Letters to the Church

Paul links the bodily resurrection of believers to the New Creation. Both events are vital for our complete redemption – Romans 8:1-23. There is “ now no condemnation ” of anyone who is “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because the “ law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death .” In his Letter to the Romans , the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies and creation itself .

Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the future resurrection of believers . Paul responded to false teachings about the resurrection of believers in his second letter to Timothy. Certain voices denied this essential truth. “ God did not give us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind ,” and this included overcoming our anxieties about death. Jesus was victorious over death and now gives men and women life “ through the Gospel .”

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, namely, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Certain members of the congregation in Corinth denied the future resurrection of the righteous. Paul responded by stressing how necessary our resurrection is and by appealing to the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection was and remains the precedent for our future resurrection and life in the coming age. We will be raised bodily when he “ arrives ,” and his appearance will mean nothing less than the end of Death itself.

Paul exprime son objectif d'aller jusqu'au bout, un processus qui aboutira à la résurrection corporelle lorsque Jésus arrivera dans la gloire . Paul a demandé à la congrégation de Philippes de continuer à leur “ achèvement ” en Jésus. La résurrection corporelle doit avoir lieu pour la consommation de ce processus et l'achèvement de notre salut. Cela se produira lorsque Jésus apparaîtra “ sur les nuées du Ciel .” Dieu continuera à accomplir ce qu'Il a commencé avec notre conversion “ jusqu'au Jour du Christ .” Le salut est un processus tout au long de notre vie.

Paul expresses his goal of going on to completion, a process that will culminate in bodily resurrection when Jesus arrives in glory . Paul instructed the congregation of Philippi to go on to “ completion ” in Jesus. Bodily resurrection must take place for the consummation of this process and the completion of our salvation. This will occur when Jesus appears “ on the clouds of Heaven .” God will continue to perform what He began with our conversion until “ the Day of Christ .” Salvation is a process throughout our lives.

Paul presents his Gospel in Romans from humanity's plight due to sin to the resurrection of the dead and the New Creation . The Apostle Paul presents his most detailed explanation of the “ Good News of God ” in his Letter to the Romans . Paul was dealing with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish believers in the Assembly and preparing the ground for taking the Gospel to the western regions of the Roman Empire. In the process, he addressed related topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and the New Creation.

The saints will be assembled before Jesus on the Last Day, and the wicked will be collected for judgment and cast from his presence . On the Last Day, the righteous and the unrighteous are “ gathered ” before Jesus, the former for vindication and salvation, and the latter for judgment and condemnation. This event is linked in the New Testament to Christ’s “ arrival ” at the end of the age. On that day, he will resurrect the dead, judge the dead and living, terminate the “ Last Enemy, Death ,” and consummate the Kingdom of God.

In explaining the resurrection, Paul lists key events that will precede or coincide with Christ’s arrival at the end of the age . Paul outlined the events that will occur at or shortly before the “ arrival ” of Jesus in 1 Corinthians . The Greek noun ‘ Parousia ’ is one of several terms Paul applied to the future coming of the Lord. Regardless of which term he used, he always referred to one “ coming ,” one “ appearance ,” one “ revelation ” or “ appearance ” of the Son of God, not two (or more).

Christ’s real Death and bodily Resurrection are foundational and indispensable to the Apostolic Faith . The Apostle Paul discussed the future resurrection of believers in  2 Timothy , in response to denials of this “ sound teaching ” by false teachers. Faith in the promised resurrection of the righteous is central to the hope of salvation taught by Jesus and proclaimed by his Apostles. This teaching is unquestionably reliable  because it is based on the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus .

Jesus declared, “ The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life .” His statement echoes the principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “ flesh ” is not inherently evil, but it has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit. This principle was demonstrated at the original creation, and now the same Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and everlasting life in the age to come.

The biblical faith is forward-looking and foundational to our salvation is the resurrection of the dead. That event will coincide with the arrival of Jesus. It is based on the past resurrection of Jesus, and our salvation will remain incomplete until he raises the dead, transforms those believers who remain alive, and “ gathers ”  ALL  his saints to himself (“ He will send his angels, and they will assemble his elect from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven ”).

The Gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant, and the first fruits of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations .  The history of Israel includes national sins that caused her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. However, God foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant, one energized and characterized by His Spirit. This covenant included the salvation of the nations and would culminate in the “ New Heavens and the New Earth ” at the end of the age. With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the Age of the Spirit had commenced in earnest.

In the New Testament, the return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, the “ gathering of his elect ,” and the cessation of Death itself. Decay and mortality will be replaced by immortality, and nothing will ever be the same again!

Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord at which time the dead will be raised, the wicked judged, and death will cease . Paul discusses aspects of Christ’s future arrival in his letters to the Corinthians, including the “ Day of the Lord ,” the consummation of God’s Kingdom, the resurrection of the dead, the bodily transformation of saints still alive when Jesus comes, the judgment of the wicked, and the end of death itself .

In  Colossians , Paul stresses the exaltation of Jesus following his Resurrection. Some members of the congregation were confused about his authority over the spiritual powers that were hostile to God and His people; therefore, Paul reminded the Assembly of just how highly God exalted the One who became the “ Firstborn of the Dead .”

Paul responded to concerns about the dead in Christ by pointing to the resurrection that will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven .  In his first Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reassured the congregation concerning the participation of saints who die before the ‘ Parousia ’ in the glories of that day. According to him, BOTH dead and living saints will assemble and “ meet ” the Lord as he descends from Heaven. Thereafter, they will be with Jesus “ forevermore .” He wrote these words in response to believers who were sorrowing over the deaths of fellow saints.

In  Romans , Paul presents the “ Gospel ” in detail. It is the “ power of God for salvation .” God provides salvation through the “ faith of Jesus Christ ” for everyone who responds to the message with faith. Death passed from Adam to all men, whether “ within the law ” or “ apart from the law ” because “ all sinned and lack the glory of God .” However, now, “ apart from the law ,” the “ righteousness of God ” is being revealed for “ all men who believe, for there is no distinction .”

The doctrine of the ‘Rapture’ is an interpretation of Paul’s description in 1 Thessalonians of both resurrected saints and those believers still alive at the time “ meeting Jesus in the air ” as he descends from Heaven. According to this view, the church is physically removed from the Earth and transported to Heaven by the Lord, presumably to a nonphysical and timeless reality outside the space-time continuum.

The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of faith. God counted his faith as “ righteousness ” when he was yet uncircumcised, and that meant He justified him apart from the “ works of the Law .” He thereby became the father of all men who are also “ from faith .” Circumcision was added after the promise as the “ seal ” of Abraham’s justifying faith.

Central to the hope of the Apostolic Faith is the bodily resurrection of the dead. This will occur when Jesus appears at the end of the age . The biblical faith is forward-looking. Foundational to the doctrine of salvation is the resurrection of the righteous dead. That event will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links the resurrection of the saints to two events. The past Resurrection of Jesus, and his arrival at the end of the age. Our salvation will remain incomplete until Christ raises us from the dead.