Chukwudum Obi
Nov 25, 20195 min
This is the second instalment in the series to read the first part, click here: https://www.pastorobi.com/post/immortality-i
The point I made in the first episode is that man exists in three dimensions - spirit, soul and body. When scriptures are quoted to support the doctrine that man is immortal, followers of such doctrine such go back to the bible to determine for themselves which dimension of man the Bible was referring to.
I made it clear that the spirit of man will never die but the body is mortal. In this episode I will further provide biblical proof to support the mortality of the body.
Immediately you are birthed, your body starts dying. But the human spirit will never die.
This buttresses the point I made in the first episode, the human spirit is eternal (I don’t want to use the word immortal for the spirit because mortality refers to flesh/body). The bible made this clear with several scriptures:
2 Corinthians 4:16 (AMPC)
Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our OUTER MAN is [PROGRESSIVELY] DECAYING and WASTING AWAY, yet our INNER SELF is being [progressively] RENEWED day after day.
1 Corinthians 15:53 (NLT)
For our DYING bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; OUR MORTAL BODIES must be transformed into immortal bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NLT)
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are DYING, our SPIRITS are being RENEWED every day.
1 Corinthians 15:54 (NLT)
Then, when our DYING BODIES have been transformed into bodies that will never die.
Please make a note of these scriptures. They were all written after Jesus’ work on the cross. This categorically tells us that the work of Jesus on the cross has nothing to do with the mortality of the body, our body remains mortal before and after salvation.
I’m sure bible scholars will be quick to remind me of this scripture, in fact a pastor quickly pointed me to it when I challenged him on this subject of immortality.
Romans 8:11 (KJV)
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The keyword there is ‘quicken’.
So it’s worth looking at that word critically to see if it refers to immortality or otherwise. I won’t give you the Greek or Hebrew meaning as I usually do I will just give you an analogy you can easily relate with.
When your mobile phone battery runs down what do you do? You charge it right? When your body gets beat down, or when it is inflicted with sickness and diseases what should be your first point of call as a believer?
My answer is just charge it!
How do you charge it?
That’s what the Holy Spirit does in us, He gives life to our beat-down, sick mortal bodies. Healing is one of the things Jesus purchased on the cross through his suffering and eventually death.
Now let me take it a step further. If the mortal body of someone around you dies, you can with your authority in Jesus Name raise them from the dead, by giving life to their dead body. You can do this till the person’s time on earth expires as purposed by God or unless they refuse resurrection.
That scripture has nothing to do with immortality at all as you can deduce from the Greek meaning of the word ‘quicken’:
It means to give life, it doesn’t me to keep alive.
Just like the mobile phone when charged gives life to the battery but with use, the charge depreciates till the next charge.
ζωοποιέω zōopoieō; to (re-)vitalize (literally or figuratively): — make alive, give life, quicken by spiritual power to arouse and invigorate to restore to life to give increase of life.
Someone scanned through the short intro accompanying the first episode I posted on Facebook and quickly sent me a scripture to read. I will say something on that scripture as I end. Just like I said in the first part, this is just a summary of thoughts for a detailed study feel free to contact me privately.
Here’s the scripture:
2 Timothy 1:10 (KJV)
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
His intention of sending the scripture to me is to convince me that man is immortal. I asked him to read my blog post very well, that if he had, he won’t have sent me the scripture.
Firstly, I believe that the human spirit is eternal but the mortal human body is perishable and is dying daily. The dimension of man Paul referred to in verse 10 is the human spirit. Permit me to proof it. Always remember to read a verse of the bible in context.
In verse seven, he said God has not given us the spirit of fear. So the spirit dimension of man is in play.
Verse 9 says, who has saved us. The ‘us’ refers to the human spirit because our body didn’t get saved at salvation only our human spirit did. The salvation of the soul is on going see Romans 12:2 and the body will be saved at rapture.
Verse 10 talks about death been abolished by Jesus and through him life has come. If death was abolished when Jesus died on the cross that means a dimension or two of man was affected by this death before crucifixion. The fall of man introduced death to the spirit of man as well as the body. At crucifixion, Jesus abolished the death of the human spirit for all who will accept Him into their lives, but He didn’t abolish physical death because the bible made it clear that physical death will be the last enemy to be destroyed (see 1 Corinthians 15:26, Revelations 21:4).
Still on verse 10, to buttress the point that it is the recreated human spirit that is immortal not the body, the bible says that life (eternal life) and immortality comes through the gospel. The gospel is the word of God - this is exactly how salvation comes (read Romans 10). 1 Peter 1:23 says Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
This scripture paints a perfect picture of this. The body is not born again, it is the spirit that gets born again. And it gets born again through the word/gospel.
So if it is the human spirit that is born again, then it is the human spirit that Jesus gave life to and made immortal. The human body and flesh is mortal and will die.
I need to stop now. Thanks for your time.
💗
See you at the next one!