Eternal Life Is to Know Him
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
May the blessing of the Father who calls us and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who saves us, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies and transforms us be with us all, that we may hear His word and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Amen.
1. The True Meaning of Eternal Life
In His great High Priestly prayer, our Lord Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and defines eternal life in the simplest, yet deepest way:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3, NKJV)
Eternal life begins not with dying, but with knowing. Not knowing about God—but knowing God. Knowing the Father as the only true God, and Jesus Christ as the One sent by Him.
St. Cyril of Alexandria writes:
“The power of true knowledge of God causes us to remain forever in incorruption, holiness, and joy.”
True knowledge purifies. It cannot turn into idolatry or falsehood. This is why Scripture warns us about distorted worship:
“[They] worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:25)
“Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’” (Jeremiah 2:27)
We were not made to serve lifeless idols, whether made of wood, stone, money, or ego. Christ lifts our eyes beyond what perishes.
2. Knowing the Father Through the Son
When Christ says the Father is “the only true God,” He is not excluding Himself. He is revealing the relationship—the Father is known through the Son, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
“No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27)
St. Cyril clarifies:
“He did not separate Himself from the Father by calling Him the only true God. Because He is from the Father by nature, He too is the true God.”
This is the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Not three gods, but one God in three hypostases. This is the faith of the Church, sealed in every Liturgy.
“For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” (Psalm 96:5)
The idols of this world cannot hear, feel, or love. But our God took flesh, walked among us, and gave Himself for us.
3. Faith, Knowledge, and Works
Now you may ask: if eternal life is through knowledge, then what about faith? And what about works?
St. James says clearly:
“Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26)
“Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19)
So what kind of knowledge gives life?
It is not mere information. It is living faith, born of divine union.
The prophet Isaiah said:
“If you do not believe, surely you shall not be established.” (Isaiah 7:9, LXX)
Faith leads to understanding. And true knowledge flows from faith and brings us to the Eucharist, the mystery of life itself.
4. Eucharist: The Sacramental Knowledge
St. Paul tells us that the Gentiles became:
“Fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6)
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 6:15)
What does it mean to be a member of Christ?
It means we partake of His Body and Blood. The knowledge that gives eternal life is Eucharistic—it unites us to the living Word. It is not cold doctrine, but communion.
St. Cyril teaches:
“This knowledge brings us the Eucharist by the Spirit. It reshapes the soul, makes us sons of God, and molds us into incorruption and reverence through the life of the Gospel.”
5. True Knowledge Is Trinitarian
Notice how Christ says we must know the Father and the Son. But we also cannot know them apart from the Holy Spirit.
As St. Paul wrote:
“No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
The faith of the Church is Trinitarian. The Father is known in the Son, by the Holy Spirit. We cannot separate one from the other. This is the full knowledge that brings eternal life.
Even the Jews, who rightly rejected false gods, fell short of full knowledge because they did not know the Son.
“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Deuteronomy 6:13, cf. Matthew 4:10)
Christ reveals that the One God is not alone. He is Father, who begets the Son. He is Son, who is sent to save. He is Spirit, who fills and sanctifies.
6. Practical Application
How do we live this knowledge?
- Read and pray the Scriptures, not as a textbook, but as a love letter.
- Come to Confession and Communion regularly. Let your knowledge become union.
- Reject every idol—anything that takes God’s place in your heart.
- Live the Gospel in action, not only words.
- Keep the Trinity before you always—begin and end your prayers in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
May the Lord bless us, transform our hearts and minds, that our homes may stand on the Rock, our hands serve in the harvest, and our hearts long for Heaven. Amen.