Absent From the Body - By Joe Crews

7/28/2019 Absent From the Body - By Joe Crews

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1. Introduction 2

2. The Time Of The Change 8

3. Unclothed In Death 11

4. Only Two Houses 12

5. Earnest Of The Spirit 14

6. Swallowed Up When? 16

7. Made For What? 21

8. Pauls Earnest Expectation 22

9. How To Be With The Lord 26

10. To Live or To Die? 28

11. Translation or Resurrection? 31

Copyright 2003 byLu Ann Crews

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Printed in the USA.

Published byAmazing Facts, Inc.

P. O. Box 1058Roseville, CA 95678-8058

Cover Design by Haley TrimmerLayout Design by Greg Solie


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ABSENT FROM THE BODY2

reward of the righteous is bestowedat the moment of death and that animmortal soul leaves the body to face animmediate reward or punishment. Ifthis is the true meaning of Pauls words,we are faced with some serious incon-sistencies within the epistles. Let usexamine the verses in 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 and discover what Paul actually didteach on this crucial subject:

For we know that if our earthlyhouse of this tabernacle were dissolved,we have a building of God, an house not

made with hands, eternal in the heavens.For in this we groan, earnestly desir-

ing to be clothed upon with our housewhich is from heaven:

If so be that being clothed we shallnot be found naked.

For we that are in this tabernacle dogroan, being burdened: not for that we

ABSENT FROM THE BODY 3

1 Introduction

Clergy and laity alike have oftenstumbled over some of the writings

of Paul the Apostle. Scattered amongthe letters that he addressed to thechurches are a few verses that almostseem to contradict what he wrote inother epistles. At least they have beeninterpreted as contradictions. But didthe great, spiritual, straight-thinking

Paul write confusing things? Or is thecontradiction only in the way readershave twisted his words?

A perfect example of the problemappears in the first few verses of 2Corinthians 5 where Paul speaks aboutlife and death. His language has beenunderstood by many to teach that the


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an house not made with hands,eternal in the heavens.

Vs. 2 He states our condition while inthe earthly house. In this wegroan and being burdened.

Vs. 2, 3 He tells us what we desire inthat state. Earnestly desiring tobe clothed upon with our housewhich is from heaven: if so be thatbeing clothed we shall not befound naked.

Vs. 4 Paul repeats these facts onceagain. For we that are in this tab-ernacle do groan, being burdened:

not for that we would beunclothed, but clothed upon.

Vs. 4 He then states the result of beingclothed with the house from heav-en that he so greatly desired. Butclothed upon, that MORTALITYmight be SWALLOWED UP OFLIFE.

ABSENT FROM THE BODY 5ABSENT FROM THE BODY

would be unclothed, but clothed upon,that mortality might be swallowed up oflife.

Now he that hath wrought us for theselfsame thing is God, who also hathgiven unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

Therefore we are always confident,knowing that whilst we are at home inthe 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 tobe present with the Lord.

In order to get the picture clearly inmind, let us review the verses point bypoint.

Vs. 1 Paul introduces an earthly houseand a heavenly house, and says:For we know that if our earthlyhouse of this tabernacle were dis-solved, we have a building of God,

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To the Corinthians Paul Wrote:We... in this tabernacle do groan.Given to us the earnest of the

Spirit.Earnestly desiring to be clothed

upon with our house which is fromheaven.

To the Romans Paul Wrote:We groan within ourselves Have the firstfruits of the Spirit.Earnest expectation waiting for

the redemption of our body.

These two scriptures are speakingof the same experience. The ultimateobject in both cases is to change thismortal body into the immortal bodyand to change this earthly house intothe house eternal in the heavens.Please notice that in one verse Paul wasearnestly desiring to be clothed with


the picture. Some have thought that thehouse from heaven is put on at themoment of death. But the apostle clear-ly spells out the TIME when he will puton immortality.

2 The Time Of The Change

Notice how he explains when mor-tality is swallowed up of life, inRomans 8:22, 23, ourselves also,which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,even we ourselves groan within our-

selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,the redemption of our body. This versein Romans is a perfect, striking parallelto the verses in 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 andclarifies when we shall be clothed withthat immortality. Notice the similarityof language and thought:

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3 Unclothed In Death

W

hat is meant by the termunclothed? Notice that Paul

specifically declared that he did notdesire to be naked or unclothed. We canbe certain, then, that the unclothed statedid not involve being with the Lord,since Paul did not desire it. In fact, theapostle made reference to being clothedwith only two houses, the earthly andheavenly. In the unclothed state, he was

neither in the earthly body nor clothedwith the heavenly. That leaves only onepossible explanation. To be unclothedor naked is the condition of death thatis the interlude between the dissolvingof the earthly house and putting on theheavenly.


his house from heaven, and in the otherverse his earnest expectation was theredemption of the body.

The comparison proves that thisclothing from heaven takes place at theredemption of the body. Paul adds thefinal clarification in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 when he again describes the TIMEthis change takes place: we shall allbe changed, In a moment, in the twin-kling of an eye, at the last trump thismortal must put on immortality. Inother words, even though death shoulddissolve this mortal body, Paul makes it

very clear that we do not put on thehouse from heaven (immortality) untilthe coming of Jesus and the redemptionof the body. This is also established bythe repeated references to the nakedor unclothed state.

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vacated? Are the saints to have housesto rent? Moreover, this view introducessomething that Paul never mentioned;for here we have THREE HOUSES, butPauls language allows for only TWO.And one would have to be abandonedaccording to the popular view. Would itstand abandoned and fall into ruin? Allthis is unscriptural and absurd. Such aview is an impossibility.

The fact is that Paul is not talkinghere about the soul at all. He does noteven once mention the soul in the pas-sage or its context. He is simply con-

trasting the present life with the farmore glorious life to come in heaven.He did not look forward to the sleep ofdeath (being unclothed) when hewould not be with the Lord, but he didlong for the redemption of the bodywhen he would be clothed with thehouse eternal in the heavens. While


4 Only Two Houses

S

ome have claimed that the housewhich we have eternal in the heav-

ens is the immortal soul with which weimmediately enter into heaven when theearthly house is dissolved. But thiscould not be. Notice the impossibility ofsuch an arrangement. If the soul inhab-ited that heavenly house immediatelyat death, what happens when it mustinhabit the immortalized body after the

resurrection takes place? It is in the glo-rified resurrection bodies that the right-eous dwell with God for eternity. Thiswould involve those souls leaving thehouse eternal in the heavens whichthey inhabited at death, and going intothe redeemed bodies at the resurrection.Then what happens to the house they

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mean? Of what is the Holy Spirit in ourhearts and earnest or pledge? Is it aproof or assurance that we have immor-tal souls that will live on when the bodyis dead? Is that what Paul meant? No.The apostle makes it abundantly clearthat the Spirit is a pledge of the redemp-tion of our bodies at the resurrection.... ye were sealed with that holy Spirit ofpromise, which is the EARNEST of ourinheritance until the redemption of thepurchased possession, unto the praiseof his glory. Ephesians 1:13, 14.

Do not miss the point Paul makes

that the earnest of the Spirit pointsto the time when our inheritance isreceived in full and the bodily redemp-tion takes place. Paul used the sameexpression in 2 Corinthians 5:5 whentalking about putting on the house fromheaven, God hath given unto us theearnest of the Spirit. That Spirit is the


still in this life he would be clothed witha mortal body; and after mortality isswallowed up of life, he would have aheavenly, immortal body. But whetherin the earthly tabernacles or house fromheaven he would still have a body.Nowhere does Paul separate a soul fromthe body. It is either a body on this earthand being absent from the Lord, or it isa redeemed body in heaven and beingpresent with the Lord.

5Earnest Of The Spirit

H ere is further positive proof thatPaul was referring to the resurrec-tion as the TIME to put on that eternalhouse. To both the Corinthians andthe Romans, Paul emphasized that theSpirit was a pledge that they would beclothed with immortality. What did he

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swallowed up of life. 2 Corinthians 5:4.Obviously, mortality can only be swal-lowed up by immortality, or eternal life.Is this the passing of the soul from themortal body at the hour of death? Let uslook at it. What is there about man,according to the common view, which ismortal? The body. In addition, what isimmortal? The soul. Assuming for amoment that this is true, then whathappens at death? At death the body,which is mortal, does not becomeimmortal, but loses all its life and crum-bles back to dust in the grave. Moreover,

the soul, which was immortal before, isno more than immortal afterwards. Isthere any swallowing up of mortalityby life here? Just the reverse! Mortality,or the mortal part, is swallowed up bydeath! There is not as much life after-ward as there was before, because afterdeath only the soul lives, while the body,


pledge of the resurrection of the body.Another text removes all doubt: But ifthe Spirit of him that raised up Jesusfrom the dead dwell in you, he thatraised up Christ from the dead shall alsoquicken your mortal bodies by his Spiritthat dwelleth in you. Romans 8:11. Thisverse provides undeniable proof thatthe indwelling Spirit is a guarantee thatour mortal bodies will be quickened atthe resurrection.

6Swallowed Up When?

Now let us take note that Paul usedan argument that forever pre-cludes the doctrine of the soul going toheaven at death. In one simple state-ment, Paul shattered the popular argu-ment for natural immortality. He said,we do groan that mortality might be

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Paul was longing for that changefrom the earthly mortal body to the glo-rious immortal body. He stated that thechange would take place on the resur-rection-translation day. His chief hopeseemed to center upon being translatedwithout ever being unclothed indeath. He yearned to be clothed uponby translation at the coming of Jesus, sothat he be not found naked (in thegrave). Translation would mean thatmortality would be swallowed up oflife.

Nevertheless, he hastened to express

confidence, as we have just pointed out,in the certainty of a resurrection whendeath would be swallowed up in victory(1 Corinthians 15:54). In either case,whether by translation or resurrection,he would be clothed upon with theimmortal body. Either mortality wouldbe swallowed up by being translated,


which was alive before, is now dead.That view is in contradiction to whatthe Word of God actually says. We mustreject it.

Paul knew the Corinthians wouldnot be confused by his language in 2Corinthians 5 about mortality beingswallowed up by immortality, becausehe had already written his first epistle tothem explaining when that immortalitywould be put on. in the twinkling ofan eye, at the last trump this mortalmust put on immortality. THEN shallbe brought to pass the saying that is

written, Death is swallowed up in victo-ry. 1 Corinthians 15:52-54. Whenwould death or mortality be swallowedup? THEN, Paul said. When isTHEN? In the twinkling of an eye, atthe last trump. How can anyone stum-ble over the plain language of theseverses?

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7 Made For What?

T

he apostle makes one other point in2 Corinthians 5 that destroys the

idea of a disembodied soul. In verse 5,he affirms that God hath wrought usfor the selfsame thing. What thing? Forwhat purpose had God made man? Paulanswers that we might enjoy a state ofbeing in which mortality is swallowedup of life. Is that condition the separateexistence of an immortal soul?

Impossible! Because if man had notsinned, he would have reached that statewithout seeing death. Gods purpose inmaking man would have been realizedwithout death taking place, and the ideaof an immortal soul would never haveexisted. Surely no one could believe thatGod wrought us for the selfsame


or death would be swallowed up bybeing resurrected.

Paul does not linger over theunclothed state, because his hopesrested in the new body to be received atChristy s coming. He could not be for-ever with the Lord until that changetook place in the twinkling of an eye.The interim sleep of death in the graveheld no appeal for Paul, since it wouldseem but a fractional second of utteroblivion to the one who died. Lookingbeyond the uninviting nakedness ofdeath to the land of life, Paul ruled out

any possibility of a state between deathand the resurrection when disembodiedspirits could be present with the Lord.

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For I am in a strait betwixt two, hav-ing a desire to depart, and to be withChrist; which is far better:

Nevertheless to abide in the flesh ismore needful for you.

First, lets clarify what Paulsearnest expectation really was inregard to being with Christ. Did heexpect to be with Him at death? Notone text of the Bible teaches such athing. Let the apostle answer for him-self concerning his earnest expecta-tion. For the earnest expectation of the

creature waiteth for the manifestationof the sons of God. Romans 8:19. Whatwas that manifestation when the sonsof God would be revealed? Verse 23answers, we ourselves groan withinourselves, waiting for the adoption, towit, the redemption of our body.Pauls earnest expectation and hope


purpose of sinning, dying and leavingthe body in some invisible soul form.

8 Pauls Earnest Expectation

A related text that Paul penned to thePhilippians has been twisted andmisinterpreted much like 2 Corinthians5. Here again Paul speaks of his earnestexpectation. Philippians 1:20-24:

According to my earnest expecta-tion and my hope, that in nothing I shallbe ashamed, but that with all boldness,

as always, so now also Christ shall bemagnified in my body, whether it be bylife, or by death.

For to me to live is Christ, and to dieis gain.

But if I live in the flesh, this is thefruit of my labour; yet what I shallchoose I wot not.

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1 Corinthians 5:5In the day of the Lord Jesus

1 Corinthians 15:51-55At the last trump

Colossians 3:4When Christ our life shall appear

1 Thessalonians 4:16When the Lord descends with ashout

2 Thessalonians 2:1At the coming of the Lord

2 Timothy 4:7, 8At that day (by which Paulmeans the second advent ofChrist)

Paul had two conditions in view: tolive or to die. Between these two, he wasin a strait. The cause of God on earthdrew him here, but he was weary frombeatings, stonings, and bodily suffering.He almost felt that death would be desir-able over the struggle of living. So evenly


was for the time when his body wouldbe redeemed.

He did not say one word inPhilippians 1:20-24 about the TIME hewould be with the Lord. Some haveattempted to interpret this text asthough Paul said he wanted to departand be with Christ immediately, but theword immediately is not in the scrip-ture. In these verses, Paul does notspecifically state WHEN he will be withthe Lord.

He only states his earnest expecta-tion to be there. We have found from

other scriptures that his expectation cen-tered on the resurrection or translationof the body. Other passages further clar-ify without any equivocation when thegreat apostle expected to be with Christ.

Romans 8:23At the redemption of the body

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air: and SO shall we ever be with theLord.

Please note the significance of thatword SO. It means in this way,in thismanner, by this means. SO, in thismanner, by this means, shall we ever bewith the Lord. By describing, withoutany limitation, the way and means bywhich we go to be with the Lord, Paulprecludes every other means. If there isany other way of getting to be with theLord, then Pauls language is a stupen-dous falsehood. If we go to be with theLord by means of our immortal spirit

when we die, then we do not go to bewith Him by means of the visible comingof Jesus, the resurrection of the dead andthe change of the living. Then Paulswords would not be true. There is nopossible way of avoiding this conclusion,except by claiming that the descent of theLord from heaven, the mighty shout, the


balanced were the influences drawinghim in both directions that he hardlyknew which course he preferred.Nevertheless, he said it was more needfulfor the church that he remain here to givethem the benefit of his counsel and labor.

9 How To Be With The Lord

Paul positively refuted the idea of animmortal spirit leaving the body atdeath when he pinpointed the ONLYmeans of being with the Lord. In 1

Thessalonians 4:16,17 he said, For theLord himself shall descend from heavenwith a shout, with the voice of thearchangel, and with the trump of God:and the dead in Christ shall rise first:then we which are alive and remainshall be caught up together with themin the clouds, to meet the Lord in the

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that drew him were either to live or todie. He was in a strait between thesetwo. If he lived, Christ would be magni-fied, and if he died a martyrs death, thecause of Christ would be magnified. Itwould be gain either way, both for himand for Christ.

But after considering the two alter-natives, upon which he could not makeup his mind (to live or to die), Paul issuddenly struck with a third choice,which he quickly declares to be far bet-ter than the other two. He described itas having a desire to depart and to be

with the Lord, which is far better. Betterthan what? Clearly, than either of thetwo he had just mentioned (living ordying). Again, we are reminded of Paulsoverwhelming desire to be translatedwithout passing through theunclothed state of death. That was hisdeepest desire.


trumpet, the resurrection of the dead,and the change of the living, ALL TAKEPLACE WHEN A PERSON DIESaposition too absurd to be considered.

Since Paul himself so carefullydefines the manner of going to be withthe Lord, why should man try to inter-pret Philippians 1:23 to mean some-thing contrary to the writers ownexplanation? As we have just noted from1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, Paul knew ofonly two ways to be with the Lordbytranslation or resurrection.

10 To Live Or To Die?

H e expressed the hope that Christshall be magnified in my body,whether it be by life, or by death. Paultied life and death to a physical body,not some soul or spirit. The alternatives

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changed into the likeness of Christ.However, he refutes the idea that anyhave seen him yet and declares unequiv-ocally that it will all happen when heshall appear.

11 Translation or Resurrection?

F inally, let us take note that in casePaul was not permitted to departthis life by translation and had to departby death, he did not expect to be withChrist until the resurrection. He clari-

fies this in 2 Timothy 4:6-8: For I amnow ready to be offered, and the timefor my departure is at hand. I havefought a good fight, I have finished mycourse, I have kept the faith: HENCE-FORTH there is laid up for me a crownof righteousness, which the Lord, therighteous judge, shall give me AT THAT


Once more, we are constrained toask: When did Paul expect this transla-tion to take place? Moreover, when didhe anticipate the change from mortalityto immortality? He answers: whenChrist, who is our life, shall appear,THEN shall ye also appear with him inglory. Colossians 3:4. When is THEN?At His second Coming. Have theseappeared with Him in glory already?No. It will happen THEN, when Heshall appear.

John agrees with Paul, But we knowthat, WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, we

shall be like him, for we shall see him ashe is. 1 John 3:2. Think for a momentabout the implications of that statement.

John could not have believed thatthe righteous dead were already in thepresence of the Lord. If so, they wereable to see him as he is at that verymoment, and they would already be

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ABSENT FROM THE BODY

DAY: and not to me only, but unto allthem also that love his appearing.

In the clearest possible language,Paul not only explains but also empha-sizes that his reward will be given at thecoming of Christ. Even though hisdeparture in death was at hand, he didnot expect to be with Christ immediate-ly. He expected it henceforth. Thecrown of immortality was laid up forme, he said. He would receive it in thatday with others who would love hisappearing. Surely, those of us livingtoday should anticipate that same glori-

ous appearing when we too shallreceive, with Paul, the crown of right-eousness, which fadeth not away.

32Library of Sermons

1. Armageddon2. Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost?3. Does Gods Grace Blot Out the Law?4. Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears5. How Evolution Flunked the Science Test6. Is It Easier to Be Saved or to Be Lost?7. Mans Flicker or Gods Flame

8. Satan in Chains9. Satans Confusing Counterfeits

10. Spirits From Other Worlds11. Thieves in the Church12. Why God Said Remember13. Why the Old Covenant Failed14. The High Cost of the Cross15. Hell-Fire16. Is It Possible to Live Without Sinning?17. Blood Behind the Veil18. Spirits of the Dead19. The Brook Dried Up20. Death in the Kitchen21. The Search for the True Church22. Is It a Sin to Be Tempted?23. Is Sunday Really Sacred?24. Heaven ... Is It for Real?25. Rendezvous in Space26. Christs Human Nature27. Point of No Return28. The Rich Man and Lazarus

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Absent From the Body - By Joe Crews

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