A friend wrote me to ask, “Why is a resurrection necessary if those who died in Christ have already gone to be with the Lord?” So I wrote back, “The best answer I know of is that God’s plan is that we have new bodies like the Lord had after His resurrection. That’s what I Corinthians 15 is about.”
That may raise some big questions for some people. “New bodies?” “Jesus’ body after His resurrection?” Well, it’s all in the Bible. Many people have heard of “doubting Thomas.” What was he doubting? He was doubting the resurrection of Jesus and that the other apostles had seen Jesus literally, up close and personal, after He’d been crucified and buried.
But then what happened? The Bible says a few days later Jesus again appeared to His disciples, this time when Thomas was there. So Jesus told Thomas to “Reach here your hand and thrust it into my side [the wound He’d received from the soldier while He was on the cross] and be not faithless but believing.” (John 20:27)
On another occasion around the same time after Jesus’ resurrection, He told His disciples when He was visiting them. “Touch me and see for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see Me have.” (Luke 24:39) I know this can severely strain the brains of unbelievers and even those who are weak in faith. But this is what the Bible says so it might be good to look a little more at what all this means and signifies.
For one, the Bible clearly teaches that we, the saved believers, will have a body like Jesus at His coming. In I Corinthians 15:51 and 52, Paul said, “Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [meaning die here] but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of the eye, at the last trumpet.” This is the 7th trumpet, spoken of in other places as the sign or signal of the return of Jesus bodily to this earth. The verse goes on to say, “For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
This is one of the best verses that touches on this subject of the eternal bodies we’ll receive at the return of Jesus, at the end of this age and the beginning of the Millennium. Just to throw in one more verse on this, Paul wrote to the Philippians about Jesus who would “change our vile body that it may be fashioned like to His glorious body…” (Philippians 3:21).
But what kind of bodies will they be? Here’s what John wrote in his old age to the church at that time. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (I John 3:2) We shall be like Him; we’ll have a similar-like physical existence to that which Jesus now has.
And what did Jesus say about His body? “A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have.” So it sounds pretty much like the body we have now. We have flesh and bones. But what does it seem Jesus didn’t have? Blood. Because “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). And also sin is in the blood.
So Jesus was able “to eat and drink, after that He rose from the dead.” (Acts 10:41) He asked His disciples as He was with them after His resurrection, “Have you any meat? And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb. And He took it and did eat before them.” (Luke 24:41-43) So it’s pretty clear that He wasn’t like some ethereal ghost or spirit but was a tangible living man, the Son of God, in His new body, like the one we will ultimately have.
But it must be that it will in some way really be sustained in a new way, utterly by the Spirit since it seems that blood may no longer be involved. He could appear and disappear, evidently pass through walls and finally ascend up into heaven. But He said of Himself that He still had flesh and bones and He could and did eat with them, even in this utterly new physical condition.
This is fascinating for me. This is our ultimate destiny and destination, to still retain many of the attributes of the life we have now, but in a new, eternal, upgraded condition. We’ll be utterly changed but it won’t be all so different that we can’t understand it or work within it. The Corinthians had asked Paul about the resurrection and about “with what body do they come?” (I Corinthians 15:35), referring to the eternalized saints. I Corinthians 15 is a whole chapter on that subject. It’s just natural that we all are curious about some of these things and that we need and want some answers for it all to make sense. Wonderfully, it does. We’ve got a lot to look forward to.
I was thinking… a HUGE reason for the resurrection of both Jesus’ body and the believers bodies is that it testifies for all eternity that the Lord Jesus destroyed him (the devil) that HAD the power of death – Heb. 2:14-15. For the word ‘destroy’, Strong’s Concordance: to be (render) entirely idle (useless). Glory to God, Hallelujah!!! There would be an incomplete testimony to Jesus’ victory if there was no resurrection of the body. GBY
I’m not sure that it’s proven by the scripture you gave that our resurrection body will have no blood. I thought of this scripture, Joel 3: 15-21 to include the context but verse 21 is the one I wish to highlight:”I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.” I might look at this some more to see if it is confirmed “in the mouth of two or three witnesses” which of course is a good principle for establishing any doctrine.GBY
I was thinking further on whether Jesus’ and our bodies will have blood in them or not. The blood of Jesus is spoken of as being precious and no wonder because it is God’s blood – Acts 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of GOD, which he has purchased with HIS OWN BLOOD.” I was also thinking of how in God’s redemption plan he desires to restore our image that was marred through sin. Through the resurrection not only will our inner man be fully restored but also our bodies. We were originally made in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies look the way they do because of this and they had blood in them right in the beginning of creation. Some Bible teachers teach that God’s (the Father) body parts are only symbolic. I don’t agree with this view. In fact Dan. 7:9 even tells us about The Ancient of Days hair colour. It seems to me that God Himself has blood.
Nothing that we have in our bodies is outside of the image and likeness of God – blood was not something extra. And seeing as our blood can be cleansed (Joel 3:21)I see no problem with our resurrection bodies having blood. And Jesus’ blood, being as it is the blood of God, of course we know is absolutely pure.
The devil really hates the blood of Jesus!
Anyway thanks for being willing to hear another perspective. GBY
Very good article. I guess we also don’t have to breath in and out anymore which is quite inconvenient. “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isaiah 2:22
I remember some more verses to confirm this wonderful article. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40
There was a resurrection of saints already, after Jesus had risen from the dead: “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” Matthew 27:52,53. (CAME OUT OF THEIR GRAVES..Maybe resurrection of Old Testament saints).
In Job it talks about: “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:” Job 19:26.
In Jude we read: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,” Jude 14 (guess they come with him to claim their bodies from the graves)
Here one of my favorite ones: Your dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for your
dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Isaiah 26:19.
In Daniel 12:2 it talks about: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake….” The Word of God always depicts the departed saints as sleeping. Even though they are not really sleeping, they went to be with the Lord. Only their bodies are sleeping, laid to rest. But at the resurrection they will be woken up and receive their new superhuman bodies.
In Revelation, Chapter 11 we have the two witnesses who will be killed by the beast = Antichrist: “And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up here. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” Verses 11,12. It is very clear here, that their BODIES got resurrected. And in verse 15 we have the last, the seventh trumpet sounding, which means the general resurrection of the bodies of the saints that sleep. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Anyway and whatever……after the Resurrection we will not be NO-BODY, but we will really be SOME-BODY! Praise God!!
Wow!! This was always my question that kept going over & over in my mind…..”How would our New Bodies be like in Heaven.”?…..As usual me coming from a Catholic Strong hold family…..ALL we knew was about ‘Doubting Thomas’, BUT, that kept me searching all the more for my answer……I accepted Jesus as my PERSONAL saviour in 1983 & all the more my SEARCH grew……NOW, after reading your article “With what body do they come?”…..This I found very, very, DEEP…..”And what did Jesus say about His body? “A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have.” So it sounds pretty much like the body we have now. We have flesh and bones. But what does it seem Jesus didn’t have? Blood. Because “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). And also sin is in the blood.”……WOW!! BLOOD….Now its got me thinking in a very positive way……Now I am really ready to die…..Absolutely NO fear of death…..”Can’t wait for Heaven…..Thanks dear Mark….God Bless & Keep you to be a blessing to others…..’Tonight I go to sleep, waking up, where the Lord wants me to be…Earth OR HEAVEN.”….TYJ….<3
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, :52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.