John 17:3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus, [as the] Christ (the anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. Amplified
Eternal life begins in the here and now--right here on Earth! We are not saved and then begin eternal life after we have died and gone to heaven. This is not a future event. Eternal life is to know God,"the true and real God." The part about "true and real God" infers there are other gods but only one true and real God. It also infers that we may know about God or even have conceptions about God that are not true and real. It is through coming to know God, becoming acquainted with, and understanding God that we see him as the "true and real God."
The scripture then tells us that we must also know Jesus. Jesus is the Door that we must walk through to begin the eternal life journey and to begin our relationship with God. Everything else follows. The opposite to the eternal life option is eternal death.
This proves that Kingdom living (eternal life) starts in the here and now, and not after we die and go to heaven. Kingdom living is only made possible through the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit. It is like the Holy Spirit provides a kind of filter that allows us to know and perceive God, and his ways, through an uncorrupted lens that we could not otherwise see from the standpoint of this fallen world.
As we begin our crucified walk in the Spirit, we are led "into all Truth". Our eyes begin to open to an unlimited, and powerful potential that continues to unfold as we follow after the Spirit's plan and desire to bring us into a place Holiness.
Could this place be the "place" or the abode that Jesus tells us about in John 14? Just wondering. . .
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