleagues will see it and want the same in their lives.

When the Bible speaks of eternal life, it refers to a gift of God that comes only “through Jesus the Messiah our Master” (Romans 6:23). This gift is in contrast to the “death” that is the natural result of sin.

The gift of eternal life comes to those who believe in Jesus the Messiah, who is Himself “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The fact that this life is “eternal” indicates that it is perpetual life—it goes on and on and on, with no end. When we have this assurance, our colleagues will notice.

It is a mistake, however, to view eternal life as simply an unending progression of years. A common New Testament word for “eternal” is aiónios, which carries the idea of quality at work as well as quantity. In fact, eternal life is not really associated with “years” at all, as it is independent of time. Eternal life can function outside of and beyond time, as well as within time.

For this reason, eternal life can be thought of as something that Christians experience at work now. Believers do not have to “wait” for eternal life, because it is not something that starts when they die. Rather, eternal life begins the moment a person exercises faith in Jesus. It is our current possession. John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” Note that the believer at work “has” (present tense) this life (the verb is present tense in the Greek, too). We find similar present-tense constructions in John 5:24 and John 6:47. The focus of eternal life is not on our future, but on our current standing in Christ.

• Matthew 19:29 — 29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
• Matthew 25:46 — 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
• Romans 2:7 — 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;
• Galatians 6:8 — 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
• 1 John 1:2 — 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
• 1 John 5:11 — 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
• 1 John 5:13 — 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
• 1 John 5:20 — 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus the Messiah. This is the true God and eternal life.

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