OUR FUTURE BODIES
1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49
NASB
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of [a]something else. 38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [a]a perishable body, it is raised [b]an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, [a]earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, [a]we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:37 [a]Lit some of the rest 15:42 [a]Lit in corruption [b]Lit in incorruption 15:47 [a]Lit made of dust 15:49 [a]Two early mss read let us also
NLT
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh —one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”[*] But the last Adam —that is, Christ —is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[*] the heavenly man.
[15:45] Gen 2:7. [15:49] Some manuscripts read let us be like.
For some things we have more questions than answers. And then even our answers can lead to new questions. The biblical teaching concerning the resurrection of our bodies is one of those issues with more ellipses than periods, more question marks than exclamation points. For example, what about infants? Will they be resurrected as babies or as adults? What happens to the bodies of those who have been cremated, dismembered by an explosion, or lost at sea? This can lead to possibilities even more outlandish. What about transplant recipients? What happens to their new organs at the resurrection? What about those who died millennia ago, for whom not even a trace of their physical bodies remains? This can lead to the ridiculous. What happens if I’m standing on somebody’s grave when the resurrection occurs? What if we are at an open-casket funeral?
If we let it happen, the chain of questions can go on endlessly.
Most of these questions stem from a lack of knowledge about the biblical doctrine of resurrection. Scripture lays before the reader in simple yet profound ways answers to the most important questions concerning life, death, and resurrection. It doesn’t attempt to respond to all of our “yeah, buts,” our far-fetched hypotheticals, or the speculative conjuring of inquisitive minds. And Scripture certainly doesn’t go out of its way to satisfy the snide scoffing of a skeptical critic, whose goal is not understanding but ridicule.
Though Scripture provides no complete treatise on the resurrection, Paul’s prolonged discourse in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 does point us to a better understanding of the nature of the resurrection body. Although his replies don’t give us all the specifics, they do give us general principles about our future bodies and a deeper understanding of the value of our present ones.
— 15:35-41 —
Some in the church at Corinth had accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, but when it came to their own resurrection, their confidence teetered. After all, Jesus is the unique God-man; we are mere humans. Maybe the Corinthians thought He fit into a completely different category from us. Or maybe they viewed even Christ’s resurrection not as an actual redemption and perfection of His physical body, but as a “rising” of His spirit from the earth to heaven. Or perhaps they redefined the nature of Christ’s resurrection body to make it far more spiritual than physical. Whatever logic they followed that led them to denying and downplaying the reality of the resurrection of believers, it had gained enough of a following for Paul to address their confusion by answering two of their nagging questions: “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” (15:35).
Paul dismisses the first question with one sharp rebuke: “You fool!” (15:36). When it comes to the miracle of the resurrection of the dead, asking how God is able to do something reveals either a lack of understanding of or a complete absence of faith in God’s omnipotence. God can do whatever He pleases! Jesus clearly taught, “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).
The second question is more reasonable, as it deals with an understandable curiosity about the nature of our resurrected bodies. Using analogies and contrasts, Paul invites his readers to look ahead with faith and hope at their own resurrection bodies. He doesn’t give a comprehensive explanation of the resurrection, but he does provide sufficient detail to put the Corinthians’ questions to rest.
Paul first sketches three word pictures that illustrate what our future bodies will be like. The analogies he uses are seeds, flesh, and celestial bodies.
Seeds (1 Cor. 15:36-38). The first analogy illustrates both the personal continuity as well as the qualitative discontinuity between the corpse that had been buried and the body that will be raised. Paul doesn’t deny a relationship between the two, but the relationship is not simply a reconstitution of the dead parts of the decomposed body. The resurrection isn’t simply mortal life resuscitated, nor is it a weird scene from the latest zombie movie. God forbid! The continuity between the mortal body and the resurrection body, however, is real, just as the relationship between a seed and the plant that sprouts from the ground is real. Yet the seed itself vanishes, absorbed into the new reality of the plant which looks completely different from the seed.
Yet between the seed and the plant we observe a clear continuity of species. When you plant wheat, you get wheat, not watermelons. When you plant an orange tree, you get oranges, not mangoes. The specific identity of the seed determines the identity of the plant. Likewise, between our body that dies and is buried and the body that rises from the grave, we will see continuity of personhood. We will rise from the dead in a form that is distinctly and uniquely us. Also, the diversity in which God delights will continue to mark even resurrected humanity. What a great thought! You will still be you, and I will still be me, but the resurrection will make you a better you and me a better me. To understand this continuity, we must look to Christ. Yes, the body that was buried on Friday stepped forth from the tomb on Sunday morning —but the mortal had been “swallowed up by life” (2 Cor. 5:4). Was Jesus’ resurrection body the same as the body that was buried? Yes and no. It was completely the same in personal identity, but completely different in physical quality. In other words, Jesus rose in His body, not in somebody else’s. The body that was buried was transformed into the body that was raised, not destroyed and replaced.
Flesh (1 Cor. 15:39). Paul’s second analogy emphasizes the distinctiveness of our future bodies. In creation, God has carefully marked each species of animal with distinctions all its own. We, too, will continue to bear the distinguishing features of our present bodies for the purpose of identity and diversity. Jesus’ disciples were able to recognize their resurrected Lord (John 20:19-20). That assures us that we will be recognizable to others and also be able to identify our loved ones. The idea that we will be indefinite, luminous beings has no foundation in Scripture. Just as humans were created in Eden to live in distinct bodies unique to each of us, so in the restoration of Eden, humans will experience perfect community in diversity.
Celestial bodies (1 Cor. 15:40-41). In his last analogy, Paul pictures the diversity of our future bodies, noting the differences in glory among heavenly bodies —the sun, the moon, and the various stars —and the difference between them and earthly bodies. By analogy, our future bodies will be different from our present earthly bodies, and in the same way no two stars shine with the same brightness, so each of us will have a distinct “glory” of our own. All of us who one day will be glorified in our “heavenly” bodies will experience a quality and condition of life far superior in glory to what we experienced in our earthly bodies.
— 15:42-49 —
Having drawn a general picture of our resurrection bodies through everyday analogies, Paul adds color to his sketch with a series of contrasts. Without denying personal continuity between the body that died and the body that will be raised, Paul emphasizes the qualitative discontinuity between the two (15:42-49).
PRESENT BODY |
RESURRECTION BODY |
Perishable |
Imperishable |
Dishonorable |
Glorious |
Weak |
Powerful |
Natural |
Spiritual |
Earthly |
Heavenly |
Perishable versus imperishable (15:42). Aging leaves its marks on all of us —dimming our eyes, shutting the doors of our hearing, causing our lips to tremble, turning our spirit of adventure into one of fear (Eccl. 12:1-7). Slowly but surely our bodies wear down, deteriorate, die. All humans have a “shelf life” that is less than what we wish we had. Yet when we are raised in our new bodies, we will be imperishable. Instead of winding down, we will be revving up. Instead of deteriorating, we will be thriving. Instead of dying, we will be eternally growing in our ageless relationships with God and others.
Dishonorable versus glorious (1 Cor. 15:43). Because of their mortal, perishable, and sinful condition, our present bodies can be deemed “dishonorable” compared to the glorious condition of our resurrection bodies. The Greek word atimia [819], “dishonor,” indicates shame or disgrace, and may imply the detestable practices associated with the fallen human condition. Yet Paul also may have in mind the condition of the body after its death, when it is “sown” (that is, buried) in dishonor, hidden away under the earth or in a tomb because of the intolerable stench of death and the unbearable decay that ensues within days. In any case, neither moral nor physical dishonor will characterize the resurrection body, only glory and honor.
Weak versus powerful (15:43). Though in this life some of us are much stronger than others physically, mentally, or emotionally, all of us have weaknesses. We all are susceptible to sickness, to injury, to errors of reason, or to moral failures. Faulty, frail, and declining in strength —that’s the present human condition. Yet these weaknesses will be utterly vanquished by the powerful condition of our resurrection bodies. William Barclay captures Paul’s thought:
It is nowadays fashionable to talk of man’s power, but the really remarkable thing is his weakness. A draught of air or a drop of water can kill him. We are limited in this life so often simply because of the necessary limitations of the body. Time and time again our physical constitution says to our visions and our plans, “Thus far and no farther.” We are so often frustrated because we are what we are. But in the life to come the limitations will be gone. Here we are compassed about with weakness; there we will be clad with power.[95]
Natural versus spiritual (15:44-46). The word translated “natural” is the Greek word psychikos [5591], which means “pertaining to being material or physical.”[96] It usually implies a person dominated by the desires of the natural person rather than the promptings of the Spirit (2:14; Jas. 3:15). In this “natural” life, we must constantly restrain the desires of the flesh (Rom. 7:14-25). But in our future resurrected bodies, we will encounter no temptations —we will be dominated by the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore we will live as Christ lives —in complete holiness and submission to the Father. By calling the resurrection body “spiritual,” Paul was not implying that it will be “ghostly” or “immaterial.” In fact, we will be like Christ physically (1 Jn. 3:2) —able to do everything He did in His resurrected body (John 20:19-29; Luke 24:33-43). Yet we will be completely free from the weight of earthiness, the gravity of sin, and the downward pull of our fallen condition (Rev. 21:4).
As further clarification of the natural–spiritual distinction, Paul contrasts the first man, Adam, with the perfect Man, Christ (1 Cor. 15:44-49). Adam and Christ had at least two things in common: Their beginnings were both unique and sinless. But what they accomplished was altogether different. Formed from the dust of the ground, the first man, Adam, became a “living soul” when the Lord God stooped down from heaven and breathed into him the “breath of life” (15:45; Gen. 2:7). The word translated “soul” (psychē [5590]) shares the same root as psychikos, “natural,” which Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15:44 to describe our present earthly bodies. It relates not to the highest quality of being —“spirit” (pneuma [4151]) —but to the animating principle of the physical world. Paul thus contrasts Adam’s earthly origins as a “soul” with Christ’s heavenly origins as a “spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45, 47).
Christ, who came from heaven, had existed eternally in the same power and glory as the Father (John 1:1-3; 17:5; Phil. 2:6). When He took on humanity at the Incarnation, Christ did not lose His heavenly status, but added full humanity to His fully divine nature (John 1:14; Phil. 2:7). So the eternal Son of God, without diminishing His deity, took on the flesh and soul of humanity, becoming exactly like us in all respects, except for our fallen sin nature (Heb. 4:15). Having taken on humanity, suffering, and dying as payment for sin, Christ was raised up to new life. This involved a glorification of the Adamic nature He had assumed —what Paul calls in shorthand becoming “a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). Having been raised above the highest earthly plane, Christ took His resurrected humanity into the heavenly realm, becoming the source of spiritual life to all who believe (1 Jn. 4:9; 5:11; Rom. 8:2, 10).
Earthly versus heavenly (1 Cor. 15:47-49). Paul’s theologically dense discourse in 1 Corinthians 15:44-46 leads to his main point regarding the nature of our future resurrection bodies. We naturally born humans bear the same physical, earthly nature as Adam, including his sinful disposition (15:48-49). When we are resurrected, however, we will bear the same spiritual, heavenly nature as Christ —free from the domain of sin and able to dwell forever with Him in both the heavenly and earthly realms (15:48-49). The following chart sums up Paul’s contrast between our current “in Adam” condition and our future “in Christ” destination. Though our bodies were born earthly and destined to perish, this condition is temporary. One day our spirits will be reunited with our earthly bodies, which will have been miraculously resurrected, transformed, and glorified —fit for heaven. Then our bodies will share the heavenly destination of Christ’s resurrected body.
APPLICATION: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49
Body Matters
The promise of the resurrection tells us that God has planned a glorious future for His physical creation. He has placed His seal of approval not on the sin we commit in this world, but on the physical creation itself. God originally created all things “good” —including humans (Gen. 1:31). By becoming truly human, Christ demonstrated that nothing is inherently wrong with the material world or the physical body, for He could be fully divine and fully human —spiritual and physical —without compromising His holiness (John 6:69). By resurrecting Christ’s body from the grave, God demonstrates that not only our spiritual aspects but even our physical component is part of His plan of redemption (Rom. 8:23).
God has an interest in His physical creation and especially in our physical bodies. We were never meant to disparage or neglect our physical bodies but to love, respect, and care for them, using them to bring glory to God (Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 6:15, 20; Eph. 5:28).
So, in light of Paul’s discussion, let’s consider the value of our present bodies —something we all need to be reminded of in a world that tends either to idolize the human physique or to denigrate it as a worthless distraction. Maintaining a healthy, spiritual balance between these extremes can be difficult, but by focusing on a few key principles, we can walk a straight and wholesome path between indulgence and indifference.
First, remember that God designed your body for you, so accept it as it is. In accepting the body God has given you, you can embrace His sovereignty and grace in your life. You say “yes” to part of His plan for you, and you begin to value what He values (Matt. 6:25-32; Ps. 139:13-15; Luke 12:6-7). If He gives each tiny seed a body suited especially for it (1 Cor. 15:38), think about how much more skill He used in creating each one of our bodies. Of course, nobody is perfect. We all have blemishes, weaknesses, malformations, or irreversible injuries of some sort. But God uniquely created each of us, and we must use our bodies for His glory in spite of their limitations.
Second, remember that God planned the distinctions between you and others, so don’t compare yourself to someone else. Even in our resurrected state, God will see fit to maintain diversity among human beings. So why would comparisons make sense now? Comparing occupations, grades, appearance, and giftedness will result in envy, jealousy, strife, and conflict. Instead, we should embrace our uniqueness. Relax. Be content with how He has made you. Appreciate the differences in others, too, extending grace to be different to our co-workers, spouses, pastors, teachers, children, siblings, and friends. A good principle to follow is this: Accept and enjoy yourself exactly as you are. Remember that God has made you different so you can make a difference for Him.
Third, remember that God determined that your body would have certain limitations, so stop condemning yourself. Since we all bear an earthly image, it is unrealistic to expect perfection. Until our resurrection, we all bear the image of the first man, Adam, in his fallen condition —finite, frail, faulty, and flawed. Therefore, unless you’re toting around a resurrection body ahead of everybody else, you will never be able to live a perfect life. But don’t fret! Stop condemning yourself because of nagging sin. Confess it, claim God’s gracious forgiveness, and move on (1 Jn. 1:9). Continue to struggle against it, knowing that help is on the way. One day we will be removed from the domain of sin, having been reforged into the image of the sinless, victorious Christ. Then, at last, we will never sin, suffer, or die again. Until then, “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).