ECT Suggestion to Knight

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
How about Matt Slick: https://carm.org/dictionary-eternal-life He gives two usages of the term eternal life. The second is the one I'm talking about:
Second, eternal life will reach its final state at the resurrection of the believers when Christ returns to earth to claim His church. It is then that eternal life will begin in its complete manifestation--especially seen in that man will no longer sin.

Slick isn't saying that eternal life is not realized now but instead he speaks of the final state not being realized yet. Of course the final state will not happen until the saints put on new, spiritual bodies just like the Lord's body.

If he had perfected them forever by the one offering, then He must have perfected them before they were born, because that offering was made before they were born. Are you suggesting that they were sanctified and perfected before they were born?

No, a believer becomes sanctified when baptized into the Body of Christ:

"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's" (1 Cor.1:2).​

The word "sanctified" is translated from the Greek word hagiazo and it means "to separate from profane things and dedicate to God" (Thayer's Greek English Lexicon). The believer has been separated from the world by being placed "in Christ Jesus," the Body of Christ.

In his first epistle addressed to the Jewish believers the Apostle John tells them that they have been given eternal life, and that life "is in the Son":

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son" (1 Jn.5:11).​

These Christians are told that the eternal life which has been given to them is 'in" the Son. This can only be in regard to how the sinner is made "alive together with Christ":

"even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"
(Eph.2:5-6).​

It makes no sense at all to argue that being made "alive together with Christ" is something which does not happen when a person believes.

It makes no sense to even imagine that the believers who are said to be perfected forever have not yet been perfected forever. It makes no sense.

Frankly, I don't think that you will be able to convince anyone that your theory is correct.
 

Derf

Well-known member
Slick isn't saying that eternal life is not realized now but instead he speaks of the final state not being realized yet. Of course the final state will not happen until the saints put on new, spiritual bodies just like the Lord's body.
Hahahahahahahaha! "That doesn't say that eternal wasn't already started! That just says eternal life wasn't already started."
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
Hahahahahahahaha! "That doesn't say that eternal wasn't already started! That just says eternal life wasn't already started."

That is not what I said. I was speaking about both "eternal life" and its "final state":

Slick isn't saying that eternal life is not realized now but instead he speaks of the final state not being realized yet.
 

Derf

Well-known member
That is not what I said. I was speaking about both "eternal life" and its "final state":

Slick isn't saying that eternal life is not realized now but instead he speaks of the final state not being realized yet.

That's because...


wait for it...


there's still some death to be encountered before the final state arrives. The final state is where there's no death left to experience.

Tada!!
QED
 
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