Eternal Rewards

Session 7: Our Resurrected Bodies

I.Intro to Our Resurrected Bodies:

They say we have nothing without our health, and it’s true; the quality of life is determined greatly by the condition of our physical body. If our body is healthy we have a much wider range of life and activities, if we are sickly or weak then we are limited. The same can be said of our strengths and weaknesses, skills and unique qualities, each of which enhance or hinder our experience in this life. In eternity we are given a new body, and those bodies will vary diversely, the choices we make in this life will either equip or detract from the potential of that body. Again, the quality of life is determined greatly by the condition of our body. It may be that our greatest physical reward in the next age will be our glorified body, and since we really want the best resurrected body imaginable we ought to consider the directly connection to how we live this life.

II.Taking a Look at the Resurrection:

  1. The Resurrection is a Glorious Mystery:

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1Co. 15:51-52).”

  1. Everyone will Receive a Resurrected Body:

Wicked or righteous, all mankind will one day receive a resurrected body. Though these bodies are for very different purposes, in fact they only share the connection that they are intended to fully experience the environment they will spend eternity in whether Heaven and Earth or Hell and fire.

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt (Da. 12:2).”

“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (Jn. 5:25-29).”

  1. The Righteous will Receive Their New Body When Christ Returns:

“Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice (Ps. 50:3-5).”

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1Co. 15:51-52).”

  1. Dead Believers will Receive Their New Body at that Time:

“According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words (1Th. 4:15-18).”

III.Our Bodies will Be Like Christ’s Glorified Body:

We cannot know the depth of this mystery, but we can at least get a beginning of revelation based off of what the scripture does say and what we know about Christ after He was resurrected.

  1. Transformed into His Likeness:

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2Co. 3:18).”

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Php. 3:20-21).”

“And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven (1Co. 15:49).”

  1. Jesus Cooked and Ate:

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore…the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water…When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread…Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”…Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead (Jn. 21:4-14).”

“On one occasion, while he was eating with them (Ac. 1:4)…”

  1. Jesus Could Walk Through Walls:

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you (Jn. 20:19)!”

“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you (Jn. 20:26)!”

  1. Jesus Could Fly Back and Forth to and from Heaven:

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight (Ac. 1:9).”

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven (Ac. 1:11).”

  1. Jesus Taught:

“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God (Ac. 1:3).”

  1. Jesus Could Cloak His Identity or be Clearly Recognized:

“As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him (Lk. 24:15-16).

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus (Jn. 21:4).”

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord (Jn. 20:19-20).”

IV.Our New Bodies will Be Like the Angels:

We are told that we will be like the angels. The angles vary in glory, splendor and honor, they have different levels of authority, they have unique designations and their proximity to and interaction with the Lord varies.

“At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven (Mt. 22:30).”

When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven (Mk. 12:25).”

“But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age (the Millennium) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels (Lk. 20:35-36).”

  1. Angels Bring Judgment:

“The two men(angels)said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it(Ge. 19:12-13).”

“And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand (1Ch. 21:15).”

“He unleashedagainst them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels (Ps. 78:49).”

  1. Angels Can Appear out of Nowhere:

“While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground (Lk. 24:4-5).”

  1. Angels Minister to People:

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (He. 1:14).”

  1. Angels Can Strengthen People:

“Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,” he(an angel) said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength (Da. 10:19).”

“An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him (Lk. 22:43).”

  1. Angels Deliver God’s Messages:

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you (Lk. 1:26-28).”

  1. Angels Can Appear in Dreams:

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:20).”

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him (Mt. 2:13).”

“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead (Mt. 2:19-20).”

V.The New Body is Different From Our Current One:

Our bodies are seeds with the promise of a far greater reality. As different as a seed is from what it grows into later so is the difference between this current frame and our future glorified one.

  1. We will be Changed:

“We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised…and we will be changed. (1Co. 15:51-52).”

  1. We will be Raised Imperishable:

“The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable (1Co. 15:42)”

“For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable (1Co. 15:52).”

  1. We will be Clothed with the Imperishable:

“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable...When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable…then the saying that is written will come true(1Co. 15:53-54).”

  1. We will be Clothed with Immortality:

“the mortal (must clothe itself)with immortality…When the...mortal (has been clothed)with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true (1Co. 15:53-54).”

  1. We will be Raised in Glory:

“it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory (1Co. 15:43)”

  1. We will be Raised in Power:

“it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power (1Co. 15:43)”

  1. We will be Raised a Spiritual Body:

“it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1Co. 15:44).”

  1. We will be Raised with the Likeness of the Man from Heaven:

“As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven (1Co. 15:48-49).”

  1. We will be Victorious:

“then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ “(1Co. 15:54-57).”

VI.The New Body is Indestructible:

Let us spend just a moment discussing the fact that our new bodies can not be destroyed. This has some seriously powerful ramifications.

  1. Once We are Resurrected We Can Not Die:

“But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage,and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection (Lk. 20:35-36).”

“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Re. 21:4).”

  1. Only Imperishable Bodies Can Inherit Heaven:

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable (1Co. 15:50).”

“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory (1Co. 15:53-54).”

  1. The Final Battle for Jerusalem:

Think of the ramifications of all the saints becoming equipped with indestructible bodies that can’t die and then marching into battle with King Jesus at the lead. The final battle for Jerusalem (commonly referred to as the battle of Armageddon) and subsequent skirmishes will hardly be a fair fight.

“They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers (Re. 17:14).”

“May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints (Ps. 149:6-9).”

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war…The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty (Re. 19:11-15).”

VII.Our Resurrected Bodies will Not All Be the Same:

It is the Lord’s plan to award us in many ways with incredible glory and power in our new resurrected bodies but this glory will look different for every believer. Like all of the other eternal rewards we have looked at the measure of our resurrection will be contingent on the way we lived in this life. This is a topic that Paul spent a good bit of effort to make sure we understood, listing example after example to make his point.

  1. Diversity Like the Plants of the Earth:

Paul tells us that the diversity of the resurrection is as vast as the seeds and the plants that come from them. The Lord is the one who decides what kind of body each seed will turn into and so He determines what type of body we will inherit.

“But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body…So will it be with the resurrection of the dead (1Co. 15:35, 42).”

  1. Diversity Like the Various Types of Flesh:

Then he tells us that all flesh is not the same and neither will be our new bodies. He lists out several types of flesh and then likens the differences between them to how our bodies will compare in the next age.

“All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another…So will it be with the resurrection of the dead (1Co. 15:39-42).”

  1. Diversity Like that Between Earthly Forms and Astral Bodies:

After that he tells us about all the different types of bodies that can be found on Earth Paul then tells us that our resurrected bodies will be as different from one another as the planets and stars are different from forms found on Earth.