Our
Glorious Future
To
many people, the notion of “heaven” is wishful thinking. To the
secular mind, people who believe in heaven are denying that this life
is all there is, and that the grave is the end of our existence.
In
Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis rebuts this outlook: “If
I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can
satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another
world.”
God
created people to enjoy eternal
life.
To
get to heaven though, we have to die. Death
is a penalty for Adam’s sin, and our own. The good news is that
for those who have come to God through the work of the cross, dying
becomes the portal through which we enter into the eternal experience
of what God originally intended for us. Eternity will be an
uninterrupted life of joy in the presence of God, as well as a
reunion with our family and dearest friends unhindered by the pain,
conflict, and burden of sin of this life.
But
what happens
when we die?
The
Bible says that when those who have trusted in Christ’s death as
the substitute for their sins die, they are immediately transported
to the presence of God. Christ told the thief on the cross: “Today
you will be with Me in Paradise”
(Luke 23:43). The Apostle Paul said that to be “absent from the
body is to be home with the Lord” (that is, with Jesus himself, II
Corinthians 5:8).
The
frequent use of the term “sleep” in the New Testament to describe
death
and dying pictures this transition to Jesus’ presence as similar to
falling asleep.
The story of Lazarus gives us reason to believe that angels escort us
to this spiritual realm
(Luke 16:19-31). Eventually, at the rapture the body that is laid in
the grave will be resurrected and transformed into a new glorious
body. In II Corinthians 5:1-4 the apostle Paul describes our bodily
condition until then.
In
II Corinthians chapter 4 Paul is speaking of the hardships associated
with his ministry. Besides his daily physical trials
there is the very real prospect of being killed (4:11-12). But
despite the bruising and battering his body incurs or the possibility
of death itself, he keeps going because he knows that this life is
not all there is. He is assured that when he dies a new, heavenly
habitation awaits him.
“1 Now we know that if the
earthly tent
which is our house
is torn down,
we have a building
from God, a house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this
house we groan,
longing to be clothed
with our dwelling from heaven, 3 inasmuch as we, having put
it on (the
same Greek word as “clothed” in vss. 2 and 4), will not be found
naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent,
we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but
to be clothed,
so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who
prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit
as a pledge.” (II Corinthians 5:1-5).
Paul
is saying that this “house” in which we live is more like a tent.
Tents are temporary structures that are subject to wear and tear.
Dying is like collapsing the tent so that it can be moved somewhere
else. But in place of this body which is our “tent house,” we
will have a new body that Paul characterizes as a “building.”
Buildings are more substantial than tents. For example, Paul’s
word for “building” is used in Matthew 24:1 for the massive
temple in Jerusalem. Our new “building” though, will not be
man-made. It will be eternal, and will never be collapsed or
replaced.
The
word translated “clothed” in verses 2, 3, 4 is better rendered
“put on” or “overclothed.”
Even though the redeemed do not receive their resurrection body
until the rapture, until then, in some sense that we don’t fully
understand, we will be “overclothed” with our glorious heavenly
habitation. The fact that we will be “overclothed” is an
indication that in heaven we will not be mere spirits. There will be
some kind of substance to our existence such that it needs to be
“overclothed.” Paul’s confidence that he will receive this
“overclothing” is the source of his joyful anticipation.
The
New Testament then, likens dying to falling asleep. If we can take
Jesus’ words in Luke 16 as literal and not figurative, we are
transported by angels to the presence of Christ. Our earthly
tent-body will remain in the grave until it is resurrected at the
rapture.
But we will not be disembodied spirits. Our immaterial part will be
overclothed with a kind of glorious, eternal “building” that will
later be joined to our resurrected body. This will not be a
temporary body. Paul says clearly in 5:1 that it is “eternal in
the heavens.”
Those
who have trusted in Christ will enjoy His presence in this habitation
until the rapture. At that point the “tent” (the body that was
laid in the grave) is resurrected in the same way that Jesus’ body
was resurrected. It is then transformed so that all the effects of
sin which effaced mankind’s original glory are removed and we will
exhibit the same kind of glory as Christ himself.
“For our citizenship is in
heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ who will
transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body
of His
glory, by the
exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to
Himself.” Philippians 3:20-21
“Beloved, now we are children
of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that
when He appears, we
will be like Him,
because we will see Him just as He is.”
1 John 3:2
In
I Corinthians 15 Paul elaborates on the process of resurrection and
its results.
“The fact is that Christ has
been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great
harvest of those will be raised to life again. Just as death came
into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the
dead has begun through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because
all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are
related to Christ, the second “Adam,” will be given new life.
There is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then
when Christ comes back all of his people will be raised.” I
Corinthians 15:20-23 New Living Translation
“It is the same for the
resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay,
will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die.
Our bodies disappoint us now, but when they are raised they will be
full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they
will be full of power. They are natural human bodies now, but when
they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there
are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies.” I
Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT
“Adam, the first man, was made
from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from
heaven. Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam’s but
our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ’s. Just
as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be
like Christ, the man from heaven.
“What I am saying dear
brothers and sisters, is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live
forever. But let me tell you a wonderful secret that God has
revealed to us.
Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will
happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye when the last trumpet
is blown. When the trumpet sounds the Christians who have died will
be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will
be transformed so that we will never die.
For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly
bodies that will never die. When this happens—when our perishable
earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will
never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true: ‘Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death,
where is your sting?’
“For sin is the sting that
results in death, and the law gives sin its power. Now we thank God
who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our
Lord!” I Corinthians 15:47-57 NLT
So
when we die we figuratively “go to sleep” and are transported,
possibly by angels, from the realm of earthly things to the realm of
an unseen, but equally real, spiritual dimension. There we will “put
on” or be “overclothed” with a glorious eternal and
imperishable tunic of sorts, until the day that the physical body
that was laid in the grave is resurrected and rejoined to our
immaterial part. At the moment the spirit leaves the body we are
greeted by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In this resurrected and
glorified body we shall always
be with the Lord. At this point there is no more sin, or death, or
things associated with sin and death.
Many
Christians are confident of their eternal destiny and look forward to
being with the Lord. But because death is still an enemy, the
process of dying creates apprehension. Even in dying though, God is
with us. Henry Lyte died of tuberculosis as a relatively young man.
As he approached his own death he wrote about the peace that God’s
presence brings:
1 Abide
with me, fast falls the eventide. 3 I
fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
The
darkness deepens, Lord with me abide. Ills have no weight, and tears
no bitterness.
When
other helpers fail and comforts flee, Where is death’s sting?
Where, grave thy victory?
Help
of the helpless, oh abide with me. I triumph still, if thou abide
with me.
2 Swift
to its close ebbs out life’s little day; 4 Hold
Thou thy cross before my closing eyes.
Earth’s
joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Shine through the gloom, and
point me to the skies;
Change
and decay in all around I see; Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s
vain shadows flee;
O
thou who changest not, abide with me. In life, in death, O Lord,
abide with me.
Henry
Lyte 1793-1847
Another
apprehension that some people have about death is the prospect of
eternity—time that never ends—or of being “swallowed up” in a
vastness of never ending space. A. W. Tozer however, points out that
it will take an eternity to become what God made us to be.
The
days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver’s
shuttle. Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we
cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some
proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down. There is
simply not time enough to think, to become, to perform what the
constitution of our nature indicates we are capable of. How
completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has
none.
Eternal
years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and
those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless
time and endless years. God
never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work.
Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. For
those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; (but) before the sons
of the new creation time crouches and purrs and licks their hands.
Knowledge of the Holy (New York: Harper, 1961),
p. 86
Eternity
then, will not be frightening or boring. Men and women were given
work before the fall. Indeed, God created work for our fulfillment.
In eternity we will get to do all the things that we never had time
to do, and pursue the interests and develop the skills that the
responsibilities of this life never afforded us.
For
the Christian, heaven is home.
Background
to II Corinthians 4:16-5:8
In the book of 2nd Corinthians the
apostle Paul defends himself against criticisms of himself and his
ministry.
Beginning at verse 1:12 1 he answers
the charge that "Paul doesn't keep his word, he's not
trustworthy, he cannot be depended on to do what he said he would
do." This charge arose because Paul had written the Corinthians
that he would be coming to see them and did not (1:15-17). As he
explains in 1:23 however, he changed his plans and chose not to come
to Corinth so that he would not have to confront the Corinthians
until they had an opportunity to repent. Instead, (verse 12) he went
directly to Macedonia where he found a fruitful ministry.
From there Paul transitions to
responding to the second criticism in 2:7 that he was simply an
opportunist who preached the gospel for personal gain. He answers
this in chapter 3, especially 3:2, that the Corinthians themselves
are evidence of the sincerity of his ministry and that it was
empowered by the “Spirit of the living God.”
It is because he is confident that his
enablement, or adequacy (2:16; 3:5-6) is from God that he boldly
preaches the Gospel (3:12). It is true that because of spiritual
opposition (4:3-4) not everyone responds. But despite opposition and
frequent failure he does not get discouraged and quit (4:1).
That his ministry is a work of God is
evident in that even though he is a frail individual (4:7) who
constantly lives with "death" (afflictions, perplexity,
persecution and beatings 4:8 – 9) the life of Jesus shines through
him (4:10-11).
Paul is very aware that due to the
hardships of ministry (I Corinthians 11:23 – 28) his body is taking
a beating and his physical abilities are ebbing away. (4:16 – 18).
But while his external body is decaying, the inner man is being made
like the image of Christ (Colossians 3:10). He is not dismayed by
the toll ministry takes on his body nor the prospect of death because
(5:1 – 4) when he knows that when he dies he will get a new,
eternal body.
The body we will receive however, is
not an intermediate body. This is not soul sleep.
The "building from God" in
verse 1 is the same as the "dwelling from heaven" in verse
2. The fact that one is from God and the other is from heaven
implies they are the same body.
This is the issue Paul addresses: God
created us to have a body. But this earthly body is a temporary
habitation. When we die it is taken down and laid in the grave. We
will not receive a resurrection body until the rapture. Since not
to have a body is to be "naked," what happens until we are
resurrected at the rapture and given our new eternal resurrection
body?
Because this present body is temporary,
beset with afflictions and destined to die, we "groan" or
long to have a new, affliction free, permanent body. (Just ask any
elderly person, someone with a terminal illness, or a paralyzed or
wheelchair bound individual like Joni Eareckson Tada.)
One of the difficulties in
understanding this passage is that the translations do not reflect
the nuance of the term "clothed" in verse 2 and 4. A
better translation would be "overclothed.”
Additional Material
Then
long Eternity shall greet our bliss
With
an individual kiss;
And
Joy shall overtake us as a flood,
When
every thing that is sincerely good
And
perfectly divine,
With
Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine
About
the supreme Throne
Of
him, t’ whose happy-making sight alone,
When
once our heav'nly-guided soul shall climb,
Then
all this Earthy grossness quit,
Attir'd
with Stars, we shall forever sit,
Triumphing
over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.
John Milton
I once scorned ev’ry fearful thought
of death,
When it was but the end of pulse and
breath,
But now my eyes have seen that past the
pain
There is a world that’s waiting to be
claimed.
Earthmaker, Holy, let me now depart,
For living’s such a temporary art
And dying is but getting dressed for
God,
Our graves are merely doorways cut in
sod.
Calvin
Miller page 139, The
Divine Symphony,
Bethany House, Minneapolis quoted page 447 Heaven,
Randy Alcorn
"Some day you will read in the
papers, 'D. L. Moody of East Northfield is dead.' Don't you believe a
word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I
shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement
into a house that is immortal—a body that death cannot touch, that
sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body. I
was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856.
That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the
Spirit will live forever.”
When Christ calls me Home I shall go
with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school. Adoniram
Judson (1788-1850, first American missionary to Burma. He died in
India;) quoted page 278 Heaven, Randy Alcorn.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is
the death of His godly ones. Psalm 116:15
Further study:
Psalm 90, 103
Stephen’s martyrdom
“Well done faithful servant” is
what faithful people hear. Faithfulness is not fame. It is not
success or never failing. God evaluates the course of a life, not
earthly attainments. Faithfulness is made up of daily steadfastness.
