The New Testament always stresses the gaining of eternal life, never the making of our eternal home in the spiritual Heaven. Adam and Eve lost eternal life through their disobedience. The Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, came to give us the opportunity to gain eternal life.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave us two definitions of eternal life. Neither one of them mentions the making of our eternal home in the spiritual Heaven.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25,26)

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)

Let us consider carefully the facts established by these three verses:

Christ Himself is the resurrection from the dead. The resurrection from the dead includes but is infinitely more than the raising of our dead body from the grave. The resurrection is a Person!

Christ Himself Is eternal Life. Life is Christ. This is where the preaching of Heaven misses the mark. Our goal is not eternal residence in Heaven. Our goal is to become part of Christ, part of Eternal Life.

There indeed is a spiritual Heaven. Heaven is the present home of God, of Christ, of the saints, and of the elect angels. When they die, the godly go to the spirit Paradise to wait for the Day of Resurrection. However, the personality of the Christian is not, by the Scriptures, considered to be "alive" until his body has received eternal life. The Christian will be made alive at the parousia, the Presence of the Lord (I Corinthians 15:22,23).

After having spent time in Heaven waiting for the Day of Christ, we will be disappointed in that Day if we have not laid up treasures of eternal life. Heaven is a place of rest for the saints, and it is conceivable that some ministry and preparation for the Day of Christ take place there.

But the goal of our Christian discipleship is not to go to Heaven, as marvelous as that experience doubtless will be. The goal is to acquire eternal life so when the Day of the Lord comes we will be filled with an abundance of the true riches, with the fullness of eternal life in spirit, in soul, and in body.

Eternal life comes by believing in Christ.

The Scriptures do not always use the terms "death" and "life" as we do. We know this is true because whoever lives and believes in Christ does die physically. But the Lord Jesus stated that whoever lives and believes in Him will never die. Our biologic, flesh-and-blood life is not true life and the biologic death of our flesh is not true death.

To be continued.