Scriptural
Studies
What it Means to be
"Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord"
Did Paul believe in disembodied souls or full resurrection?
By Nab B.
November 4, 2022
(updated Sep 5, 2025)
"Therefore, we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
( 2 Cor 5:6-8 )
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Based on the passage above, many teach that when believers die, their (disembodied) souls go to be with the Lord while the body remains in the grave. But is this what 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 says?
I will show you, in this short paper, how this passage deals only with the bodily resurrection of believers.
Surely Jesus and his apostles never taught that while the body lies in the grave, the soul lives in heaven, till it reunites with the body later.
Here are the scriptural reasons for my belief. Examine them thoroughly by the Spirit, scripture, and reason.
No Separation of body from Soul!
In these resurrection verses, there is no mention of a separation of body from soul at death. If it were so, the resurrection would be unnecessary!
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth” (John 5:25-29)
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout...and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thess 4:16-18)
“Everyone...believeth on him...I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:24-25)
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption...It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor 15:42-44)
"Absent from the body,
present with the Lord"
The two main phrases mean the following:
"Being at home" in 2 Cor 5:6 simply means remaining in the old body—not resurrected yet!
"Absent" simply means to be free from (out of) the old body—resurrected.
The bodily resurrection is one of the greatest events for believers that all present sufferings amount to NOTHING compared with the coming glory!
Philips Translation says it best:
"In my opinion, whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us."
(Rom 8:18) Philips Translation.
A Believer's Proper View of Death
Does it bother you that when we die, we wait in the graves until the Resurrection Day? Are you disappointed that there is no disembodied conscious soul-spirit after death?
We recognize that in death, there’s no memory, thinking, or feeling for "the dead know nothing." (Ecc 9:5) Any awareness of time is gone. For example, Abraham wouldn't know that 4,000 years have passed if resurrected today! For him, it will be like an instant.
We get a glimpse of this time loss during deep sleep, under anesthesia or in a coma. In these circumstances, time ceases to exist until one is awakened. So it is with death; however long, it will be an instant when resurrected.
It's an old lie that says we don't die; that we exist in a state of conscious bliss or torment! The lie has taken hold of pagans as well as many Christians. It came from the deceiver who said, "Ye shall not surely die." (Genesis 3:4) This lie can produce an unhealthy fear of death or fanciful expectations.
It’s not an accident that the Bible refers to those who died as sleeping. Death to God and Christ is a sleep-like state, a long rest until the resurrection day.
If we die in faith, we wait peacefully until Christ's voice calls us to a 'New Life'. It will be like an instant that just passed by!