Jesus is God

Jesus is God


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keypurr

Well-known member
How is it exactly that you manage to delude yourself into thinking that the gospel of John is NOT about Jesus?

John 20:31 KJV
(31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name

Yes, right there, JESUS is the Son of God, Jesus is the Christ. This gospel book is entirely about Jesus. Oh, wait a minute, you've convinced yourself that "Word" and "Son of God" are two different things, haven't you?

You have a reading problem Rosey.

I never said that Jesus is not the son of God.

The word (logos) is the true Son of God that came down to us from above. The Son at the creation is a spirit son, not a man. You dwell in darkness and can not see the light I shine in your face.

Go see the wizard of OZ and ask for a brain to think with.


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Bright Raven

Well-known member
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
How many times must I show you that John 1 is not about Jesus?

John 1 is about the logos, not Jesus.

Where is the name Jesus in John 1:1-5?

It is not keypurr that has twisted the verses, stop adding words to scripture BR. There is no Jesus in John 1:1-5.


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And who is the Word become flesh KeyPurr?

John 1:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Word Made Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who is it?
 

Nihilo

BANNED
Banned
I don't play your creepy games.
Then you need to go away. We all play creepy games here, and you're only slowing things down, being so dense, that you can't play creepy games. They're not tough games, but they are creepy; I agree with you. But if you, for whatever reason that you tell yourself, cannot play creepy games, then just go.
 

Nihilo

BANNED
Banned
Mat 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Does pose a question?

Sometime I have seen what could be the word dead referring to folks who were not in the faith. Could this be similar?
No. Dead is dead. Unless you're out to make Jesus Christ a prankster, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live right now. Heaven. "Cloud of witnesses," (Heb12:1KJV) and such. Don't you agree, Rosencritter?
 

God's Truth

New member
No. Dead is dead. Unless you're out to make Jesus Christ a prankster, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live right now. Heaven. "Cloud of witnesses," (Heb12:1KJV) and such. Don't you agree, Rosencritter?

Rosy does not believe our spirits live on in consciousness.
 

God's Truth

New member
Then you need to go away. We all play creepy games here, and you're only slowing things down, being so dense, that you can't play creepy games. They're not tough games, but they are creepy; I agree with you. But if you, for whatever reason that you tell yourself, cannot play creepy games, then just go.

Don't tell me what to do.
 

Rosenritter

New member
No. Dead is dead. Unless you're out to make Jesus Christ a prankster, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live right now. Heaven. "Cloud of witnesses," (Heb12:1KJV) and such. Don't you agree, Rosencritter?

I think you are reading that passage out of context. Unless we make Jesus out to be a fool, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are dead as doornails then and now, and the resurrection is required so that will live. The necessity of resurrection is proved that God is the "God of the living."

I realize that you may not be a big fan of the Reformation, but William Tyndale already had this discussion with Sir Thomas More, branching from their topic of whether one should pray to saints (one of many topics they discussed):

Spoiler
Abraham and the prophets, and the apostles, and many since, prayed to no saints; and yet were holy enough. And when he saith, they could help when they were alive; that was through their faith, in believing the promise: for they had promises, that they should do such miracles to stablish their doctrine, and to provoke unto Christ, and not unto themselves.

And when he proveth that the saints be in heaven in glory with Christ already, saying, ‘If God be their God, they be in heaven, for is not the God of the dead;’ there he stealeth away Christ’s argument, wherewith he proveth the resurrection: that Abraham and all saints should rise again, and not that their souls were in heaven, which doctrine was not yet in the world. And with that doctrine he taketh away the resurrection quite and maketh Christ’s argument of none effect.

For when Christ allegeth the scripture, that God is Abraham’s God, and addeth to, that God is not God of the dead but of the living, and so proveth that Abraham must rise again, I deny Christ’s argument, and I say with M. More, that Abraham is yet alive, not because of the resurrection, but because his soul is in heaven.And in like manner, Paul’s argument unto the Corinthians is nought worth: for when he saith, ‘If there be no resurrection, we be of all wretches the miserablest; here we have no pleasure, but sorrow, care, and oppression; and therefore, if we rise not again, all our suffering is in vain: ‘ ‘Nay, Paul, thou art un-learned; go to Master More, and learn a new way. We be not most miserable, though we rise not again; for our souls go to heaven as soon as we be dead, and are there in as great joy as Christ that is risen again.’ And I marvel that Paul had not comforted the Thessalonians with that doctrine, if he had wist it, that the souls of their dead had been in joy; as he did with the resurrection, that their dead should rise again. If the souls be in heaven, in as great glory as the angels, after your doctrine, shew me what cause should be of the resurrection?
from Dialogue with Sir Thomas More, page 118 in my copy of the tract

I am not sure why you would think the testimony of a cloud of witnesses would prove Abraham to be alive right now, but Christ's argument to the Sadducees depended on Abraham being dead right then. Dead in every sense of the word without life in any form, or else God could be "the God of the living" without a resurrection.
 

glorydaz

Well-known member
I think you are reading that passage out of context. Unless we make Jesus out to be a fool, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are dead as doornails then and now, and the resurrection is required so that will live. The necessity of resurrection is proved that God is the "God of the living."

I realize that you may not be a big fan of the Reformation, but William Tyndale already had this discussion with Sir Thomas More, branching from their topic of whether one should pray to saints (one of many topics they discussed):

Spoiler

from Dialogue with Sir Thomas More, page 118 in my copy of the tract

I am not sure why you would think the testimony of a cloud of witnesses would prove Abraham to be alive right now, but Christ's argument to the Sadducees depended on Abraham being dead right then. Dead in every sense of the word without life in any form, or else God could be "the God of the living" without a resurrection.

Yet, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of course they are not dead....they are living. Only their bodies have gone to the grave, and they, too will be raised at the resurrection of the just.
 

Rosenritter

New member
Yet, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of course they are not dead....they are living. Only their bodies have gone to the grave, and they, too will be raised at the resurrection of the just.

So if they are living already, and that's what "he is the God of the living" means, then how would that prove the necessity of the resurrection?

Your assumption of what that means would have Jesus destroy his own argument, making somewhat of a fool of himself and not addressing their question. That's what happens when one takes a belief that they treasure, and force it into scripture, rather than letting their beliefs be drawn out of the scripture itself. You see that happening with Keypurr right now in a rather extreme example. Don't be like Keypurr, let the text produce itself naturally.
 

glorydaz

Well-known member
So if they are living already, and that's what "he is the God of the living" means, then how would that prove the necessity of the resurrection?

Your assumption of what that means would have Jesus destroy his own argument, making somewhat of a fool of himself and not addressing their question. That's what happens when one takes a belief that they treasure, and force it into scripture, rather than letting their beliefs be drawn out of the scripture itself. You see that happening with Keypurr right now in a rather extreme example. Don't be like Keypurr, let the text produce itself naturally.

The only reason you can't see what Jesus is saying is that you believe Abraham is actually dead....just because his body died, does not mean he is dead. In the same way, when Paul says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.....you are left with no choice but to claim Paul did not mean what he said. Let go of your cultish belief of soul sleep and you may just understand all these verses you are trying to explain away.
 

Rosenritter

New member
The only reason you can't see what Jesus is saying is that you believe Abraham is actually dead....just because his body died, does not mean he is dead. In the same way, when Paul says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.....you are left with no choice but to claim Paul did not mean what he said. Let go of your cultish belief of soul sleep and you may just understand all these verses you are trying to explain away.

Glorydaz, Paul does not say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You're misquoting the verse. It's not an equivalence, it's a sequence of events just like Paul laid out in 1 Corinthians 15. We die, we are raised, and then we are present with the Lord. He isn't contradicting himself in his second epistle to the same church.

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
(8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

... and that's no more different than anything else Paul has said. We must die before we are raised, the sole exception being those who are still alive and standing when Christ returns.

Spoiler
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
(15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(16) 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:
(17) 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.
(18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Glory, would you like to explain for us why Paul didn't seem to be aware of a "Go to heaven when you die" doctrine when he was comforting the Thessalonians as to their lost loved ones? He told them that they would be reunited when Christ returned. Surely he would have told them their loved ones were in heaven and alive if he had known of such a thing, wouldn't he? That's what you hear at Bapti-costal church funerals today.
 

Rosenritter

New member
The only reason you can't see what Jesus is saying is that you believe Abraham is actually dead....just because his body died, does not mean he is dead. In the same way, when Paul says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.....you are left with no choice but to claim Paul did not mean what he said. Let go of your cultish belief of soul sleep and you may just understand all these verses you are trying to explain away.

... but if you would like to offer constructive conversation, there is that lingering question of how Jesus thought "He is the God of the Living" was supposed to prove the resurrection of the dead, if the dead were actually alive like you claim...
 

xfrodobagginsx

Active member
Jesus Christ IS God

There are some religions out there that believe and teach that Jesus Christ is not God. Some teach that He is a god, but not thee God. I am going to demonstrate through the word of God that He is God and created all things.

Jesus’s name “Immanuel” LITERALLY means “God with us”

Mt 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

He always existed (from everlasting):

Mic 5:2 (NKJV) "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, [Though] you are little among the thousands of Judah, [Yet] out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth [are] from of old, From everlasting."

This prophecy is of Christ's first comming. His Goings forth have been from everlasting because Christ Jesus is God.

Jesus Christ is one with the Father. He is God.

Joh 14:8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God:

1Jo 5:7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

Jesus declares Himself to be the great I AM of the Old Testiment. I AM is God's Name

Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

I am IS God. There is only one God. That God has three parts.

Ex 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

His Disciple/Apostle Peter Admits that Jesus knows “All things” (Only God knows all things)

Joh 21:17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.

Jesus Knows Our Thoughts

Mt 9:4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Lu 11:17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.

In Him Dwells all of the fullness of the Godhead Bodily:

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. {rudiments: or, elements} {make a prey: or, seduce you, or, lead you astray} For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: {his...: Gr. the Son of his love}
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. {in...: or, among all} 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;


God's plurality is found in Genesis

Ge 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

His Disciple/Apostle Thomas Confessed Him to be God and Jesus did NOT rebuke Him for it:

Joh 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

This verse demonstrates how God has multiple aspects. He said Let “US” make man in “OUR” image. He didn’t say, let me make man in My image, He said let US make man is OUR image.

His Apostle/Disciple John declares Christ Jesus to be God:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

His Apostle/Disciple John declares that the world was made by Him (Jesus Christ)

Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

All things were made by Him and He was in the beginning with God (Father)

Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

There are MANY places where He is worshipped and Jesus NEVER tells them not to worship Him, NOT once. Only God is to be worshipped, because Jesus IS God, Jesus IS worshipped:

Mt 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. {presented: or, offered}
Mt 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mt 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
Mt 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Mt 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Mt 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. {worshipped him: or, besought him}
Mt 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Mt 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mr 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
Mr 15:19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
Lu 24:52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
Joh 9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Ac 10:25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
Re 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Scripture refers to Him as the Lord, Jesus Christ. The phrase "The Lord" is unique only to God:

Here are a few mentioning "The Lord Your God"

De 5:6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. {bondage: Heb. servants}

De 5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

De 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

De 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.


Here are many calling Him Jesus Christ, The Lord.

Ac 11:17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

Ac 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Ac 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Ac 28:31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Ro 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ro 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Ro 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

1Co 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

2Co 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. <<The second [epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.]>>

Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Php 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: {conversation...: or, we live or conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven, or, for obtaining heaven}

Col 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Th 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Trinity (Three in one)

Mt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

1Jo 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Father, Son and Spirit Present at Christ’s Baptism:

Mt 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Conclusion: Jesus Christ is God. Not a God but the God of the bible. God has three parts. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All are equal, yet the Son is submissive to the Father and the Holy Spirit is submissive to the Son. Jesus Christ was an EXAMPLE for us. He died on the cross for our sins so that we could go to heaven and be forgiven of our sins. He shed His blood for us.
 

keypurr

Well-known member
And who is the Word become flesh KeyPurr?

John 1:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Word Made Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who is it?


The WORD or logos is the express image son of the most high. It is a spirit like his creator. He came to live in the body God prepared for him. That body is Jesus.

John 1:1 is NOT about Jesus, its about the WORD (logos)
 

keypurr

Well-known member
How is it exactly that you manage to delude yourself into thinking that the gospel of John is NOT about Jesus?

John 20:31 KJV
(31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name

Yes, right there, JESUS is the Son of God, Jesus is the Christ. This gospel book is entirely about Jesus. Oh, wait a minute, you've convinced yourself that "Word" and "Son of God" are two different things, haven't you?

You do not have a clue about John.

The WORD is what spoke through Jesus. Jesus was the Lamb, the flesh. The WORD is what the Book of John is all about. The WORD is the son from above, not Jesus.
 

God's Truth

New member
... but if you would like to offer constructive conversation, there is that lingering question of how Jesus thought "He is the God of the Living" was supposed to prove the resurrection of the dead, if the dead were actually alive like you claim...

We receive new bodies at the resurrection. Our spirits either go to Jesus or go to prison/hell.
 

God's Truth

New member
Glorydaz, Paul does not say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You're misquoting the verse. It's not an equivalence, it's a sequence of events just like Paul laid out in 1 Corinthians 15. We die, we are raised, and then we are present with the Lord. He isn't contradicting himself in his second epistle to the same church.

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
(8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

... and that's no more different than anything else Paul has said. We must die before we are raised, the sole exception being those who are still alive and standing when Christ returns.

Spoiler
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
(15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(16) 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:
(17) 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.
(18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Glory, would you like to explain for us why Paul didn't seem to be aware of a "Go to heaven when you die" doctrine when he was comforting the Thessalonians as to their lost loved ones? He told them that they would be reunited when Christ returned. Surely he would have told them their loved ones were in heaven and alive if he had known of such a thing, wouldn't he? That's what you hear at Bapti-costal church funerals today.

Paul even speaks about being in his spirit outside of his body. If there was no such thing as our spirit living outside of our body then Paul would not ever have suggested such a thing.

2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.
 

glorydaz

Well-known member
Glorydaz, Paul does not say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You're misquoting the verse. It's not an equivalence, it's a sequence of events just like Paul laid out in 1 Corinthians 15. We die, we are raised, and then we are present with the Lord. He isn't contradicting himself in his second epistle to the same church.

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
(8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Well, I see at home in the body and present with the Lord, but no soul sleep in the body while we wait.

2 Cor. 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

2 Cor. 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.​



... and that's no more different than anything else Paul has said. We must die before we are raised, the sole exception being those who are still alive and standing when Christ returns.

Spoiler
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV(13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
(15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(16) 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:
(17) 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.
(18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Glory, would you like to explain for us why Paul didn't seem to be aware of a "Go to heaven when you die" doctrine when he was comforting the Thessalonians as to their lost loved ones? He told them that they would be reunited when Christ returned. Surely he would have told them their loved ones were in heaven and alive if he had known of such a thing, wouldn't he? That's what you hear at Bapti-costal church funerals today.

UH, Paul is talking to people who are still alive and walking around on this earth, telling them not to worry, because when Jesus comes He will bring their loved ones with Him. What can you possibly be reading into that text?

He was quite aware. "To depart and be with Christ...."

Philippians 1:23-24
For I am in a strait betwixt two, 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.
 
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