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.
The glorified body of Jesus easily navigates a world still under the curse of sin. After his emergence from the tomb, Jesus eats, travels, speaks with befuddled eyewitnesses of his resurrection, passes through closed doors, transports himself instantly from one location to another, and finally launches from the Mount of Olives into heaven.
Our resurrected bodies will have many of these same capabilities. Yet the redemptive work of God isn’t finished at our resurrection. The world in which we now live was not always cursed, nor will it always be cursed. A day is coming when our sovereign Lord makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).
We’ll explore the new heavens and earth in future columns. For now, let’s survey three New Testament passages that address the restoration of our bodies.
Romans 8:16-17, 23
“The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs – heirs of God and coheirs with Christ – if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him…. Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits – we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”
The indwelling Spirit confirms our relationship with the Father. We may rest assured that we are his adopted sons and daughters, elevated to the status of coheirs with the eternal Son of God. We are joined to Jesus now in suffering, but just as certainly we are united with him in a glorious future.
Until the day Christ comes for us, he gives us the Holy Spirit as the “firstfruits,” or the down payment of our inheritance. While in our earthly tents, we may groan with hardship, aging, sickness, and encroaching death, but these only serve as reminders of the glories to come.
Just as a farmer’s firstfruits are the initial harvest of his ripened crops, the Holy Spirit offers believers a foretaste of the abundant blessings to come, including living in God’s presence forever.
Paul uses the term “adoption” in a unique way in this passage. In other places, he makes it clear that believers already are adopted as sons and daughters of God. At the same time, we anticipate the completion of our adoption when the full effects of redemption are realized in glorification. Paul refers to this as the revelation of God’s sons (Rom. 8:19) and the glorious freedom of God’s children (Rom. 8:21).
1 Corinthians 15:51-54
“Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will 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 will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
Paul discloses a “mystery,” a truth that would remain secret apart from divine revelation. Not every believer is to experience physical death, but all Christians may eagerly anticipate the miraculous transformation of our corruptible bodies into incorruptible ones. This occurs at “the last trumpet,” or Christ’s return for us (see also 1 Thess. 4:13-17).
The change is more than dramatic; it’s instantaneous. Paul says it takes place “in a moment,” using the Greek word atomas, which signifies the smallest possible division of something, in this case, time. The phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” further describes the quickness with which our mortal bodies are made like the glorified body of Jesus.
Paul uses the metaphor of putting on clothing to describe the way our bodies are transformed. Our corruptible bodies must be clothed with incorruptibility, and our mortal bodies must be clothed with immortality. This is an apt depiction of glorification because humans naturally possess neither incorruptibility nor immortality. These must come from God, “who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16).
1 John 3:2
“Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.”
The world may not think much of Christians. That’s because unbelievers don’t know God, nor can they fathom the love the Father has lavished on those who trust in him, calling them his children (1 John 3:1). As adopted sons and daughters of God, we should look beyond the hardships that naturally come with bearing the name of Christ and catch a glimpse of our glorious inheritance.
Living in the light of eternity should prompt us to consider four truths John shares with us. First, God finishes what he starts, even though he hasn’t revealed all the details of our glorification. Second, Jesus is returning for us; John doesn’t say “if,” but “when he appears.”
Third, we become like Jesus in our resurrected bodies – transformed, clothed in his immortality, free of the weight of sin’s curse. Fourth, we are going to see him as he is. Just as Peter, James, and John catch a glimpse of Christ’s radiance on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-7; Mark 9:2-8), we have all eternity to bask in his unveiled glory.
Next: Thrown into the Lake of Fire