Shorter Catechism Q. 37. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? A. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.
Commentary: One of the benefits that believers receive at death is that their souls are made perfect in holiness. The battle against sin and temptation is one that the Christian engages throughout his life. The struggle is real and relentless because sin never gives up. Death, however, brings our war with the world, the flesh and the devil to an end. When we close our eyes for the last time, the final bell rings. The fight is over. And it is over because at death, God brings his sanctifying work on our souls to completion, and we are completely purified from sin. Instead of being contaminated with sin, our soul is perfectly holy and pure.
Another benefit we receive at death is that we “immediately pass into glory.” We do not go to purgatory (there is no such place), we are not put to sleep (so-called soul sleep), and we do not cease to exist. Rather, we go to where Christ is, which is in heaven. Paul says that to be away from the body means that you are at home with the Lord, and that to depart this life is to be with Christ. The day we die is the day we go to be with Christ. Indeed, the very moment we die is the very moment we are with our Lord. When Pastor Miller was dying of ALS, he told Harvey that he wasn’t going to die. He was going to go from life to life. Pastor Miller was right because when we die, we immediately enter glory to be with Christ. Life to life.
Still another benefit that we receive from Christ at death is that our bodies are still united to Christ and will rest on or in the earth until the resurrection. Jesus isn’t just concerned about saving our soul but our whole person, and that includes our body. Our whole person belongs to Christ, even in death. In fact, nothing can separate us from Christ and so our bodies, although they return to dust, continue to belong to Christ, and he will raise them up on the last day.