Paul had a desire to depart and be with Christ. Who was going to depart? Paul was. Paul was talking about physical death. When the physical body dies, the spirit lives on. The spirit of man is eternal, and will never cease to exist. When a believer dies, his spirit departs to be with Christ. Whereas when an unbeliever dies, his spirit goes down to hell.
Paul said that for him to depart and be with Christ was far better for himself. However, for him to stay and abide in the flesh was more necessary for the church at Philippi, so that he could continue to teach and minister to them. Paul was having a difficult time choosing between the two.
Paul was still going to live – he was just having a hard time deciding whether to stay on and live in his body a while longer, or to depart and be with Christ. When Paul died, his body would be buried and stay in the earth. However, the real Paul (his spirit) will never die.
The real man, his spirit, was going to depart. Physical death is just like departing to another city or country. There is no need for overwhelming sorrow or grief when a saved loved one dies because he goes to heaven if he is a believer.
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. It didn’t make sense to Nicodemus then because it was impossible to return to his mother’s womb. Paul talks about believing with the heart, not referring to the actual organ, but to the spirit of man. The born-again experience as stated in the above verse, refers to the heart of man or spirit man and it is this part of us that has become new or a new creation! The spirit of this new creation will depart to be with our Lord Jesus after the physical death.
Sermon Series: From the Closet to The Street (Part 2)
不惧怕肉身的死亡
腓立比书1:22-25 (NKJV)但我在肉身活著，若成就我工夫的果子，但我不知道该选择什么。我正在两难之间，情愿离世与基督同在，因为这是好得无比的。然而，我在肉身活着，为你们更是要紧的。我既然这样深信，就知道仍要住在世间，且与你们众人同住，使你们在所信的道上又长进，又喜乐。
这些经文是指信徒肉身死亡时所发生的事。在这些经文中，“我”一词是指真正的保罗，他的灵，他内在的人。“肉身”指的是外在的人。
保罗渴望离世，与基督同在。谁要离开呢?是保罗。保罗说的是肉身的死亡。当肉身死亡时，灵继续活着。人的灵是永恒的，永远不会消亡。当一个信徒死了，他的灵就离开去和基督同在。不信的人死了，他的灵就下到阴间去。
保罗说，他情愿离世与基督同在，这是好得无比的。但他为腓立比的教会，更有必要住在肉身，继续教训他们，服事他们。保罗很难在这两者之间做出选择。
保罗还会活下去——他只是在决定继续活在他的肉身里，还是离世与基督同在感到两难。保罗死后，他的身体将被埋葬，归于尘土。然而，真正的保罗(他的灵魂)永远不死。
真正的人，他的灵，将要离开。肉身的死亡就像离开到另一个城市或国家。当我们所爱的、已得救的亲人死亡时，如果他是一个信徒，他会去到天堂，所以不必有太多的悲伤。
罗马书10:9-10 (NKJV)你若口里认耶稣为主，心里信神叫祂从死里复活，就必得救。因为人心里相信，就可以称义。口里承认，就可以得救。
耶稣告诉尼哥底母他需要重生。这对尼哥底母来说难以理解，因为回到他母亲的子宫里已不可能。保罗说要用心相信，不是指实际的器官，而是指人的灵。在上面的经文中所说的重生经验，指的是人的心或内在灵人，就是我们的这一部分已经成了新的或一个新的创造物!在肉身死亡之后，这个新造的人的灵将离去与我们的主耶稣同在。
讲章系列: 从内室到大街 (第二部分)