The Gift of God

[Romans 6:23]

Look at Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [(Modern Translation) “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ.”]. Here, “the gift of God,” or “the free gift that God gives,” can be considered in two parts:

First, Regeneration.

What does “regeneration” mean? It is the beginning of eternal life. It refers to the soul being born again (reborn). Look at John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” [(Modern Translation) “Jesus answered Nicodemus, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’”]. Regeneration means becoming a new creation.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” It refers to the soul that was dead in trespasses and sins being made alive again. Look at Ephesians 2:1: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Before our regeneration, before we were born again, or before we became new creations, we were people who were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). We were spiritually dead people, and we were destined to face physical death.

The reason for this is that the first man, Adam, if he had not eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as commanded by God, would have lived forever (Genesis 2:7). But he disobeyed God, ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6), and broke the covenant God had established. As a result, not only did Adam’s soul die (spiritual death), but through him, sin entered the world, and through sin, death came. Thus, death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12). That is, because of Adam's sin, not only Adam, but all of us who belong to Adam, became spiritually dead, and also faced physical death, leading to eternal death (the “second death”).

This is exactly what is meant by the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

So, when were we regenerated?
When did our dead souls come back to life? It was when we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). At that time, we walked according to the course of this world, and we followed the prince of the power of the air (v. 2). We followed the wicked ways of this world, obeyed the devil who rules over the realms of heaven (v. 2, Modern Translation). Previously, we all lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of our flesh and mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (v. 3). It was right at that time (v. 2) when we were regenerated, born again, and our dead souls came to life, becoming new creations.

How were we regenerated? How was our dead soul brought back to life?

Because of the great love with which God, who is rich in mercy, loved us, He made us alive together with Christ, even when we were dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:4-5). How did He bring us to life? He made us alive in Christ Jesus, our Lord (Romans 6:23). In other words, God united us with Jesus Christ, and by this union, we died with Him and were buried with Him (Romans 6:3-4, 8). Furthermore, just as God raised Christ from the dead (Romans 6:4), He also raised us with Him (Romans 6:8) so that we might live in the newness of life (Romans 6:4).

By this mysterious union with Jesus Christ, our “old man” (the spiritually dead person before regeneration) died on the cross with Jesus. Now we have become a new creation / a new person / a born-again person / a new creature, able to walk in the newness of life.

Therefore, the words “the wages of sin is death” in the first part of Romans 6:23 no longer apply to us, the regenerated believers. In other words, we no longer die as the result of sin. We, the servants of righteousness, the Christians, do not die as a result of sin. Why? Because God has declared us righteous, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Those who believe in Jesus Christ have been freed by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Though we were once slaves to sin (Romans 6:17), we have now been set free from sin (Romans 6:22; see also Romans 6:18). Therefore, we no longer die as the result of sin (Romans 6:23). Instead, we are dead in Christ, who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25) (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The “dead in Christ” mentioned in the Bible refers to those who sleep, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

Our physical death is not the result of sin, but rather the passage into heaven. The only reason we cannot go to heaven now is because we still have this body. In other words, since we have not yet experienced physical death, we cannot go to heaven now. However, when we do face physical death, even though our bodies return to dust, our souls will enter heaven. Therefore, those who believe in Jesus, even if they die, will live; and anyone who lives and believes in Jesus Christ will never die (John 11:25-26).

Thus, even if we die, we can praise and thank God, knowing that our souls will enter heaven. An example of this is one of the thieves who was crucified with Jesus. He said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And Jesus replied to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

At that time, criminals who were condemned to crucifixion typically died within two or three days. But Jesus said to the thief, “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The “today” Jesus spoke of, when the thief would be with Him in paradise, is significant because Jesus was crucified at the third hour (around 9 a.m.) (Mark 15:25), and He died at the ninth hour (around 3 p.m.) (Mark 15:34, 37), having hung on the cross for about six hours. For the thief, this was an incredible grace and love, to be in paradise with Jesus, a sinner who was destined to die forever. Moreover, he should have experienced physical agony for two or three days on the cross, but instead, he only endured about six hours of suffering. This, too, was a great act of grace and love.

Second, eternal life.

What is eternal life? Eternal life is not the same as regeneration. Eternal life can be described as the completion of regeneration. It refers to the time when, at the return of the Lord, our bodies will either be changed (if we are still alive at that time) or resurrected (if we have already died), and we will be united with our souls to enter the new heavens and the new earth—heaven—where we will live forever with God.

Let’s think about the resurrection of the body. Let’s look at Revelation 20:13: “The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to what he had done.” (Modern Korean Bible: “The sea, death, and Hades gave up the dead, and they were judged according to their deeds.”). This refers to the dead being raised. In other words, the dead will be resurrected. Let’s also refer to 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” The saints who have died in Christ will rise first.

1 Corinthians 15:52-53 says: “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” When Jesus returns (at His second coming), the dead will be resurrected (they will rise again) in imperishable bodies, and those who are alive at that time will be transformed. Philippians 3:21 says: “Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Modern Korean Bible: “When He comes, He will transform our humble bodies into bodies like His glorious body by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control.”)

The Lord will transform our lowly bodies (our humble bodies) into bodies like His glorious body.

Let’s think about heaven. Revelation 22:4-5 says: “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.” In heaven, there will be no darkness (what is absent in Hades will be present in heaven). In heaven, we will see the face of the Lord. At that time, we will see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12, Modern Korean Bible). When Jesus appears, we will be like Him and will see Him as He truly is (1 John 3:2, Modern Korean Bible). “If it feels this good just thinking about our Savior, how much better will it be when we see His face!” (New Hymnal, 85, "Just Thinking of the Savior", Verse 1).

In heaven, we will reign with the Lord forever (Revelation 22:5). How is this possible? It is made possible by the eternal life that God gives freely through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23, Modern Korean Bible; see also John 3:16). In the verse “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” the phrase “in the Lord” appears 164 times. Here are three examples: “… those who sleep in Jesus…” (the dead) (1 Thessalonians 4:14), “… consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (the regenerated ones) (Romans 6:11), “… eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (the completed eternal life, we will reign with the Lord in heaven) (Romans 6:23).

1 Corinthians 15:57-58: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Revelation 22:12: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every one according to his work.” We must be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, in order to receive the reward that He will give us when He comes.

As I meditated on God’s gifts, that is, the gifts that He freely gives—regeneration and eternal life—I began to think about how we Christians should live between the beginning of eternal life (regeneration) and the fullness of eternal life, which we can say will be completed at the second coming of Christ. In other words, as Christians who have “already” (in the past) been born again, renewed, and made new creatures, how should we live in the present, between the “already” and the “not yet,” looking forward to the future, when we will experience the completion of eternal life in the second coming of Christ?

I found the answer to this question in the hymn 436, “Now I Have Received New Life in Christ,” particularly in the third verse: “The one who has received new life enjoys eternal life, for the heart that has Christ becomes a new heaven.” In other words, while living on earth between the “already” of being born again and the “not yet” of eternal life, we must live in a way that we enjoy eternal life, as those who have received new life.

And that life, which we enjoy, is the life of heaven; the heart that enjoys eternal life is heaven itself (see Luke 17:21). The community that enjoys eternal life (a Christ-centered family and church) is also heaven.

So, how should we live the life of eternal life between the beginning of eternal life (already born again) and the completion of eternal life (still to come)? We must come to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent [“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3)].

To know God the Father and God the Son means, through the Holy Spirit given to us (1 John 3:24), that we receive His great love and are made His children by God the Father (1 John 3:1-2), who sent His Son Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2), who laid down His life on the cross for us (John 3:16). By this means, we enjoy fellowship (communion) with the Son, the Word of Life from the beginning and the eternal life (1 John 1:1-3), and we obey His commandments (1 John 3:11, 23-24), bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

The commandments of the Lord are twofold: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (a vertical commandment, communion with God) and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (a horizontal commandment, communion with others) (Matthew 22:37, 39). These commandments are the commandments of heaven. Living in obedience to these twofold commandments of the Lord (the commandments of the kingdom of heaven) means knowing the Lord, living in the Lord, and abiding in His love. This is the life of heaven, filled with love and joy (John 15:9-12).

This is how we live the eternal life, which we will fully enjoy in the coming world (heaven), while partially experiencing it here on earth.