Is death 'separation' from God,

and eternal life 'connection' with God?

Through the disobedience of the first Adam,

sin entered the world, and death came through sin (Rom. 5:12).

Death means being "separated" from God.

Through the obedience of the last Adam, Jesus Christ,

until His death on the cross (Phil. 2:8),

we received the gift of eternal life (Rom. 5:15, 18; 6:23).

Eternal life means being "connected" with God.

Being connected with God through Jesus Christ,

the eternal life, means having "fellowship" with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ

(1 Jn. 1:2, 3).

This fellowship involves "fellowship with the Holy Spirit" (Phil. 2:1),

which is also "fellowship in faith" (Phil. 1:6),

and "fellowship with one another" guided by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:42; 1 Jn. 1:7).

It is the 'fellowship of love'

(1 Pet. 4:8; Jn. 13:34, 35; 15:12, 17; 1 Jn. 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 1 Jn. 1:5).

In this fellowship, God's love is truly perfected within us (1 Jn. 2:5),

and there is "fullness of joy" (Jn. 1:4).

Being connected with God through Jesus Christ,

and being connected with our neighbors,

when we wholeheartedly love our Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind

and also love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:37, 39),

we are, as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20),

experiencing a heavenly life on earth in partial fulfillment of the kingdom life in heaven.

This is the salvation life happening in the present (Phil. 2:12),

This is the life partially enjoying eternal life on earth.