Our resurrection bodies
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, 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. (1 Corinthians 15:42–44a NIV).
The Bible tells us that those who believe in Jesus have eternal life. Eternal life is a long time to consider. As such, it merits some investigation as to what it’s going to be like and what we’re going to be like in it. This is one aspect of the hereafter that we have quite a bit of information on in the Bible.
At the end of this current era in human history—at the point of Jesus’ long-awaited second coming—our spirits come to reside in supernatural bodies, similar to our current physical bodies. We know that while Jesus lived on earth, His was a mortal body just like ours, and that body died.
At His resurrection, He came out of the tomb in this new type of body, often called a “resurrection body.” This body was quite different from His old one and yet in many ways the same. He was instantly recognized as a man, but it wasn’t apparent to those that saw Him that He was the resurrected Jesus.
He vanished in one account and then, He had the ability to appear in a room where the door was closed. Once again, though, He looked different, and they thought He was a ghost. Yet the most amazing thing about this body is that it is immortal, and so will our resurrection bodies be. [1]
The resurrection of Jesus is not simply the basis for Christian hope; it redefines the future toward which hope looks. – N.T. Wright
[1] Anchor Our Future Bodies
