The Realm of the Spirit Pt 3 – Redemption of Tripartite Humanity Through the Realms

The Unseen Realm Pt3 –  Redemption of Tripartite Humanity Through the Realms

I. How Do We Enter the Unseen Realm while in the Body?

The unseen realm is the spiritual dimension beyond visible reality. Scripture teaches that the world we see is only part of creation; the unseen spiritual world is real and eternal.

• Faith in the Word: 

• • • “For we live by faith, not by sight. We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Corinthians 4:18)
    • “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

• Worship: 

• • • “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

• Prayer: 

• • Jude 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Entering the unseen realm comes primarily through the spirit, by faith in God and worship and prayer:

• “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

II. Our Spirit Man Already Exists in the Unseen Realm

Our spirit is the inner, unseen part of us that connects with God and the spiritual world.

• “For if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)

Here’s the challenge: The spirit man is already in the unseen, even while we live in our physical bodies:

• “While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7)

III. When We Die, Both Our Spirit and Soul Enter the Unseen Realm

At physical death, our spirit and soul separate from the body and enter the unseen realm where they await resurrection.

• “When the breath of life departs, the man returns to dust, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
• Jesus said to the thief on the cross: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
• “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

IV. At the Resurrection, We Receive Glorified Bodies to Live and Worship Jesus on Earth

Christian hope is based on the biblical resurrection to a glorified, immortal body, like Jesus’ resurrected body.

• “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
• “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him.” (1 John 3:2)

V. Tripartite Nature of Man – Explains Jesus’ descent and ascension in the hypostatic union. 

Scripture presents man as composed of three distinct but interconnected parts: spirit, soul, and body. For example:

• “May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
• “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit…” (Hebrews 4:12)

Each part has different functions and roles in human life:

• The spirit is the part that connects or communes with God, enabling spiritual life and understanding (John 4:24; Romans 8:16).
• The soul is the seat of emotions, mind, will, and personality—the self (Genesis 2:7; Matthew 22:37).
• The body is the physical vessel that interacts with the material world (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 12:1).

VI. The Core Question: Must God Pay for Sin?

• Question posed: Does God have to pay the bill for sin, or can he forgive without payment?
  • Answer: God must pay for sin; forgiveness without payment undermines holiness, justice, and love.
    • Contrast:
      • Christianity: Sin paid for through Christ’s sacrificial death.
      • Islam (Quran): Allah forgives without payment—“waving it away.”

VII. The Problem of “Forgiveness Without Payment”

• Without payment, forgiveness compromises God’s holiness.
  • Analogy: If a judge lets a murderer go free without penalty, he has committed an injustice against the victim’s family.
    • A perfect judge must judge rightly. Letting sin go unpunished makes God unjust.

VIII. The Jewish Concept of a Hassid (Merciful Judge)

• A righteous judge finds the guilty guilty (justice is rendered).
  • But then, out of his own goodness, he personally pays the fine/penalty out of his own pocket.
    • This is justice + mercy, not one at the expense of the other.
    • God did this at great expense—his own Son’s blood.

IX. God’s Holiness and Justice

• God must punish sin because of his holiness.
• Scripture emphasizes holiness above all (“holy, holy, holy,” not “loving, loving, loving”).
  • Holiness cannot be compromised.
  • Therefore, forgiveness demands payment.

X. The Connection Between Love and Judgment

• Paradox: God punishes sin because of his love.
• Perfect love of righteousness = perfect hatred of evil.
  • If God loves goodness, he must justly oppose evil.
  • The Bible alone explains this tension—justice rooted in love.

XI. The Uniqueness of the Bible

• Quran: Allah loves and forgives, but never explains how forgiveness works or what it costs.
• Bible: Love is demonstrated through cost.
  • John 3:16 – God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
  • John 15:13 – Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

XII. The Cost and Proof of Love

• Without forgiveness → No gratitude.
• Without gratitude → No clear understanding of love’s depth.
  • The cross creates a contrast: love measurable through cost.
  • Ephesians 3:18 – Comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of God’s love.

XIII. Islam vs. Christianity on Love

• Islam: Forgiveness comes at no cost → no proof of love → no measurable depth.
• Christianity: Forgiveness came at the cost of the blood of Christ → proves infinite love.
• Practical example:
  • Ask a Muslim: “Does Allah love you?” → Answer: Yes.
  • Ask: “How do you know? How much does he love you?” → Cannot answer.
    • Christian answer: “I know because God gave his only Son. I know how much because it cost his Son’s life.”

XIV. Love Demonstrated in Action

• Romans 5:8 – God demonstrates his love: while we were sinners, Christ died for us.
  • God’s love is proven by payment, not spoken cheaply.
  • Contrast with Allah: words of love, but no action or cost.

XV. Old Testament Framework

• God often says, “Then you will know I am the Lord.”
  • Key examples: Exodus deliverance, covenant faithfulness, redemption.
    • God wants his people to know him through action, not just words.
    • The fullness of this knowledge comes through the forgiveness of sin in Christ.

XVI. Gratitude and Forgiveness

• Luke 7 (Simon the Pharisee):
  • Jesus asks who will love more—the one forgiven little, or much?
  • Answer: The one forgiven much.
    • Thus, true gratitude toward God flows from knowing the great cost of forgiveness.

XVII. The Salvific Importance of Payment

• The claim that God does not need to pay for sin is not a minor error—it is salvific.
• To deny the necessity of payment for sin undermines the gospel.
• It risks heresy, since it removes the cross as essential.
• Without payment, no proof of love, no grounds of salvation.

XVIII. Conclusion: Why the Cross Matters

• The cross is not just one option—it is necessary.
• Only through judgment and payment can God’s holiness, justice, and love be revealed in full.

The cross is where:

• God’s holiness is upheld.
• Justice is satisfied.
• Love is fully demonstrated.

• Therefore, the cross is everything.

XIX. Why Each Part Needs Redemption

• Spirit Needs Redemption

1. 1. The Spirit of Adam died instantly when He sinned, as it cannot exist without being immersed in the presence and fellowship of God. 
   2. On the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die, was true in that Adam’s spirit died at the moment of partaking in the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 
   3. Because sin broke humanity’s direct spiritual fellowship with God, the spirit requires regeneration or new birth to restore this connection:

• “You must be born again of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-6)

1. Body Needs Redemption
   1. The body suffers decay, weakness, and death as a consequence of sin and awaits resurrection and glorification:
      1. “The body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10)
      2. “We eagerly await a Savior… who will transform our lowly bodies… to be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
   2. Adam’s body died the same day he ate of the fruit as well. 

• Adam lived to be 930 years old
• 2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.

1. Soul Needs Redemption
   The soul, as the center of mind, will, and emotions, is corrupted by sin and must be renewed to align with God’s will:

• “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:10)
• “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

1. Descended from Heaven – Humiliation: The step downs through the realms:  
   1. Christ stepped down from the third heaven (God’s presence)
      1. To the earth, born in human weakness.
      2. Philippians 2:7-8 (ESV): “…but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
      3. From Transcendence to Immanency, through His Incarnation, and was Indigenous, 
2. Descent from the Cross
   1. 2 part of His Humiliation – Stepped down 
      1. Taken down from the humiliation of the cross, down into the grave, down into the underworld, down to the gates of hell, 
   2. Then he rose with the keys of death and hell, ascended to live in a glorified state for 40 days of infallible proofs, ascended through the heavens, then ascended 
3. Descent to the Underworld: Christ descended to the grave and proclaimed victory.

• 1 Peter 3:19-20 (ESV): “…in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey…”
• Ephesians 4:8-10: quotes Psalm 68:18, “When He ascended on high, He led a host of captives”. 
  • This “host of captives” is widely interpreted by theologians to refer to the Old Testament saints who had been in Abraham’s Bosom.
• Matthew 27:50 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

1. Ascension: Christ rose, appeared for 40 days, and ascended through the heavens to God’s right hand.

• Acts 1:9-11 (ESV): “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

• Ascended Higher, above the Heavens

Ephesians 4:9 In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?b10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.