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How much does the Bible tell us about our resurrection body? Will it have flesh? I know it is imperishable and glorious (1 Cor 15). Job seems to mention flesh in Job 19:26, but that's wisdom literature -- so Job may or may not be right? Jesus' resurrection body had flesh and bones, as he demonstrated to his disciples by eating the fish. Will our resurrection body be like the one that Jesus had when he rose from the dead? But even after seeing the risen Lord, John says in 1 John 3:2 that he didn't know what we will be -- I'm assuming he's referring to the resurrection body.

That's a good question. I read your post and you quoted all of the references I would have thought of and I have nothing new to offer. We know that Jesus could pass through walls and doors and that he ate as we have read in the Gospels. I came across two articles in Bibliotheca Sacra by N.A. Woychuk where he has written two articles on the resurrection body. They are in the Bibliotheca Sacra journals the first one is Jan.-Mar. 1951 and the second is July-Sept. 1951.

I have some more information on the articles in Bibliotheca Sacra on heaven by N.A. Woychuk. He writes "We need to remember that the whole nature of man is redeemed and shall be up in glory. Man consists not only of spirit but also of body and soul." Bibliotheca Sacra "Life in Heaven," vol. 107, no. 426, Apr-Jn 1950, p. 235. He does not elaborate on this nor does he cite any reference. In another article he lists several points: 1. The glorified bodies of believers will be incorruptible, 1 Cor. 15:42-43. 2. The resurrection body will be immortal. 3. The resurrection body will be powerful and not require rest. 4. the resurrection body will be glorious. From Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 108, no. 429, Jan-Mar. 1951, pp. 101-102. In this same article on page 102 he writes "We shall have bodies like Christ's glorious body, suited to a celestial sphere - with organs of sight that will enable us to view spiritual objects, with organs of hearing that will catch the strains of celestial music, with a splendid and effulgent attire suitable to our admission to the palace of the great King." In the same article on page 103 he writes "We are unable just now to comprehend what the future has in store for our bodies." Citing 1 Cor. 15:51 he writes "The body which is sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor it will be raised in glory; sown in weakness it will be raised in power; sown a natural body it will be raised a spiritual body." Bibliotheca Sacra, "Will we know each other in heaven," vol. 108, no. 431, July-Sept. 1951, p. 349.

I hope this helps you. He does not clarify some things about the flesh specifically but he does bring up some points about the resurrection body in heaven.

You may want to get a hold of a copy of Randy Alcorn's book on heaven.

Hi Greenonion,

Yes, the resurrected body will have flesh. That is the point of resurrecting the body.

and that is also the point of Jesus making sure that His disciples knew and understood that He had a real human body ....

Luke 24:36-43 36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 But they were startled and terrified, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 Then he said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still could not believe it (because of their joy) and were amazed, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in front of them. Context (NET)

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While I believed that that there will be resurrection of spiritual heavenly body (1 Cor 15:44), I doubt that the mortal flesh that died will be resurrected as manifested in 1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

What is a spiritual body?

I think our resurrected bodies will have flesh. Jesus had Thomas put his hands in His side and in the imprints from the nails in His hands. That is very significant.

I also think Ezekiel has much to say about this. Chapter 37 speaks of (in my opinion) the resurrection at the Second Coming of Jesus:

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
Eze 37:2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
Eze 37:3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."
Eze 37:4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Eze 37:5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
Eze 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD."
Eze 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
Eze 37:8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Eze 37:9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Eze 37:11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.'
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
Eze 37:13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.
Eze 37:14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD."
Eze 37:15 The word of the LORD came to me:
Eze 37:16 "Son of man, take a stick and write on it, 'For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.'
Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
Eze 37:18 And when your people say to you, 'Will you not tell us what you mean by these?'
Eze 37:19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.
Eze 37:20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,
Eze 37:21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.
Eze 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
Eze 37:23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Eze 37:24 "My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.
Eze 37:25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
Eze 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
Eze 37:27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."

Just my opinion of what Ezekiel is speaking of, but there you have it.

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Until He Returns (Rev. 2:17),
Travis

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. ~George Orwell

Finite mind cannot undersand the resurrection, for it is called a ‘marvel by Jesus
(John 5:28, 29) and a mystery by Paul (1 Cor 15:51-54 ) and 1 Corinthians 15:38-44
. but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:38-44 (ASV)
Paul uses the word "sleep" as a metaphor for death (John 11:11). He calls attention to the fact that there are some who will not die, but who will be translated from the imperfect physical state to the perfect heavenly state. With regard to both those alive when Jesus comes and those who have died, the former instantaneously exchange their mortal bodies for immortal bodies; the latter are raised with immortal bodies.

The change in the bodies of the saints will occur in an instant. The time when this glorious transformation takes place will be at the second coming of Christ, for it is then that the "trump of God" will sound, and faithful believers who have died will be raised in bodies that are entirely free from all effects of sin. Then Christians who are alive and looking eagerly for the coming of their Lord will undergo a marvellous change, whereby all traces of corruption and imperfection will be removed from their bodies, which will be made like unto Christ's glorious body (see Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2).

tsynody2001 has given Ezekiel 37:2-28 which show how is resurrection being done by God and one thing you can notice in said passage, that while a dead is resurrected completely it has never mentioned that there are blood on it as manifested in 1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Let us not forget that Jesus died due to loss of blood when he offered it as a sacrificial unblemished and unspotted for redemption of the sins of the world.

Butch, I have share my view about the spiritual heavenly body. How about you I return the question on you,What is spiritual heavenly body?

All Scriptures are ASV unless oherwise indicated.

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

Hi Verbatim,

I'm still not clear what you mean. Does this spiritual body have flesh and bone?

I don't know what a spiritual body is. I understand that this same flesh and bone body that now exists will be raised from the grave incorruptible. I don't know exactly what God has in mind in doing that but I am most assured that it is a flesh and bone body. I asked this because when you used the term spiritual body I got the sense that you meant something other than flesh and bone.

What is the purpose of the resurrectioin of the body?

Yes, it has flesh and bone but will be transformed like glorified body of Jesus.1 Corinthians 15:44 it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Philippians 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself.

Paul describes the purpose and nature of this resurrection of the first fruits: as God's plan is for humanity and how the resurrection fits into His overall purpose of salvation of first fruits.

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

Ok, but what is the need for the flesh and bone body to be raised?

What was the need for God to create Adam and Eve with flesh and bone bodies in the first place? But He did it. He has His own plans and we are not privy to a lot of them. Who are we to understand the mind of God?

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Until He Returns (Rev. 2:17),
Travis

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. ~George Orwell

Hi tsnody,

God created Adam to rule over his creation. Adam was given a body to live and function in this world as part of this creation.

KJV Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. {moveth: Heb. creepeth} (Gen 1:28 KJV)

Butch5 wrote:

God is going to fully resurrect our physical bodies from this earth and then transform them into new, glorified, spiritual bodies. When that occurs, our souls and our spirits will then be reunited and put back into this new spiritual body, and this new glorified, spiritual body will then be the one that we will live with for all of eternity.

After resurrection we can see our resurrected bodies, will be spiritual bodies. But those spiritual bodies are in fact the same bodies we have now, only glorified same as the glorified body of Jesus Christ with flesh and bones. Otherwise there is no resurrection.

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7