Published: 20 July 2024

The Immortal Soul? Part 11: Depart and Be with Christ

Depart

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. (Phil. 1:21-24 ESV)

When we read Paul’s words in Philippians 1:21-24, they seem to paint a clear picture: Paul believes that when he passes from this life, he’ll immediately be with Christ. This passage has been a cornerstone for the idea that our souls go to heaven the moment we die. It’s a comforting thought, but what if we’ve been reading this through the lens of Greek philosophy rather than biblical teaching? The Bible’s view of the soul is quite different from Plato’s idea of an immortal soul trapped in a physical body. 

The biblical concept of “soul”

Rather than an immortal soul living inside a physical shell, the biblical soul refers to the whole person including the physical body and the mental, emotional, and volitional dimensions of our being. When God created Adam, He breathed life into him, and Adam became a living soul (Gen 2:7). We don’t have souls; we are souls. Unless we respect the Bible’s definition of soul, we simply cannot understand Paul’s expectation in this passage.

If we do not possess an immortal soul that can exist apart from our body, how could Paul expect to be with Christ immediately after death? The common interpretation says that Paul anticipated his soul would go to heaven the moment he died. The biblical narrative clashes with the traditional view of Philippians 1:21-24. If we take the biblical view of the soul seriously, we need to reconsider what Paul meant. Could he be talking about something other than an immediate trip to heaven? 

The dead are unconscious

The Bible repeatedly tells us that the dead sleep and do not have a conscious existence. For example:

so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep. (Job 14:12 ESV)

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecc 9:5 ESV)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. (Ecc 9:10 ESV)

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. (Psa 146:4 KJV)

15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (1Th 4:15-16 ESV)

This is just a small sample of verses, but they are straightforward and declare that the dead sleep, know nothing, have no thoughts, etc. 

The timelessness of death

The first time I was put under anesthesia for a medical procedure was a remarkable experience. Once they administered it, I was asleep within ten seconds, and I awoke just as rapidly. Whatever they used had no lingering effects; when I woke up, I felt fully awake. The remarkable part of the experience was that it seemed as if no time had passed. This was different from ordinary sleep somehow. 

When I wake up in the morning, I have no memory of what happened while I slept (except for dreams of course), but I’m aware that time has elapsed. The anesthesia experience was different. When I woke up, it felt like no time had elapsed. It was strange.

I suspect this is what it will be like when God raises the dead. Since they are unconscious in death, they will have no perception of the passage of time. Their next conscious moment will be awakening to new life and from their point of view it would seem instantaneous, even if millennia have passed. 

Paul’s perspective on death and resurrection

When Paul expresses his “desire to depart and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23), he’s not contradicting the biblical teaching about death as a state of unconsciousness. Instead, he’s viewing his death and resurrection from the perspective of his own experience.

Remember, Paul elsewhere describes death as sleep (1 Thess 4:13-14), consistent with the Old Testament passages we’ve seen. He knows that the dead are unconscious and unaware of the passage of time. So when Paul talks about departing to be with Christ, he’s not expecting an immediate transition to heaven.

Instead, Paul understands that from his perspective, the moment he closes his eyes in death will seem to be immediately followed by opening them in the presence of Christ at the resurrection. Just like people’s experience with anesthesia, where hours can pass without awareness, Paul knows that his next conscious moment after death will be in the presence of the Lord.

“Bruce states, ‘In the consciousness of the departed believers, there is no interval between dissolution [death] and investiture [resurrection], however long the interval might be measured by the calendar of earth-bound human history.’ (F. F. Bruce, quoted in Larry J. Kreitzer, “Intermediate State,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph Martin (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993), 440.”1

Reconciling Paul’s Hope with Biblical Teaching

In light of this understanding, we can see that Paul’s words in Philippians 1:21-24 aren’t describing an immediate transition to a disembodied heavenly existence. Rather, they reflect his faith in the resurrection and his eager anticipation of being with Christ. For Paul, death would mean closing his eyes in this life and, from his perspective, immediately opening them in the presence of his Lord at the resurrection. 

This interpretation aligns with the broader biblical teaching on death and resurrection, avoiding the influence of Greek philosophical ideas about immortal souls. It reminds us that our hope as Christians isn’t in a disembodied afterlife, but in the bodily resurrection and the new creation that God has promised. As we study these concepts, we’re challenged to align our understanding of death and the afterlife more closely with the teachings presented throughout Scripture.

References

  1. Waters, Larry J. “The Believer’s Intermediate State After Death.” Bibliotheca Sacra 169, no. 675 (July 2012): 298.