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A Corpse is Not a Man, but Neither is a Ghost (Chesterton)

…It was a very special idea of St. Thomas that Man is to be studied in his whole manhood; that a man is not a man without his body, just as he is not a man without his soul. A corpse is not a man; but also a ghost is not a man. The earlier school of Augustine and even of Anselm had rather neglected this, treating the soul as the only necessary treasure, wrapped for a time in a negligible napkin. Even here they were less orthodox in being more spiritual.

-G.K. Chesterton, St. Thomas Aquinas, p. 17

The phrase “less orthodox in being more spiritual” is a gem, but that is not necessarily why I share the quote.

I have heard more than one preacher say things like this: ‘the body is just a shell containing the real self.’ I once heard a preacher try to make the point at a funeral like this: ‘Don’t you dare think that this body is the real [so and so]. This was only a shell.’

That was not Jesus’ perspective at the tomb of Lazarus, and it shouldn’t be ours. Death is the great tragedy, and the great enemy, of mankind. Any separation of soul from body is unnatural. And so the souls of holy martyrs cry out in heaven, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10). They are not content to be spirits while others remain in the body. They would be further clothed (2 Cor. 5:10).

We look not just for heaven, but for new heavens and a new earth – and a great resurrection. For ‘a corpse is not a man,’ but neither is a ghost.

The Misused Passages: 1 Corinthians 2:9, Eye Hath Not Seen, Nor Ear Heard

This will be the first of an ongoing series on the blog dealing with biblical texts that I repeatedly hear ripped out of context and misused. I have previously dealt with Jesus’ words, ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged‘ (though I had not conceived of a series at that point).

In this installment we consider 1 Corinthians 2:9:

  • But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Some years ago this verse, by itself, was our theme verse for a semester at chapel at a school I attended. And it was used, as it is typically used, to encourage Christians that they cannot imagine the things that God has prepared for them in heaven. Perhaps you’ve used it that way. So, what’s the problem?

Perhaps it is the ripping of this verse out of context that has led to the recent slough of bestselling books dealing with the afterlife. People are just dying, yes that’s a pun, to know what heaven is like. They want to know if the family pet will be there. They want to know what giant pearls look like. They want to know that everything really will be alright in the end. And so you get small children going to heaven and coming back to tell the story. You get ‘Close Encounters of the God Kind.’ You get guys with no interest in the Bible coming into my workplace telling me that he died and rose from the dead and wants to tell me what Jesus is really like.

The problem is that 1 Corinthians 2:9 should never be quoted without including 1 Corinthians 2:10. This is the reason the ESV actually inserts a hyphen at the end of 2:9:

  • 9 But, as it is written,’What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him’ —

So what does verse 10 say?

  • 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

The glories of heaven will be just that – glorious. Human imagination could not truly conceive of the majesty of life in the immediate presence of God. But, this reality, and many of its actual elements, have be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through Scripture.

Do you remember the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus from Luke 16? The Rich Man heads to Hades and gets to have a conversation with Abraham. He asks to be sent back to the earth so that he can declare the truth of the afterlife to his family. If someone rose from the dead to tell them, surely then they would believe! Abraham’s reply, told by Jesus himself in Luke 16:29, is:

  • But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’

These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. We need to fix our minds on things above. And God has given us one means of doing so – his own revelation – the Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

One can’t be a Ghost in One’s Own Country (C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair)

I have always struggled with the idea of being being a bodyless soul in heaven. I don’t mean that I have struggled with it in such a way as to doubt it, or that I don’t want it. I mean that I cannot conceptualize it in my mind. It is a mystery of mysteries. But I have always encouraged myself by remembering that I’m not God, and therefore I am not capable of understanding everything (nor should I understand everything). I also encourage myself by remembering that God the Father and the Holy Spirit are pure spirit without bodies. They are, however, omnipresent, while we will never be so. 

With that said, this weekend I read something that helped. My daughter and I have just finished re-reading The Silver Chair, by C.S. Lewis, from the Chronicles of Narnia. I had many fond memories of this book going in. I considered it one of my two favorites of the Narnia series. I love the luner atmosphere of the story (the melancholy nature of Puddleglum, the constant brushes with insanity, etc). The scene of Caspian, Eustace, and Jill returning to our world ‘bright shining as the sun’ has gripped my imagination ever since first reading the story. But I discovered a few gems this time that I missed last time, and one of them handles the subject of a man in the ‘intermediate state,’ if you will. That man is Caspian.

Caspian dies in the story, but he comes to life again, in a new form of sorts, an ageless form, though he obviously remains himself, in Aslan’s country. As Eustace meets the newly risen Caspian, Lewis writes,

Eustace made a step toward him with both hands held out, but then drew back with a startled expression.

‘Look here! I say,’ he stammered. ‘It’s all very well. But aren’t you-? I mean, didn’t you-?’

‘Oh, don’t be such an ass,’ said Caspian.

‘But,’ said Eustace, looking at Aslan. ‘Hasn’t he-er-died?’

‘Yes,’ said the Lion in a very quiet voice, almost (Jill thought) as if he were laughing. ‘He has died. Most people have, you know. Even I have. There are very few who haven’t.’

‘Oh,’ said Caspian. ‘I see what’s bothering you. You think I’m a ghost, or some nonsense. But don’t you see? I would be that if I appeared in Narnia now: because I don’t belong there any more. But one can’t be a ghost in one’s own country. I might be a ghost if I got into your world. I don’t know. But I suppose it isn’t yours either, now you’re here.’

–The Silver Chair, chapter 16.

That one sentence – ‘One can’t be a ghost in one’s own country’ – rang true to me. It allowed me to imaginatively embrace something that I had struggled to comprehend. That’s the best picture of existence in heaven, outside of the Bible, that I have ever read. And I read it in a children’s story. This only goes to illustrate the point so often made by Lewis and G.K. Chesterton: the imagination is best used in seeking the truth. Lewis uses his imagination here for just that purpose.

  • Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).

Do Animals Go to heaven? (Animals in the Covenant of Grace and the New Creation)

I’ve been asked multiple times by various people what I think about the idea of animals in heaven. The Average-Joe-Christian, I think, immediately assumes that ‘all dogs go to heaven.’ But theologians often think this idea is crackpot at best. The following is a biblical line of thought that would lead one to conclude that animals make it, if not into heaven, at least into the new heavens and the new earth after the return of Christ. I’m not willing to die on this hill, but I think it is worth pondering:

1. Every living creature is, or possesses, נָ֫פֶשׁ, nephesh (often translated by the English word, ‘soul’):

  • Genesis 9:12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature (נָ֫פֶשׁ) that is with you, for all future generations:
  • Genesis 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 (נָ֫פֶשׁ).

Soul, in this simple sense, simply means that both men and animals have an immaterial part of their being. There is a part of them that you cannot see. They are inwardly animated.

But is there a difference between the souls of men and of animals?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism is helpful here. Question 22 describes the soul of Christ in this way:

Q. 22. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

A. Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.

Men, including Christ, who was truly man, have reasonable souls – that is, souls capable of reasoning. Animals have souls in the simplest sense (an immaterial aspect of being), but do not possess the faculty of reason (or, at least, not in the same way humans do). God shows mercy on those who are incapable of reason:

  • Jonah 4:11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Jonathan Edwards called the emotional experiences we share with animals ‘animal spirits.’ These would include goosebumps, heart palpitations,  sweaty palms, and raw sexual desire (to name a few). This illustrates our common soulishness (common to men and animals) but also distinguishes men from animals, since men are capable of higher reasoning and emotion (i.e. love).

2. Animals are explicitly included in the Covenant of Grace both in salvation from the flood and promises of future grace in its Noahic administration:

  • Genesis 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
  • Genesis 8:21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.

God’s covenant with Noah is a part of the unfolding of the Covenant of Grace. The ark is a type of Christ, who saves his people from the flood of God’s wrath as they are united with him through faith (they are said to be ‘in Christ’). Animals are brought into the ark and are included in the promise of the covenant. The ‘bow’ (think war bow, as in bow and arrow) in the heavens, as C.H. Spurgeon once said, points upward (toward the heavens) to demonstrate the way of salvation – God taking the arrow for his covenant people. It would appear that he takes the arrow for animals as well.

In the past I struggled with the idea of God’s covenant with Noah being an administration of the Covenant of Grace because it appears quite similar to God’s original administration of the Covenant of Works (similarities include the command to ‘bear fruit and multiply’) and because of the favored standing of animals within it. But the idea of animals being included in a unique way in the Covenant of Grace eases that tension. The Covenant of Grace calls men into a new relationship with creation, including animals. We are called to be stewards of all that exists – animate and inanimate – in light of the greatness of Christ’s atoning work, which is foreshadowed in the flood and ark.

It is also interesting to note that the post-flood world was a type of a new, and cleansed, creation that was to come. It is our first pointer to a ‘new earth.’ In this new earth there are animals. We’ll look at the ultimate ‘new heavens’ and ‘new earth’ below.

3. In the New Covenant administration of the Covenant of Grace, animals are explicitly declared ceremonially clean:

  • Acts 10:15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

Hence animals possess a quality that unregenerate men do not possess – they are free from moral and ceremonial defilement.

4. The apocalyptic visions of John included those of heavenly animals:

  • Revelation 19:11 ¶ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

This language is apocalyptic and metaphorical, but can you really imagine a king without a horse?

5. The new heavens and the new earth, while being new, share continuity with the old (and animals are certainly in the old)

Isaiah’s description of the new heavens and the new earth includes:

  • Isaiah 11:6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
  • Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

While it is fairly clear that the language Isaiah is using is symbolic (hence the lion and the lamb pointing to Jesus Christ as the true Lion and Lamb, where power and weakness meet together in fullness), the particular symbolism used should not be ignored. The exalted Christ who comes to usher in the new heavens and the new earth is called ‘The Lion of the Tribe of Judah’ and ‘the Lamb who was slain.’ It is difficult to fathom Christ as a Lion or Lamb when lions and lambs are destined for non-existence.

Our ultimate hope is not for life after death, but for life after life after death – resurrection (both for us and the earth).

  • Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

We do not simply long to be taken up to heaven but for heaven to be brought down to us – on the earth.

  • Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

We are going to drink wine and eat bread in the new heavens and the new earth. This entails the existence of grapes and grain. If soulless plants may enter, why doubt that animate creatures such as animals would enter as well? They were created for God’s glory, and they glorify, and will glorify him.

Would You Take Heaven Without God?

This issue came up for me today. What if you could have heaven, or anything you desired for eternity, without the presence of God? Would you take it? Is the thought of heaven more delightful than the thought of seeing the Lord face to face? If that is your position, you might want to examine yourself in light of the Scriptures:

1. Consider that Moses wouldn’t lead the people into the Promised Land without God’s presence:

  • Exodus 33:14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And [Moses] said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

2. Consider the picture painted by John’s Revelation of the centrality of Christ in the heavenly vision:

  • Revelation 7:9 ¶ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

3. Consider that God’s Initial Covenant Promise involves not only a place and a people, but his presence:

  • Genesis 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
  • Exodus 6:7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
  • Matthew 28:20 …And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

4. Consider that God Himself is the primary portion, inheritance, and dwelling place of His people:

  • Lamentations 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
  • Psalm 90:1 …Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

5. Consider that Fulness of Joy is to be found in God’s presence:

  • Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

6. Consider that Jesus prepares a place for us, not for the sake of the place, but for the sake of His presence with us:

  • John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

7. Consider that the vision of Christ’s glory(and our conformity to that glory) is the chief purpose of heaven:

  • John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
  • 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

8. Consider why the Apostle Paul desired to depart this life:

  • Philippians 1:23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

It seems to me that Isaac Watts summarizes the feeling, desire, and ultimate aspiration of the Christian well in the words of this hymn:

For ever to behold him shine,
For evermore to call him mine, And see him still before me.
For ever on his face to gaze,
And meet his full assembled rays,
While all the Father he displays, To all the saints for ever.”

Not all things else are half so dear
As his delightful presence here; What must it be in heaven?…

But how must his celestial voice
Make my enraptured heart rejoice, When I in glory near him;
While I before the heavenly gate,
For everlasting entrance wait,
And Jesus, on his throne of state, Invites me to come near him.

‘Come in, thou blessed, sit by me;
With my own life I ransom’d thee; Come, taste my perfect favour;
Come in, thou happy spirit, come,
Thou now shall dwell with me at home,
Ye blissful mansion, make him room, for he must stay for ever’ (Isaac Watts).

Where are you? What’s your position? Would you take heaven without God’s presence? Think about it, for it may tell you a good deal about the state of your soul in its relationship to the Lord.

Recent Reading: For All the Saints?, by N.T. Wright

I could gripe about this book, there’s no doubt (I disagreed with quite a bit of it). But that’s not why I write these posts. I write (see my ‘About’ page) to record instant impressions and applications. I like to think that any book on Christian doctrine can edify me in one way or another, regardless of how much, or little, I agree with.

Wright debunks the doctrine of purgatory quite well, which I appreciate. His take on prayer in relation to the dead has made me think. I’m still evaluating.

Most of all, I applaud Wright’s concern to remind Christians that heaven is not our ultimate and final destination. I’ve had issues with this in the past in dealing with folks. I once had a lady tell me that she didn’t want to live eternally if it meant she couldn’t stay in heaven for eternity. Earth – been there, done that, bought the shot glass, don’t wanna go back.

‘But the presence of Christ is the real issue,’ I urged. ‘He will be on the earth after his second coming.’ She didn’t care. She just wanted wings and a puffy cloud. ‘But the new heavens and the new earth will be glorious,’ I contended. But it’s still the earth. ‘No, it’s a new earth – no sadness, no sorrow, peace in the valley, and all that.’ Not only did she ‘disagree’ with me (though most of the time I was basically quoting Revelation 21), she got mad – really mad.

I fear this is the sentiment of far too many Christians (though it might not make them quite as angry).

I do not know if Wright himself coined the term (but he was certainly the first to bring it to my attention), but his phrase, ‘life after life after death’ is memorable and helpful. This is what the Christian is ultimately looking forward to – not simply life after death, but life after life after death, in the new heavens and the new earth. I will certainly use this phrase in the future. And were it not for that phrase I probably would not be taking the time to write down my thoughts.

I urge folks regularly to read Revelation 21 and 22, along with Isaiah 65 and 66 concerning the after life (which I can now call ‘life after life after death’, or perhaps, ‘life after the afterlife,’ why not?). And so, if anyone happens across this post who has been troubled by this issue, I would humbly suggest that you read those chapters.It also wouldn’t hurt to read The Chronicles of Narnia as well, especially The Last Battle (though I’m certainly not comparing it with the Bible). C.S. Lewis’ depiction of the ‘new Narnia’ is brilliant. All that is lacking in that book, in my opinion, is redeemed by the vision of the new Narnia, further up and further in. I can’t imagine the Chronicles without that vision.