Expert: Rev. Robert Woods - 11/17/2008

Question
I've been raised Southern Baptist, and taught that once I die, I will go to a place called paradise until Christ returns, then face the final judgement, then go to heaven.   During a recent Bible Study, the lady leading the study said that wasn't true, that when we die, we simply are asleep.  And when Christ returns the dead will rise and meet him.  When she was asked where our spirit/soul was at, she said that it ceased to exist, since our body does not have breath.

Answer
Blessings and thank you for your question.  You are correct and your teacher is mistaken.  Let's look at what the word says in 2 Corinthians 5:

2Co 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2Co 5:2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
2Co 5:3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
2Co 5:4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
2Co 5:5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
2Co 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2Co 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The apostle speaks of our present mortal body as our earthly house, this tent. A tent is not a permanent dwelling, but a portable one for pilgrims and travelers.
Death is spoken of as the dissolving of this tent. The tent is taken down at the time of death. The body goes into the grave, whereas the spirit and soul of the believer go to be with the Lord.
Paul opens the chapter with the assurance that if his earthly house should be destroyed (as a result of the sufferings mentioned in the preceding chapter) he knows he has a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Notice the distinction between tent and building. The temporary tent is taken down, but a new, permanent house awaits the believer in the land beyond the skies. This is a building from God, in the sense that God is the One who gives it to us.
Furthermore, it is a house not made with hands. Why should Paul say this? Our present bodies are not made with hands; so why should he emphasize that our future, glorified bodies will not be made with hands? The answer is that the expression not made with hands means “not of this creation.” This is made clear in Hebrews 9:11, where we read, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.” What Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 5:1 is that whereas our present bodies are suited to life on this earth, our future, glorified bodies will not be of this creation. They will be especially designed for life in heaven.
The believer’s future body is also described as eternal in the heavens. It is a body that will no longer be subject to disease, decay, and death, but one that will endure forever in our heavenly home.
It might sound from this verse as if a believer receives this building from God the moment he dies, but that is not the case. He does not get his glorified body until Christ comes back for His church (1 Thess. 4:13–18). What happens to the believer is this. At the time of death, his spirit and soul go to be with Christ where he is consciously enjoying the glories of heaven. His body is placed in the grave. At the time of the Lord’s return, the dust will be raised from the grave, God will fashion it into a new, glorified body, and it will then be reunited with the spirit and the soul. Between death and Christ’s coming for His saints, the believer might be said to be in a disembodied condition. However, this does not mean that he is not fully conscious of all the joy and bliss of heaven. He is!
Before leaving verse 1 we should mention that there are three principal interpretations of the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens:
1. Heaven itself.
2. An intermediate body between death and resurrection.
3. The glorified body.
The house can scarcely be heaven itself, because it is said to be eternal in the heavens and “from heaven” (5:2). As far as an intermediate body is concerned, the Scriptures never mention such a body. Moreover, the house not made with hands is described as eternal in the heavens, which would not be true of an intermediate body. The third view—that the house is the resurrection body of glory—seems to be the correct one.
It was the deep assurance of these precious realities that enabled Paul to be always of good courage. He knew that as long as he was at home in the body, he was absent from the Lord. This was certainly not the ideal state for Paul, but he was willing that it should be so if he could serve Christ down here and be a help to the people of God. Paul is of good courage in view of the blessed hope that lies before him, and he can say that he is well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. He has a case of “heavenly homesickness.”
Paul says that he is willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord, that is, willing rather to be in the disembodied state that exists between death and the Rapture.
But there is no contradiction. There are three possibilities for the Christian, and it is simply a matter of which is most to be preferred. There is the present life on earth in this mortal body. There is the state between death and the coming of Christ, a disembodied state, but one in which the spirit and soul are consciously enjoying Christ’s presence. Finally, there is the consummation of our salvation when we receive our glorified bodies at the coming again of the Lord Jesus. Paul is simply teaching in this passage that the first state is good, the second is better, and the third is best of all.