We believers in Christ can obtain eternal life in the coming age as a reward in the kingdom age if we today leave everything for the Lord, are faithful unto death to receive the crown of life, and overcome to eat Jesus so that He will give us to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us Your eternal life today. Hallelujah, by faith in Christ we receive the eternal life, and we are regenerated to be children of God! Amen, Lord, we want to live by Your life today. We exercise our spirit to touch You, be one with You, and live the divine life. Live in us today. Make us Your overcomers today. May we be those who leave all things for Your sake and for the sake of the gospel so that we may obtain eternal life in the coming age! Amen!
God is life; His life is the unique life, and the eternal life is the only life. Our life, the life we live today, and everything about us can become real and full of meaning only when we obtain the eternal life and live by this life.
We all are born in sins and offenses, darkened in our understanding and alienated from the life of God. We are born in ignorance, and our heart is hardened. But praise the Lord, God had mercy on us, and He Himself came as the eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ came as life; in Him was life and the life was the light of men. He came so that we may have life and have it abundantly. He is the way and the reality and the life.
He died on the cross to redeem us and make a way for us to come back to God to enjoy Him as life. He resurrected and became a life-giving Spirit.
He wants to dispense His life into us, and now He can, for He both paved the way for us to come to God and became the life-giver Himself! Praise the Lord!
When we hear the gospel, when the Lord touches us and we call on His name and repent, we receive eternal life.
Receiving eternal life is something marvellous yet so simple, for eternal life is being freely given to us by God by faith in Christ. We only need to believe; when we believe, we receive!
We don’t have to wait to receive eternal life; we receive eternal life today by faith in Christ. We don’t have to do something to deserve the eternal life as a reward; we can repent and believe into the Lord Jesus, and eternal life is ours.
Now all genuine believers in Christ have the eternal life of God. Praise the Lord!
Obtain Eternal Life in the Coming Age by Leaving All for the Lord’s Sake
There are a few verses that tell us that we can obtain eternal life in the coming age; we do have eternal life in this age by faith in Christ, and we can obtain eternal life in the coming age if we fulfill certain conditions in this age.
In Mark 10:29-30, the Lord Jesus spoke to us concerning the present age, what we need to do in this age, so that we may obtain eternal life in the coming age.
We need not only to receive God’s life now but even more, leave all for the Lord’s sake and for the gospel’s sake, and we will receive a hundred times as much now at this time and in the coming age, we will obtain eternal life.
This is not a matter of eternal salvation; once we are saved, we are saved eternally, and we can never lose our salvation.
This is a matter related to the reward in the kingdom age; if we today leave all for the Lord’s sake and for the sake of the gospel, we will obtain eternal life in the coming kingdom.
For us to obtain eternal life in the coming kingdom, we need to pay a price today; this price is leaving everything for the Lord’s sake and for the sake of the gospel.
We need to pray this matter before the Lord, for this should be our experience today.
We have already gained eternal life by believing into the Lord Jesus; now we have eternal life in our spirit, and this life is spreading into our soul and even into our body to swallow up our whole being in life.
However, if we want to obtain eternal life in the coming age, if we want to be rewarded with the eternal life in the next age, we need to do something today.
We need to consider the Lord more precious than anything else, and we forsake all things for the sake of Christ.
Like the apostle Paul, we count all things as refuse on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Phil. 3:8).
We forget the things behind and stretch forward to Him. For the Lord’s sake and for the sake of the gospel, we forsake all other things, even our closest natural relationships, for we are one with the Lord for His kingdom to come on the earth today.
The Lord has especially designed the kingdom age as a period of enjoyment of eternal life as a reward for those who faithfully follow Him. We need to be those who faithfully follow the Lord in this age.
We give ourselves to follow Him as the Lamb wherever He may lead us.
We do not live for ourselves, for our satisfaction, or for our career; we live for the Lord, we live one with the Lord, and we want to obtain eternal life in the coming kingdom as a reward.
May we bring this matter to the Lord in prayer and tell Him,
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us as eternal life in this age. Hallelujah, we are believers in Christ, those regenerated by God with His life to be children of God, part of the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, we give ourselves to You today. We give ourselves to follow the Lamb wherever He may go. We want to be those who pursue Christ, gain Christ, and even leave all things for the sake of Christ and for the sake of the gospel. Amen, Lord, become more precious to us today so that we may leave all things and follow You! We are here for You, Lord Jesus! We are not here for our career, for our future, or even for our family; we are here for the Lord and for the gospel! Strengthen us to pay the price of leaving everything for the Lord’s sake and for the gospel’s sake so that we may be rewarded with the enjoyment of eternal life in the coming age! Amen!
The Lord will Give us the Crown of Life in the Coming Age if we are Faithful unto Death in this Age
In Revelation 2:10 the Lord Jesus promised the overcomers in the local churches that He will give them the crown of life if they are faithful unto death. The church was under persecution, and death was imminent, for the enemy wanted to kill the people of God.
If we are faithful to the Lord even unto death, we will receive the crown of life. We already have eternal life, and nothing can cause us to be “unborn” of God; we will forever enjoy God as life in the new heaven and new earth as the New Jerusalem.
However, the next age, the age of the kingdom, has been designed by the Lord to be an age of reward or discipline; we will either be rewarded or disciplined in the next age, depending on our living and work in this age.
For us to receive the crown of life, we need to be faithful unto death in this age.
A crown is a symbol of the glory of reigning as king. The crown of life is a symbol of the glory of reigning in life.
We need to reign in life today by allowing the Lord as grace to reign in us (Rom. 5:17). May we let the Lord reign in us and strengthen us to be faithful to Him even unto death.
On the one hand, we thank and praise the Lord for giving us the gracious gift of eternal life by faith. On the other hand, we want to obtain eternal life in the coming kingdom age by being willing to pay the highest price in this age.
We may not be persecuted today, for we may live in a country that calls itself a Christian country; in this situation, we still need to reign in life and be faithful unto death.
The enemy brings many things, people, situations, and matters to distract us from enjoying Christ. There are many things and situations, even feelings and events, that rule over us, and not Christ.
We need to reign in life in this age by receiving the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness. When Christ reigns in us, when we are under His constant rule and reign in our daily living, we can be faithful unto death.
When persecution comes, when opposition comes, and when the enemy brings all kinds of situations and things to suppress us, oppress us, and depress us, we will simply soar above the situation, for the Lord reigns in us and we reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
May we receive the Lord’s grace today to be His overcoming saints, those who are faithful unto death so that He may give us the crown of life at His coming. We want to enjoy the glory of reigning in life in the coming age!
Lord Jesus, we love You and we want to reign in life today! Amen, Lord, we aspire to obtain eternal life in the coming kingdom by being faithful even unto death in this age. Oh Lord, keep us receiving the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness day by day so that we may reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Reign in us, Lord Jesus. We enthrone You as our Lord. Make us faithful to You even unto death. Oh Lord, we want to overcome today so that we may enjoy the glory of reigning in life in the coming age! Amen, Lord Jesus, You are the One who is faithful in us. Make us the same as You are, faithful unto death. May we stand one with You against any attack, persecution, and stratagem of the devil. Make us Your overcoming saints today!
Overcoming Today to be Rewarded with Eating the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God in the Coming Age
In Revelation 2:7 the Lord says, To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
The Paradise of God here must be the future New Jerusalem, for the New Jerusalem has the tree of life (Rev. 22:2).
All genuine believers in Christ will enjoy the New Jerusalem with all its blessings in eternity in the new heaven and the new earth.
But here the Lord promises the overcoming saints that He will give them to eat of the fruit of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God; this is in the coming age.
The Lord promises that the overcoming saints will eat of the fruit of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem as a reward in the coming kingdom.
The Lord is so wise; on the one hand, He freely gives us His eternal life, and if we simply believe into Him, we are saved and saved forever. This is so wonderful!
If we repent and call on the name of the Lord to be saved, we receive eternal life and we will forever be with the Lord. Wonderful!
However, even though eternity is assured to us that we will be the New Jerusalem, enjoying the eternal blessings, what about the next age, the coming kingdom age?
The Lord has made the coming kingdom age as a reward to the overcoming believers or as a dispensational punishment for those who do not cooperate with Him in this age.
Even though all the believers will enjoy the New Jerusalem with its blessings in the new heaven and new earth, only the overcomers will have a foretaste of the fruit of the tree of life in the coming age.
Yes, we will all eat the fruit of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, for we will enjoy the blessing of eternal life for eternity; however, to have a foretaste of this fruit in the coming age, we need to overcome in this age.
We need to exercise our spirit day by day to eat Christ as the bread of life, drink Him as the water of life, and breathe Him in as the breath of life. We need to take Christ as our life daily and live because of Him.
Today we can have a foretaste, and if we overcome to eat the Lord today, we will be given a better taste in the coming kingdom, even a foretaste of what we will do in eternity.
Before the coming of the new heaven and new earth, the Lord gives the freshness of the blessing of eternal life, the fruit of the tree of life, as a reward to the overcomers as a foretaste and early enjoyment in the millennial kingdom.
May we be those who overcome today so that we may enjoy this blessing of life in its freshness, the fruit of the tree of life, in the coming kingdom age!
Lord Jesus, make us Your overcomers today. We aspire to be Your overcomers. We want to overcome anything that opposes You and Your kingdom. We want to overcome lukewarmness and deadness. We want to overcome anything of the self, the flesh, and the natural man. Oh Lord, we want to overcome to eat the Lord as the tree of life in the middle of the church life today! Amen, Lord, we aspire to be Your overcoming saints today who will eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God as a reward in the coming age! We want to be rewarded by You with the freshness of the blessing of eternal life, the fruit of the tree of life, in the coming kingdom. So we give ourselves to You today. Overcome in us. Make us one with You as the Overcomer! Make us Your duplication and reproduction! Amen, Lord, we give ourselves to You today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932-1949, vol. 3, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 1,” pp. 224-226, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Believers (1) (2026 July Semi-Annual Training), week 2, “The Eternal Life—the Life of God with the Divine Nature, the Triune God Being the Structure of the Bible, and the Hidden God, a God Who Hides Himself” – day 2.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Reward is not eternal life, / It’s based on how we run the race; / It all depends on what we build, / It’s not a matter, here, of grace. / ’Tis for God’s kingdom we press on, / Like Moses, we are for the Lord; / We suffer with God’s people here / And look away to the reward. (Hymns #1298 stanzas 4-5)
– I’ve left the old sad life of sin, / Its follies all forsaken; / My standing place is now in Christ, / His holy vows I’ve taken; / Beneath the standard of the cross / The world henceforth shall find me; / I’ve passed in Christ from death to life, / And left the world behind me. (Hymns #438 stanza 2)
– From my spirit within flows a fountain of life— / The Triune God flowing in me; / God the Father’s the source, Christ the Son is the course, / And the Spirit imparts life to me. / Lord, I treasure the sweet flow of life, / And my soul-life at last I lay down; / O Lord, deepen the pure flow of life; / At Your coming may life be my crown. (Hymns #1191 stanza 1 and chorus)
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932-1949, vol. 3, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 1,” pp. 225-226
We have received eternal life and we will forever enjoy eternal life in the New Jerusalem in eternity, but for us to obtain eternal life in the coming age, we need to overcome, be faithful unto death, and leave all for the Lord’s sake and for the sake of the gospel.
If today we overcome to eat Jesus, are faithful to the Lord even unto death, and leave all for the Lord’s sake to follow Him as the Lamb of God, we will obtain eternal life, gain the crown of life, and be given to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
Yes, enjoying eternal life in the coming age will be different to the enjoyment of eternal life in the present age and in eternity.
We must pay a price if we desire to enjoy eternal life in the coming age of the kingdom.
May the Lord grace us to leave everything for His sake and for the gospel’s sake, and to follow Him even unto death.
The reward for leaving everything for the sake of the Lord and the gospel is eternal life in the coming age.
This is separate to the free gift of eternal life we have in this age; the coming age will be especially designated as the period of enjoyment for those who faithfully follow the Lord.
May we be those willing to leave everything; may we be those who are faithful unto death to our Lord
We gained eternal life by believing but if we are to receive eternal life as a reward in the millennial Kingdom, the coming age, we must be willing to leave everything – home, family, relatives and livelihood for His sake and the gospel’s!