34 THE PROOF OF A SEPARATE STATE. happiness of the soul in a separate state, might have been a suf- ficient proof, that those, who died or slept in the faith of Christ, are not perished, and he had abundant reward for his sufferings, in that world of separate souls, without the resurrection of the body. Answer 1. It must be granted, that the scripture, in order to support christians under present trials, chiefly refers them to the day of the resurrection, and final judgment, as the great and chief season of retribution : The reason of this will appear under my answer to the following objection : Now the apostle may he supposed to argue here only on this foot, neglecting or over - looking the separate state, as though this final retribution at and after the resurrection of the body, were comparatively the whole, because it is far the chief and most considerable part, being much the most sensible and conspicuous, and of the longest duration. The chief part of any thing is often taken for the whole : And if there were no resurrection of the dead, that is, if there were no state of retribution at all, then the epicurean reasoning would be good, Let us eat and drink, for to- morrow we die; verse 32. And, to confirm this exposition, we may take notice, that in other places of scripture, where the resurrection of the dead is mentioned, this " anastasis," includes the whole state of ex- istence after death, both the separate and the resurrection-state. This seems to be the sense of it in that famous place ; Luke xx. 35. where Christ argues with the Sadducees, who denied the separate state, as well as the resurrection of the body : Now if you take away this " anastasis," this whole state of existence and retribution, then they that suffer for Christ have no advan- tage or recompence, and the epicurean doctrine is plainly prefer- able, at least in the common sense and reasoning of men, and in such seasons of trial and persecution. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose, that there might be some of those principles of Sadducism begun to be instilled into some of the Corinthians, viz. that there were no rewards and punish- ments at all in any future state ; for he tells them, verse 34. that some of then had not the knowledge of God ; that is, as a right- eous rewarder of them that diligently seek him, I speak this says he, to your shame. And verse 58. he encourages them to be stedfast and unnaoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as Winch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord, that is, there is certainly a future state of recompence for piety, and the discovery of it at the resurrection of the dead is the most public and glorious part, of it, and therefore he insists upon this alone. Answer 2. But we may give yet a more particular answer to this objection ; for if we take in the whole scheme of the apostle's' argument in this chapter, we shall.. find there is no sufficient
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