Bible Poetry Reading Plan: Job 7-8
Stages of Life
Luke 23:40-43 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are
under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But
this man has done nothing wrong. “Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (NIV)
Most Christians make the assumption that there are two stages of life: 1) life before death, 2) life
after death in either Heaven or Hell. But in fact, the Bible teaches that there are three stages to
our lives: 1) life before death, 2) life after death, 3) life after “life after death”. When Jesus tells the
thief on the cross, “today, you will be will be with me in paradise” He knew that He wasn’t going to
be raised from the dead for three days. That means that between Friday and Sunday Jesus’ spirit
was somehow alive in paradise – heaven – along with this thief even though His body was still dead
here on earth; then on Sunday His body was resurrected, and rejoined with His spirit. So there were
3 stages to what Jesus experienced: 1. Life on earth in His body; 2. Two days of His spirit being
in paradise away from His body; 3. Spirit and body re-united here on earth after His resurrection.
These are the same three stages that all of us will pass through; assuming Jesus doesn’t come
back first. The three stages of life are:
1) What we are living right now, our spirits and our bodies are alive together here on earth
but our bodies are full of sickness and decay
2) Temporary separation of body and spirit upon death when our spirits go Heaven and our
bodies die
3) The stage begins on resurrection day, when Jesus returns, then our spirits and Jesus
return to earth and Jesus raises up our old dead bodies from the grave and reunites them
with our spirits and we spend the rest of eternity here on the New Earth in our resurrected
body, free from death and decay.
This means that right now in Heaven, God is dwelling with all the spirits of all the believers who
have already died. This Heaven will come back to the fixed earth and become the New Earth.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. We are not merely spiritual or physical – we are both! Both matter to God. Think about some
of the physical things that you do (eating, working, leisure and hobbies). How can you do
these things in such as way so that they glorify God?
2. Pray that as a church we would grow in seeing all our activities as having spiritual implications.
That we would unite together the physical and the spiritual.
