A SPIRITUAL BODY

The Resurrection Body of the Saints

The resurrection from the dead and the accompanying change to immortality is the hope of the saints. This is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) of which Paul speaks in his letter to the Philippians.

Phil. 3:20-21: For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

The lowly human body will be transformed to become a glorious body. How will this be accomplished? We ask, as did the saints at Corinth,

1 Cor. 15:35: "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?"

Paul ably answers this question in detail in 1 Cor. 15:35-53.

Just as a seed is sown in the earth, and from that seed a new plant is produced, so the body is changed at the resurrection. The body is sown in corruption, and raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, and raised in glory; sown in weakness, and raised in power; sown a natural body, and raised a spiritual body. It is sown a mortal body, and raised to immortality.

As the saints have borne the image of the earthy man, Adam, so also shall they bear the image of the heavenly Man, Jesus (v. 47-49).

So, the natural body is presented in contrast to the spiritual body. J. Sidlow Baxter, in his Explore the Book, comments about the resurrection body of the saints:

Let verses 35-42 show us that there is no physiological difficulty about the resurrection. "Thou sowest not that body which shall be, but the bare kernel." What comes up is not the actual seed, yet it is something inseparably related to the seed which was buried.

Thus, we can anticipate with confidence that great day when Jesus, the life-giving spirit (v. 45), will clothe all the saints in a glorious spiritual body.

1 Cor. 15:51-53: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

[All scriptural references are taken from the NKJV.]