I Will Raise Them Up at the Last Day

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Gospel of John 

July 23, 2024

I Will Raise Them Up at the Last Day

And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

John  6: 39-40

Many people believe the Christian faith centers on being able to correctly answer the question, “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you will spend eternity?” Regrettably, that’s the wrong question. In John 6:36-46, Jesus gives us two insights into God’s eternal plans for the followers of Jesus.

First, Jesus shows us that eternal life is not a destination. Eternal life is about the quality of life the believers in Jesus get to enjoy here and now. Eternal life begins the very instant we make our confession of faith. Eternal life is life in Christ, right now, and continuing beyond our mortal death; eternal life is life in Christ, uninterrupted by death.

Secondly, when our mortal death comes, our eternal destination is not an out of body spiritual home in heaven. Upon our death, our spirit will return to God the Father. However, resting with God in heaven is our temporary home. Jesus has promised that when he comes again to completely establish God’s Kingdom on earth, those who have died in Christ will receive new resurrected bodies so that we can continue our eternal life, our life in Christ, with Jesus here on the new earth. This truth has been rehearsed by countless believers in the last two millenniums every time we affirm our faith with the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

My Takeaway: While the Gospel is quite simple, it is also far too complex to reduce it to a simple question, other than, “Do you know God loves you?” If you need another question, a good one is, “When you wake up in the morning what are you and Jesus going to be doing to build for God’s Kingdom?”

Sē’lah

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.