I’ve done a couple of funerals lately for members of our church. While these losses have been sad, they have also been mixed with joy and hope, knowing these saints are with our Lord. One question that has come up in light of these funerals has been some expressing to me a need for clarity over where exactly this person who has died is right now in light of some of the biblical language used.
I thought it might be worth doing a blog post on this, for I am sure that there are others of you who might have some of these same questions.
One place of needed clarity has been when Paul writes that those who have died are “asleep.” Does that mean that those who have died are in a state of unconsciousness until the Resurrection, often referred to as “soul sleep?” Aren’t they in heaven right now?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes, they are in heaven right now. To be absent in the body is to be “present” with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Paul describes his own struggle with life versus death this way in Philippians 1:21-23: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
You can see here the assumption that upon death Paul expects to be with Christ.
Lastly, the thief on the Cross was with Christ in Paradise that day (Luke 23:43).
So yes and amen to the truth that when a Christian dies, they are immediately ushered into the presence of God in heaven.
This is where the “But” comes in…
But, while heaven is great, and believers are there upon their physical death, the ultimate hope of the Christian is not our soul floating off to heaven, but heaven coming to earth along with our body and soul being reunited in The Resurrection. Jesus did not just redeem our souls, He redeemed us as complete persons, body and soul.
Therefore, if we stop our hope at heaven (also called the “intermediate state”), then we have stopped short of where the Bible points us. Our redemption will not be complete until our bodies are entirely set free from the effects of sin and this will not occur until Christ returns and raises us from the dead. Paul says in Romans 8:23-24, And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.
This is also referred to as “glorification.” This is when Christ returns and raises believers from the dead, reuniting their body with their souls, and gives them a new, imperishable, immortal resurrection body like He Himself has.
This explains why Scripture sometimes speaks of physical death as being “asleep,” such as in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. This language is used not because their souls are sleeping and they are unconscious until the Resurrection, but because sleep is used as a metaphor to communicate the truth that death, while very real, is temporary for the believer–as if they were taking a nap.
The point is this: Yes, believer, upon death we will go to heaven and be with Christ, free from suffering and rejoicing in God’s presence, but there’s more. There is a Day coming when your body will be raised physically out of its grave (or urn, or anything else–God’s power isn’t limited by the circumstances of your death/burial) and you will be given a transformed Resurrection body that can no longer sin, suffer, or die. Your lowly body will be made like His glorious body (Phil. 3:20-21). When He appears, you shall be like Him (1 John 3:2). Think about that: The curse of sin completely eradicated from all of creation, including you. It will not just be a return to Eden, it will be better, for we will not even be able to sin any longer.
While the saints who go before us die and enter the presence of the Lord, they await the final step of their redemption, their body and soul being reunited in the New Creation. This is the Christian hope. Let it fill you with hope today.