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  DEATH AND AFTERWARD
  by H.A. Ironside
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A collection of articles and writings by H.A. Ironside from Death and Afterward,
covering various biblical topics and Christian teaching.

  Chapters: 5

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    0. Death and Afterward
    1. What Happens to the Christian After Death?
    2. What Happens to the Christless After Death?
    3. Spirit and Soul and Body
    4. What Does the Bible Say About...Death and Afterward?

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  CHAPTER 0: DEATH AND AFTERWARD
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  CHAPTER 1: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CHRISTIAN AFTER DEATH?
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In attempting to answer this question concerning which there seems to be much
perplexity in the minds of many sincere believers, we need only consider 2
Corinthians 4:16-5:10. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to
be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed
we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being
burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame
thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore
we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are
absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I
say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of
him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one
may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether
it be good or bad. This passage abounds in striking contrasts. I want to point
out more than a dozen. Doubtless a careful analysis would reveal others. First,
we have the “outward man” contrasted with the “inward man.” Notice this
carefully. The outward man is the physical man; the inward man is the spiritual
man. Materialists of all types deny the personality of the spiritual man, but
verse 10 distinctly affirms it. Second, “perish” is contrasted with “renewed.”
The physical man wastes away. As soon as we begin to live we begin to die, but
the inward man is renewed from day to day. Then in verse 17 we have three more
decided contrasts: “light” is contrasted with “weight,” “affliction” with
“glory,” and that which is “for a moment” with that which is “eternal.”
Affliction often seems to the tried and distressed saint to be heavy indeed and
long-continued, but the spirit of God calls it “our light affliction which is
but for a moment.” We realize this in all its blessedness when we see it in full
contrast with the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” which is to
be our portion throughout the ages to come. The sixth contrast is in verse 18,
where “the things which are seen” is put in apposition with “the things which
are not seen.” The former are declared to be temporal and the latter eternal.
This sixth contrast is of great importance in connection with the present
discussion. It is often said, by the advocates of conditional immortality and
other materialistic systems, that the word generally rendered “eternal” in the
New Testament does not necessarily bear that meaning. But here we have this very
word put in direct contrast with the word “temporal,” which clearly means that
which has an end. Eternal, therefore, must mean that which has no end. If we
think of several other instances in which the same word is used we will perhaps
realize more than ever the truthfulness and solemnity of this statement. We read
of the eternal God, the eternal Spirit, eternal redemption, eternal inheritance;
on the other hand, of eternal punishment and eternal judgment. Who, with any
regard for the authority of scripture, would dare affirm that eternal means one
thing when referred to what is good, and to deity itself, but quite another when
it has to do with the punishment of the wicked? The seventh and eighth contrasts
are found in the first verse of chapter 5. There we have “our earthly house of
this tabernacle” and side by side with it, “a building of God, a house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The one may be “dissolved,” the other is
“eternal.” Observe that this is the third time we have the word “eternal” used
in this remarkable series. Once more it is in direct contrast with that which
passes away, or comes to an end. That which is temporal may be dissolved, but
that which is eternal will never know dissolution. We next have the contrast
between being “unclothed,” which refers to death, and “clothed upon,” which is
resurrection. Mortality will then be swallowed up in life. The last three pairs
of contrasts are found in verses 6-9, where we have, “at home in the body” in
contrast with “absent from the body,” “by faith” contrasted with “by sight,” and
“absent from the Lord” contrasted with “present with the Lord.” I am persuaded
that any thoughtful person, desiring to be taught of God, who will weigh
carefully this full series of contrasts, will have no difficulty with regard to
the future state of those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. Let us
proceed to look carefully at the passage as a whole. In the first place I call
your attention again to the fact that we are not to confound the “outward” man
with the “inward” man. I am not my body. Man is distinctly said to be spirit,
and soul, and body. The body is the outward man. The spirit and the soul
together constitute the inward man. The spirit is the seat of the intellectual
being, a distinct entity. The soul is the seat of the man’s emotional nature.
These two, spirit and soul, are never separated. Scripture alone distinguishes
between them; that is, it shows us that they are distinct but it does not
separate. All men, as created by God, consist of spirit, soul, and body. But the
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has that which the natural man does not
possess. Being born again, he has received a new nature, and this new nature is
also called “spirit”; it is the characteristic feature of the inward man. “That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Unless it
should be our happy lot to be among those who are still living in the body when
the Lord Jesus descends from heaven with that assembling shout spoken of in 1
Thessalonians 4, we who believe in him must go the way of all flesh. Our earthly
house of this tabernacle must be dissolved; that is, the body will die. What
then will be the state of the believer? When my body sleeps in death, do I, the
inward man, go to sleep in the body? Or will I leave the body and ascend to
another sphere? Scripture gives no uncertain testimony in regard to this. The
body is but the tabernacle in which the inward man dwells. The tabernacle may be
broken down, but the man himself moves out. This is clearly what the apostle
here teaches and it is confirmed by the words of his brother-apostle, Peter, in
2 Peter 1:13-15: “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to
stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off
this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. Moreover I
will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always
in remembrance.” While left on the earth Peter was in the tabernacle of his
body; at death he put off his tabernacle. He speaks of this as his decease; this
word here translated “decease” is the word “exodus,” which is the same as the
title of the second book of the Bible. That book is called “Exodus” because it
relates the going out of the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. Peter’s
exodus took place when the inward man moved out of the earthly tabernacle. This
was so with Paul, for he tells us in Philippians 1:21-25: For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my
labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two,
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this
confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your
furtherance and joy of faith. Here we have the same truth put in a slightly
different way. Life here on earth is life in the flesh, that is, in the body.
Death is to “depart,” that is, to go out and to be with Christ, which is far
better. But for that present time the apostle was convinced that he would still
abide in the body. The point is, man himself is not confounded with his body. He
is “far more than a living, breathing mass of clay” as one has well said. A
living spirit indwells this clay tenement for a brief period, moves out at
death, but returns at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when the body, raised
in glory, and suited to heaven, becomes our soul’s and spirit’s eternal
dwelling. A number of years ago I was returning to my home city from a gospel
tour. My wife met me at the station, and as we came up through town on the way
to our house I noticed that an entire block of stores had been vacated, as the
whole building was being made over. Apparently an arrangement had been made with
the tenants of all the stores to move out temporarily and return when the
renovation was complete. In every window we noticed signs reading as follows:
“Such-and-such a firm temporarily located at such-and-such a place, has moved
out until this building is renovated and repaired.” I said to my wife, “What a
striking picture of death for the believer! If I should be called home to be
with the Lord before you, and you wished to put a slab of some kind where my
body lies, you might have it read something like this: ‘Henry A. Ironside, saved
by the grace of God, moved out until renovated and repaired.’ That would tell
the whole story.” Months went by, and again I had been absent on a trip telling
out the glad tidings of the grace of God, when on my return I passed this same
block of buildings. So great was the change that one would hardly have
recognized it, and yet it was the same original foundation, the same walls and
floors, but marvelously altered both within and without. All the firms were back
doing business at their old stands. I thought when I looked at it, what a
picture of the resurrection, when that which has been sown in weakness shall be
raised in power, when that which has been sown in dishonor shall be raised in
glory. The inward man shall dwell in the renewed body, a body identical with,
yet different as to condition from, the body that once wasted away. I know the
thought of some is that the building of God is a spirit-body of some kind which
clothes the inward man between death and resurrection, but the verses that
follow clearly negative this thought. In this present tabernacle we groan,
earnestly desiring, not to die, but to be clothed on with our house which is
from heaven when we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Like Paul, we are
set for the first resurrection, and if when raised or changed we are in Christ
we shall not be found naked. It is well to remember that the resurrection does
not necessarily involve salvation. There is to be “a resurrection both of the
just and of the unjust,” a resurrection of life and a resurrection of damnation
(John 5:29). There are those who in their resurrection body will be clothed in
Christ’s likeness, and those who in that day will be as they are now, poor and
wretched, miserable and naked, blind to the saving grace of God. But the fact
that people are saved does not preclude them from groaning. We once groaned in
anguish under the weight of our sins. From that groaning, thank God, the
believer has been delivered. But we still groan and yearn for deliverance from
the vicissitudes of this present life and from the conditions that so often
hinder spiritual growth. We look for the redemption of the body — this body that
so often hinders our spiritual aspirations. How many times we are made to
realize that the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak, and so we
groan, desiring not that we be unclothed but clothed with a body like that of
our Lord. No right-minded Christian yearns to die, for he should say with Paul,
“For to me to live is Christ.” But we do yearn for the glad hour when we shall
be clothed upon, when mortality shall be swallowed up of life, when our body
shall be conformed to his body of glory. Now we have eternal life in a dying
body. But in that blessed moment of our Lord’s return, his quickening word will
impart eternal life to our body. It is for this very thing that he has been
working in us up to the present moment. He has given us his Spirit to dwell
within us as earnest of the blessedness that shall be ours in that resurrection
day. Meantime, though encompassed with infirmities, we have full confidence,
knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
However, if called to leave the body, we shall not go out to wander in space,
nor sleep in unconsciousness, but shall at once be at home with the Lord.
Walking, not by sight but by faith grounded in the written word, we have a
confidence in view of death that enables us to say with Paul, “To depart and be
with Christ is far better.” Therefore, we are willing “to be absent from the
body, and to be present with the Lord.” Let no one rob you, dear believer, of
the preciousness of those four words, “present with the Lord.” A better
rendering would be, “at home with the Lord.” At present we are at home in the
body and absent from the Lord; then we shall be absent from the body and at home
with the Lord. When you think of the dear departed ones in Christ, comfort
yourself with these heartening thoughts. They are at home. Oh, the sweetness of
that word “home.” They were strangers and pilgrims here on earth; for his
blessed name’s sake they voluntarily relinquished earthly claims. Now the
wilderness journey, with all its trials for them, is in the past, and they rest
at home. How could they enjoy this if in an unconscious condition between death
and resurrection? If this cold thought were true, how could the apostle speak of
being with Christ as “far better”? Surely he had not a sleep of unconsciousness
in view. It is true that in many places he does speak of death as a sleep. But
that which sleeps is that which is to be awakened. The body of the believer is
put to sleep, and it will be awakened at the Lord’s return. Notice 2 Cor. 4:14:
“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus,
and shall present us with you.” This clearly is the body which is to be raised
up by Jesus, even as God the Father raised the body of Jesus from death. In 1
Thessalonians 4:13-14 we read: But I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. The expression used in
verse 14, “them also which sleep in Jesus,” might be better translated “them
also who have been put to sleep by Jesus.” Just as a mother takes her tired,
fretful, and suffering child, and quietly soothes it to sleep, so the Lord Jesus
puts his beloved people to sleep. By and by, when he returns from heaven, he
will raise them up again. Then 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 will be fulfilled. For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [or precede] them which are
asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall
rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Some may ask, Do those
who are absent from the body and at home with the Lord know anything of what
goes on in this world? The best answer to that may be another question: What
does scripture say about it? Since the answer to this is that scripture says
nothing, then it is not wise for us to speculate. But is there nothing in
scripture which intimates that the redeemed in heaven have between death and
resurrection at least some knowledge of things taking place on earth? There is a
passage in Luke 15:7 that is most precious in this connection. There we read: “I
say unto you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no repentance.”
I quote from the Revised Version, and would lay special stress on the expression
“even so.” The friends of the man who found the lost sheep were called on by him
to share his joy over its recovery “Even so” are the friends of the good
shepherd called on to share joy in his gladness over the salvation of a soul. In
Luke 16 we see Abraham and the rich man in the full possession of their
faculties, the one in paradise, the other in Hades. They are competent to enter
into communications, the one with the other, though separated spiritually by a
great gulf that can never be crossed. How much more shall the redeemed in heaven
hold communion with each other and with their Lord, and thus enter into his
rejoicing when a sinner repents. It is not only angels who exult, but all in
heaven. At the close of a meeting some years ago a young man who had led a wild,
reckless life yielded to Christ. For over an hour several of us sought to help
him from the word of God. He was in great anguish of soul as he mourned over his
past wickedness, and it was some time before he could see the simplicity of
salvation through faith alone in Christ. When at last he caught a view of that
finished work, his soul entered into peace. With mingled tears of joy and grief
running down his face he said to me, “Oh, if my dear mother were only living
that I might send her a telegram tonight to let her know that I had yielded to
Christ. She prayed for me for many years. My ungodliness broke her heart. She
died praying that I might be saved. How glad I would be if I could only get word
to her that at last her prayers are answered.” I said, “My dear young man, you
need not grieve over that. I am certain she knew the moment you trusted Christ.
Up there in heaven every redeemed one is rejoicing over another sinner that
repenteth.” And so we gather from these scriptures that there is no such thing
as unconsciousness for the believer between death and resurrection. The moment
that he leaves the body he is in the presence of the Lord, and waits there
expectantly until the first resurrection at the Lord’s return. When the weary
ones we love enter on their rest above, When their words of love and cheer fall
no longer on our ear, Hush, be every murmur dumb! It is only ‘till he come.’ In
that glad day the bodies of the sleeping saints will be awakened and the living
will be changed in a moment. Then, throughout eternity, in bodies glorified, and
wholly like the blessed Lord himself, we will dwell in his presence and be with
him in happiness unmarred and joy unclouded, in the home of the saints, the new
Jerusalem.


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  CHAPTER 2: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CHRISTLESS AFTER DEATH?
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When we think of the realities of life to come, it is about the impenitent and
the wicked that we are most exercised. We are not worried about what the other
world has in store for the men and women who have walked with God here. We feel
certain, even apart from revelation, that wherever John the beloved will be for
eternity, it must be well with him; we are sure that Paul, the devoted follower
of his crucified and risen master, cannot lose out in the coming ages as a
result of his faithfulness here; nor are we concerned about repentant David,
sinner though he owned himself to have been, or the dying robber, whose last
words condemned himself and magnified his savior. With all these we are certain
it must be well forever. But we have deep exercise of heart when we think of
Cain, who turned away from salvation purchased by atoning blood; of Esau, who
sold his birthright for a mess of pottage; of Judas the traitor, who bartered
away his hope of everlasting bliss for thirty pieces of silver. When we think of
these men and myriads like them we ask with bated breath, What does the great
eternal future hold in store for them? In Job 14:10 we read: “Man dieth, and
wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” The old
Anglo-Saxon word “ghost,” similar to the German “geist,” simply means “spirit.”
At death man gives up the spirit, and the question is, Where is he? The body may
be buried or disposed of in some other way, but where is the spiritual entity,
the man who at one time occupied that place? Notice another question in Job
14:14: “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time
will I wait, till my change come.” There are then two questions: Man dies and
wastes away; man gives up the spirit, and where is he? If a man die, shall he
live again? The first question has to do with the state of the man between death
and a possible resurrection; the second inquires whether there will ever be a
resurrection. In attempting to answer these questions from scripture, let us
remember that we are confining ourselves to the Christless man. Where is he when
the body dies, and will that body ever be raised from the tomb? There is no
authoritative answer to these questions apart from divine revelation. The
speculations of men, be they ever so reasonable and erudite, cannot provide
answers. Those who reject the testimony of holy scripture are not further
advanced in regard to the great question of life beyond the grave than that
little coterie of Greek philosophers who, in the day of Socrates, centuries
before Christ, used to reason about life and death and immortality. Plato is
still read and taught in our colleges. People still go back to those ancient
Greeks for arguments regarding immortality. Their comments are interesting and
much that is advanced is fairly convincing and even probable. But there is no
authoritative assurance, and the soul is left in uncertainty. The Bible alone
gives us positive knowledge. But to what part of our Bible shall we turn for
light on these great questions? Please keep distinctly in mind that we cannot go
to the Old Testament. There are those of a materialistic tendency, bearing a
Christian name, but misguided people, who insist that scripture teaches the
unconsciousness of the dead between death and resurrection, and in some
instances the annihilation of the wicked after the day of judgment. Rarely
indeed do these people quote from the New Testament in attempting to maintain
their theories; they refer us almost invariably to Old Testament scriptures. The
bulk of these are found in three books, Job, the Psalms, and in particular
Ecclesiastes. The Old Testament was not given to unfold the eternal future, but
chiefly to show God’s dealings with man in this life, individually and
nationally. Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes, more than other Old Testament books,
give us human experience in striking detail. It was our Lord Jesus Christ who
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Clearly then we need
not expect to find these great truths fully developed in the Old Testament.
There we have the twilight; in the later revelation we are in the full blaze of
gospel light. I do not mean to say that saints of Old Testament times did not
have the hope of immortality. They certainly did. Job is perhaps the oldest book
in the Bible, and unquestionably Job himself believed in a resurrection from the
dead. He exclaimed, “I know that my Redeemer liveth... And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Moses spoke of the
patriarchs as dying and going to be with their fathers, and Abraham could count
on God to give him back Isaac from the dead if called on actually to slay him on
Mount Moriah. This he could not have done, if he had not had the faith of
immortality. David prayed and wept while his darling child was ill, but when he
learned of his death he dried his eyes and comforted himself with the
reflection, “He shall not come back to me, but I shall go to him.” And elsewhere
he exclaimed, “I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy [God’s] likeness.” I
will not dwell on the striking incident of Samuel’s appearance to the witch of
Endor, and his message to Saul, “Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me,”
nor need I quote many passages in the prophets that give evidence of a knowledge
of life after death. But, granting all these, it is certainly evident that it
was not the specific purpose of any Old Testament writer to reveal this great
truth, and in the experience books referred to, we need not be surprised if some
passages even seem to indicate the contrary. These need to be carefully examined
together with the context in order that they be not entirely misapplied. Here
let me make a statement, seriously and soberly, that may startle some of you and
that you may even question at first. It is this: All the Bible is inspired, but
there are many statements in it that are not true. Just think of it for a few
moments. People often think that a text from any part of the Bible settles some
controversial question, but a text out of context may be used to bolster up the
worst kind of error; it may in fact be the declaration of an absolute falsehood.
We are told that some years ago a noted southern attorney was pleading a certain
case before a Kentucky jury where his client was on trial for his life. The
prosecuting attorney, addressing the jury, said, “Gentlemen, we have it on the
very highest authority that ‘all that a man hath will he give for his life.’”
This made quite an impression on the jury, for they understood that he was
quoting from the Bible, which he was. When he had concluded his address, the
other attorney arose and said, “My opponent has told you that on the very
highest authority we may know that all that a man hath will he give for his
life.” Then, opening a Bible, he read from Job 2, where the devil said, “Skin
for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.” “Now,” he
exclaimed dramatically, “Gentlemen of the jury, you know for yourselves who the
attorney for the prosecution considers to be the very highest authority — even
the devil himself!” That statement is in the Bible; Satan made it, and it is
only too true with many. But it is not invariably true that “all that a man hath
will he give for his life.” Myriads of our Lord’s devoted followers have
imitated their master in laying down their lives rather than surrender one jot
or tittle of the truth of God. So we see that there are things related in the
Bible which are not true. Not only are there statements in the Bible that are
said to be from the devil himself, but there are some things spoken by good men,
such as the friends of Job, for instance, who were not inspired of the Holy
Spirit to speak as they did. There are statements uttered by very bad men
recorded in scripture that do not thereby become divine truth. Thoughts and
reasonings of the natural man’s mind are sometimes given, as in the book of
Ecclesiastes. It is very important to bear this in mind when reading the
experience books of the Old Testament. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon
tells us that those who have died will never have a reward. If we take that at
its face value it would directly contradict New Testament revelation, as well as
Solomon’s own declaration by divine inspiration at the end of the book where he
says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work
into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil.” Is this evidence of the non-inspiration of the book of Ecclesiastes?
Surely not. What then does this scripture mean? In his book Solomon wrote that
he was giving us a record of what he said in his heart as he pondered things
under the sun. He saw people die, they were buried, and he never saw them come
back from the tomb. We read elsewhere, “The dead know not anything.” Does this
mean they are absolutely unconscious after leaving the body? Not at all.
Scripture elsewhere contradicts such a thought, but a lifeless corpse knows
nothing of the affairs that occupied that busy brain but yesterday. Shallow
thinkers take such a passage as this, “The dead know not anything,” and in the
face of all the New Testament teachings to the contrary, deduce from it the
doctrine of the “sleep of the soul.” But the expression means nothing of the
kind. The same words are used in that incident told in 1 Samuel of the compact
between David and Jonathan. David was hiding in the field and Jonathan had gone
in to sound his father and find out whether David’s life was really in danger.
It had been agreed that Jonathan accompanied by a lad would go out into the
field and shoot an arrow, and if he said to the lad, “The arrow is beyond you,”
David would understand Saul was seeking his life. But if he said, “The arrow is
behind you,” he knew he was safe. The program was carried out, and Jonathan
called to the lad, “The arrow is beyond you,” and David understood; but we read
that “the lad knew not anything.” Was the boy in a state of unconsciousness? Not
at all, but he knew nothing of the compact made between David and Jonathan. In
Malachi 4:1-3 there is a passage that many seem to think settles the question as
to the fate of the wicked dead. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as
an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and
the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun
of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and
grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they
shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this.
saith the Lord of hosts. Now observe what the prophet was here telling Israel.
Was he speaking of judgment to come on the wicked after death? Not at all. The
passage is prophetic of what shall befall the wicked on the earth at the Lord’s
second cong. In other words, this judgment is pre-millennial, not
post-millennial. There is nothing here about the resurrection and people brought
before the great white throne. The day that “shall burn as an oven” is the day
of the Lord, when wicked men, taken red-handed in their sins, will be burned up
root and branch; that is, root and fruits. Then the righteous shall tread down
the wicked. They shall be ashes under their feet in the day that God shall do
this. Does this prove the annihilation of those who die in their sins? No, it is
similar in character to the judgment that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah. The day
that Lot and his company left the city the fire of God’s wrath burned up the
people of the cities of the plains, root and branch. Had Lot himself and
Abraham, his uncle, gone down to see conditions a few days after the judgment,
the wicked would have been ashes under the soles of their feet, but that does
not imply annihilation. In Jude, written centuries after, we read of “Sodom and
Gomorrah, and the cities about them, set forth as an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire.” And our Lord Jesus Christ declares that “it shall be
more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment” than for those who
rejected his word while he was here on earth. So, although burned up root and
branch, although as ashes under the feet of the righteous, the people of Sodom
and Gomorrah have not lost their identity; they are consciously suffering now,
and will rise in the day of judgment. Let us turn to the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ himself, rather than to those of his apostles. I do not place the
teaching of the Lord Jesus on a higher plane than that of his inspired apostles,
but many say, “I am not prepared to accept Paul, Peter, or John, but give me
what Jesus says.” So I shall do this. Men, who reject the solemn warnings given
elsewhere in the Bible as to the eternal judgment of the wicked, foolishly say
that the teaching of Jesus is all they want, that the sermon on the mount is
enough for them. Do you know that eternal punishment is taught in the sermon on
the mount? If you tell me that you will accept the teachings of Jesus Christ,
don’t forget that he has told us more of the actual state of the Christless dead
than anyone else. No one ever uttered more serious and solemn things as to the
doom awaiting sinners than God’s blessed Son, who was the most tender man that
ever walked this earth. It was not Peter who first spoke of “the fire that never
shall be quenched”; it was not Paul who spoke of being “salted with fire”: it
was not John who said, “It is better to enter into life maimed than having two
hands to be cast into hell fire.” It was the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And
whatever instruction you get in the New Testament in regard to the punishment of
the wicked is all based on the teaching of the Son of God. We have this teaching
in its simplest and clearest form in Luke 16. Some object that this portion is
only a parable, but this is not so. A parable is an illustration, or story, told
to picture some truth. The parables are generally announced by some such
expression as this, “He spoke a parable unto them,” but we have no such
expression here. This incident of the rich man and Lazarus is not called a
parable. But, if this were a parable it certainly is meant to illustrate the
fearful danger of dying unreconciled to God. The impression made on the minds of
his hearers and on those of millions of people from that day to this, is that
Jesus was here teaching that it is a fearful thing to die in one’s sins. Notice
the naturalness with which the story was introduced. Our Lord was addressing the
people, and in the course of his instruction he said in verse 19, “There was a
certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously
every day” Was there a certain rich man, or not? Jesus said there was. He did
not say, “Let us suppose there might have been such a person.” Rather, he
definitely declared there was such a man, and he described how he was clothed
and how he was fed. Suppose in the course of my address I should say there was a
certain Indian out in Arizona who was recently converted. When I complete my
message you come up to me and say, “I was interested in what you told us about
that Indian. How long ago was he converted?” “Oh,” I say, “I hope you did not
take me seriously. That was just a parable. I was only illustrating. I don’t
know of any such Indian.” You would be justified in saying to me, “That, sir,
was dishonest of you. You gave us all the distinct impression that you knew just
such a person.” Now this is exactly what Jesus did. He gave every hearer that
day to believe that he was relating a story of fact. When he began to speak of
the other man in the story, he said, in verse 20, “There was a certain beggar,
named Lazarus.” When you are just supposing an incident to illustrate a point,
you don’t usually name the fictitious character. Why did he name this beggar?
Jesus named him because he knew him, for “he calleth his sheep by name.” We
shall never know the rich man’s name until the day of judgment, but we do know
the beggar’s name, because though poor in purse he was rich in faith, and was
one of the sheep of Christ. He goes on to say that the beggar died and was
carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. This, of course, was before the
death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham was the father of the
faithful, and in paradise. As a son of Abraham, this redeemed beggar was
welcomed to his bosom. Believers now are said at death to be “absent from the
body and present with the Lord.” To be in Abraham’s bosom was the portion of Old
Testament saints. And what about the rich man? He also died and was buried, and
we follow his disembodied spirit into the other world. Jesus said, “In hell he
lift up his eyes, being in torment.” Now there have been times when I would have
removed that from the Bible if I could, and even now I can well understand the
feelings of Richard Baxter as he prayed, “Oh, for a full heaven and an empty
hell!” I have searched this book, and read scores of volumes penned by
theologians of all shades of opinion, to try to find one ray of hope for men who
died in their sins, but I have never been able to find it. Men try to take the
edge off a passage like this by setting aside the old Anglo-Saxon word “hell”
and using the Greek word “Hades.” We are told that this word has no reference
whatever to a place of punishment; Hades is simply “the unseen.” So let us use
the Greek word: “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.” But you can
see that changing the name of the place does not do away with the torment.
Others say. “You are mistaken when you think of Hades as a condition in which
men are found after death. Hades is simply the grave.” I do not believe this for
one moment. Scripture, I am certain, teaches the very opposite. But suppose, for
argument’s sake, we substitute the word “grave” for “hell.” Let us read it that
way: “In the grave he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.” Again the change of
the word fails to do away with the torment. You may call it the tomb; you may
designate it simply the unseen; you may call it the spirit world; you may use
any term you like, but the solemn fact remains that wherever that rich man was,
and whatever that word means, he was in torment. Need we follow the story
further? Need we dwell on its horrors? You know them well. Recall how this
wretched man lost beyond redemption, became a suppliant in the pit of woe. He
made two agonized petitions, but they were denied him. He began to pray on the
wrong side of death. He prayed first for one drop of water on the tip of the
beggar’s finger to cool his parched tongue. Living water he had refused while
grace was free; now he was where living water never flows through all eternity.
His other request was for his five brothers. People say. “If I am lost, I shall
be with the crowd anyway. I shall have lots of company in hell.” But consider
this man’s family. He had six brothers, one in hell and five on the way, and the
man in hell prayed, “If you can do anything to keep my brothers from joining me
here, do it; I don’t want their company; send Lazarus that he may warn them and
tell them not to come to this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have
Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” In other words, they had the Bible.
This is just what we have, and what we are responsible to heed. The man in
torment cried, “Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent.” Abraham answered, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” Accept the
testimony of the holy Bible, receive the Savior it reveals, or go into the outer
darkness forever, for there is no other alternative. It must be Christ or hell,
and to reject the one is to choose the other. But we must not ignore the attempt
to make this incident a parable. If it is a parable, what is it supposed to
teach? One, whose propaganda has misled thousands in recent years, undertakes to
explain it. He says the rich man is the Jew, the poor man is the gentile. For
centuries the Jew had all the good things: the favor of God, riches spiritual
and material. He fared sumptuously every day, while the gentile lay outside his
door, afflicted, destitute, desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from
the Jew’s table. Eventually things changed; both Jew and gentile died to their
former condition. Now the gentile has been brought into Abraham’s bosom, the
blessings that once belonged to the Jew are his, and the Jew is being tormented
in Russia, in Poland, and in many parts of the world, where he is in agony. And
the distressed Jew, from his place of torment, pleads for mercy. He says, Send
friends with some little message from the word of God; relieve my agony, or
deliver my brethren. But Abraham replies, “Between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed; you cannot come to where the Gentile is, and the Gentile cannot come
to you.” Does this explain the so-called parable? Why, my friends, it does not
fit! The gulf is not fixed between Jew and gentile. Any Jew who will may enter
into the fullness of Christian privilege, and any gentile, who is foolish enough
to do so, may go over to Jewish ground. But, you say according to your
understanding of the passage, the man there is in torment before the day of
judgment. If this be so, what need is there of a day of judgment? Let me use a
very simple illustration. A man is arrested and charged with a heinous crime. He
is placed under restraint in the county jail, where he remains for long, weary
months. If actually guilty, he is tormented with a hidden knowledge of his
guilt, however vehemently he may deny it, until at last he is brought to trial.
If the case goes against him he is sent to the penitentiary. Hades is God’s
jail; Gehenna is God’s penitentiary. In Revelation 20 we read of a time when
death and Hades will give up the dead that are in them. Death gives up the body;
Hades gives up the spirit and soul. This is the resurrection of judgment, and it
takes place a thousand years later than the resurrection of life. John wrote:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and
another book was opened which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their
works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire. This is the last great assize. Then men will be judged, every man
according to his works, and punishment will be meted out in righteousness. No
man knows all that is involved in the honor expressed by the symbol, “the lake
of fire.” I pray that you will not run the risk of finding out for yourself, but
will flee at once to Christ for refuge, and be able to say with Paul Gerhardt:
There is no condemnation, There is no hell for me, The torment and the fire Mine
eyes shall never see. Actual details of the sinner’s final doom are not given,
but striking and awful figures are used, such as “wandering stars to whom is
reserved the blackness of darkness forever,” “beaten with stripes,” “cast into a
furnace of fire,” and many others. These all are meant to impress men with the
fearfulness of an eternity away from God, an eternity without Christ. Do not
risk so dire a doom, but flee now for refuge to him who waits in grace to save.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 3: SPIRIT AND SOUL AND BODY
========================================================================

“I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Because God has existed
from all eternity as one ineffable being in three glorious persons, we speak of
him as the trinity. The word itself is not found in the pages of holy scripture,
but the fact is again and again declared, perhaps nowhere more strikingly than
in the formula of Christian baptism: “Baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Observe that they are not three beings
but one, with one name. Because man was created as one person in three parts we
speak of him as tri-partite. He is spirit and soul and body. The body alone is
not man; the soul alone is not man; the spirit alone is not man. Spirit and soul
and body together constitute man. Let us consider what scripture teaches about
these terms. It is hardly necessary to say much about the body. It is the
material part of man, and is his link with the material creation as a whole. The
body is the house in which the inward man dwells. In its present condition it is
subject to decay and death. But there will be a resurrection of both the just
and the unjust, when the bodies of the saved and the lost will be raised from
the dead. In their resurrected material bodies, the saints will stand at the
judgment seat of Christ to be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body.
The wicked, raised a thousand years later, will stand at the great white throne
to be judged according to their deeds. Turn to the first page of our Bible and
notice how we have a three-fold creation: that is, three times in this wonderful
first chapter of Genesis God is said to have “created.” In verse one we read,
“God created the heaven and the earth.” Here you have the origin of matter. We
never read of a second creation of anything material. All the matter in the
universe is formed out of that which was then created. In verse 21 we have a
second creative act: “God created great whales and every living creature that
moveth.” This is better rendered, “Every being that hath a living soul.” Here is
the origin of life. Scripture knows nothing of life spontaneously generated from
dead matter. It differentiates absolutely between the non-living and the living.
By no possible process of evolution could the nonliving ever become the living.
Therefore, if dependent life is to come into the universe, God must act anew as
creator. Soul, as we shall see, is that which is common both to the lower
animals and to man. It is the natural life with all its capabilities of
passions, emotions, and instincts. The soul of the animal dies when the body
dies; with the soul of man it is otherwise, being linked with his spirit. I
remember some years ago I was in the town of Los Gatos in California, having a
series of meetings. A Seventh Day Adventist was lecturing there at the same
time, in a large tent. As I passed the tent one day I noticed a very imposing
sign on one side. In large letters I read: Ten Thousand Dollars Reward — I will
give $10,000.00 United States Gold Coin, to anyone who will produce a text from
the Bible that speaks of an immortal soul. I went inside to find the lecturer.
He was there dusting the seats. I said, “I have come to see you, sir, about the
sign outside.” “Oh,” he replied, agreeably enough, “you have come to collect the
$10,000, have you?” “No,” I answered, “I am afraid I cannot claim it on your
terms.” “You admit then,” he replied, “that the Bible nowhere speaks of an
immortal soul.” I acknowledged this without hesitation. Then I asked, “Because
the Bible nowhere speaks of an immortal soul, do you therefore believe that the
soul of man is mortal?” “Certainly,” he answered; “undoubtedly if the Bible
never speaks of an immortal soul, the soul must be mortal.” I drew his attention
to the fact that just as the Bible does not mention an immortal soul, neither
does it ever speak of a mortal soul. I pointed out that, arguing from his
standpoint, it was just as reasonable to say that the soul of man is not mortal,
since the Bible never mentions a mortal soul. But I went on, “If I can produce a
scripture that declares the soul is not killed when the body is killed, will you
give me the $10,000? I suppose, by an ‘immortal soul’ you mean a soul that lives
when the body dies.” He at once began to hedge, and said, “It might be a
question of interpretation,” and I saw that my chances of earning the $10,000
were exceedingly slim. However, I produced the passage. You will find it in
Matthew 10:28. There our Lord says, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are
not able to kill the soul.” Manifestly, a soul that cannot be killed when the
body is killed must be what we mean when we speak of “an immortal soul.” The
Adventist was taken aback for the moment, but though silenced, refused to part
with the $10,000. The fact is that in scripture the actual words, “mortal” and
“immortal,” are only used in reference to the body. The mortal body becomes
immortal if the believer lives on earth until the return of the Lord from
heaven. Turning again to Genesis 1:27 we see a third act of creation: “So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” Why is there
need of this distinctive creative act if man is simply an evolution from the
animals beneath him? The fact is that by no possibility could creatures
possessing only body and soul have become possessed of a thinking, reasoning
spirit, unless it were communicated by God himself. It is this that lifts man
above all else in God’s creation. Zechariah 12:1 says, “The burden of the word
of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and
layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.”
Observe that the formation of the human spirit is there viewed as though it were
as great a work as the stretching forth of the heavens and the creation of the
earth. Does not this give us some idea of its importance in the mind of God? Now
just what is the spirit in man? Perhaps the clearest passage in the Bible is
found in 1 Corinthians 2:11: “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the
Spirit of God.” Here the spirit of man is shown to be the seat of intelligence.
It is by the spirit man knows; it is the spirit that reasons; it is the spirit
that receives instruction from God. Several other scriptures will help to make
this clear. Romans 8:16: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit,
that we are the children of God.” Romans 1:9: “God is my witness, whom I serve
with my spirit in the gospel of his Son.” Job 32:8: “There is a spirit in man:
and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Notice that
understanding is received by the spirit through divine inspiration. Proverbs
18:14: “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who
can bear?” Proverbs 20:27: “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord,
searching all the inward parts of the belly”; that is, illuminating the man’s
inward being. God illuminates the man by communicating his truth to the spirit.
We might quote many other scriptures, but these will suffice as they clearly
emphasize the case in point. It is the spirit that thinks; it is the spirit that
weighs evidence; the spirit is that part of the man to which God, who is himself
a Spirit, communicates his mind. At death the spirit leaves the body. This, in
fact, is what death is, the separation of body and spirit. In James 2:26 we are
told, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead
also.” We have already seen that when the body of the beast dies, the soul,
which is linked with its body, dies too. That is the end of its existence. But
when the body of the man dies, his spirit leaves the body, whether the person is
saved or unsaved. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the
spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Leaving the
earthly dwelling place behind, the spirit goes into the unseen world and has to
deal with the God who created it. This is true of the saved and the lost alike.
Both have to give account to God. Materialists insist that the spirit is but the
breath. They point to the fact that in both the Hebrew and the Greek the words
for “breath,” “wind,” and “spirit” are the same, and they insist that therefore
in each instance the word may be translated “breath” with impunity. However, it
is well for us to remember that even in English the word “spirit” has a number
of meanings, according to the connection in which it is used, and these meanings
cannot be confounded without doing violence to the language. We speak of a man
of spirit, and we mean someone of decision of purpose, and of energy. We speak
of a spirit, and we mean a wraith or a ghost. The context determines the meaning
of the word. The best way to find out whether the spirit of man is simply the
breath of the man is to try translating for ourselves. Substitute the word
“breath” in the various passages we have already quoted, and see if it fits. For
example: I pray God that your breath may be preserved blameless (1 Thessalonians
5:23). We all agree that a blameless breath is desirable, but can anyone think
the apostle speaks of such a thing here? Another example might be: What man
knoweth the things of a man save the breath of a man that is in him? Whoever
heard of an intelligent breath? It is not the breath of the man that is the
candle of the Lord; neither does the Spirit of God bear witness with our breath
that we are children of God; and Paul’s service in the gospel was far more than
service with his breath. Such fantastic theories refute themselves. What then
shall we say of the soul in man? That it is not to be confounded with the
spirit, as our opening text makes plain. The use of the conjunction “and”
between spirit and soul emphasizes this. In Hebrews 4:12 we read: The word of
God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Here we learn that God’s
word distinguishes between soul and spirit. It does not separate them, for the
two are never separated, either in life or in death. The spirit is the higher
part of the unseen man. It is that part, as we have already seen, to which the
Spirit of God speaks. The soul is the lower part of the unseen man, and is that
part which links the body and the spirit. It is not merely the natural life, but
is also the seat of man’s emotional nature. Again let me give a number of
quotations from scripture. First, consider one that speaks of God having a soul:
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back my soul shall have
no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). And in the next verse we read, “But we are
not of them that draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul.” God’s soul longs for the salvation of our souls; that is,
God, who is infinite love, would have our emotional nature in fullest harmony
with his own. Hindrances to this are found in our bodily lusts. 1 Peter 2:11
states: “Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” The soul in
harmony with God finds its joys in him, and in this the spirit fully shares.
Luke 1:46­47 states: “And Mary said, my soul Both magnify the Lord, And my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” The soul suffers. Luke 2:35: “A sword
shall pierce through thy own soul also.” Psalm 107:26: “Their soul is melted
because of trouble.” Joseph’s brethren “saw the anguish of his soul,” but took
no heed. Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled.” Of his agony on the cross it was
written, “His soul was made an offering for sin,” for there “he poured out his
soul unto death,” when “he was numbered with the transgressors.” (See Isaiah
53:12.) The soul loves. “Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?” exclaimed the bride in
the Canticles. 1 Samuel 18:1: “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of
David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” The soul hates. 2 Samuel 5:8:
“The lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul.” The soul mourns. Job
14:22: “His soul within him shall mourn.” The soul desires. Job 23:13: “What his
soul desireth, even that he doeth.” The soul longs. Psalm 119:20: “My soul
breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.” Psalm
42:1-2: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God.” Psalm 63:1: “My soul thirsteth for
thee.” These few scriptures surely establish the fact that the soul is the seat
of the emotional nature, just as the spirit is the seat of the intellectual
nature. Because man in the present body is so largely a creature of emotions,
the soul is made to designate the man as a whole. Man is distinctly called a
soul over and over again. “Man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). In Luke
12:20 the Lord said to the rich fool, “This night thy soul shall be required of
thee.” Compare this to Revelation 6:9, where John saw in a vision the souls of
those who have been slain. It is altogether correct, therefore, to speak of man
as having a soul to be saved or a soul to be lost. Someone has likened man as
originally created by God to a three-story house; the lower story or basement is
the body; the second story, or workshop, is the soul: the third story as the
observatory and the place of communion and study, is the spirit. In his sinless
condition, man’s spirit held converse with God and enjoyed communion with the
infinite Spirit. The fall of man, as a moral earthquake, so shook the house that
the third story fell down into the basement. The natural man is therefore the
soulish man. The word rendered “natural” and “sensual” in the New Testament is
really “soulish.” It is an adjective derived from the word for soul. Man,
however, is not bereft of the spirit even though fallen, but he has “the
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the
ignorance which is in him.” No act on man’s part can ever restore the spirit to
its proper place, for all his faculties have been perverted by the fall. His
spirit has been made filthy by sin. We read of the “filthiness of the flesh and
spirit.” His soul has become utterly debased and corrupt; he now loves what God
hates, and hates what God loves. His body is weakened by disease and infirmity,
the direct result of the entrance of sin into the world. He departed from the
way, and has become altogether unprofitable. In other words, man is a hopelessly
ruined creature, apart from the regenerating grace of God. But it is the mind of
God to save this fallen, debased man; and not only to restore him to his adamic
condition, but to lift him to a higher plane than unfallen man ever knew In
order that this might be so, God himself, in the person of the Son, came into
this scene as man. He not only took a human body, but was possessed of a true
human spirit and human soul. Many do not see this, and think of the divine
logos, the eternal word, bearing the same relation to his body as our spirit and
soul do to our body. This is a mistake. Christ not only took a body as a
tabernacle for deity, but he took a complete humanity into union with deity. In
this way he became manifested on earth as the Son of God, a being with two
natures, human and divine. That he had a human soul is clear from the passages
already quoted. In another place he said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful,
even unto death.” It is written also that “he was troubled in his spirit” and
“he rejoiced in spirit,” and as he was about to lay down his life, he exclaimed,
“Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” He offered himself a sacrifice in
full — body, soul, and spirit — on behalf of our ruined humanity. The atoning
blood that purchases redemption was a man’s blood untainted by sin. The body
given on the cross was a human body, holy and undefiled. The anguish of his soul
was the anguish of a human soul, which we can but faintly enter into as he
suffered there in the deepest recesses of his being. All his most tender
affections were lacerated as he took our place in judgment on the cross. The
darkness that overwhelmed his spirit we can but faintly apprehend as we listen
to his fearful cry “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” His was a
complete sacrifice of himself on our behalf. When a soul trusts him as savior, a
new life is communicated to the man once wrecked and ruined, and this life is
felt in every part. The awakened spirit now receives the word of God, and the
man is renewed in the spirit of his mind. The building is being renewed so that
once more he is able to look up to God and enter into communion with him through
the spirit. Humankind is able to take in and understand the mind of God, and to
discern what is according to the word. His soul also is saved; its affections
are purified; its longings and yearnings are now turned from things evil and
things mundane to things holy and heavenly. The body alone remains for the
present unchanged. Eventually, at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, he will
change this body and make it like the body of his glory. Then we shall be
completely saved — spirit, soul, and body. We shall then have put off the
natural body and have put on a spiritual body. Some, however, when reading 1
Corinthians 15:44, mentally contrast a material body with an immaterial one. But
this is not the thought of the apostle nor the mind of the Spirit. A natural
body is a body suited to the soul: the word rendered “natural” is simply, as
already mentioned, an adjective derived from the word for “soul.” It is raised a
spiritual body — not a body of spirit, but a real body suited to the spirit. At
the present time the spirit often is willing, but the flesh is weak. In the
glorious future the body and spirit will be in perfect harmony. This will be our
complete salvation, when spirit, soul, and body will be conformed to the image
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn among many brethren. When left this
scene of fault and strife Then flesh and sense deceive no more. We then shall
see the Prince of life And all his ways of grace explore. We shall be wholly
like him, and his suited companions, in glorified bodies like his own, forever.
“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” For it is written, “He
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ.” In that day our salvation will be complete, when our entire spirit and
soul and body will be blameless before God, as we stand in his presence in all
the perfection of Christ’s finished work.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 4: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT...DEATH AND AFTERWARD?
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Death is the great leveler of all men. Whether rich or poor, wise or foolish,
powerful or weak, renowned or obscure — none can rise above it, cheat it, or
escape its eventual claim on his life. And what of life beyond the grave? What
awaits those with or without Christ? What becomes of our bodies and the spirit
and soul they house? H. A. Ironside answers these questions, showing from
scripture how every believer can have assurance concerning life after death.


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/death-and-afterward/
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