A LIST OF FUNDAMENTAL ORTHODOX TRUTHS FROM THE BIBLE ABOUT GOD, MAN, AND THE WORLD WE LIVE IN THAT ARE FOUNDATIONAL TO UNDERSTANDING AND EMBRACING BIBLICAL PARENTING.
We may have some disagreement here. I expect all non-Christians to reject everything I have to say and that is understandable because a person must be a Christian to truly believe God’s truth from God’s word. In addition, true Christians that don’t believe what the Bible says about the condition every human being will likely take issue with I am saying is true as it relates to obeying Ephesians 6:4. However, if you are a Christian and you desire to know what the Bible (God) teaches and are willing to believe truth that you may have not understood or fully embraced in the past, read on.
Christians must know and apply what the Bible says about their children or the consequences of not doing so may be devastating to their souls. Below you will find some of the common misperceptions I have heard from parents about their children. These misperceptions fall into two main areas- the importance of the Bible, and the lack of understanding the devastating effects of sin on every person.
I begin with each misperception, respond with Biblical truth, and reference that truth as it provides proof from the doctrinal statement below.
Misperception 1: “The Bible is a good guide for our lives.”
Yes, the Bible is a good guide for our lives, but when I hear parents say this, it alarms me because the Bible is so much more. The Bible is the only source of absolute truth in the universe. It not only gives us wisdom and guidance but reveals the one true God and His plans and commands that lead to salvation, eternal life, and joy with Him. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says it all:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
If you don’t believe the Bible, you will never parent your child in a way that pleases God.
For more, see the section called, “The Holy Scriptures” in the doctrinal statement below.
Misperception 2: The Innocent Child
Here are some of the tell-tale comments I have received from parents through the years that may indicate a fatal ignorance about the true heart condition of their child. These comments from parents typically come to the fore when a child’s behavior is being questioned.
- “My child has such an innocence about her.”
- “My child has such a great heart.”
- “My child would never lie.”
- “My child would never be mean to another child.”
- “I think that my child will not be affected by the evil around him at this early age.”
Not believing the entire Bible is certainly the number one fatal flaw in parenting and for that matter, dealing with all the issues of life. But, number 2 is definitely an ignorance, or at the very least, a suppression of the Biblical truth that all people come into this world as sinners who have no ability to do anything that pleases God until they become (born again) Christians.
The implication for every child is that at the core of their being, they are selfish, manipulative, and capable of all kinds of lies and deception (Reference the section below titled, “Man”).
This clear Biblical truth is one that most parents have an incredibly difficult time believing and applying to their obedience to the command to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). For those parents who believe and apply this truth, they have an opportunity, by God’s grace, to lead a child to a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. For those parents that do not, they should expect to see their children become self-centered, spoiled, manipulative, and deceitful adolescents.
Misperception #3: “My child is incredibly wise for his age.”
Parents that believe this usually have households that are run by their children. We often are amazed by a child’s apparent ability to size up situations and make statements that seem to indicate wisdom. However, we must be careful not to confuse wisdom with a child that is simply very smart for their age. Wisdom is not just knowledge. Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. This is something that comes with time and experience. The Bible says that folly is bound up in the heart of a child (Proverbs 22:15). Parents would be wise to read through the first several chapters of Proverbs to learn more about children and wisdom.
Doctrinal Statement
Important Note: It is common to order doctrinal statements beginning with truths pertaining to God specifically before moving through the order of other foundational truths. However, for the sake of easy reference to the section above, I have ordered the statement with sections that speak more directly to those issues.
The Holy Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man.
Thus the sixty-six books of the Bible given to us by the Holy Spirit constitute the plenary (inspired equally in all parts) Word of God.1 The Word of God is verbally inspired in every word, absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God breathed.2 God spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship.3 The Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God’s Word to man4 without error in the whole or in the part.5 The single, true interpretation of Scripture is to be found as one diligently applies the literal grammatical-historical method of interpretation, taking account of its literary forms and devices.6 This interpretation can only be found in dependence on the enlightenment given by the Holy Spirit.7 The truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of it.8 Being infallible, the Bible is sufficient to make the believer complete, equipped for all things related to life and godliness.9 The Scripture will remain unchanged in its authority and efficacy forever.10
12 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20–21 22 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 6:18 3John 16:12-13 42 Peter 1:20–21 5Matthew 5:18
62 Timothy 2:15 71 John 2:27 8John 12:47-48; Hebrews 4:12 92 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3; Psalm 19:7-10
10Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23-25
Man
God created man for His own glory.1 Man was directly and immediately created by the
special act of God, in His own image and likeness, and is the crowning work of His creation.2 In the beginning man was innocent of sin3 and was endowed by his Creator with intelligence,4 volition,5 and moral responsibility to God.6 God provided everything necessary for man to glorify God enjoy God’s fellowship and live his life in the will of God.7
By his free choice man sinned against God8 and brought sin into the human race.9 In Adam’s sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God,10 man lost his innocence;11 incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death;12 became subject to the wrath of God;13 and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God.14 All men are sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration.15 Man is spiritually dead in his sins and is incapable of saving himself; therefore salvation is wholly of God’s grace.16
1Isaiah 43:7 2Genesis 1:26-31; Genesis 2:7; Psalm 8:5; James 3:9 3Genesis 1:27; Ecclesiastes 7:29 4Genesis 2:19-20 5Genesis
2:16-17, 3:6 6Romans 1: 18-20 7Genesis 1:31 8Genesis 3:6 9Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 10Genesis 2:16-17 11Genesis 3:7-
8; Romans 5:18-19 12Genesis 2:16-17; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1 13Genesis 3: 16-24; John 3:36; Ephesians 2:3 14Genesis 6:5;
Job 14:4; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:19, 6:44 15Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:3 16Ephesians 2:1-9
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.1 It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. Marriage is the
uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.2 It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church,3 and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.4
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.5 The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people.6 A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church.7 He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family.8 A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.9 She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him,10 has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.11
Children, from the moment of conception,12 are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.13 Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage.14 Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them,15 through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth.16 Children are to honor and obey their parents.17
1 Genesis 2:18-25; Proverbs 18:22 2Matthew 19:3-6 3Ephesians. 5:32 4Genesis 1:28, 2:25; Proverbs: 5:18-19; Hebrews 13:4
5Genesis 1:26-27; 2:21-22 6Ephesians 5:22-23 7Ephesians 5:25 8Ephesians 5:33; 1 Peter 3:7 9Ephesians 5:22-23; I Peter 3:1
10Genesis 2:23-24; 1 Corinthians 7:3-4; 1 Peter 3:8-9 11Psalms 128:3; Proverbs 31:10-31; Titus 2:3-5 12Psalms 139:13-16 13Psalms
127:3-5 14Colossians 3:18-21 15Proverbs 6:20-23 16Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalms 78:1-8
17Exodus 20:12; Colossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:1-3
Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; He is the Creator and rightful Owner of all that we have and all that we are.1 Christians should recognize that their time,
talents, and material possessions have been entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others.2 According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means willingly, cheerfully,3 systematically,4 proportionately,5 and bountifully6 for the advancement of the gospel on earth.7
1Deuteronomy 8:18; 1 Chronicles 29:12; Psalm 50:10-12 2Luke 16:9-13; 1 Timothy 6:17-18 32 Corinthians 9:7
41 Corinthians 16:2-4 52 Corinthians 8:11-12 62 Corinthians 9:6 7Philippians 4:10-19
God
There is one and only one living and true God1. He is an intelligent,2 spiritual,3 and
personal Being,4 the Creator,5 Redeemer,6 Preserver,7 and Ruler of the universe.8 God is infinite in holiness9 and perfect in all His attributes.10 To Him is owed the highest love,11 reverence,12 and obedience.13 The eternal God is one in essence,14 eternally existing in the Trinity (three Persons as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).15
11 Corinthians 8:4 2Romans 11:33-34 3John 4:24 4Exodus 3:14 5Revelation 4:11 6Colossians 1:13-14 7Colossians 1:14 8Isaiah 66:1;
Ephesians 1:20-22; Philippians 2:9-11 91 Peter 1:16 10Matthew 5:48 11Matthew 22:37 12Psalm 33:8 13John 3:36; 2 Thessalonians 1:8
14Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5–7 15Matthew 28:19
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the
course of human history disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace.1 He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise.2 He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption.3 God is Father in both His designation in the Trinity4 and in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.5 As creator He is Father to all men5 but He is Spiritual Father only to believers.6 He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass and He works all things after the counsel of His own will.7 He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events.8 In His sovereignty He is neither author nor approver of sin,9 nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures.10 He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own;11 He saves from sin all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own.12
1Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 8:6 2Psalm 62:11; 1 John 4:8; Psalm 36:7; Psalm 147:5 3Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 103:19;
Ephesians 3:9; Romans 11:36 4John 5: 17-26; 8:54; 14:12-13 51 John 3:1; Matthew 6:6-15; Romans 8:16 6Ephesians 4:6; 3:15
7Romans 8:14; 2Corinthians 6:18 8Ephesians 1:11; 3:15 91 Chronicles 29:11 10Habakkuk 1:13; Job 34:10 111 Peter 1:17; Matthew
16:27 12Ephesians 1:4-6; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5
God the Son
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God,1 possessing all the fullness of the divine nature and attributes.2 In these, He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father.3 God the Father created all things according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ.4 In Christ, all things continue in existence and in operation.5 In His incarnation, Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.6 In the incarnation, Christ willingly surrendered only the prerogatives of deity7 but nothing of the divine essence, either in degree or kind.8
In His incarnation, Christ took upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identified Himself completely with mankind9 yet without sin10. Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness.11
Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God.12 In His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin.13 His death was voluntary,14 vicarious,15 substitutionary,16 propitiatory,17 and redemptive.18
He was raised from the dead19 with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion.20 Our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.21 In the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, God confirmed the deity of His Son22 and gave proof that God has accepted the atoning work of Christ on the cross.23 Jesus’ bodily resurrection is also the guarantee of a future resurrection life for all believers.24
He ascended into heaven25 and is now exalted at the right hand of God.26 In heaven, He is now the One Mediator, serving as our Advocate, making intercession for those who draw near to God.27
Jesus Christ will return to receive the church unto Himself at the rapture.28 Returning in glory, He will establish His kingdom on earth and reign for 1000 years.29 The Lord Jesus Christ is the One through whom God will judge all mankind.30 As the mediator between God and man,31 the head of His body the church,32 and the coming universal King who will reign on the throne of David,33 He is the final judge of all who fail to place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior.34 Jesus Christ now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.35
1John 1:9, 17:5, 24 2Colossians 1:19, 2:9 3Psalm 110:1; John 10:30-33, 14:9; Philippians 2:6 4John 1:3; I Corinthians 8:6
5Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3 6Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34-35 7Philippians 2:8 8Colossians 1:19, 2:9 9Hebrews 2:17-18
10Hebrews 4:15 11Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; John 10:30, 14:9 12John 5:30, 8:28-29 13Romans 3:24; Hebrews 7:25-27;
1 Peter 1:18-19, 3:18 14John 10:14-15, 17-18 15Romans 5:8, 6:4; Galatians 2:20 162 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18 17Romans 3:25; I
John 2:2 18Romans 3:24; Titus 2:14 19Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:6-7 20John 20:16, 19-20, 26; 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 21Romans 4:23- 25,
5:10, 18 22Romans 4:25; 23Acts 2:32-36 24John 5:25-29; Romans 4:25, 6:3-10; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23 25Acts 1:9 26Acts 2:34;
Hebrews 1:3, 10:12 27Hebrews 7:25, 9:15, 24; 1 John 2:1 28Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
29Revelation 20:6 30Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:22–23; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15 311 Timothy 2:5 32Ephesians 1:22-23;
Colossians 1:18 33Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:31-33 34Matthew 25:14-46; Acts 17:30-3; Revelation 20:11-15 35Romans 8:10; Galatians
2:20; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:27.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a divine person possessing all the attributes of deity including personality,1 intellect,2 emotions,3 will,4 eternality,5 omnipresence,6 omniscience,7 omnipotence,8 and truthfulness.9 In all the divine attributes He is coequal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son.10
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to execute the divine will with relation to all mankind.11 We recognize His sovereign activity in creation,12 the incarnation,13 the written revelation,14 and the work of salvation.15
A unique work of the Holy Spirit in this age began at Pentecost16 when He came from the Father as promised by Christ17 to initiate18 the building of the body of Christ.19 The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor those He gifts by ostentatious displays,20 but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith.21 He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment,22 effects regeneration,23 and baptizes all believers into the body of Christ.24 His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into full redemption of their body.25
The Holy Spirit bestows the spiritual gifts26 by which believers serve God through His church27 for the perfecting of the saints today.28 Gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophecy and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles and prophets as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers.29 The Holy Spirit is the divine teacher who guided the apostles and prophets into all truth as they committed to writing God’s revelation, the Bible.30 Through illumination, He enables men to understand truth.31 He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship,32 evangelism,33 and service.34
The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer.35 He sanctifies,36 instructs,37 empowers them for service,38 and seals them unto the day of redemption.39 It is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be filled by the Spirit.40
1John 14:26, 16:13 21 Corinthians 2:10–13 3Ephesians 4:30 41 Corinthians 12:11 5Hebrews 9:14 6Psalm 139:7–10 7Isaiah 40:13–14
8Romans 15:13 9John 16:13 10Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3–4; 16:6-7; 28:25–26; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews
10:15–17 11John 16:8-11 12Genesis 1:2, 26 13Matthew 1:18 142 Peter 1:20–21 15John 3:5-7 16Acts 2:4 17John 14:16–17; 15:26 18John
16:13-14; Acts 1:8 19Ephesians 2:22 201 Corinthians 12:4-11 212 Corinthians 3:18 22John 16:8 23Titus 3:5 241 Corinthians 12:13
25Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 4:13 261 Corinthians 12:4-11 27Acts 2:4; Ephesians 2:22 28Ephesians 4:7-16 291 Corinthians 13:8–10; 2
Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-20; 3:4-5; Hebrews 2:1–4 30John 16:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21 311 Corinthians 2:14-16 32Ephesians
5:18- 20 331 Peter 4:10-11 34Acts 1:8 35Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16 36Galatians 4:6 371 John 2:27 382 Corinthians 3:6 39Ephesians
1:13 40Ephesians 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Salvation
Salvation is the redemption of the whole man, involving both his immaterial soul1 and material body.2 Salvation is offered freely3 to all who believe in Jesus Christ,4 who by His own
blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.5 Salvation is wholly of God by grace and not on the basis of human merit or works.6 In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration,7 sanctification,8 and glorification.9
1James 1:21, 5:20 21 Corinthians 15:51-53, I Thessalonians 4:16-17 3Romans 5:15-17, Ephesians 2:8 4John 1:12, Acts 16:31
5Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:12, 1 Peter 1:18-19 6Romans 3:28, Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9 7Ephesians 2:5 81 Corinthians 1:2,
30; 1 Peter 1:1-2 9Romans 8:30, 2 Timothy 2:10
Repentance
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.1 Faith is the response to the call of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.2 Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ.3
1Isaiah 45:22; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 22 Chronicles 7:14; James 4:9-10 3John 3:36, 5:24; Acts 3:19; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; 2
Timothy 2:25-26
Regeneration
Regeneration, or new birth, is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit whereby man, who
is dead in sin, is made alive and becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.1 Regeneration is a work of God’s grace by which the divine nature is given.2 It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God.3 As a result of the Spirit’s work, the sinner repents and responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation.4 Genuine regeneration is manifested by fruits worthy of repentance as demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct.5 Good works will its proper evidence and fruit.6
12 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:5 2Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4 3John 3:3-7; 1 Peter 1:23 4Ezekiel 11:19; John 1:13 5Luke 3:8; Galatians
5:22-23 6Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:14
Justification
Justification before God is an act of God1 by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins2 and confess Him as sovereign Lord.3 This
righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man,4 it’s a gift of God’s grace,5 and involves the placing of our sins on Christ6 and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.7 By this means God is enabled to be just, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.8 Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.9
1Romans 8:33 2Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Isaiah 55:6–7 3Romans 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 12:3 4Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5
5Romans 3:25 6Isaiah 53:6; Colossians 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24 7Romans 4:5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:21 8Romans 3:26
9Isaiah 61:10; Romans 5:1
Sanctification
Through justification, every believer is declared to be just and holy and thus is sanctified
(set apart from sin) unto God.1 By this sanctification, the believer is identified as a “saint,” and that identification has to do with the believer’s position in God’s eyes, not with his present walk.2
This instantaneous work of sanctification should not be confused with the Holy Spirit’s work of progressive sanctification by which the state of the believer is brought closer to the obedience to the Word of God.3 By the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is enabled to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ.4 Furthermore, any person who shows no evidence of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in their life has no claim to genuine faith.5
Every saved person is involved in a daily conflict—the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh—but adequate provision is made for victory through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.6 It is the believer’s responsibility to actively appropriate the resources provided by God’s Spirit through God’s Word in order to overcome the sinful patterns in their lives.7 The struggle with the sinful flesh will stay with the believer all through this earthly life and is never completely ended.8 Therefore, all claims to the eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural.9
1Acts 20:32; Hebrews 10:10 21 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11 3John 17:17; Romans 6:17-22 42 Corinthians 3:18 5Romans 8:12-14; 1
John 3:5-9 6Galatians 5:16-24 7John 17:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10; 1 Peter 1:14-16 8Colossians 3:3-4; 1 John 3:2-3
91 John 1:8-2:1
Preservation
Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit,1 will progress in sanctification2 and shall persevere to the end.3 Although believers may fall into sin,4 whereby they grieve the Spirit,5 impair their graces and comforts,6 bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal chastisements on themselves,7 they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.8
11 Corinthians 6:11 22 Corinthians 7:1 3John 6:37-40; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Philippians 1:6 41 John 2:1 5Ephesians 4:30
61 Corinthians 3:9-15 7Hebrews 12:1-6 8John 10:27-29; Romans 5:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; 1 Peter 1:3-5
Glorification
Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of
the redeemed when they will be separated from the presence and the power of sin forever.1 The souls of believers who have already died are alive with Christ in heaven.2 They will receive new bodies at the resurrection and rapture of the church, when those alive on earth will have their bodies transformed.3 The believers new body will be like Christ’s after His resurrection, and will be redesigned and adapted for heaven.4 All believers will receive a glorified body after the likeness of Christ’s resurrected body5 at the time of their resurrection6 or at the rapture of the church.7
1Romans 8:30; Philippians 3:20-21 2Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8 3Romans 8: 18-23; 1 Corinthians 15: 51 – 54; 1
Thessalonians 4:16 41 Corinthians 15:42 -43; 1 John 3:2 51 Corinthians 15:42-54; 1 John 3:2 61 Corinthians 15:22-24; Revelation
20:4-5 71 Thessalonians 4:16
Last Things
Death
Physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness1. At death, the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ,2 but the soul of the unredeemed passes immediately into Hades.3 All of the dead will be bodily resurrected, some unto everlasting life and some unto everlasting punishment.4 The saved will be resurrected to eternal life in two separate events;5 the first for those who died after Christ’s resurrection and ascension6 and the second for those who died before Christ’s ascension and during the tribulation.7 The unsaved will be resurrected to appear at the Great White Throne for judgment and everlasting punishment in which they will be cast into the lake of fire.8
1Luke 16:22, Revelation 6:9–11 2Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23 3Matthew 11:23, Luke 16:19-23 4Daniel 12:2,
Matthew 25:31-34, 41; John 5:28-29 51 Corinthians 15:23-24 61 Corinthians 15:23, 52; I Thessalonians 4:16
7Revelation 20:4-6 8Revelation 20:11–15
Judgment and Eternity
The resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment, they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire.1
The saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, after which the elements of this earth are to be dissolved2 and replaced with a new earth wherein only righteousness dwell.3 Following this, the heavenly city will come down out of heaven4 and will be the dwelling place of the saints,5 where they will enjoy forever fellowship with God and one another.6 Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father,7 that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever.8
1 Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 14:11, 20:14–15 22Peter 3:10, Revelation 21:1 3Revelation: 21–22 4Revelation 21:2 5John 14:2-3
6John 17:3; Revelation 21, 22 71Corinthians 15:24–28 81Corinthians15:28.
