Life:
generally of physical life (Gen 2:7; Luk 16:25, etc.); also used figuratively (1) for immortality (Hbr 7:16); (2) conduct or manner of life (Rom 6:4); (3) spiritual life or salvation (Jhn 3:16,17,18,36); (4) eternal life (Mat 19:16,17; Jhn 3:15); of God and Christ as the absolute source and cause of all life (Jhn 1:4; 5:26,39; 11:25; 12:50).
Life:
lif (chayyim, nephesh, ruach, chayah; zoe, psuche, bios, pneuma):
I. THE TERMS
II. THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHING
1. Popular Use of the Term
2. Complexity of the Idea
III. IN THE APOCRYPHA
IV. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
1. In the Synoptic Gospels
2. In the Fourth Gospel
3. In the Ac of the Apostles
4. In the Writings of Paul
5. In the Writings of John
6. In the Other Books of the New Testament
LITERATURE
I. The Terms.
Of the Hebrew terms, chayah is the verb which means "to live," "to have life," or the vital principle, "to continue to live," or "to live prosperously." In the Piel it signifies "to give life, or preserve, or quicken and restore life." The Hiphil is much like the Piel. The noun hayyim generally used in the plural is an abstract noun meaning "life," i.e. the possession of the vital principle with its energies and activities. Nephesh often means "living being" or "creature." Sometimes it has the force of the reflexive "self." At other times it refers to the seat of the soul, the personality, the emotions, the appetites-passions and even mental acts. Frequently it means "life," the "seat of life," and in this way it is used about 171 times in the Old Testament, referring to the principle of vitality in both men and animals. Ruach signifies "wind," "breath," principle or source of vitality, but is never used to signify life proper.
II. The Old Testament Teaching.
1. Popular Use of the Term:
The term "life" is used in the Old Testament in the popular sense. It meant life in the body, the existence and activity of the man in all his parts and energies. It is the person complete, conscious and active. There is no idea of the body being a fetter or prison to the soul; the body was essential to life and the writers had no desire to be separated from it. To them the physical sphere was a necessity, and a man was living when all his activities were performed in the light of God's face and favor. The secret and source of life to them was relationship with God. There was nothing good or desirable apart from this relation of fellowship. To overcome or be rid of sin was necessary to life. The real center of gravity in life was in the moral and religious part of man's nature. This must be in fellowship with God, the source of all life and activity.
2. Complexity of the Idea:
The conception of life is very complex. Several meanings are clearly indicated:
(1) Very frequently it refers to the vital principle itself, apart from its manifestations (Ge 2:7). Here it is the breath of life, or the breath from God which contained and communicated the vital principle to man and made him a nephesh or living being (see also Ge 1:30; 6:17; 7:22; 45:5, etc.).
(2) It is used to denote the period of one's actual existence, i.e. "lifetime" (Ge 23:1; 25:7; 47:9; Ex 6:16,18,20, etc.).
(3) The life is represented as a direct gift from God, and dependent absolutely upon Him for its continuance (Ge 1:11-27; 2:7; Nu 16:22).
(4) In a few cases it refers to the conception of children, denoting the time when conception was possible (Ge 18:10,14 margin; 2Ki 4:16,17 margin).
(5) In many cases it refers to the totality of man's relationships and activities, all of which make up life (De 32:47; 1Sa 25:29; Job 10:1, etc.).
(6) In a few instances it is used synonymously with the means of sustaining life (De 24:6; Pr 27:27).
(7) Many times it is used synonymously with happiness or well-being (De 30:15,19; Ezr 6:10; Ps 16:11; 30:5; Pr 2:19, and frequently).
(8) It is always represented as a very precious gift, and offenses against life were to be severely punished (Ge 9:4,5; Le 17:14; 24:17).
Capital punishment is here specifically enjoined because of the value of the life that has been taken. The lexicon talionis required life for life (Ex 21:23; De 19:21); and this even applies to the beast (Le 24:18). The life was represented as abiding in the blood and therefore the blood must not be eaten, or lightly shed upon the ground (Le 17:15; De 12:23). The Decalogue forbids murder or the taking of human life wrongfully (Ex 20:13; De 5:17). Garments taken in pledge must not be kept over night, for thereby the owner's life might be endangered (De 24:6). That life was considered precious appears in 2Ki 10:24; Es 7:7; Job 2:4; Pr 4:23; 6:26. The essence of sacrifice consisted in the fact that the life (the nephesh) resided in the blood; thus when blood was shed, life was lost (De 12:23; Le 17:11). Oppression on the part of judges and rulers was severely condemned because oppression was detrimental to life.
(9) Long life was much desired and sought by the Israelites, and under certain conditions this was possible (Ps 91:16). The longevity of the ante-diluvian patriarchs is a problem by itself (see ANTEDILUVIANS). It was one of the greatest of calamities to be cut off in the midst of life (Isa 38:10-12; 53:8); that a good old age was longed for is shown by Ex 20:12; Ps 21:4; 34:12; 61:6, etc. This long life was possible to the obedient to parents (Ex 20:12; De 5:16), and to those obedient to God (De 4:4; Pr 3:1,2; 10:27); to the wise (Pr 3:16; 9:11); to the pure in heart (Ps 34:12-14; 91:1-10; Ec 3:12,13); to those who feared God (Pr 10:27; Isa 65:18-21; 38:2-5, etc.).
(10) The possibility of an immortal life is dimly hinted at in the earliest writing, and much more clearly taught in the later. The Tree of Life in the midst of the garden indicated a possible immortality for man upon earth (Ge 2:9; 3:22,24) (see TREE OF LIFE).
Failing to partake of this and falling into sin by partaking of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," they were driven forth from the garden lest they should eat of the tree of life and become immortal beings in their sinful condition. To deprive man of the possibility of making himself immortal while sinful was a blessing to the race; immortality without holiness is a curse rather than a blessing. The way to the tree of life was henceforth guarded by the cherubim and the flame of a sword, so that men could not partake of it in their condition of sin. This, however, did not exclude the possibility of a spiritual immortality in another sphere. Enoch's fellowship with God led to a bodily translation; so also Elijah, and several hundred years after their deaths, God called Himself the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, implying that they were really alive then. In Isa 26:19 there is a clear prophecy of a resurrection, and an end of death. Da 12:2 asserts a resurrection of many of the dead, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Some of the psalmists firmly believed in the continuity of the life in fellowship with God (Ps 16:10,11; 17:15; 23:6; 49:15; 73:24,25). The exact meaning of some of these statements is difficult to understand, yet this much is clear: there was a revolt against death in many pious minds, and a belief that the life of fellowship with God could not end or be broken even by death itself.
See IMMORTALITY.
(11) The fundamental fact in the possession of life was vital relationship with God. Men first lived because God breathed into them the breath of life (Ge 2:7). Man's vital energies are the outflowing of the spirit or vital energies of God, and all activities are dependent upon the vitalizing power from God. When God sends forth His spirit, things are created, and live; when He withdraws that spirit they die (Ps 104:30). "In his favor is life" (Ps 30:5 the King James Version). He is the fountain of life (Ps 36:9; 63:3). "All my fountains are in thee" (Ps 87:7). The secret of Job's success and happiness was that the Almighty was with him (Job 29:2). This fellowship brought him health, friends, prosperity and all other blessings. The consciousness of the fellowship with God led men to revolt against the idea of going to Sheol where this fellowship must cease. They felt that such a relationship could not cease, and God would take them out of Sheol.
III. In the Apocrypha.
A similar conception of life appears here as in the Old Testament. Zoe and peuche are used and occur most frequently in the books of The Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclus. In 1 and 2 Esdras the word is little used; 2 Esdras 3:5; 16:61 are but a quotation from Ge 2:7, and refer to the vital principle; 2 Esdras 14:30, Tobit, Judith, Ad Esther use it in the same sense also. Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus use it in several senses closely resembling the use in Proverbs (compare Ecclesiasticus 4:12; Pr 3:18; 10:16). In general there is no additional meaning attached to the word. The Psalms of Solomon refer to everlasting life in 3:16; 13:10; 14:2,6.
IV. In the New Testament.
Of the Greek terms bios is used at times as the equivalent of the Hebrew chayyim. It refers to life extensively, i.e. the period of one's existence, a lifetime; also to the means of sustaining life, such as wealth, etc. Psuche is also equivalent to chayyim at times, but very frequently to nephesh and sometimes to ruach. Thus, it means the vital principle, a living being, the immaterial part of man, the seat of the affections, desires and appetites, etc. The term zoe corresponds very closely to chayyim, and means the vital principle, the state of one who is animate, the fullness of activities and relationship both in the physical and spiritual realms.
The content of the word zoe is the chief theme of the New Testament. The life is mediated by Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament this life was through fellowship with God, in the New Testament it is through Jesus Christ the Mediator. The Old Testament idea is carried to its completion, its highest development of meaning, being enriched by the supreme teaching and revelation of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament, the center of gravity in human life is in the moral and religious nature of man.
1. In the Synoptic Gospels:
The teaching here regarding life naturally links itself with Old Testament ideas and the prevailing conceptions of Judaism. The word is used in the sense of
(1) the vital principle, that which gives actual physical existence (Mt 2:20; Mr 10:45; Lu 12:22 f; 14:26).
(2) It is also the period of one's existence, i.e. lifetime (Lu 1:75; 16:25).
(3) Once it may mean the totality of man's relationships and activities (Lu 12:15) which do not consist in abundance of material possessions.
(4) Generally it means the real life, the vital connection with the world and God, the sum total of man's highest interests. It is called "eternal life" (Mt 19:29; 25:46). It is called "life" (Mt 18:8,9; 19:17; Mr 9:43,45,46). In these passages Jesus seems to imply that it is almost equivalent to "laying up treasures in heaven," or to "entering the kingdom of God." The entering into life and entering the kingdom are practically the same, for the kingdom is that spiritual realm where God controls, where the principles, activities and relationships of heaven prevail, and hence, to enter into these is to enter into "life."
(5) The lower life of earthly relationship and activities must be subordinated to the higher and spiritual (Mt 10:39; 16:25; Lu 9:24). These merely earthly interests may be very desirable and enjoyable, but whoever would cling to these and make them supreme is in danger of losing the higher. The spiritual being infinitely more valuable should be sought even if the other relationship should be lost entirely.
(6) Jesus also speaks of this life as something future, and to be realized at the consummation of the age (Mt 19:29; Lu 18:30), or the world to come.
This in no wise contradicts the statement that eternal life can be entered upon in this life. As Jesus Himself was in vital relationship with the spiritual world and lived the eternal life, He sought to bring others into the same blessed state. This life was far from being perfect. The perfection could come only at the consummation when all was perfection and then they would enter into the perfect fellowship with God and connection with the spirit-world and its blessed experiences. There is no conflict in His teaching here, no real difficulty, only an illustration of Browning's statement, "Man never is but wholly hopes to be." Thus in the synoptists Jesus teaches the reality of the eternal life as a present possession as well as future fruition. The future is but the flowering out and perfection of the present. Without the present bud, there can be no future flower.
(7) The conditions which Jesus lays down for entering into this life are faith in Himself as the one Mediator of the life, and the following of Him in a life of obedience. He alone knows the Father and can reveal Him to others (Mt 11:27). He alone can give true rest and can teach men how to live (Mt 11:28 f). The sure way to this life is: "Follow me." His whole ministry was virtually a prolonged effort to win confidence in Himself as Son and Mediator, to win obedience, and hence, bring men unto these spiritual relationships and activities which constitute the true life.
2. In the Fourth Gospel:
The fullest and richest teachings regarding life are found here. The greatest word of this Gospel is "life." The author says he wrote the Gospel in order that "ye may have life" (Joh 20:31). Most of the teachings recorded, circle around this great word "life." This teaching is in no way distinctive and different from that of the synoptists, but is supplementary, and completes the teaching of Jesus on the subject. The use of the word is not as varied, being concentrated on the one supreme subject.
(1) In a few cases it refers only to the vital principle which gives life or produces a lifetime (Joh 10:11,15-18; 13:37; 15:13).
(2) It represents Jesus the Loges as the origin and means of all life to the world. As the preincarnate Loges He was the source of life to the universe (Joh 1:4). As the incarnate Loges He said His life had been derived originally from the Father (Joh 5:26; 6:57; 10:18). He then was the means of life to men (Joh 3:15,16; 4:14; 5:21,39,40); and this was the purpose for which He came into the world (Joh 6:33,34,51; 10:10).
(3) The prevailing reference, however, is to those activities which are the expression of fellowship with God and Jesus Christ. These relationships are called "eternal life" (Joh 3:15,16,36; 4:14, etc.). The nearest approach to a definition of eternal life is found in Joh 17:3. Though not a scientific or metaphysical definition, it is nevertheless Jesus' own description of eternal life, and reveals His conception of it. It is thus more valuable than a formal definition. It is "to know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent."
This knowledge is vastly more than mere intellectual perception or understanding. It is moral knowledge, it is personal acquaintance, it is fellowship, a contact, if we may so speak, of personality with personality, an inner affinity and sympathy, an experience of similar thoughts, emotions, purposes, motives, desires, an interchange of the heart's deepest feelings and experiences. It is a bringing of the whole personality of man into right relationship with the personality of God. This relation is ethical, personal, binding the two together with ties which nothing can separate. It is into this experience that Jesus came to bring men. Such a life Jesus says is satisfying to all who hunger and thirst for it (Joh 4:14; 6:35); it is the source of light to all (Joh 1:4; 8:12); it is indestructible (Joh 6:58; 11:26); it is like a well of water in the soul (Joh 4:14); it is procured by personally partaking of those qualities which belong to Jesus (Joh 6:53).
(4) This life is a present possession and has also a glorious future fruition.
(a) To those who exercise faith in Jesus it is a present experience and possession (Joh 4:10; 5:24,40). Faith in Him as the Son of God is the psychological means by which persons are brought into this vital relationship with God. Those who exercised the faith immediately experienced this new power and fellowship and exercised the new activities.
(b) It has a glorious fruition in the future also (Joh 4:36; 5:29; 6:39,44,54). John does not give so much prominence to the eschatological phase of Jesus' teachings as to the present reality and actual possession of this blessed life.
(5) It has been objected that in speaking of the Loges as the source of life John is pursuing a metaphysical line, whereas the life which he so much emphasizes has an ethical basis, and he makes no attempt to reconcile the two. The objection may have force to one who has imbibed the Ritschlian idea of performing the impossible task of eliminating all metaphysics from theology. It will not appeal very strongly to the average Christian. It is a purely academic objection. The ordinary mind will think that if Jesus Christ is the source of ethical and eternal life it is because He possesses something of the essence and being of God, which makes His work for men possible. The metaphysical and the ethical may exist together, may run concurrently, the one being the source and seat of the other. There is no contradiction. Both metaphysics and ethics are a legitimate and necessary exercise of the human mind.
3. In the Ac of the Apostles:
In His intercessory prayer, John 17, Jesus said His mission was to give eternal life to as many as the Father had given Him (17:2). The record in Ac is the carrying out of that purpose. The word "life" is used in several senses:
(1) the vital principle or physical life (17:25; 20:10,24; 27:10,22);
(2) also the sum total of man's relationships and activities upon earth (5:20; 26:4);
(3) Jesus Christ is regarded as the source and principle of life, being called by Peter, "the Prince of life" (3:15). Also the life eternal or everlasting is spoken of with the same significance as in the Gospels (11:18; 13:46,48).
4. In the Writings of Paul:
Here also the words for "life" are used in various senses:
(1) the vital principle which gives physical vitality and existence (Ro 8:11,38; 11:15; 1Co 3:22; Php 1:20; 2:30);
(2) the sum total of man's relationships and activities (1Co 6:3,4; 1Ti 2:2; 4:8; 2Ti 1:1; 3:10 the King James Version);
(3) those relationships with God and with Christ in the spiritual realm, and the activities arising therefrom which constitute the real and eternal life.
This is mediated by Christ (Ro 5:10). It is in Christ (Ro 6:11). It is the free gift of God (Ro 6:23). It is also mediated or imparted to us through the Spirit (Ro 8:2,6,9,10; 2Co 2:16; 3:6; Ga 6:8). It comes through obedience to the word (Ro 7:10; Php 2:16); and through faith (1Ti 1:16). It may be apprehended in this life (1Ti 6:12,19). It is brought to light through the gospel (2Ti 1:10). It is a reward to those who by patience in well-doing seek it (Ro 2:7). It gives conquering power over sin and death (Ro 5:17,18,21). It is the end or reward of a sanctified life (Ro 6:22). It is a present possession and a hope (Tit 1:2; 3:7). It will be received in all its fullness hereafter (Ro 2:7; 2Co 5:4). Thus Paul's use of the word substantially agrees with the teaching in the Gospels, and no doubt was largely based upon it.
5. In the Writings of John:
In the Johannine Epistles and Revelation, the contents of the term "life" are the same as those in the Fourth Gospel. Life in certain passages (1 Joh 3:16; Re 8:9; 11:11; 12:11) is mere physical vitality and existence upon earth. The source of life is Christ Himself (1 Joh 1:1 f; 5:11 f, 16). The blessed eternal life in Christ is a present possession to all those who are in fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 Joh 5:11,12). Here is an echo of the words of Jesus (Joh 17:3) where John describes the life, the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. It is virtually fellowship with the Father and with the Son (1 Joh 1:2,4). Life is promised to those who are faithful (Re 2:7); and the crown of life is promised to those who are faithful unto death (Re 2:10). The crown of life doubtless refers to the realization of all the glorious possibilities that come through fellowship with God and the Son. The thirsty are invited to come and drink of the water of life freely (Re 21:6; 22:17). The river of life flows through the streets of the New Jerusalem (Re 22:1), and the tree of life blooms on its banks, bearing twelve manner of fruit (22:2,14).
See TREE OF LIFE.
6. In the Other Books of the New Testament:
The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of our lifetime or periods of existence upon earth (2:15; 7:3), likewise of the power of an indissoluble life (7:16); James promises the crown of life to the faithful (1:12). This reward is the fullness of life's possibilities hereafter. Our lifetime is mentioned in 4:14 and represented as brief as a vapor. Peter in 1Pe 3:7 speaks of man and wife as joint-heirs of the grace of life, and of loving life (1Pe 3:10), referring to the totality of relationships and activities. The "all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2Pe 1:3) constitute the whole Christian life involving the life eternal.
LITERATURE.
Articles on "Life" in HDB, DCG, Jewish Encyclopedia; on "Soul," "Spirit," etc., ibid, and in Encyclopedia Brit, EB, Kitto, Smith, Standard, etc.; Laidlaw, Bible Doctrine of Man; Delitzsch, A System of Biblical Psychology; cornms. on the various passages; Davidson, Old Testament Theology; Oehler and Schultz, Old Testament Theology; Stevens, Johannine Theology and Pauline Theology; Holtzmann, New Testament Theology, I, 293 ff; G. Dalman, Words of Jesus; Phillips Brooks, More Abundant Life; B.F. Westcott, Historic Faith; F.J.A. Hort, The Way, the Truth, the Life; J.G. Hoare, Life in John's Gospels; E. White, Life and Christ; Salmond, The Christian Doctrine of Immortality; R.J. Knowling, Witness of the Epistles and The Testimony of Paul to Christ; commentaries on the various passages; McPherson, "The New Testament View of Life," The Expositor, I, set. v, 72 ff; Massie, "Two New Testament Words Denoting Life," The Expositor, II, series iv, 380 ff; Schrenk, Die Johannistische Anschauung yom Leben.
Written by James Josiah Reeve
Life: Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics
Breath of,
Gen 2:7.
Called SPIRIT OF GOD,
Job 27:3.
Tree of,
Gen 2:9; 3:22, 24; Pro 3:18; 13:12; Rev 2:7.
SACREDNESS OF, an inference from what is taught in the law concerning murder,
See HOMICIDE
Life: Minor Sub-Topics: Long Life Promised
To obedient children,
Exd 20:12; Deu 5:16;
to those who keep the commandments,
Deu 4:40; 22:7.
Life: Minor Sub-Topics: Vanity of
Ecc 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7
Hated,
Ecc 2:17.
To be hated for Christ's sake,
Luk 14:26.
What can a man give in exchange for,
Mat 16:26; Mar 8:37.
The one who loses it will save it,
Mat 10:39; 16:25, 26; Luk 9:24; Jhn 12:25.
Life: Minor Sub-Topics: Weary of
Job,
Job 3; 7:1-3; 10:18-20.
Jeremiah,
Jer 20:14-18.
Elijah,
1Ki 19:1-8.
Jonah,
Jon 4:8, 9.
See SUICIDE
Life: Minor Sub-Topics: Life of Christ
A ransom,
Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45; 1Ti 2:6.
See SPIRITUAL, below
Life: Brevity and Uncertainty Of
Gen 18:27; 47:9; 1Sa 20:3; 2Sa 14:14; 1Ch 29:15; Job 4:19-21; 7:6-10, 17; 8:9; 9:25, 26; 10:9, 20, 21; 13:12, 25, 28; 14:1, 2; 17:1; Psa 22:29; 39:4-6, 11; 78:39; 89:47, 48; 90:3, 5, 6, 9, 10; 102:11; 103:14-16; 144:3, 4; 146:4; Pro 27:1; Ecc 1:4; 6:12; Isa 2:22; 38:12; 40:6, 7, 24; 50:9; 51:8, 12; 64:6; Jam 1:10, 11; 4:14; 1Pe 1:24
See DEATH
Life: Everlasting
Psa 21:4; 121:8; 133:3; Isa 25:8; Dan 12:2; Mat 19:16-21, 29; 25:46; Mar 10:30; Luk 18:18, 30; 20:36; Jhn 3:14-16; 4:14; 5:24, 25, 29, 39; 6:27, 40, 47, 50-58, 68; 10:10, 27, 28; 12:25, 50; 17:2, 3; Act 13:46, 48; Rom 2:7; 5:21; 6:22, 23; 1Cr 15:53, 54; 2Cr 5:1; Gal 6:8; 1Ti 1:16; 4:8; 6:12, 19; 2Ti 1:10; Tts 1:2; 3:7; 1Jo 2:25; 3:15; 5:11-13, 20; Jud 1:21; Rev 1:18
See IMMORTALITY
Life: From God
Gen 2:7; Deu 8:3; 30:20; 32:39, 40; 1Sa 2:6; Job 27:3; 34:14, 15; Psa 22:29; 30:3; 68:20; 104:30; Ecc 12:7; Isa 38:16-20; Act 17:25-28; Rom 4:17; 1Ti 6:13; Jam 4:15
Life: Long
See LONGEVITY
Life: Spiritual
Jhn 3:3-16; 5:24-26, 40; 6:27, 33, 35, 40, 47; 10:10; 11:25, 26; 14:6; 17:2, 3; 20:31; Rom 6:4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 22, 23; 8:10; 1Jo 1:1, 2
Immortal; Immortality:
i-mor'-tal, im-or-tal'-i-ti (athanasia, 1Co 15:53; 1Ti 6:16, aphtharsia, literally, "incorruption," Ro 2:7; 1Co 15; 2Ti 1:10, aphthartos, literally, "incorruptible," Ro 1:23; 1Co 15:52; 1Ti 1:17):
1. Preliminary-Need of Definition and Distinction
2. Biblical Conception
I. THE NATURAL BELIEF
1. Its Origin
2. Philosophical Arguments
(1) The Soul Spiritual
Soul not Inherently Indestructible
(2) Capacities of Human Nature
(3) The Moral Argument
II. THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE-THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. Starting-Point-Man's Relation to God
Man's Nature
2. Sin and Death
3. Grace and Redemption-The True Immortality
Deliverance from Sheol
4. Later Jewish Thought
III. THE CHRISTIAN HOPE
1. Immortality through Christ
(1) Survival of the Soul
(2) Union with Christ in Unseen World
(3) The Resurrection
(4) The Wicked Also Raised
(5) Eternal Life
2. Contrasts
LITERATURE
1. Preliminary-Need of Definition and Distinction:
In hardly any subject is it more necessary to be careful in the definition of terms and clear distinction of ideas, especially where the Biblical doctrine is concerned, than in this of "immortality." By "immortality" is frequently meant simply the survival of the soul, or spiritual part of man, after bodily death. It is the assertion of the fact that death does not end all. The soul survives. This is commonly what is meant when we speak of "a future life," "a future state," "a hereafter." Not, however, to dwell on the fact that many peoples have no clear conception of an immaterial "soul" in the modern sense (the Egyptians, e.g. distinguished several parts, the Ka, the Ba, etc., which survived death; often the surviving self is simply a ghostly resemblance of the earthly self, nourished with food, offerings, etc.), there is the more serious consideration that the state into which the surviving part is supposed to enter at death is anything but a state which can be described as "life," or worthy to be dignified with the name "immortality." It is state peculiar to "death" (see DEATH); in most cases, shadowy, inert, feeble, dependent, joyless; a state to be dreaded and shrunk from, not one to be hoped for. If, on the other hand, as in the hope of immortality among the nobler heathen, it is conceived of, as for some, a state of happiness-the clog of the body being shaken off-this yields the idea, which has passed into so much of our modern thinking, of an "immortality of the soul," of an imperishableness of the spiritual part, sometimes supposed to extend backward as well as forward; an inherent indestructibility.
2. Biblical Conception:
It will be seen as we advance, that the Biblical view is different from all of these. The soul, indeed, survives the body; but this disembodied state is never viewed as one of complete "life." For the Bible "immortality" is not merely the survival of the soul, the passing into "Sheol" or "Hades." This is not, in itself considered, "life" or happiness. The "immortality" the Bible contemplates is an immortality of the whole person-body and soul together. It implies, therefore, deliverance from the state of death. It is not a condition simply of future existence, however prolonged, but a state of blessedness, due to redemption and the possession of the "eternal life" in the soul; it includes resurrection and perfected life in both soul and body. The subject must now be considered more particularly in its different aspects.
I. The Natural Belief.
1. Its Origin:
In some sort the belief in the survival of the spirit or self at death is a practically universal phenomenon. To what is it traceable? A favorite hypothesis with anthropologists is that it has its origin in dreams or visions suggesting the continued existence of the dead (compare H. Spencer, Eccles. Instit., chapters i, xiv). Before, however, a dream can suggest the survival of the soul, there must be the idea of the soul, and of this there seems a simpler explanation in the consciousness which even the savage possesses of something within him that thinks, feels and wills, in distinction from his bodily organs. At death this thinking, feeling something disappears, while the body remains. What more natural than to suppose that it persists in some other state apart from the body? (Compare Max Muller, Anthrop. Religion, 281.) Dreams, etc., may help this conviction, but need not create it. It is only as we assume such a deeper root for the belief that we can account for its universality and persistence. Even this, however, while an instinctive presumption, can hardly be called a proof of survival after death, and it does not yield an idea of "immortality" in any worthy sense. It is at most, as already said, a ghostly reduplication of the earthly life that is thus far reached.
2. Philosophical Arguments:
(1) The Soul Spiritual.
The more philosophical arguments that are adduced for the soul's immortality. (or survival) are not all of equal weight. The argument based on the metaphysical essence of the soul (see Plato's Phaedo) is not in these days felt to be satisfying. On the other hand, it can be maintained against the materialist on irrefragable grounds that the soul, or thinking spirit, in man is immaterial in Nature, and, where this is granted, there is, or can be, no proof that death, or physical dissolution, destroys this conscious spirit. The presumption is powerfully the other way. Cicero of old argued that death need not even be the suspension of its powers (compare Tusc. Disp. i.20); Butler reasons the matter from analogy (Anal., I, chapter i); modern scientists like J.S. Mill (Three Essays, 201) and Professor Huxley (Life and Letters, I, 217 ff; compare William James, Ingersoll Lecture) concede that immortality cannot be disproved. The denial one hears from various sides more frequently than formerly is therefore not warranted. Still possibility is not certainty, and there is nothing as yet to show that even if the soul survives death, its new state of existence has in it anything desirable.
Soul not Inherently Indestructible
It was hinted that one use which the Greeks made of the metaphysical argument was to prove the indestructibility of the soul-its immortality in the sense of having no beginning and no end. This is not the Christian doctrine. The soul has no such inherent indestructibility. It is dependent on God, as everything else is, for its continued existence. Did He withdraw His sustaining power, it would cease to exist. That it does continue to exist is not doubted, but this must be argued on other grounds.
(2) Capacities of Human Nature.
A much more apprehensible argument for immortality-more strictly, of a future state of existence-is drawn from the rich capacities and possibilities of human nature, for which the earthly life affords so brief and inadequate a sphere of exercise. It is the characteristic of spirit that it has in it an element of infinitude, and aspires to the infinite. The best the world can give can never satisfy it. It has in it the possibility of endless progress, and ever higher satisfaction. It was this consideration which led Kant, with all his theoretical skepticism, to give immortality a place among his "doctrinal beliefs" (see his Critique of Pure Reason, Bohn's translation, 590-91), and moved J.S. Mill to speak of it as the only hope which gave adequate scope to the human faculties and feelings, "the loftier aspirations being no longer kept down by a sense of the insignificance of human life by the disastrous feeling of ‘not worth while' "( Three Essays, 249). Yet when these arguments are calmly weighed, they amount to no more than a proof that man is constituted for immortality; they do not afford a guarantee that this destiny might not be forfeited, or if they yield such a guarantee for the good, they hardly do so for the wicked. The belief, in their case, must depend on other considerations.
(3) The Moral Argument.
It is, as Kant also felt, when we enter the moral sphere that immortality, or the continued existence of the soul, becomes a practical certainty to the earnest mind. With moral personality is bound up the idea of moral law and moral responsibility; this, in turn, necessitates the thought of the world as a moral system, and of God as moral Ruler. The world, as we know it, is certainly a scene of moral administration-of probation, of discipline, of reward and penalty-but as obviously a scene of incomplete moral administration. The tangled condition of things in this life can satisfy no one's sense of justice. Goodness is left to suffer; wickedness outwardly triumphs. The evil-doer's own conscience proclaims him answerable, and points to future judgment. There is need for a final rectification of what is wrong here. But while a future state seems thus called for, this does not of itself secure eternal existence for the wicked, nor would such existence be "immortality" in the positive sense. In view of the mystery of sin, the lamp of reason grows dim. For further light we must look to revelation. II. The Biblical Doctrine-the Old Testament.
1. Starting-Point-Man's Relation to God:
The Biblical view of immortality starts from man's relation to God. Man, as made in the image of God (Ge 1:27), is fitted for the knowledge of God, for fellowship with Him. This implies that man is more than an animal; that he has a life which transcends time. In it already lies the pledge of immortality if man is obedient.
Man's Nature.
With this corresponds the account given of man's creation and original state. Man is a being composed of body and soul; both are integral parts of his personality. He was created for life, not for mortality. The warning, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Ge 2:17), implies that if man continued obedient he would live. But this is not an immortality of the soul only. It is a life in the body (compare Ge 3:22). Its type is such cases as Enoch and Elijah (Ge 5:24; 2Ki 2:11,12; compare Ps 49:15; 73:24).
2. Sin and Death:
The frustration of this original destiny of man comes through sin. Sin entails death (see DEATH). Death in its physical aspect is a separation of soul and body-a breaking up of the unity of man's personality. In one sense, therefore, it is the destruction of the immortality which was man's original destiny. It does not, however, imply the extinction of the soul. That survives, but not in a state that can be called "life." It passes into Sheol-the sad, gloomy abode of the dead, in which there is no joy, activity, knowledge of the affairs of earth, or (in the view of Nature) remembrance of God, or praise of His goodness (on this subject, and the Hebrew belief in the future state generally, see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT; DEATH; SHEOL). This is not future "life"-not "immortality."
It is the part of grace and redemption to restore immortality in the true sense. Had the world been left to develop in sin, no further hope could have come to it. The picture of Sheol would have become ever darker as the idea of retribution grew stronger; it could never become brighter.
3. Grace and Redemption-the True Immortality:
But God's grace intervened: "Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom" (Job 33:24). God's mercy breaks in on the hopelessness of man's lot. He gives to man His promises; makes His covenant with man; admits man to His fellowship (Ge 3:15; 4:4; 5:24; 6:8,9; 12:1-3; 15, etc.). In this fellowship the soul was raised again to its true life even on earth. But this held in it also a hope for the future. The promises placed in the forefront as tokens of God's favors were indeed predominatingly temporal-promises for this life-but within these (the kernel within the shell) was the supreme possession of God Himself (Ps 4:6 f; 16:2). This held in it the hope of redemption and the principle of every good.
Deliverance from Sheol.
Here we reach the core of the Old Testament hope of immortality. Such fellowship as the believer had with God could not be lost, even in Sheol; beyond that was deliverance from Sheol. In their highest moments it was this hope that sustained patriarchs, psalmists, prophets, in their outlook on the future. Doubt might cloud their minds; there might be seasons of darkness and even despair; but it was impossible in moments of strong faith to believe that God would ever really desert them. The eternal God was their dwelling-place; them were everlasting arms (De 33:27; compare Ps 90:1). Their hope of immortality, therefore, was, in principle, the hope not merely of an "immortality of the soul," but likewise of resurrection-of complete deliverance from Sheol. Thus it is clearly in the impassioned outburst of Job (19:25-27; compare 14:13 ff), and in many of the psalms. The hope always clothes itself in the form of complete deliverance from Sheol. Thus in Ps 17:14 f, the wicked have their portion "in this life," but, "As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (the American Standard Revised Version "with beholding thy form"); and in Ps 49:14 f, the wicked are "appointed as a flock for Sheol," but "God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; for he will receive me" (same expression as that regarding Enoch, Ge 5:24; compare Ps 73:24). It will be remembered that when Jesus expounded the declaration, "I am the God of Abraham," etc., it was as a pledge of resurrection (Mt 22:31 f). The idea comes to final expression in the declaration in Da of a resurrection of the just and unjust (12:2). For further development and illustration see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
4. Later Jewish Thought:
Later Jewish thought carried out these ideas of the Old Testament to further issues. A blessed future for the righteous was now accepted, and was definitely connected with the idea of resurrection. The wicked remained in Sheol, now conceived of as a place of retribution. The Gentiles, too, shared this doom.
See ESCHATOLOGY.
III. The Christian Hope.
1. Immortality through Christ:
In full consonance with what is revealed in part in the Old Testament is the hope of immortality discovered in the New Testament. The ring of this joyful hope is heard in every part of the apostolic writings. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," says Peter, "who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1Pe 1:3 f). Paul declares, "Our Saviour Christ Jesus, who.... brought life and immortality (incorruption) to light through the gospel" (2Ti 1:10). In Ro 2:7 he had spoken of those who "by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life." This immortality, it is seen, is part of the eternal life bestowed through Jesus on believers. It is guaranteed by Christ's own resurrection and life in glory. The nature of this hope of the gospel may now be further analyzed.
(1) Survival of the Soul.
The soul survives the body. A future state for both righteous and wicked is plainly declared by Jesus Himself. "He that believeth on me," He said to Martha, "though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die" (Joh 11:25 f). To His disciples He said, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (Joh 14:3). Compare His words to the penitent thief: "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise" (Lu 23:43). The survival of both righteous and wicked is implied in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Lu 16:19-31). So in many other places (e.g. Mt 5:29 f; 10:28; 11:21-24; 12:41, etc.). The same is the teaching of the epistles. The doctrine of a future judgment depends on and presupposes this truth (Ro 2:5-11; 2Co 5:10, etc.).
(2) Union with Christ in Unseen World.
Death for the redeemed, though a result of sin, does not destroy the soul's relation to God and to Christ. The eternal life implanted in the soul in time blossoms in its fruition into the life and blessedness of eternity (Ro 8:10 f; Php 1:21; Col 1:27). The soul is, indeed, in an incomplete state till the resurrection. It "waits for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Ro 8:23). But its state, though incomplete, is still a happy one. Hades has lost its gloom, and is for it a "Paradise" (Lu 23:43). It dwells in a chamber of the Father's house (Joh 14:2 f; 17:24). It is to be, even in the unclothed state ("absent from the body"), "at home with the Lord" (2Co 5:8). It is for it an object of desire to be "with Christ" in that state after death (Php 1:21). The pictures in Rev, though highly figurative, indicate a condition of great blessedness (Re 7:9-17).
(3) The Resurrection.
The fullness of the blessedness of immortality implies the resurrection. The resurrection is a cardinal article of Christ's teaching (Mt 22:29-32; Joh 5:25-29; 11:23-26). He Himself is the Lord of life, and life-giver in the resurrection (Joh 5:21,25,26; 11:25, "I am the resurrection, and the life"). The resurrection of believers is secured by His own resurrection. Jesus died; He rose again (see RESURRECTION). His resurrection carries with it the certainty of the resurrection of all His people. This is the great theme of 1Co 15. As Christ lives, they shall live also (Joh 14:19). The believers who are alive at His Parousia shall be changed (1Co 15:51; 1Th 4:17); those who are dead shall be raised first of all (1Th 4:16). The resurrection body shall be a body like to Christ's own (Php 3:21)-incorruptible, glorious, powerful, spiritual, immortal (1Co 15:42 ff, 53 f). This is not to be confused with sameness of material particles (1Co 15:37 f), yet there is the connection of a vital bond between the old body and the new. This is the hope of the believer, without which his redemption would not be complete.
(4) The Wicked Also Raised.
The wicked also are raised, not, however, to glory, but for judgment (Joh 5:29; Ac 24:15; Re 20:12-15). The same truth is implied in all passages on the last judgment. Excluded from the blessedness of the righteous, their state is described by both Jesus and His apostles as one of uttermost tribulation and anguish (e.g. Mt 25:46; Mr 9:43-50; Ro 2:8 f). This is not "immortality" or "life," though the continued existence of the soul is implied in it (see PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING; HELL; RETRIBUTION).
(5) Eternal Life.
The condition of the blessed in their state of immortality is one of unspeakable felicity of both soul and body forever. There are, indeed, degrees of glory-this is carefully and consistently taught (Mt 25:14; Lu 19:12; 1Co 3:10-15; 15:41; Php 3:10-14; 2Ti 4:7; 1Joh 2:28)-but the condition as a whole is one of perfect satisfaction, holiness and blessedness (compare Mt 13:43; 25:34; Ro 2:7,10; Ro 12:3 ff, etc.). The blessedness of this eternal state includes such elements as the following:
(1) restoration to God's image and likeness to Christ (1Co 15:49; 2Co 3:18; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10; 1 Joh 3:2);
(2) perfect holiness in the possession of God's Spirit (2Co 7:1; Php 1:6; Re 21:27; 22:4,11);
(3) the unveiled vision of God's glory (Re 22:4; compare Ps 17:15);
(4) freedom from all sorrow, pain and death (Re 21:3 f);
(5) power of unwearied service (Re 22:3).
2. Contrasts:
The contrast between the Biblical view of immortality and that of heathenism and of the schools will now be obvious. It is not mere future existence; not a bare, abstract immortality of the soul; it is the result of redemption and of renewal by God's spirit; it embraces the whole personality, soul and body; it is not shared by the unholy; it includes the perfection of rational, moral and spiritual blessedness, in an environment suitable to such glorified existence. As such it is the supreme prize after which every believer is called to strive (Php 3:13 f).
LITERATURE.
Ingersoll Lectures on Immortality, by Professor William James, Professor Osler, etc.; Salmond, Christian Doctrine of Immortality; Orr, Christian View of God and the World, Lects iv, v, with App. to v; works specified in the article on ESCHATOLOGY.
Written by James Orr
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