WHAT OUR RESURRECTED BODIES WILL BE LIKE
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." 40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence. Luke 24:36-43
I suspect that every true believer in Christ has often wondered what our resurrection bodies will be like. And not just for ourselves, but also for our loved ones who have died in Christ Jesus. Fortunately for us, the Bible gives us a very clear picture what our resurrected and glorified bodies will be like.
THE WONDERS OF HEAVEN ARE BEYOND THE LIMITS OF OUR IMAGINATION
Now, I admit, that is saying a lot. All of us, at times, let our imagination run wild. But try as we may, the most vivid imagination that anyone has, or anyone ever had, pales in comparison to the yet to be revealed wonders of the glorious eternity that awaits us. The Scripture makes this truth abundantly clear. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’"
Notice that this promise is to “those who love Him”. The Bible clearly defines those who really love God. They are …
1. Those who really believe that He exists
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
2. Those who keep His commandments
"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21)
3. Those who love one another
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (I John 4:20) and…
4. Those who love not the things of this world
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15).
A GLORIOUS PROMISE: “WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM.”
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2
This Scripture is filled with several marvelous truths. Notice:
1. To whom addressed: “Beloved” (ἀγαπητός) Transliterated: agapētos (pronounced “ag-ap-ay-tos’) and is derived from “agape”. This shows the depth of God’s love for us.
2. The tense employed: “now” (present tense). Notice, not “will be” or “may be” but now!
3. Our status: “we are children of God.” Our spirit was born into the family of God in the new birth experience and at the resurrection our bodies will be adopted into God’s family.
4. Our future state will be far better than our present state: “it has not been revealed what we shall be…”
5. The certainty: “we know” that we will be “like Him”
6. The unimaginable joy: “we shall see Him as He is.” Just think, seeing the Living Lord!
KNOWING HOW JESUS WAS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION DEPICTS HOW WE SHALL BE AFTER OUR RESURRECTION.
The resurrected Christ revealed to His disciples that His body was real, having flesh and bone. It possessed distinct corporality. He could see and be seen, feel and be felt. He could eat the very same food the disciples had prepared for themselves. Now, some folks have a problem with the ability of our resurrected bodies to eat real food. Some unbelievers have mockingly said, “Well, I guess that there will be restrooms in heaven.” Of course not! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that “perfect food ingested by a perfect body will produce a perfect result!” Give attention to the description given by our Lord to His disciples regarding His resurrected body.
"’Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.” Luke 24:39-43
Our physical body, as was true of His physical body, is composed of flesh, bone and blood…with the life factor of our physical life being in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). But Jesus emphasized that His body was “flesh and bones”…not flesh, bones and blood. He had shed His blood…every drop of it…on Calvary to atone for the sins of the world. Our resurrection body will be as was His…flesh, bones and Light…with Light being the life factor. Jesus is the Light of the world and He is the Light of life. Apart from Christ, there is no Light…only darkness…in this world and in the world to come.
Songwriter P. P. Bliss marvelously captured this thought in his hymn “The Light of the World is Jesus”. All four stanzas ring with inspiration, but the fourth stanza beautifully sums up the truth just shared. “No need of the sunlight in heaven we’re told, The Light of that world is Jesus; The Lamb is the Light in the City of Gold, The Light of that world is Jesus!”
On another occasion, when Jesus prepared a breakfast of fish and bread for seven of His disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, we read in John 21:12-13, “Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.”
The Scripture does not state that Jesus ate breakfast with them but it is not unreasonable to suppose that He did. But that, in itself, is of no consequence. What is important is that in His resurrected body, our Lord Jesus prepared and served breakfast to His disciples. No foggy or shadowy figure did this. No, a real body of flesh and bone prepared that meal. And we will have a real body just like that when our bodies are either “changed in a moment and caught up to meet Him in clouds of glory” or else come forth from the grave when He commands “Come up hither!”
