Correspondence: Life

From: Young Christian: Volume 6, 1916

• 3 min. read • grade level: 8

Question: From C. M.

Answer: Genesis 2:7⁷And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7) is how man received life; it was God breathed.

Leviticus 17:11¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11) is the life of the beast, created by His word (Heb. 11:3³Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)).

The beast is “made to be taken and destroyed:” it is not raised from the dead at death. It ceases to exist (2 Peter 2:12¹²But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; (2 Peter 2:12)).

Man was made in the image and likeness of God, to represent God and to have dominion (Gen. 1:26²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)).

Man Is accountable to his Maker (Rom. 14:12¹²So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)). Man exists forever (Luke 20:38³⁸For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)). His body will be raised again from the dead (Rev. 20:12-13¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Revelation 20:12‑13)).

The believer will be with and like Christ in glory for eternity (1 Thess. 4:17¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17); 2 Thess. 2:14¹⁴Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:14)).

The unbeliever will exist forever in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8⁸But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)).

Both believers and unbelievers will have spirit, soul and body in eternity.

When the believer dies, be is absent from the body and present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8⁸We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)), which is “far better” (Phil. 1:23²³For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:23)).

When the unbeliever dies, his body goes to the grave and his spirit goes to prison (2 Peter 2:4,9⁴For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4)
⁹The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (2 Peter 2:9)), where he is already in torments (Luke 16:23²³And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23); Jude 7⁷Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 7)).

Every believer, or saint, from the beginning to the end of man’s history is born again. This gives them a life they can know and enjoy God (John 3:3³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)), thus the believer has two natures, the flesh and the spirit (John 3:6⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)).

The unbeliever has only one, he is in the flesh. “They that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8⁸So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:8)).

When we are born again, and have believed the gospel, and are sealed with the Holy Spirit, we then have eternal life (John 17:3³And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)). It is seen in the enjoyment of God as our Father, Christ is our Savior and Lord, and the Holy Spirit as our comforter and teacher.

Everyone that is born again in all dispensations will be eternally saved, though Scripture does not speak of Old Testament saints having eternal life. Eternal life as unfolded in John’s gospel and epistles, is the blessing brought to us now in the Father and the Son.

Eternal life means far more than a life that will never end.

We have often seen, alas! some whom we believed to be truly converted turn away from the truth, and sometimes sink into blasphemous doctrines, such as Russelism, Christadelpianism, Seventh day Adventism, Eddyism, etc., all of which destroy the foundations of Christianity, by attacking the person of Christ. Such we must leave to God. “The Lord knoweth them that are His” (2 Tim. 2:19¹⁹Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)). We cannot have fellowship with them, nor own them as God’s children when in such a condition, but we can earnestly pray that they may be delivered out of the snare of the devil in which they have been taken captive (Heb. 6:4-5). A person might have all that is in these verses without being born again (Heb. 6; 9-10). Here we see the fruit of the new birth as accompanying salvation. Life in the saints is not spoken of in Hebrews.

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