 Introduction:
This morning we come to the final
two statements of the Apostles' Creed. You have been
very patient and attentive during these past few
months as we worked through this important confession
of Faith by the early Christians.
As I was preparing this passage, I
was immediately brought back to one Thursday
afternoon in March of 1995. As soon as I got off the
plane at SJ airport, my niece took me to the nursing
home where my father was. My brother and sisters were
there already. I held my father's hand. 20 minutes
later, his pulsed stopped.
Many of you have also experienced
the death of a loved one. Facing death, in the midst
of grief, we inevitably ask, where is he/she now?
What happens next? I still remember when my father
was alive, whenever he tried to tell us that one of
his friends had died, he would say, "so and so
is gone...." Gone where?
What happens after we die? Many of
us compare life to a show. When the last act is
completed, the last song sung, the curtain down, then
what? Is there anything beyond death? This is what we
want to explore this morning.
I. What are
we?
In order to understand death, it is
important for us to understand what we are made of.
According to the Greeks, the human body consists of
the physical and the soul. The physical is evil and
the soul is good. The Chinese do not really say much
about our make up, except for some implications of a
soul. Certain sects of Buddhism, teach that after
death, the soul will reincarnate into another being.
What does the bible say? Why do we
have to refer back to the bible? Because it is God's
word. It tells us about God and man. Even though he
did not tell us everything about himself, our world,
and ourselves, yet what he said is true. His word is
our standard, our only reference point. You see, we
can't say, this is the Chinese view, this is the
Greek view and this is the bible's perspective, and
stop here. The bible, God's word, is the standard
against which other views are being measured. God's
word has the final say.
In Genesis we learn that God
created the animals and he also created man. Man and
animals are similar, because we both are created with
physical bodies. But man is different from the
animals because man is made in God's image. In the
garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to his disciples,
"the spirit is willing, but the body is weak"(Mat
26:41). He pointed to one's body and spirit. In 1
Thess 5:23, "...May your whole spirit, soul and
body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ." To some Christians, this verse is
used to support the view that we are made of the body,
spirit and soul. But a detailed look at the Greek
language usage shows there is little difference
between spirit and soul. They are often
interchangeable.
Therefore, God's word tells us that
we are made of the physical body and a soul or spirit.
II. The
Intermediate State
Genesis 3:19, " we came from
dust, and will return to dust." Hebrews 9:27,
"Just as man is destined to die once, and after
that to face judgment," 2 Corn 4:16, Paul writes
that "...though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."
And then in chapter 5 he writes that this earthly
tent will be destroyed one day. Both God's word and
human experience confirm that there is an end to our
life in this world.
You see, because of man's
deliberate disobedience to God, death came to us.
Human death is not normal, but the result of sin. So,
when we see deaths around us, whether resulting from
crime, war or sickness, we can be angry, we can
grieve, because it is abnormal.
Modern medicine tells us that after
we turn 20, the physical body begins to go down hill.
As we age, it will take longer time to heal from
injuries and sicknesses. Recently many of us have
come down with the flu. I heard that some young
people got sick on Tuesday, and by Friday, they were
up and running all over the place. Then to some of us,
it seems to take forever to get well completely. We
can't stay up late as before. Our bodies deteriorate
at different rate, some faster than others. Sooner or
later, we will stop breathing and die.
What happens when we die? Yes, we
know the body will decay, but how about the spirit?
Chinese in general take a rather indifferent attitude.
Confucius said, "not knowing life, how can we
know about death?" The Chinese folk religion
believes that after death, the spirit will go
somewhere. Folklore has it that 7 days after death,
the spirit will come back to visit the place where it
lived. Since it will continue to live on, the
surviving family members are to worship and take care
of the spirit by offering food. At funeral ceremonies,
paper cars, mansions, money, and TV's are burned for
the departed spirit to enjoy in the "yin"
place.
What does God's word say about the
spirit after death? You remember when Jesus was on
the cross, he said to the thief next to him, "I
tell you the truth, today you will be with me in
paradise."(Luke 23:43). Jesus was telling him
that when he died, his soul/spirit would be with him.
The soul will not be in a "soul sleep"
state, but a conscious presence with Jesus Christ.
We also remember those well-known
words of Job, "I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And
after my skin has been destroyed, yet apart from my
flesh I will see God...." Job 19:25-27
God's word tells us that at death,
our spirit will be with God immediately, while our
body will decay and be destroyed. Death is not the
end, it ushers us into God's presence. When we are
alive, we believe and love a God whom we do not see,
but at death, we will see him face to face.
III. The
bodily resurrection.
This is not the end yet. More is
coming. To find out what will follow, we will turn to
1 Thess 4:13-18, "Brothers, we do not want you
to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to
grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We
believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we
believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have
fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own
word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who
are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly
not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the
Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other
with these words.
Believers at Thessalonica were
grieving over the death of their loved ones, so Paul
wrote this to comfort them. We want to take note of
what is written here. First, Jesus Christ died.
Second, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Third,
Jesus will come again. Fourth, vs14 tells us that
when he comes, he will bring with him those who were
dead in Christ. Then 16b tells us that their body
will rise first. So it appears that when Jesus Christ
returns, there is a union of the body and soul again.
And finally, those who are still alive when Christ
comes, will be lifted up to meet Christ in the air.
And vs17b reminds us that we will then be with the
Lord forever.
In 1 Corinthians 15, we are given a
little bit more information about the resurrected body.
There are still many mysteries surrounding the nature
of the resurrected body, but this much we know. Death
and resurrection are like a seed. For the plant to
grow out of a seed, it has to be buried in the ground
first. The new plant will have little resemblance of
the seed, but they are basically continuous. There is
a continuation between the seed and the plant. Or use
the analogy of the caterpillar and butterfly. The
worm will make itself a cocoon and stay there for
many days. When it breaks the cocoon and comes out,
it has already been transformed into a beautiful
butterfly. The same is with the resurrection of the
body. There is continuity between the present and the
future. The present is corruptible, but the new body
is incorruptible. The present body is shameful, but
the new body is glorious. The present one is weak,
full of limitations, but the resurrected body is
powerful. The present is natural, but the new body is
spiritual.
Do you see what is happening here?
When God first created man, both the physical and the
spiritual, they both are in perfect harmony with God.
Because of men's deliberate disobedience to God, man's
relationship with God was broken. There is alienation
between our spirit and God. We became enemies. Our
physical body also suffered because of sin. We
experience all kinds pain, sickness and abnormalities.
When Jesus Christ came into the world 2000 years ago,
his purpose was to bring men back to God, to
reconcile us to our creator. When he died on that
cross, our sins were forgiven. And if we believe in
him, there is peace between God and us. However, as
Paul wrote in Romans 8, our physical bodies were
still suffering. And we are waiting for the day, when
Christ comes again, our physical body will also be
redeemed. This is salvation. Not just our soul is
redeemed, but our physical body will be made whole
again. The ultimate objective of God's plan of
salvation, is that both the physical and spirit will
be fully redeemed. This is the meaning of John 3:16,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his
only son, that whosoever believes in him shall not
perish but have everlasting life."
Then, finally, what do we do with
this information, this knowledge? Among some
Christians, we use the second coming of Jesus as a
means to scare individuals, to manipulate their
emotions that they will become Christians. I remember
several years ago there was a Christian movie on
Jesus' second coming. After seeing the movie, many
early teenagers were so scared they could not sleep.
But what does the bible teach on this? V18, "Encourage
each other with these words!" We are to
encourage one another with the message of Jesus
Christ's second coming. How so?
When we see our love ones dying, or
when we begin to realize that our life is getting
shorter and shorter than the life behind us, we don't
have to be afraid. We don't have to indulge in self-pity
or constant grieving. Why? Because to the believers,
death is not the end. When we die, our spirit will be
with God immediately. There will be no more pain,
tears and suffering. And then on that last day, when
Jesus Christ returns, our bodies will be resurrected;
it will be a glorious body. And we will spend
eternity with the one who has so loved us. This is
our hope. This is our encouragement. The more we
experienced physical ailments, the more we feel the
physical and emotional pain of this world, and
moreover, the more we love our Lord, the more we will
look forward to the day when we will be with Him.
Conclusion:
Four years ago, going home after
Dad's funeral service, my brother said, "we can
be very thankful that Dad was a believer." Dad
was not a perfect person when he was alive. There
were years when he wasn't happy about his
circumstances. He had suffered physical and emotional
pain. But through death, he was ushered into God's
presence. All suffering and pain come to an end.
When we take one last look at the
Apostles' Creed, we realize how complete and relevant
it is to us. The first part tells us who we are and
where we came from. We are God's creation. The middle
portion tells us what we are doing here. That God has
redeemed us from the sin's dominion and that he has
delivered us into his redeemed community. That while
on earth, we are to conform to him, to live a life
reflecting his loving relationship with us. And the
last section tells us where we are going. One day we
will be resurrected, and spend eternity with the
creator.
You see, after the curtain has come
down, the last song is sung, when we exit the stage
of life, we don't just wander around. To the
Christians, we enter into eternity. It is the
beginning of another journey. There we will see our
wonderful Lord and Savior face to face. Let us
encourage each other with these words.
Rev. William
Hsueh Feb 20, 2000
Houston Chinese Church, Houston, Texas
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