Body and Soul

Posted on by korgrocker

“And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”
1 Corinthians 15:15-19 NLT

“we will be with the Lord forever”

The theologian David Pawson, along with many Christians, viewed the resurrection of the body as the cornerstone of Christian faith, emphasising that it was not resuscitation but a unique transformation into a new, imperishable body, patterned after Christ’s resurrection body (which was both continuous and glorified), marking the beginning of a new creation and validating Christ’s sacrifice and identity as Lord. For believers, this means a future trumpet call brings raised, transformed bodies that will live forever, contrasting with the frail earthly body, making the resurrection central to hope and worship. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever”. 

After the resurrection of Jesus, there were some who spread a rumour that Jesus didn’t die on the cross, but just “swooned”. In the cool of the grave, He came to, they said, and walked out, continuing His life as before. But such a thought neglects the fact that Jesus was whipped to within an inch of His life, and was subsequently, on the cross, declared dead by a Roman soldier who was no stranger to the deaths of crucified men. No one was ever going to survive such an experience. 

After we die, our bodies will return to dust, as we read in Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return”. Of course, we know from the Creation story that human beings were supposed to be immortal. There was a Tree of Life in the Garden, which would ensure life forever. Being cut off from the Garden marked the demise of the human being, and the inevitability of death and a return to the elements that make up a physical body. But our spirits live on in a place called Paradise (remember what Jesus said to the thief next to him on the cross?). That is, until one day God will provide us with a resurrected body. 

“Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth“

Did we know that we will not spend eternity in Heaven, as many expect? There will come a day when we will return from Heaven to the New Earth in our new resurrected bodies, and once again, there will be a Tree of Life to sustain our bodies. We have only been provided with a glimpse of what will happen, but there is enough to reassure us about our future. Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone”. The following chapter in Revelation starts, “Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the centre of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). So there we have it. Once we die, our souls live on until that day when God will provide us with wonderful new bodies that will never suffer from sickness or death. And we will enjoy living in the New Jerusalem, where God Himself will live. Nothing will get better than that!

Dear Father God. We look forward to the day when we will live in Your presence forever, first in Heaven and then in the New Earth. Thank You for giving us a glimpse of what this will be like. But while we live here in this world, we pray for Your Spirit to remain with us, leading us day by day to the Promised Land. Amen.

The Whole Earth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.”
Romans 4:13 NLT

Paul said that God promised to give “the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants”. This is a statement that needs to be checked out. Is it true? In Genesis, God promised to give Abraham the “land” before him. We read in Genesis 15:7, “Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession””. But that wasn’t the “whole earth”. Before we get hung up in Paul’s extrapolation, we need to remember that, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him” (Psalm 24:1). And Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-19, “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. So Paul perhaps wasn’t wrong when he made the statement about giving the “whole earth” to Abraham, who has two types of descendant – those who can directly trace their natural lineage back to him, those in the “land”, and those spiritual descendants, like Abraham himself, who have been declared righteous before God because of their faith, those in the “whole earth”.

We are God’s representatives on Planet Earth, and He has given us a mission. In fact we call it a Great Commission. And that is to take the Gospel to every nation, to give those there the opportunity to become Abraham’s spiritual children. Too big a job? We will probably not see this happen in our lifetimes, although great strides are being made in that direction. I read a news report this morning of the activities of South Korean missionaries in spreading the Gospel and building churches in Nepal. They have been hugely successful with the Gospel message of God’s grace and love, even though converting people from one religion to another is illegal in Nepal. But there will come a day when God will draw a line under Jesus’ Commission and then the Revelation events will initiate a new Heaven and Earth, populated by people who are the spiritual descendants of Abraham.

We have a limited opportunity to reach our communities, our families, our friends, with the Gospel. We currently live in a season of God’s grace. We, like the Korean missionaries, mustn’t waste it.

Dear Father God. We take responsibly the fact that You have entrusted us pilgrims to share Your Gospel in the world in which we live. Please help us, and guide us, in spreading the message. In Jesus’ name. Amen,