Do Christians Have Eternal Life Now, or Only in the Future? A Biblical Response to SDA Misinterpretation of 1 John 2:25

Introduction: The SDA Claim

In countless social media threads, I’ve heard Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) advocates insist that eternal life is a promise only fulfilled in the future, at Christ’s Second Coming, and only for those who continue to keep the Ten Commandments faithfully.

Their go-to proof text is:

1 John 2:25 (NIV) – "And this is what he promised us—eternal life."

On the surface, it seems they have a point: John says “promised,” which sounds future-oriented. But a historico-grammatical reading of John’s writings shows that this conclusion is biblically incomplete—and actually contradicts other explicit statements from John himself.

The Historico-Grammatical Context of 1 John

The historical setting of 1 John is crucial: John writes to believers in Asia Minor near the end of the first century to combat false teachers (proto-Gnostics) who denied that Jesus had truly come in the flesh and who claimed special “knowledge” apart from Christ.

His grammatical structure shows that the letter alternates between assurance and warning—affirming that believers already possess eternal life, while also reminding them of its future consummation.

Let’s compare 1 John 2:25 with the letter’s opening:

1 John 1:1–2 (NIV) – That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes… this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

John identifies eternal life not as a mere future state, but as a present, incarnate reality in the person of Jesus Christ. Eternal life was “seen,” “touched,” and “manifested” in Him. This aligns with Jesus’ own claims:

John 11:25 – “I am the resurrection and the life.”

John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

John 5:26 – “As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.”

The promise in 1 John 2:25, therefore, cannot mean that eternal life is entirely future; John has already stated that believers presently experience it through union with Christ.

Eternal Life as Present Possession

Consider John’s explicit language in 1 John 5:

1 John 5:11-13 (NIV) – "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life… so that you may know that you have eternal life."

Notice the verbs:

“has given” (perfect tense) – a completed act with continuing results.

“has life” – present tense possession.

As F.F. Bruce notes:

“Eternal life is not merely promised to believers as a future reward, but is their present possession in Christ, although its full realization awaits the age to come.” (The Epistles of John, NICNT, p. 122)

This is consistent with Jesus’ teaching:

John 5:24 (ESV) – “Whoever hears my word and believes… has eternal life. He… has passed from death to life.”

John 6:47 (TLB) – “Anyone who believes in me already has eternal life.”

Even the SDA Bible Commentary concedes on John 5:24:

“This declaration is more than a promise of eternal life to come; it is an assurance that the believer now… may begin to enjoy life that is eternal in quality because he is united spiritually with his Lord.”

Reconciling the “Promise” of 1 John 2:25

The apparent tension resolves when we understand the three tenses of salvation—a framework acknowledged in official SDA publications but often unknown to their lay defenders:

Past – Justification: saved from the penalty of sin (Eph. 2:8–9).

Present – Sanctification: being saved from the power of sin (Phil. 2:12-13).

Future – Glorification: will be saved from the presence of sin (Rom. 8:23).

In this light:

1 John 5:11–13 speaks of the present possession of eternal life (justification & sanctification).

1 John 2:25 points to the future consummation of eternal life (glorification), when believers receive resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:51–54; Phil. 3:20–21).

Thus, the promise is not in tension with the present possession—it’s the completion of what we already have in Christ.

A Critical Flaw in the SDA Lay Defense

Here’s the irony: many SDA lay apologists reject present possession of eternal life, yet their own prophet, Ellen White, affirms it:

“The Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 388)

By denying present possession, SDA lay defenders contradict both the Apostle John and Ellen White, not to mention their own denominational commentary.

Biblical-Theological Implications

If eternal life is only future, then by Jesus’ standard (John 5:24), no one is saved now—because you haven’t yet “passed from death to life.” That would mean all believers remain spiritually dead until the resurrection, which contradicts Ephesians 2:1-6, where Paul says God “made us alive with Christ” now and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.

Conclusion: A Present Reality with Future Fulfillment

The full historico-grammatical exegesis shows:

Present Reality: Believers already possess eternal life in Christ (John 5:24; 1 John 5:11, 13).

Future Fulfillment: At Christ’s return, this life will be perfected in glorification (1 Cor. 15:51–54).

SDA Lay Misstep: By treating eternal life as only future, they deny what Scripture affirms and even misrepresent their own church’s formal theology.

Or, to put it plainly:

If Christ is in you, you have eternal life. If He isn’t, you don’t. It’s not just “coming soon”—it’s already here for the believer, and one day it will be gloriously complete.

References:

Bruce, F. F. The Epistles of John. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970.

Marshall, I. Howard. The Epistles of John. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978.

White, Ellen G. The Desire of Ages. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1898.

Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Vol. 5. Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1956.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003.

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