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Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
When Adam sinned his conscience was now spotted with guilt and condemnation. This produced all kinds of negative thoughts towards God and self. It caused Adam to become self-centered with a drive for self-preservation rather than love towards God and neighbor (wife). At this point Adam is running from God and blaming others for his own willful act. This whole mindset and condition is a symptom of the death (spiritual) he died when he ate of the tree.
Now listen, Adam is spiritually dead and is in the process of being kicked out of the garden when God says this.
Genesis 3:22-23 And the Lord God said, Now the man has become like one of us, having knowledge of good and evil; and now if he puts out his hand and takes of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever. So the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to be a worker on the earth from which he was taken.
Immortality is physical and comes later but eternal life is spiritual, it's a mindset that we can have now. A mindset that understands the love and forgiveness of God. A mindset that knows God.
John 17:3 This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the One You have sent.
Immortality is what we get later because we believed in the character of God and understood it correctly. In viewing God correctly there will be no condemnation now and or when He comes.
1 Corinthian 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Jesus is God's revelation of love and forgiveness. This revelation, when believed, will change our dead mindset towards God which will produce a mindset of life living through love.
Listen to the process.
2 Timothy 1:10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
The cross of Christ, preached through the gospel, corrects our understanding of God's character which abolishes the death (spiritual mindset) which now makes life (spiritual) and immortality (physical) possible.
Our job, in God's work of saving us, is to focus on the cross of Christ because it's the cross of Christ that assures us of God's love and forgiveness for us. The shed blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin (spots on the conscience) when we walk in the light.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
And what is that light?
It's the truth of God's character seen in His love and forgiveness through understanding the meaning and purpose of the shed blood of His only begotten Son. Understanding and believing what the shed blood of Christ represents (God's love and forgiveness) cleanses us of sin. That cleansing of guilt and condemnation in the conscience, which was causing the spiritual death.
Immortality is given once at the coming of Jesus but eternal life, through understanding the character of God, is something that needs to abide in us on a continual bases.
When we understand and believe in God's love and forgiveness that will produce a life in us that will be eternal. It will also produce in us a love for God and others.
Our love for God and others is the proof that we have believed and have passed from death to life. But if we don't have love for others, the life, which will be eternal, is not abiding in us.
1 John 3:15 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
If this life is abiding in us then when Jesus comes He will reward us with immortality.
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