Bible Questions Answered:
“According to II Timothy 2:18 did the
early church believe that the resurrection had already happened?”
Wiriya/ Stockholm, Sweden
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
II Timothy 2:15-18 NLT (Apostle
Paul speaks to Timothy.)
15 Work hard so
you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good
worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly
explains The Word Of Truth.
16 Avoid
worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.
17 This kind of
talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus.
18 They have
left the path of Truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead
has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away
from the faith.
Wherever The Truth is, there will
falsehood be also!
I Timothy 6:3-5,20,21 NLT
3 Some people may contradict our
teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of
The Lord Jesus Christ. These
teachings promote a Godly life.
4 Anyone who teaches something
different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an
unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up
arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.
5 These people always cause trouble.
Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on
The Truth. To them, a show of
godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
20 Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.
21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness.
Titus 3:9-11 NLT
21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness.
Titus 3:9-11 NLT
9 Do not get involved in foolish
discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about
obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of
time.
10 If people are causing divisions
among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing
more to do with them.
11 For people like that have turned
away from The Truth, and their own sins condemn them.
Matthew 13:1,2,24-30,36-43 KJV
1 The same day went Jesus out of the
house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered
together unto Him, so that He went into a ship, and sat; and the
whole multitude stood on the shore.
24 Another parable put He forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed
good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy
came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up,
and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed
in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath
done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and
gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye
gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the
harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather
ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:
but gather the wheat into my barn.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude
away, and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him,
saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them,
He that soweth the good seed is The Son Of Man;
38 The field is the world; the good
seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children
of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the
devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the
angels.
40 As therefore the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this
world.
41 The Son Of Man shall send forth
His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to
hear, let him hear.
The early church
was no exception to false teachers.
These false
teachers in the church, taught that there was no, physical
resurrection, only a spiritual one.
The Apostle Paul,
clearly taught that there was coming a day for the Christian, when
his body would be resurrected.
I Corinthians
15:51-58 NLT
51 But let me reveal to you a
wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be
transformed!
52 It will happen in a moment, in
the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the
trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever.
And we who are living will also be transformed.
53 For our dying bodies must be
transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must
be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have
been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will
be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory? O
death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results
in death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank God! He gives us
victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters,
be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for
The Lord, for you know that nothing
you do for The Lord is ever useless.
II Corinthians
5:1-10 NLT
1 For we know that when this earthly
tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this
earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made
for us by God Himself and not by human hands.
2 We grow weary in our present
bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.
3 For we will put on heavenly
bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
4 While we live in these earthly
bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get
rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new
bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
5 God Himself has prepared us for
this, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even
though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at
home with The Lord.
7 For we live by believing and not
by seeing.
8 Yes, we are fully confident, and
we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will
be at home with The Lord.
9 So whether we are here in this
body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.
10 For we must all stand before
Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the
good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
I Thessalonians
4:13-18 NLT
13 And now, dear brothers and
sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who
have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus
died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus
returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from
The Lord: We who are still living when The Lord returns will not meet
Him ahead of those who have died.
16 For The Lord Himself will come
down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who
have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who
are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the
clouds to meet The Lord in the air. Then we will be with The Lord
forever.
18 So encourage each other with
these words.
Dear friends, as
Christians, may we be known as those who love The Truth, and daily
study The Word to know it.
II Timothy 2:15
NLT
Work hard so
you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good
worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly
explains The Word Of Truth.
Acts
17:10-13 NLT (The noble
Bereans.)
10 That very night the believers
sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to
the Jewish synagogue.
11 And the people of Berea were more
open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to
Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see
if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
12 As a result, many Jews believed,
as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
