Spiritual Body
Introduction: Genesis records that the LORD took substances from the earth to form the natural body of the first Adam, and all who have lived since then are his physical descendants. The Apostle Paul wrote that there is a spiritual body that will come from the last Adam, Christ Jesus. Those who look forward to the resurrection can have confidence from scripture about the sure hope for a renewed existence in a form that cannot see corruption. The natural body will deteriorate and returns to the earth, but the soul of man will go back to God for final disposition.
NOTE: Scripture passages are from the World English Bible.
A — Man’s Physical Body Is of the Earth but Made in the Image of God
Genesis 2 “7 Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Genesis 3 “19 By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Comments: After the LORD God created everything that constitutes the heavens and the earth, he then formed man from the earth and made him in His own image to have dominion over all the rest of creation. When Eve and Adam disobeyed God and ate that which was forbidden, death became an inescapable eventual consequence for every person. All descendants of the first Adam will lose their natural body and it will return to the earth. The soul departs from the physical body at the point of death, so that union is broken. The disposition of the soul of each person is solely in the hands of the Creator God.
B — The Spirit Departs from the Physical Body Upon Death
Philippians 2 “7 But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name.”
Luke 23 “46 Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ Having said this, he breathed his last.”
Comments: At their appointed time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each gave up their spirit, and their lifeless body was buried in a tomb to return to the earth. The Apostle Paul explained that Jesus set aside his position in heaven to participate in the form of man in a physical body, and then was obedient to the Father even to the point of death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him so his name is above all names in earth and in heaven. When Jesus died on the cross, he gave up the spirit and his body became lifeless, and it was laid in a tomb.
C — Born Again of the Spirit
John 3 “5 Jesus answered, Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into the Kingdom of God! 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Comments: The Savior of our soul, Christ Jesus, entered into our fallen world in bodily form to reveal the great love he offers for those who will receive the gift of new life by faith through the second birth. This passage sets the direction to move on to the idea that those who experience the second birth will also inherit a spiritual body.
D — God Will Provide the Spiritual Body
1 Corinthians 15 “42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonour; 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. There is a natural body and 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.”
1 Corinthians 15 “51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Comments: The Apostle Paul, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presented word pictures to provide a glimpse of the transition that awaits those appointed to eternal life by the grace of God. The imagery suggests significant differences between our natural body and our spiritual body, all within the perfect design of our Creator God. Paul uses the illustration of the many differences between the seed and the mature plant as an example of the difference between our natural body and the completely different incorruptible spiritual body. He emphasizes that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Even Job many centuries before the coming of Christ had faith to believe that he would experience resurrection with a new body.
E — The God of the Living
2 Corinthians 5 “1 For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. 5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit. 8 We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.”
Luke 20 “36 For they can’t die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.”
Comments: Paul has assured us in 2 Corinthians that God has given the Christian the down payment of the Spirit to assure us that when the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have an eternal house in the heavens. When Jesus responded to religious leaders who rejected resurrection, the key elements of his answer are: the resurrection is in a different age from the one experienced in the natural body; there is no marriage in that age; those resurrected cannot die as they are like the angels; and they are children of God being children of the resurrection. Jesus emphasized the wording used to prove that the dead are raised: “he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.”
Reflections in Prayer
How great is your love, LORD, that you made man in your own image among all of your creation, and gave him dominion over all other living creatures. You know all things about the frailties and failings of every person, and you look upon mankind with compassion knowing that the natural body will die like the flower of the field. But you have made provision for a second birth wherein you have sealed the soul with your Spirit for each one who has accepted your gift of eternal life by faith. In the fullness of time you sent your Son Christ Jesus that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Your promise of resurrection is exemplified in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and your Word verifies that you, LORD, are the God of the living, not of the dead. Help me, LORD, to praise you as long as I am in this natural body especially knowing that its demise will surely be replaced by that which will allow me to worship and praise you forever! Hallelujah and amen!
Published 20 January 2015