No — deceased believers are not yet in resurrected bodies.
At death, the believer's soul and spirit go immediately into the presence of Christ in heaven, while the body remains in the grave (2 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The resurrection body is not given until the Lord Himself descends from heaven, when the dead in Christ rise first and are reunited with their soul and spirit. Then living believers are caught up together with them (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 — This passage directly answers the question by describing deceased believers as asleep and placing their resurrection at the Lord's descent.
2 Corinthians 5:8 — This verse shows that until the resurrection, the believer is absent from the body and present with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 — This passage reveals that the change into a resurrection body happens at the last trump, not at death.
Scripture describes believers who have died as those who 'sleep' in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). It affirms, 'For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him' (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Paul also writes that to be 'absent from the body' is to be 'present with the Lord' (2 Corinthians 5:8). The Bible does not say these departed believers have already received their resurrection bodies. Instead, it says that 'the Lord himself shall descend from heaven... and the dead in Christ shall rise first' (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Only then does Paul say that living believers 'shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air' (1 Thessalonians 4:17). In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul calls the resurrection a mystery and explains that 'we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump' (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The Scripture places this change at the last trump, pointing to a future event rather than a present possession.
Les explains that the word 'asleep' refers to believers who have died in Christ, but it does not mean soul sleep. He says, 'I do not believe in soul sleep. They are there, but they are not there bodily. They are there in soul and spirit, in the presence of the Lord, somehow or other, waiting for the resurrection day' (Clip 3). According to Les, at death a believer's soul and spirit immediately take flight to the presence of Christ in heaven and wait there for the resurrection day (Clip 1). The body remains in the grave (Clip 3). At the Lord's coming, God brings the departed souls and spirits of believers from heaven down to the atmosphere; the dead in Christ then rise first, coming out of their tombs and being reunited with their soul and spirit (Clip 4). Until that reunion, Les notes that a body raised in resurrection power is still void of the soul and spirit, which were separated at physical death (Clip 6). Living believers do not go ahead of them; the change to a glorious resurrected body is instantaneous, 'in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,' as the living are caught up together with the dead in Christ (Clips 0 and 4). Les also teaches that the future resurrection body is a real body, on the order of the Lord Jesus in His forty days after His resurrection, not an invisible spirit or angelic existence (Clip 5). His stated qualification for being in the Rapture is simply believing with all the heart that Jesus died and rose again (Clip 7).
Scripture says the believer is 'absent from the body, and... present with the Lord' (2 Corinthians 5:8). Les summarizes this by saying, 'the believer, as soon as he dies, his spirit soul takes flight to... the presence of Christ in heaven. And there it's waiting for this day of resurrection to be reunited with the resurrected body' (Clip 1). He clarifies that the departed believer is not soul-sleeping: 'They are there in soul and spirit, in the presence of the Lord, somehow or other, waiting for the resurrection day' (Clip 3).
Les teaches that the resurrection body is not received at death. The believer's body is in the grave, and the soul and spirit are in heaven waiting for the resurrection day (Clip 3). When the Lord descends, 'the dead in Christ shall rise first'; their bodies are brought out of the tomb and reunited with the soul and spirit which God brought from His presence into the atmosphere (Clip 4).
No. Scripture says, 'that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep' (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Les states plainly that those who are alive and remain 'shall not precede or go ahead of them who are asleep, or who have died, for because the Lord himself shall descend from heaven... and the dead in Christ shall rise first' (Clip 4). Living believers are then caught up together with them in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Les answers that believers will not exist as invisible spirit beings or as angels. Instead, they will eternally exist in a body — not the same flesh and blood body, but one 'on the same order.' He points to the Lord Jesus in His 40 days after His resurrection as the best illustration of the resurrected body (Clip 5).
The turning point is faith in the Gospel. Paul writes, 'For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him' (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Les puts it as the qualification: 'If you are alive when it happens, and you have believed with all your heart that Jesus died and rose again' (Clip 7).
Instantaneous Change to a Glorious Body
Les describes the future resurrection as an instantaneous metamorphosis from the old body of flesh to a new glorious resurrected body, reinforcing that believers do not already have that body.
Soul and Spirit Wait with Christ
Les explains that at death the believer's soul and spirit immediately go to the presence of Christ and wait there for the resurrection day when they will be reunited with the resurrected body.
God Brings Departed Believers from Heaven
Les teaches that at the Rapture God will bring the departed souls and spirits of believers — and only believers — from heaven down to the atmosphere.
No Soul Sleep, Bodies Await Resurrection
Les explicitly rejects soul sleep and teaches that departed believers are in the presence of the Lord in soul and spirit, but not bodily, while their bodies wait in the grave.
Dead in Christ Rise First and Are Reunited
Les teaches that at the Lord's descent the dead in Christ will be raised out of their tombs and reunited with the soul and spirit God has brought from His presence.
Resurrection Body Like Christ's Post-Resurrection Body
Les points to the Lord Jesus in His 40 days after resurrection as the best illustration of what the believer's future resurrected body will be like.
Resurrected Body Void of Soul Until Reunion
Les explains that a body raised in resurrection power is still without the soul and spirit, because they were separated at physical death and are already in glory.
Faith in the Gospel Qualifies the Asleep Believer
Les notes that those who sleep are believers who have died in Christ, and the qualification for the Rapture is believing with all the heart that Jesus died and rose again.
1 Thessalonians 4:14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Establishes the promise that God will bring sleeping believers with Jesus at the Lord's coming.
1 Thessalonians 4:15: For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Shows that living believers will not go ahead of those who have died.
1 Thessalonians 4:16: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Shows that the resurrection of the dead in Christ is yet future, happening at the Lord's descent.
1 Thessalonians 4:17: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Describes the living believers being caught up together with the resurrected dead.
2 Corinthians 5:8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Distinguishes the believer's present-to-the-Lord state from the bodily resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:51: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Announces the mystery that not all believers will die, but all will be changed at the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Dates the change into resurrection bodies to the last trump, not to death.
Yes, in soul and spirit. Scripture says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Les teaches that the believer's soul and spirit take flight to the presence of Christ immediately at death, while the body remains in the grave (Clip 1, Clip 3).
No. Les says plainly, 'I do not believe in soul sleep' (Clip 3). The word 'asleep' describes believers who have died in Christ; their soul and spirit are consciously present with the Lord while they await the resurrection day.
At the Lord's descent from heaven, when the dead in Christ rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Les explains that God brings their souls and spirits from heaven and reunites them with their resurrected bodies, and then living believers are caught up together with them (Clip 4).
No. Paul writes that those alive and remaining 'shall not prevent them which are asleep' (1 Thessalonians 4:15). The dead in Christ rise first, and then the living are caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Watch the Teaching: The Rapture vs. The Second Coming — What's the Difference?