Lutheran theology affirms the promise of eternal life for all who believe in Christ. At death, the believer's soul is in the presence of Christ (Philippians 1:23). At the Last Day, the dead will be resurrected bodily and the righteous will enter into eternal life — a state of perfect fellowship with God, free from sin, suffering, and death. This is taught throughout the catechisms and confessional documents.

Lutheran eschatological hope is strongly oriented toward the resurrection of the body rather than merely a spiritual afterlife. The eternal state is not disembodied spiritual existence but a renewed and glorified physical existence in the new creation. Luther's explanation of the Creed in the Small Catechism closes with the promise that on the Last Day the Spirit will raise the believer and all the dead, and give eternal life to the believer and to all who believe in Christ.