Word of Salvation – Vol. 21 No.10 - December 1974

The Intermediate State

Sermon by Rev. G. I. Williamson on Phil. 1:23

Psalter Hymnal: 307, 246 (Law), 22, 38:1-3, 38:4,5

The Bible does not contain a great deal of information about the intermediate state.  It is not the intermediate state that occupies the place of primary importance.  No, the great focus of Christian hope and expectation in the days of the Apostles was not the intermediate state, but the final state.  It was not the day in which the believer dies, but the great day in which Jesus comes again.

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore," says the Apostle, "comfort one another with THESE words."

But what, we ask, is the experience of those who fall asleep in Jesus before this great day comes?  Is there nothing that we can say to comfort and encourage the believer who may be called by the Lord before that glorious moment?  Yes, thank God, there is.  And this is the subject that we find unfolded in our text.  Here was the beloved Apostle waiting in a Roman prison.  He knows that, humanly speaking, there is every likelihood that he will be delivered unto death.  He faces the possibility, in other words of falling asleep in Jesus before the set time for his coming has arrived.  And yet we find him expressing not discouragement and sorrow but confidence and joy.

"Yea, and (I) will rejoice,” he says, "for I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

I want you to notice in passing that Paul's hope and confidence was not located in himself!  He doesn't just take it for granted that he will be firm to the end.  No, he specifically mentions the need that he has for the constant prayers of his brethren, and the supply of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I think we should also ponder the fact that it was only because Paul could truly say ("for me to live is Christ,") that he could also say, ("and to die is gain").  One cannot really say the one if one cannot say the other.  For it is only the man who can say in truth that Christ and Christ alone makes life worth living, who can also say that it will be gain to die.  Many a man would have to say, if he were truthful, 'for me to live is my work' – or 'my family' – or 'my pleasures' and the Bible clearly informs us that those who live in and of and for this world will find that death is anything but gain.

But let us now consider what the Apostle says concerning the intermediate state.

I.  THE CERTAINTY OF IT.

And the first thing I want you to consider is simply the fact that the Apostle was so certain that when a believer dies he goes to be with the Lord.  (For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,") he says, and ("I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.")

I suppose you are aware of the fact that this is another doctrine of our faith that is being questioned today.  Some of our leading Reformed theologians today – and Philosophers – are saying that we must abandon the old idea that man is body and soul.'  They are saying that modern scientific investigation has made it impossible to believe any longer that there are these two substances in man – the material and the spiritual the material and the spiritual — and that they can be separated the one from the other.  And some are even going to so far as to say that when a man dies the whole man is dead.  So what we need today, they say, is a different view of the basic constitution of man.

Now I do not claim to have read all that these men are saying, and neither do I even claim to understand all that I have read.  But of one thing I am sure.  The inspired Apostle Paul said that the believer's death is gain.  He said that when a believer dies he goes to be with the Lord.  For ("we are always confident,") he says in his second letter to the Corinthians, ("knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.")  And, he goes on, ("we are confident, and willing, rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.")  We know beyond any doubt whatever, then, that when a believer dies the whole man is not dead.  We know that there is this thing called 'personality' — this thing that we call the soul or spirit of man – the thing that I have in mind when I say that "I do this, or think that, or love this, or want that" — and that this soul or spirit can be absent from the body and present with the Lord.

And is it any wonder that Paul was so certain of this fact?  After all, he had invincible reasons to be so certain.

(1) Did he not see, with his own eyes, the martyr death of Stephen?  Did he not see his face as he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God?"  And did he not hear Stephen's dying words, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit?"

(2) Now, of course, if Paul had never seen the risen Christ he might have convinced himself that Stephen was just a fanatic.  But what was he to think when, with his own eyes, he saw that glorious sight?

(3) And what was he to think, some years later, when he himself was transported by the Spirit to behold the paradise of God?  The interesting thing is that Paul never was sure himself whether this revelation had taken place while he was in the body or out of it!  But the very fact that he was not sure proves beyond all question that he believed that it was possible for a man's spirit or soul to retain its conscious existence even apart from the body.  And isn't this what the Apostle John plainly declares when he says that he 'was in the Spirit' on the Lord's day, on the isle of Patmos, when God took him up to heaven to show him things to come?

One of the things we constantly need to resist, of course, is the ancient Gnostic heresy which says that the body is evil, and that the soul (or spirit) is good.  We know from the Bible that the whole man is evil by nature, the soul as well as the body.  And we also know from the Bible that the whole man will be delivered from all the ravages of sin and misery when Christ returns to the world.  Our Lord came to save the body just as truly as he came to save the soul.  So we must never set the one over against the other the way so many people do, when they think of eternal life as if it were only an affair of the spirit.  ("For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is thy sting?  O GRAVE, where is thy victory?")

And yet, at the same time, it is certainly worthy of notice that Paul likens the body to a place of habitation.  He calls it a 'tabernacle' or 'tent.'  And he says that "while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.” just as when we are "absent from the body," we are also "present with the Lord".  Without in any way depreciating the body, then, or forgetting its glorious destiny in God's program of redemption, the fact remains that the body is the dwelling place of the spirit.  And when man dies, says the Bible, the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.  This does not mean that the body is not essential.  This does not mean that we can be complete without our physical bodies, for we cannot.  Paul says that when we are absent from the body we are, as it were, unclothed.  We are, as it were, naked spirits when we are absent from the body.  And Paul says that he does not long to be unclothed so much as to be clothed upon with the glorious resurrection body.

But that does not change the fact that there is this intermediate state.  For there is such a thing as the spirit separated from the body.  And to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

II.  THE CONCEPTION OF IT

The second thing I want you to notice is the conception that Paul had of the intermediate state.  He states it very simply: to depart, and to be with Christ that is the intermediate state!

Now when we first read those words we may be inclined to wish that Paul had told us much more.  And one of the things you often notice when people begin to ask questions about the intermediate state, is the fact that there are so many things about which they wish to know!  “What do you think heaven will really be like?” they ask.  And do you think that we will recognize other people that we have known on earth?  Will we be CONSCIOUS of things happening on earth?  Well, if anyone could have answered those questions Paul the Apostle was that man.  And yet the interesting thing is that he never tried to satisfy this idle curiosity.  No, says the Apostle, when I was caught up to paradise I heard things there, and I saw things there, which it is not lawful for me to utter.  So the Bible wasn't written to satisfy all our questions.

But are we any the poorer because of this fact?  No, beloved, we are really the richer for it.  For the one thing that we do know is altogether sufficient.  We simply know that when we die in the Lord, we also go to be with him.  And can you think of anything more glorious and wonderful than that?  This, by the way, is just one of the reasons why God has never satisfied our idle curiosity.  If we knew too much about this intermediate state, there would be so many wonderful things in our minds that we might well set our hearts upon heaven rather than setting them on Christ.  Many people even now, do this very thing.  They want to go to heaven – not because of the Lord Jesus Christ so much as because of Father or Mother, or someone they love.  And what could possibly be more dishonouring to our Lord Jesus Christ than for us to want to go to heaven in order to see someone else?

Some years ago there was a woman who fell deeply in love with a man who served in the British foreign service.  And just when the romance had reached its greatest intensity he found himself obliged to serve his country in India.  After he had been there for some time, he wrote to his fiancée to ask her to come to India.  All the arrangements were made for a beautiful wedding ceremony.  But what I want you to try to imagine is what was going on in the mind and heart of this woman as she made her preparations for the journey to that far off land.  Do you think that she would be pre-occupied with questions like these now who is going to be there - what will the place be like - will it be as beautiful as I have heard and will I recognize some of those who have long been in that place?  No, I tell you, there is one, and only one, thing that occupies her mind.  She knows that HE will be there, and that is quite enough.  Any place will be 'heaven on earth to her,' if he is only there.

The more you think about it, then, the more you will see that Paul really tells us much about this intermediate state.  Do we not know that Jesus Christ is glorified?  Do we not know that he has been exalted far above all principalities and powers?  And do we not know that he must reign upon the exalted throne of the whole universe, until all his and our enemies are brought under his feet?  Do we not know, in other words, that where Jesus is, there is perfect joy and peace?  And isn't it enough – nay, more than enough – for us to know that when we are absent from the body we will be present with the Lord?  "As for me, says the Psalmist, "I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."  "In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures, for evermore.”

'Ah,' but you say, 'what if my beloved mother is not there?  What if my own dear sister, or brother, or wife, or husband, or children, are not there?  Will not my heart break within me if I do not see their face?'  No, even then, heaven will still be heaven!  For "every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life."  But more than anything else – even more than a hundred fathers, and mothers, and sisters and brothers will be just this: Jesus himself will be there, and he will be with us in a more intimate fellowship than we have ever known.  Even now, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ is with us.  'Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,’ he said.  But still, says the Apostle, there is a sense in which, as long as we are present in the body we are absent from the Lord.  There is a certain sense in which we do not know his presence 'face to face'.  But when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord.  'And then we shall know even as we are known.’

And if that really be true, as the inspired Apostle says, is it any wonder that he was willing rather to depart?  Is it any wonder that he had a "desire to depart and be with Christ" because it is very far better?  O that the Lord might enable us to believe in his holy word, and to have such confidence in his divine promises, that we too might be able to say that death no longer has terrors.

III.  THE CONFLICT OF IT.

The third thing I ask you to notice, however, is the fact that there was a conflict in the heart of the Apostle as between remaining in the body and departing to be with the Lord.  "For I am in a strait between (the) two," he says, "having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.  Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”

I suppose we all would say – at the very least – that we too are in a strait between the two!  We all know, do we not, that it is appointed unto men once to die.  We all know that, unless Christ returns first, the dreaded day will come.  And yet we all want to go on living.  We want to be able to say, with the Apostle, that we are willing to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.  And yet when it comes right down to it how very reluctant we are.

"And let not him that putteth on his armour, boast as him that taketh it off.'  Let no man boast of his strength, in other words, until he has actually faced this great crisis.

But what I ask you to notice is the fact that Paul felt the conflict in a somewhat different way.  And if we can only say that this is also our motive then there is nothing sinful in having a desire to live!  If Paul had only been thinking of himself he would have preferred to "depart, and. . . be with Christ."  But Paul was not thinking only of himself.  No, he was also thinking of the work of Jesus Christ.  He was thinking of the great work of God's kingdom... with so much yet to be done.  He was thinking of these needy Churches, and of the multitudes of people who had never yet heard the gospel!  And so long as there was something that he could do about this, he felt a very strong urge to go on living in the flesh!

Picture, if you will, a needy beggar woman sitting out in the cold surrounded with crying children.  Out of a near-by house comes a welcome invitation: 'Come in, and I will give you food and shelter for the night, but you must leave the little ones where they are.'  Or think, if you will, of a wife whose husband is traveling at a distance.  He sends an urgent message asking his wife to join him.  But he tells her that she will have to make arrangements for someone else to take care of the children.  Well, in either case, there would be a great desire to go, for it would be far better for her!  But it is not hard to understand that there would also be a great conflict between the two.  And the strong likelihood is that the great need of the children would prove the stronger of the two.  "And having this confidence," says the Apostle, "I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again."

What I am trying to emphasize is simply this: the thing that caused the conflict in Paul was not by any means the fear of death.  He doesn't even so much as mention any such thing!  And the trouble with many people is that they put the saddle on the wrong horse.  Death, for the believer, is not something to fear.  There is no pain – no sting – in death.  The pain is only in life itself – for it is in this life that we are partakers of the suffering that we also see in the world.  But death has no pain, not for the Christian.  No, death is rather the end of all pain.  And however weak and trembling our faith may be, when we come to die, we are going to discover – if we only believe in the Lord Jesus Christ – that death is really gain.  We are going to discover that it is very far better than this life to which we cling.  For death will be to depart and to be with the Lord.

But now let me speak a closing word to those who may be saying that they only wish that they could feel the way the Apostle felt.  If you want to face death the way Paul was able to face it, then you are going to have to learn to first face life the way the Apostle faced it!  A wise man once warned his congregation that it was a very foolish thing to seek dying grace, before it is time to die.  But it is an equally foolish thing to neglect to seek the grace to live for Christ when it is time to live.  And the great trouble is that people so often want to wait for the one without seeking the other.

What I am trying to say, in other words, is that instead of asking ourselves the question: "can I really say that for me to die is gain?' and can I really say that I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ which is far better?"  We ought to ask the question: "can I really say, 'for me to live is Christ?"  Can I really say that it is Jesus Christ alone that makes my life worth living?  Do I live for him?  Is he the centre of my existence?  Now what I want to say to you is this: if you can only answer that question – if you can only begin to say: yes, I too can say that for me to live is Christ – then you need have no fear that Christ will leave you in the lurch.  For I can promise you on the authority of the inerrant word of God, that if you live for Christ, he died for you.  If Christ is your life, he is also your death.  And when that hour comes you will see that dying grace will be given.

I suppose we all have our fears when it comes to death.  And isn't it largely the fact that it is so mysterious – something with which we are unacquainted – something we have never experienced before?  Some children are afraid of their first day at school.  And yet, if they are only assured that Mother will be right there they soon master their fear.  So if we can only be assured that Christ will be there – that he will be right with us in the valley of the shadow of death – so that we need fear no evil, and so that his rod and staff will comfort us through that experience – is it not also true that we have nothing to fear?  Well, if you will walk with Christ in this life, while it is called today, then I can promise you, on the authority of Christ's own word, that he will not leave you or forsake you when that hour comes.

Here was the Apostle facing imminent death.  And here we find him confident and unafraid.  Because he had learned to say "to me to live is Christ", he was also able to say, now in this situation, "and to die is gain," and I even have a desire "to depart, and to be with Christ: which is far better."  And now may the Spirit help us to learn to say the same.

Amen.