Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: SOD
Program Code: SOD000005
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00:01 If a man dies, shall he live again?
00:07 What does it mean to be absent from the body 00:09 and present with the Lord? 00:11 Did Jesus go with the thief to Paradise on Good Friday? 00:19 Did the souls of dead people really cry out 00:22 from below the altar? 00:25 Pastor Bohr answers these questions and more 00:28 in the amazing series 00:35 Shall we bow our heads for prayer? 00:36 Our Father and our God, what a joy it is, once again, 00:41 to be in Your presence. 00:42 We're thankful, Father, for Your Holy Word, which is a sure guide 00:48 in a world that is so confused about many things. 00:52 And, Father, as we study one more topic on the subject of 00:57 life and death, we ask for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 01:01 I ask, Lord, that You will remove all preconceived ideas 01:05 from our minds, and from our hearts, and that You will help 01:09 us to understand the truth as it is in Jesus. 01:13 And we thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer, 01:16 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:22 In our study today we are going to take a look at a very complex 01:27 passage of the Apostle Paul. 01:30 Now let me tell you something about the Apostle Paul. 01:33 You know, there were two great pillars of the earliest church. 01:38 One of them was Peter, and the other one was Paul. 01:41 Now Peter was a fisherman: down-to-earth. 01:45 Most of what he wrote is easy to understand, although not 01:49 everything, because in our next lecture we're going to talk 01:51 about preaching to the spirits in prison. 01:53 But most of what he wrote could be grasped by the common, 01:58 ordinary person in the pew. 01:59 But the Apostle Paul was a philosopher, 02:02 and he was a theologian, trained in the schools of the Rabbis, 02:06 and, therefore, he wrote some things that are very complex 02:10 and difficult to understand. 02:12 Now Peter, in his second epistle, had this to say about 02:19 the writings of the Apostle Paul. 02:21 If you'll turn with me to chapter 3, and verses 15 and 16, 02:26 of the second gospel of Peter, we're going to see what Peter 02:32 had to say about Paul. It says there: 02:53 That is about salvation. 03:01 So you would say, Paul, why didn't you make yourself clear? 03:05 But Peter doesn't blame Paul. 03:07 He continues, saying: 03:22 So Peter doesn't blame Paul for being too complicated. 03:27 He blames those who are untaught and unstable for twisting 03:32 what the Apostle Paul really meant. 03:35 Now we're going to study today a passage that has been greatly 03:41 misunderstood by the Christian world. 03:44 We're going to take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. 03:52 This is the famous passage where the Apostle Paul speaks about 03:56 his desire to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. 04:02 And some Christians say clear as day that the Apostle Paul wanted 04:07 to die, and he wanted his soul to fly off to Heaven, 04:10 so that his soul could be immediately, upon death, 04:13 with the Lord. That is the way in which this passage 04:17 is interpreted by most Christians. 04:20 The question is, did the Apostle Paul mean to teach this? 04:27 First of all we want to take a look at the context; 04:30 the immediately preceding context. 04:33 Let's go to 2 Corinthian 4:16-18, and I want you to 04:39 notice that the Apostle Paul is contrasting our present 04:43 existence in this world, with our future existence in Heaven 04:50 when Jesus comes. Here the Apostle Paul makes a series of 04:56 contrasts between the here and now, and the sweet by and by, 05:00 if you please. Beginning with verse 16: 05:11 By the way, that's our body as we know it now. 05:18 That is our spiritual nature. 05:37 Do you see the two things that he's comparing? 05:39 He's comparing our light affliction now with the 05:42 exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 05:45 when Jesus comes. Verse 18: 05:50 That's the here and now. 05:54 Those are the things of Heaven. 05:59 In other words, this world is going to pass. 06:06 Those are the heavenly things. 06:09 So the Apostle Paul, in the immediately preceding context, 06:13 is contrasting this life, which has affliction. 06:19 This life which is temporal, with the future life 06:23 where we will experience joy, and where we will live eternally 06:28 with the Lord. Now with this context, we want to take a look 06:33 at the passage that we're going to especially study today. 06:37 Let's go to 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:1. 06:45 Here the Apostle Paul says: 07:12 Now notice that the Apostle Paul is contrasting the tent that we 07:17 live in now, with a building that God has reserved for us 07:24 later. Now there's some important terminology in 07:28 this verse. The first term is the word tent. 07:33 The King James Version translates it tabernacle, 07:37 but the New King James calls it a tent. 07:41 The tent represents the transitory body, corruptible 07:48 mortal body that we live in now, which upon the moment of death, 07:54 is dissolved. But then you'll notice that the Apostle Paul 07:58 speaks about a building that God has reserved for us in Heaven. 08:04 By the way, the word building is in contrast to tent. 08:09 The word tent is skenoo in Greek. 08:12 The word building, the building that God has for us in Heaven, 08:17 is the word oikotedion. 08:18 It's not a tent. It is a permanent solid building 08:23 with foundations. So what the Apostle Paul is contrasting here 08:28 is our present earthly house that we live in, 08:33 which we're going to notice is our body, which is a tent, 08:37 corruptible, which can be dissolved with the building 08:42 that God has prepared for us in Heaven, 08:44 our immortal and incorruptible body that will last throughout 08:50 eternity. Now it's important to realize, in this verse, 08:54 that the Apostle Paul says that we already have that building 09:00 in Heaven. He doesn't say we will have that building, 09:05 he says we have a building now. 09:08 In other words, if you believe that the soul of man 09:13 is immortal, and that the soul of man is a building, 09:18 then there are two entities to man: there's the soul, 09:22 which is a building, and then God also has a building prepared 09:25 in Heaven. You would have two buildings. 09:27 The fact is that the Apostle Paul is telling us here, 09:31 he's contrasting our earthly body with the incorruptible, 09:39 immortal body that we will have when Jesus comes. 09:43 Now let's take a look at the word tent that is used here. 09:48 You know that a tent is very transitory, right? 09:52 It's not permanent. It can dissolve and corrupt 09:57 very easily. Let's turn in our Bibles to Job 4:19 to see what 10:04 our present house is. 10:07 It says there in Job 4:19: 10:25 What do we live in now? 10:27 We live in houses of what? houses of clay composed of dust. 10:34 What happens in the course of time with clay? 10:38 It breaks, it's brittle; like a tent it dissolves. 10:42 Notice also Job 10:9, Job 10:9. Here Job says: 11:05 So what is the house that we live in now? 11:11 You'll notice that the Apostle Paul uses the terminology, 11:14 earthly house, this tent. 11:16 Job speaks about our earthly house made of what? of clay. 11:21 It is fragile, it is breakable, and it can be dissolved. 11:27 But the Apostle Paul is saying that the building that God has 11:31 for us in Heaven is eternal, permanent, 11:34 and it cannot be dissolved. 11:36 Now let's read a passage from the writings 11:40 of the Apostle Peter where he speaks about the tent, 11:44 and the building. Notice 2 Peter 1:13-15, 11:50 2 Peter 1:13-15. Here the Apostle Peter says this: 12:04 What does he mean by, as long as I am in this tent? 12:08 He's saying, as long as I am in this present corruptible, 12:12 mortal body, so he says: 12:26 What does he mean by putting off his tent? 12:29 It means that the tent is going to dissolve. 12:33 The house of clay is going to disintegrate, in other words. 12:38 He continues saying: 12:54 By the way, that word decease is the same one that's used 12:57 in Luke 9:31 where Jesus spoke about Him with Moses and Elijah; 13:02 about Himself going to Jerusalem to experience His decease, 13:07 which is speaking about what? 13:09 It's speaking about death. 13:11 So the question is, when is Peter going to lay off this 13:16 present corruptible, dissolvable tent? 13:19 It's going to be at the moment of his what? of his decease. 13:23 That's when he lays off his tent. 13:27 Now you notice that the Apostle Paul says here that we have 13:33 a building in Heaven which is made without hands. 13:40 What does that mean? a building made without hands? 13:45 Well, let's turn in our Bibles to Mark 14:58, Mark 14:58. 13:53 Here the enemies of Jesus are accusing Him of saying 14:00 something, and they're using it against Him 14:03 to condemn Him to death. 14:04 It says, Mark 14:58, actually, Jesus has said that He's going 14:10 to resurrect the third day and so they say, secure the tomb, 14:15 so that the third day they can't come and steal His body, 14:19 and then say that He actually resurrected. Notice: 14:31 So His temple was made with what? hands. 14:42 They say that's what Jesus said. 14:45 And so we'd better guard the tomb to make sure that they 14:50 don't steal the body, and then they say that Jesus resurrected. 14:53 By the way, what did Jesus mean when He said, 14:56 destroy this temple? 14:58 What was He talking about? 14:59 If you read John 2:19-21, it says that He was speaking about 15:05 the temple of His body. 15:08 He was speaking about the temple of His body. 15:11 In other words, the temple made with hands was the body of Jesus 15:20 that went into the grave. 15:22 Are you with me or not? 15:23 What was the temple that was made without hands? 15:30 It was actually the glorified immortal, incorruptible body 15:35 that Jesus received at the moment of His what? 15:38 At the moment of His resurrection. 15:41 So you'll notice Jesus says, destroy this temple and in three 15:45 days I will raise it up. 15:47 Destroy this temple made with hands and in three days I will 15:50 raise it up a temple not made with hands. 15:53 He's contrasting His present corruptible, mortal body with 15:58 the body which is immortal and incorruptible, 16:01 that He would receive after his resurrection. 16:05 Now lets notice another text that speaks about not made 16:11 with hands, and what it means. 16:13 Go with me to Hebrews 9:11. 16:16 It's speaking here about the sanctuary. 16:20 And the earthly sanctuary was a copy of the heavenly one. 16:23 The earthly one was made with hands, but the heavenly one 16:26 was made without hands. 16:28 That is because God made it. 16:30 Notice Hebrews 9:11: 16:42 By the way, this is the Heavenly temple. 16:52 Are you understanding what this is saying? 16:55 In Heaven there is a temple that's not made with human 17:00 hands, because it was made by God's hands. 17:03 On earth there was an earthly sanctuary that was built 17:06 by human hands. What is being contrasted is the present body 17:11 of Jesus, mortal and corruptible, which comes as a 17:16 result of being born from a human mother, and the body which 17:21 His Father prepared for Him in Heaven that He gave Jesus 17:24 when Jesus resurrected from the dead. 17:28 By the way, did Jesus have a real body before He died? 17:32 Oh that's, that's a ridiculous question. 17:36 Of course. He got tired, He ate, He walked, He had flesh and 17:41 blood. You can read it in the gospels. 17:44 He had a body before His death. 17:48 Like what kind of body was that? 17:49 Was it a body of clay, so to speak? 17:52 Was it a tent that could be dissolved? 17:56 Of course, He died! What kind of body did Jesus receive after 18:00 His resurrection? Was it still a physical body? 18:03 Yes, but it was a spiritual, physical body, if you might say. 18:07 In other words, it was a body that was incorruptible, 18:11 and immortal. It was not subject to being dissolved. 18:15 Are you with me or not? 18:16 Now let's read about that in Luke 24:39. 18:21 This is speaking about the post resurrection body of Jesus. 18:24 It says there: 18:40 So did Jesus have flesh and bones after His resurrection? 18:44 Sure. What kind of building did Jesus have 18:47 after His resurrection? 18:48 It was not a tent, it was a building. 18:53 It was not a oskane, it was an oikoterian. 18:57 In other words, a permanent, solid building, 19:00 kind of like in the wilderness. 19:02 Israel had a tent with them which was the tabernacle. 19:07 Later on, when they settled in the promised land, 19:09 what did they build? 19:11 They built a solid, permanent, what? temple. 19:14 And so that's the contrast between a tent and a solid 19:18 building, which cannot be dissolved. 19:20 It continues saying, in verse 41: 19:40 So did Jesus eat food like a normal person would with a body? 19:46 Absolutely, yes. By the way, are God's people going to eat 19:49 in Heaven? Are they going to eat in the New Earth? 19:52 The Bible says we're going to eat from the Tree of Life, 19:54 so we must have some type of digestive system, 19:58 but it's going to be an incorruptible, and immortal 20:03 body. Now do you understand what the Apostle Paul is 20:06 trying to say in verse 1? 20:07 He's contrasting our present earthly tent: provisional, 20:13 temporary, corruptible, can be easily dissolved, 20:16 with the building that God has prepared in Heaven. 20:20 Notice that the building exists as Paul is writing. 20:24 The building, the permanent body, incorruptible, immortal, 20:28 not temporal, not subject to being dissolved. 20:31 That is the resurrection body, in other words. 20:35 Now let's go to verse 2, 2 Corinthians 5:2. 20:43 The Apostle Paul continues saying: 20:49 In other words, in this tent we what? 20:52 We groan in this tent. Why do we groan? 21:07 So why is the Apostle Paul groaning? because he wants to be 21:12 clothed upon by his habitation, which God has 21:16 at that very moment where? 21:19 In Heaven for Him. Now the question is, is the Apostle Paul 21:23 groaning here because he wants his immortal soul to leave his 21:26 body, and to go to Heaven to be with the Lord? 21:28 Absolutely not! Let's notice another parallel verse about 21:34 what the Apostle Paul groaned about. 21:35 Romans 8:23, Romans 8:23. 21:42 The Apostle Paul is speaking here about the resurrection 21:49 when Jesus comes. And he says this: 22:04 There's the same word. 22:09 By the way, did he say earnestly desiring in 2 Corinthians 5? 22:12 Yes, he says here: 22:16 ...for our soul to fly off to Heaven to be with the Lord. 22:19 No, that's not what it says. 22:27 What was the Apostle Paul groaning for? 22:30 Did he want his soul to leave the body so he could be present 22:32 with the Lord? No, he wanted to leave his tent here; 22:36 corruptible, dissolvable, mortal, and he wanted God to 22:41 give him his resurrected body; the body that is not subject 22:45 to corruption; the building, the solid building that does not 22:49 corrupt or dissolve. 22:50 Are you with me? Now let's notice 2 Corinthians 5:2, 22:57 and let's go on to verse 3. 22:58 The Apostle Paul is now going to introduce a third option. 23:02 You see, the first option is the tent. 23:05 No good! The second option is the building that God has for 23:13 Paul at that very moment. 23:15 But now the Apostle Paul presents a third option, 23:18 a third possibility. 23:20 He says here in verse 2: For in this we groan, 23:24 earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation, 23:30 which is from heaven: 23:32 What is he groaning for? 23:34 He wants to be clothed with the habitation, 23:37 or with the building that God has from Heaven. Notice this: 23:49 Now wait a minute, so there's a tent that we are clothed with, 23:54 that's our present body, corruptible, dissolvable; 23:57 there's the building that God has prepared at the time of the 24:00 resurrection, but if for some reason we don't receive the 24:04 building, and we lay aside our tent, what condition are we in? 24:10 Naked, according to the Apostle Paul. 24:12 By the way, in 1 Thessalonians 4 he calls it sleeping. 24:16 And in other places he calls it dead. 24:20 They're all the same concept with different terminology. 24:26 Now, the Apostle Paul then presents three options. 24:29 The first is to be clothed with our present tabernacle, 24:32 that's our present corruptible, mortal body. 24:34 The other is to be clothed upon with our heavenly building 24:38 at the moment of the resurrection. 24:40 The other option is not to be clothed at all with the present 24:44 body, or with the future body, and he says that that means 24:47 to be what? to be naked. 24:50 In other places he says asleep, and other places he says dead. 24:55 Are you with me? Now let's go to 2 Corinthians 5:4, 25:00 and I want you to notice four terms in this verse. 25:08 Which tent? our present corruptible, mortal body. 25:17 Remember that word. 25:21 Is this body a burden? 25:24 It most certainly is. 25:25 Now notice this: 25:29 Does the Apostle Paul want to be unclothed? 25:32 Does he want to be naked? 25:33 Does he want to go and be present with the Lord 25:36 without a body? Of course not! He says: 25:44 That's the first word I want us to notice. 25:54 Remember that, further clothed. 25:56 That's number two. 26:00 That's number three. 26:06 That's number four. 26:08 Remember those terms: groan, 2. further clothed 3. mortality, 26:15 4. swallowed up. Now let's go to 1 Corinthians 15:50-55, 26:23 1 Corinthians 15:50-55. 26:27 Here the Apostle Paul is speaking, not about the soul 26:31 leaving the body at the moment of death to go and be with 26:33 the Lord, the Apostle Paul is here talking about the 26:36 resurrection from the dead. 26:38 And notice the terminology that he uses. 26:46 We've already discussed this. 26:53 Is that the same thing as saying the tent and the building? 26:56 The tent is the corruption. 26:58 The building is what? incorruption. Verse 51: 27:18 Now notice this: 27:24 By the way, that means to be clothed in the Greek. 27:34 ...what? Remember that mortality was going to be 27:38 swallowed up by life? 27:39 Does that happen at the moment of death, or at the moment of 27:41 the resurrection? It says: 28:03 ...what? Remember this expression?... 28:14 Question, what was the Apostle Paul groaning about? 28:16 He wanted the redemption of his what? of his body. 28:21 When is it that the mortal is clothed with immortality? 28:25 At the resurrection. 28:27 When is it that death is swallowed up in victory? 28:31 At the resurrection. 28:32 The Apostle Paul must explain the Apostle Paul. 28:37 In other words, we cannot just take our presuppositions 28:41 from the twenty-first century and impose them upon scripture. 28:45 Now the question is, when is it that this takes place? 28:49 that corruption is taken away, and incorruption is given 28:54 in its place? that mortality is removed, 28:57 and immortality is given? 28:59 Notice Philippians 3:20, 21 where the Apostle Paul speaks 29:03 about the building that God is going to give us, 29:05 and what that building is going to be like. 29:08 By the way, it's the same type of building that Jesus got 29:11 when He resurrected. 29:13 Notice Philippians 3:20, 21. 29:17 Here the Apostle Paul says: 29:28 See the terminology again? 29:34 Do we eagerly wait for Him to come and take us to Heaven 29:37 when we die? No, notice: who will transform our lowly body... 29:47 Is that the tent? Is that the tent, the corruptible, 29:51 immortal tent? Yes. 29:58 Is that the building that God has in Heaven? Absolutely! 30:08 By the way, that building is already assured in Heaven, 30:13 and do you know why? because God has given us already 30:15 the down payment through the Holy Spirit. 30:17 Notice 2 Corinthians 5:5. 30:21 This is not wishful thinking. 30:23 We have the building because we have the Holy Spirit, 30:28 who is the down payment, or the security deposit, if you please. 30:32 It says there: 30:46 A better translation would be an earnest, or a security deposit, 30:50 or a down payment. Notice 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22, 30:56 speaking about this down payment again being the Holy Spirit. 31:01 It says there in 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22: 31:04 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed 31:10 us, is God; who also has what? sealed us, and given us the 31:19 Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 31:23 So is this idea after receiving the Heavenly building 31:26 wishful thinking? No, we have the assurance in Heaven, 31:31 because He has given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee. 31:35 Notice also Ephesians 1:13, 14, Ephesians 1:13,14. It says here: 32:10 What guarantee do we have now that we're going to get the 32:13 promised possession, that we're going to get the building 32:15 in the future, and our body is going to be redeemed? 32:18 God has given us, in the present, His what? His Spirit. 32:22 By the way, Jesus resurrected the first fruits to show that 32:27 there will be last fruits. 32:29 The Holy Spirit is the guarantee, and the resurrection 32:32 of Jesus is the guarantee, not some immortal soul. 32:35 Notice 1 Corinthians 15:17-23, the emphasis of the Apostle Paul 32:41 on Jesus as the first fruits, and the fact that there will be 32:44 last fruits, if you please. 32:45 Because Jesus lives, His people will live in the future. 32:50 Notice 1 Corinthians 15 beginning with verse 17: 33:05 Let me ask you, are those the ones who are unclothed? 33:08 Are those the ones who are naked, so to speak? 33:11 Yes, because they don't have their present mortal body, 33:15 and they don't have their what? 33:17 They don't have their immortal body. 33:19 Did the Apostle Paul want to be naked? 33:23 Because some people say, oh it would be nice to die, 33:25 and then tonight I can be with the Lord. 33:27 The fact is the Apostle Paul says, I don't want to be 33:31 unclothed, because he knew that death was sleep. 33:35 He wanted to go and be present with the Lord at the moment 33:39 of the resurrection. 33:40 He wanted to be alive. 33:41 That's why he says in 1 Thessalonians 4, he says: 33:43 we who are alive and remain will be caught up together 33:47 with those who died in Christ. Notice verse 18: 33:55 If Jesus has not risen, then those who have died have what? 33:59 In Christ? are perished. 34:03 Now wait a minute. I guess then they would have to get a return 34:07 ticket for their soul from Heaven. 34:09 See, it doesn't make much sense. 34:14 The Apostle Paul says: 34:47 When is it that we're going to be with the Lord? at His coming. 34:50 When is it that we're going to receive the building? 34:53 At His coming. If we should die we lay out the tent. 34:56 The tent dissolves, but we don't have to worry. 34:59 We have the guarantee of the Holy Spirit. 35:01 And when Jesus comes He's going to give us that building 35:04 that He's prepared for us; that immortal, incorruptible body. 35:08 Are you all with me? 35:09 Now, let's go also to Romans 8:11; 35:14 speaking once again about the Spirit. 35:17 If the Spirit that resurrected Jesus is in us, God is going to 35:22 resurrect us as well, because the Holy Spirit 35:24 is the down payment. Notice: 35:43 So those who have the Spirit, do we have to fear death? 35:46 Do we have to fear that our present earthly, corruptible, 35:50 tent is going to dissolve? 35:52 Absolutely not. Do we have to even fear and be naked, 35:56 so to speak? Absolutely not, because God has given us the 36:00 Holy Spirit, we know that when Jesus comes He's going to bring 36:04 that building, and He's going to give us the building. 36:07 He's going to give us the immortal, incorruptible body. 36:11 And now we come to the verse which has been greatly 36:16 misunderstood. We've set the stage for the verse 36:19 that has been misunderstood, 2 Corinthians 5:6, 7. 36:29 The Apostle Paul says. 36:37 Which body? You tell me which body. 36:40 While we are at home in the tent. 36:43 While we are at home in this corruptible, weak, mortal 36:50 temporal body, we are what? 36:54 He says, we are absent from the Lord. 37:01 Are you understanding what he is saying? 37:03 While we are present in the tent, we are what? we are absent 37:09 from the Lord the Apostle Paul says. 37:12 Now, is the Apostle Paul saying that he wants to be absent 37:19 from the body so he can be present with the Lord 37:22 immediately upon death? 37:23 See, this is the way that Christians read in. 37:26 They say, so we are always confident knowing that while 37:29 we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 37:34 But, you see, when we lay down our body immediately after death 37:40 our soul goes to Heaven and is present with the Lord. 37:43 Is that what the text says? 37:45 No, the text simply says that while we live in our corruptible 37:49 tent at this moment, we are what? 37:52 We are absent from the Lord. 37:56 And then the Apostle Paul says, in verse 7, For we walk by 38:03 faith, not by what? not by sight. 38:07 Now why would he include that parenthetical statement there, 38:11 we walk by faith not by sight? 38:13 Let me ask you, do we have to believe by faith that someday 38:20 Jesus is going to give us that incorruptible, immortal body? 38:24 We're not up there; we're here. 38:28 Right? And so we have to accept it how? by faith. 38:34 How about when we get there? 38:36 Will we have to accept it by faith anymore? 38:39 No, because we will walk by what? 38:42 We'll walk by sight. 38:44 So the Apostle Paul is saying, Now, while we're in the tent, 38:47 we have the promise of the building. 38:49 It hasn't come yet, he says, so now we have to walk by faith. 38:53 We have the down payment of the Holy Spirit, and we know that 38:56 some day soon we're going to get the building, 38:58 because we have faith that God has promised, 39:01 and that He will fulfill His promise. 39:03 He says, but when we get there, we're not going to walk by faith 39:06 anymore, because we'll be there. 39:08 We'll have the building. 39:09 So he says, then we will walk how? 39:13 We will walk by sight. 39:15 By the way, Hebrews 11:1 amplifies this thought. 39:19 Hebrews 11:1 says, faith is the substance of things hoped for, 39:27 the evidence of things not seen. 39:33 What was the Apostle Paul hoping for? 39:35 Well, he was hoping that he could die and fly off to heaven 39:39 in his soul to be with the Lord, right? 39:40 Of course not. What was he hoping for? 39:44 He was hoping for the moment when Jesus would come to give 39:49 him his immortal, and incorruptible building. 39:52 But did he have to accept that by faith? 39:55 Faith is the substance of things that we what? we hope for, 40:00 the evidence of things that we cannot yet what? see. 40:06 So we walk by faith, not by sight. 40:10 Are you following me? 40:11 Now let's go to Romans 8:24. 40:14 The Apostle Paul speaks about this hope, this hope that he 40:20 eagerly waits for, which is the redemption of his body. 40:23 Notice Romans 8:24. 40:40 Let me ask; you say, Oh I hope someday to get to Heaven. 40:44 If I'm already there, why do I need hope? 40:48 Are you with me? The Apostle Paul is saying, for we were 40:53 saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, 40:56 for why does one still hope for what he sees? 41:00 In other words, if you already have your immortal, 41:03 incorruptible building, you're not going to say, Oh, I hope 41:06 someday the Lord will give me my incorruptible, 41:09 immortal building. We walk by faith, not by sight. 41:14 But let me ask you, is our faith wishful thinking? 41:17 Is faith like saying, Oh, I hope so? 41:21 I hope someday God is going to give me, you know, 41:24 the building. Absolutely not! 41:26 We can be certain because God has given us the Spirit. 41:29 We can be certain because Jesus is the first fruits. 41:33 Jesus is alive! Our hope is not in flying off to Heaven 41:37 at the moment of death. 41:38 The Apostle Paul is not saying that he wants to immediately 41:41 when he dies, he wants to be absent from the body, 41:44 and present with the Lord. 41:45 Notice 2 Corinthians 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:8. 41:50 Let's read verse 7 again for the context. 41:53 He says, so we are always confident, knowing that while 41:57 we are at home in the body, that is in this tent, 42:00 we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. 42:06 By the way, that's in parentheses in most Bibles. 42:09 And then he continues his argument in verse 8. 42:17 that our immortal soul be absent from the body 42:23 immediately after death, and be present with the Lord, 42:26 immediately after death. 42:28 That's the way it's read. 42:31 Christians inject into the text the idea that immediately after 42:37 death, and that it's the soul that is absent from the body. 42:41 The word soul is not used, and the word immediately is not used 42:45 either. So when the Apostle Paul says, we are confident, yes, 42:50 well pleased rather to be absent from the body. 42:53 What does he mean by absent from the body? 42:55 He says, I want to get away from this corruptible, mortal, 42:59 destructible, dissolvable tent, and I want to be present with 43:05 the Lord how? as an immortal soul, or I want to be present 43:08 with the Lord with the building that He has prepared for me; 43:11 eternal, everlasting, incorruptible, immortal. 43:16 Are you understanding what Paul is saying here? 43:18 He's saying we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be 43:24 absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 43:27 Now the question is, when did the Apostle Paul expect the dead 43:30 to be present with the Lord? 43:31 We have to let Paul explain Paul. 43:35 Notice 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. 44:22 When is it that we're always going to be with the Lord? 44:24 at the moment of death, or is it at the moment of the 44:27 resurrection of the dead? 44:28 The Apostle Paul makes it clear. 44:31 It's at the moment of the resurrection of the dead. 44:33 Notice once again, what the Apostle Paul had to say in 44:37 1 Corinthians 15:50-55. 44:40 I mean it's so clear! 44:41 How can you get away from this? 44:43 Don't inject into the Bible your preconceived notions 44:47 and ideas. Don't say, oh no, the Apostle Paul wanted to be 44:50 absent from the body so that his soul could be present 44:52 with the Lord. The word soul isn't there. 44:54 Oh, he wanted to be absent from the body, 44:56 the moment he died, immediately he wanted to be present 44:59 with the Lord. The word soul and the word immediately is not 45:02 there, so we need to know when Paul expected to be present 45:06 with the Lord. Raise your hand if you're understanding 45:08 what I'm saying. Praise the Lord! 45:10 Now, 1 Corinthians 15:50. 45:14 Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit 45:17 the kingdom of God. That means the tent can't inherit 45:20 the kingdom of God, right? because it's corruptible. 45:22 Nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 45:26 Is he comparing the same two modes of existence that he does 45:30 in 2 Corinthians 5? Absolutely! 45:32 Behold I tell you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, 45:35 in other words, we're not all going to be naked, 45:40 but we shall all be what? changed. 45:43 When will we receive our building from Heaven? 45:46 When is it that we're going to be changed? this tent is going 45:49 to be changed to a building? 45:51 It says, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 45:54 at the last trumpet: for the trumpet will sound, and the dead 45:58 will be raised incorruptible... 45:59 In other words, we're going to receive our building. 46:01 ...and we shall be changed. 46:03 For this corruptible must put on 46:07 incorruption, and this mortal 46:11 must put on immortality 46:14 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 46:16 and this mortal has put on immortality, 46:18 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 46:22 Death is swallowed up in victory. 46:24 O death, where is your sting? 46:26 O Hades where is your victory? 46:29 So the Apostle Paul has presented three options. 46:33 Option 1. to live presently in the tent, in our corruptible, 46:41 mortal, temporal body that can dissolve. 46:47 The second option is that when Jesus comes we'll receive our 46:53 building from Heaven, and therefore, we will be present 46:57 with the Lord. The third option is in-between for those who die 47:04 in Christ. They will not be clothed with their tent, 47:08 and they will not be clothed with the building. 47:10 They will be what? naked, asleep, or dead. 47:18 Now some people say, Pastor I don't like that. 47:21 You know, we're going to be separated from the Lord, 47:24 and then until Jesus comes. 47:25 Well, the dead people don't know it. 47:26 For dead people there's no separation, 47:30 because they're unconscious. 47:32 For unconscious people there's no passing of time. 47:35 So let's take Adam who died when he was 930 years old; 47:43 over 5,000 years ago. 47:46 When Jesus calls Adam from the grave, and Adam resurrects, 47:52 he says, how long has gone by? 47:56 Oh, 5,000 and some years. 47:58 No, I just died an instant ago! 48:02 You see, there's no passing of time for the dead person. 48:06 A dead person can't be separated from the Lord, 48:08 because he doesn't know it. 48:09 So for the dead person the next thinking moment 48:14 he will be with the Lord. 48:15 In a certain sense it's true that as soon as a person dies 48:19 they go to Heaven. 48:21 Now let me explain that and qualify it 48:24 so that you don't misunderstand what I am saying. 48:26 From the perspective of the dead person, when that person 48:31 died right now, the next thinking moment he sees Jesus 48:34 coming on the clouds. 48:35 For him no time passed. 48:37 He goes to Heaven immediately after his what? after his death 48:42 even though 5,000 years plus have passed for Adam. 48:46 Are you with me? no separation. 48:50 Now, what is the critical issue for the Apostle Paul? 48:53 Now he's going to become practical in his theology. 48:56 2 Corinthians 5:9. 49:14 He says, what's the key? whether we're in the tent, 49:18 or later when we're in the building? 49:19 What's the important thing? 49:20 The important thing is to be what? to be pleasing to Him. 49:26 Folks this idea that man has an immortal soul that flies off to 49:35 Heaven at the moment of death, is a legacy that the Christian 49:40 church has received from Greek philosophy. 49:42 The Christian church has not received this from the Bible. 49:49 What they've done is they've received this from Greek 49:52 philosophy, and then they look for these texts and they inject 49:55 this idea into scripture, because they're thinking like 49:59 Greeks. They're not thinking like Hebrews, which deals with 50:06 the unity of the person. 50:08 There can be no separation between the soul and the body. 50:14 Incidentally, the Bible makes it very clear that our only hope 50:21 of life is not found in us in an immortal soul, 50:26 it's found in Jesus Christ. 50:28 So when you say that you have an immortal soul that even God 50:32 can't destroy... See they say that even the wicked 50:35 are going to burn forever in the fires of hell, 50:38 because they have a soul that's immortal, and even God can't 50:42 annilhate that soul, because He gave that soul immortality. 50:47 That's almost like saying that a person becomes God. 50:51 See, immortality is an attribute that belongs only to God. 50:55 It does not belong to man. 50:56 By the way, later on we're going to talk about those passages, 50:59 you know, where it speaks about man being destroyed with 51:02 eternal fire, and with everlasting destruction, 51:05 and so on. We're going to have a whole lecture where we'll deal 51:07 with those passages, and we're going to see that those passages 51:10 are not teaching what people think they're teaching. 51:13 Just like this one, people inject their personal views 51:16 into the text. Our only hope of life, folks, 51:21 is found in Jesus Christ. 51:23 I want to read a couple of texts before we draw this to a close. 51:28 Go with me to 1 John 5:11, 12, 1 John 5:11, 12. 51:37 Here the beloved disciple is categorical in what he says. 51:44 And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, 51:52 and this life belongs to us. 51:58 Is that what it says? No. 52:03 God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 52:10 Eternal life is contingent. 52:14 It is derived. It is not inherent in man. 52:20 And then, in case you didn't understand that this life is 52:25 in His Son, John says, He who has the Son has life. 52:33 He who does not have the Son of God does not have life 52:40 in any way, shape, or form; no life in ourselves 52:48 outside of Jesus Christ. 52:49 It was the devil who said, You will not surely die, 52:54 but you shall be as God. 52:58 Go with me to John 11:25, 26. 53:04 This is a story of the resurrection of Lazarus. 53:09 He'd been dead for four days. 53:11 This is the greatest miracle of Jesus. 53:14 Jesus comes to the tomb. 53:16 Of course, Mary and Martha are crying. 53:20 They say, we know that he'll resurrect in the final day, 53:24 but we would like to have him alive now. 53:26 Notice what Jesus says in verses 25 and 26 of John 11. 53:54 What does Jesus mean when He says though he may die? 53:58 It would mean that we would lay aside our what? 54:04 The tent would dissolve. 54:06 What did He mean when He said, though he die, 54:09 yet shall he live. He means that immediately the person 54:12 dies, then he has a new life coming out of the soul out of 54:16 the body to Heaven. 54:17 Of course not! He's saying, I am the resurrection and the life. 54:22 He's not talking about going to Heaven after you die. 54:25 He's saying, He's speaking about the resurrection. 54:27 He says, I am the resurrection, and the life: he who believes 54:32 in me, though he may die, he shall live. 54:38 And now notice, verse 26: 54:47 Wait a minute, He just said that though he die, 54:50 yet shall he live. So he says, whoever receives Me 54:54 will never die. What kind of death is He talking about 54:57 when He says that he will never die? 54:59 He's talking about the second death. 55:01 He's talking about the death that really counts. 55:04 You see, the first death doesn't count. 55:07 For those who are in Christ, to the dead in Christ, 55:11 death is but a moment of silence. 55:14 We don't have to fear death. 55:17 We can go home and we can sleep well, not having to be 55:23 concerned if we wake up the next morning or not, 55:26 if we're in Christ, because our life is hid in Him, 55:30 according to scripture. 55:32 See folks, we need to get it in our minds that our hope of life 55:36 is not found in an immortal soul that leaves the body 55:39 at the moment of death. 55:40 The hope of life is found outside of ourselves 55:43 in Jesus Christ. And Jesus has given us His Spirit 55:48 as the guarantee. You can take it to the bank, is what Jesus 55:51 is saying, because if the Spirit that raised up Jesus 55:55 dwells in you, that Spirit that resurrected Him, that gave life 56:01 to His mortal body, will give life to your mortal body 56:05 as well. What a glorious Hope Christians have! 56:09 And yet it's ruined by the idea that when you die 56:12 the soul goes to Heaven, and then when Jesus comes again, 56:16 he brings the soul from Heaven, we already dealt with that text. 56:19 He brings the soul from Heaven, and then He kind of joins it 56:22 to the body. What an anti-climax! 56:25 It's much more glorious to believe that the people 56:28 who are in the grave, who are dead, who don't live; 56:31 Jesus comes, He blows a trumpet, He calls them forth from the 56:36 tomb. He says, I am the resurrection and the life, 56:39 and those people come forth by a miracle of God, 56:42 with their building incorruptible, immortal, 56:45 to live forevermore with Jesus Christ. 56:49 That glorifies Jesus. 56:52 The first view is actually a glorification of man. 56:58 The question is, have we received Jesus Christ as our 57:05 Savior and Lord? That's the key question. 57:08 If we have, we have no reason to fear. 57:12 Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 57:15 death, I will fear no evil. 57:18 But we must be absolutely certain this evening 57:22 that Jesus is our Savior and our Lord. |
Revised 2014-12-17