By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #207 ~
The hope of all believers is that they will receive a brand-new body, one that will be truly remarkable, powerful, glorious, and immortal. This is incredibly great news, and what will definitely take place in the future, when Jesus Christ returns at the end of this age.
Our human body, created in God’s image, was fearfully and wonderfully made. Though it’s the most amazing and complex of all God’s creations, it’s still very weak and frail, and that’s because of our sin. Yes, we are able to fulfill the plans God has for us in this present age. But we are also in this downward-spiraling, aging process, one that can be especially difficult. Now that I am 67, I am daily feeling the debilitating effects of being older – I get more tired, feel weaker, and have more aches and pains. What Paul said is so true, “We ourselves groan within ourselves” (Rom. 8:23). “We groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven” (2 Cor. 5:2-4). This groaning is physical, but also spiritual, for we continually struggle against our sinful flesh and unseen enemies. More than ever before, I am looking forward to that time when “there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.” Rev. 21:4, Phil. 1:23
This “looking forward” is what we call hope. As Rom. 8:23 goes on to say, we are to be “waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved.” I am sure you know that your salvation is not yet complete, that as a Christian living on earth, you were justified, you are being sanctified, and you will be glorified – you will be given a new body that’s absolutely amazing. It’s vitally important that you see the entirety of your salvation, for as Rom. 8:30 sums up, “These whom He justified, He also glorified.”
What does God want you to know about your glorified body?
* 1 John 3:2 tells us, “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him.” Wow! Can you imagine this, that you will be like Jesus? Of course, you will be recognizably different in appearance than Him and other believers. But you will have the same kind of body as Jesus, a human body with perfect arms, hands, legs, feet, eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hair. Everything about you will be glorious, and yes, stunning. And having a body like Jesus’ body is essential for eternal life, for eternal relationships, and so you can fulfill God’s eternal plans.
* Rom. 8:29 tells us the same thing, that we will be “conformed to the image of His Son.” Again, we are told that we will be like Jesus, we will have a form, a body like His. As 1 Cor. 15:39 explains, “all flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another of birds, and another of fish.” We are not beasts, birds, or fish, we are humans, and we will have the same kind of flesh as that of Jesus, our Lord, Savior and King.
* Phil. 3:20-21 further confirms this – “We eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.” No matter what you look like or how good of shape you are in, your body is still in a humble and lowly state. But the time will come when you will be transformed, fashioned, changed, and be like Jesus, possessing the same form, and having a magnificent and awesome body.
Luke 20:35-36 tells us more, that believers will attain to the resurrection of the dead, but “will neither marry nor are given in marriage” – none of us will be husbands, wives, or have children. It goes on to say, “they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” We are now sons of God and soon enough we will look like sons of God, which means we will also look like the angels. God’s plans for you are perfect which means you will have a perfect body so you can live in your wonderfully perfect home, so you can have all these perfectly enjoyable and encouraging relationships, and so you can carry out your perfect and God-glorifying purpose.
1 Cor. 15, the Bible chapter that best describes the believer’s new resurrection body, is most enlightening, especially vss. 40-42. We learn that our present bodies are perishable, are being corrupted, are growing worse with age, are mortal, and eventually will die. But your new body will be imperishable, eternally durable, and last forever. As vs. 54 says, “this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and then this mortal will have put on immortality.” God also wants you to know that your present body is dishonorable. Yes, you are made in His image, but being contaminated by sin often results in being shameful, disgraceful, and even ugly, both inside and out. But thankfully, you will be given a Christ-like body, one that is honorable, perfect, awesome, magnificent, altogether beautiful, one fit for the King.
Then we discover that your body will never again be weak. No longer will you be tired, feeble, sick, diseased, but rather you will be strong and powerful. We all know about the superheroes in comic books and movies, a primary feature being their strength. In the future, you will have a super-strong body, one that is always vigorous, energetic, and tireless. Finally, you won’t possess a natural body, a body suited just for this earth, but rather one that’s spiritual, suited for heaven and the restored earth (Acts 3:21), and for the new heaven and new earth too (Rev. 21:1). Yes, it will be a physical body, but it will also be spiritual, a supernatural and heavenly body. That you will have a body like Jesus’ is a God-promised and glorious truth, and why? So you can be with Jesus wherever He is – “we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:17
I get excited thinking about this aspect of our hope, that we will have brand-new bodies, ones that are imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual. Designed and made by God, this body will be perfectly and wonderfully suited so you can be and do all that He has planned for you:
* You will grow in your knowledge of the Lord, and your relationship with Him. “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” 1 Cor. 13:12
* You will fully know and feel the richness and warmth of God’s great love for you. Psalm 136
* You will wholeheartedly be worshiping and loving the Lord, and with a beautiful voice, you will be singing to Him too. Psalm 47:6, 145:1-2; Mark 12:30
* You will have stimulating, loving, and Christ-centered fellowship with all believers. Heb. 3:12
* You will perfectly serve the Lord, rule righteously with Him over this earth, do exactly what He wants you to do, and go everywhere He wants you to go. Rev. 5:10
* You will always be filled with the Spirit, and therefore be filled with love, joy, peace, and goodness. You will be happy and satisfied all the time. Your new body will be able to enjoy and experience all the blessings and pleasures God has in store for you. Psalm 16:11
When will believers receive this brand-new body? It is not when a person physically dies and goes to heaven. It’s when the church on earth is raptured. 1 Cor. 15:23 tells us, “… in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that, those who are Christ’s at His coming.” You will be glorified, be made alive at the coming of Christ. 1 Cor. 15:51-52 says that it’s at the last trumpet – “In a moment, at the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 John 3:2 gives you more information – “When He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” It’s at Christ’s coming and when you first see Him that you will be glorified and be like Him. Job 19:25-27
Imagine what it will be like to have a Christ-like body, a perfect body? Think about being in a new body and being in heaven and being with Jesus. We live in a world that spends way too much time and money on our physical bodies, whether that relates to health care, cosmetics, clothes, or exercise (Is. 3:16-24, 1 Tim. 4:8a). Yes, you should take care of your body, stay in shape, and look nice, but don’t overdo it. Remember that you are a child of God living in a sinful world, and you need to focus on loving and serving the Lord. And since it’s the end-times, you need to be looking forward to Christ’s coming and the next major part of your life, when you will look like Christ, be with Christ, and live like Christ wants you to live. “I know that My redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin (old body) has been destroyed, yet in my flesh (new body) I will see God, I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me.” Job 19:25-27
P.S. When you are sick or tired or feeling old, then you need to remember what God has in store for you, a brand-new body. I really encourage you to read these two articles for they also talk about this hope of receiving a new body – “You Have to Have Hope,” and “Being in Heaven with Jesus, and the Believers, and in a New Glorified Body.”
