“He may look on death with joy, who can look on forgiveness with faith.”
Thomas Watson
Last Sunday’s sermon began with a quote by John Calvin, “Let us consider this settled that no one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection” (Institutes, 3.9.5). And continued with a question, “Are you joyfully awaiting the day of death?” If you would answer “yes” to those questions, you must first turn to the Bible. The Scriptures give us courage to face death because they are so clear on what happens to the believer after death. The apostle Paul informs the believers in Corinth, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Cor. 5:1) The tent is an ideal metaphor for the body. It is vulnerable and always in need of repair. Paul, as a tentmaker (leatherworker), knew well how easily a tent could be damaged. But the metaphor of a tent also delivered connotations of pilgrimage, patriarchs, and the Jewish feast of Tabernacles (Booths). It captured nicely the frailty of man and his ultimate purpose, worshipping God. Paul next switches metaphors as he begins to talk about what happens to the believer after death. He writes, “we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” This is a reference to our glorified bodies which believers will receive from the Lord. The nature of this body is explored in 1 Corinthians:
53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” (15:53-54)
That body will be imperishable. It will be immortal (eternal). It is a body that will never need repair. It is a body that the believer receives when Christ returns and that great trumpet sounds. (see 1 Cor. 15:52 and Phil. 3:20-21) Until that moment, the believer is in the presence of the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:8) The Scriptures give us confidence that the end of this life is not the end of life. For believers there is the assurance of a future heavenly body. Have you trusted Christ and do you share the confidence of the apostle Paul? Have a blessed week and we will see many of you on Sunday.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
