John 17:3 and the meaning of ‘eternal life’

Content with ἵνα and ὅτι

Both ἵνα and ὅτι can introduce content, but they introduce different kinds of content. This section covers the kinds of content words found with each complementizer as well as the kind of content introduced in the construction οὗτος/αὕτη/τοῦτο ἐστίν…ἵνα/ὅτι. The difference between how the complementizers function is systematic and predictable.

There are two conditions which must be met for ὅτι to be used in this kind of context: 1) the noun which gives the content that is to be spelled out cannot be modal, and 2) the content itself must have truth conditions, i.e. it can be said to be true or false (see Semantics D):1

• (656) Content with ὅτι in Dem + copula + complementizer construction
• αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς (John 3:19)
• This is the judgment that the light has come into the world and the people loved darkness more than light

Some nouns introduce generic content which may or may not have truth conditions. We would predict that both ὅτι and ἵνα are compatible with such nouns, but the choice of complementizer depends on the satisfaction conditions associated with the embedded clause. This prediction is borne out with the noun ἀγγελία:

• (657) ἀγγελία with ὅτι complementizer
• Καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία (1 John 1:5)
• And this is the message which we have heard from him and speak to you – that God is light, and darkness is not in him at all
• (658) ἀγγελία with ἵνα complementizer
• Ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἠκούσατε ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους (1 John 3:11)
• Because this is the message which you heard from the beginning – that we must love each other

From 1 John 1:5, we know that ἀγγελία is not itself a modal noun, since it can take ὅτι as a complementizer. However, it is not incompatible with content that has obedience conditions rather than truth conditions. When the content has the obedience conditions, ἵνα is used, as shown in 1 John 3:11. Nouns that refer to content that necessarily has obedience conditions, such as ἐντολή, require ἵνα to be used (besides John 15:12 above, other examples include 1 John 3:23; 2 John 6b). Every example with ἵνα in this construction introduces content with obedience or fulfillment conditions and is preceded by a noun with neutral content (like ἀγγελία) or a deontic modal noun (like ἐντολή).2

The implication of these data is that if ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή is found in the construction αὕτη ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή ἵνα (which is exactly what John 17:3 says), then the ἵνα clause must be referring to something to be done or something that can be fulfilled. Against every commentator I have seen on this verse, ἵνα cannot be defining ‘eternal life’ (insofar as a definition is a true or false statement of what something is) – it must be spelling out obedience conditions for how to do ‘eternal life.’3 This is exactly like what we see in John 15:12 where the ἵνα clause spells out the obedience conditions of the ἐντολή.

> Strictly speaking, it is probably not the case that the prior noun cannot be modal, but it is not modal with the relevant kind or strength of modality that would trigger the use of ἵνα.

Because the ἵνα clause may spell out the conditions of a word like θέλημα in John 6:39–40, ἵνα may also introduce a clause with fulfillment conditions. However, since αἰώνιος ζωή is called an ἐντολή ‘commandment’ in John 12:50, the phrase seems to have obedience conditions rather than fulfillment conditions. The difference would be that the former obligates someone to do something, while the latter is a desire for something to happen (see Semantics D).

3 The following commentators take the ἵνα clause in John 17:3 to define what ‘eternal life’ is rather than to spell out its obedience conditions: Brown (1974:752); Haenchen (1984:151); Beasley-Murray (1999:296); Newman & Nida (1980:527); Lincoln (2005:434); Carson (1990:555); Bernard (1928:561). Many commentators ignore the fact that ἵνα rather than ὅτι is used to introduce the content, while others, such as Lincoln and Newman & Nida, claim that a definition of eternal life is being offered but also translate the ἵνα clause as a purpose clause. As the parallel examples show, the ἵνα clause is introducing content in this construction, so it is incorrect to translate it as ‘that they may know …’ It must be spelling out the obedience conditions.

The syntax of John 17:3, then, suggests that ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή is something to be done, but this brings up new questions. First, what is the meaning of αἰώνιος? If ‘eternal,’ in the sense of a protracted period of time, is not something to be done, what exactly does αἰώνιος mean, and what is a good translation? Second, how does our understanding of the phrase ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή fit with how the phrase is used in other NT passages, both within John and outside of John? These two questions occupy the rest of our section before we conclude.

The meaning of αἰώνιος and its use in John

The word αἰώνιος is composed of the root √αι, the nominalizer -ων, and the adjectivizer -ιο. Thus, αἰώνιος is a denominal adjective. Because of this, our first assumption should be that the meaning of the adjective is related to the meaning of the underlying noun from which it is derived. A standard lexicon like BDAG notes that the noun αἰών has several different senses, including ‘the past,’ ‘eternity,’ a particular ‘age’, the ‘world’ (spatial), and a person or being who has one of these properties (such as being eternal or being part of the present age or world). In terms of its temporal meaning, each of the first three senses given by BDAG could be considered temporal, but they refer to different timeframes. Reference to a particular ‘age’ is a superordinate category to both ‘the past’ and ‘eternity’, i.e. the ‘age’ being referred to may simply be in the past or not have any endpoint (i.e. be eternal). In all cases, ‘age’ refers to a time span with an indefinite period of time, whether that period be in the past, in a present age with an uncertain endpoint, or in a future age where there will be no endpoint.

The adjectivizer -ιο is commonly used to combine with places, such as a city, and to refer to someone or something that has a property associated with that place (see 23.2.2) where we introduced the suffix). For example, Ἐφέσιος ‘Ephesian’ refers to a property that is related to the noun Ἔφεσος ‘Ephesus.’ Before turning to the actual data for αἰώνιος, our expectation would be that the adjective (when interpreted temporally) would refer to a property associated with an indefinite period of time. Just like its nominal counterpart, the adjective αἰώνιος seems to have the sense of ‘eternal’ meaning something that does not come to an end

(659) αἰώνιος referring to something ‘eternal’

καὶ ἀπελεύσονται οὗτοι εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον, οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον (Matt 25:46)

• And these will depart to eternal punishment, but the righteous will depart to eternal life

The eschatological context here suggests that the time period of the punishment and life is for a length of time that does not end, i.e. it is eternal. On the other hand, αἰώνιος may refer to a period of time which encompasses just this life but still lacks a definite endpoint. Strictly speaking, this would not be ‘eternal’ in the sense of something that lasts for all time.

(660) αἰώνιος referring to an indefinite period of time

Τάχα γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐχωρίσθη πρὸς ὥραν, ἵνα αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχῃς (Phlm 15)

• For maybe because of this he was separated for a time – namely, so that you may receive him forever

When Paul says that Philemon would receive Onesimus back ‘forever’, he does not mean that they would be together in the new age for eternity. It simply means that Philemon would have Onesimus for an indefinite period of time, not a period of time that could not come to an end.

These examples suggest that αἰώνιος, unsurprisingly, means what we would expect it to mean given that it is derived from αἰών—it characterizes something as belonging to an indefinite period of time; it does not necessarily mean something is eternal. The last kind of example we would really like to find would be where αἰώνιος refers to a specific age, i.e. it does not modify the length of time but describes whatever it modifies as being related to the age under discussion. Although there is no good example of this in the NT, there is an excellent example in Philo:4

(661) αἰώνιος referring to a specific age

• “τοῦτο γάρ μου” φησίν “ ὄνομα αἰώνιον ” ὡς ἂν ἐν τῷ καθ’ ἡμᾶς αἰῶνι ἐξεταζόμενον, οὐκ ἐν τῷ πρὸ αἰῶνος (Names 12)

For this He says is “My age-long name,” belonging as it were to the age of human existence, not to that when age as yet was not (Loeb translation)

4 I am indebted to Cooper Bryan for both this example and the discussion below linking ζωὴ αἰώνιος to ‘kingdom-age life’ in Daniel and John.

The name ascribed to God is ὄνομα αἰώνιον in the sense that it is a name pertaining to an age, namely that of human existence. This is certainly not an ‘eternal’ name, since it is explicitly said not pertain to another age.

An example like this is, I suggest, the key to understanding the phrase ζωὴ αἰώνιος in John. It need not refer to ‘eternal’ in the sense of a time period that cannot end. Instead, it may refer to a specific kind of age with an indefinite time period. Providing a word-for-word translation of the phrase would lead to ‘age life.’ This, however, is also nonsensical in English, since it is unclear what kind of age we are referring to. What kind of age might this be?

The phrase ζωὴ αἰώνιος is used in Dan 12:2 (LXX) to describe the life of the new kingdom (cf. Dan 2:44), so we might call this “kingdom-age life.”5 Intriguingly, the first occurrence of ζωὴ αἰώνιος in John is found in John 3:15. In John 3:3 and 3:5, John’s Jesus speaks for the first and only time of the ‘kingdom of God,’ and entrance into the kingdom of God seems to be equated with the new life on offer from Jesus. Furthermore, this is programmatic for John’s use of ζωὴ αἰώνιος in the rest of the gospel (see the discussion in Frey 2016). If this line of reasoning is correct, the kind of ‘age’ being referred to in the phrase ζωὴ αἰώνιος is ‘(kingdom)-age life.’ This is a time period with no definite ending, but the emphasis is not on the length of the ‘age’ but on its quality. In light of this, let us reread (and re-translate) John’s use of the phrase ζωὴ αἰώνιος:

• (662) Verses with αἰώνιος ζωή in John
• a. ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (3:15)
• So that all who believe in him might have kingdom-age life
• b. ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ’ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (3:16)

So that all who believe in him might not perish but have kingdom-age life

• c. ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον · ὁ δὲ ἀπειθῶν τῷ υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται ζωήν, ἀλλ’ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ μένει ἐπ’ αὐτόν. (3:36)
• The one who believes in the son has kingdom-age life, but the one who does not obey will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him
• d. ἀλλὰ τὸ ὕδωρ ὃ δώσω αὐτῷ γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (4:14)

But the water which I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up into kingdom-age life

• e. ὁ θερίζων μισθὸν λαμβάνει καὶ συνάγει καρπὸν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον (4:36)
• The one who harvests receives a reward, and he gathers fruit resulting in kingdom-age life
• f. Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται, ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν (5:24)
• Amen, Amen I say to you that the one who hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has kingdom-age life, and he does not come into judgment, but he has passed from death to life
• g. ἐραυνᾶτε τὰς γραφάς, ὅτι ὑμεῖς δοκεῖτε ἐν αὐταῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχειν (5:39)
• You search the scriptures because you suppose that in them you have kingdom-age life
• h. ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην ἀλλὰ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ἣν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑμῖν δώσει (6:27)
• Work not for the perishing bread, but for the bread which abides resulting in kingdom-age life, which the son of man will give to you
• i. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός μου, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ θεωρῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον (6:40)
• For this is the will of my father: that all who see the son and believe in him would have kingdom-age life
• j. Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ πιστεύων ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (6:47)
• Amen, Amen I say to you: the one who believes has kingdom-age life
• k. ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, κἀγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. (6:54)

The one who chews my flesh and drinks my blood has kingdom-age life, and I will raise him up on the last day l. κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα; ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχεις (6:68) Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of kingdom-age life m. κἀγὼ δίδωμι αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (10:28)

5 Thanks to Cooper Bryan for pointing this out to me.

And I give to them kingdom-age life, and they will certainly not perish for forever n. ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολλύει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ μισῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον φυλάξει αὐτήν. (12:25)

The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world for the sake of kingdom-age life will keep it o. καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ἡ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιός ἐστιν. (12:50)

And I know that his commandment is kingdom-age life p. ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ δώσῃ αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (17:2)

So that all which you have given him he might give them kingdom-age life q. αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. (17:3)

This is kingdom-age living: to know you the only true God and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ

There are no unambiguous references to having ζωὴ αἰώνιος in the future in John. However, there are unambiguous references to it being a command (12:50; 17:3) and it being in the present (3:36; 4:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54; 10:28). All verses where a future or subjunctive verb is used with the phrase are best understood as “logical futures” where someone who has a particular characteristic (normally given in the construction ὁ + participle) will subsequently receive ζωὴ αἰώνιος on account of having that characteristic (3:15, 16; 4:14; 6:27; 12:25; 17:2; see 27.3.3.2 for the meaning of logical futures). These are best understood as a type of conditional, which does not mean that ζωὴ αἰώνιος refers to a future life.

The use of the phrase in John 3 is instructive. In John 3:16, a characteristic is given that people must have in order to have eternal life – they must be those who πιστεύων εἰς αὐτόν (i.e. τὸν χριστόν). If this condition is met, the individual will have ζωὴ αἰώνιος, but we are not told when they will have it. When we get to John 3:36, we learn when they will have it – in the present. All those who πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱόν currently have (ἔχει) ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Based on these verses and others, commentators widely recognize that John envisions ‘eternal life’ as a present reality. Since the English word ‘eternal’ is not usually used to refer to life in the present, ‘(kingdom)-age life’ better fits the meaning of ζωὴ αἰώνιος.

This is not to say that having ζωὴ αἰώνιος ‘kingdom-age life’ is not connected in any way to what we might call ‘everlasting life’ in the future. John 6:54 shows us what the connection is. The one who chews Jesus’ flesh and drinks his blood has (kingdom)-age life in the present, and the consequence of this is that Jesus will raise him up on the last day. Likewise, John 10:28 says that Jesus gives kingdom-age life to people now, and they will subsequently not perish, i.e. at the Judgment.

Finally, our analysis immediately makes clear how John can call ζωὴ αἰώνιος a commandment (12:50) and how he can assume that it is something to be done with obedience conditions rather than something that is true or false (17:3). Having ‘kingdom-age life’ involves living in a certain way, particularly living in accordance with the new messianic era that Jesus has ushered in. First and foremost, this involves treating God’s Son as being sent from God and accepting his words, as described in John 12:47–50. God’s command of ‘kingdom-age life’ is that the one who ushers in the kingdom age (Jesus) should be treated with the authority he deserves. Living out this ‘kingdom-age life’ can be summarized: knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent (17:3).

One question that immediately arises from this discussion is how other authors in the NT used the phrase ζωὴ αἰώνιος. Matthew 25:46 cited above seems to place ζωὴ αἰώνιος in the future at Judgment Day as something that is everlasting and which is in contrast to ‘eternal punishment.’ Likewise Mark 10:30 explicitly places receiving ζωὴ αἰώνιος in the future: καὶ (λάβῃ) ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τῷ ἐρχομένῳ ζωὴν αἰώνιον ‘and (he will receive) in the coming age eternal life.’ Paul also places reception of ζωὴ αἰώνιος in the future at Judgment Day in two passages (Rom 2:7; Gal 6:8), and his other uses of the phrase could be interpreted as either present or future. In contrast, 1 John uses the phrase almost identically to John’s Gospel – there are no unambiguous references to the phrase referring to a future time, but there are unambiguous references to it being present (e.g. 1 John 3:15; 5:11). It would seem, then, that John is unique in how he uses the phrase to refer to present ‘kingdom-age life’ rather than the future life that will be obtained after the resurrection. From a translation perspective, ζωὴ αἰώνιος is best translated as ‘eternal life’ outside of the Johannine corpus, but as ‘kingdom-age life’ within the Johannine corpus. This best reflects the unique sense that John invests in this phrase. Insofar as we do not expect NT authors to all use words or phrases with a single, uniform sense (and insofar as John’s writings exhibit a number of peculiarities), this is no problem at all. It is just a fact of how they use the words. The other authors of the NT also do not hint at ζωὴ αἰώνιος being a commandment, so it is no surprise that John would use the phrase differently.

Conclusion

Given how the phrase ζωὴ αἰώνιος is used in John, I suggest this translation of John 17:3 captures the meaning: ‘This is kingdom-age living: to know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.’ We arrived at this understanding through careful attention to how the complementizer ἵνα is used with other modal nouns and how it differs from ὅτι. Notably, the traditional interpretation that the ἵνα clause defines what ‘eternal life’ is cannot be correct. There is no data to support it.

Part of reading Greek deeply is a deep commitment to the data – no matter where it leads us. One of the most difficult aspects of reading the Greek NT is that the content is already very familiar to many people through translations. To be clear, the translation of the NT and its message into various languages is a vital part of Christianity itself. However, prior knowledge of translations means that we often come to the text expecting it to say something, and given all the vested interest people have in the Bible, it is also normal to want the text to say something. In many ways, this situation is inevitable, but that does not mean we cannot do what we can to let the text and its grammar dictate our understanding of the content. I can personally say that as I was working through this section and its material, part of me did not want the data to lead me where it took me. To say that ζωὴ αἰώνιος refers to ‘kingdom-age life’ in John rather than ‘eternal life’ is not on orthodox position, and it is certainly easier to be “orthodox” (whatever that means). Grammatical facts, though, are what they are, and they must shape our understanding of the text. As you continue your language-learning journey, I hope this book has helped you foster a commitment to the data. Reading Greek deeply begins with humility, curiosity, and a love for truth wherever that leads us.