The London Baptist Confession of Faith | Exposition of Chapter 31

James Domm

Chapter 31: The State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead

Introduction

Chapter 31 begins the fourth and final major division of the Confession. Division 1 is concerned with The Foundations of Christian Thought (Chapters 1-8), Division 2 with Experimental Religion—Salvation Applied (Chapters 9-20), and Division 3 with The Divine Institutions (Chapters 21-30). Chapters 31 and 32 make up Division 4 which is concerned with The World to Come. Two subjects are covered in this part of the Confession: The Intermediate and Resurrection States (Chapter 31), and The Final Judgment (Chapter 32).

The final two chapters of our Confession are concerned with what is called eschatology, the doctrine of last things. The term comes from the Greek words e;scatoj (last), and lo,goj (a science). The eschatology of our Confession, as well as the Bible, is simple. It consists of three main historical events: the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment. Another item that is usually included in the department of eschatology is what is called the intermediate state. These are the items of concern that are treated in our Confession in connection with the world to come, or last things: the intermediate state and resurrection of the dead (Chapter 31), and the return of Christ and final judgement (Chapter 32).

At various times and places since the writing of the Confession, eschatology has become a hotly debated issue leading to bitter divisions among professing Christians. We must note that the Baptists saw no reason to disagree with anything the Presbyterians and Congregationalists had to say about these subjects in their confessions. The lesson from this observation is clear. Eschatology need not become an occasion for division among God’s people. Let us therefore seek, with the help of God, to keep focused on the most important and practical issues in the study of last things.

Outline of Chapter 31

I. The Intermediate State (Paragraph 1)
II. The Resurrection of the Dead (Paragraphs 2, 3)

I. The Intermediate State (Paragraph 1)

The intermediate state refers to the state of man after death and before the return of Christ. It refers to that period between a person’s death and resurrection. When someone dies, he enters the intermediate state and remains there until the day of resurrection. Since this condition is not the final destiny of either the righteous or the wicked, it’s called the intermediate state. If we are to understand the biblical teaching concerning the intermediate state, two important distinctions must be kept in mind—the distinction between the body and the soul, and the distinction between the righteous and the wicked. Paragraph 1 of this chapter in the Confession summarizes very well the biblical teaching on the intermediate state in terms of these two distinctions.

1) The Distinction Between Body and Soul: Paragraph 1: “The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them.” According to the Scriptures and our Confession, men consist of two essentially different things—a body and a soul. Because these two components in man are qualitatively different entities, both their condition and location may differ after death. The body will return to the dust of the ground. Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” God said to Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed the command not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die. Physical death is the separation of the body from the soul. James 2:26: “The body without the spirit is dead.” At death, body and soul are separated. The body returns to the ground from which it came. And the soul returns to God who gave it.

Speaking of the time when one physically dies, Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 12:7: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” When the Confession asserts that the human soul “neither dies nor sleeps, but has an immortal subsistence”, it simply means that the soul doesn’t cease to exist. When the body dies, it decomposes. It ceases to exist. The soul, on the other hand, doesn‘t cease to exist. Death doesn’t render the soul inactive. Unlike the body, the soul doesn’t decompose after death. When the Confession asserts that the soul is immortal, it doesn’t mean that it is divine or heavenly, but that it doesn’t cease to exist. The essence of the soul is to know, to be conscious. That essence continues after death. In that sense, the soul is deathless, immortal.

Physical death is a horrible thing. It’s the penal consequence of sin. It consists of the radical and unnatural separation of body and soul, resulting in the decomposition of the body, and the nakedness of the soul. It signals the condemnation of Adam’s race to eternal death. Thanks be to God that the sting of death has been removed for those who are in union with Jesus Christ!

As the Christian thinks of the inevitable approach of death, he faces a tension in his thinking. On the one hand, he mustn’t be indifferent to it, or delight in it, because death is an unnatural thing. Death is not a good thing. On the other hand, the Christian doesn’t despair in the face of death. He is able to face death with courage and hope because death won’t separate him from Christ. This is the very tension that Paul expressed, in Philippians 1:21-24: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” The Christian faces a tension as he looks at death. He neither delights in it, nor cowers before it.

How different is the attitude of the unbeliever. Most unbelievers find death to be an uncomfortable, unpleasant subject. Why is that? If death is unnatural, if it is the penal consequence of rebellion to God, then it’s understandable as to why death is such an unpleasant subject. But if death is just a part of the natural order of things, then why does death bother the unbeliever so much? Why is it so repulsive to him? Why does it seem so unnatural and so horrible to him? If it’s just the natural order of things, then his feelings toward it make no sense. The Bible gives the only satisfactory explanation of death. Unbelievers need to know the truth about death. If they don’t get their answers from the Bible, then where will they get them from? No one is prepared to properly live until he embraces God’s explanation of why he must die. So this is the first distinction that is vital to a proper understanding of the intermediate state: the distinction between body and soul. There is a second distinction that is vital to a proper understanding of the intermediate state.

2) The Distinction Between the Righteous and the Wicked: The Scriptures and our Confession are clear in asserting that the souls of the righteous go immediately into Paradise. Par. 1: “The souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness, are received into Paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.” Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). He said today, not weeks or months or years from now, but today. There is no interim period between death itself and the entrance of the righteous into glory. This means that there is no such place as purgatory. The Confession explicitly asserts this at the end of the paragraph. Par. 1: “Besides these two places (i.e. Paradise, hell-see context), for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.” Paul is clear about this in Philippians 1:23: “…to depart and to be with Christ…” See also 2 Corinthians 5:6-9: “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” There are only two options for the righteous. Either they are absent from Christ when at home in the body, or they are at home with Christ when absent from the body. Clearly, then, the Confession teaches, as the Bible does, that the souls of the righteous enter immediately into the presence of Christ at death.

The Confession further asserts that the souls of the righteous are made perfect in holiness at death. In Hebrews 12:23 the departed righteous are described as “the souls of just men made perfect.” The souls of the righteous become absolutely sinless at death. They are ushered into Paradise, which is a synonym for heaven. The souls of departed saints are in a delightful and happy condition. Central to their happiness is Christ. Christ is with them in Paradise, and the righteous will see Him. This is what theologians call ‘the beatific vision’. In a way that no sinful mortal may, the departed righteous behold, and exist in the immediate proximity of, the manifested glory of God in heaven.

However, though the departed righteous are happy in the presence of Christ, their blessedness is yet incomplete. Chief among the blessings for which they still must wait is the full redemption of their bodies. Though they are perfectly holy and happy, their condition is nevertheless incomplete. They are not yet fully redeemed. They have not yet received their inheritance, a redeemed creation. They have not yet been publicly vindicated by the final judgement. Their enemies have not yet been judged. Their bodies have not yet been redeemed. Though they are truly holy and happy, they are yet in a disembodied condition. The Bible never idealizes a disembodied condition. It always holds up as the true hope of believers a historical consummation which is both earthly and bodily.

Two passages will suffice to prove these assertions. One is Revelation 6:9-11: “And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.” Here several dissatisfactory aspects of the intermediate state are revealed. Most prominent is the lack of vindication which the souls of the righteous feel because their enemies have not yet been judged. This unresolved injustice makes the blessedness of these souls incomplete. Two other dissatisfactory aspects are implied. Their description as “the souls of those who had been slain” (v. 9) implies that their disembodied condition is disquieting. The mention in v. 11 of “their fellow-servants and their brethren who were to be killed” reminds us of the unity of the elect people of God. The blessedness of the spirits of believers must be incomplete as long as their brethren remain subject to the hostility of a cruel world.

The second passage that proves the assertions made above is 2 Corinthians 5:2-4: “For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” This passage also refers to the dissatisfactory aspects of the intermediate state. Paul mentions his desire to be clothed with his eternal house in the heavens, his transformed resurrection body. He mentions being naked and unclothed. He is alluding to the intermediate state entered at death, and the bodiless condition it entails. Clearly, Paul is thinking of the intermediate state of bodilessness as undesirable in certain aspects.

The souls of the righteous go immediately into Paradise. But what about the condition of the wicked after death? What about the state of their souls after death? The statement of the Confession is both sobering and succinct. Par. 1: “And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell; where they remain in torment and under darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day.” The Confession tells us three things about the condition of the wicked in the intermediate state. 1) Its Location: hell. 2) Its Circumstances: torment and darkness. 3) Its Expectation: the judgement of the great day. The following two considerations are sufficient to prove these assertions.

1) The Basic Biblical Terms That Describe the Condition of the Wicked After Death: ‘Sheol’ (OT), and ‘Hades’ (NT). Sheol is not oblivion or non-existence, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach).

Deuteronomy 32:22: “For a fire is kindled in My anger, and burns to the lowest part of Sheol, and consumes the earth with its yield, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.” Clearly, Sheol is a place, not a condition of non-existence. Some have thought that Sheol is the shadowy underworld where all men go after death. While there appears to be some basis for this view in the OT Scriptures, it fails to make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked at death, which the OT also does. Proverbs 14:32: “The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing, but the righteous has a refuge when he dies.” Inter-testamental Judaism, recognizing this difficulty, made such a distinction by suggesting the theory that Sheol has 2 compartments—Paradise (for the righteous), and Gehenna (for the wicked). Some of the early church fathers and modern Dispensationalists adopted this theory and elaborated it from a Christian point of view. Both the Old and New Testaments contradict this theory. For example, notice Asaph’s words in Psalm 73:23, 24: “Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.” Asaph doesn’t say that he will be received into Sheol, but glory, heaven. Again, notice Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:2- 4: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” According to Paul, Paradise is heaven. Furthermore, in Luke 16 (The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus), the rich man goes to Hades (not Gehenna), the Greek equivalent of Sheol. Lazarus goes to Abraham’s bosom, Paradise. Paradise is contrasted, not with Gehenna, but with Hades.

It can be shown from Scripture that the term ‘heavens’ refers to that which is above, and the term ‘Sheol’ refers to that which is below. Just as the term ‘heaven’ includes several ideas (the airy heavens, the starry heavens, the heaven of God), so the term ‘Sheol’ includes several ideas (the grave, hell). Thus, the Scripture speaks of the righteous who go to Sheol (the grave), but not to the Sheol of fire (hell). The righteous are also said to go to Paradise (heaven). The wicked, on the other hand, go to the Sheol of fire (hell) as well as Sheol (the grave). In addition to the basic biblical terms relating to the condition of the wicked after death, we can also prove the statements in the Confession from:

2) The Key Biblical Texts That Describe the Condition of the Wicked After Death: There are four of them.

1) Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus): This parable teaches that the intermediate state of the wicked is one of conscious, inescapable torment in Hades.
2) Acts 1:25: “Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” Judas was the son of perdition. His own place, then, was perdition—a place of loss, ruin, and destruction. Every lost man goes to his own place, a place of loss, ruin, and destruction.

3) 1 Peter 3:19: “…in which also He (Christ) went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison.” This text doesn’t teach, as some say it does, that Christ went into a purgatory or probationary sort of place, to preach to people there in order to give them a second chance after death to believe. In the context it means that Christ preached to disobedient people through the Spirit-empowered preaching of Noah—people whose spirits are now in prison. The prison is hell, not purgatory or some other sort of probationary place.

4) 2 Peter 2:9: “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.” In the context, Peter likens the condition of all the unrighteous to that of angels that sinned. At the present time, the angels that sinned are being kept for judgement in a place of punishment (v. 4). The teaching of this passage is that the wicked, after death and while awaiting the day of judgment, are kept and punished, in a way that is similar to angels that sinned (v. 4: “pits of darkness” Jude 6: “eternal bonds under darkness”).

Thus the statement of the Confession can be proven from the basic biblical terms and the key biblical texts that describe the condition of the wicked after death. They are cast into hell from which there is no escape, where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. Is there a second chance for salvation after death? Emphatically and absolutely not.

The righteous are received into Paradise where they behold the face of God in light and glory, awaiting the redemption of their bodies. The wicked are kept in the prison of hell for the specific purpose of arraigning them in the day of judgement. Par. 1: “And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell; where they remain in torment and under darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day.”

The following two texts are used to teach the doctrine of purgatory:

1) Matthew 12:32: “And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come.” This text doesn’t teach that there is a possibility of forgiveness in the age to come if one misses it in this age. The expression simply means that the sin spoken of in the text will never, ever be forgiven.

2) 1 Corinthians 3:13-15: “Each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” It’s important to observe that the fire referred to here is, very clearly, a fire of testing, not a fire of purging. There is no doctrine of purgatory to be found in either of these texts, nor anywhere in the Bible for that matter.

II. The Resurrection of the Dead (Par. 2)

Four things about the resurrection from the dead are mentioned in Par. 2.

1) The Fact of the Resurrection: Like the intermediate state, the biblical teaching concerning the resurrection of the dead is best understood when two important distinctions are kept in mind—the distinction between those who are alive and those who are dead at the return of Christ, and the distinction between the righteous and the wicked. The former concern is treated in Par. 2, and the latter in Par. 3.

1) The Fact of the Resurrection For Those Found Alive at the Last Day: “At the last day, such of the saints as are found alive shall not sleep, but be changed;” See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 [READ] Only saints who are alive at the second coming of Christ will physically survive His return. They receive their glorified bodies without passing through physical death. In the strictest sense, they are not raised from the dead, but they are instantly changed.
2) The Fact of the Resurrection For Those Already Dead at the Last Day: “…and all the dead shall be raised up…” This is the biblical doctrine of the general resurrection of the dead. All the dead shall be raised up. This is made even more explicit in Par.3, when it is explained that ‘all the dead’ includes “the bodies of the unjust” and “the bodies of the just”. The biblical witness for the resurrection of the wicked, though not as massive as that for the resurrection of the righteous, is still perfectly clear. See John 5:28, 29 and Acts 24:15.

Three other pieces of information about the resurrection of the dead are supplied in Par. 2.

2) The Nature of the Resurrection: All the dead shall be raised up “…with the selfsame bodies, and none other, although with different qualities…” The Confession raises an important question concerning the biblical doctrine or the resurrection of the dead, and that is ‘What is the relation of the resurrection to our present bodies?’ An important biblical tension is highlighted in this question—a tension between continuity and discontinuity. The Confession paradoxically asserts two things. First: It asserts that the resurrection body is the identical body we now possess. It is this body, the selfsame body. Second: The Confession asserts that the resurrection body is the same body with a difference. It is this body, but with different qualities from what it now possesses. It is not a new body substituted for the old, but the old changed into the new.

The discontinuity and differences between our present bodies and our resurrection bodies will be discussed in Par. 3. For now, notice the continuity and similarities between them. The resurrection body is the selfsame body. The very body that dies and is buried must and will be raised from the dead.

There is no instance of resurrection where the body committed to the ground does not come up from it. The resurrection isn’t merely spiritual. Jesus’ own resurrection was literal. The tomb where His body was laid was emptied of that body. So also, when Jesus summons the dead in the day of resurrection, those who are in the tombs shall come forth (John 5:28, 29). In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul expresses both the continuity and discontinuity of the resurrection body with the present body using the analogy of a seed. The physical life committed to the ground in the seed springs up in the plant that grows from it. The existence of the plant means that there is no longer a dead seed buried in the ground (1 Corinthians 15:35-49).

One implication of this is that the resurrection body will be a physical body, just like Jesus’ resurrection body was a physical body. The resurrection life will be corporeal and material. It will not be immaterial. Thus when Paul writes of a ‘heavenly body’ in v. 48, he doesn’t mean an immaterial body. To take Paul’s expression as designating an immaterial body is to read Greek and Platonic ideas into his words. Neither does the expression ‘spiritual body’ refer to an immaterial body. Anthony Hoekema writes (‘The Bible and the Future’, pp. 249, 250): “One of the difficulties here is that the expression ‘spiritual body’ has led many to think that the resurrection body will be a non-physical one. ‘Spiritual’ is thought to be in contrast with ‘physical’. That this is not so can be easily shown. The resurrection body of the believer will be like that of Christ. His resurrection body was certainly a physical one. See Luke 24: 39. Jesus could be touched, and He could eat food. Further, the spiritual does not describe that which is nonmaterial or nonphysical. Note how Paul uses the same contrast in 1 Corinthians 2:14, 15. Here the same two Greek words are used as in 1 Corinthians 15:44. But ‘spiritual’ here doesn’t mean ‘nonphysical’. Rather, it means someone who is guided by the Holy Spirit, at least in principle, in distinction from someone who is guided only by his natural impulses. In similar fashion, the natural body described in 1 Corinthians 15:44 is one which is part of this present, sin-cursed existence. But the spiritual body of the resurrection is one which will be totally, not just partially, dominated and directed by the Holy Spirit. Our future existence will be an existence completely and totally ruled by the Holy Spirit, so that we shall be forever done with sin. Therefore the body of the resurrection is called a spiritual body. One has asserted that we ought to capitalize the word ‘spiritual’ in this verse, so as to make clear that Paul is describing the state in which the Holy Spirit rules the body.”

Some have also misunderstood the language of v. 50 in the same way. Paul’s point here is not that the resurrection body is immaterial, but that it’s imperishable. The phrase ‘flesh and blood’ is used to describe the weak, mortal character of our present bodies which are as such unfit for the future kingdom of God. See vs. 51-54. The language of these verses clearly refers, not to immaterial bodies, but to imperishable ones. The body isn’t abolished. It’s changed. It’s raised imperishable. It puts on immortality.

3) The Permanence of the Resurrection: The transformation brought about by the resurrection is final and permanent. These “…bodies…shall be united again to their souls for ever.” When we come to the doctrine of eternal punishment in chapter 32, more detail regarding the endless character of this condition will be discussed. Here it is sufficient to cite a text like Matthew 25:46: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” No further alteration in the physical or spiritual condition of any human being is conceivable after the final change wrought by the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment.

4) The Time of the Resurrection: “At the last day…” The general resurrection of the dead takes place at the same time for all men, both living and dead, both righteous and wicked. The change of living saints, the resurrection of the righteous, and the resurrection of the wicked all occur at the same time—on the last day. Reference was made earlier to John 5:28, 29 and Acts 24:15. To these texts we may add a third: Daniel 12:2: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” The natural meaning of these texts would indicate that the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous takes place at the same time. It is significant to note that the only texts in the Bible (the three that have been mentioned) which explicitly speak of the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, do so in the same breath. They each convey the natural impression that the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous occurs at the same time.

III. The Contrast in the Resurrection (Par. 3)

Par. 2 emphasizes the similarities between the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous. Par. 3, however, emphasizes the contrast between the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.

1) The Resurrection of the Unjust: Par. 3a: “The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor;” The Bible tells us comparatively little about the resurrection of the unjust. Unlike the just, the unjust are raised, not to life, but to death and judgement. Theirs is a resurrection to shame, disgrace, and contempt. Let no one think that death is an escape from the wrath of God! Death is no refuge from the wrath of God.

2) The Resurrection of the Just: Par. 3b: “…the bodies of the just (shall be raised), by His Spirit unto honor, and be made conformable to His own glorious body.” The Confession contrasts the resurrection of the just with that of the unjust at three points.

1. Its Pattern: “made conformable to his own glorious body” The glory of the resurrection body of the righteous consists in this, that it is made like Christ’s glorious body. Philippians 3:21: “The body of our humble state will be transformed into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that Christ has even to subject all things to Himself.”
2. Its Agent: “His Spirit” While the dead are said to be raised by the power of Christ, the Holy Spirit is the peculiar agent of the resurrection of the righteous. Romans 8:11: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” Furthermore, we’ve already seen that the resurrection body of the righteous is spiritual. It bears an intimate relation to the Spirit of God.
3. Its Character: The righteous are raised to honor, while the unrighteous are raised to dishonor. In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul elaborates on what the honor of the resurrection body of the righteous is, by way of several contrasts. In Adam, we bear the image of the earthy, but in Christ, the second Adam, we bear the image of the heavenly. In a way surpassing the earthy body, the heavenly body will reflect divine virtue and power (see vs. 45, 47, 49). The glory of the new creation body will surpass the glory of the original creation body.

Another contrast is in terms of the perishable and the imperishable, the mortal and the immortal (see vs. 15:42, 50, 53, 54). The body of the original creation is now subject to the principle of decay. The body of the new creation won’t be. Our mortal bodies may and will die. Our immortal bodies will be incapable of dying.

Another contrast is in terms of dishonor and glory. v. 43a: “It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.” The body of the original creation is characterized by shame and dishonor, because of sin. The body of the new creation is characterized by honor and excellence. It manifests the excellence of the child of God.

The final contrast is in terms of weakness and power. v. 43b: “It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.” The body of the original creation is subject to disease, fatigue, and malfunction. Bit not the body of the new creation. It will be able, without difficulty, hindrance, or breakdown, to fulfill the holy desires of its possessors.

Concluding Remarks

Two points of practical significance growing out of the doctrine of the resurrection will be mentioned.

1) A Christian View of the Body: Greek philosophy viewed ‘matter’ as evil and ‘spirit’ as good. This monastic view of life still prevails today. It has spawned the sacred/secular dichotomy in the thinking of many. Spirituality is thought to be attained through the strict denial of the legitimate needs of the body. The biblical doctrine of the resurrection condemns such views and testifies to the glory and nobility of the physical body. Jesus shed His blood, not only for our souls, but for our bodies as well. God’s purpose is to redeem the totality of our humanity—body and soul.

2) Cremation: While we would never assert that cremation bars one from heaven, it does betray a pagan view of the human body. Cremation dates from ancient times, but in every case it is associated with pagan thought. The Bible mentions only burial for the saints of God, not their cremation. 1 Corinthians 15:44: “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” Cremation betrays and inadequate view of both the human body and the doctrine of the resurrection.

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