8.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• Christians believe in the resurrection of the body:
  - On the day when Jesus returns,
  - God will make his creation new
  - and he will also make our bodies alive and new.
• The new body will look different from the old body, as a plant is different from its seed.
• There are four differences between the body in this life and the resurrected body:
  - Perishable – Imperishable
  - Dishonour - Glory
  - Weakness – Power
  - Natural – Spiritual
• With our resurrected bodies we will be like Jesus Christ.

8.2 – 1 Corinthians 15:35–45←⤒🔗

^15:35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”

^15:36 Fool! What you sow will not come to life unless it dies.

^15:37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare seed – perhaps of wheat or something else.

^15:38 But God gives it a body just as he planned, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

^15:39 All flesh is not the same: People have one flesh, animals have another, birds and fish another.

^15:40 And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The glory of the heavenly body is one sort and the earthly another.

^15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory.

^15:42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.

^15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

^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.

^15:45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living person”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

© NET Bible

8.3 A new body←⤒🔗

You have learned that “heaven” has two meanings. Heaven is the place where a believer’s soul goes after he dies (the first meaning). But heaven is also “the new heaven and earth” that God promises to his children (the second meaning). In the last three lessons of this Bible study, we will focus on the second meaning.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God put a curse on his whole creation (Genesis 3:17–18). But on the day when Jesus comes again, God will restore his creation. There will be no more curse and no more death. And God will live with us in this new creation.

For life on God’s new earth, we will need new bodies! As Christians, we believe in the resurrection of the body.

Look at your hands and your feet. On the day when Jesus comes, God will make these hands and feet new! He will not give you a completely different body. He will give you back your body. Your body is important to God.

8.4 But how?←⤒🔗

When we think about our new bodies, we may have many questions. For example: How will God make someone’s body new, if that body was destroyed by fire? Or if the person was eaten by lions? And what will our new bodies look like? The Corinthians also asked questions like these. They asked, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” (1 Corinthians 15:35).

But in our passage (1 Corinthians 15:35–45) the apostle Paul says that these are “foolish” questions (verse 36). If we think carefully about God’s creation, we will not ask these questions.

For example: Think of how God makes a seed grow into a tree. The seed dies and disappears. But out of it comes something new: a plant! Our body now is like a seed. It will die and disappear. But God will change it into a new body. The new body will look different from the old body, just as a plant is different from a seed (verses 36–38).

Also, think about the different bodies that God has made. There are human bodies, animal bodies, bird bodies, and fish bodies. There are “bodies” in the heavens: the sun, moon, and stars. There are “bodies” on earth: rocks, trees, and so on. God made all these bodies differently. He also has the power to make a new kind of body: a resurrected body (verses 39–41).

8.5 Differences between the two bodies←⤒🔗

In our passage (1 Corinthians 15:35–45) we read of four differences between the body in this life and the new, resurrected body:

1. Perishable – Imperishable (verse 42)←↰⤒🔗

The body that we have now is “perishable.” It can be damaged and it can be destroyed. But the resurrected body will be “imperishable.” It will never be damaged. It will never get old. It will never die.

2. Dishonour – Glory (verse 43)←↰⤒🔗

God created us to serve him with our whole body: hands, feet, mouth, eyes, mind, everything! But we often use our bodies to sin against God. Sin brings shame and dishonour over our bodies. In the resurrection there will be no more sin and no more shame. God’s glory will be seen in our bodies.

3. Weakness – Power (verse 43)←↰⤒🔗

Our bodies are still weak with illnesses and pains and disabilities. But the resurrected body will be powerful and strong.

4. Natural – Spiritual (verse 44)←↰⤒🔗

When we see the word “spiritual” in the Bible, we must think of the Holy Spirit. In this life the Holy Spirit is already changing us on the inside (Lesson 5). But he is not yet changing our bodies. However, on the day of the resurrection, the Holy Spirit will raise our bodies. He will show his amazing, life-giving power in our bodies.

8.6 Like Jesus Christ!←⤒🔗

There are many things that we do not yet understand about the resurrected body. But there is one thing that we can know: We will be like Jesus Christ. The apostle John says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him…” (1 John 3:2, NIV).

That is what Paul speaks about in the last verses of our passage. Now we still look like the first man Adam, because he is the father of all people. But we belong to the new “Adam,” Jesus Christ. He gives us new life through his Spirit (verse 45). When he comes again, he will change us to look like him.

After Jesus was raised, people could still recognise him. He could still walk and talk and eat. But his new body was different from his old one. For example, his new body would never die again.

One day we will have the same kind of body. We are already becoming like Jesus on the inside. But one day we will also be like Jesus on the outside!