What Happens to a Christian when They Die?

January 22, 2025

What will happen to us when we die?  It’s an important question that many Christians are unsure about.  I myself have questions about death, the resurrection, the second coming, the judgment, what our eternal state will be like, and exactly how and when all of the scriptures on these topics will be fulfilled.  Despite these questions, one thing I have become convicted of is this:  When a Christian dies, they will go to be with the Lord.  Our bodies will be in the ground until the return of Christ, but our souls will go to be with Jesus.  Let’s examine some scriptures about this.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 NASB95) Here we see that those who have died as Christians will be coming with Jesus at His return.  This strongly implies that they have been with Jesus since their death.  Paul goes on to say that Christians who are alive when Jesus returns will be caught up together with those who have died, and we will meet the Lord in the air (verse 17).

In another passage, we learn what Paul expected to happen when he died.  Listen to his words, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better…” (Philippians 1:21–23 NASB95) Paul wrote these words as a prisoner.  He didn’t know whether he would live or die. But he saw death as “gain.”  Why?  Because he knew that when he died, he would be with Christ. Being with Christ was something he expected and was longing for.

Yet another verse that shows us that Christians go to be with the Lord when they die is found in the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians.  As Paul encourages the saints he says, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8 NASB95) For the Christian, being absent from the body means being at home with the Lord.  When we die, our bodies will return to dust, but our soul will be with Jesus.  It seems that we will continue in this state until the last trumpet sounds at the return of Christ.  At that time, our bodies will be raised, and they will be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, from perishable to imperishable (see 1 Corinthians 15:50-58).

We have so much to look forward to!  Are you ready to be with Jesus?  Let’s remain faithful to Him, and look forward to being with Him forever.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Life Comes Through Death

November 30, 2023

Eternal life in Christ, in this life and the next, arises from death.  Think with me for a moment about all the ways in which this is true:  First, life would not be possible without the death of Jesus on our behalf.  Second, life in Him required our own death in the waters of baptism, at which point, through faith, we died with Jesus (Romans 6:5).  Third, our future life in our heavenly home will be proceeded by the death of our bodies (unless the Lord should return first).  And finally, life in Him requires an ongoing, daily death to this world.

This last death is difficult for us, but if we want to live, we must die to the world.  Thanks be to God that through the cross of Jesus, we can find the strength to do so.  Listen to the words the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14 NAS95)It is through Jesus and His cross that the world can be crucified to us, and us to the world.  The world calls to us, it entices and tempts us to its sinful ways.  How can we overcome?  We must turn to the cross!  We must survey the wonderous cross of Jesus and choose to sacrifice all the vain things of this world to His blood.  As Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NAS95) Or, as he writes in chapter five, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24 NAS95)

When you were baptized into Jesus, you were crucified with Him.  Now, if we want to continue to live in Him, we must make the daily decision to die to this world and put to death our own sinful desires.  May God help us to do so through the cross of Christ.   

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Faith Not Sight

October 21, 2014

I don’t like the fact that our bodies disappoint us with aging or disease or both. Somehow it just doesn’t seem fair that the best body we will ever have is at age 18 (at least in this life). We see the aging process in others, but eventually we have to admit to it in ourselves. What Paul called “the outer person wasting away” is observable in life (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Yet Paul placed beside this unwelcome fact another wondrous observation. In Christ, the inner person can continue to grow and become better. “Our inner person is being renewed day by day” (1 Corinthians 4:16). God is transforming us to become more and more like His Son. Our character, our kindness, and our love can grow and mature throughout our lifetime. The best our inner person can be in this life may be the day we breathe our last.

Paul compared this body that disappoints us to a tent (1 Corinthians 5:1). Tents are temporary. They are fragile and frail in comparison to a permanent structure. The disappointments of our bodies are reminders we are sojourners here. We are just passing through; this is not our enduring home. A tent may become frayed and worn until it wears out, or it may be suddenly pulled down, but it is never permanent.

The God who renews our inner person also builds us a permanent dwelling. As Paul wrote, “[W]e have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (1Corinthians 5:1b, ESV). In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul described our physical bodies with words like “perishable,” “dishonor,” “weakness,” and “natural”. While the resurrection body that we await at Christ’s return is described by words like “imperishable,” “glory,” “power,” and “spiritual.” The transient will be swallowed up by the eternal.

The processes of the outward wasting away and inward being renewed take place in the course of daily life. Daily life filled with its ups and downs, its trials and temptations, and its moments of doubt and faith. Paul used the word, “groaning,” to describe this present life. He spoke of “slight momentary affliction,” although slight affliction doesn’t seem to adequately describe Paul’s life (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). He could only call it that when weighed on the balance with eternal glory. The eternal outweighs the transient and makes the walk of faith worth it all.

Paul had confidence that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord. The God who is doing a great work of renewing and transforming in our inner person is also preparing for us a permanent dwelling place. Eternal glory is worth it all “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, ESV).

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Posted by Russell Holden