He wasn't addressing that. The last piece on the end wasn't intended to add any new information. At least that's how I read it.

Darius wrote:
Our need is not salvation but life eternal. We have the first but we keep postponing the latter.

Unquote.

Do we only have salvation? Is life eternal something we must seek because it was not granted at the cross? Is salvation apart from eternal life?

How about these verses, what does it say?

1 Corinthians 14:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (NIV)

Ephesians 2:6
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I got the impression that even eternal life was granted too at the cross, that humanity had been granted righteousness, resurrection from the death and heaven in one package.

Christ had accomplished his mission on earth to SAFE humanity not only just justifying them and annihilating the death from their fate, but their place in heaven was also established.

Thus, I think, Christ had saved me and a place in heaven with him had been established for me. It is not a question of postponing my eternal life, it had been granted. It is a question of would I believe him, or do I reject him?

Am I right?
In His love

James S

James, being saved or redeemed is a legal state, eternal life is an experience. There is no way we can delude even ourselves that what we are experiencing today is the eternal life that has been promised.

James, I agree with what you expressed, except that there was a time element in your writings. That is, you wrote that at the cross certain things happened, which can give the impression that those who lived before the cross would not have the benefits which the cross provided. But Christ is an ever present Savior, so the blessings of the cross were just as real for those who lived before Christ came as for us who live after.

Here's an analogy regarding the corporate and invidivual aspects of salvation. On 1/1/63 Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation which legally freed the slaves. However, before they could experientially be free that had to hear and believe the Good News. Similarly we have been corporate freed, or saved, by Christ, but we must hear the Good News and believe to experience that salvation. Eternal life has been given to all, but to be experienced, one must believe.

Does that make sense?

Another thing to bear in mind regarding eternal life is that Jesus said in John 17:4 that to know God is eternal life. To experience eternal life is to know God. We know God through His Son Jesus Christ, by believing in Him. So when we believe in Christ, we have eternal life, which is just what Jesus said on a number of occasions.

Tom, believing in Someone is not the same as knowing that individual. We have become satisfied with believing in Christ because we fear what we will discover if we get to know Him. This is why we emphasize obedience and rules. But that is not what the Bible teaches.

This thread reminds me of what happens when one makes a photocopy of an original then repeatedly makes copies of the copies produced. The process is fine but the product is botched.

The purpose of His mission was to reveal God. To believe in Christ means to believe His sayings ("eat my flesh and drink my blood" as Christ put it in John around chapter 5). The way to know God is by believing in Jesus Christ, because Christ is the One who revealed God.

Tom wrote:
Eternal life has been given to all, but to be experienced, one must believe.

Does that make sense?

Unquote.

All right, so, even though Christ had done all what is necessary for men to be in heaven, but to experience eternal life, one must believe, or better as Darius said; we must come to know God, not just believe.

I got it!

And Darius, I agree with you, what we experienced now is not eternal life; only by knowing God we would have it later at the end.

But why you keep stressing that knowing God in a sense is a higher degree than believing in Christ? Is believing in Christ just a copy of copies of an original compare to knowing God?

Could you tell me the basic idea?

In His love

James S

Belief is probable, knowledge is certain. This is why people who claim to believe tend to deny evidence that counters what they believe but people who are getting to know follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Biblical belief is not mental assent, which is a common mistake. Biblical belief involves knowing God.

It's very true that a person may claim to believe without actually believing, which is what James is about, for one, when he talks about faith being dead without works.