FAQs Mondays: What other benefits come from being in Christ?

"FAQs Mondays" is an ongoing series of posts based on an adaptation of The Baptist Catechism.  You can view the original documents from which it is drawn: here, here, and here.  The most recent posts include: "What Is the Work of the Redeemer", "How Is Redemption Applied", and "What Are the Benefits of Effectual Calling".  The previous post explored the benefits of effectual calling during this life.  This post will explore the benefits of being in Christ that extend beyond this life.

What benefits do believers receive from Christ at Death?

At death the souls of believers are made perfect in holiness, and immediately pass into glory.  Their bodies rest in their graves until the resurrection. The author of Hebrews reminds us, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect" (Heb. 12:22-23, ESV).  Paul states, "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep" (1 Thes. 4:14, ESV). The realities that await us beyond this life are great enough to provoke a deep yearning within (see Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8; Job 19:25-27).

What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the Resurrection?

At the resurrection, believers are raised up in glory; they shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the Day of Judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity.  Jesus said, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 10:32, ESV).  Paul states, "So it is with the resurrection of the dead.  What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable" (1 Cor. 15:42, ESV).  Again Paul explains, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20, ESV).  Also consider: 1 John 3:2 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Conclusion

Being in Christ is of great value, in this life and the next.  The realities of life in Christ generate gratitude and praise from his followers.  But what happens to those who are not in Christ?  We will seek to answer that question next Monday.