Q & A

Will some people (souls) live forever in heaven?

Answer

Yes, regenerate believers in Christ will, but more must be said here. Physical death is not the end of existence, but a door that the regenerate human soul and spirit goes through to enter the greater experience of life in God’s immediate presence (John 11:25).

Today, in this physical world, the regenerate follower of Christ is away from his or her true home (2 Cor. 5:6). When a Christ-follower dies, that person (soul and spirit) immediately goes home, to be in the presence of God and Christ. Even though disembodied, the believer will be in full conscious fellowship and enjoyment of the triune God (Phil. 1:23).

However, at the resurrection, the Lord Jesus will reunite the soul and spirit of His departed saints with their glorified physical bodies (1 Cor. 15:50–58; Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:20–21). The glorification and reuniting of the soul and spirit with the physical body will occur simultaneously, in a time span that the Bible calls “the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). We will be set free from the presence of indwelling sin forever! The follower of Christ will then live in the unhindered power of the Spirit with a sinless glorified body for all eternity. To that, I say, “Hallelujah!”

About the Author

Winfred Neely

Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa.

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