THE KING’S BUSINESS
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body, and not with the soul. The immor tality o f the soul, distinct and separate from the body,'is nowhere taught in Scrip- tore. It is a fancy that has been derived from heathen philosophy, and has been adopted by some into what they falsely, call “ Christian theology.” It is .true that between death and the resurrection the spirit o f believers departs from the body to be with Christ, in conscious blessedness (Phil. 1:23, 24 ; 2 Cor. 5:1-8), but this is not our final state, nor that to which the rightly instructed believer is looking for ward. The state for which we are looking is that when our redeemed spirits are clothed upon with their redeemed and im mortal body (2 Cor. 5:2-4, 8 ). W e can not even say that between death and resur rection thè departed have no sort o f body at all. It is true that they do not have their resurrection bodies, but the indica tion seems to be that they have some kind o f a body (Matt 17:3; 1 Peter 3:18, 19, R. V ..; Luke 16:23, 24, R. V .). The great and glorious change shall take place in a moment, “in the twinkling o f an eye.” As Israel was summoned by a trumpet, so shall we be. That will be the last summqns for us. There may be other trumpets for those who are left behind to go through the tribulation (Rev. 8:1-9, 21), but for the church (and the Epistles o f Paul have to do with the church), which has no part in “the tribulation,” that is “the last trumpet.” That will be a great “ feast o f trumpets” (Lev. 23:24; 1 Thess. 4:16). Saturday, January 5 . 1 Cor. 15 : 54 - 58 . . When that day comes when this corrup tible shall have been clothed in incorrup tion, and this mortal shall have been clothed in immortality, “then” (and not until then) shall God’s great word o f prophecy in Isaiah (Isa. 2:58; cf. Hos. 13:14) be ful filled, and “ death” shall be forever “swal lowed up in victory (literally, swallowed down ipto victory)”—death’s awful defeat will be transformed into, glorious victory. Death has a. partial sting today, even for believers, in that our bodies are under its
hinted. In ' this present physical state in which we now are, the blood is the life. (Lev. 17:11), and it is a life that is per-, ishable, very easily poured out. In that state when we have a "spiritual body” the spirit seems to be the life, taking the place of the blood, and that is essentially imper ishable. In verse. 51 Paul tells the believers in Corinth “a mystery,” i. e., something that had been hitherto hidden in the secret counsels o f God, but is now revealed (cf. Deut. 29:29) . It was made known to Paul “by the word o f the Lord” (cf. 1 Thess. 4:15), that is, by direct revelation from Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 1:11, 12). This precious secret, o f God that He now makes known to His people is two-fold— (1) not all believers shall sleep; some will be alive at the Lord’s coming (1 Thess. 4:15-17). Paul puts it in the first person, “we,” because for all Paul knew at that time, Christ might come during his own life time. The “ we” covers believers o f all generations, but God would have' believers in Paul’s generation, and all generations, watching for the coming o f the Lord as something that might occur in their. own day (cf. Mark 13:32, 33; Luke 12:25-37). Paul does not assert that he would not sleep, but as he was still living, he puts himself with the “ wes,” and says “we” (i. e., all believers) “shall not all sleep.” Some believers will be alive when the Lord comes, (2) “All” believers (both those who fall asleep before the coming o f the Lord, and those w*ho are left on earth when He comes), shall “be changed.” If the coming o f the Lord finds, us still inhab iting these corruptible bodies when He comes, he will not be left to inhabit so imperfect a house,' but they shall be changed instantly Without passing through the ordinary and slow process o f dissolu tion. This change is absolutely necessary: “this corruptible (body) must put on (lit erally, be clothed in) incorruption, and this mortal (body; i. e., body subject to death) must put on (be clothed i5n) immortality (literally, undyingness).” Note carefully that immortality here has to do with the
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