Yes—believers are fully redeemed in soul and spirit at salvation, but their physical bodies await a future redemption at the resurrection, which is why suffering and death remain.
At the moment of salvation, the soul and spirit are totally redeemed and made ready for eternity, but the physical body is not yet redeemed—it remains in the flesh, under the curse, and subject to the same pain, accidents, and death as the unbeliever. God has placed His down payment on the body through the indwelling Holy Spirit, His brand on the believer, guaranteeing that the body has not been forgotten. The believer's hope is the future redemption of the body at the resurrection, when body, soul, and spirit are reunited as a complete entity for eternity.
Romans 8:22–23 — This verse directly explains why believers still experience suffering and death: even those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan, waiting for the redemption of their body.
Ephesians 1:13–14 — The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession—showing the redemption of the body is future but guaranteed.
Scripture distinguishes between what is already redeemed and what is not yet redeemed. In Romans 8:22–23, Paul writes that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, and believers—who have the firstfruits of the Spirit—also groan within themselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Even after receiving the Spirit, the believer's body is presented in Scripture as something still awaiting redemption. Ephesians 1:13–14 likewise marks a present and a future work: after believing, the believer is sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. The Spirit is given now, but the full redemption of the purchased possession is yet future—and that future redemption includes the body.
Les Feldick teaches that the answer is found in the distinction between the soul and spirit on one hand and the body on the other. The moment a person is saved, the soul and spirit are totally redeemed—saved, made ready for eternity, and belonging to the Lord. But the physical body is not yet ready; it remains unredeemed, still in the flesh, still under the curse, and prone to the same pain, accidents, and sin as the unbeliever. Les emphasizes that God is concerned with the whole man—body, soul, and spirit—and that no human being functions as a complete entity without all three. For eternity, believers must have body, soul, and spirit brought back together. Until then, departed believers are present with the Lord in soul and spirit, but their bodies are in the grave waiting for the resurrection day. In the meantime, God has placed His down payment on the believer's body through the indwelling Holy Spirit—His brand on us and the earnest of our inheritance—guaranteeing that God will complete the transaction and give the believer a new resurrected body. Redemption will not be complete until that new body is received, which is why the believer groans and waits even while already saved.
Les Feldick explains that the part of the believer that is not yet redeemed is the body. The body is still here in the flesh, still under the curse, and prone to the same pain, accidents, and sin as the unbeliever. Even though the soul and spirit are totally redeemed at salvation, the body remains unredeemed until the future resurrection.
Les teaches that the indwelling Holy Spirit is God's down payment on the believer's body—His brand on us. The Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Because the Spirit is present, the believer knows that regardless of whether death comes through the valley of the shadow of death and burial, or through some other disaster, God has not forgotten the body and will complete the whole transaction.
According to Les, God has never used the human being as only a soul and spirit—man must be the complete entity of body, soul, and spirit. No human being has any function as a complete entity apart from a body, in this life or the life to come. That is why the soul and spirit, even while present with the Lord after death, must be reunited with a resurrected body before the believer is complete for eternity.
Les Feldick does not believe in soul sleep. Believers who have died are immediately in the presence of the Lord, but they are there only in soul and spirit—their bodies are in the grave. Because no human being is a valid, complete entity separated from the body, they await the resurrection day when the body will be reunited with the soul and spirit, and the believer becomes complete.
Romans 8:22–23 says the whole creation groans and travails in pain until now, and believers themselves—who have the firstfruits of the Spirit—also groan within themselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. In other words, the same passage that speaks of the Spirit's firstfruits shows the body as not yet redeemed. Believers are saved in soul and spirit, but they are still groaning and waiting for their bodies.
The Redemption of Our Body (Romans 8:23)
Les explains that even though believers have the firstfruits of the Spirit and their souls and spirits are totally redeemed, they still groan within themselves waiting for the redemption of the body—and the Holy Spirit is God's down payment guaranteeing the body will not be forgotten.
The Completeness of Body, Soul, and Spirit
Les teaches that no human being functions as a complete entity without a body, so God is not finished until He redeems body, soul, and spirit together; the body is still unredeemed and under the curse even after salvation.
Sealed with the Spirit Until the Redemption of the Purchased Possession
Les clarifies that although believers are already redeemed, the body is the part not yet redeemed—it remains prone to the same pain, accidents, and sin as the unbeliever—and the Holy Spirit is the down payment assuring that even the body will be redeemed.
God Never Uses Man as Just Soul and Spirit
Les explains that God has never dealt with a human being as only a soul and spirit—a person must be the complete entity of body, soul, and spirit; departed believers are with the Lord but cannot walk or sing because they have no body yet.
Departed Believers Are Present with the Lord, but Not Bodily
Les rejects soul sleep: believers who die go into the presence of the Lord in soul and spirit, but their bodies are in the grave, and Scripture shows no valid operation of a human being separated from the body.
Redemption Is Not Complete Until the Resurrected Body
Les teaches that even though believers have been redeemed and bought back by the blood of Christ, redemption will not be complete until the new resurrected body is received at the resurrection.
Physical Death Is the Separation of Body from Soul and Spirit
Les emphasizes that God is concerned with the whole man—body, soul, and spirit—in this life and the life to come; physical death separates the body from the soul and spirit, and the eternal state requires a new body.
The New Body Seen in Christ's Resurrection
Les teaches that the redemption of the soul and spirit is a down payment that God will complete by giving the believer a new body; the best glimpse of that new body is Christ in His resurrection appearances.
Romans 8:22–23: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Paul directly states that believers who have the firstfruits of the Spirit are still waiting for the redemption of their bodies—the key biblical evidence that the body is not redeemed at salvation.
Ephesians 1:13–14: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
This verse describes the Holy Spirit as the earnest (down payment) until the redemption of the purchased possession, which Les teaches includes the resurrection of the body.
Les Feldick teaches that at salvation the soul and spirit are totally redeemed and made ready for eternity, but the body is not yet redeemed. The body remains in the flesh, under the curse, subject to the same pain, accidents, and death as the unbeliever, and it awaits the redemption of the body at the resurrection (Romans 8:23).
No. God has placed His down payment on the body through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God's brand on the believer and the earnest of our inheritance, guaranteeing that God will complete the transaction and redeem body, soul, and spirit together.
The believer waits for the adoption, the redemption of the body, at the resurrection. Then the body will be reunited with the soul and spirit that have been in the Lord's presence, and the believer will be a complete entity for eternity.
Yes, they are in the presence of the Lord immediately in soul and spirit, but they are not there bodily. Their bodies are in the grave, and they wait for the resurrection day when body, soul, and spirit are reunited.
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