Resurrected bodies of Saints

But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain--perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--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 shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

(1 Corinthians 15:35-53)

I will close this section with a brief discussion concerning the bodies of the resurrected saints, for it is at the first resurrection that believers will finally receive their resurrected bodies.

In the passage above, Paul speaks of natural bodies and spiritual bodies. Our present bodies are natural, descended from Adam; the bodies we will receive on that day are spiritual, given by the Lord. Paul goes on to list several contrasts between our current natural bodies and our future spiritual ones:

1.       The natural body is corruptible; the spiritual body is incorruptible.

2.      The natural body is mortal; the spiritual body is immortal.

3.      The natural body is sown in dishonour; the spiritual body is raised in glory.

4.      The natural body is sown in weakness; the spiritual body is raised in power.

5.      The natural body bears the image of Adam; the spiritual body bears the image of Christ.

6.      The natural body consists of flesh, bone, and blood; the spiritual body consists of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39).

Because our spiritual bodies will be like the Lord’s resurrected body, they will be capable of taking on different forms as required. As the Lord demonstrated on numerous occasions, His resurrected body could function just like a natural one—for example, when He prepared and ate breakfast with the disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:12). Yet that same body could also reveal His full glory, as when He appeared to John on the island of Patmos, whose countenance shone like the sun and whose eyes appeared like flames of fire (Revelation 1:14).

With that same body, the Lord could transition instantly between the natural realm and the spiritual realm. Time and again, Scripture describes Him appearing to His disciples and then vanishing from their sight once His purpose in that moment was fulfilled. As His brethren, our spiritual bodies will share these same capabilities.

As an aside, Paul also makes reference to celestial and terrestrial bodies. Angels possess celestial bodies, while humans possess terrestrial ones.

But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

(Revelation 20:5-6)

There is one final point worth mentioning. In the passage above, we learn that those who take part in the first resurrection are immune to the power of the second death. This necessarily implies that the second death does have power over all who are not included in the first resurrection.

Someone might argue that the saints are immune to the second death simply because they have become immortal. However, this assumption is incorrect, for Satan and his angels are also immortal beings—yet the second death holds power over them.

Michael E.B. Maher

Resurrection of the Dead

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