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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....(1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NASB)
Index To All Six Sections
ON THIS PAGE
Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
Introduction
The Resurrected Bodies of Believers - Four Differences
Conformity to Christ's Resurrected Body
God and The Laws of Nature
Will We Remember This Life?
The Bodies Of Unbelievers
Introduction
To a greater or lesser extent the years we have on this planet are often plagued by mishaps and tragedies. We have been rendered more susceptible to disease and an untimely death by improper nourishment, pollution, and chemicals in our food and water supplies, to say nothing of airborne pollutants. Even if we eat right and stay relatively healthy there are a myriad of factors well beyond our control.
At one end of the spectrum are plagues, pandemics and wars that have killed millions, at the other end the drunken driver that jumps the median on the freeway.
And should we be lucky enough to escape the more serious misfortunes and reverses that befall too many of our fellow humans, most of us (past the age of 50 anyway) are reminded of our advancing years on a daily basis... gray hair, baldness, wrinkles, "age" spots, joint pain and stiffness, forgetfulness etc. We wish we had fewer aches and pains, more energy, more flexibility, fewer wrinkles, and did not have to resort to glasses and hearing aids. The list is endless. There is no question that our lives on earth would be far more fulfilling if our bodies stayed youthful, healthy, and energetic.
Sadly, not only does old age often lead to a diminished sense of identity and personal worth but, as we both physically and mentally decline, a sense of inevitability and helplessness grips the vast majority of us when we confront death, be it our own or that of a loved one.
In light of which who can argue that the promise of a new body that will stay healthy and last forever would be something to turn cartwheels about.
So what does the Bible tell us?
The Resurrected Bodies of Believers - Four Differences
It is true that the Bible does not go into all that much detail about the resurrection body which makes it impossible to describe with absolute certainty. However, we can make some reasonable assumptions based on what the Scriptures do say.
In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Paul mentions four striking differences between our present and future bodies: perishable v. imperishable, dishonored v. glorious, weak v. powerful, and natural v. spiritual.
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 (Gr. psuchikos) body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (NASB)
Weak v. Powerful
The weakness of our present bodies should be painfully apparent to all as said in the introduction at the top of the page. However, being raised in power does not mean we will be powerful like God or the angels.
The major difference will be that we will have no physical problems, will no longer be susceptible to disease, suffer sickness or fatigue, and very likely not need rest (or not as much) as we do now.
Perishable vs. Imperishable
Quite simply imperishable bodies do not die or decay - (See Footnote I)
Sown in Dishonor - Raised in Glory
A dead body rapidly decays and putrefies soon becoming revolting. This the Bible terms as being sown (buried) in dishonor. However, it will be raised in glory to the fearfully wonderful creation it was meant to be. One of the meanings of the Greek word rendered ‘glory’ is dignity - Certainly the opposite of the undignified end we are presently subject to.
Natural v. Spiritual
When the apostle wrote "it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" he could not have meant that we would be raised as a spirit because spirits do not have 'bodies' at all.
Although Psuchikos, the Greek word translated "natural" was used very sparingly in the New Testament, two of those occurrences enable us to grasp how the authors used the word. (Note the KJV translates psuchikos into 'sensual 'in Jude)
But a natural (Gr. psuchikos) man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB)
These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded (Gr. psuchikos), devoid of the Spirit. (Jude 1:19 NASB)
The word “natural” here stands opposed to “spiritual.” It denotes those who are governed and influenced by the natural instincts. Natural or worldly minded people live as if there were nothing beyond this physical life. Spiritual things are of little concern - even foolishness - to him
To one or another extent the natural body we are buried with is influenced by the things of this world. In contrast a spiritual body is not.
Isaiah
The mind of the hasty will discern the truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly... Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. (Isaiah 32:4, 35:5-6 NASB) (Note arâbăh has been translated both "desert" and "plains" in the Old Testament)
The above verses from two of Isaiah's prophecies that tell us that in the world to come we will have eyes, ears, the power of speech, mental faculties, legs etc. are not always believed to be literal. However, when taken in conjunction with other verses like Philippians 3:21 (below) Isaiah’s prophecies cannot be anything but literal.
Philippians 3:21
tells that the Lord Jesus Christ
... will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (NASB)
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (KJV)
The words 'transform' in one version and 'change' refute the idea that we will rise with a different body than the one that was once buried.
The verse also says our bodies will be conformed to Christ's post-resurrection body which of course, leads to the question of what we know about Christ's body after he was resurrected.
Conformity to Christ's Resurrected Body
Many believe that Jesus was resurrected as a spirit body rather than a physical one based on John saying He miraculously appeared in a locked room where the disciples were hiding "for fear of the Jews". (John 20:19). It is often assumed that as a spirit Jesus simply walked right through the door or a wall. This has apparently struck quite a chord with some believers who think that sometime in the future they will be able to do the same.
There is no question that when Jesus appeared in the locked room, it frightened His disciples (Luke 24:36-37) who thought they were seeing a spirit, but the Savior Himself quickly reassured them
And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.*" And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. (Luke 24:38-43 NASB)
Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." (John 20:27 NASB)
Only a physical body can eat, and be touched, which provides a very convincing argument in favor of us living in physical bodies in a physical universe, after the resurrection. And why not? There is no evidence that God ever intended for us to do otherwise. See Chapter II
* Incidentally, Jesus mentioning "flesh and bones" does not mean he did not have blood, as I have heard. Flesh and bones are the two most tangible, solid parts of the body, and the most 'unspirit like' as it gets. He was making a point.
Besides which, Acts 13:33-37 tells us that Jesus was not allowed to undergo decay which means that His body had to be resurrected from the grave. This was confirmed by Luke who wrote that the tomb was empty (24:1-6). Moreover, we can be certain Jesus' resurrected body was the same one He had before He died because it bore the wounds from the terrible ordeal He had been through - wounds that could actually be touched.
See Several Articles on The Resurrection
one of which deals with the Alleged Discrepancies in The Gospel Accounts of the Resurrection
God and The Laws of Nature
Because God invented the "laws of nature" He is not bound by them but is quite capable of giving the human body abilities that it does not usually possess. For example,
Not only did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stay alive in a burning furnace, but not one hair on their heads was singed, their clothes were undamaged and did not smell of smoke. (Daniel 3:19-27).
Even before the resurrection Jesus walked on water. So did Peter on one occasion (Matthew 14:29)
On one occasion, Philip was moved from one place to another without the benefit of conventional transport.... Philip was no spirit, and neither did he walk to Azotus. He simply found himself there.
But just because Jesus was able to do some things after His resurrection, does not necessarily mean these will be the norm for our resurrected bodies. The fact of the matter is that we simply do not know what we will be capable of doing. What we do know is that our bodies will be imperishable and, in some way, glorious.
In Summary,
we shall live in a literal body just as real as the one we have now, for, says Paul: "We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body . . .” (Philippians 3:20, 21).
The Word “Glorious”.
However Paul said one other thing in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 that bears touching on. While we all know what perishable v. imperishable means, using the Greek word doxa (glory) he said the body of believers is is sown in dishonor, it is raised in "glory"
Unfortunately, it is not that easy to understand what exactly he meant because doxa is used in the NT in quite a few ways - applied to God, Jesus, people etc. The English word glorious can mean splendid, beautiful, bright, brilliant, shining, gorgeous, dazzling, radiant etc. In line with this, Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says (Note: This is a very interesting and enlightening study - well worth reading)
... the most common use of the word is to describe the brilliance which is the characteristic of all persons who share in the heavenly glory. Moses, Elijah and Jesus Himself have this glory on the Mountain of Transfiguration (Luke 9:31)... Paul refers to this glory, when he speaks of the face of Moses as it appeared after God had spoken with him (2 Corinthians 3:7). [01]
Will We Remember This Life?
Isaiah 65:17 ("For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind) has caused many Christians to believe that they will not remember anything about this life. However, this cannot possibly be true since there are many indications that believers will recall details of their lives on earth before they were resurrected.
For example, from the two references to the bema as the judgment seat of Christ it seems to be clear that this judgment is reserved for believers and completely separate from the general White Throne judgment spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15. The purpose of Christ's bema judgment is to reward believers based on how faithfully have used their lives for the Lord, or how well they have built on the foundations given them. The rewards will seem to be quite arbitrary if they have no awareness of what they have or have not done in this life. (See Chapter VII - the Bema Seat and Rewards in Heaven).
In his first epistle, John exhorts believers to "abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming" (1 John 2:28 NASB). No one can shrink away in shame unless they remember what it is they feel shame about.
Additionally, Revelation 21:12-14 says that the 12 gates in the walls of Jerusalem will be inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Similarly, the twelve foundation stones of the city were inscribed with the names of Jesus' twelve apostles. This would be completely meaningless if no one remembers the tribes or the disciples.
So what did Isaiah mean when he said "the former things will not be remembered or come to mind"?
It is very likely (in fact more than likely) that although people will not forget everything that went before, the former things will not, as the second half of the verse states, "come to mind". In the joy and abundance of the new kingdom and in the absence of death, disease and many other hardships people will be able to get over or separate themselves from the painful memories of the past.
He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8 NASB)
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4 NASB)
The Bodies Of Unbelievers
However Christians are not the only ones who will have their bodies raised. The Bible speaks of more than one resurrection..
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2 NASB)
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28-29 NASB)
having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. (Acts 24:15 NASB)
The difference is that Christians will have their bodies raised to everlasting glory; those who have not accepted God's offer of salvation, i.e. orgiveness for sin and eternal life (See Salvation) will have their bodies raised to judgment and destruction.
And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).
Note carefully that the verse says body and soul will be destroyed not live forever in a fiery furnace. See What and Where is Hell?
Footnote I - Perishable and Imperishable
In 1 Corinthians 15:50 the NASB uses the words perishable and imperishable - the KJV leans towards corruption and incorruption. It is true that one meaning of corruption is a state of decay, in modern usage corruption is most likely to be understood as dishonesty or a lack of integrity. This perishable is preferable. [PLACE IN TEXT]
End Notes
[01] https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/glory/
Continue On To Part V... A New Heaven and A New Earth. There are a number of reasons including some often overlooked prophecies that lead one to believe that the earth will not be totally obliterated HERE
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