The Future Life

JOHN 5:25—Not long after the death of the apostles, and centuries before English translations of the Bible were made, errors began to creep into the church. These were, of course, Satan-inspired, and many of them reflected an attempt to substantiate that original lie, “Ye shall not surely die.” (Gen. 3:4) The theory of inherent immortality was energetically promoted, with the result that all the precious promises of the Bible pertaining to a resurrection of the dead were rendered vague and almost meaningless.

The original manuscripts of the Bible were copied, in some cases, by those who held these erroneous views. Notations were made on the margins, and later some of these would be incorporated into the text. In a few instances they reflect efforts to make the text conform to erroneous views of the copyists. These interpolations are, as a rule, easily detected, as for example, in this first lesson passage for today.

As Jesus uttered the words of this text, it reads, “Verily verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” But a copyist added the words “and now is,” making the text read that the “hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God.” These spurious words make the text contradict itself, for anything which is “coming” could not be “now is.”

Why should anyone wish to add a spurious expression of this kind to the words of Jesus? The answer is simple. The church had begun to believe that when a person dies he is not dead, that when a Christian dies he goes immediately to heaven. Thus the real hope of the resurrection was voided, and Christians tried to believe that what Jesus meant by the dead hearing his voice and living was that those dead in trespasses and sins, who accept him, experience an immediate resurrection, and that this is all the Master was talking about in this text. Hence the words “and now is” were essential to make the text convey this erroneous thought.

It is true, of course, that the consecrated follower of the Master walks “in newness of life,” and is spoken of as being “risen with Christ.” (Rom. 6:4; Col. 3:1) In these texts the resurrected life is used as a symbol of the new joys and blessings of the Christian, even while still in the flesh. But this does not mean that there is not to be an actual resurrection to live and reign with Christ during the Millennium.—Rev. 20:4,6

There is a time coming, just as the Master declared, when the dead—those who are actually dead; all who have died from the days of Eden until now—will be awakened from the sleep of death by the authority and power of the divine Christ, the authority symbolized by his “voice.” This is the great hope for all mankind which was ratified by the resurrection of Jesus; and as we commemorate his resurrection let us endeavor to lay hold upon this hope more firmly and rejoice in it more confidently.

I CORINTHIANS 15:20-26—In this passage of Scripture we have an outline of the entire plan of God for human salvation, as that plan is centered in the death and resurrection of Jesus. “Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

This is simply another way of saying that because Jesus was raised from the dead, all are to be raised from the sleep of death. There is more implied in the statement, however, than merely the fact that the resurrection of all mankind follows the resurrection of Jesus. That Jesus was raised from the dead is proof that the sacrifice of his life was acceptable to God. In his sermon on Mars’ Hill, Paul asserts that God has given assurance unto all men by raising Jesus from the dead.—Acts 17:31

Jesus’ death was symbolized by the high priest of Israel passing under the second veil of the tabernacle as he entered into the most holy. Had he in any way been unfaithful in carrying out his duties in connection with the sacrifice he was offering, the blood of which he was carrying into the most holy to sprinkle on the mercy seat, he would have died as he passed under the veil and the blood would never have reached the mercy seat. Had Jesus not been faithful in offering himself as a sacrifice he would not have been raised from the dead, and could not have appeared in the presence of God for us, nor for the world. Thus we see that his resurrection is a guarantee of life for all who will accept God’s gift through him.

Death came through the disobedience of Adam, and an opportunity of life will come to all through the obedience of Christ. “But every man in his own order,” writes Paul. There is order and design in all of God’s works. The order of the resurrection, is clearly stated by the apostle as being “Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ’s at his coming,” or presence.

“Christ the firstfruits” includes the body members of Christ. Christ “is not one member but many,” writes Paul, and body members of Christ, as well as Jesus himself, are “a kind of firstfruits unto God of his creatures.” (I Cor. 12:12-18; James 1:18) The “firstfruits” of Israel’s harvest were brought to the Lord as an offering to him, so the entire firstfruits class of his Gospel age are an offering to God, the “better sacrifices” making possible the blessing of the “afterward” class referred to by Paul in the statement, “afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”—Heb. 9:23

The Greek word here translated “coming” is parousia, the real meaning of which is “presence.” The reference is to the thousand years of Christ’s second presence and the “times of restitution of all things” which result. (Acts 3:21) The “afterward” resurrection applies to all mankind, and they will have an opportunity to become Christ’s during the thousand years of his reign—that is, they will become his subjects in the kingdom, unlike the church of this Gospel age, who are made joint-heirs and reign with him as kings.

“Then cometh the end,” writes Paul. This, together with the statement that he must reign until all enemies are put under his feet, clearly shows that he is writing about the entire period of Christ’s reign. Even death is to be destroyed before the “end” of his reign is reached.

And when Christ’s reign shall have accomplished its full purpose, he will deliver up the kingdom to God. Up to that time it will be a mediatorial kingdom; but with all mankind restored to life and to oneness with the Creator, a mediatorship will no longer be necessary, for the human race will be in direct communion with the Creator. This will represent a restoration of that standing before God which was lost when our first parents transgressed the divine law more than six thousand years ago.

II CORINTHIANS 4:16 – 5:1—In reading the epistles of the New Testament, it is well to distinguish between the truths which apply to “we” and “us” and “our” and those concerning which the pronouns “they,” “theirs,” and “them,” are used. Speaking of the resurrection which follows that of the “firstfruits,” the apostle says afterwards “they” that become Christ’s during his presence.

But in the passage from Second Corinthians now under consideration, the lesson is for a different class. “We” faint not, Paul writes, for though “our” outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day. This language could not be properly applied to the unconsecrated world, but it is true of the footstep followers of the Master, those who are new creatures in Christ Jesus.

The “outward man” is the flesh, and the “inward man” is the new life which has been begotten by the Holy Spirit through the Word of truth, and is being nourished and built up by the Word, and through fellowship and service and prayer.

There are “afflictions” in connection with the perishing of the outward man, but as the apostle explains, they are “light,” very light indeed when compared with the eternal “weight” of glory which will be revealed in us if we are faithful to all our privileges now. And besides, the light afflictions are but for a “moment,” while the glory to follow will be “eternal.” How clearly does the apostle thus evaluate the difficulties of the Christian life in comparison with the promises of glory, honor, and immortality.

The “glory” referred to here is mentioned in the third chapter as the “glory that excelleth.” (II Cor. 3:10) Paul explains that it was illustrated by the glory on the countenance of Moses when he came down from the mount bearing the tables of the Law. He explains that that typical glory was of little consequence when compared with our hope of glory. Thus does Paul put the church unmistakably with the antitypical Moses in the mediatorship of the “new covenant.”

In the first verse of the fifth chapter, Paul uses highly symbolic language. Instead of speaking of the outward man perishing, he employs such terms as “earthly house” and “tabernacle,” and declares that even though these are “dissolved,” we have a “building of God” “eternal in the heavens.”

The lesson we get from this is that as new creatures in Christ Jesus we are to view our life here in the flesh as being very temporary, that we are merely tabernacling in the flesh, and that our human bodies are going into decay. But we are not to view this with alarm, for our hopes are not centered on earthly things anyway. In another place the apostle writes that “here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”—Heb. 13:14

The “building of God” then, is descriptive of that permanent state of immortality, with which, if faithful now, we will be clothed upon in the “first resurrection.” Little does it matter if our light afflictions cause our outward man to perish. Indeed, we should welcome every evidence that God is accepting our sacrifice by the fires of affliction. We know that he will temper our trials to the strength that we have to bear, and will help us when our own strength fails. So may we continue to look at the things which are not seen except by the eye of faith, and let the inspiration of the vision quicken us to greater zeal and to faithfulness in doing the Father’s will.

QUESTIONS

Why were the words “and now is” added to John 5:25?

Why was Christ’s resurrection a guarantee that all would have an opportunity to live?

To whom does the expression, “Christ the firstfruits,” apply?

Who are “they that are Christ’s at his coming”?

Explain what is meant by the “outward man,” the “inward man,” “our earthly house,” “this tabernacle,” and the “building of God.”

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