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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2019 5:41:31 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2019 5:41:46 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2019 5:41:58 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2019 5:42:11 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jul 4, 2019 10:53:28 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jul 4, 2019 10:53:40 GMT -5
WHO DOES THOSE WHO DIED IN UNION WITH CHRIST REFER TO?
There are those that propose that Paul is suggesting that the expression "those who died in union with Christ" ONLY refers to Spirit anointed Christians that died prior to the Lord's return and excludes those Christians that are "caught away in the clouds to meet the Lord", but is this a reasonable conclusion?
Looking at the context, Paul is comforting certain first century Christians over the death of fellow believers (verse 13). He (Paul) points out that thanks to their faith in Jesus, any first century Christians who die will be raised from the dead. Projecting into the future Paul concludes that during the Lords "Presence" Jesus will call back to life "those who are dead in union with Christ" NWT "dead in Christ" (KJV) and afterwards "those surviving". While there is no denying Paul's words are somewhat ambigious, what we can say for SURE is that Paul does not state explicitly that those "surviving" would NOT eventually themselves also die "in union with Christ". Since he is focusing on when each group will be resurrected Paul is effectively silent on whether those "surviving" will also eventually be "die in union with Christ" so we must turn to other passages to shed light on this question.
It seems self evident that "born again" Christians must live and die faithful to their calling to enjoy their rewards. Paul in Romans points to their "baptism into [Christ's] death and resulting in a "new life" in heaven with him if indeed they do so. Interestingly he explicitly states that this is the case for "all" such believers. Other passages refer to this group as being a single united body, presented as a "bride" to Jesus. In light of the above and many comparable scriptures it seems reasonable to conclude that ALL Christ's spirit anointed born again followers who die faithful can be spoken of as being "dead in union with Christ". Notice the conclusion draw by various bibe scholars:
CONCLUSION: Paul does not state that those Christians that survive until the Lord's presence will not eventually also themselves die in union with, or "in" Christ. The bible indicates this expression refers to members of Christ's bride who faithfully complete their earthly course, thus scripturally we can reasonabley conclude that all faithful spirit anointed born again Christians that finish their earthly mission united with Christ can be spoken of as dying "in Christ".
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Post by Admin on Jul 5, 2019 17:34:41 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jul 6, 2019 2:30:55 GMT -5
Xx
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Post by Admin on Jul 6, 2019 2:31:46 GMT -5
V18
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2019 1:16:25 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2023 14:41:17 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2023 14:41:42 GMT -5
Jn
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Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2023 14:42:28 GMT -5
Jn
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Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2023 14:42:42 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Oct 7, 2023 12:58:11 GMT -5
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