John 17:3
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
King James Version (KJV)
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In His high priestly prayer the night before the crucifixion, Jesus lifts His eyes to the Father and defines the eternal life He came to give as the knowledge of God and of Himself.
What Does John 17:3 Mean?
Jesus is defining eternal life as knowing the only true God and knowing Jesus Christ whom He has sent -- a living relationship, not merely unending existence. In His great prayer on the night before the cross, Jesus gives one of the clearest descriptions of eternal life found anywhere in Scripture. Strikingly, He does not define it first in terms of duration but in terms of relationship: "that they might know thee."
The word translated "know" speaks of personal, intimate knowledge -- not merely knowing about God, but knowing Him as one knows a trusted friend. Eternal life, then, begins not at death but the moment a person enters into this relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus joins Himself directly to the Father in this knowing: to know the only true God includes knowing the One whom He has sent. The Father and the Son are bound together in the gift of eternal life. This places the relationship with Christ at the very center of what it means to live forever in God's presence. Eternal life is therefore not a distant reward to be earned but a present reality to be entered -- a knowing of God that grows ever deeper. The richest possible life is found in coming to know the God who made us and the Savior He has sent.
In the Original Language
The Greek "ginoskosin" (γινώσκωσιν), from "ginosko," means to know personally and intimately through relationship, not merely to know facts; "aionios" (αἰώνιος) describes life of the age to come.
Cross References
“As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”
- John 17:2
“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”
- 1 John 5:20
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:”
- Philippians 3:8
Application
Pursue eternal life as a relationship to be entered now, growing daily in your personal knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He sent.