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Those readers who have followed my series of posts on this blog know that my rendering of the Judgment Seat of Christ passage from 2 Cor. 5:10 is at odds with the conventional view. My reading would go something like this: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive in our bodies what is due us for what we have done, whether good or bad.” Compare this with the conventional translation, for example, the NIV: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
The principal doctrinal difference between the two approaches is that mine envisions Christ’s judgment of believers as an ongoing venue conducted and administered by Christ in the earthly life of each believer, that is, a bodily judgment. The conventional translation instead contemplates a post-death apocalyptic judgment venue at which believers in the aggregate, and probably non-believers too according to most authorities, must appear in some form or fashion. The eschatological chasm between the two approaches is vast and is discussed in some detail in various of my posts, most notably at this link: https://www.thetwocities.com/biblical-studies/beyond-the-current-confusion-toward-a-coherent-and-scripturally-sound-view-of-the-final-judgment/.
To refresh your memories, here is the generally accepted Greek text of 2 Cor. 5:10, with particular attention to key terms within the subordinate clause (Greek quotations are from the shared text of NA28 and UBS5): τοὺς γὰρ πάντας ἡμᾶς φανερωθῆναι δεῖ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα κομίσηται ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος πρὸς ἃ ἔπραξεν, εἴτε ἀγαθὸν εἴτε φαῦλον.
As you might expect, I have received various well-meaning criticisms and objections to my views on this passage. One of the more interesting technical objections focuses not on the subordinate clause, but rather on the main clause. This reader argues that in scripture the use of dei + an aorist infinitive seldom indicates a current and ongoing activity. This objection is stated in full below:
“Futuricity of the Judgment Seat seems implied (though not in a slam-dunk way), by the use of dei + the infinitive. There are 63 such constructions in the NT where the infinitive is within 2 words of dei, and it generally seems to indicate a future event or state, rather than an ongoing, event, e.g., Matt 16:21, Matt 17:10, Mark 13:7, Luke 12:12, Acts 21:22, Col 4:4. There are exceptions, to be fair: it can represent a counterfactual that should have been happening currently (e.g., Matt 23:23). We do see something close to an “current, ongoing” event/state is when there is a present infinitive, e.g., Luke 2:49 (since Jesus was in His Father’s house even while His parents were looking, but there we have a present infinitive), Luke 13:14. (In Luke 13:16, with an Aorist infinitive, it refers to a past event, “was it not necessary for this woman to have been loosed . . .”), but also Luke 15:32 with an Aorist infinitive. Nonetheless, I believe the general expectation, without clear contextual clues, would be that it refers to a future event, especially with a hina purpose clause. This is not a “slam-dunk” argument, obviously, but something that needs to be taken into consideration.”
To read my initial response to this argument, and for the complete rebuttal to all other objections I have received so far, see the following link: https://www.thetwocities.com/biblical-studies/judgment-seat-of-christ-in-rebuttal/. On further reflection, however, it seems to me that this objection, far from casting doubt on my approach, undergirds and supports it both grammatically and doctrinally. What am I talking about?
Let us examine Acts 14:22. In the Greek text, the passage reads as follows: ἐπιστηρίζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν μαθητῶν, παρακαλοῦντες ἐμμένειν τῇ πίστει, καὶ ὅτι διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. You will notice here that we have a construction of δεῖ, which in Greek is an impersonal verb meaning it is necessary or one must or has to (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. By W. Bauer. Trans. and rev. by W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (1979), p. 172), plus a closely following aorist (2nd) infinitive, in this case εἰσελθεῖν. This is the very construction pointed out by my reader that he believes largely refutes my interpretation of 2 Cor. 5:10 as referring to a “current, ongoing event/state.” Instead, he argues that it likely points only to a wholly future event or state, which in this case would be a post-death apocalyptic judgment venue, rather than one which is ongoing in the life of each believer.
Before we arrive at the meat of my argument about the relevance of Acts 14:22 to a correct rendering of the main clause of 2 Cor. 5:10, we need to dispense with some minor translational issues. Two of the leading English translations of this passage, no doubt designed to simplify the text, connect the modal verb, here in English must represented by the Greek impersonal verb δεῖ, with an elliptical verb that the translators insert into the text by implication. For example, the NIV translates the passage in this way: “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.” Notice that in the Greek text there is no verb for “go through” or endure. The translators have apparently deemed this portion of the text to be an elliptical construct, thus giving them license to insert what they consider to be an appropriate verb by implication. In another popular translation, the NLT, the passage is rendered in this way: “where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Here, the modal verb must attaches to the elliptically inserted verb, in this case, suffer.
No doubt the translators of these popular versions felt that taking such liberty with the Greek text was a harmless addition that has little or no doctrinal significance. Other popular translations, however, have wisely chosen to adopt a more “literal” reading of the text. Here are a few examples: ESV, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God;” KJV: “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God;” NASB 1995: “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God’;” and finally the NET Bible: “They strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, ‘We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions’.” Compare the Literal Standard Version: “confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting to remain in the faith, and that it is required of us to enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations;” and Smith’s Literal Translation: “And supporting the souls of the disciples, beseeching to remain in the faith, that through many pressures we must come into the kingdom of God.”
These translations attach the modal verb must or some form of it, in the Greek represented by δεῖ, with the English infinitive to enter or to come into, which in the underlying Greek text is represented by the aorist infinitive εἰσελθεῖν. This is important for our analysis since here the grammatical construction of δεῖ plus the aorist infinitive represents a current and ongoing process of believers as they live out their lives; that is, through many tribulations they must enter the Kingdom of God.
For the proposition that the Kingdom of God is a present reality here on earth, and therefore can be entered into here on earth, at least in a preliminary, internal sense, we need only look to Jesus’s own words (Luke 17:2.1 NIV): “the kingdom of God is in your midst;” and Matt. 12:28, NIV: “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” See also Colossians 1:13, NIV: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son;” and Daniel 2:44, NIV: “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.” See also Col. 3:1-2 (NIV): “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things;” and Eph. 2:6 (NIV): “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Is it so strange then that if Christ-followers have already entered into his Kingdom here on earth that Christ would commence the process of final judgment here also?
Paul illustrated this ongoing process of transformation by which we enter into God’s Kingdom and thus into eternity in 2 Cor. 3:18, NIV: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Murray Harris in his treatise, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, NIGTC, (Eerdmans, 2005), 315, described this process for the Christian as “the transformation of the ‘inner person’” in this life. An essayist explained this process of inner transformation this way, Janes, Mark, Exegetical Essay, 2017, 16, https://shorturl.at/8rERy:
“Paul uses the word glory as an eschatological experience, meaning it is a partly fulfilled reality, although it is also a future expectation, into which we enter by degrees. Paul illustrates the doctrine of Sanctification. Sanctification is the life long process in becoming the image of Christ. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, which is granted to new covenantal followers, believers will eventually reflect Jesus, not in physical means, but rather spiritually.”
With this scriptural groundwork laid, we finally arrive at the heart of the argument. Not only does the construct of δεῖ plus an aorist infinitive in Acts 14:22 as a grammatical matter refer to a present and ongoing reality in the life of believers (that is, the current availability of the Kingdom of God to all who believe in Christ), it also tracks doctrinally with the language of its syntactical counterpart in 2 Cor. 5:10. In other words, the process of entering the Kingdom of God matches in both timing and substance the process of the believer appearing before Christ’s Judgment Seat bodily in this earthly life. The two processes, Christ’s judgment and entering Christ’s Kingdom, are complementary, as they should be.
That is not the only passage from Paul’s writings that suggest this ongoing process of salvation tied to Christ’s judgment seat. In 1 Cor. 15:53, the Greek text provides an additional example of δεῖ plus a closely following aorist infinitive, in this case in the middle voice: δεῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀφθαρσίαν καὶ τὸ θνητὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀθανασίαν. Here the leading English translations are in agreement in associating the modal “must” with the verb represented by the aorist infinitive. For example, in the NIV we read: “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality; the ESV: “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality; and the NET: “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
While under the traditional view of this passage full bodily transformation would only occur on or after death, believers nonetheless can be considered to experience a kind of resurrection now through spiritual renewal, regeneration, and sanctification. A leading proponent of this view is N.T. Wright who in his book, Surprised by Hope (Harper One, 2008), 198, declared: “[S]alvation isn’t just something we have to wait for in the long-distance future. We can enjoy it here and now (always partially, of course, since we all still have to die), genuinely anticipating in the present what is to come in the future.” C.f., Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, where, though affirming bodily resurrection, Ellicott noted that the resurrection body is “adapted to the needs of a spiritual state,” suggesting continuity between spiritual transformation now and bodily change later.
We can now see that Paul’s message in Acts 14:22 (recorded by Luke) and 1 Cor. 15:53 perfectly tracks the present and ongoing nature of Christ’s final judgment of believers as outlined by Paul in a correct understanding of 2 Cor. 5:10. There the impersonal verb δεῖ also appears with an aorist infinitive, in that case φανερωθῆναι: τοὺς γὰρ πάντας ἡμᾶς φανερωθῆναι δεῖ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα κομίσηται ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος πρὸς ἃ ἔπραξεν, εἴτε ἀγαθὸν εἴτε φαῦλον. Seen in this light, Christ’s promise in Matt. 28:20 takes on a new and far richer meaning, NIV: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Judgment Seat, properly understood, is the vehicle by which Christ not only accompanies, supports, and comforts us in this life, but also encapsulates the process by which he sanctifies and purifies us and otherwise prepares us for heaven. In effect, it represents the means by which he guides us to enter into his kingdom as outlined in Acts 14:22, and to put on immortality as envisioned in 1 Cor. 15:53. As the essayist noted above declared: “Sanctification is the life long process in becoming the image of Christ.” A proper understanding of Christ’s judgment seat as a bodily venue in this life illustrates the manner by which this process of sanctification takes place, that is, a process guided and administered directly by Christ.
We now can arrive at a working definition, scripturally based, of Christ’s judgment of believers as set out in 2 Cor. 5:10. It is the process by which Christ guides his followers one by one (that is, those who have already been saved by faith alone through the redeeming work of Christ on our behalf), through life’s many trials and difficulties into his kingdom and into eternity, the full consummation of which occurs immediately upon their death. Believers need not appear at the terrifying Great White Throne Judgment set forth in Rev. 20:11-15. At the conclusion of each believer’s earthly life, they have been fully and finally judged. There is no need for further judgment in any comprehensive, evaluative sense; and there is also no need for some contrived Intermediate State for their “spirits” to reside between death and Christ’s Second Coming. (For a full explanation of this last point, see the first article referenced above. For the possibility of a limited “Rewards Judgment” after death, see the discussion at the following link: https://www.thetwocities.com/biblical-studies/a-brief-explanation-why-believers-behavior-no-matter-how-sinful-plays-no-role-in-determining-their-eternal-destiny-which-is-eternal-salvation-but-why-it-is-still-a-very-good-idea-to-obey-christ/.)
Simply put, the Gospel message is that everyone who believes in Christ will be saved, and upon death will not undergo any further comprehensive judgment but will immediately be with the Lord for eternity in their new heavenly, resurrected bodies. That is the Good News. That is where a correct appraisal of Christ’s Judgment Seat inevitably leads us; namely, an essential reappraisal of the timing, venue, and nature of Christ’s judgment of believers, one which is long overdue.
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