The Resurrection and Life Everlasting
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 1/30/2011 AM |
Text: | II Corinthians 5; Lord's Day 22 |
Psalters: | 355, 384, 249, 32 |
- Soul resurrection.
- Faith in the resurrection of the body includes faith in the resurrection of the soul at the moment of death (Lk. 23:43; 16:22).
- This denies the theories of annihilation, purgatory, and soul sleep.
- The intermediate state is time from a believer’s death to Jesus’ return when our bodies are raised.
- Death is the terrifying separation of the body and the soul.
- A believer’s communion with Christ is not broken by death, but intensified (8; Phil. 1:23; Ps. 73:24).
- We must be careful what we say about the intermediate state, for we know very little about its exact nature.
- Increased communion with Christ is experienced by the believer.
- But this communion is not fully perfect for three reasons.
- The resurrection of the body will take place when Jesus returns (John 5:28,29; I Thess. 4:16,17).
- The Bible speaks of the resurrection of the body: II Cor. 5:1; Phili. 3; I Cor. 15:43-44.
- God calls our physical bodies out of the dust and makes them like the glorious body of Christ.
- Faith in the risen Christ is a faith which believes in the glorious bodily resurrection (Rom. 8:23b).
- The resurrection of Christ’s body is the cause of the resurrection of the bodies of those in Christ (I Cor. 15).
- We need our bodies in heaven as much as we need them on the earth.
- We are raised to “life everlasting.”
- This is the blessedness of perfect, unending life (Jn. 17:3).
- We know only a little of this glorious life, because it is other worldly.
- By faith we have a certain and sure hope.