Answer: The gift of God--eternal life--is found only IN Christ Jesus our Lord, (verse 23).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
The word "in" is also translated "through." The gift of God is found only IN and THROUGH Christ. No one can have eternal life--"conscience existence in communion with God" for eternity--without Christ. When we make the decision to be saved--take hold of eternal life--IN AND THROUGH (and also WITH) Christ, He is then IN us, and we are IN Him.
John 14:6: "Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
John 20:30-31: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name."
Acts 2:38: "Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
Acts 10:48a: "So he ordered that they be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ."
Romans 3:2: "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
Romans 5:11: "Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation."
Romans 5:17: "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One Man, Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:21: "so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:11: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:1-2: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:9-11: "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, Who lives in you."
Romans 8:39: "neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1 Corinthians 6:11: "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 15:22: "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."
2 Corinthians 5:17-19: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"
Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 3:22: "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."
Galatians 3:26-29: "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Ephesians 1:3-14: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and Will--to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His Will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him Who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His Will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of His glory."
Ephesians 2:4-10: "But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:13: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."
Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Colossians 1:27: "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
2 Timothy 1:1: "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the Will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus..."
2 Timothy 1:8-10: "So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the Gospel, by the power of God, Who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of His Own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, Who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel."
2 Timothy 2:10-13: "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
Philemon 1:6: "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."
1 Peter 1:3: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."
1 Peter 5:10: "And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
1 John 5:20: "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him Who is True. And we are in Him Who is True--even in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the True God and Eternal Life."
