Eternal life is the Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God in Him, dwelling eternally in our spirit, our soul, and our body.

Our physical death and passing into the spirit Paradise is not the victory salvation brings. The Divine salvation is revealed in the Day of the Lord, in the time of the resurrection from the dead. Once we die physically, our struggle to attain to the first resurrection may have been terminated.

If we, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, have overcome the world, Satan, and our lusts and self-will, we will be given the crown of eternal life in the Day of Christ. Through God's grace we have overcome, we have won the race.

If we have sown to the flesh we will reap corruption, not eternal life, in the Day of Christ.

For he [the Christian] that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:8)

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were denied access to the tree of life. God kept them away from that tree so they could not partake of immortality.

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: (Genesis 3:22)

It seems likely, since a spirit once created cannot die but endures forever, that God is referring to the danger of Adam and Eve living forever in their flesh on the earth in the bondage of sin and rebellion against God.

Christ is our Tree of Life. When we receive Him, we gain access to the Mercy Seat in Heaven so we may be able to obtain Divine help in our times of need.

Even though we through Christ's blood have gained access to the Mercy Seat, our goal has not been attained as yet. Our goal is the restoration of all that was lost in Eden. We want to gain access to the tree of life so we may live on the earth (and everywhere else) without perishing from the effects of sin.

As we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood we receive eternal life in our spirit and soul (John 6:54). When the Lord returns that eternal life will extend into our mortal body, if we have not destroyed it by living in the passions and appetites of the soul and body. Then our redemption will be complete.

The process of redemption does not remove us from the world, it removes us from Satan's influence. The workings of redemption are delivering us from every particle of Satan's personality and ways. All the power and effects of sin and rebellion are being washed from us: from our mind, from our spirit, from our nerves, from our emotions, from our will.

To be continued.