https://youtu.be/4ddvYB4e2xU

       (Some Scriptures will apply to more than one section)

1. Resurrection of Our Bodies – Job 19:25-26; Isa. 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Psa. 16:10; John 11:25-26; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:35-38; Acts 26:8; Romans 8:23-24

      There are those who seem to believe our heavenly bodies will be like the disembodied spirits written about in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol that terrified Ebenezer Scrooge. And further many believe that these bodies will not be what they once were and not be recognizable. However, unless we truly grasp the Resurrection, we won’t believe that we will continue to be ourselves in the afterlife-only better. Job 19:26-27 states, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God”. Isaiah said, “Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead” (Isaiah 26:19).  Then in Daniel 12:2 (NIV) it is recorded “Multitude who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt”. David said, “Because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay” (Psalm 16:10, NIV).

          Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). The apostle Paul later amplified on this by telling us, “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Then under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, answered two questions posed to him by some of the Christians in the city of Corinth: “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” (1 Corinthians 15:35). In verse 15:36 Paul states: “Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies”. What Paul was saying in essence was- You can’t have a resurrection if you don’t die! Even Enoch and Elijah were “dead to this world” although they both were raptured to heaven without the physical dead of this earth.  Acts 26:8 states: “Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?” (NASB). And finally, for this section, Romans 8:23-24, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” (NIV).

       The Bible teaches the reality of an afterlife from cover to cover, and its teachings change the way we think about death. This clearly teaches that our bodies will be resurrected by the same Holy Spirit that resurrected Jesus from the dead.

• Indestructible Bodies – 1 Cor. 15:42-44; Rom. 6:8-9; Luke 24:39-43; Luke 9:28-30; Daniel 12:3; Matt. 13:43; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 1:8-10; 1 John 3:2;
• Corinthians 15:42-44 gives us several certainties about our glorified bodies:
• Our new bodies will be raised in incorruption, so they will be indestructible.
• They will be raised in glory, so they will be identifiable.
• They will be raised in power, so they will be incredible.

Let’s read these two verses.

     Our present bodies wear out and grow old, but our new resurrection bodies will never wear out or grow old. They will have no capacity for deterioration or decay. Our new body will be designed for eternity. It will never wear out and never die; it will outlive the stars. The exclamation point to this truth is found in Romans 6:8-9 (NIV), where the resurrection body of Jesus is described: “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again, death no longer has mastery over Him.”

     The risen Christ said, “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 can I have” (Luke 24:39). What does this tell us about our super body? It says that we will have flesh and bone after we are resurrected. We are resurrected when Jesus comes again. It also says that Jesus did not become someone else; He remained who He was before His resurrection, just changed enough to pass through the closed locked doors when He appeared to the disciples on that first night after His resurrection (John 20:19).  So, we also will be the same person- just changed in our indestructible body. We may even be able to pass through closed doors or walls- although that is not spelled out in the Scriptures.

     Our new bodies may actually have a luminescent quality to them. In Exodus 34:29, Moses spent time with the Lord and something unusual happened to him. His face became radiant and began to shine. The same thing happened to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-30). In Revelation 21, we are told the entire city of Jerusalem will be luminescent, brightly illumined by the light that radiates from the resurrected Christ. Daniel 12:3 says the resurrected saints “shall like the brightness of the firmament”. Matthew 13:43 says, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”  1 Peter 5:1-4:  “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” This speaks of sharing in the glory of Christ and receiving the glory that tells us again we will be indestructible.

  Acts 1:8-10 states that the times and seasons were not to be known by the disciples, but to be kept a secret by the Father: that they should tarry at Jerusalem, and in a few days be baptized with the Holy Ghost, and receive such power, abilities, strength, and courage thereby, as to bear a noble testimony for Christ, not only there, but in all the world; and when he had given them a fresh commission, and told them where they should go, what they should preach, and what miracles they should perform, and blessed them. This power would be the Holy Spirit and that is what Jesus promised us as believers. This is the glory the Lord Jesus had in His glorious body and it is the pattern for the glory we will have in our own bodies when we are resurrected. Philippians 3:20-21 makes that clear: “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.”

• Recognizable to Others – 1 Cor. 13:12; Luke 16:19-31; Matt. 8:11; Luke 15:6:10; 2 Cor. 5:6-10; Luke 24:39; John 21:4-7; 1 Cor. 15:49; John 21:12-13; John 20:27; John 20:19; 1 John 3:2

Let’s begin this area with some Scriptures that speak of how the resurrected body of Jesus was recognizable. Read 1 Cor. 15:49; John 21:12-13; John 20:27; John 20:19; 1 John 3:2; Luke 24:39; John 21:4-7. This is a very clear indication that we will also be recognizable.

     When we get to heaven, we are going to know all of the people we met here on earth and it is unthinkable that in heaven we will know less than we do here- in fact we will really know more. The Bible says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). We will have a greater sense of recognition in heaven than we have ever had here on this earth. When Moses and Elijah appeared out of heaven to stand with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples instinctively recognized Moses and Elijah as real people. When Jesus described heaven in Matthew 8:11, He said, “And I say to you that many will come from the east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

Luke tells a story about Lazarus that tells all will remember the events of their time on earth and they will be recognizable whether in heaven or hell.  The teaching behind here is that Jesus plainly used this story to teach that after death the unrighteous are eternally separated from God, that they remember their rejection of the Gospel, that they are in torment, and that their condition cannot be remedied. In Luke 16:19-31, whether parable or literal account, Jesus clearly taught the existence of heaven and hell as well as the deceitfulness of riches to those who trust in material wealth. The rich man, Lazarus and Abraham all know who each person really was no matter where they were- heaven or hell.  

• Corinthians 5:6-10 says it differently but with the same general thought: ^“Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” The key thought here for our purposes is that we must be recognizable to be able to be judged by Jesus. Luke 15:6-10 tells us that Jesus rejoices over one saved and comes to Him.
• Infinite Bodies – 1 Cor. 15:45; 1 John 1:1-2; 1 Peter 5:7; Rom. 6:23; Hebrews 6:4; Eph. 2:8; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 6:2-3; Rom. 8:17-18; 1 Peter 5:4

We have talked about 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 but now comes verse 45. So, it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” The last Adam is Christ. What this is telling us is that Adam was a living soul – with an infinite body and that Christ is a living spirit and so will we. Jesus rose from the dead with the physical body that was crucified. The apostle John began his first epistle by saying, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life- the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested” (1 John 1:1-2). Jesus had a material body and we are going to have bodies just like Him- so we are NOT going to have ghost-like, specter bodies. That is what 1 Corinthians 15 is saying. Specifically, that we will have real bodies that no longer will be controlled by the physical appetites but controlled by the Holy Spirit.

       1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you”. The thought here contrasts the living and true God with the dumb idol gods of paganism who had no feeling, concern, or interest of any kind whatever in their worshipers. Even those pagan gods and goddesses which were supposed to be more glorious were always represented as being far off from their devotees, and as having no care whatever for them. It is one of the most glorious teachings of the Bible that God, yes, even the Almighty God, loves his children, is concerned and interested in their welfare; and his eyes are always upon his beloved. 1 Peter 5:4 (which we looked at previously) states “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” Yet 1-another promise that our glorified bodies are infinite and will not fade away.

        Romans 6:23 states that eternal life is the “gift” of God. Hebrews 6:4 calls it “the heavenly gift”. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”. To break this down a bit, it tells us that we cannot buy a glorified supernatural body. The Lord wants to give it to you for free, by grace and through faith. This gift is for infinite bodies- forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is the passage that gives the assurance of the

Rapture. It tells that every Christian who is still alive will be snatched up with Jesus in the air, and their bodies will likewise be instantaneously transformed. Then all will be ushered into heaven by the Lord Himself with glorified bodies patterned after our risen and glorified Christ. This is a promise of infinite bodies.

        Romans 8:16-18: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” How great a promise is this for a glorified infinite (forever) body?

Then in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3: “Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!”   Believers will judge the world one day in the future (Daniel 7:22; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 20:4). If they have this massive responsibility in the future, it is only logical that they can judge on a much smaller scale an issue between two believers. Christians have the capacity to move beyond “my friend, right or wrong.” However, this tells us something we may not know or have overlooked – we will be a bit higher than the angels in heaven! And if this doesn’t confirm that we will be infinite forever, I don’t know what does.