Length: 8 Minutes
It’s always God’s will to give life to people. Thanks to Jesus, raising the dead is as simple as waking someone from sleep. That’s excellent news, but we should also know: Even while a believer’s body is still sleeping, their spirit has never been better! They have only changed locations.
If a believer’s body dies (or sleeps), their spirit that was inside their body, goes to be with the Lord in Heaven (Acts 7:3, 2 Corinthians 5:8). So, despite God’s will to raise their body up, you need to know that their spirit is doing great. They are still alive and well in their spirit. They are fully aware of everything going on in Heaven and on earth. They are rejoicing in everything Jesus has done. They are as perfect as ever! Their spirit is simply in better surroundings now.
How do I know all of this? Because even when a believer’s spirit is still in their body, all of these things are true of their spirit (see Hebrews 12:23, Romans 8:16, and 1 Corinthians 2:16, to just name a few).
The moment you get saved, the Holy Spirit comes into you and becomes one with your spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17)! In that moment, your spirit (the unseen you, inside your body) is made perfect, just like Jesus is perfect. Our spirits think like Jesus, talk like Jesus, and have all the power of Jesus.
If a believer’s body sleeps temporarily (and oh, don’t you love that we can use that word “temporarily”), their spirit leaves and goes to be with the Lord, but their spirit is not more healed, whole, or at peace, while in Heaven with Jesus, then it was in their body before. Remember, our spirits are already perfect! If a believer’s body dies, their spirit has only changed locations. Their body is inactive for a short while, but their spirit is with the Lord. They are as aware as ever and rejoicing as always.
The church has this notion that if a believer is sick and then they die, they say, “Well, now they are healed, whole, and with Jesus.” And as much as their spirit may be with Jesus, they are not any more healed and whole than they were before.
Think about it: Their body is not any more healed and whole right now. And their spirit is not any more healed and whole either, because their spirit was already perfect, even while still residing in their body! The only thing that has happened is that their perfect spirit has changed locations. Their perfect spirit was in their body before, and if their body sleeps temporarily, their perfect spirit goes to be in Heaven with Jesus. No more healing, wholeness, or perfection was gained there, only a change of locations. Their perfect spirit was in their body before, and now their perfect spirit is in Heaven. Their spirit is just as perfect as yours is right now, if you’re a believer. No more. No less.
Of course, one needs to have believed in Jesus’ payment for these things to apply. But I will say that we don’t always know whether someone decided to believe in Jesus before they died, or not. But even if they did not, and they are not with the Lord right now, they can still be raised.
But as for a believer, even if their body sleeps temporarily, they are still completely aware of everything that your spirit is. We all have the mind of Christ! They are rejoicing the same way that your spirit is. Their spirit is totally and completely fine. Their spirit went on vacation to the resort that we are all citizens of. And I don’t say that for coping purposes. I say that because it’s the truth.
Wow, if that is true, then why is there even a call for raising up the body of a sleeping believer? Because God does not want their body corruptible, any more than He wants your body corruptible. Jesus loves life and so do all of those who know him.
Proverbs 8:35-36 (NKJV) For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”
Jesus paid an extraordinarily high price, so that everyone’s body might be healed and alive. The reason it is important to talk about how good a believer’s spirit is doing, even if their body sleeps, is so that you are not discouraged because of misinformation.
The same inheritance that we celebrate and possess right now, is the same inheritance that every believer has, even if their body sleeps. If a Christian’s body dies, you cannot perceive them in a poor or pitiable light, any more than you can perceive yourself that way. Does God want to give life to their body? Sure, but God wants to give life to your body as well.
The same way that you should not judge yourself according to your flesh, but according to all the perfection you have in your spirit, so you need to do for any believer, even if their body sleeps right now (2 Corinthians 5:16). That believer still has all of the wisdom, power, and life of Jesus, the same as you. And whether you believe it or not, they are still enjoying it, the same way that your spirit is right now.
God definitely wants to wake up their body, but their spirit is alive, fully cognizant, and thriving, just like yours. Better said, just like Jesus!
In closing, notice this important truth. In Exodus 3:6 and Genesis 26:24, God speaks to Moses and Isaac respectively, and says that He was currently the God of Abraham. That might not seem profound, except that Abraham’s body had already died. Yet, God says that He was presently the God of Abraham. Why is this? Because Abraham was not gone or lost. He hadn’t ceased. Abraham had simply changed locations, and God was still His God as always. Jesus pointed this out to the Sadducees.
Matthew 22:31-32 (NKJV) …have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
You see, God acknowledged Abraham as very much living, even after his body had fallen asleep. Abraham’s spirit was alive and God was still his God, just like any believer at the time. And today, after the cross, Abraham has a perfect spirit, just like us. He is doing just fine with the Lord.
All of that is true. We have taken the time to go over this, because it’s a wonderful truth that God would not have us ignorant of. But here’s the thing: Jesus didn’t just pay for Abraham’s spirit to be perfect. God wants that perfection to come to Abraham’s physical body and mind as well. God wants that life to come to his flesh as well. God wants to see him thriving in his flesh as well. And we have the access to make that happen.
If you know a believer that has passed, I want to tell you that they’re still doing excellent in their spirit, just like you, rejoicing all the time. God is their God. Jesus is their Lord. Everything is just perfect in their spirit. But Jesus paid for more than our spirit. He paid for our entire spirit, soul, and body. In fact, He broke His flesh to restore ours.
If only He had someone on earth that would believe this. That’s all He’s looking for. He’s not looking for us to do miracles. He’s just looking for someone to believe Him. That’s all He wants. He’s done wonderful works for us. He will manifest it all through us. He only wants someone to believe Him. And perhaps, if you choose it, that person is you.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (KJV) For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro, throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them, whose heart is perfect toward him.
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