esurrection noting that the Bible does not give a great deal of information, it does give sufficient material to draw certain conclusions. In the first place, the believer is with Christ. Paul said that he would “prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2Co 5:8; cf. v6). Further, Paul had the “desire to depart and be with Christ” (Php 1:23-note). This was the encouragement which Jesus gave to the penitent man on the cross next to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). That paradise was heaven is clear from 2Co 12:3, 4. Not only is the believer with the Lord and in heaven, but he is in fellowship with other believers. Hebrews speaks of the “general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven” (He 12:23). Believers are alive, conscious, and happy (Lk 16:19-31; Rev 14:13-note). This state between death and the resurrection is a condition to be preferred above the present state. Paul calls it “very much better” (Php 1:23-note). He asserted that he would “prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2Cor 5:8). A careful study of 2Co 5:1-9 suggests that the believer prefers to be raptured and translated rather than to die and enter into the intermediate state. He would rather be clothed with the resurrection body than to be unclothed. But the unclothed state is to be preferred over the present physical state, for even if unclothed, the believer is present with the Lord. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom, comforted; the rich man was in agony (Luke 16:19-31). From this we gather that the unsaved individual is also in a temporary state undergoing conscious torment, while awaiting the great white throne judgment (Rev 20:11, 12, 13, 14, 15-note). (Lectures in Systematic Theology) At home (1736) (endemeo from en = in + demos = people > endemos = “one who is in his own place or land”) literally means to be among one’s people. The verb endemeo then simply means to be present in any state or with any person, specifically the Person of Christ in the present context. Vine adds that endemeo is used metaphorically of the life on earth of believers, 2Co 5:6, “at home (in the body)”; in 2Co 5:8 of the life in Heaven of the spirits of believers, after their decease, “at home (with the Lord),” rv (kjv, “present”); in 2Co 5:9, “at home” (kjv, “present”) refers again to the life on earth. In each verse the verb is contrasted with ekdemeo, “to be away from home, to be absent”; in 2Co 5:6, “we are absent,” i.e., away from “home” (from the Lord); in 2Cor 5:8, “to be absent” (i.e., away from the “home” of the body); so in 2Cor 5:9, “absent.” The implication in being “at home with the Lord” after death is a testimony against the doctrine of the unconsciousness of the spirit, when freed from the natural body. (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson or Wordsearch or Vine's Expository Dictionary Online) Grundman has an excellent comment on the two verbs ekdemeo and endemeo writing that neither is... used in the Septuagint (LXX), they occur in the NT in 2Co 5:6, 8, 9. to express the thoughts (1) that bodily existence is absence from the Lord, and (2) that full fellowship with the Lord is possible only apart from this existence. We and the Lord are in separate spheres. Faith overcomes the separation (2Cor 5:7) but is not the final reality. We thus desire ("prefer") to be out of the present sphere and at home with the Lord so as to enjoy the full fellowship of sight. Nevertheless, even in the present sphere the desire to please the Lord gives direction to life (2Co 5:9). (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans or Wordsearch) Guzik... As it is true that to be absent from the body means we will be present with the Lord, it proves two false doctrines to be false. It refutes the false doctrine of “soul sleep,” (saying that the believing dead are held in some sort of suspended animation until the resurrection occurs) and the false doctrine of “purgatory” (saying that the believing dead must be “cleaned up” through their own suffering before coming into the presence of God). Stedman notes that... Paul uses the term "at home" to describe both our present experience in an earthly body and the coming experience when we are "with the Lord." We are now "at home" in the body, though away from the Lord. Then we shall be away from the body, but "at home" with the Lord. In either case, we are "at home." All our tenderest associations gather around the word "home." It is where we feel relaxed, at ease, natural. And when we step into the stunning glory awaiting us, we will feel the same way--at home, relaxed, at ease, because we have not changed our basic method of operation. At home, here in the body, we are learning to walk by faith in a way that feels natural and comfortable. At home with the Lord, it will be the same. This was Paul's own experience in that strange episode he recounts for us in 2 Corinthians 12 (2Co 12:1-7). There he says he was caught up in the third heaven, the very Paradise of God. But twice he says he did not know whether he was in the body or out of it. Though the experience was beyond description and he heard and saw things he could not utter, yet it was not unnatural. Paul was simply not aware of his body. He was too much at home to notice. (Authentic Christianity -- Chapter 9 Time and Eternity) (In another sermon Stedman adds...) I love that phrasing. Notice how it is put here. The word is used both for our life in the body and our coming presence with the Lord. They are both said to be an experience of being "at home." What does that mean? Well, you feel "at home" in your body, don't you, right now? You do not feel strange in it. You do not feel unnatural. You feel relaxed. You would feel very strained and unnatural if you did not have your body. You feel at home in it. That is what it means. Now, using the same language, the apostle says when you leave this earthly body and are given the body of glory that is awaiting you, you will be at home there too. It will be an experience not of strain or difference, but natural. In fact, later on in this letter, in Chapter 12, he speaks of being caught up into the third heaven into the very presence of God. He says, "I didn't know whether I was in the body or out of it. I couldn't tell. I felt so much at home it didn't make any difference," (2 Corinthians 12:3). That is an encouragement to us that what we are headed toward is not something dreadful or so terribly different that we need to be afraid. We will be at home with the Lord, in His very presence, seeing Him no longer only with the Spirit within, but face to face. If it is true, as Peter puts it, that "Without having seen Him you love Him" (1Peter 1:8-note), how much more will that be true when we see him face to face? So we are nerved to go through the difficulty of these days and to be of good courage because we are heading into light instead of darkness. (What's There to Live For 2Corinthians 5:6-17) (Bolding and color added for emphasis).