JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q4. Immediately in Christ's Presence - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death? How does this comfort you? How does this energize you?

I'm glad you cleared that up. I was wondering about that. I know Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ and that Jesus said God is God of the Living (God of Isaac) but I was conflicted with other passages that led me to believe we slumber until His second coming. Thanks for shedding light on that. I love the immediacy. No waiting. Can you tell I'm impatient? It's very comforting to know that as soon as you die you'll be in His arms. I think it'll make the dying process more comforting ...perhaps. How does it energize me? It makes me want to go out and die...to myself and live for Christ!!

These Scripture passages teach us that when we leave this body, we are immediately in the presence of Christ. All we had to do to get there, we have already done when we surrendered to His Lordship. All He had to do, He has already done - accepted us. There is no holding ground where more must be accomplished.

This frees me to live without fear of the unknown - for now my future is known and is good. I do not need to struggle with trying to stay alive here - I can enjoy life and my service to God in it. A dark cloud is lifted and joy replaces it.

This energizes me - motivates me to bring such peace to others who are in such fear of life and death. I have sat many times with those at the end of their earthly life and have seen the difference in those that believe and know where they are going and those that do not know what death brings. I have had the privilege of sharing & playing a part in bringing them to that place of peace as they let Christ enter into their heart. It is an awesome thing to be used of God in such a way.

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death? How does this comfort you? How does this energize you?

When we leave this mortal body, we will immediately be with the Lord--no space inbetween!
This conforts and energizes me because there is no reason to fear death. No matter what happens to me that could cause my death, I know no fear, for if it causes death, I'll be no longer striving and struggling to do what I should in life--I'll be singing His praises with the angelic choir, and will know Jesus as He is. There will be no more "Why's", because then we shall know as we are known! And, after a time of rejoicing with our Lord, we will serve Him however He desires! (I really don't expect to sit on a cloud and strum a harp for eons!) Oh, the thought of being able to do His will without any resistance of a persistant, fallen, sin-prone self! What greater joy can there be? Energized? You bet!

What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death?

that as soon as we die we are judged and go straight to being next to GOD in heaven.
no waiting...in the old testiment they had to wait...that's because Jesus had not yet come.
but since Jesus' resurrection into heaven there's no waiting unless you're still alive.

How does this comfort you?
it does immensively, no more waiting, the best of the best at hand the instant GOD comes to get you.

How does this energize you?
it makes me want to have all my loved ones and then some to accompany me to heaven.
which makes me more ambitious to being one of GOD's disciples in spreading his "WORD"

Phillippians and Corinthians teaches that if we are born again believers when we die we will immediately be with the Lord in Heaven. Other scripture to back this up are " to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." Jesus told the thief on the cross " today you will be with me in paradise."

This is a great comfort and takes the fear out of dying. What better place to be than with Jesus!

This energizes us because we will want to share this with the people we meet so they can know the joy in being a Christian and what lies ahead for them.

As soon as my spirit (the real me) leaves this body when it dies I will immediately be with the Lord. Hallelujah to my great God and Savior! What a “blessed assurance” to KNOW that I will never be separated from Him in life or death, not even for a split second.

I don’t have to be fearful of living this life to the fullest or leaving this life for the glorious next. To really live here is to die to self and be filled within the restraints of my imperfect body by the presence of Christ. But to physically die will be GREAT gain for me because in an instant I will be freed of that imperfection and welcomed into the infinite, unrestrained fullness of His perfect presence!

I need to be bolder to share the comfort of this hope and peace and joy with other people. Most are afraid of death, which means they are most likely afraid to live the life they have. What an exciting message to share!

These two verses teach that we will be in heaven immediately after death. Also Jesus told the thief on the cross “today you shall be with me in Paradise.” Growing up I was taught that when we die we will go to heaven, not that we will be asleep until the rapture happens. When I was saved, the church that I went to taught that you don’t go to heaven until the rapture. It never seemed to fit, I didn’t believe that. It is so comforting to know that when this body dies, I will be with Jesus and also the ones that I love that have gone before me. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a very long vacation, never at home and I keep longing for the time when I can just go home. My grandpa told me before he died that he had lived for 94 years and it was time for him to go home and he didn’t want me to be sad, because we would be together again someday. That he was ready to go home he had waited so long. He told me that 35 years ago and I feel the same way. Just knowing Jesus and my loved ones are waiting at home for me makes me want to do everything the way God wants it done. I’m excited about dying. When I think of leaving my children and grandson behind it kind of makes me sad. But oh how I long to be with Jesus.

That we are present with the Lord. Our last breath on earth just ends our earthly mission, but begins our life with Christ. To know that I will be in the very presence of God is very exciting. It gives me peace and comfort to know that whatever I have done in the past I have been forgiven and that I am loved.
To witness to others and tell them that, gives me joy. Hoping they will stand in agreement with the gospel and it's truths, and they will get excited too.
Just to know that I'll be living in a mansion and have streets lined with gold makes me excited because that tells me that " I am royalty." I am a child of "THE KING". I want all my friends to know they can be royalty too.

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[color=blue]4a.) Our souls will be with Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. Hallelujah![/color]
4b.) (1:23) How does this comfort you?
[color=blue]4b.) Paul writes: "[/color][color=purple]When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with imortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where O death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting[/color][color=blue]?" (1 Corinthians 15:53-55) The fear of death is no more for me. I will receive a much greater prize.[/color]
4c.) (1:23) How does this energize you?
[color=blue]4c.) I am drawn to an analogy, if you had someone dying of a terminal disease and you heard of a cure, would you wait to tel them? Of course not! We have the cure of the greatest fear of every none believer. Eternal life through Christ![/color]

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death? How does this comfort you? How does this energize you?

These verses are so comforting because I know that I will be immediately in the presence of the Lord when I leave this earth. Nobody needs to pray for my soul, light candles for me, do good deeds or give money in hopes that my soul will eventually make it out of a holding area. It is so sad that many religious leaders whose followers believe are so close to God don't have the assurance of these verses. Praise God for these truths which all of God's children can claim.

How does this comfort and energize me? It gives me joy to know that when it is time for me to leave this life, I will immediately be with the Lord. It comforts me to know that many of my loved ones - my mother, my grandparents, close friends - are already in His presence. Praise the Lord for His Word, His promises, and His faithfulness.

Absent from the body, present with the Lord!

Lesson 2 Q 4
(a) Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death is they will go in the immediate presence of the Lord.
(b) This comforts me by it brings hope. I have a future immediately after death far better than I have in this life, today.
© This energizes me by I need not fear about death, I can live joyfully knowing I will have a wonderful life in the presence of God immediately after death. Amen!

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death?
We will immediately be in the presence of the Lord. There is no doubt about this if we read Luke 23:43 and see what Jesus said from the Cross. “Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” NIV

How does this comfort you?
With a promise like that, I no longer fear death, but will welcome it.

How does this energize you?
It makes me want to stand on the street corner and shout The Good News to all that passes by. Even though I love worshipping my Lord while on this earth, I look forward to seeing my eternal home and seeing my Lord and Savior face to face. Praise The Lord!!

Paul teaches us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. There is no reason to fear, because the next step for us is going to be like getting a huge promotion. We can rest in his word and get on with our Christian walk in this life, anticipating in the everlasting life to be ever present with our Lord and Saviour.

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death? How does this comfort you? How does this energize you?

I am greatly comforted knowing that Christians will immediately be with Jesus after death. It gives me comfort to know my loved ones will be there with Him, rejoicing with Him. And that some are already there with Him now. And it gives me comfort to know that I will also join Jesus at the moment of my death. There are no unanswered questions for the Christian. We know where we are going and when. It energizes me now on this earth by knowing He will never leave me.

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death?

When you think about it people have died at the hands of other so called Christians because of their different ideas about this verse. I had to look at the idea of purgatory for the syllabus I was supposed to be teaching. I had always been told it was not right but knew very little about it other than it was linked in with Luther's 95 arguments that became the spark for the reformation. What I realised was that the idea of going straight to heaven, no stopping points, involves a greater trust in the ability of God to deal with the sin in our lives. It was Luther's 'discovery' that if you had faith in God that God's grace was enough to send you straight to heaven that led to him to start arguing with the church in Rome.

I am pleased that my God does not really need a two stage process because he cannot organise a single stage process. It will definitely be a an express service, no stopping on the way. In other words my God is fully strong enough to deal with my sin. He does not need the extra ideas introduced by the tradition of purgatory.

How does this comfort you?
I find it comforting in a strange way. I see God protecting us from man's ideas about religion. God does not want his people confined by wrong thinking but wants to set them free.

How does this energize you?
Well it makes me want to know how God wants to influence my thinking about religion. In many debates over Christian custom and practice Christians end up arguing over different interpretations of various bible verses. I don't like this. I don't want to argue from my personal position of bias towards an interpretation of the Bible but I really want to know what God's views on various issues actually. This of course demands research and prayer as so many times the evil one gets into the church and stirs it up so that we end up fighting. I don't want to fight in an angry sense but I would like to know enough to argue what I believe to be God's point of view.

Susan

What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthans 5:6-8 teach you about the state of Christians immediately after death? How does this comfort you? How does this energize you?
This teaches that when we leave this body we are instantly with the Lord. This is a great comfort and hope. Jesus is our hope and we will be with Him forever. I want to be found faithful until that day. I also want to be a better witness for Him.

God Bless!
Jen
Numbers 6: 24-26

i don't have to fear death. i step right into heaven.

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death?

That after death, our bodies go to be with Jesus in Heaven.

How does this comfort you?

Not so sure I am comforted .. I believe I am with Jesus now.


How does this energize you?

I am energized by the Word of God .. period.

These verses teach that to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ.

This gives something magnificent to look forward to and removes completely the fear of death. It's just the process of dying that we'd like to have some choice over!

Energise! WOW! I never belonged to the world anyway! My life is elsewhere. The only thing I can get from this world is other people for Jesus to take with me to Heaven. That then becomes my sole life's purpose. The excitements of this earth - and even the ligitimate ones can be so attractive! - pale in comparison with those of the life to come. I've always had lifestyle longings (for a farmlet etc) but I have more opportunities where I am right now to help with the Kingdom of Christ. Keeping focussed on Him and His mighty plan energises me with excitement and joy, and a wonderful unity with the people of God. All the other things will come in abundance later!