The Scourge Of Racism
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Angels are “ministering spirits” according to Scripture whose natural form as created by God is solely spirit (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7, 14, NKJV). But man was created by God to be housed in a body whether of composition from the dust of the earth as the first Adam or of eternal spirit as the Second Adam, Jesus Christ from Heaven who was made mortal to suffer death in saving fallen mankind and resurrected to immortal glory (Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:44b-50)! Therefore, it is unnatural for man to be disembodied, yet, God has permitted it as the temporary experience and consequence of sin (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:17-19; Romans 5:12; Hebrews 2:9, 9:27-28).
Nevertheless, even the unnatural condition of being disembodied God has made wonderful for those from creation that have looked to Him in faith. In this edited 2013 repost, marvel you saints at the awesome works of our God who has made comforting provision for us in between the death of the body and our soon coming resurrection to immortal glory all brought to light by the death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:8-10)!
Originally Posted April 14, 2013
According to Luke’s Gospel account, just before His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus told the repentant thief crucified with Him, ‘“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise,’” (Luke 23:43, NKJV). After awhile, the Son spoke directly and finally to His Father saying, ‘“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,’” then “breathed His last” (Luke 23:46, NKJV). Clearly, even a casual consideration of these two statements of Jesus on the cross indicates He was fully expecting to be alive on the same day He was to die on the cross. How can this be?
The resolution is that while Christ’s body did die on that cross, His eternally joined spirit and soul remained alive as do all human spirits and souls when the body dies! The human spirit and soul are a package deal though functionally different as seen at the creation of man and strongly implied in Scripture thereafter (Isaiah 42:5, 57:15-16; Mark 12:29-30, 14:34-38). Indeed, as the living Word of God, Christ absolutely knows the place of their division (Hebrews 4:12) and knew exactly what He was entrusting to the protection of His Father at the death of His body. As the Lord taught, ‘“God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,’” (Matthew 22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27; Luke 20:37-38, NKJV).
Be clear at this point that though all human spirits (understood to include the soul in tandem and vice versa going forward) live in terms of existence after the body dies, only born again Christians enjoy the qualitatively superior “eternal life” of God through relationship with Him stemming from salvation by faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13, 3:1-8, 14-15, 10:10, 11:25, 17:1-3, NKJV)! Otherwise, the wicked having died separated from God spiritually (Isaiah 59:1-2), remain in that condition and await a bodily resurrection to endure what is described as a “second death” in the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:6, 11-15, NKJV). Consequently, let the saints heed the Lord (Matthew 10:27-31)!
The spirit of man separates from the body at death which renders it disembodied. So, where does it go? As noted in my blog, God Raises The Dead! under the category The Faith, the Lord Jesus Christ expressed a confidence toward God the Father through His forefather, king David, a thousand years in advance that He would not leave His soul in Sheol (the Old Testament term for the abode of the dead or disembodied called Hades in the New Testament) or let His body decay and would instead raise Him from the dead (Psalm 16:9b-11a; Acts 2:27-28a).
Always in absolute control of His creation, the holy God established that disembodied human spirits from fallen Adam should abide away from Him because of sin guilt and defilement until future divine disposition in a location that is in the bowels of the earth as understood by the often associated term “down” with the place of the disembodied (Numbers 16:28-34; 17:13-16; Matthew 11:23, NKJV). Truly, when the prophet Samuel was permitted of God to appear to king Saul he came “up” from the earth (1 Samuel 28:7-14, NKJV). Apparently, the teaching of the Rabbis in 1st century Israel that this place under the earth holding departed human spirits is divided according to divine will was correct.
The Lord did not challenge this thinking in His parable of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31. In order to be meaningful for its hearers, a parable must have things in it that are familiar and relatable to them. In the parable warning of the consequence of being caught up in the riches of this life and ignoring the teaching of God’s Word containing His priorities, the Lord shows Hades divided at least in half--other portions of Scripture reveal a special place of lockdown for chained fallen angels as well (ex. 2 Peter 2:4). “Abraham’s bosom” figuratively representing a paradise of comfort and rest is where the beggar, Lazarus, ended up upon death while the rich man was tormented in flames. He saw “Abraham afar off” and learned they were separated by a “great gulf fixed” that neither could cross (Luke 16:22-26, NKJV).
That God would create a divide where condemned sinners suffer and His people are comforted and protected is plainly seen in the way He made such a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites during the plagues He brought on the land of Egypt in the Exodus (Exodus 8:20-23). In Samuel’s disembodied appearance to Saul, he seemed to be annoyed that he had been disturbed--not the attitude you would expect if his spirit and soul were in torment (1 Samuel 28:15-19). Truly, Saul and his sons would join Samuel like the rich man with Abraham in the same place of the disembodied, but each in separate accommodations according to God’s judgment! Thus, with joyful anticipation of a restful paradise for saved by faith disembodied spirits under the earth, our Lord comforts the thief on the cross.
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