Read John 11 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
Joh 11:1-45 Chiastic Structure:
Lazarus was raised bodily from the dead, that is, his physical body, which had already begun to decay, was restored to life, the decay reversed, and whatever illness caused him to die in the first place, was healed.
The Hebraic religion of the Bible teaches that man is a triune being, that is, he is an eternal spirit, in possession of a soul, consisting of a mind, a will, and a personality. We are not sure how the spirit and soul are related, but we infer from our Bible reading, that the spirit/ soul is the immaterial, immortal part of man. The spirit/ soul dwells in the material body, as a person dwells in a house. When the material body dies, the eternal spirit/ soul is released from the body, and lives on.
In the Hebrew Testament, this continuation took place in Sheol (she-ol´), a spiritual place, like a waiting room, where the spirit/ souls of the dead slept, as it were. And Jesus, by saying that He goes to wake Lazarus from his sleep, shows us that sleep is a Natural Picture of this waiting period. Just as a person who is asleep is unconscious, unaware of the passage of time or the events occurring around him, so the person whose body has died is asleep, unconscious, unaware of the passage of time or of the events occurring around him. He is in a state of waiting. Continuing with the Natural Picture, the asleep person is not dead, but waiting, and when he wakes up, he continues his life.
Jesus begins to teach us more about this concept in the Greek Testament.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection, and the life. He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Joh 11:25-26
Even if the body dies, the person yet lives. Whoever lives, believing in Jesus, that is, believing that He is from God, and the Son of God, the Hebraic concept of Messiah, Savior, and not only mentally assenting to this truth, but trusting in Him and relying in Him for salvation, shall never die. He is speaking of spiritual life, of eternal life, for bodies die. But the spirit/ soul of the person lives on. He does not merely exist, but he has life, and that abundantly.
The Bible has much to say about this spiritual, eternal life, and the bodily resurrection from the dead, as Lazarus’ body was raised from the dead. As we continue through the books of the Bible in this study, more and more insight and understanding will be added.
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
The Deity of Messiah, part one, two, three, four, and five (discussing the triune nature of a human being) – Christine Miller
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