What will our bodies be like after we have been resurrected? Paul directs us to Jesus’ resurrection as the ‘firstfruits’ of the resurrection and therefore we can refer to what we know of Jesus’ body after his resurrection for some clues. Jesus certainly had a physical body. He was not a disembodied spirit. He said to his disciples when he first appeared to them after he rose: “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). And yet as Paul says about the resurrection body: “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” The word “spiritual” here should not be understood here as non-material. It means that our bodies will be imbued with the Spirit to be incorruptible and will therefore have supernatural qualities. Again, we see this exemplified in Jesus as we read that he was able to transport himself through walls (John 20:26) and even be taken into heaven somehow. As Paul says here, our bodies will be raised up to be imperishable, powerful, glorious and spiritual. What exactly this all means is something we are yet to experience. But it is something to anticipate with joy. Time flies past us. This life will be over before you know it. That’s why it is so important for us to reflect on what comes next. Life doesn’t end with death; that’s when life begins.
As I have suggested, reflect on these things.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-58
