Introduction
We have been examining the biblical view of the afterlife by contrasting
it to other views (EXAMPLES). Here is another difference: its view of
the body.
Spiritism teaches that we will be disembodied spirits. Pantheism sees
the body as the prison-house of the soul and teaches that salvation
is release from your body to absorbed into "God." But the
Bible teaches that being human involves bodily existence. Salvation
is holistic in this sense—not deliverance from our bodies,
but the deliverance of our bodies into a perfected state (Rom. 8:23).
There are literally dozens of passages that educate us on this subject.
We will look at many of them this morning, using 1 Cor. 15 as
our base text to answer four questions . . .
What are they like?
In general, they will be like Jesus' resurrected body (read 1 Jn. 3:2).
This means that the descriptions of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances
shed light on what our bodies will be like. In this passage, Paul explains
that this means two things:
There will be continuity with our present bodies. Read 15:35-38.
Like the relationship between a seed and the plant that comes from it,
they are very different in shape, have different properties, etc.—but
the plant is organically connected to the seed from which it came.
Like a caterpillar that undergoes metamorphosis into a butterfly, there
is essential continuity.
So it was with Jesus' resurrected body. It was not a totally new
body, or it would not be called a "resurrected" body. His
disciples could recognize it as his, including the holes in his hands
and side (Jn. 20:27), it was a real body with "flesh and
bones" (Lk. 24:39), he could eat food (Lk. 24:41-43),
etc.
So it will be with our bodies. And they will be recognizable. We
will recognize other redeemed loved ones, and other believers we never
knew in this life (1 Thess. 4:13,17; Matt. 8:11).
DISCONTINUITY (15:42-44): But our resurrected bodies will be infused
with vastly different properties and abilities. Jesus will transform
this body into bodies like his new body (read Phil. 3:20,21).
It will both be free from all imperfections and suited for eternal life
in God's eternal kingdom. Paul mentions four aspects of this transformation:
PERISHABLE: Our present bodies are subject to congenital defects,
disease, injury and aging. While marvelously made, they are "winding
down" from the moment we are born. We spend billions of dollars
every year to forestall/counteract this through medicine or to hide
it through cosmetics.
IMPERISHABLE: Our resurrected bodies will not be subject to malfunction,
injury or aging. They will be able to eat, but they don't need to
eat (1 Cor. 6:13,14). They will be bionic in the truest
sense of the word.
DISHONOR: As creatures made in God's image, we were evidently designed
to manifest God's invisible greatness not only morally, but even visibly—as
a prism refracts colorless light into its constituent bands, or as
angels manifest God's glory (read Dan. 10:5-11). Because of
the Fall, our bodies simply do not do this.
GLORY: Our resurrected bodies will somehow visibly manifest God's
greatness and splendor. Heb. 2:7 implies that our new bodies
will do this in a way even greater than angels' bodies do.
WEAKNESS: Our bodies are subject to rather extreme physical limitations.
We marvel that athletes can long jump over 29 feet, but we don't ever
expect them to go 2900 feet. Much of our technology is designed to
overcome our physical limitations (INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION for strength;
TELECOMMUNICATIONS for distance).
POWER: Our new bodies will not be omnipotent, but they will not be
subject to the same limitations of physical matter or the laws of
nature that we now experience. Jesus' post-resurrection appearances
make this clear. His old body didn’t disappear in the tomb; it
was transformed in such a way that it passed right through the grave
cloths, leaving them intact (see Jn. 20:6-9). He could enter
a room when the door was shut (Jn. 20:9), vanish from sight while
talking with others (Lk. 24:30,31), and defy gravity in ascending
from the earth (Acts 1:9).
NATURAL: Our present bodies Paul calls "natural," or literally
"soulish." As he says in the following verses, they are
"earthy" in the sense that they are suited for life in this
material portion of reality. But reality is more than this realm.
There is another portion, normally unseen to us, that is just as real
(DARK SIDE OF THE MOON). It is normally invisible to us simply because
our bodies are not equipped to sense it. Angels are evidently equipped
with bodies that enable them perceive both portions of reality (2-WAY
MIRROR).
SPIRITUAL: Our new bodies will be real, not immaterial. But they
will be "heavenly"—like the bodies of the angels (Lk. 20:36)—and
perfectly suited to perceive and interact with life in the supernatural
and eternal kingdom.
This should raise an obvious question: How do I get one? Paul
answers this question indirectly in 15:45-50 (read).
How do I get one?
Paul tells us that Adam and Jesus are similar in that they are both inaugurators
of a race of humans. Because Adam's body is made of earthy materials,
those who descend from him also receive earthy bodies (vs 48a,49a).
Because Jesus' resurrected body is made of heavenly materials, those who
descend from him receive heavenly bodies (vs 48b,49b).
What does all this have to do with how to get a resurrected body? The
point is this: body-type is determined by descent. In order to have an
earthy body, you must be a descendant of the first one to have one—Adam.
In order to get a new body and enter God's kingdom, you must be a descendant
of the first one to have a new body—Jesus.
This passage echoes a conversation Jesus had with one of the most religious
people of his day (read Jn. 3:3-7). If you want to get a new body,
all the religious activity in the world won't cut it. You must not
only be born physically ("of water" as in amniotic fluid,
not water baptism); you must also be born spiritually ("of the
spirit"). And Jesus went to explain how to be born spiritually
(read Jn. 3:14-16)—by personally choosing to entrust yourself to
him as your Savior who was lifted up on the cross to die for your sins.
Isn’t this wonderful? None of us has any choice about being born
physically—what kind of body we get, what family we have, etc.
But because God sent Jesus to die for us, we can all choose to be born
into God's family, and be forgiven by him, experience his love, and
receive a new body suited for eternal life with him. No matter how
old you are, no matter how much you have ignored or rebelled against
God, no matter how much of a mess you may have made of this life, you
can still choose to start all over again in the most important way of
all. Have you made this choice? Here's how . . .
When do we get them?
The answer to this question is: when Jesus returns. Read 1 Cor. 15:21-23.
God is overcoming physical death in two stages: first when Jesus was raised
from the dead, and then when those who belong to him are raised from the
dead when he returns at the end of the age.
Paul adds some additional information in 15:51-53 (read). All who have
received Christ will receive new bodies at this time, but some will not
experience physical death. Those who have died will receive their new
bodies at that time; those still living will have their bodies changed
instantaneously, as we are caught up in the air to meet Jesus (1 Thes.
4:17).
NOTE: If we die (as Christians) before this time, we do not go into
some unconscious state as some teach; rather, we go to be consciously
and personally with Christ in the presence of God (read Lk. 23:43;
Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8). But we don't get our resurrected
bodies until Christ returns.
When this happens, our salvation will be complete (read 15:54-57). The
same Jesus whose death delivers us from the guilt of our sins will deliver
us from the consequence of sin—physical death.
What difference does it make in this life?
Read 15:58. Paul says "therefore." If you have received Christ
and know you will overcome death, this knowledge should change the way
you live this life.
I've asked a friend of mine, Joey Mullen, to share with you how knowing
these truths has made a difference in his life . . .