Scriptural
Studies
What it Means to be Absent from the Body Present with the Lord
The Church misunderstood the passage in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
By Nab B. Nov 4, 2022
"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." (2 Cor 5:6-8)
A great many teach that as soon as believers die, their disembodied souls go to be with the Lord while the flesh remains in the grave. This is not what 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 is saying.
I will prove to you without having to read hours of research that the passage above speaks only of the bodily resurrection which awaits all true believers.
For now, I assure you that there's nothing taught in the scriptures about disembodied souls! Jesus and his apostles never taught that while the body rots in the grave, the soul lives in heaven, until it reunites with the body.
Let's sort this out by the scriptures in context.
The Resurrection is Our Greatest Hope!
I hope you understand that the greatest hope for believers is our bodily resurrection to a new human life, an immortal and glorified life to be with the Lord always. Although it can’t be comprehended now, we trust God’s promise.
The following verses tell of a time when the bodily resurrection will occur. There's no mention of the separation of body from soul upon death. If it were true, the resurrection wouldn't be needed!
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth” (John 5:25-29)
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout...and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thess 4:16-18)
“Everyone...believeth on him...I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:24-25)
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption...It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor 15:42-44)
“We shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible." (1 Cor 15:49-54)
"Absent from the body, present with the Lord"
Means the Resurrection!
To know what Paul meant, we need to trace the start of his point in 2 Cor 5:6-8. It begins in chapter 3:7. Let's do that:
2 Cor 3:7-11
The ministry of the Spirit is more glorious than the old covenant.
2 Cor 3:12-18
Glorious because we are gradually being transformed into the image of Christ.
2 Cor 4:1-6
We experience the glory of God only Jesus Christ who changes us.
2 Cor 4:7-12
Although mortal and hard-pressed, the life of Jesus is manifested in our mortal bodies!
2 Cor 4:16-18
The weight of glory to come is beyond comparison. We must look ahead to the unseen.
2 Cor 5:1-6
So even if our earthly body dies, God prepared a heavenly one at the resurrection which God guaranteed by giving us the Spirit.
2 Cor 5:9-11
Because of this, in whatever condition we are, (alive or dead), we make sure to be pleasing to him to receive what is due.
Paul used the expression "Being at home" in 2 Cor 5:6. It is the Greek endemic which means people-related. "Being at home" means being in the old body or not resurrected yet!
Then Paul used the word"Absent" in the same verse. It is the word ekdemeo which means people-un-related. Here "Absent" means to be free from (out of) the old body or being resurrected.
The bodily resurrection is the greatest thing that will happen to humans. We are told that all present sufferings, however intense, amount to NOTHING when compared with what is coming!
Philips Translation says it best:
"In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us." (Rom 8:18) Philips Translation.
How a Believer Should View Death
(Crucial)
Does it bother or disturb you that when we die, we wait in the graves until the Resurrection Day? Does it sadden you that there is no disembodied soul-spirit conscious somewhere after death?
You must recognize that in death, there’s no memory, thinking, or feeling for "The dead know nothing." (Ecc 9:5) Any awareness of time is gone. Abraham won't recognize that 4,000 years have passed if resurrected today! For him, it will be like an instant.
We get a glimpse of this during our night's sleep. Although semi-conscious, we become detached temporarily from time. The same is true for those under anesthesia or in comas. For them, time ceases until awakened to consciousness. Likewise, the passage of time for the dead, however long, will seem like an instant when resurrected.
It's an old lie that says we don't die; that we exist in a state of conscious bliss or torment! The lie has taken hold of pagans as well as many Christians for a long time. It came from the deceiver who said, "Ye shall not surely die." (Genesis 3:4) This lie can produce an unhealthy fear of death and fanciful expectations.
It’s not by accident that the Bible refers to those who died as resting or asleep. Death to God and Christ is a sleep-like state, a long rest until the resurrection day. So, what’s it going to be? Who should we believe, men or God?
If we die in faith, we wait peacefully in death until His voice calls us to a 'New Life'. It will be as if an instant has passed.