Summary:
...I (Paul) would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (speaking of death as taking of rest in sleep), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. God hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised Jesus Christ from the dead. God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
...No man hath seen God at any time. The Lord God said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. God is not a man: God is a Spirit. A spirit hath not flesh and bones. It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. We shall be as the angels of God in heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ: shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
...When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law (for by the law is the knowledge of sin), that we might receive the adoption of sons. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
...Now
we are the sons (and daughters) of God, and it doth
not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he (Jesus,
unto them that
look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. Heb0928) shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. But of that day and
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven but my Father
only.
Further reading:
(1) God is not a man, Num2319: God is a Spirit, Jhn0424. A spirit hath not flesh and bones, Luk2439. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life, Jhn0663. It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, Mat0404.
(2) God is love. Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God, 1Joh0407.
(3) Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen
God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and
his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him,
and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit, 1Jn0410-12.
(4) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him
, Jhn0118. For, God hath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son, Heb0102.
(5) The Lord God said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live, Exo3320. For all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth, Gen0612
(6) Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (with the eyes of your understanding, Eph0118), Jhn0303. Verily, verily, I (Jesus) say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit, Jhn0305-08. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you, 1Pe0123-25.
(7) God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth, Gen0612. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation, Heb0928.
(8) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, 2Pe0103-04. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, Rom0323.
(9) For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known, 1Co1312. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine, Jhn1014.
(10) Beloved of God, now are we the sons (and daughters, 2Co0618) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure, 1Jn0302,03.
(11) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law (by Moses, Jhn0116) could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, Rom0801-06.
(12) When
the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, Gal0404,05.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ, Gal0216. Even the righteousness
of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Rom0322-24.
(13) He / she that loveth another hath fulfilled the law,
Rom1308. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, Gal0514.
(14) Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he (or, she, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, Gal0328) that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, Jhn1125,26. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth, Rom1004.
(15) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it, Rom0819-25.
(16) Verily, verily, say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him (God) that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live, Jhn0524,25.
(17) But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory, 1Co1535-41.
(18) So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man (Adam) was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth,earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly, 1Co1542-49. As the angels of God in heaven, Mat2230.
(19) The Lord Jesus Christ: shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself, Phl0320,2
(20) Now this I (Paul) say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 1Co1550,
(21) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1Co1552-57.
(22) God hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead, Act1731. God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power, 1Co0614.
(23) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (speaking of death as taking of rest in sleep, cf.Jhn1113), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. Th0413-0511.
(24) Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me (Jesus Christ). In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also, Jhn1401-03. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do, 1Th0509-11. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven but my Father only, Mat2436.
(25) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, 2Pe0309-15.
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