“Exhort one another daily, while it is called today” (Heb 3:13)
Psalms 66:1-20

Part 2 – Verses 8 to 20

God has blessed His people to “Come and see the works of God:” and how He is “terrible (H3372) in his doing toward the children of men.

What is terrible (H3372) or fearful is to fall into the hands of the living (G2198) God (Heb 10:31) and to see how our nephesh, soulish sea of a life naturally commits adultery and fornication (physically and spiritually) and abides with strange creatures within as we progress from the sea unto the dry land as God supernaturally leads us “through the flood on foot:” by quickening us with His spirit (Joh 6:63).

It is through this process which we discussed last week that we learn to “rejoice in him” and come to learn and believe our powerlessness over sin (Joh 8:34), and how we are only beasts in this flesh with a much higher potential than we could have ever understood without God revealing this to us (Ecc 3:17-18, Gen 7:21).

Ecc 3:17 And I said in my heart: God shall judge both the just and the wicked, and then shall be the time of every thing.
Ecc 3:18 I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would prove them, and shew them to be like beasts.
Ecc 3:18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts. (ASV)

Gen 7:21 And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all creeping things that creep upon the earth: and all men.

Ecc 3:17 shows us that it is through the judgment of our just behaviour and wickedness (Pro 16:4, Jer 17:17) that we come to understand how God is Sovereign over the light and darkness (Isa 45:7) and working all things according to the counsel of His will (Ecc 1:11, Rom 8:28).

These verses below and especially the first one (Psa 51:10) reveal to us the spiritual creation process of Jerusalem above (Psa 137:6) where we abide as God tells us “I Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy” and this all happening in “heavenly places.”

Creating heavenly places (Joh 14:3)

Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Isa 4:5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Isa 57:19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.

Isa 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

It is most humbling and reassuring to come to learn of God’s power and might that works through the Alpha and Omega who declares the end from the beginning (Rom 4:17). We are blessed to know in this age that His judgments are upon our first man Adam (1Pe 4:17) remaking the vessel of clay which was purposefully marred in the hand of the Potter to become something that “seemed good to the potter to make it.” (Jer 18:4). The ‘all things are new’ promises found in (2Co 5:17, Rev 21:5) are being created or formed within us through an ongoing process that God has promised to finish through Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith, as He makes known “by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Heb 12:1-2).

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

This week we will once again look at the need to “exhort one another daily, while it is called today” and how it is through this exhorting, encouraging and comforting (1Th 4:1, Heb 3:13, 1Th 4:1, Act 2:40, Rom 15:4, 1Co 14:3, 2Co 1:3) of the body of Christ that we can stay the hand of Satan and the sin in our lives which can so easily beset us (Heb 12:1, 1Co 13:5).

1Th 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk, – that ye abound more and more.

Heb 3:13 but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin:

1Th 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk, – that ye abound more and more.

Act 2:40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.

1Co 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men edification, and exhortation, and consolation.

2Co 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;

Psa 66:8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
Psa 66:9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.

We praise God because He truly does bring us to see that He “holdeth our soul (H5315) in life” and “suffereth not our feet to be moved” and we are reminded of verses (Psa 91:12, Luk 4:11) to make the point that God uses the angels of God, the church to minister to Christ’s body and hold us up and witness to those who will come after of the discipleship of Christ.

Some verses, like those found in (Luk 12:5-15) show us God who “holdeth our soul (H5315) in life”. We are reminded that we are in the same nephesh life as the sparrows and yet are of much greater value because God is destroying our soulishness to make it anew. Whereas the rest of the creation is being sacrificed for our sakes to demonstrate how God is destroying all the carnal realm (man’s heart) typified by beasts (Ecc 3:18).

Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Luk 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
Luk 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luk 12:8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
Luk 12:9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Luk 12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
Luk 12:11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
Luk 12:12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. Luk 12:13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
Luk 12:14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
Luk 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Psa 66:10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
Psa 66:11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
Psa 66:12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

The result of God proving us and our being tried of the Lord is to be brought into a “wealthy place”.

These verses in Matthew best describe that wealthy place:

Mat 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

In order to get to this place however, we know that there must be much tribulation (Act 14:22) that God brings about and describes in these words in verse 12: “Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.” and “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water“.

The water and fire demonstrate the process of baptisms that we are called unto as well.

Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Psa 66:13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
Psa 66:14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
Psa 66:15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.

These verses remind us that it is upon a burnt offering (Lev 1:4) that our vows are paid and fulfilled as we saw so clearly demonstrated through the email string of late in regards to being salted with fire, which we know that every sacrifice must be, in order to be accepted of the Lord (Mar 9:49, Heb 12:6).


Our lips utter “my vows” to God that declare we are a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1) and come at times of duress “when I was in trouble” (Job 5:7). God holds us up through the fiery experience so that our sacrifice is accepted before our Father through Christ (Eph 1:6) who is represented by the fatlings, the rams, the bullocks and the goats of verse 15.

Psa 66:16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
Psa 66:17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.

What God has done for our soul is what we have been discussing all along. He has been purifying it through the fire of His word, which must be tried and tested in this age if we are going to be able to reveal Christ to the world, as Christ presented the Father to the world (Joh 5:43, Mat 11:27, Joh 6:38, 2Ti 2:12).

Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Psa 66:19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psa 66:20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

A reprobate heart, as we have discussed in the past, is an unbelieving and faithless heart (2Co 13:5-6, Rom 14:23), and when we are in this state of mind, God tells us plainly that such prayers are not heard because of their faithless nature (Jas 1:7). Our prayer is that God will keep us from this spirit of unbelief which was given to the Israelites in the wilderness for our abmonition (Heb 3:7-13).

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
2Co 13:6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

Heb 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Heb 3:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Heb 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

We can’t help it when we don’t have faith or are given over to a reprobate mind (2Co 4:4, Rom 1:28), but God does bring the elect to cry out and ask for help in our unbelief if we are his and he delivers us by the saving grace and faith (Eph 2:8) that come from Him alone and is manifested through the body of Christ that “exhort one another daily, while it is called To day” (Heb 11:6, Mar 9:24).

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

When God does not turn away from our prayer, we are experiencing His mercy (Rom 11:16) in this age which acts upon those fervent and continual prayers which God grants the elect to abide in to His glory (Joh 8:31-33, Psa 119:133).

Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.



Mike,

Would you take a quick gander at this short article? Some things are obviously wrong, like his view on Luk 16. However, I’d like your opinion on 1Ki 17:21.

1Ki 17:21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.

The word used there is “soul” not “spirit.” In addition, Stephen, like Jesus, says, “… Receive MY spirit.”

Act 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [ God], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

You corrected me yesterday when I said “his spirit returns to the Lord.” [Ed: Writer had confused the spirit in man as being the soul.) Isn’t Stephen saying the exact thing as me? Lastly, I’d like to get your thoughts on 2Co 5:8 and the idea of paradise as spoken by Jesus on the cross.

2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Thanks.

K____

Hi K____,

Yes, I hope you and Stephen are saying the same thing. You are familiar enough with God’s Word to realize that:

Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ Heb – ruach– spirit]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast:
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

In other words, Stephen’s ‘spirit’ is the same spirit that in is Rover. It is the spirit of God that imparts life. The scripture translated “The life is in the blood…” is a mistranslation.

Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

The word ‘life’ is translated from nephesh. God breathed into Adam the breath [ruach] of life [There, that is where the life is!] and Adam became a living nephesh.” Here in Lev 17:11 this same word ‘nephesh’ is translated two different ways in the same verse, just to fit scripture into the false doctrines of orthodox Christianity. The word ‘soul’ at the end of this verse is also ‘nephesh’. So it really should read “the soul is in the blood…” That is, the spirit that gives a soul life is in that soul. When that spirit is withdrawn you are left with a “dead soul.”

Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Orthodox Christian doctrine denies this Truth. Here is what it says:

“And we must always interpret the Old Testament by the New Testament, since the New is the fulfillment and culmination of the Old.”

That is a quote from the web site to which you referred. So, rather than admit that “the [Old Testament] scriptures cannot be broken,” as averred by Christ, orthodox Christian doctrine just twists the New Testament to NIV paraphrases that say what they want, and claim they are interpreting the Old by the New. Of course they are wittingly or unwittingly liars. The modern concept of the word ‘eternal’ has nothing to do with the Greek words aion and aionios. Of course they will not touch that Truth with a ten-foot pole.

This word, nephesh is the same word translated ‘creature’ in Gen 1:

Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.

Every creature that moves has the same spirit that made Adam a living nephesh. And it is that spirit that Stephen had and that Christ had and that you and I have. But without a resurrection and being given a spiritual body, that spirit will simply have “returned to where it was” before Adam, or any one in Adam, was ever born. It will “return to God who gave it.”

Psa 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches
Psa 104:25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
Psa 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Psa 104:27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
Psa 104:28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath [ruach– spirit], they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit [same word-ruach], they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

So, yes, Stephen had a ‘spirit’ just as “that Leviathan” and “things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.” It was that spirit that gave Stephen life. But that spirit was not Stephen personally, as I think you already know. That spirit of Stephen is the exact same spirit that gives life to all living things. It is God’s spirit.

Gen 1:20 Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life [Hebrew: nephesh – what Adam became when “the ruach of life was breathed into Him”], and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

I think we agree that we are not given spiritual bodies until the resurrection. Let me know if you think I am wrong. Just give me the scriptures; I do want to learn.

You asked about “the idea of paradise as spoken by Jesus on the cross.” That verse is in Luk 23.

Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The main problem with this verse is not the words, but the comma.

Here is what I have written about ‘Paradise:’

“No normal loving parent “chastens and scourges,” an infant or even a toddler. “Chastening,” is reserved for children who are maturing. Neither of these, our original parents, yet knew anything of the “chastening [grace] of the Lord.”

This is not to say that the flesh has to have Satan to be sinful. Nothing is further from the Truth. But in the absence of the ‘Tempter,’ those who live during the millennium will do so under the influence of those who will be ‘ruling and reigning with Christ 1000 years.’ Neither the ‘millennium’ nor the ‘lake of fire’ will produce what the scriptures refer to as “overcomers.” The reason for this truth is that an “overcomer” overcomes “the wicked one.” And “the wicked one” will be “in prison” during the millennium, and he will be purified during “the lake of fire.” Consequently neither of these periods will produce “overcomers.”

1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

The ‘trying’ and the’ testing’ and the ‘proving’ which are essential for the preparation of ‘kings and priests’ will be completely non- existent during the entire one thousand year reign of Christ.

Luk 23:43 And Jesus said to him, Verily to you am I saying today, with me shall you be in paradise. (CV)

[Do you see how a misplaced comma has been used for hundreds of years to twist the truth of God’s Word into the orthodox Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul? The phrase ‘immortal soul’ is found nowhere in scripture!]

The thief on the cross is often used by those who do not see the need for the chastening function of grace to prove that the sacrifice of Christ, Him on the cross, excludes the need for us to also ‘lay down our lives’ with Him. What these people fail to realize is that this thief, though as guilty as we all are, was nevertheless repentant and on the cross with our Lord. However, what keeps him from being in the first resurrection is that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given. Peter himself was not yet converted.

Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Grace does not exclude the cross. Our cross IS CHASTENING, SCOURGING GRACE.”

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

The ‘Tree of Life’ is Christ. The only ones who truly “eat of the Tree of Life” in this age are the elect overcomers. All others will partake of the Tree of Life after the millennial kingdom. This however is a promise “to him that overcometh.” The tree of life in the “midst of the garden of God” is Christ in the midst of our times of nakedness and trials just as it was during the time Adam and Eve’s time of trial. The last place we want to go is back to the nakedness of the garden of Eden. We want our time of trial and testing and judging NOW (1Pe 4:12).

I looked at the web site you gave me and was not at all surprised that they use the words ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ as though they are interchangeable. I have just demonstrated from the scriptures that a soul is the combination of a clay body with spirit that gives it life. “It is the spirit that gives life” (Joh 6:63). The [spirit that gives] life is in the [nephesh – soul], the “clay” or “dust” body.

The scripture, unlike that web page, says that the spirit that gives life is IN the soul. It implies and assumes that the spirit IS the soul. Nothing could be further from the Truth of scripture. If that is so, then explain to me this verse of scripture:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Look at how they wrest the scriptures to fit their doctrine. Here is what they do to the scripture:

“For unbelievers it [hell] is a place of punishment. In 2 Peter 2, Peter writes, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2Pe 2:4, 9).”

On the other hand, here is what it actually says:

2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Reserving the “unjust unto the day of judgment” is the exact opposite of “keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” Those untruths were written by a person who has not yet been given “eyes to see” the wonderful mercies of God. God pronounces a curse on those who add to and take away from His Word.

Look at this admission on his web page:

“When interpreting the Bible, we must always interpret obscure and unclear passages by clearer ones that treat the same subject. And we must always interpret the Old Testament by the New Testament, since the New is the fulfillment and culmination of the Old.”

So naturally, they never mention this very “clear passage:”

Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [Hebrew: spirit]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Yet the teaching of that page is that man is a spirit and not dust at all. And of course they never even attempt to tackle the meaning of the words aion or aionios.

The reason that page uses NIV is because NIV doesn’t even pretend to be an accurate translation. The NIV is nothing more than a twisted orthodox Christian paraphrase of God’s Word.

You asked about what I have written on 2Co 5:8.

2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

See the letter entitled ‘To Be Absent From The Body,’ posted October 3rd, 2004.

I hope this has answered your concerns.

Mike

Hello Mike!

Since the body returns to the ground and the soul to the realm of the imperceptible at death and the spirit returns to God who gave it, does our spirit know it is in the presence of God? Or does the spirit need the soul to have an awareness of where it is? Hope you understand my question. When our spirit returns to God at death, will we know we are in God’s presence? Thanks Mike! God Bless YOU bro! J____

Hi J____,

The answer to your question is no, we will not know that we are in God’s presence because we will not be in ‘God’s presence.’ We will be dead. And here is what we know about the dead:

Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecc 9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

And again we are told this same message:

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts [ and are so marked from birth: “all men, free and bond, great and small, rich and poor.”]
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ this word ‘breath’ is the Hebrew word ‘ruach.’ It is the exact same word translated ‘spirit.’] ; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

You are not yet a spiritual body until the resurrection.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

You and I have God’s spirit which gives us life. The ‘life is not in the blood.’ The spirit gives life.

2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

The Hebrew word translated ‘life’ is ‘nephesh.’ This is the word that is translated ‘soul.’

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [ nephesh].

But this life- giving spirit of God is given to a physical ‘nephesh’ temporarily. As we read above, it is the same life- giving spirit that give a dog its life:

Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ this word ‘breath’ is the Hebrew word ‘ruach.’ It is the exact same word translated ‘spirit.’] ; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

So the blood in the soul is given life by the spirit. The spirit that gave a dead person life at birth has been withdrawn. Now what are we told of those people? Are we told that “their spirit is conscious and in the presence of God?” No, that is not what the scriptures teach. Here IS what the scriptures teach from Genesis to Revelation:

1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised [ from the dead], your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

All of the false doctrines of the entire orthodox Christian world cannot disannul the truth that the resurrection must precede judgment. And what happens if we are not resurrected? Is ‘our’ spirit conscious and in the presence of God? Is that very common Christian teaching to be found anywhere in the word of God? No, it is not. But this teaching is to be found, and it is stated plainly and repeatedly in both the old and the new testaments:

1Co 15:17-18 If Christ be not raised [ from the dead]… Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing…

To the heathen Athenians on Mars Hill Paul makes this statement:

Act 17:27 That they [ all men] should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Yes, John tells us that “NOW are we the sons of God…” So we are already God’s sons. But in what capacity? Are our spirits now in His presence in some immortal way that really doesn’t need a resurrection? No, not at all. Let’s read that verse in 1 John in its entirety:

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shal l be: but we know that, when he shall appear [ at the resurrection], we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

You see, Christ is “The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” In other words Christ is both the first and the second Adam. It is “IN Him” that both the heathen Athenians and the elect ‘live and move and have our being.’

2Co 13:4 For though he [ Christ] was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

Not one orthodox Christian in the world believes 2Co 13:4. They believe that they are weak because of their own free will. They do not believe that they are “weak in Him.” But the Truth is that it is all ‘In Him.” But the answer to that weakness is also “through Him:”

1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

So God has decided that everything will be headed up “IN HIM.” But he has also decided that it will be consummated in a resurrection, without which we would all “have perished.”

Col 1:16 … By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist [ strong and weak; good and evil].
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.
Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

All will be brought to God, but not through some innate immortal spirit. That is not acquired except through a resurrection from the dead. What we have now, I repeat, is but “an earnest of the spirit,’ which we will receive at the resurrection of the dead.

2Co 5:4 For we that are in this earthen, clay, dust] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality [ that which is subject to death] might be swallowed up of life [ at the resurrection of the dead].
2Co 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
2Co 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

This being “sealed’ is not a ‘once in grace always in grace; no way I can miss out on the first resurrection’ false doctrine. If it were true, it would nullify 90% of the writings and admonitions of the scriptures. It would especially nullify the writing of the apostle Paul whose letters are full of statements like:

1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

That word ‘sealed,’ according to Strong’s, means “kept secret.” It is a secret that only God knows. It is certainly not something that we should be taking for granted.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

That ‘high calling,’ is that “blessed and holy… first resurrection.” Let us “strive for the mark of the high calling in Christ,” that “blessed and holy… first resurrection.”

Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [ are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

I hope this has shown you that what you refer to as ‘our spirit’ is actually God’s spirit that gives us life while we are in this earthen vessel. I hope you see that it is only after a resurrection of the dead that we receive a spiritual body. I hope you can see that what we have been given now in Christ is but a pledge of future redemption at a resurrection of the dead.

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear [ at the resurrection], we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Here is the Truth of when we receive our spiritual bodies:

Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession [ at the first resurrection], unto the praise of his glory.

Mike