Eternal life 

traditionally refers to continued life after death

The Gospel of John differs from them in its emphasis on eternal life as a

"present possession".

John 5:24
(AMP)  I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the person whose ears are
open to My words [who listens to My message] and believes and trusts in
and clings to and relies on Him Who sent Me has (possesses now) eternal
life. And he does not come into judgment [does not incur sentence of
judgment, will not come under condemnation], but he has already passed
over out of death into life.
(GNB)  "I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in
him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already
passed from death to life.
(MSG)  "It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who
believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who
has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life
and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a
giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

The term is used in the Gospel of John in the context of the Water of

Life and John 4:14 states: "the water that I shall give him shall become in
him a well of water springing up unto eternal life."

If you eat you have external life Joh 6:35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the
bread of life.

Life is one of John’s characteristic concepts. He uses the term 36 times,

whereas no other New Testament writing has it more than 17 times…. Thus
in this one writing there occur more than a quarter of all the New
Testament references to life. “Life” in John characteristically refers to
eternal life…the gift of God through His Son…. It is only because there is life
in the Logos [see John 1:1-18]