Apostolic Faith

 Study to show yourself approved, by rightly discerning the word of God. It's not given, for private interpretation, nor subject to the will, or opinion of men.

There is a marked difference between the salvation of the soul, by gift of His Holy Spirit for being born again, during the reign of Jesus Christ in His Kingdom from heaven, and the redemption in the body, to immortality, called the consummation of final and universal expression of the Kingdom of God, by the Father.

[1 Cor 15:24]

The Bible consistently distinguishes these realities across both Testaments, but especially in the New Testament’s Apostolic teaching. It presents a clear progression in God’s redemptive plan and mystery unveiled:

(1) Eternal life with Christ, as the present gift of the Holy Spirit and out poured promise of the Father, for Jesus to reproduce many sons and daughters, being born again into His household of faith with a joint share of His inheritance and peace in blessed hope (salvation of the soul, adoption as sons and daughters, beginning now);

(2) The intermediate state for believers who die (souls/spirits perfected and consciously with Christ in heaven, “absent from the body” yet awaiting full redemption in the immortal body);

(3) The current reign of Christ from heaven (the inaugurated Kingdom of promise to immortality, but not-yet-consummated Kingdom of the Father over all, where the family of His good seed grows up in the world, alongside the tares until the end);

And finally:

(4) The full performance of our blessed hope at Christ’s appearing (bodily resurrection of those already ascended, and change in the body to immortality for all who are alive and remain in the earthly body to that moment, where after all the redeemed begin dwelling together in the new heaven and new earth creation, where there is no more death, sorrow, or anything harmful at all forever, conformed to Jesus’ likeness bodily, with God the Father in same Spirit, as our “all in all”).

This framework is not a later invention; it flows directly from revelation given to the prophets, and the "more sure word" manifest and disclosed in Jesus’ parables (Matthew 13), Paul’s letters, Peter’s writings, and the rest of Scripture. It upholds the urgency of every generation while grounding long-term mission and patient endurance to the manifest end of the present heavens and earth environment in totality.

Gen 6:13, Isaiah 51:6, 2 Peter 3

Let's Expand it here:

1. Eternal Life as the Gift of the Holy Spirit: Salvation of the Soul, Sonship Now, Eternal life is not merely future; it begins the moment a person believes. The Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, and adopts us as God’s children, securing the soul even while the body remains mortal and subject to the mixture in the present age. John 5:24 (Jesus): “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (Present possession.)

Romans 8:15–17: “You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. As his children, we are His heirs.” The Spirit empowers sonship and seals our inheritance.

1 Peter 1:9: “You are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (Soul salvation as the present outcome of faith.)

John 3:16, 36; 10:28: Eternal life is the gift now, never perishing for those who believe.

This is the “already” of the Kingdom of God's dear Son, we are transferred from darkness into: the soul is saved, empowered for holy living amid tares (Matthew 13), and united to Christ by the Spirit.

Yet we still groan in conflict and struggle against the contradiction present in the mortal body (Romans 8:18–23).

2. The Intermediate State: Souls of Just Men Made Perfect, Absent from the Body of sin, death and conflict. For believers who die before the return, Scripture describes a conscious, perfected existence with Christ, clothed with white robes, disembodied but fully alive, free from sin and the conflicts in the body of death. This is the “souls of just men, made perfect” Hebrews 12:22–23: “You have come to Mount Zion… to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” (These are believers who have died; their spirits are perfected in holiness, already in the heavenly Jerusalem, beholding the face of Jesus Christ immortal, in the glory of God and clothed with white robes.) 2 Corinthians 5:6–8: “We are confident… and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (Paul’s clear preference: immediate presence with Christ upon death.) Philippians 1:23: “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” (Departure = conscious fellowship with Jesus Christ.)

Revelation 6:9–11: “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God… They called out in a loud voice.” (Disembodied souls, conscious, worshiping, and given white robes while awaiting final justice.)

Luke 23:43 (Jesus to the thief): “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Immediate, conscious fellowship.)

The body rests in the grave (reserved to Christ's command for resurrection even in death), but the soul/spirit enjoys perfect holiness and truth in the Lord’s presence, even so, this is not the final state. It is “intermediate,” awaiting the resurrection.

The Old Testament hints appear in passages like Daniel 12:2–3 (awakening to everlasting life or contempt) and Ecclesiastes 12:7 (spirit returns to God), but the New Testament fills them with clarity through Christ’s victory.

3. The Reign of Christ from Heaven:

What to Expect in This Age, where Christ is already reigning from heaven enthroned immortal, but His Kingdom operates in “mystery” form during this inter-advent period, exactly as Jesus described in the parables.

We endure mixture, preach the gospel to all nations, and live with holy urgency, knowing the full harvest while happening in part in every generation since the Lord has ascended to His enthronement in heaven, is finalized in the future, and at His appearing to all.

Ephesians 1:20–23; Acts 2:33–36: God “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms… far above all rule and authority… And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” (Present heavenly reign.)

1 Corinthians 15:24–28: “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” (Christ reigns now from heaven; the last enemy, death over all the rest, is defeated completely only at the end.)

Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 (tares parable): Good seed sown by the Son of Man grows in the world alongside enemy-sown tares until the harvest at “the end of the age.” Angels, not us, conduct the final separation. Just as occurs in the intermediate.

Colossians 1:13: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” (Present transfer into the Kingdom, yet still opposed by contradictions on earth.)

This is the age that will not pass away until all these things are complete, of patient mission (gospel to all nations, Romans 15:18–21), endurance amid opposition, and Spirit-empowered sonship, while we occupy in mortal body and await in groaning for redemption to immortality.

4. Our Blessed Hope Fulfilled: Redemption of the Body to Immortality, All Redeemed Together, God is our All, and in All. Our “blessed hope” is not the intermediate state or the present reign, it is the final consummation our redemption in the body to immortality in rejoin to Christ in likeness of body with Him: Christ’s appearing, bodily resurrection, glorification, and the new creation where every redeemed person dwells together, fully like Jesus, with God as everything to everyone.Titus 2:13: “While we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Our blessed hope is the visible, glorious return that brings the full expression of salvation, in rejoin of eternal soul to immortal body, both for those who have ascended first without the body, and for those who remain in the earthly body, to be changed in the moment.)

Romans 8:23: “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, "to wit" the redemption of our bodies.” (Present sonship by the first fruit of the Spirit contrasts with, but seals, and confirms our future bodily redemption to immortality.)

Philippians 3:20–21: “We eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” [Immortal]

1 John 3:2: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 

1 Corinthians 15:51–54: “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye… the dead bodies of those ascended before us, will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed [and made Immortal]. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”

1 Corinthians 15:28: “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God the Father and eternal Spirit, may be all in all.” (Final handover of the Kingdom; no more enemies, no more death, God the Spirit and Father of Jesus Christ, reigns unchallenged as to everything that exists, and infills all of the redeemed and immortal in equal to Jesus.)

Revelation 21:1–4, 22:3–5: “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth’… God’s dwelling place is now among the people… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain… They will see His Immortal face… and they will reign for ever and ever.” (All the redeemed in body and soul reunited, with Jesus Christ and one another, to dwell together eternally.)

Old Testament promises of resurrection (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2–3) and a renewed creation (Isaiah 65:17) find fulfillment here. The final performance of our blessed hope ends the “not yet”: no more tares, no more groaning, full conformity to Christ, and perfected fellowship among all the redeemed.

Amen, God bless the reader with inspiration and understanding, Amen!