Jesus’ Resurrection and Our Coming Resurrected Bodies

Standard

Happy Passover/Pesach/Pascha/Easter Season! May you all have blessed holiday celebrations within your traditions!

In my theology class right now, we are talking about the resurrection of believers upon Jesus’ return. He is the “fruit fruits” of the harvest, and we likewise will be resurrected through Him–first those who are “sleeping” (a reminder that we do not experience death even in death itself), then those who are alive when He returns (1 Thess. 4:16-17, 1 Cor. 15:20, 23, Isaiah 26:16-21).

Why are believers going to be given new bodies?

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23).

It is not just our spirit and soul that is made perfect and reconciled to God, but also our body. There is a partial sanctification of our bodies even now, as the Lord graces us as our healer. But the physical body, like the physical world, cycles into decay and destruction–things get old, and they begin not to work as well. In the Kingdom, the cycle is opposite: everything moves from glory to glory. The resurrection of our physical bodies is a fullness/consummation of that new cycle into our glorification with Christ.

Those who are made imperishable can no longer exist alongside the perishable (within a perishable body); thus, we need new bodies. It is like the parable of the wine and the wineskins or of mixing the old and new garment. The spiritual and the physical will be mended together upon Jesus’ coming; but in order for that to happen, everything that does not reflect the Kingdom must be done away with (like our old bodies), and made new.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42-44).

How will they differ from our current bodies?

I have already mentioned that while our current bodies are prone to aging, illness, and decay, our new bodies will instead follow the Kingdom principle of glory to glory: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). This begins in part now, but in fullness only upon the day of the Lord. Notice Philippians 3:21 says Jesus will “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.” He is not going to “replace” our body so much as completely transform it. We will still be ourselves, but in the vision God had of us at the Creation of the world. We will be imperishable, glorified, powerful, healthy, and perfect in Him!

We can also glean insights about our resurrected bodies from observing Jesus’ resurrected form. Jesus’ resurrected body was a combination of the physical and the spiritual in perfect unity. He was not a spirit, but came in corporeal form. People could see Him, and touch Him (Mat. 28:9, Luke 24:39, John 20:27-28). He was able to eat food (John 21:12-15). But He was also able to transport from one place to another and/or walk through walls–in other words, He had no physical hindrances (Luke 24:31, John 20:19). We can likewise expect to experience the completeness of the physical and spiritual realms at-one-with-each-other (atoned) in our resurrected state.

I most look forward to the deepness of intimacy with God and each other that is so beyond what we know and crave in this world that the marriage relationship will not be necessary (Mat. 22:23-30). I also imagine exciting new possibilities like flying/levitation, and other adventures beyond our wildest thoughts and dreams.

It will be glorious. Praise the Lord for dying for us, so that we can follow Him into death and resurrected life!

facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterest

My Seminary Adventures and The Incarnation

Standard

I am currently taking three seminary courses: Biblical Archaeology, Christian Theology II (Christology (the study of Christ), Soteriology (Salvation), and Pnuematology (Holy Spirit)), and Pastoral Counseling. It has been a lot of work, and while quite rewarding, I have also been pretty tired. We cover so much territory so quickly that I have wondered what to share that wouldn’t involve creating a context first, and I’ve decided to share about the incarnation.

The incarnation refers to Jesus becoming human. John 1 says that the Word who existed from the beginning, who both was God, and was with God, became flesh. So Jesus who is fully God, the living Word, became en-fleshed (incarnated) into a human body, thus becoming fully human. It is a great paradox that Jesus is wholly God and wholly man, but this is what happened. Jesus is the Son of God, and Jesus is the Son of Man. Only as wholly God and wholly man could He bring reconciliation and mediation between these worlds that should never have had such a chasm between them. There is so much to say regarding these two natures of Jesus that exist in His one person, but I will highlight just a few:

Most striking to me is that as the Son of Man Jesus represents THE man–He represents what all humanity should look like when filled with the life of God (the Spirit of God). We think of ourselves as humanity, and come up with sometimes negative conclusions about our human state. But as Jesus demonstrates, it is not being human that is the problem, but the illness (sinfulness) that has crept into every aspect of humanity and transformed our “normal”. Jesus comes with freedom, and lives as God intended for all humanity. Comparatively, we cannot possibly match Him, yet God created us (and is recreating us) to live like Christ. This is truly incredible.

Also, as the Son of Man, Jesus is able to fully relate to us, and this is another aspect that is so amazing yet so hard to fully grasp. He knows us as God, but He also KNOWS us as a fellow man. I have frequently heard it mentioned that Jesus understands our sin and pain, having born these on the cross, but there is so much more than that. He also simply understands what it feels like to be human and to have limits–the joys of humanity, the temptations, the sorrows–He knows and has experienced all of it. It is incomprehensible.

Jesus is no less amazing as the Son of God. Jesus is uniquely the Son of God–we are adopted sons and daughters of Christ (able to receive the inheritance and lifestyle that comes along with that sonship), but He alone is THE Son of God. He alone was born of God. We (Christians) were re-born of God (and those who have not experienced this are invited to receive His salvation as He died for the sins of the whole world)–but we are only adopted siblings of Jesus, since we are birthed by humanity. This differentiation brings a new level of exaltation to Christ, and it also has ramifications for us in understanding God’s love. How awesome is it that we would be considered a fellow inheritor of the Kingdom, as if we were born of God ourselves!?!

The last I will mention is how awesome it is that Jesus, the Son of God, has become our salvation. His name is Yeshua (salvation); and indeed, He is the living embodiment of salvation in every way. If He were only the Son of Man, as Jews expect of HaMashiach (the Messiah), then He could have conquered and brought healing to the physical realm only. Instead He is the thread that can mend the gap between the heavens and the earth. He brings full restoration both spiritually and physically–it is a “now” and “not yet” promise, and I am so excited for the completion of this reconciliation.

facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterest