“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
We’ve been blessed in our series thus far as we’ve considered the reality that Heaven is a place. It’s the place where Jesus is even now. It’s the place He bodily ascended to, as well as where He is now bodily seated on His throne at the right hand of His Father. It’s from this glorious throne that Christ rules and reigns, with all authority having been given to Him (Matt. 28:18, John 17:2), with all things having been given into His hand (John 3:35). It’s from this glorious throne that He dispenses great grace (Heb. 4:16).
It’s also of great joy and comfort to know that Heaven is the place where the souls of the elect go when we die. This is what the Apostle Paul teaches us in our focus text today. As we look deeper into this passage, notice that Paul adds to his theology of the body and soul of men, as well as speaks to the confidence and pleasure believers can have knowing the location of our souls while we live and after we die.
- The Body and Soul – This passage is one that is helpful in our theology of the body and soul. God didn’t just create man to be a disembodied soul. God created man to be made up of body and soul (Gen. 2:7). In the creation account, we find that man’s body is created first. We also learn that the body without the soul remained lifeless. God formed Adam’s body from the dust of the earth. When God breathed the breath of life into the body, then man became a living being. Further, God not only created man with a body and soul, but also redeems man in body and soul (1 Cor. 15, Col. 3:1-17). Considering all of this, as we’re well familiar with what the body is, what is the soul? The soul is simply the part of the person that isn’t physical. What is true of the soul? The Bible teaches us that the soul can be lost or saved (Jas. 1:21). It needs atonement (Lev. 17:11). The soul can be unstable (2 Pet. 2:14). The Apostle Peter teaches us that Jesus is the great Shepherd of souls (1 Pet. 2:25). He is also the one who gives true and eternal rest to souls (Matt. 11:29). The soul is what is purified and protected by the truth and the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Pet. 1:22). What does Paul teach you in 2 Cor. 5? The body is the home of the soul. It’s your soul’s “earthly house” and “tent” (v. 1).
- Regarding Gen. 2:7, Dr. R.C. Sproul, in his article on “The Origin of the Soul” helpfully adds, “In this account there is no hint of an eternal or preexistent human soul. The soul is as much a creation as is the body. The soul as a created entity is mortal. It survives the grave only because it is sustained and preserved by the power of God. It is preserved for eternal felicity for the redeemed; it is preserved for eternal punishment for the damned. The soul of man can live without the body; the body cannot live without the soul.” (Matt. 10:28)
- ¨Always Confident – Paul also presses the truth that believers can have constant confidence that “while you are at home in the body you are absent from the Lord.” Now, you may wonder, “How can this be true when Paul said in the preceding context in v. 5 that God has given us the Spirit as a guarantee? If Jesus is with us and will never forsake us, if the Holy Spirit dwells in us, if we are co-seated spiritually in the heavenly places in Christ, how can Paul say that we are absent from the Lord?” Paul is speaking of the location of your soul being home in your body, your earthly house or tent (vv. 1-4), while you live. Paul further answers such questions in v. 7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” We are absent from the Lord in the sense that though we know God intimately by faith. We don’t yet see Him face to face in Heaven, while we are on earth.
- Confident and Well Pleased – Believers can also have great confidence in the reality that our souls will go to be in the presence of Christ when we die. Death is the time when the soul will become absent from the body. Face to face in Heaven is where it will be present with Him. Along with confidence, we should take great pleasure in the promise, knowing that we will have the fullness of joy when that time comes to pass. Praise the Lord!
The Westminster Divines help us to better understand and study Scripture’s teaching on this in Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), Q. 37: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? A. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness [a], and do immediately pass into glory [b]; and their bodies, being still united to Christ [c], do rest in their graves till the resurrection [d].
[a]. Heb. 12:23 [b]. Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:6, 8; Phil. 1:23 [c]. 1 Thess. 4:14 [d]. Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15
The Divines provide more details about this truth in Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC), Q. 86, along with speaking to what’s true of souls of the wicked at their death.
Q. 86. What is the communion in glory with Christ which the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death? A. The communion in glory with Christ, which the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death, is, in that their souls are then made perfect in holiness,[1] and received into the highest heavens,[2] where they behold the face of God in light and glory,[3] waiting for the full redemption of their bodies,[4] which even in death continue united to Christ,[5] and rest in their graves as in their beds,[6] till at the last day they be again united to their souls.[7] Whereas the souls of the wicked are at their death cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, and their bodies kept in their graves, as in their prisons, till the resurrection and judgment of the great day.[8]
1. Heb. 12:23 2. 2 Cor. 5:1, 6, 8; Phil 1:23; Acts 3:21; Eph. 4:10 3. I John 3:2; I Cor. 13:12 4. Rom. 8:23; Psa. 16:9 5. 1 Thess. 4:14 6. Isa. 57:2 7. Job 19:26-27 8. Luke 16:23-24; Acts 1:25; Jude 1:6-7
More on that to come in our consideration of “What is Hell?” later in this series. You can also find good instruction on this in Elder Travis Lewis’ Sunday School lesson on WLC 86, which you can find here.
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Work Cited:
Sproul, R.C., “The Origin of the Soul,” Ligonier, Jan. 17, 2022. https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/the-origin-of-the-soul/. Accessed Dec 16, 2024.