This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.
It’s comforting to keep in mind that when Christ died, he redeemed our bodies, souls, and spirits. Our salvation doesn’t stop with the forgiveness of sins, the declaration of our right standing with God in Christ, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, although these are unfathomable gifts of grace.
Rather, the redemptive work of Christ finds its ultimate fulfillment in future resurrection and glorification, when the effects of sin are completely removed, and believers are fully conformed to the image of Christ.
Equally comforting is the Lord’s promise that neither death nor hades threatens his children again. John, who hears Christ assure him that Jesus holds the keys of death and hades, later bears witness to the fact that these enemies are thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
In our glorified bodies, we no longer sin, nor are we drawn to rebellion against God. As a resulting benefit, we have no reason to fear death, for it is but a distant memory God banishes from the realm of possibility.
One day, death and hades are forced to give up their treasure. Christ uses his keys to open the graves and call the dead to life. Hades, the temporary abode of the dead, swallows the deceased no more. As Paul writes triumphantly for the believer:
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).
But how, exactly, does this work? Two passages of Scripture are most helpful in answering this question: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. In these passages, Paul describes our future resurrection as a “mystery,” a secret hidden in the past but now revealed.
In the resurrection of the just, Jesus descends from heaven and calls the “dead in Christ” to rise first (1 Thess. 4:16). The souls and spirits of the redeemed with Jesus in heaven are reunited with their resurrected bodies, which are glorified, or made incorruptible and immortal (1 Cor. 15:52-54). This happens in “the twinkling of an eye” and causes us to rejoice that death has been “swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:52, 54).
Immediately after this, followers of Jesus who are alive and remain on the earth are caught up physically to “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). Our earthly bodies are instantly transformed into glorified bodies, without experiencing physical death. Both resurrected saints and living followers of Jesus who are “caught up together with them in the clouds” are assured they will “always be with the Lord” (4:17). When Christ returns to earth, the glorified saints return with him (1 Thess. 3:13; Rev. 19:14), along with the holy angels (Matt. 16:27; 2 Thess. 1:7).
What are these glorified bodies like? Paul uses differentiations within the created order as analogies for the similarities and differences between our earthly bodies and our resurrected ones (1 Cor. 15:35-44). For example, the wheat seed planted in the ground must die in order to spring to life with a stalk and heads of grain. There is continuity in kind – it remains wheat – but advancement in form.
In a similar manner, our earthly bodies are “sown in corruption, raised in incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:42). That is, our earthly bodies waste away and are prone to death, but our resurrected bodies are impervious to decay. Our earthly bodies are “sown in dishonor, raised in glory” (15:43). This means, as Paul tells the Philippians, Christ “will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
In addition, our earthly bodies are “sown in weakness, raised in power” (1 Cor. 15:43), another way of saying that our present inability to avoid all types of infirmities will give way to health and vitality in glorification. Finally, our earthly bodies are “sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body” (15:44). The bodies we now inhabit – animal-like, soulish – are incapable of perfect holiness, but our resurrected bodies are under the full control of the Holy Spirit.
The best way to understand glorification is to examine the post-resurrection life of Jesus. He is raised in a physical body (Luke 24:39-40; John 2:18-22), and thus he eats (Luke 24:41-43). He shows people his hands, feet, and side, complete with nail and spear prints in them (Luke 24:39; John 20:27). Further, we see people clutch Jesus’ feet and worship him (Matt. 28:9).
Jesus’ resurrected body no doubt retains physical characteristics. At the same time, he can vanish from sight in one place and appear in another (Luke 24:31-36). He evidently can pass through locked doors (John 20:19). And, finally, he ascends physically into heaven, a preview of the visible and personal way he is to return (Acts 1:9, 11).
While we struggle to fully understand the qualities of Jesus’ resurrected body, we may rest assured that our glorified bodies are physical, fully controlled by the Spirit, and free of sin and its consequences. In essence, we are restored to the sinless perfection Adam and Eve enjoyed in Eden before the Fall, along with face-to-face fellowship with God.
Next: The unbeliever’s resurrection