Dear _______,(please, insert your name) How was your day, today? Thanks for listening to my testimony about the LOST BUT FOUND story. Well, today, was not as rough and drama-buzzing as yesterday but guess what? I have another story for you today.
You know, on Sunday evening in Church, Pastor told us to expect God to supply our needs through Uncommon means, this week, and you know what? It has been working for me, at least, yesterday is one proof, so I want to encourage you to join me on this journey of expectations, believing God for a miracle, answers to prayers, direction or provision to needs, this week and I believe that your expectations and mine will not be cut short in Jesus name. Okay, Let's get back to my story.
So, at some minutes past 12am today, God opened my eyes to some truths about this: "Man is NOT a Spirit that has a soul and lives in a body" rather "Man is SPIRIT, SOUL and BODY" (this sounds a bit confusing, right?)
Let me explain this as the Holy Spirit helps me.
When a person dies, his soul and spirit is still alive and goes to meet God for judgement (NLT:And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, Heb 9:27) even though his body is still left here on earth.
The Bible shows us that resurrection at the last day or Rapture would not be complete if the soul and spirit of the man is not joined with his body.
From 2 Cor 5:3, it says that "For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.(NLT)". Also, we can see that it is from our present earthly body that we would transform/translate into our heavenly body. We can get this from 1 Cor 15:42; it says: "NLT:It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 NLT:Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 NLT:They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies."
These verses shows us that the body of man is not just a trapping that his soul and spirit is living and enduring in but just as we have the Trinity as been the same God, so also, we have the Spirit, Soul and Body as the same man.
The Spirit and Soul can not function to its maximum potential without the body. They all need each other. Just as man is on earth, that is the same way we will be in heaven, made up of the Spirit, Soul & Body, and this can be seen in 1 Cor 15:49 that says: "NLT:Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man."
And it doesn't just stop there, from 1 Cor 15:51, we see this: "51 NLT:But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 NLT:It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 NLT:For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies."
Do you know why those who have died will be raised to live forever? This is because although, they are dead on earth but living in heaven in their Spirit and soul form, they are not yet perfect and complete, because the body that needs to be transformed into an immortal body is still trapped here on earth. So, the dead rise up first because their bodies need to be joined with their Spirit & Soul for the transformation to happen.
From 1 Cor 15:23, it says: "NLT:But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back." Just as Christians go to heaven to await the resurrection of their bodies and the judgement day, so also do evil doers/the wicked go to hell to await the resurrection of their bodies.
So, it is that Matt 27:52 says: NLT:and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 53 NLT:They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people."
This tells us that the people that were raised from the dead are part of the crowd of captives in Ephesians 4:8, which says: NLT:That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” After the resurrection of Jesus, these were the first group of people to be resurrected because it was with their physical bodies that Jesus took them along with him, so that means they were transformed into their immortal bodies, because if one was to check their graves, it would be empty because it says: "Jesus raised them(their bodies) from the dead and they left the cemetery, not their spirits but their bodies".
This means that a form of resurrection occurred for the people whose bodies were raised from the cemetery into heaven. NOTE: They appeared to people in the city, the word "appear" connotes temporary not permanently.
I know this is a lot for you to chew, so, I ask the Holy Spirit to shed more light on this in your heart as you go and also study to find out how true this is.
So, remember, "Man is NOT a Spirit that has a Soul and lives in a Body" rather "Man is SPIRIT, SOUL & BODY".
