Wouldn’t it be cool if we didn’t have to wait in traffic? What if you didn’t even need a car to get home today? What would it be like to have a transporter like they had in star trek? You remember: “Beam me up Scottie!” Wherever you wanted to go all you had to do was just say the words and in a matter of a few seconds you were there. That is the stuff of science fiction. Or is it? Could this actually be possible? The answer is yes.
Now, I assume most of you are thinking: Well, I guess that’s it, pastor Randall has finally lost it. We all knew this day was coming...but now here we are. Before you check out on me, let me go a little further.
In order to travel from place to place instantly without a vehicle of any kind, you have to replace this physical body that we have, because it can only move over distance through time. In other words it takes time for a physical body to travel from place to place. But consider this question.
Do you believe that one day we will be raised with Christ and have glorified bodies? What exactly does that mean? What does a glorified body look like? Mine will be tall and thin, if I get what I want. What would be possible with a glorified body?Have you ever wondered about these things? Apparently some of the people in the Corinthian church wondered about that. Paul spends the entire 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians explaining it to them.
Today we will explore what we can expect with our new glorified bodies. I will use a lot of scripture and connect a lot of dots, in order to present a picture of what we have to look forward to.
You know I like to talk about what we are called to do now on the earth, but for the next couple of weeks I’ll be talking about what we can expect in our future as the children of God.
As we talk about our future glorified bodies, we first have to look back at the first bodies mentioned in the Bible. It’s back in Genesis.
Genesis 3:6-7 “6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was withher, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”
Adam and Eve realize they are naked after they sinned. But what about before they sinned? Were they naked before they sinned? It may sound like an obvious question, but before you answer, you have to consider their position or standing before God. They were sinless, in right standing with God, which is what the Bible calls righteous. Adam and Eve were righteous.
Look at how righteousness is described in scripture.
Isaiah 61:10 “10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Job 29:14 “14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.”
Psalm 132:9 “9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness and let your saints shout for joy.”
Revelation 19:7-8 “7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
We are clothed in righteousness. Righteousness is described as something you wear. So, it is fair to say that since they were created without sin...before the fall, Adam and Eve were clothed in righteousness.
Adam and Eve’s act of disobedience had an immediate repercussion. They were now spiritually naked. God deals with both their spiritual nakedness and their physical nakedness by shedding the blood of an animal and covering their sin as well as their bodies.I believe that before Adam and Eve disobeyed God they had glorified bodies covered by righteousness. The same kind of body Jesus had after His resurrection. But also once before that. We see Jesus, Moses and Elijah speaking together with glorified bodies at the mount of transfiguration.
Mark 9:2-8 “2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make
three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one forElijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.”
Here we see the picture of glorified bodies, their illuminated appearance and how quickly they can move. I believe this is what Adam and Eve were like before the fall. They were not bound by the same physical restraints we have now.
Our new glorified body will be luminous. The Book of Daniel says the wise will shine.
Daniel 12:3 “3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ”
Jesus repeated this in Matthew.
Matthew 13:43 “43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
In 1 Corinthians 15, in the first 34 verses Paul deals with the fact that resurrection from the deal is a real thing, because there was a faction of the church that didn’t believe in resurrection. Paul makes it clear that because Jesus was raised, we will be raised. And we will be like Him, in a glorified spiritual state...with a glorified spiritual body. I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms. How can we have both a physical body and be in a glorified spiritual state?
Our resurrected glorified body will be like the resurrected body of
Christ. John said this.
1 John 3:2 “2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we
will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he
appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he
is.”
Philippians 3:20-21 “20 But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 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.”
Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 15 to explore the main passage that tells us what we can expect with our glorified bodies. Let me give you a heads up. There is good news and there is bad news. We’ll start with the bad news. You have to die before you get your new glorified body. You knew there was a catch, right?
1 Corinthians 15:35-36 “35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.”
There you go. Good times, right? The death of our earth suit is only the first step in our transition to a glorified body.
1 Corinthians 15: 37-38 “37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed it's own body.”
The comparison here is based on seed. Each kind of seed has its own kind of body. Is the seed of an orange housed in the same body as the seed of an apple? They are both fruit, but each is distinct and different in it’s own way. Even within the same kind of fruit, each apple is unique. It shares some common characteristics with other apples, but each individual is unique.
It’s the same with our earthly bodies that will be sown in death and raised to new life. Our new glorified bodies will share common some characteristics, but will be individually unique.
There will be a connection between who we are now and who we will become. However our physical identity will not be exactly the same. The key issue is not so much our physical identity but our individuality - memory and personality. These are the things that make up the unique identity of each of us.
1 Corinthians 15:39-41 “39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.”
In our glorified bodies we will be different from animals and planets. We will all have a unique purpose in the kingdom. The gifts we have been given will continue to be utilized by God for His glory. Let’s continue.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 “42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is 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.”
Here are the four characteristics of a glorified body that we will all share. Your glorified body is imperishable, meaning it will last forever. It is not subject to death and decay like our current
body. It will be glorious, meaning it will be honorable. It will be powerful and it will be spiritual.
As I said earlier, we will be like Christ. The resurrected body of Jesus is an example of what our bodies will become like.
John 20:26 “
The resurrection body of Christ had certain characteristics that
we should note. His body was real, visible, capable of being
handled, and recognizable. Yet it was able to pass through
solid objects and disappear. Does that sound fun?
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again,
and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with
you.”
The new bodies of believers will have new abilities. Jesus was
able to suddenly appear in a locked room. We will have similar
abilities in our new bodies.
1 Corinthians 15:45-50 “45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life- giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of
dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
Currently we are like the first Adam. Our current body is made from dust and to dust it will return. In our glorified state we will be like the last Adam...Jesus, who was raised the King of heaven. So we will be raised as fully functioning citizens of
heaven. We will be the full embodiment of God’s image bearers, the same way Adam and Eve were before the fall.
1 Corinthians 15:50-53 “50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
In our current condition we can’t inherit the kingdom, because we live in a body that is mortal and dying. His kingdom is eternal, unending. That’s why we must put on a new body. One that is immortal and will live forever. It will happen in an instant. When? At the last trumpet. When is that? I don’t know.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 “54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is the point at which death has no power over us. The fear of death that the enemy has tried to use against us will no longer be valid. Death has even swallowed up by the victory that Jesus won. And so Paul finishes the chapter with this encouragement.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Paul ends with another “therefore” statement. Meaning what
he is about to say is important because of what he just said.
Let me encourage you like Paul encouraged those in the
Corinthian church. Be steadfast! Be immoveable! Always
abound in your work for the King! Your work is not in vain!
OK, now we have a better understanding of what a glorified body
looks like and what it is capable of...but why will we need new
glorified bodies? Because according to Revelation 21, we will
live on a brand new re-created earth.
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