'But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits;
afterward they that are Christ's
at His coming.'
(1 Corinthians 15:23)
Hi
@Nancy,
I think the words '
at His coming' settles the matter doesn't it, for that tells us
when those who belong to Christ are raised to life again: without any doubt. In regard to your reference to 1 Corinthians 5:8, lets take a look at the context in which it comes:-
'For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
.. we have a building of God,
.... an house not made with hands,
...... eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan,
.. earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
.... If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:
.. not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon,
.... that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God,
.. Who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that,
.. whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
.... (For we walk by faith, not by sight )
...... We are confident, I say,
........ and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him.
.. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ;
.... that every one may receive the things done in his body,
...... according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.'
(2 Corinthians 5:1-10)
* Paul speaks of our earthly body as a building, a tabernacle that we are clothed with. He tells us that we have a Body which is of God, which is eternal, and in the heavens. Paul desires to be clothed upon by that heavenly body.
He does not want to be found naked, or unclothed (ie., in death). No, he wants mortality to be swallowed up by life. For he knows that this is what God has called us for, having secured this for us by giving us His Holy Spirit.
* While Paul remains in his earthly body he is absent from the Lord, and is willing to absent from his earthly body in order to be present with the Lord, but that requires a change from mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorruption, which can only take place at the resurrection: when the Lord whose presence he so longs for, will be present, and Paul's earthly body will be changed like unto his Lord's glorious body.
* You see, it is not a matter of '
dying' and being present with the Lord, but of being changed into His likeness by being clothed upon by life, eternal life, at the appearing of the Lord. Thus bypassing death (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and 1 Corinthians 15:35-49). This is a difficult concept, and is made harder by those who use it to suggest that at death we are present with the Lord.
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris