WE come now to the third of the five scriptures that, Dr. Bullinger says, are generally relied on and referred to by Traditionists: "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. 5:6-86Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6‑8)). Commenting upon this passage Dr. Bullinger says, "We have shown that 'to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord' was the inspired desire of the Apostle, which could be only realized in resurrection. Resurrection (and not death) is the subject of the whole context" (p. 29).
But the Doctor is clearly illogical here. To be "absent from the body" clearly means death, and NOT resurrection, just the opposite of what he says. In resurrection the individual will clearly be in the body, and not absent from it. To be "absent from the body" means death, and shuts out resurrection as long as that condition exists. When resurrection takes place that condition will cease, but till it does the condition exists.
Dr. Bullinger goes on: "These words are generally misquoted, 'Absent from the body, present with the Lord,' as though it said that when we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord. But no such sentence can be found" (p. 29).
But verse 8 of our Chapter contains the following words, "Absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." If this is not the sentence that Dr. Bullinger says does not exist, then we do not know what plain simple words mean. Put these words before a humble Christian who can scarcely read, and he would have no difficulty in understanding that when the believer is "absent from the body" (that is death and NOT resurrection) he is "present with the Lord." Blessed hope!
Dr. Bullinger goes on, "No less than nine words are deliberately omitted from the context when the quotation is thus popularly made" (p. 29).
We object strongly to Dr. Bullinger saying that these nine words "are deliberately omitted." This is to imply deceit and lack of honesty, and that in divine things. It is a most serious and unwarranted charge. We would not like to charge Dr. Bullinger with deliberately explaining away scriptures in order to make them square with his theory of no Intermediate State. We have, in our judgment, much mare ground for doing so, but we forbear.
Dr. Bullinger continues: "The omission of these words creates quite a new sense, and puts the verse out of all harmony with the context; the object of which is to show that we cannot be 'present with the Lord' except by being clothed upon with our Resurrection body-our 'house which is from heaven.'...
The context is, 'We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord' (ver. 8).
By omitting the words which we have printed in bold type, the sense is entirely changed" (pp. 29, 30).
We would ask any fair-minded reader whether these "nine words" make any difference to the thought that "absent from the body" means "to be present with the Lord," that the one condition is the counterpart of the other. We cannot see that they do.
The beginning of 2 Cor. 5 teaches just the opposite of what Dr. Bullinger would make it out to be. Verse 4 says, "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." Now to be "unclothed" means for the soul to be apart from the body-the soul is "unclothed" at death. But if, as Dr. Bullinger teaches, the whole man-spirit, soul and body-ceases to exist at death, there can be no unclothing according to him. The clothing, and the tenant within the clothing, according to him, cease to exist, how then can the believer be "unclothed"? Dr. Bullinger is on the horns of a dilemma.
"Clothed upon" means the receiving of the resurrection body, which the "unclothed" believer will have given to him at the second coming of Christ. Then mortality will be swallowed up of life.
The whole passage proves most clearly that there is an Intermediate State.