They will reign with Him a thousand years and making an unknown Greek out of the English New Testament
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Jesus, having been quickened by the Spirit, was not spiritually raised from the dead. He was bodily raised from the dead. Our spiritual birth is not Christ's bodily resurrection, but through it and because of it - He was raised for our justification after He died for our sins (Romans 4:25).
"For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened [zōopoiéō] by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).
Because of Christ's bodily resurrection we will be bodily raised with Him also, because we are in Him through spiritual birth by His Spirit (i.e we have been spiritually quickened, NOT "raised"):
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us, even us being dead in sins, He has
(A) [syzōopoiéō] quickened together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved);
(B) And has raised us up together [synegeírō], and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6).
The word syzōopoiéō refers to being made alive ("quickened") together with the Spirit's quickening of Christ after He died, by the same Spirit of God breathing life into a person.
The word synegeírō refers to being raised up together with Christ's bodily resurrection from death.
Note: WE have not been bodily resurrected from death - Christ has - and we have been born again through and because of HIS bodily resurrection from the dead, and because we are in Him who was bodily resurrected from death and His Spirit is in us (through our believing in Him), we are synegeírō - raised with Him.
1 Peter 1:3 (quoted above) tells us that God has caused us to be born again through the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our being born again is not a "spiritual resurrection" - that's not what it's saying (though many Christians have taken our spiritual birth that came to us through Christ's resurrection, and turned it into a doctrine, calling it our "spiritual resurrection").
It's still not OUR resurrection, i.e WE have not been either bodily OR "spiritually" (of which there is no such thing) raised from the dead (it's Christ's resurrection), but because we are IN HIM through His Spirit in us (who gave us birth) we have been synegeírō (raised with Him)."For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened [zōopoiéō] by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).
Because of Christ's bodily resurrection we will be bodily raised with Him also, because we are in Him through spiritual birth by His Spirit (i.e we have been spiritually quickened, NOT "raised"):
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us, even us being dead in sins, He has
(A) [syzōopoiéō] quickened together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved);
(B) And has raised us up together [synegeírō], and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6).
The word syzōopoiéō refers to being made alive ("quickened") together with the Spirit's quickening of Christ after He died, by the same Spirit of God breathing life into a person.
The word synegeírō refers to being raised up together with Christ's bodily resurrection from death.
Note: WE have not been bodily resurrected from death - Christ has - and we have been born again through and because of HIS bodily resurrection from the dead, and because we are in Him who was bodily resurrected from death and His Spirit is in us (through our believing in Him), we are synegeírō - raised with Him.
1 Peter 1:3 (quoted above) tells us that God has caused us to be born again through the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our being born again is not a "spiritual resurrection" - that's not what it's saying (though many Christians have taken our spiritual birth that came to us through Christ's resurrection, and turned it into a doctrine, calling it our "spiritual resurrection").
"You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit (of Christ) is your life [zoe] because of (Christ's) righteousness. Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive [zōopoiéō] through his Spirit who lives in you." (Romans 8:9-11).
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with [syzōopoiéō] Him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Colossians 2:13).
Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but made alive [zoopoieo] in the Spirit, and rose again from the dead, bodily:
1 Peter 3:18-19
"For Christ also once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, indeed being put to death in the flesh, but made alive [zoopoieo] in the Spirit [pneûma]; in which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison."
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5).
In the New Testament, and without exception, the quickening (zōopoiéō) of the Spirit, which occurs through and with (syzōopoiéō) the quickening of Christ by the same Spirit,
leads to the resurrection of the body (anástasis, égersis; anístēmi; egeírō) which again occurs with (synegeiro) Christ's bodily resurrection.
God created a body for Adam (mankind). He (mankind) isn't just a soul, and this is why the biblical concept of eternal life is inextricably intertwined with being záō (alive) in a body. It's also why the resurrection of the body is an integral part of the gospel.
We are born of the Spirit when the Spirit of God breathes life into us. It's not the same as "resurrection".
The Bible also makes it clear that immortality | eternal life experienced by Adam | mankind can only be in Christ through whom all things were created, and by whom all things consist, who alone is immortal | has eternal life in Himself.
I think you are the one not getting the point of the verse. It says, "....what we will be has not yet appeared...." That means, that those who claim that we shall be like the risen Jesus are wrong. Jesus appeared, Many saw Him. And that is not how we will be in the resurrectioin.
I don't know where you got that but it sure doesn't come from the Bible.
CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
You can define your terms however you like, just as you did here. But those seeking to know what Jesus and his apostles meant, would not find "dead in spirit" anywhere in the New Testament.
If a person's spirit should die, that person would physically die. Take note of what Jesus said here.
Luke 23:44-46:
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Jesus prayed that the Father would keep his spirit as he was about to die. From this we see, I think, that the absence of the spirit indicates the death of the individual. Perhaps this is why the New Testament never talks about a dead spirit.
In fact, the New Testament uses other phrases to indicate when a person is unwilling to believe the truth: hardened heart; eyes that see not; ears that are deaf; and seeking approval from others.
There are many spiritual attributes, qualities and features associated with the human spirit. Faith is one, but so are love, kindness, trust, and other such spiritual abilities. To claim that one is unable to accept or affirm that Jesus is the Christ due to a dead spirit is to also claim that this same individual is incapable of love, kindness, or trust. Jesus tells us,
Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
According to Jesus, evil people don't have dead spirits; they know how to give good gifts to their children, which is an act motivated by the spirits of the parents. Evil people give good gifts to their children because their spirits are alive.
To be dead in trespasses and sins is not the result of a dead spirit. To be "dead" in this context is to be cut off from the source of life, i.e. cut off from God.
CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
The discussion is difficult because we don't have a word associated with our glorified state in our language. I agree, it won't be a "human" body if what we mean to say is that it won't be sinful flesh.
But I think we will have some kind of glorified body. Consider the descriptions of Jesus in the book of Revelation, which pictures Jesus with a mouth, hands, and feet. It pictures him with a white robe. If this is speaking literally, then we can safely conclude that Jesus' glorified body was not unlike a human body in that he had a mouth and feet and he could wear a robe. In other words, our glorified bodies will have continuity with our current bodies and we will recognize each other by our features.
We have very little information from which to draw a confident conclusion. I get that, but Paul argued against those who claimed that there was no resurrection of the body. His argument wouldn't make any sense if it didn't answer the objection. He exposits the fact of Jesus' resurrection, noting how many people saw him walking around. He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to James, and to a crowd of over 500 people. He follows that exposition with a claim that they are wrong who claim there is no resurrection. If there is no resurrection, then Jesus didn't rise from the dead, and we know this isn't true. He DID rise from the dead, according to multiple witnesses.
What did the witnesses see? They saw Jesus walking around in his resurrected body, easily identifiable as Jesus. So then, when we are raised from the dead, and as we are walking around, our families and friends will recognize us because we will be easily identifiable as ourselves. We will be changed, as Paul said, but we will have a body such that my friends and family can easily say, "The one who was once dead is up and walking around now."
The Bible also pictures God with body parts. I don't think any of that or the representations of Jesus or God in Revelation present a literal view of either.
The only resurrection mentioned in these verses is the resurrection of Christ. I believe those bodies came out of the graves a spiritual body of believers who ascended to heaven with Christ as living souls. Having died in faith waiting for Christ, the Redeemer to come to rescue them from death just as the prophets of old foretell the Messiah would.
Ephesians 4:8-10 (KJV) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Matthew 27:52-53 (KJV) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
After Christ came and made atonement for sin and defeated death by His resurrection heaven was opened to them, and that part of the grave known of Old as Abraham's bosom was emptied. They didn't go into the physical city of Jerusalem, which was no longer the holy city. They went with Christ into the heavenly city, New Jerusalem that God had prepared for them, where they were seen by the hosts of heaven, as the spirits of justified men made perfect.
Hebrews 11:16 (KJV) But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 12:22-24 (KJV) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Revelation 14:1 (KJV) And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Just as John writes in Rev 20 those who have part in the first resurrection have overcome the second death. Because the first resurrection is the bodily resurrection of Christ who is the first resurrected to never die again. Since He has come and defeated sin and death, those who have part in His resurrection life before they die ascend to heaven a spiritual body of believers after their physical body breathes its last. It is only our mortal & corruptible body that is destined to die, but we, who are of faith in Christ, having partaken of His resurrection life before our body dies have EVERLASTING LIFE, and we, the spiritual body of believers never die, just as Christ promised.
It has two groups of those who die in faith having part in the first resurrection which is the resurrection of Christ. The first group are the martyred headless souls John sees alive in heaven after physical death. Because during their lifetimes they lived and reigned with Christ in time symbolized a thousand years.
The other group of believers who are not included with those who have been martyred for their faith, but who shall also reign with Christ during their lifetimes, again symbolized a thousand years. We know they are faithful saints who shall reign with Christ because John writes they are blessed and holy, overcome the second death and calls them priest unto God and of Christ.
In between these two groups of faithful saints, John mentions "the rest of the dead". They are the last group John mentions in Rev 20. They are all who never in life have part in the resurrection life of Christ, who have not overcome the second death. They are "the dead" who will be called to stand before the judgment throne of God to give account according to what is written in the books and the book of life. There fate is to be cast into the lake of fire that is the second death.
No, what I have repeatedly said is that we must partake of Christ's resurrected life, because He is the "first resurrection" to overcome the second death. We do this when we are born again of His Spirit and have everlasting life. Since every human body is moral & corruptible, our bodies are destined to die. But we, as spiritual body of believers possess everlasting life through Christ's Spirit in us. That life is eternal and therefore shall never die even though our body will. That's why Paul says that when our body is dead we as spiritual body ascend to heaven a living soul. That's why John says there is life (spiritual life) for faithful saints in heaven after we physically die.
Do you think the spirit giving Christ physical life for this earth returned to the Father in heaven DEAD?
Luke 23:46 (KJV) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
In the same way that Christ's spirit returned to the Father, so too the spirit of every human who dies believing in Christ for everlasting life also returns to the Father in heaven a living soul. Because death has been defeated for all who in life have part in the resurrection life of Christ, who is the "first resurrection" of the dead to die no more.
Of course we don't physically partake of Christ's bodily resurrection, but our spirit does when we are born again through His Spirit within us.
You show you clearly understand how we are made alive in Christ before we physically die by having part in the resurrection life of Christ sending His Holy Spirit to give us spiritual life. Yet you continue to argue the first resurrection is our physical resurrection, and is not the resurrection of Christ??? But it's hard to know exactly what you believe because one moment you argue the first resurrection is the believers bodily resurrection from the dead, but you also say the first resurrection is the resurrection of Christ????
Ephesians 2:5-6 (KJV) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
At last it appears you truly do have understanding for exactly what/who the "first resurrection" is. Being born again is to be raised (not resurrected) from spiritual death to being spiritually alive because we partake of Christ's resurrection life through His Holy Spirit in us. Those who argue the first resurrection is our physical resurrection that comes in two phases are those like you who have not understanding of Rev 20.
I'll stop here because the remainder of your reply is more of the same, it's your version of what you imagine I and Amill have to say regarding the first resurrection of Rev 20.
CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
Okay then. Make sense of 1 Corinthians 15 for me. We can spend too much time telling each other what a resurrection body is NOT. But Paul offered the Corinthians proof of the resurrection based on eyewitness reports of Jesus. He appeared to Cephas and hundreds of other people. And he offered his hands, feet, and side to Thomas as proof that he was resurrected. He was in the tomb for three days ruling out the likelihood of resuscitation. After his resurrection, Jesus had a body that people could see, touch, and recognize.
Matthew 27:52-53 (KJV) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
How anyone can read this part---and many bodies of the saints which slept arose---and take that to mean souls and or spirits, is beyond me? The text plainly says the bodies of the saints which slept arose. It clearly does not say the souls and or spirits of the saints which slept arose. Guess what that equals if it means that? It obviously equals soul sleep, spiritural body sleep, whatever that is supposed to mean, something most don't believe is Biblical. Most argue against soul sleep, not for it instead. And I'm assuming that might include you. Because after all, the text indicates that something that has been sleeping, it woke up and arose. That means whatever we take these bodies to mean, it has been sleeping until this event occurred. Let's see what the Greek def of bodies is.
soma
so'-mah
from swzw - sozo 4982; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively:--bodily, body, slave.
Matthew 27:52-53 (KJV) And the graves were opened; and many bodies(soma) of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
If literal bodies are not meant here, but is meaning the soul and or spirit body(whatever that is) instead, in order to be consistent, one has to interpret the 2 verses below in the same manner.
Matthew 27:58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body(soma) of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
Matthew 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body(soma), he wrapped it in a clean linen
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CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
No. Not exactly. Being born again is a down payment on our final state, not the final state itself. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
You are confusing "what we are" with "who we are." You said that our mortal bodies are destined to die. You are indicating something about WHAT we are. The contrast should also indicate WHAT we will be. In other words, our mortal body shall be changed into an immortal body.
Where does Paul say this?
We don't go to heaven as a spirit as you suggest. According to Paul we are resurrected and if we aren't resurrected, we are without hope.
Since Jesus has been bodily resurrected, then we too shall be bodily resurrected.
Being born again is a down payment on our inheritance which is physical resurrection.
The first resurrection is when all of Christ's followers are bodily resurrected.
The second resurrection is when everyone else is resurrected to face judgment.
Yep, and it appears it takes much repetition for some!
Yep, just as the Bible tells us. When we are born again by His Spirit we have been RAISED up with Christ, spiritually speaking.
Nope! I understand that I have been raised up being quickened spiritually to life through Christ's Spirit within me. And that by having part in the resurrection life of Christ who is the "first resurrection" which gives me assurance that when I die I shall ascend a living soul to join the spiritual body of believers in heaven when my flesh is dead. And that my mortal & corruptible flesh will not be resurrected to life again until the last trumpet sounds, then it will be resurrected immortal & incorruptible fit for everlasting life on the new earth. Because in life I have part in the first resurrection life of Christ, and when the spiritual Kingdom of God in heaven is complete, I too shall be complete living soul once again through the physical resurrection coming.
Really? John saw headless martyrs in physical bodies? When were these headless bodies resurrected to life again since the Bible tells us not shall be bodily resurrected before an hour coming when the last trumpet sounds?
John is given to understand which is how 'I saw' is interpreted, there is life after physical death for all who die in faith. John understands the beheaded souls are a spiritual body of believers in heaven after they were martyred for their faithfulness to Christ. Because in life before they died they "lived and reigned with Christ" and were faithful to the end of their lives! (did you notice how John speaks in past tense)
Is it too far a stretch that I believe humankind fitted with immortality and incorruptibility will once again be in a state of innocence like God created man to be in the beginning before sin and death through sin became part of human reality? The whole creation will be made new again.
What do you believe all things being made new means? I envision mankind as fully human as they were created to be, but immortal and without corruption fit for life on the new earth.
Revelation 21:5 (KJV) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
This is how I addressed this in reply #169
The only resurrection mentioned in these verses is the resurrection of Christ. I believe those bodies came out of the graves a spiritual body of believers who ascended to heaven with Christ as living souls. Having died in faith waiting for Christ, the Redeemer to come to rescue them from death just as the prophets of old foretell the Messiah would.
Ephesians 4:8-10 (KJV) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Matthew 27:52-53 (KJV) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
After Christ came and made atonement for sin and defeated death by His resurrection heaven was opened to them, and that part of the grave known of Old as Abraham's bosom was emptied. They didn't go into the physical city of Jerusalem, which was no longer the holy city. They went with Christ into the heavenly city, New Jerusalem that God had prepared for them, where they were seen by the hosts of heaven, as the spirits of justified men made perfect.
Hebrews 11:16 (KJV) But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 12:22-24 (KJV) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Revelation 14:1 (KJV) And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Just as John writes in Rev 20 those who have part in the first resurrection have overcome the second death. Because the first resurrection is the bodily resurrection of Christ who is the first resurrected to never die again. Since He has come and defeated sin and death, those who have part in His resurrection life before they die ascend to heaven a spiritual body of believers after their physical body breathes its last. It is only our mortal & corruptible body that is destined to die, but we, who are of faith in Christ, having partaken of His resurrection life before our body dies have EVERLASTING LIFE, and we, the spiritual body of believers never die, just as Christ promised.
I don't necessarily disagree with you here. I think the issue is discerning which texts are involving the here and now in the manner you submitted, and which texts are involving being literally bodily resurrected at some point. If we consider the first resurrection per Revelation 20, for example, take someone such as the thief on the cross, who Jesus said would be in paradise with Him one day. Where did he ever have the opportunity to do any of those things you submitted, before he died, if it was not until he was on his deathbed that he became saved? Not to mention, Jesus hadn't even died yet, let alone resurrected. When does this thief get the opportunity to reign with Christ a thousand years and be a priest unto God and Christ? While he is in a disembodied state, or when he is in a bodily state again, meaning when he is bodily resurrected?
We choose to believe Christ when He tells says those who believe in Him HAVE everlasting life or we choose not to believe Him because death of our physical body is our destiny. When we have been sealed with the promise from Christ as Eph 1:13-14 tells us, we have blessed assurance that even though we know our natural body will die, we, through Christ's Spirit in us have everlasting life. We have everlasting life now, but we don't yet have resurrected immortal body of flesh in this mortal and corruptible age.
I'm not confusing anything at all! I know what it is to have mortal corruptible body of death, and I also know what it is to have everlasting, eternal life through His Spirit within me. I am not my body, I am my spirit with His Spirit in my mortal flesh. Like Paul, I too long for the day when I can be absent from this mortal corruptible body to be present with the Lord in heaven. A spiritual body of believers the faithful saints shall be when our flesh is dead and returns to the earth.
Yes, I also long for the day when my mortal body too shall be resurrected immortal & incorruptible fit for everlasting physical life on the new earth. We have everlasting spiritual life through Christ now, and we shall have everlasting physical life through Christ in the age to come.
It is generally believed that in this passage Paul is speaking only of the resurrection of our physical body when the last trumpet sounds. But before telling us when our body will be resurrected and changed, Paul goes into much detail explaining when our body dies that we as a spiritual body are raised and become a celestial/heavenly body as is the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. On earth we are as the first man of the earth, and in heaven we shall be as the Lord. As we bear the image of the earthly man, so too we shall after our body dies bear the image of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:35 (KJV) But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
1 Corinthians 15:37-38 (KJV) And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
1 Corinthians 15:40 (KJV) There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1 Corinthians 15:44-50 (KJV) It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
After this, Paul says that our body too shall be resurrected immortal & incorruptible. Not when our natural body of flesh dies, but when the last trumpet shall sound. That's when all death shall be swallowed up in victory and there shall be no more death.
1 Corinthians 15:51-54 (KJV) Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
I beg to differ! According to what Paul has written above when the flesh of faithful saints dies, we are raised a spiritual body. This agrees with the words of Solomon who tells us our flesh returns to earth, and our spirit returns to God who gave it. (Ecc 12:7)
Yes, I agree. Just as Jesus was bodily resurrected, believers too shall be bodily resurrected when the last trumpet sounds. And just as the spirit of Christ returned to the Father when He breathed His last, so too the spirit of all who die in faith shall return to the Father in heaven alive through Christ's Spirit within us.
Luke 23:46 (KJV) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
I know this is a common doctrine embraced by some. This creates a glaring problem since Scripture makes it abundantly clear that none shall be physically resurrected until an hour coming when the last trumpet sounds. In Jo 6 alone Christ repeatedly says He will raise us up on the "last day." Scripture speaks only of the "first resurrection" that is the bodily resurrection of Christ that we must have part in to overcome the second death, and the bodily resurrection that shall be in an hour coming when the last trumpet sounds.
We read NOTHING of two physical resurrections apparently separated by ONE thousand years.
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