Let’s look at four Scriptures that speak of what God has promised, marvelous promises throughout the Bible about the resurrection of the body.
#1: Job 19:25-27
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
Notice what Job already knew: a. that his Redeemer lives, b. that his Redeemer will stand on the earth, and c. when that happens, Job will see God with his own eyes.
Job is talking about the physical here: My eyes! My flesh! I will see God! And all this will happen when my Redeemer, who lives, stands upon the earth. You will see God as truly as you see this pulpit in front of you.
#2: Romans 8:22-24
We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.
The redemption of the body is the hope in which you were saved. The great purpose of God is not to save a part of you (your soul) but the whole of you (body/soul unity).
Christ made you (body and soul), and he will redeem you (body and soul). He will do it in this order; soul now, body later. All that God has made is good and all that God has made he will redeem.
#3: Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
a. The human body is described as ‘lowly’
At its strongest and most developed, the human body is fragile. Even if you are really fit, and you get hit by a truck, you will be in trouble. Our bodies are fragile.
C. S. Lewis says, “When you are learning to ride they give you unimpressive horses. Only when you are ready for it are you allowed an animal that will gallop and jump” [1] Wait till you see the upgrade. Even if you’re impressed now. You ain’t seen nothing yet!
b. Your body will be ‘transformed’ by the Lord Jesus Christ and by his power
The resurrection of the body is a truth that cannot be grasped apart from the work of Christ and the power of Christ.
The credibility of this great truth is that Christ demonstrated his power to raise his people by rising himself! Every Christian says, “Yes, the Savior has given me a new heart!” He will also give you a new body. It will be the completion of his redeeming work in your life.
c. Your resurrection body will be like Christ’s glorious body
That means it will be a physical body. You will not be a disembodied ghost or spirit in the new creation. The reason you won’t spend eternity floating on the clouds is that bodies don’t float, right?
Jesus said, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). Flesh and bones! This is a physical body! Jesus is talking about his own resurrection body.
In terms of appearance, Jesus’s resurrection body was so similar to the form of the body we have now that Mary could mistake him for a gardener. And Jesus looked like just another traveler to the two disciples on the Emmaus road,
Although the resurrection body will be very different, the similarities to the body you have now are more striking than the differences.
In John’s Gospel, we have Jesus not only cooking breakfast but eating it with the disciples. We are definitely talking about barbeque in the resurrection folks!
Wayne Grudem says, “No [bible] text says that Jesus passed through walls or anything like that.” [2] Why would anyone think that? Because the Bible says the disciples were meeting behind locked doors when Jesus came in (John 20:19). But Peter was also behind locked doors in prison and God miraculously opened them so that Peter could walk out (Acts 12:10).
The idea of heavenly bodies that dematerialize comes from watching too much Star Trek, not from the Bible. Jesus speaks about his resurrection body in terms of flesh and bones.
#4: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
The transformation of the body you have now, into the body you will have, will be instantaneous. All believers will receive this gift at the same time.
The new earth will be better than the earth we have now. The resurrection body will be better than the body you have now. And you will have forever to savor the pleasures that God has in store for you.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
[1] Cited in J. I. Packer, Growing in Christ, p. 66, Crossway, 2007.
[2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 610, Zondervan, 1994.