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'As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be
satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness' (Psa. 17:15).
Immortality. Some Christian teachers say that the immortality of the soul is
so self -evident a truth that there was no need for the Bible either to teach
it or to deal with its denial, for it must be admitted by all, whatever their
persuasion, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is entirely
absent from the Scriptures. First, Christian teachers have assumed that man
possesses a soul, instead of 'being' a soul, then they assume that this
'never dying' part of man must necessarily live on somewhere, and
consequently there must be a never -ending 'hell' for all who are unsaved;
and finally, the door is thereby opened for the deceitful teaching of
spiritism, which by its own confession needs nothing more than the acceptance
of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, for it to function. We leave
the Scriptural doctrine of the soul for an article under that title (see
Soul7), and concentrate here on the meaning of the term 'immortality'. The
word does not occur in the Old Testament and in the New Testament it is
represented by three Greek words.
(1)
Aphthartos.
This word occurs seven times as follows:
Rom. 1:23.
'The glory of the uncorruptible God'.
1 Cor. 9:25.
'An incorruptible' (crown).
1 Cor. 15:52.
'The dead shall be raised incorruptible'.
1 Tim. 1:17.
'Now unto the King eternal, immortal'.
1 Peter 1:4.
'An inheritance incorruptible'.
1 Peter 1:23.
'Being born ... of incorruptible' (seed).
1 Peter 3:4.
'That which is not corruptible'.
(2)
Aphtharsia.
This word occurs eight times:
Rom. 2:7.
'Glory and honour and immortality'.
1 Cor. 15:42.
'It is raised in incorruption'.
1 Cor. 15:50.
'Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption'.
1 Cor. 15:53.
'Must put on incorruption'.
1 Cor. 15:54.
'When ... shall have put on incorruption'.
Eph. 6:24.
'Love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity'.
2 Tim. 1:10.
'Brought life and immortality to light'.
Titus 2:7.
'Uncorruptness' (adiaphthoria), gravity,
sincerity.
(3)
Athanasia.
This word occurs three times:
1 Cor. 15:53.
'This mortal must put on immortality'.
1 Cor. 15:54.
'When ... shall have put on immortality'.
1 Tim. 6:16.
'Who only hath immortality'.
It will be seen that the doctrine of immortality is an integral part of
1 Corinthians 15. The all -covering theme of this chapter is resurrection,
future, literal and related to the body which God has prepared for whatever
sphere of glory is in view. This immortality is something that will be 'put
on', 'at the last trump', when living and dead shall be changed, and which
will bring to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in
victory'. We have no need to discuss the philosophic speculation concerning