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| Kenneth B. Mulholland, Professor Ministry Studies, Missions | Print-Friendly Version (PDF - requires Acrobat Reader) |
The Apostles' Creed closes with the words "I believe ... in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting." Although anticipated in the Old Testament (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2), the concept of "eternal" or "everlasting" (KJV) life is more fully developed in the New Testament, particularly in the Johannine literature.
Eternal life is more than mere continuing existence. It is qualitative in nature as well as unending in duration (John 10:10). It is the divine life which is present in God and Christ and bestowed as a gift upon the believer through the Holy Spirit (John 1:4; 1 John 1:1-2; 5:11). The life of the Christian is not his or her own life; it is the life of Christ who lives in his followers (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21).
Although unending existence is encompassed within the concept, eternal life is essentially relational. In his high priestly prayer, Jesus describes it as knowing God and having fellowship with him through his Son, Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Christianity is unique among the world's religions in the nature of the claims it makes about its founder, claims derived from the words and actions of Jesus himself (John 11:25; 14:6; see also UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST).
Because it is imparted at the moment of regeneration, eternal life begins in the present life and is not affected by physical death. Those possessing eternal life are declared to be saved and are promised that they shall never perish (John 3:15-16, 18,36; 5:24; 10:9). To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). The gift of eternal life is received by faith so that those who believe have already passed from death to life (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14) and have the life which is in the Son (1 John 5:12), a life which expresses itself in victory (1 John 3:8-9), love (John 15:9-17), and joy (John 16:20-24).
The New Testament uses the figures of new birth and spiritual resurrection to describe eternal life. First, the new birth (John 1:12,13; 3:3) relates the believer to the family of God. Second, the reception of eternal life is described as spiritual resurrection. Having been "raised together with Christ" (Col. 3:1), the believer now enjoys being "alive from the dead" (Rom. 6:13). The concept of spiritual resurrection, however, does not negate the New Testament teaching regarding physical resurrection, developed most fully in 1 Corinthians 15.
Because the biblical teaching regarding eternal life stands in stark contrast with the teaching of other major world religions regarding life after death, it has received great emphasis in missionary proclamation, particularly among Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.
Like the Bible, Islam teaches eternal personal existence (Sura 3:103; 9:21; 15:48; 18:2; 56:31,32) in heaven (Sura 55:26-27) or hell (Sura 37:22-23; 55:44; 67:7-10). Hell is the abode of the wicked (Sura 70:15). Allah will fill Gehenna with men and "jinn" (Sura 11:120).
Islam views death not as a punishment for sin, but the natural termination of life. It is to be followed on the Day of Resurrection by judgment resulting in admission to Paradise or assignment to hell based upon the works done in this life (Sura 3:185). However, ultimately, it is Allah's will which determines one's eternal destiny. Muslims have no assurance of ultimate salvation (see also SOTERIOLOGY IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS).
Although the primary purpose of life is to walk in God's path, abide by his laws, and secure his pleasure, Islam is devoid of the concept of eternal life as a present reality during this life. Rather the Qur'an contrasts sharply this life with the life to come (Sura 4:77).
In its description of heaven, the Qur'an says little about the worship of God or relationship with him. Rather, heaven is depicted as physical and sensual, as a beautiful garden filled with tasty fruits (Sura 55:48-60). Men are promised unending opportunity to consort with multiple beautiful, wide-eyed maidens. Little is said about the women apart from those who serve in the role of physical partners for men. This stands in sharp contradiction to Jesus' teaching that men and women will neither marry nor be given in marriage in the hereafter (Matt. 22:30).
Christian proclamation to Muslims with regard to eternal life, while affirming the continuity of personality beyond the grave and the reality of heaven and hell, stresses the present reality of eternal life, the assurance of salvation, the relational and spiritual character of heaven, and the equal status of men and women before God.
Since Hinduism does not distinguish between the Creator and the creation, the concept of absorption into the Divine implies the ultimate loss of personal identity. The self is viewed as uncreated and distinct from the physical body. Salvation, likened to a drop of water merging into the sea, comes at the conclusion of a long series of reincarnations, sometimes referred to as "the wheel of existence" (see also REINCARNATION AND TRANSMIGRATION). This cycle of multiple births and deaths continues until a true understanding of the self brings it to an end. Inherently connected to the belief in reincarnation is the doctrine of karma, the accumulation of merit and demerit, whereby each person experiences the consequences of his or her past and present lives.
With reference to eternal life, Christian proclamation in Hindu contexts has emphasized the continuing personal identity of the believer in relationship with a truly compassionate personal God, the assured hope of salvation, the reality of a qualitatively superior life in the present, and the experience of forgiveness that brings freedom from bad karma and escape from the wheel of existence. Christians, referring to Hebrews 9: 27, testify with assurance that this is their first and last earthly lifetime!
The Buddhist understanding of eternal life is conditioned by the experience of Buddha Gautama, who set out on a spiritual journey for the purpose of overcoming and transcending the old age and sickness that lead to the agony of dying. Although Buddhism adopted many of the Hindu views regarding karma and reincarnation, it developed many of its own unique concepts as found in the four noble truths, the eightfold path and the twelve steps of interdependency. Since suffering is caused by desire, freedom from desire leads to Nirvana, a state which is in essence nonbeing. Buddhists do not hold to the permanence of the self.
The concept of karma leads to the desire to acquire merit in order to improve one's position in future lives. The fatalism implicit in the Buddhist concept of karma leaves no room for the possibility of divine forgiveness.
Christian proclamation in Buddhist contexts emphasizes continuing personal identity that transcends death, the legitimate desire for and reality of eternal fellowship with a personal God, eternal life as a gift from a loving and gracious Heavenly Father to be received by faith, and a lifestyle of love as a response to God's forgiveness and his gift of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.
KENNETH B. MULHOLLAND
Bibliography: H. Cower; ed., Life after Death in World Religions.
Source: Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions. Pages 317-318. Used by permission of Baker Academic, a division of Baker Book House Company, copyright © 2000. All rights to this material are reserved. Materials are not to be distributed to other web locations for retrieval, published in other media, or mirrored at other sites without written permission from Baker Book House Company.