Death, No. 3

The Great Expectation, No. 4 - PH23-01

Advanced Bible Doctrine - Philippians 1:19-20

© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1976)

This is the fourth segment of the great expectation which we have been drawing from Philippians 1:19-20. We have been looking at the subject of death through the instruction that Paul gives in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. Here he gives us some very important information concerning the experience of the physical death of a Christian. This is the kind of information that you need ahead of time in order to prepare for the rendezvous with death which every person sooner or later has. In 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, which we already looked at, the apostle Paul expresses a personal longing relative to his place of residence--in his home in heaven, instead of his body tent house on the earth. Paul says that he longs to be in that experience of living in the Lord's presence, with his soul and spirit in the home in heaven rather than in the home on earth--the physical body.

I must stress again to you that we are comparing here in this Scripture not two bodies. We are not comparing a body with an old sin nature against having a resurrection body without an old sin nature. That's not the comparison. The comparison here is with two residences--residence in the physical body on the earthly scene in the earth experience, and a totally different kind of residence in heaven in the Lord's presence.

Bible doctrine has revealed to us that the Christian' body here on earth is a tent-like dwelling. It has temporary purpose; it is of a temporary nature for his soul and spirit; and, it is scheduled to be taken down and folded up in death. The Christian's soul and spirit, however, at that point, has a home in heaven. This home is eternal, and it is the product of divine workmanship. Therefore, it's described as not made with human hands. The Christian at the rapture will receive a resurrection body. Then his soul and spirit which have been residing in the heavenly experience will be joined again with a physical body, but this time a glorified body like unto the Lord Jesus Christ's body after his resurrection.

The question that has arisen is: what's the condition of my soul and spirit before I get the resurrection body? I wish I could give you more information about that, but the Bible does not give us any information concerning the condition of the soul and spirit. We have certain glimmers concerning it. People can recognize each other. They are conscious in their souls and spirits. We have the example of Moses and Elijah talking with the Lord on the mount of transfiguration. The bodies of those men (and certainly of Moses) were completely dissipated. Elijah went alive physically into heaven, and was a particular kind of case, but the soul and spirit of Moses was all that he had. Yet, there he was in full appearance, speaking with the Lord.

Therefore, you are conscious but it is not made clear to us what the condition of the surrounding of the soul and spirit is. In order to solve this, people come up with the idea of an intermediate body. As a matter of fact, the Greek philosophers were very fond of doing this. But that is not something that comes out of Scripture.

Paul, in other words, is simply saying that someday you who are the real person, in the form of your soul and spirit, are going to leave this body and you're going to move into a different residence; that is, a dwelling place in heaven. What the condition of your soul and spirit at that time will be, as far as their container goes, is not revealed. The time will come when there will be something else that will join you in your heavenly home, and that will be your physical body. But that's not the comparison at this point in the Scripture. We're talking here in this Scripture about something that happens immediately at the point of your death. You will see that the Philippians passage (when we go back to it) confirms this also. It is, "I die. Where do I go?" This is what it's dealing with--immediately, where do I go? It's not dealing with something in the future when your resurrection body comes into the picture.

The burdens of the earth life, Paul says, cause us to sigh and to long to put on our house in heaven. However, Paul is not eager to die. He is rather looking forward simply to entering his house-in-heaven existence because he will be free of death; he will be free of the old sin nature; and, he will forever be in a condition of the fullness of joy. Paul is not trying to escape the demands of this life, but he does anticipate the joys of the future life.

This experience is described as a glorious existence in the form of an eternal weight of glory. He has previously described this in 2 Corinthians 4:17 where he says that our existence in heaven is an existence with a "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." This life of eternal weight of glory is previewed actually on the earth in the form of the believer who lives in super grace status in the spiritual maturity structure of his soul. It seems that we have indicated, therefore, that at the point that you die as a believer, one thing that you do take out into eternity is your spiritual maturity. Whatever the structure is that you have erected up to that point, that's what goes out with you--whatever the weight of glory. It is eternal, and it is the reflected glory of God. That's what is built in your soul through the knowledge of the Word of God. To the extent that spiritual maturity has been erected in your soul, that is something that you take out, perhaps as a covering for your soul and spirit.

It is the soul, in any case, which is of supreme importance--not the body. For that reason, there are many things that you and I may view as very important in this life. However, they are temporal things connected with the body, while doctrine in the soul is the thing that's really important. Whatever else you have in life, if you don't have doctrine in your soul, you have nothing. At the point of your death, you have even less than nothing. The nothingness will be particularly pointed up if you have to leave this life without a spiritual maturity structure fully developed in your soul.

Many Christians have a pseudo spiritual maturity structure, and this they do not take with them. They are stripped of this at the point of death, and it comes as quite a shock. It will be quite a shock to many believers who put on spiritual fronts; who use God language and religious talk; and, who have a pseudo false spiritual maturity. Yet, the spiritual darkness that is on most Christians today is absolutely frightful. It is absolutely frightful to realize how dark the average Christian's mind is concerning divine viewpoint. Yet, the average Christian is extremely confident. The problem is that most preachers are not dispelling the darkness that is in the souls of Christians, and most Christians don't know they're in the dark. They're walking around on an emotional glow, and they don't know how bewildered and how dark and deluded they are. There is a darkness upon the minds of believers, and Satan has conned the believer into resisting information from the Word of God. Yet, if you do not have this, there is no way that you will know what God thinks. You will go your own way. You will have an emotional substitute, and the glow that you think is blessing, but which is nothing.

When you go out into eternity, all that fake pseudo spirituality that you built up and that you moved through life with is just going to be ripped right off. When your eyes close, the first thing that's going to fall off is the old sin nature and everything that's been produced by it. Where you could have gone out into eternity clothed in the righteousnesses of your spiritual maturity structure, you will go out without it. This is one thing you will probably take out with you.

The Nature of a Christian's Death

Let's look in 2 Corinthians 5:5 at the nature of a Christian's death. Paul says, "Now He that has wrought us for the same thing is God. The word "he that has wrought" is the Greek word "katergazomai." "Katergazomai" means something that God has performed. It is a work where God has prepared the believer for the glorious future of exchanging his mortal life and letting it be swallowed up in an immortal life. It is taking his earth existence and getting it swallowed up in the heavenly existence. The grammar here is the aorist tense which means that at that point in eternity past, God planned all this for us. God made a decision to do this for you. It is active which means it's all dependent upon God's grace doing. God has made this preparation of this kind of existence for us. It is not something that we prepare for ourselves. It is a participle which means it is a principle of truth. Furthermore, it is an aorist participle. Therefore, what God has wrought (what God has prepared) comes before the declaration that He had given to us. What He has given to us was first prepared by Him.

"Us," of course, are the believers in Jesus Christ, and "for" denotes the purpose. It's the little Greek word "eis." "He that prepared us for the very same thing. Here is the purpose. "The very same thing" is what has been referred to here in this context: "Being clothed with a house in heaven so that our mortality is swallowed up by life eternal." God has designed this destiny for the Christian (all His work). This is his purpose. In the expression, "Now He that has wrought us prepared us for the very same thing is God," the word "is," you notice, is in italics, so it's not in the Greek. It's just "God." That's a way of emphasizing, referring to God the Father who designed the plan, and it stresses God's role in all of this. You don't have to worry about preparing a place in heaven for yourself.

Sometimes a false idea is given from this passage. Pastors who want to get people hustling for the Lord like to use this verse to suggest that when a person gets to heaven they're going to open the doors, and an angel is going to meet him. The angel is going to say, "What is your name?" He says, "My name is Sam Brown." The angel looks down the list and says, "Oh, you're Sam Brown. You're on this third street over here, Sam. The fourth house down. Therefore, he hops into a cart and they give him a little rundown. They go to the third street down and he looks at these beautiful mansions. They are wonderful magnificent houses. Sam says, "Boy, this is great. I like this dwelling place business. These are real mansions." He turns the corner and right there at the car is a magnificent building. It just is amazing. He can't believe that anything so beautiful could have ever been built. He goes down, and let's see, his is the fourth house down. He goes down and comes to the fourth house. It's a tar paper shack--a hovel. He turns to the angel and he says, "This is my house in heaven? How come? Look at all these mansions?" The angel says to him, "We're sorry, Sam Brown. We could only work with the materials you sent up."

That's a scary illustration. Many a Christian has been frightened by preachers who use that story to get you to storm out to do something great for the Lord and to prepare yourself a wonderful existence in heaven. Well, you can relax because you're not preparing the wonderful existence in heaven. The Lord Jesus said, "I am going to prepare an apartment dwelling place for you in heaven." That's the point of this active voice. It is God who is doing it. "He has wrought." He Himself has prepared us for this very same thing that has been described in this context--a heavenly existence where our mortal life is swallowed up in immortality. God has done it.

It continues with the words, "Who also has given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." "Has given" is the Greek word "didomi." "Didomi" is a verb describing the grace of God. This is something that God has prepared, and God gives. God also gives us the Holy Spirit as the pledge of His plan. When he says He gives "unto us;" that is, to us believers. "He gives us the earnest of the spirit, and "earnest" is the Greek word "arrabon." "Arrabon" means down payment. It means the guarantee that something is going to take place. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of the house that God has prepared for us in heaven. You may compare 1 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:13-14 concerning the Holy Spirit as the guarantee. This refers to the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the body of the believer. God the Holy Spirit indwells you permanently, and He is the down payment or the guarantee of what God has prepared for you. God has given you this. Aorist means He gave it to you at the point of your salvation. Active means He Himself has provided it for you.

The word "Spirit" is the usual word for spirit, "pneuma." Of course, this refers to God the Holy Spirit. The fact that God the Holy Spirit now indwells every one of us ensures fantastic things in this body house existence. It is through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit that you build that spiritual maturity structure in your soul which is something of great value, and which you take with you when you leave your earth house existence and move into your heaven house existence. All of this provides a Christian (who knows this information) with confidence. This is divine viewpoint now. It is the confidence that he will have immediate admission into heaven when he dies. He will in time receive a perfect resurrection body.

He who has wrought us; who has prepared us; and, who have has designed us for this very same thing--this heaven-house existence--is God. He has given this to us. Therefore, because He has done this, He has given us the guarantee in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit to assure us that this will come to pass. We know all this from doctrine. Therefore, you know that something out there is waiting for you.

Confidence

Verse 6 says, "Therefore, we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." "Therefore" is the little Greek particle "oun." It is a word that signals a consequence. Something is now true. A sequence is to follow as the result of what has been given. Because of what he said in verse 5, because God designed the Christian or heavenly home, it is a certainty. Because Christians have the indwelling Holy Spirit as a guarantee of a house in heaven, we know something that is a certainty. We are confident, consequently, Paul says, and this is the Greek word "tharreo." "Tharreo" means "to be of good courage," literally. It connotes the spirit of confidence. This confidence or assurance comes from a point of doctrine which is known; which is believed; and, which is now applied. This is not some temporary emotion due to some transient excitement.

Many times when we are in the face of the death of some member of our family, this is the typical way that people are dealt with. Someone tries to get you excited on some momentary passing glow; to give you some platitude; or, to give you some pleasant phrases rather than some realistic doctrinal information as to what has taken place. So you can give a kind of a temporary encouragement and comfort to a person, but that will not last. What a person needs is the information that Paul gives us here. Paul says that he has a confidence. This is not a temporary thing. It is present tense. Therefore, it is a constant thing he has. It is active voice which means it is Paul's attitude of mind. It is a participle which means it is presenting a principle concerning a Christian's death. This is not just some unbeliever who, because he is strong-willed, is going to face misfortune and danger with his head erect and colors flying as the master of his fate. That's how people try to meet it. That's plain old sin nature stuff.

Instead, Paul says that he "always." The word is "pantote." "Under all conditions" is what this word means; on all occasions; or, under all circumstances. In the midst of dangers of discouragement which otherwise would produce despair, Paul says, "I always have a confidence. I am always of good courage." Why? Because I know something. "We therefore are always confident, knowing that." The Greek has "and knowing that." It has the little word "kai." "I have confidence always, and knowing that." This is in addition to my confidence from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who guarantees a residence in heaven for me. I also know something.

The word "knowing" is one we ought to stop and look at a moment because it is rather an important word. It is the Greek word "oida." "Oida" is knowledge, but it is knowledge here which is stored in one's human spirit and cycles up to the directive mind. It works like this. Your mind has two functions. One, it learns. We may call that the perceptive mind. Into that mind comes the instruction of doctrine such as we are doing now on the basis of Paul's revelation concerning the future of a person who is a believer when he dies. We receive this information. Then, if we believe it, that is, we treat it in faith, or we may say positive volition, it is stored within our human spirit. There it becomes what we may call "epignosis" or full knowledge. It is a complete knowledge. That's the kind of knowledge that "oida" means. "Oida" is the type of complete full-stated knowledge. It is used, for example, of God's absolute knowledge, or of man's knowledge that he receives through observation. It connotes a fullness of knowledge.

It is in contrast to another word for knowledge which is "ginosko," and "ginosko" means "progress in knowledge." This doesn't mean arriving at a state of knowledge that you possess in full understanding. It means I'm in the process of learning something. This knowledge is what is put up here to the other functioning of your mind, the directive side, which decides actions from which you make decisions. That's why we say that unless a Christian's mind has received the Word of God so that he can store it in his human spirit so that he can be directed by these principles of divine viewpoint, you can never act in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Therefore, what do you do? Well, you pick up emotions; you make that the dominant part of your soul; and, that starts telling your mind what to do. Once the emotions start telling your mind what to do, you are gone from God's viewpoint. This is what happens in the tongues movement. It is the emotions taking over and telling the mind what to think. This is inevitable with any believer no matter how sincere he is. If he does not know the Word of God, the darkness has not been dispelled from his mind.

This is an area that we all struggle with. We are born with a mind up that is in total darkness. Every piece of information that you get from the Word of God dispels that darkness and rubs it away piece-by-piece so that illumination comes into your soul. It's like little slivers of light flashes that come into the mind and keep pushing the darkness back. When you're in this condition, you just don't realize how bad off you are. Yet, it is Christians with minds like this who are going around making pronouncements on what God thinks; how God acts; and, how things should be.

So this word "oida" is a very significant word that Paul should use this here. He is saying, "I have a fullness of knowledge. I know something in totality concerning the matter of death." We have these two words "oida" and "ginosko" compared John 8:55 where the Lord Jesus says in one phrase, "You have not known Him," concerning the Father, and He uses the word "ginosko," meaning, "You have not begun to know God the Father." Then in the next phrase, He says, "But I know him," and he uses the word "oida" for "know," meaning, "I know Him perfectly. You have not begun to know Him," and he uses the word for progress in knowledge. However, he says, "I know Him fully, completely, and absolutely, and He uses this word "oida." Paul here knows something with a fullness of understanding. Where did he get it? He received it from instruction from the Lord. You and I get it from what men like Paul recorded in the Word of God. That's the only place we get the information so that we have a fullness of understanding that dispels the darkness.

Therefore, stability for a person in the face of dying does not come from something in the believer. It is not the result of your natural courage or your strong conviction. It is the result of a condition of mind. If you are going to be stable when you face death or someone in your family faces death, it is because of a condition in your mind filled with a full knowledge concerning doctrine which you have learned and built on the subject of death. It's the "oida" type of knowledge.

The word "that" is the Greek word "hoti," and it introduces a past doctrine which Paul has learned. He says in verse 6, "Therefore (a conclusion following from verse 5), we are always (under all conditions in all circumstances) confident (of good courage), knowing (fully understanding) that," and he introduces something. What's he going to introduce with the word that? He's going to introduce a point of doctrine which he picked up in the past which he learned, and now which he is going to utilize in the face of his own personal imminent prospects of death from his prison cell in Rome. "Knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." Paul has a confidence, and now he has a knowledge which enables him to meet death, if necessary, in stride.

Then he contrasts the phrase "at home." "At home" is the Greek word "endemeo." It is made up of the word "en" which means "in," and the word "demos" meaning people, from which we get our word "democracy." These two words put together literally mean "to be among one's people." That's the idea of being at home. It is used to connote life on earth in the body among the living--to be at home among one's people, in our natural earth existence. It is used to connote life on this earth. "In the body" identifies it as the earthly existence in the physical body of a Christian. This word "endemeo" is present. It's a continuous state while you're physically alive. It's active. It's your state of existence that you participate in. It's a participle--a principle stated. This "in the body" is contrasted to another word "absent" which is "ekdemeo." This one comes from the word "ek" meaning "from," and again "demos" meaning people. So literally, this means to be away from one's own people, or to be out of your earthly existence, and thus out of your body.

Therefore, verse 6 says, "While we are at home in the body (that is, we are alive--the soul and spirit is living in the body existence on earth), we are absent (and this separation here is) from the Lord." The word "from" is the Greek word "apo" which indicates separation from the exterior of something. That is, it is "a space between." It means separated from the Lord's visible presence in heaven while you're in the tent body at home on the earth. It is present. You are always separated from the Lord's visible presence while you are alive in your physical body on this earth. It is active. It is the actual status of the Christian. It is indicative. It's a statement of reality.

This contrast points out the fact that the body is not the person, but only his house. The person is the soul and spirit. If we are to say, "While we are at home in the body, we are absent (separated from the Lord)," then this shows that we are simply residing in this body, and that's not our home permanently. Therefore, we are absent from the Lord.

Walk by Faith

Verse 6 is followed by an interruption or parentheses in verse 7. You will see that your translators have put parentheses around this in order to show you that he has interjected an idea here. In this verse, he says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight. The word "for" is the Greek word "gar" which introduces to us a confirmation of verse 6. Presence with the Lord is now a matter of positive volition to Bible doctrine which promises that future destiny. We anticipate this to be our case. Faith or our positive volition walk requires knowledge of Bible doctrine--not blind faith. It is not blind faith that we teach. It is faith that is based upon the information of the Word of God. The presence of the Lord is now a matter of your being positive to doctrinal information.

So he says, "For we walk" ("peripateo"). It is present. It is our regular constant daily mode of life. It is active. It is our choice to be positive to doctrine. It is indicative. This is reality. "We walk by faith." "By faith" is the Greek preposition "dia" plus the Greek word "pistis" for faith. It means "by way of faith." We walk now by way of faith. This is the constant condition of our present state of those of us who are learning and believing the Word of God. The walk by faith is the faith rest technique that Hebrews 4:1-3 teaches us. We walk on the basis of faith rest. We believe what God has promised, and we rest upon that.

In contrast, he says, "Not by sight." "Not by sight" is "dia" again plus "eidos." This means "not by way of sight." The word "eidos" here has a specific kind of meeting. "Eidos" refers to what strikes the eye, or to what you see externally--the form; the shape; or, the appearance. The believer on positive volition is guided in spiritual things not by what he beholds, but by what he knows to be true as the result of doctrine that he has learned, even though that is invisible. Here again is where people are making the mistake. They are not walking by faith. The doesn't mean some blind procedure where all is going to be well, but by faith in what God has said because somebody has explained authoritatively from the Word of God, in the original languages of what God has said.

Instead of walking in that way, we walk by sight, which is another word for experience. We walk by what we see happening, and so we decide what is doctrine. We walk on what we think God should do; how he should act; and, how God should treat people who are ignorant of His Word; who are indifferent to His Word; or, who even outright reject His Word. Well, this is an important little parenthesis that Paul places in here. He is saying, "I am just as confident as I can be. I know something. I have knowledge of a fullness of this thing. I know it in complete detail. I'm not just learning this doctrine. I know it, and I know it well. When I am at home in my physical body, I am absent from the very presence of the Lord." The opposite is what is true. "When I am out of this physical body, then where am I? I'm face-to-face with Jesus Christ. I'm talking to Him. I'm seeing Him. I'm reaching over there and I can touch him. That's where I am."

Now he says, "Do you think that's a cute idea? Do you think that I've imagined this? How do I know this? Because I'm acting in positive volition on doctrinal information. That's how I know it. That's why I have the confidence, because I am not walking according to sight. If I look by sight, what do I see? I see my friends dying. I see my friend die; I see him thrown into the grave; I see dirt put upon him; and, I don't see him anymore. That's the end of it. I see a dog running down the street. He gets run over by a chariot. They pick him up; they throw him into a hole; they put dirt on him; and, that's the end of it. I don't see him. If I'm walking by sight, I don't see any difference between the dog and that friend of mine. When you're dead, you're dead. You're gone. Paul says, "That is not so. You have simply transferred your residence and your way of life."

We walk not by sight, but we walk by faith. The walk by sight is human viewpoint living and thinking. It is seeing instead of believing. So verse 7 points out the fact that spiritual things are never learned through our experience, but that we learn them through doctrine, and that governs and evaluates our experience. Doctrine is telling us about what we cannot see, and that's the basic guide to our divine viewpoint. There's a vast difference between human conjecture about death and the divine revelation about it. There are a lot of arrogant opinions among Christians about how God should act and what should be true. Consequently, it is also accompanied, I've often noticed, by belittling of doctrine.

Verse 6 and verse 8 form one sentence. He has interrupted that with verse 7 in order to point out that he's talking about something you believe but that you don't see. Then he picks up verse 8 to complete the sentence. "We are confident," and he again repeats the same word that he began with up in verse 6, "tharreo." Again he repeats his confidence (his assurance) that he possesses. The words, "I say" are not in the Greek. "We are confident and," then he adds the expression, "willing to die" as an expression of his confidence. "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." The word "willing" is "eudokeo." This word comes from two words: "eu," which means well; and, "dokeo" which means to think. Therefore, what we have is "to think well of." Paul says, "I think well of the idea of dying--of departing from this body. This is the same word which is used in Luke 3:22 in the Father's statement concerning His Son at the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Eudokeo" is present tense. It is Paul's constant way of thinking. It is active. It is his personal choice. It is indicative--a statement of fact.

He would rather, he says (his preference is), instead of being in this body, be absent from it. So again we have this contrast once more between absent and present. "Absent" again is this same word "ekdemeo." "From the body" is "eksoma." This means "absent out of the body;" that is, to be dead. This time it is aorist active infinitive. That tells us something. Aorist is absent when? At the point when you die. Active is the point where the Christian's soul and spirit actually leave the body. Infinitive is indicating purpose. This is Paul's purpose--to be departed from the body. "Present" here is "endemeo," the same word again. This word means "with the Lord." It is aorist. When am I with the Lord? At the point of my death. It is active, meaning when, in my physical death, my soul and spirit enter my house in heaven. It is the infinitive expressing purpose again. It is Paul's purpose that he would depart from this earth to be with the Lord.

So a Christian who is out of his body house on the earth means instant presence with the Lord, visibly before Him in heaven. This is looking at death while you're alive on earth and all is well with you. Therefore, death for the Christian is not an object of dread--of something unknown, or something that he fears. Rather it is something that he looks forward to. Verse 8, in other words, is a restatement of the preference that Paul expressed in verse 4 where Paul says, "I want to be clothed upon with my house from heaven." Verse 8 deals with the transfer of the soul and spirit from the body to heaven. Do you understand that? It does not deal with the transfer from a mortal old sin nature body to an immortal resurrection body. This is what happens to a Christian at the point of death. The soul is transformed into the image of Christ, and later comes the resurrection body which also is then changed into the form of Christ's resurrection body.

Acceptance

In verse 9, he declares then very briefly what it is that he was laboring for: "Wherefore" is the Greek word "diokai." "Wherefore we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him." "We labor" is the word "philotimeomai." It comes from the Greek words that you're acquainted with: "philo" means to love; and, "time" means to honor. Therefore, what "philotimeomai" means is "to be fond of honor." He says, "Wherefore we labor," or, "We are fond of honor." It doesn't really mean to work. What it means here is, "We are ambitious," or "We have as our aim." That's the way to put it. "Wherefore we have as our aim," not "We labor." It is not that we work. That is a translation that gives you a wrong idea. This is his present constant goal. It's middle voice which means that he benefits by this aim. It is indicative--a statement of policy.

Then he gives this comparison: whether / or. We have had this before with these two words: "eite eite." This is a contrast between being present alive, or being absent with death. Again he uses "endemeo" and "ekdemeo." He is comparing the two: in the body; and, out of the body. So, he is contrasting separation from the Lord while alive, or facing him after death. Life on earth, or life in heaven. In either case, he says, "Whether we are present, or we are absent, that we may be accepted with Him." That is, "Whether we are alive (present) or whether we are absent (dead), that we may be accepted." The word "accepted" is "euarestos." That means well-pleasing. "That we may be well-pleasing to Him (that is, to the Lord Jesus Christ)." "May be" is the Greek word "eime." It is constant desire. It's his active choice. It is infinitive which shows it's his purpose.

It is his desire to be well pleasing to the Lord. When? He says, "In my life, or in my death." How are you going to be well-pleasing to the Lord in your life? By being filled with the spirit; by learning the Word of God; and, responding to it. How are you going to be well-pleasing to the Lord in death? By entering heaven with a well-developed spiritual maturity structure in your soul, and a record of works that will stand up at the Judgment Seat of Christ, consequently, as divine good production for which the Lord may reward you. In other words, it will please the Lord to be able to reward you. You will please the Lord now by learning His Word and being responsive to it. You will please the Lord in heaven by coming in as a spiritually mature Christian with divine good production to your credit for which the Lord may reward you. It will please the Lord to no end to be able to do that. So pleasing the Lord means learning doctrine now.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Let's tie this up. In verse 10, he ties up this same concept, for he says, "For." The word "for" gives the reason. "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad." "We must" is the Greek word "dei" which means it is a logical necessity. "All" means every Christian, whether you are carnal or spiritual. "Must appear" is "phaneroo." "Phaneroo" is a word that connotes standing before a judge in a courtroom. It means more than just to appear. It means "to be revealed in your true character."

One of the things that a judge has always faced with in the courtroom in deciding a case is what the true character of the witness is; what the true character of the defendant is; and, what the true character of the case is. This word "we must appear" connotes being exposed as you really are. It eliminates any false appearing. The pseudo spiritual maturity structure has been left behind. All of the human good production has been rejected. Now you will be disclosed in your true light before Jesus Christ. The aorist tense is the point in heaven after the rapture at the Judgment Seat of Christ when your works are judged. Passive means that you have no choice in the matter. Every one of us is going to receive this evaluation of our works. The infinitive indicates purpose. Infinitive means it's a signal that God is expressing here His purpose.

This purpose is to be executed at what he calls the Judgment Seat of Christ ("bema"). "Bema" was a Greek word that referred to the elevated platform and the throne upon which the judge sat. Today, we would probably call it "the bench." Jesus Christ, because He has omniscience, will make a true judgment and a true evaluation of our spiritual maturity and of our works. Why? "That" ("hina") indicates again reason. "That we may receive "komizo." It is aorist. It is at the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven. "We may receive" indicates that we will personally benefit by this. It is subjunctive. Rewards are potential for every believer for his good works. "That we may receive the things done in his body" means the things he has done through or by the body--things done in our earth existence stage while alive. There are two sources of our works: the old sin nature; or, the Holy Spirit. So our good works are either human good or divine good.

"We receive things done in the body according to that he has done." "According to that he has done" is "prasso." It is aorist. This indicates every time that we did something--the totality of our Christian works. It is active. It is that which we chose to do. It is indicative--a statement of our service according to (on the basis of) things done in our body." And again we have whether / or ("eite eite"). This is the comparison. It will be good, or it will be bad. It will be "agathos" or it will be "phaulos." "Agathos" is divine good. "Phaulos" is human good. Consequently, then the Lord makes a divine reward on the basis of what he finds we have produced. What we have produced of human good, He burns up. This is explained to us further in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.

So this is the destiny of a Christian. It is nothing but good. Whatever the burdens are that make us sigh now, the future is full of hope.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1973

Back to the Advanced Bible Doctrine (Philippians) index

Back to the Bible Questions index