All the previous verses are for all Christians having the promise of eternal life through Christ Jesus. Yes, on earth and in Heaven forever, with God. We belong to God, because Jesus paid the price of our redemption through His death on the Cross, where Jesus conquered death through His resurrection, being the first fruit of the promise.
1 Corinthians 15:20 -But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Yes.....Jesus was the first human to be raised from the dead in the way that scripture means.
Jesus was not the first human raised from the dead however, as Jesus himself raised the daughter of Jairus, the widow’s only son, and, most famously, his friend, Lazarus.
So, in what way was Jesus “the firstborn from the dead”? This is where the immortal soul doctrine comes unstuck. Where were all those who had died prior to Jesus? If he was the “first” one to experience this kind of resurrection, how did it differ from the other ones mentioned in Scripture?
Besides Jesus, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, and Paul all performed resurrections.
Ephesians 1:13 - In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
The ESV phrases that a little differently....and the following verse brings out some additional information to add to our understanding.....
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
The Bible speaks about a “sealing” that God’s elect receive...it is a token or guarantee, given in advance of their own resurrection, which the Scriptures show will be exactly like Christ’s resurrection. They will die a death like his, and receive a resurrection like his. So the next verse indicates that being “sealed” with the promised Holy Spirit is given to the elect (chosen ones/saints) as a guarantee whilst they are still in the flesh, “UNTIL” they “acquire possession of it”.
The elect actually have a different resurrection and destiny to those who are not elected for a position in the heavenly kingdom. (Rev 20:6) They are resurrected “first”.
Since God himself does the choosing, no one can volunteer for this role...it is granted by God to those whom HE chooses.
Which raises that question....if those ones were “sealed” with a “guarantee” of a role in the Kingdom, where did those who lived and died (before Jesus opened the way to heaven), go when they died? What was the Jewish understanding about death?
The answer must be Scriptural and the answer is plainly stated in the Hebrew Scriptures. All the dead went to the same place, which in Hebrew was “Sheol”. It’s Greek equivalent (according to the Septuagint) is “hades”.....which is clearly not “hell” as the Jews did not believe in such a place. That was a pagan concept adopted later from the Greeks.
Did the Jews believe that “sheol” was a place of conscious existence where “souls” go when they die? NO! The Jews held no such belief, because their Scripture did not mention such a place, and God would have warned about such an afterlife to Adam as part of his penalty in the garden. All God told Adam was that he would “surely die”...and “return to the dust”....no “heaven or hell” or “immortal soul” was mentioned there.
Understanding that an afterlife was not something ever taught in Jewish Scripture, the Jews had a completely different view of death to the surrounding nations, to whom satan had already introduced the concept of an immortal soul (backing up his first lie).....”sheol” was a place of unconsciousness, the dead could not plan, think, or engage in any activity. (Eccl 9:5, 10)....Sheol was a place to “sleep” (John 11:11-14) until the coming of Messiah’s Kingdom, when the dead would be called from their graves to resume their lives here on earth, reunited with their families. (John 5:28-29) The resurrections in the Bible prior to Jesus death, were all a return to life on earth.
It was not until Jesus’ death and resurrection that the “chosen ones” were given a “heavenly calling”...something granted only to them. (Heb 3:1) Jesus had tried to teach them about their heavenly inheritance, but not until Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, did they receive their “token”.
God implanted an inordinate desire in them to go to be with their Lord Jesus. They would go to the “place” he went to “prepare” for them “in his Father’s house”.
John 14:28-29....ESV...
“You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”
This makes it clear that Jesus had told them about what would take place, but until that time they would not actually believe it. Their words to Jesus upon his departure make it clear that they still retained their Jewish understanding of the Kingdom as being entirely earthly, (Act 1:6) with fleshly Israel ruling with Messiah as kings and priests.
When you gave your life to Jesus, He paid the penalty for your sins, forever, not later, but now and forever.
Yes....a good grasp of the “ransom” and Christ as “redeemer” is necessary for us to understand why Jesus had to become a sinless human in order to rescue mankind.
I do not believe that most Christians fully understand what redemption is, and how it was achieved in Jesus’ death. You first have to understand who Jesus was, and how he could die the same death as Adam....and how Jews understood redemption.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore, Glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which are God's.
Here we have the words of the apostle Paul who was “called” after the disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Paul too was baptized, and received the promised Holy Spirit.
For Jesus’ disciples prior to Pentecost, none Paul’s words there were understood.
God’s Spirit provided a clear understanding of what it meant for some humans to become “a temple for the Holy Spirit”. Did it mean though, that all Christians would have this “heavenly calling”?
All, or at least the majority of the first Christians did have this calling, but it was not set in concrete, sinful human nature could still rob a person of their place in the Kingdom....so a full commitment was necessary for those ones to retain their calling. (2 Pet 2:20-22) “Faithful unto death” was the requirement.
In order to have a “government” “upon the shoulders” of “the Prince of Peace” as Isaiah had prophesied, the ruling authority had to have subjects. What is a government or Kingdom without subjects?
Who are those subjects in your understanding Rockerduck?
