Eternity Is Now in Session - by John Ortberg (Hardcover)

About the Book

A bestselling author dispels the myth that eternal life is something that Christians can only hope to experience after they die--and that being saved is merely about meeting the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven. Instead, he explains that the moment believers trust Christ, they are initiated into "eternal living" with God as a here-and-now reality.lity.

Book Synopsis

Something in us is waiting--for what, we don't know. Something different? Something better?

For Christians, perhaps the deepest expression of what we're waiting for is found in the phrase "eternal life." But what is eternal life? Why do we want it? And how do we know if we have it?

In Eternity Is Now in Session, pastor and bestselling author John Ortberg dispels the myth that eternal life is something way out in outer space that we can only hope to experience after we die--and that being saved is merely about meeting the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven. Instead, John unpacks the biblical reality that the moment we trust Christ, we are initiated into "eternal living" with God as a here and now reality, one that will continue beyond our life on this earth.

Jesus defined eternal life just once, in John 17:3: ". . . that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." The kind of "knowing God" that is eternal life is an interactive relationship, not just an affirmation of certain facts about God. With his signature wisdom and ability to make spiritual formation approachable, Ortberg explores:

• A radical rediscovery of what the Bible really says about salvation
• The New Testament definitions of the Kingdom of God, eternal life, and the good news of the Gospel
• What it really means to be a disciple and follow Jesus

Once we begin the transformative journey of truly knowing God, we can start to experience His presence, favor, and resurrection power right here on this earth--in the details, tasks, and challenges of daily, ordinary life. And as we begin to know God this way, we'll realize each moment of our lives is a vehicle to the eternity we've been longing for all along.

From the Back Cover

"Are we there yet?"
Most of us think of eternity as something that begins after we die.
However, Jesus doesn't talk about eternity that way. In fact, Jesus defines "eternal life" only once, with great precision, and in a way that has been largely lost in our day. This book looks at his riveting definition and the questions that flow from it:

• What if we stopped thinking about eternal life as something we can only experience after we die?
• What if we stopped thinking of Christians as people who profess beliefs about God and instead focused on becoming disciples who know God?
• What if salvation isn't mostly about getting you into heaven but about getting heaven into you?

It's time to engage in a radical rediscovery of the Christian concept of salvation.

Eternity is now in session.

From the flap:
What does it mean to be saved?
The concept of "salvation" itself needs to be saved from its current misunderstanding--inside the church and out.

Many people think "being saved" is about meeting the minimum entrance requirements for getting into heaven when they die. But that's not how Jesus talked about it.

Rightly understood, being saved is the urgent desire of every human being, whether they think of themselves as religious or not.

Salvation is the reclamation of humanity by God, experiencing his presence, favor, and power--starting now. On earth.

In Eternity Is Now in Session, bestselling author John Ortberg

• engages in a radical rediscovery of what the Bible really says about salvation,
• recaptures the New Testament definitions of salvation, eternal life, and the Good News of the gospel,
• dispels the myth that eternal life is something we can only hope to experience after we die, and
• talks about what it really means to be a disciple.

And most important, he explains how we can experience the unspeakably rich, interactive fellowship and joy that exist between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Eternal life--here, now, every minute of every day.