WE DO KNOW THAT WE WILL BE LIKE HIM
Sakkie Parsons
Following a short series of three thoughts from the Word that I wrote about "About Our Body, Our Soul and Our Spirit" which I will send to you on your request, someone wrote to me the following:
"What happens with my soul when my bodies pass away, and what happens to my spirit? Does this become an entity? "
Previously I have mentioned that there are people who want the human soul and spirit to be all the same, but I do not think so. I then wrote:
For example, we read, and here I use an older translation because most translations that I know translate this section as follows:
HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
I do not have a soul, I am a soul that has a perishable body in which I live and I, the soul that I am, will go to God in Heaven one day or to satan in hell.
Jesus tells us about the rich man that ended up in hell and about this man we read the following:
LUK 16:22-23 (NLT)
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,
23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
In connection with our spirit:
The human spirit, as I understand it, is that part of our Lord Himself, which He placed in man, and only man, and which gives us the ability to know the difference between good and evil and between right and wrong, but not only does our spirit give us the ability to distinguish between good and evil and right and wrong, the spirit that is in us also gives us the capabilities of our Lord, for example, to change evil to good and wrong to right in our lives.
Read what the Word says about our spirit that relates to this aspect of our lives:
1COR 2:11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
JOB 32:8 But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
I personally believe, as I understand the Word, that my soul and my spirit in the afterlife, so to say, will exactly be in the same relationship to each other – and I rejoice in my heart; Praise the Name of our Lord! – In both cases, it will be perfect in the superlative extent.
Read the following verses and remember that you and I are being spoken of in our perfect condition, namely of our imperishable body and soul and spirit:
ROM 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
ROM 8:17 and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
As I always say: I certainly don’t have all the answers, and I've shared with you the very little bit from the amazing great glory that there is according to the Word, – but this I know for sure and personally to me, for now, it is quite enough to have this certainty:
1JOHN 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
I also quote from the Amplified Bible:
1JOHN 3:2 Beloved, we are (even here and) now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be (hereafter), but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall (as God’s children) resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He (really) is.
I wish that I could close on this glorious note, but the Spirit leads me to also show you the following:
I have now talked to you about our body and "immortal soul and spirit," and made an effort to show you that we are going to be – and experience it, in the supreme – the best of the best – the perfect and highest mode.
Do you know?
What happens to you and me in heaven and what we will experience in the supreme, will of course also happen to those on the other side who followed the path to hell.
They are going (and how they’ll wish that it should not be so!), to receive a body, and their souls cannot die – because their souls were created in the image of God, who is immortal – and they will also because of the spirit that is in them, experience everything in the superlative – just like you and I, but in their case, how horrifying, it will last for ever and ever.
I share with you one example of the Word about what I just said and when you read it, remember that it's Jesus Himself who speaks here:
MAT 13:41-43
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
So now I ask:
If you that are reading here have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, do you not want to do it right now where you are?
So that you also have this wonderful assurance and can testify:
1 JOH 3:2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. (NLT)
All you have to do in honesty – because our Lord can see in your heart – is to say the following to our Lord:
"Lord, I realize that I am a sinful person, and without You I am lost and on my way to spend eternity in hell. I also realize that only You can save me from that horror. I want to have a love relationship with You. I now accept you as my Lord and my Saviour, and I never again want to be without You in my life. "
Now, attend a Christian congregation who acknowledges and proclaims the whole Bible as the Word of our Lord. After the service, meet the Pastor/Minister of that congregation and make an appointment with him for further guidance.
I just want to mention, because the last thing a new-born Christian needs is a negative experience after his / her first visit to church: According to my knowledge and experience, as well as the feedback of other people, it is usually much easier to meet the leader / shepherd of a Pentecostal Church after a service than it is with some of the other denominations.
Greetings,
Sakkie