July 16

WHAT WILL THE RESURRECTION BE LIKE? / PART 1

-What type of body will we have in the resurrection? Will our resurrected body be physical or spiritual? What will be the nature of our resurrected body? Does the Bible answer these questions? Is there a pattern or type for us to look at to determine what our resurrected bodies will be like?

According to Dr. Stephen Jones:

-"The first and most important pattern is that Jesus was raised bodily from the tomb. The disciples came to the tomb to look for Him, but He had risen. His resurrection was NOT the same thing as His ascension, or going to heaven. It was a physical, literal event, “as He said” (Matt. 28:6). In other words, when Jesus talked of the resurrection prior to that time, He meant to convey the literal meaning of the term, not a “spiritual” event in the sense that some take it. The only real question is “with what body do they come?” (1 Cor. 15:35?) Is the resurrected body physical or spiritual? The answer is: BOTH. He had a heavenly Father and an earthly mother, and the resurrected body was the culmination of that relationship. He could enter the spiritual dimension (“heaven”) or the physical, earthly dimension at will. His Father had given Him all authority in BOTH realms, even as He said in Matt. 28:18 (NASB), ¹⁸ . . . All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. As a result, He could take a physical form where the disciples could touch Him and see the wounds of His crucifixion (John 20:27). He could also eat food with the disciples (John 21:13; Luke 24:43). Then He could vanish (Luke 24:31) just as suddenly by taking spirit form. The question of whether Jesus was merely a spirit or if He had physical characteristics is faced and answered squarely in Luke 24:36-43." ( The Purpose Of Resurrection, Dr. Stephen Jones )

-Luke 24:36-43 states, … And as they spoke, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are you troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have. And when He had spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have you here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them …

-Notice that Jesus said nothing about having blood. He only mentions flesh and bone. We must see the reality that Jesus was raised with a physical body. This physical body, though, was not limited to the physical world. He had access to the physical and spiritual realms. As well, we must see His resurrection as the PATTERN for our resurrection, for Jesus is the PATTERN SON OF GOD. His body has become the pattern for our own resurrected body!

-WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM!-