TableTalk – With What Body?

With What Body Shall We Be Raised?

Text. Daniel 12:1-3, 1st Corinthians 15:35-45

This week’s ‘TableTalk’ is very different.  In this study I am going to look at a subject which can be upsetting, if not downright alarming. It is not suitable for children, or those who are nervous, for it will evoke images of the lost dead.  We shall ask firstly, is there a difference between the resurrection body of the lost, and the resurrection body of the saved, and secondly, will there be a difference between my present body and my future, resurrection body?  When we search the scriptures, we are confronted with two marked contrasts. 

What a difference between:

1 The Resurrection Body of the Saved and that of the Lost.  Daniel 12:1-3,  

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Since all the dead will be raised, simultaneously, on the last day, it might be good to ask the same rhetorical question that Paul poses, on behalf of the foolish outsider in 1st Corinthians 15, But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Well we saw the answer to the first part of that question last time, when we looked at Paul’s illustration of the seed falling into the ground, so that a new plant could sprout forth.  But the second question is the one that has been troubling me.  What will our resurrection body be like, and in attempting to answer that question, I’m confronted with the shocking truth that not all resurrection bodies will be the same.  The bodies of the saved who are raised will be vastly different from those of the lost.  Let’s consider those differences:-

• The resurrection bodies of the SAVED.  We’ll look at this more closely in a moment or two, but we already know that the resurrection bodies of the saved will be glorious!   When we bury our loved ones who know the Lord Jesus we commit them to the grave, “In the sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection…”  We will be raised to holiness and to glory.  
• The resurrection bodies of the LOST. For the ungodly, the Day f the Lord will be far from glorious, and the bodies with which they are raised will be far from glorious.  It will be fearful and terrifying.  Let’s read some of the scripture passages that teach us this:-
  • Daniel 12:1-3 READ
  • Isaiah 66:24 READ This image was restated by Jesus, several times in Mark 9.
  • Matthew 8:12 READ The context of this is that many of those who considered themselves ‘sons of Abraham’s kingdom’ will be weeping and wailing.
  • Revelation 20:10 READ

When we put all these together, it is a fearful picture indeed.  An image of mental and physical and spiritual agony, lost souls without hope, in bodies that will be raised in sin and corruption, to ever rot in the fires of hell, where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. The ugly, deliberately gut-churning, revolting bodies depicted in movies like ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ will seem pleasant compared with the bodies of the lost on resurrection morning.

I think, that if unbelievers were to seriously consider the implications of the General Resurrection for those who have unforgiven sin, who are lost, unsaved, Christ rejecters, it would give them sleepless nights for many weeks to come – and so it should.  It is a fearful prospect, and the only way to have that burden lifted, and to know contentment and eace of heart, is to acknowledge our sins,  repent of them and trust Christ, believing that his atoning work on the cross paid the debt for all our sins, so that when that final day comes, we will have a glorious resurrection, with a new glorious body, and not be counted among the lost and eternally damned.

2 Our Mortal Bodies and our Resurrection Bodies.

Now we come to a second difference, this time the difference between our present bodies, and the body in which we shall be raised, as believers in Christ, on the last day…. We need to look at 1st Corinthians 15, where Paul gives us a hint of the differences, when he sets out a series of comparisons, 1 Corinthians 15:42-45 

• Corruption Vs Incorruption! v43 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. In this world, everything is subject to corruption and decay! In our new resurrection bodies, there will be no change, and no decay! No more birthdays!
• Dishonour Vs Honour! It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. Our bodies often let us down! It is often the case that when dishonour comes upon a person, it is due to the fact that they have yielded to some bodily temptation. Sexual sin is just one example! The ‘must have’ greed of this world is another. These things lead to sin and dishonour! In our new resurrection bodies, all that temptation to sin and dishonour will be gone, for our new bodies will be spiritual! We are doomed to dust. But in the resurrected body the human body will be transformed into a glorious body! Paul tells us in Philippians 3:21 that this is the work of Christ.
• Weakness Vs Power! it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. Think of the inherent weaknesses of these human bodies. How many times do we have to attend for clinical tests. How many times do we fall prey to viruses and bacteria, how often do bodily parts fail us? The commonest little bug, borne on a draught of air, can kill us! And we are weak! The strongest among us has limitations on his strength! Again in death, that weakness reaches its inevitable conclusion. 2 Cor. 5:1-2  At the resurrection, we shall be raised in POWER!
• Natural Vs Spiritual! v44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. Here is the reason why all the above applies! Here and now we have a physical body! Then we will have a spiritual body! The interesting word here is the word BODY. The same Greek word is used to describe both our physical body, and our spiritual body! The word is σωμα There are certain differences in these two bodies, but THE SPIRITUAL BODY IS STILL A BODY! It will be a body, made for a different environment, perfected and glorified, and fit to be in the presence of Christ! 1 John 3:2  

So, our bodies will be fully equipped for eternal life, to dwell forever with the Lord.  What a glorious resurrection!  

© BobMcEvoy January 2021