Biblical View on the Intermediate State of the Body
The biblical view on the intermediate state of the body pertains to the condition of believers between their death and the final resurrection. According to Charles Hodge, the common Protestant doctrine holds that "the souls of believers are at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection" [3].
The concept of an intermediate state is rooted in biblical teachings about death and the afterlife. In 2 Corinthians 5:8, Paul expresses a desire "to go from our home in the body, and to come to our home with the Lord," indicating a conscious state after death where believers are with Christ [5]. This understanding is supported by other New Testament passages, such as Philippians 1:23, where Paul longs "to depart and be with Christ," suggesting an immediate transition to being with the Lord upon death.
The Bible describes the body as a "tabernacle" or "earthly house" that is temporary and will be shed at death (2 Peter 1:14; 2 Corinthians 5:1). John Calvin interprets this to mean that Scripture estimates humans by the soul, which distinguishes them from lower animals, and thus the departure from the body is seen as a migration [2]. The soul's immortality is a crucial aspect of this doctrine, as it continues to exist after the body's death.
The patristic doctrine of the intermediate state, as discussed by Charles Hodge, reveals that early Christian understanding was influenced by Jewish expectations. The prevalent Jewish idea was that souls descended into Sheol after death, awaiting the Messiah's coming and subsequent resurrection [4]. However, with Christ's advent, the understanding evolved, and the focus shifted to being with Christ after death.
Different traditions have nuanced views on the intermediate state. The Reformed tradition, represented by Charles Hodge and John Calvin, emphasizes the immediate glorification of believers' souls upon death and their being with Christ [2, 3]. In contrast, some early Christian views and certain Jewish interpretations held different understandings of the afterlife and the intermediate state.
The nature of the intermediate state is not exhaustively detailed in Scripture, leaving some aspects to theological interpretation. Charles Hodge notes that while there is agreement on the fact of an intermediate state, there is diversity regarding its nature [3]. The biblical emphasis is on the continuity of the person's existence, with the soul continuing in a conscious state, even as the body awaits resurrection.
The resurrection body is a distinct aspect of Christian doctrine, related to but separate from the intermediate state. Paul discusses the resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15, highlighting God's sovereignty in giving a body as it pleases Him [1]. This future bodily resurrection is a cornerstone of Christian hope, complementing the present state of being with Christ.
Sources
- 1 Corinthians “But God gives it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. -- 1 Corinthians 15:38”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 80: that of the soul. Very different is the course taken by Scripture, which compares the body to a tabernacle, from which it describes us as migrating when we die, because it estimates us by that part which distinguishes us from the lower animals. Thus Peter, in reference to his approaching death, says, “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle,” ( 2 Pet. 1:14 ). Paul, again, speaking of believers, after saying, 2267 “If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,” adds, “Whilst we are”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 76: a state of existence which intervenes between death and the resurrection; and that the condition of the departed during that interval is, in some respects, different from that which it is to be subsequent to that event. It is not, therefore, as to the fact of an intermediate state, but as to its nature, that diversity of opinion exists among Christians. The common Protestant doctrine on this subject is that “the souls of believers are at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being sti”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 78: § 3. Patristic Doctrine of the Intermediate State. Although the true doctrine concerning the state of the dead was, as has been shown, revealed in the Old Testament, it was more or less perverted in the minds of the people. The prevalent idea was that all souls after death descended into Sheol, and there remained in expectation of the coming of the Messiah. When He came it was expected that the Jews, or at least, the faithful, 734 would be raised from the dead, and made partakers of all the glories and blessedness of the Messiah’s reign. ”
- 2 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Corinthians 5:8: willing--literally, "well content." Translate also, "To go (literally, migrate) from our home in the body, and to come to our home with the Lord." We should prefer to be found alive at the Lord's coming, and to be clothed upon with our heavenly body (Co2 5:2-4). But feeling, as we do, the sojourn in the body to be a separation from our true home "with the Lord," we prefer even dissolution by death, so that in the intermediate disembodied state we may go to be "with the Lord" (Phi 1:23). "To be with Christ" (the disembodied state) is distinguished”