The Resurrection of the Body: As Revealed in the Bible and the Risen Christ

The Resurrection Body

The teaching about the resurrection is the core of the plan of God. You can talk about forgiveness, building Godly character, commandments, prophecy, the nature of God, or any other biblical subject... but none of them matter one whit... unless there is the hope of resurrection.

Sadly, but predictably... the truth of the resurrection is clouded with misunderstanding, error, false teaching, disbelief, and every other kind of stumbling block imaginable. Our purpose today is to review the scripture record concerning the nature of the resurrection body and see how that understanding affects our expectation and preparation for resurrection.

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Wrong Thinking About The Resurrection: Human Reason

Those who came to the church of God out of the Greek culture of the first century had a hard time accepting the idea of a bodily resurrection. The Greek idea was that the reward or goal of a life well lived was to:

l  find some measure of personal happiness in this life... and

l beyond this life ascend into the realm of pure thought... to become one with the universe... beyond all pain, fear, worry... untouchable, unmovable, etc.

These same ideas are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, and the weird New Age theories floating around out there. The reasoning is that the pain, frustration, sorrow and suffering of flesh and blood existence are associated with the body. So, escaping pain, sorrow and suffering means escaping the prison of a body. This also involves giving up important elements like: the ability to have your own thoughts, experience joy, emotion, and so forth.

Acts 17:30-32 the idea of a resurrection to some sort of body was foolishness to the philosophers... a simplistic and childish notion unworthy of rational thinking people.  

2 Timothy 2:16-18 Ephesus was riddled with false teaching and Paul instructs Timothy to get in there and confront it. One of the false teachings that is specifically called out is wrong thinking about the resurrection!

Paul does not give a lot air time to the fine points of heresy, his method is to confront it with a direct and forceful statement of the truth. So, we don't have any details on what they were getting at saying "the resurrection has passed". Perhaps they were saying coming up from the waters of baptism was the resurrection… and then focusing on the spiritual awakening, enlightenment that comes with it. We don't really know but that would fit the Greek mindset.

1 Corinthian 15:12-18 the heresy in Ephesus was not an isolated incident. Here it is again in Corinth. The Greek speaking members of the church were confused about the resurrection. Paul uses this occasion to more fully address the teaching about the resurrection... what it will be... how it will compare with our present physical existence... and addressing questions like: "if there is a resurrection body, what sort of body would that be?" Which is just the sort of question a sincere but very confused culturally Greek church member would ask.

Note: 1 Cor 15 is one of the most important chapters in the NT and we'll be coming back to it again later. In you pastor's opinion its a chapter you should know backwards and forwards.

Jewish Thinking About The Resurrection

Jews also had some confusion about resurrection.

Acts 23:8 the Sadducees were the elite priesthood of the Jews. They only really recognized the Fist 5 books of the bible as legitimate scripture. My take on them is that they saw the bible as an important cultural and historical document of their people. These documents contained the traditions of temple and worship that made Jews distinct as a people. The other books were historic. Overall, they denied the existence of the spirit realm.

They were the sort of people who view "God" more as an idea... something we create in our own minds to personify our ideals of justice, order, decency and so forth, or in their case personifying our sense of national identity. [secular Jews]

The Pharisees

The Pharisees were a sort of grass roots movement among the Jews, who’s goal was teaching Godly living and doctrine to the masses. They were not technically priests because they were not of the bloodline of Levi. They accepted the fact of resurrection but their teaching on the matter was rather fuzzy (in their defense: the concept of resurrection is in the OT but with few details offered).

The new testament adds detail about the nature of the resurrection  [which is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ]. Caveat: we still see and anticipate these things only in part [as through a darkened glass]... But, the added information we have puts our hope and expectation of eternal life on a much firmer footing.

Christ's Resurrection Body

The first source of additional information about what is to come is found in the reports we have of Christ's own resurrection. This is not accidental...

Philippians 3:20-21 Christ's personal appearances after His resurrection were intended as a demonstration not only of the possibility of resurrection... but of the nature of that resurrection. Investigating Christ's resurrection body helps us understand the nature of our own resurrection. His resurrection establishes a template which will be applied to us... "we are to be like Him"… our future bodies will be like His.

1. Eternal: it is indestructible, lasting for ever... thus it will be composed of different material that our present physical bodies. According to the laws of physics even the atoms that make up our bodies will decay... so an indestructible body must be made of something else!

2. Independent: the resurrection body has life within its self... is not dependant on external energy sources of energy to keep going. So, no food, drink, oxygen and all the other life sustaining stuff God now provides for us.

3. Glorified: it will be a body like Jesus now has [and which Father has]... thus, it will have different features and capabilities... It will not have some of the built-in limitations a body composed of atoms and molecules has. Thus, a glorified spiritual body opens up new possibilities we cannot at this time even imagine.

1 Corinthians 15:42-50 in order to fully function in the universe ruling family of God you need to be upgraded. But, before God grants you all that, He wants to fully develop and test out your character. So, first you have about  50 to 70 years of instruction, commandments, trials, suffering, tests and other experiences to prepare you for what lays ahead.

What the Witnesses Saw

The first person to see and experience the resurrection body of Christ was Mary Magdalene John 20:14-16.

Christ was able to just be there when he decided He wanted to be there. Mary was alone and then she turns around and Jesus is there. It appears the resurrection body is able to move around in space and time at will.

Christ was also able to let himself be seen but not recognized unless He wanted to. Mary knew Jesus well but didn't know it was Him until He spoke to her. So, the resurrected body is able to make itself appear in multiple forms.

This first appearing of Christ in His resurrected form was followed by many other appearances to a wide variety of people even large groups of hundreds of people [see 1 Corinthians 15:5-6]. From these appearances we gain some additional insight into the resurrection body.

Luke 24:13-16, 30-43 He could be seen... he could be touched... he could appreciate matters of sensory perception such as taste. So, the resurrection body can interact with the physical realm even though what it is composed of is not physical... it is composed of material beyond molecules, atoms, protons, or quarks.

Acts 10:41 note that this “factoid” is embedded in the gospel message. It’s important!

Matthew 26:29 Jesus says He will once again eat the Passover together with us in the kingdom of God. Resurrection life is not existence on some level of pure thought or oneness with the universe. It is a life of separate distinct beings interacting with one another, and interacting with objects [cups, wine etc inanimate things].

John 20:19 John's record [written decades after the account we read earlier in Luke] adds this quirky little detail... the doors were closed and locked... and Christ just walked into the room. What John is doing here is pointing out that this person [the resurrected Christ] had body and bones but was not bound by the limits of physics.

The resurrection of Christ was something very different from the resurrection of Lazarus, or of the little sick boy.  Those were merely flesh and blood brought back to life. Lazarus for example was still subject to death. Christ's resurrection body was a transformation into a form of life and being that is beyond anything we currently know.

John 17:5 this resurrection body was a return to the form of life that He had enjoyed with the Father before He humbled Himself and went through the process of becoming flesh and living among human beings. After His resurrection from the dead He was once again inhabiting eternity with the Father in a glorious body filled with indestructible life.

NOW... complete the circle we began back in Philippians 3:21. When you are resurrected at Christ's return you will be resurrected to an existence that is: like Christ... and therefore like the Father... Some people object to this teaching of the Church of God because they think we are elevating ourselves to the level of God... which they consider blasphemous.

Here is a point of clarification that may help: when resurrected you or I will not have the same status or authority as either Jesus or the Father BUT you will share this common state of being with them. The Father is still the Father, Jesus is the son, Jesus is also the husband, those of the first resurrection are the bride/wife. An authority structure we can see and experience through the physical human families we now have.

Like the Greek philosophers in Athens, some might think these accounts of Jesus resurrection sounds like a silly stories… why would an intelligent person believe such tales of supernatural things? But, since you are an intelligent person let me ask you this:  if there is no supernatural what is the point of anything. If there is nothing beyond the atoms, neutrons and quarks of the universe then what is the point of trying to be a good person, what's the point of seeking justice, or fairness, or an end to global warming?

1 Corinthians 15:32-34 Paul makes this same argument to the folks in Corinth who were discounting the reality of bodily resurrection.

Human Ideas & Traditions Cannot Compare

The only credible information we have about life beyond death comes from the Creator of life, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. The same God who has given you this handy reference we call the bible... and who has given you the living historic demonstration and record of Christ's bodily resurrection.

Sadly, deceptive teachings about what the bible really says about life after death are more often believed than the biblical truth you have heard today. The idea that “great grandma is alive up in heaven right now” is no better than those in Corinth or Ephesus who said "the resurrection is passed". Because if she's up there hanging with Jesus then she must have already been raised back to life and given a body. Its a stupid teaching that makes the bible look circular, illogical, and ridiculous.

Ideas that come from human reason are even dumber. The notions I mentioned earlier about being elevated to a level of pure thought or oneness with all being are just fancy ways of saying you cease to exist as a separate and distinct being.

The biblical picture offers a better hope and expectation. You will remain a unique and distinct "person". You will have your own will, your own thoughts. You will have relationships and interactions with other like beings.

When Jesus appeared after His resurrection He made doubly sure they all knew and understood that it was Him... the same person they had been with for 3.5 years. When resurrected you will be the same person you are today… so pay more attention to that person you are today!

Paul uses the analogy of a seed planted in the ground that grows into a glorious plant. Everything about a beautiful apple tree is contained with the seed. But the seed is not the tree and the tree is so much more than the seed [go read it in 1 Corinthians 15].

Conclusion

We in no way understand the fullness of what it means to be resurrected to same form and manner of life as God. But we do know these events occurred, and we have enough information to whet our appetites and motivate us to seek out and pursue that resurrection.