Thursday, April 8, 2021

Our resurrection bodies will be transformed.

 1 Corinthians 15:35 – 49 

 The Resurrection Body 

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 

36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 

 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 

 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 

 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 

 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 

 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 

 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 

 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 

 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 

 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 

 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 

 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 

 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 

Notes : 15:35ff Paul launches into a discussion about what our resurrected bodies will be like. If you could select your own body, what kind would you choose – strong, athletic, beautiful? Paul explains that we will be recognized in our resurrected bodies, yet they will be better than we can imagine, for they will be made to live forever. We will still have our own personalities and individualities, but these will be perfected through Christ’s work. The Bible does not reveal everything that our resurrected bodies will be able to do, but we know they will be perfect, without sickness or disease (see Philippians 3:21) Paul compares the resurrection of our bodies with the growth in a garden. Seeds placed in the ground don’t grow unless they “die” first. The plant that grows looks very different from the seed because God gives it a new “body”. There are different kinds of bodies – people, animals, fish, birds. Even the angels in heaven have bodies that are different in beauty and glory. Our resurrected bodies will be very different in some ways, but not all, from our earthly bodies. Our resurrection bodies will be transformed.

15:42 – 44 Our present bodies are perishable and prone to decay. Our resurrection bodies will be transformed. These spiritual bodies will not be limited by the laws of nature. This does not necessarily mean we will be super people, but our bodies will be different from and more capable than our present earthly bodies. Our spiritual bodies will not be weak, will never get sick, and will never die. 

15:45 The “last Adam” refers to Christ. Because Christ rose from the dead, he is a life-giving spirit. This means that he entered into a new form of existence (see the note on 2 Corinthians 3:17). He is the source of the spiritual life that will result in our resurrection. Christ’s new glorified human body now suits his new glorified life – just as Adam’s human body was suitable to his natural life. When we are resurrected, God will give us a transformed, eternal body suited to our new eternal life. 


3 John  1:2   Dear friend, I pray that  you may enjoy good health and that  all  may go well  with you, even as your soul  is  getting along well. 

Notes  : 1:2   John  was  concerned  for  Gaius’  physical  and  spiritual  well-being.    This  was  the  opposite  of  the popular  heresy  that taught the  separation  of  spirit and  matter  and  despised  the  physical side  of  life.  Today,  many  people  still  fall  into  this  way  of  thinking.    This  non-Christian  attitude  logically  leads  to  one of  two  responses:  neglect  of  the  body  and  physical  health,  or  indulgence  of  the  body’s  sinful  desires.    God is  concerned  for  both  your  body  and  your  soul.  As  a  responsible  Christian, you  should  neither  neglect nor indulge  yourself, but care  for  your  physical  needs  and  discipline  your  body  so  that  you  are  at  your  best  for God’s  service. 

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