THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE #41

With Dale Ratzlaff

John 11:17-27

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

In this passage, we learn for certain that Lazarus had already been dead four days. This is not just an isolated fact in the account, but is inserted for very important reasons. Lazarus must have died shortly after the  messenger was sent to Jesus telling Him, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” We assume it took one day for the messenger to get to where Jesus was. As we noted in our last lesson, “… when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was (Jn.11:6). The fourth day was a travel day for Jesus and His disciples to get back to Bethany.

The importance of John’s recording that Lazarus had already been dead four days is as follows. First, it was thought that decay of the body set in on the fourth day. That is why later in the record, Martha says, 

Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days (Jn. 11:39).

In Acts 13 we have the statement that Jesus did not undergo decay. The reason for that statement—it is assumed—was because Jesus had not been dead four days. There was a rabbinic belief that the soul hovers over the body of the deceased person for the first three days, intending to re-enter it, but as soon as the appearance of the body changes and starts to decay, the soul departs (See D.A. Carson, The Gospel of John, p. 411.)

The above understanding agrees with the way Luke reports the healing of Jairus’ daughter:

And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat (Lk. 8:53-55, my emphasis).

Therefore, the fact that Lazarus had been dead four days adds to the miraculous nature of this resurrection giving additional evidence that Jesus is God.

When Jesus approached Bethany, Martha came out to meet Him, and we have this meaningful exchange:

Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.

Martha’s statement is not blaming Jesus for Lazarus’ death, but expresses her deep sorrow and unanswered questions. She has faith to know that Jesus would have healed Lazarus had He been present. Why He was not, she does not understand. Yet, she still expresses faith in the ability of Jesus to ask whatever He wished from God and it would be given to Him. It is doubtful that she is expressing faith that Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the grave. Otherwise, she would not have objected to having the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Here we see both the promise made by the Lord and the assurance of the fulfillment of that promise by Martha. Here is evidence that we can, indeed, believe in the resurrection of the dead. This is a central tenet of Christianity that gives us hope to endure whatever circumstances we face. Believers will rise again.

We now come to an astounding statement that deserves our careful attention.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus’ statement that He is the resurrection and the life provides a godly perspective on several spiritual matters. Martha believed that the resurrection is an event; Jesus showed her that the resurrection is a Person. Martha’s knowledge of eternal life was an abstract idea; Jesus proved that knowledge of eternal life is a personal relationship. Martha thought victory over death was a future expectation; Jesus corrects her, showing that victory over death is a present reality (See https://www.gotquestions.org/resurrection-and-life.html).

The question we must ask and explore is this: is Jesus saying that in some sense we will never die? Is He speaking of an ongoing existence between natural death and the resurrection of the last day? Because this question is so important to many of our readers, I am going to list several statements of evangelical scholars and then include a study I did on this subject from 1 Corinthians 5 in 2008 for Proclamation!. 

We have repeatedly noticed that the background for these verses is 5:21ff [For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.] and there the notion of life is invariably the life of God, the saving life, eternal life, the life of the kingdom. So also here: we might paraphrase, ‘whosoever has eternal life and believes in me will never die.’ The two descriptions ‘has eternal life’ and ‘believes in me are not tautologous [self-contradictory]. The first stresses the internal change that must come about, wrought by the power of God…the second underlines what stance the individual must adopt (is he believes). In Greek they are lumped together…suggesting that both descriptions refer to one individual. This clause, then, is the elucidation of the truth that Jesus is the life…If the last half of v. 25 stipulates that the believer, even though he or she dies, will nevertheless come to life at the resurrection, the first half of v 26 stipulates that the believer, the one who already enjoys resurrection life this side of death, will in some sense never die. That is the recurring theme in this Gospel. In anticipation of Jesus’ resurrection and the pouring out of the Spirit, there is the repeated promise that those who believe in him will immediately possess eternal life. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death (8:51 cf. 3:15,16, 5:24). Ordinary, mortal life ebbs away; the life that Jesus gives never ends (my emphasis). It is in that sense that whoever lived and believed in Jesus will never die (D.A. Carson, The Gospel of John, p. 413).

The two statements [Jn. 11:25,26] radiate from the one center I AM, just as do the two terms “the resurrection” and “the life.” We have two applications, a looking at the person concerned in two ways.

First is the person who dies (κἂν ἀποθάνῃ, expectancy), as Lazarus has died, as every believer will lie down to sleep in death. To him Jesus is “the resurrection,” the victory and the triumph over death. He shall sleep indeed, yet “he shall live,” temporal death harms him not at all… “He shall live” does not mean merely: “shall come to life in the far distant last day.” But from the very moment of death on. Only a restful shadow covers him, not real death; for Jesus has taken that away. This is what the believer’s death means…Having this “life” in himself while he continues here on earth, no death in a real sense can touch him. “In no way shall he die forever”— οὐ μὴ the strongest negation… What a joy in the prospect that we “shall in no way die”! (R.C.H. Linski, Commentary on the New Testament, John, p. 801, 802.)

If we accept the statement of Jesus in our passage in John 11 that we immediately go on living after we die, are there other biblical statements that confirm this idea? Yes, there are many of them. For the sake of space, we will examine only 2 Corinthians 5.

Remembering our first rule of hermeneutics, we must consider the context. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the old and new covenants. He likens the Sinaitic Covenant, including the expanded covenant (written with ink v. 3) and the words of the covenant—Ten Commandments written on stone (see Ex. 31:18; 34:28; 40:20; Deut. 4:13; 9:9; 9:11; 9:15; 1 Ki. 8:9, 21)—to a ministry of “condemnation” (v. 9), one that was “fading away” (v. 11) and one that actually “veils” the glory of the new covenant. He concludes the chapter by stating that “the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face [free from the Sinaitic covenant— Gal. 3:17–29; Rom. 7:6; Heb. 8:13–9:4] beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul describes his apostolic ministry. In verse 7 he states that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” What is the “treasure” of which he speaks? It is the Life of Christ, the eternal life we now have in the spirit (see also Jn. 6:47, 63; Rom. 8:2, 11; 2 Cor. 3:6; Gal. 6:8). This becomes clear as we read v. 11, “…we are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our mortal flesh.” 

Then in v. 16, Paul states, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man [body] is decaying, yet our inner man [spirit] is being renewed day by day.” He ends chapter 4 with, “While we look not at the things which are seen [physical], but at the things which are not seen; [spiritual] for the things which are seen [outer man, body] are temporal, but the things which are not seen [inner man, spirit] are eternal. Paul’s focus is not on the earthly life in the body, but it is directed to the heavenly, eternal existence in the spirit. For this reason, he can face hardship, persecution and even death with confidence. This is the context. Now, in chapter 5, Paul will develop his theology further. We now do a verse by verse study using the updated NASB.

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1).

This verse is loaded. First, note the confidence expressed—“we know.” This is not some wishful theory, some speculative idea, but it is stated as well-established Christian theology known by Paul and his associates. It is designed to bring comfort to those who live in uncertain times. There is no question that Paul uses “earthly tent” here to refer to the body. It is the “house” in which we dwell. In other words, the body is the home of the soul or spirit. The body is not the personality; rather the soul or spirit is the person that lives within the body. If this tent is torn down (body destroyed in death) Paul categorically states that we have (present indicative active in Greek) a building from God. Again, note well the words. Paul does not say that we will have a building at some future time, but we now have, (we now possess this asset) a building (place to live) from God. This heavenly house is not made with hands (not of human devising) and is eternal in the heavens. When one form of existence comes to an end, and our earthly tent (body) is folded up, we immediately have another existence awaiting us in heaven with God and this existence is eternal. There is no uncertainty in Paul’s teaching. “We know…We have.”

For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven (2 Cor. 5:2). 

As the years pass and old age approaches, Paul’s statement becomes more understandable. Yes, in this body we do at times “groan.” We long to be transformed into our eternal existence to escape the deterioration, pain, and suffering experienced as this “tent” is being torn down. There is a real sense in which Christianity is focused on the next life. We long for it, we wait for it, and we desire it above all else. It is this assurance that allows the Christian to face death without fear.

Inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked (2 Cor. 5:3).

The NASB is very literal and supports the idea expressed by the Greek aorist participle that the “putting on” is an accomplished event. (The New King James renders this verse, “if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.”) Paul is building assurance, not doubt, and this rendering agrees with Paul’s statement in 5:1: “We have,” the present continuous tense in Greek. While we may not see our heavenly clothing at this time, nevertheless we have already put it on. This happened when we first believed in Christ (Jn. 3:4–6.) Because of this accomplished fact, we will not be found naked without our heavenly clothing of Christ’s righteousness and life in the spirit.

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life (2 Cor. 5:4). 

In this verse, Paul describes us all. We do not want to be “unclothed” in non-existence. We do not look forward to having the worms destroy our body, nor is there any comfort in simply being non-existent until the resurrection. Rather, Paul’s hope is that there will be an immediate transfer of life that now exists in the mortal tent of our bodies directly into the heavenly existence of life in the spirit with Christ. One level of life will be “swallowed up” by the next.

Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge (2 Cor. 5:5).

God is the one who has been working for us and in us for the express purpose of mortality being swallowed up by life. The Holy Spirit, given to all true believers, is the tremendous down payment, guaranteeing the coming change.

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— [7] for we walk by faith, not by sight— [8] we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. [9] Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:6–9). 

These three verses must be studied together as the theme is intertwined throughout. The “therefore” refers back to the fact that we have already received the Holy Spirit who seals all true Christians when they believe (Eph. 1:13; 4:30), and He guarantees our future inheritance in Christ (see also 1 Cor. 1:21, 22; Eph. 2:22.). This fact, in turn, gives us good hope. Now we come to the “meat” of this passage: “Knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord…” Again, note the assurance “Knowing.” This is not speculation or wishful thinking; it is “knowing.”

“While we are at home in the body” must mean the eternal spirit or inward man, mentioned in Chapter 4:16–18 that is living in our “tent” or body. Notice that Paul very clearly indicates that his existence is separate from the body which is the temporary “home” for the spirit. Now, Paul clearly says that during this life we are “absent from the Lord.” He inserts, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” Physical sight or visible evidence does not easily prove the afterlife. We must grasp it by faith. Not blind faith, but (1) a faith which rests upon the literal resurrection of Jesus who is our life; (2) the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, and (3) the reality of the new birth—being born of the spirit (Jn. 3:4–6.). Paul now reaffirms that he and his companions are of good courage, meaning that they are walking by faith because they already know they have an invisible but real dwelling from God. 

Paul states, “I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” Paul cannot be speaking of an existence after the resurrection of the body, for then he would not be “absent from the body.” Rather, he must be speaking of the intermediate state between death and the resurrection. He describes this existence as being “at home with the Lord.” 

We now come to the clincher, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” Paul’s ambition is to be pleasing to the Lord both now in this life and in the afterlife, including the time between death and the resurrection of the body. To describe this existence as unconscious sleep—really annihilation—simply does not fit the context. “An ambition to be pleasing” is substantial evidence of a living personality that has active intellect, emotion, and will and not unconscious sleep—which is essentially annihilation. 

Therefore, when we look at the context of this section and what it teaches, we must conclude that there is a conscious existence between death and the resurrection when we will be “absent from the body and at home with the Lord.” This existence is one that allows for the function of an active intellect, emotion, and will that is “preferred” to our present life “in the body.” As mentioned above, this theology and the resulting assurance it brings hinges on the certainty of the historical bodily resurrection of Jesus, the trustworthiness of the Word of God, and the reality of the miracle of the new birth which regenerates our dead spirit such that we can be called “new creatures in Christ Jesus.” In harmony with this conclusion later in this same chapter Paul states,

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor. 5:16, 17).

When we consider Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 5 coupled with what Jesus taught in John 11, we have a sure foundation for faith.

I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? (Jn. 11:25-26).

Martha answered this question with profound spiritual insight.

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world” (Jn. 11:27). 

Only when we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who died for sin and was resurrected from the dead will we have the assurance that we will never die!

Application

• We may face many sorrows, suffering, and even death, yet if we believe in the Risen Christ, we know we will live with Him.
• All true believers are assured of the resurrection in the last day.
• All true believers never die spiritually. There is an existence with God between temporal death and the bodily resurrection.
• This existence with God between death and the resurrection is to be preferred to this life, and it is a life where we have intellect, emotion, and will. We, with Paul, want to be pleasing to the Lord both now and forever!

Prayer,

Father, help my mind grasp the beautiful truth of eternal life now in Christ. May I live knowing that come what may, I will be living with you and can be pleasing to you with my intellect, emotion, and will. All of this is a gift from you. Thank you, my Father. †

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Dale Ratzlaff

Dale Ratzlaff (1936–2024), was the founder of Life Assurance Ministries and Proclamation! Magazine. He served as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor for 13 years, seven at Monterey Bay Academy where he taught Bible. He and his wife Carolyn left the Adventist church in 1981 when he realized he could no longer teach the investigative judgment with a clear conscience. He has authored several books on Adventism that are available through his website, SabbathInChrist.com.

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