(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
Will our spiritual bodies be non-material?
Intro:
1 Corinthians 15 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible, and here’s why: If the resurrection is a factual, historical event, then it follows that Christianity is true.
Now here’s the deal. We last went through 1 Co 15 about 10 months ago, and when we did, I laid out a pile of argumentation that talked about exactly why and what to look at.
Today I’m not going to do that, but I want you to do that. That episode is still up, and it’s worth listening to. The show format was different back then and I did more in-depth teaching. So if you go to forthehope.org you’ll find a link to that on today’s episode page OR use search to find #932. Please, please do that.
Today, however, we’re going to have a different focus question: When Paul talks about us having spiritual bodies, does that mean they’ll be non-material? Spoiler alert: no. And I’ll share why on the other side.
New Testament segment:
Passage: 1 Corinthians 15
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 58
Words: ~1230
15:44 Are the spiritual bodies believers will have at the coming resurrection nonmaterial bodies? If so, it would imply that Christ’s risen body was nonmaterial. This, however, was not what Paul meant. Rather, descendants of fallen Adam cannot enter God’s kingdom unchanged. The “spiritual body” is a true body—a material body—but a transformed one. The two bodies contrasted are not “physical” versus “spiritual” but rather “soul-oriented [psychikon]” versus “Spirit-oriented [pneumatikon].” (See 2:14–15, where Paul contrasted the psychikos person, or the natural/this-worldly-oriented person, with the pneumatikos, or the believer, who has God’s Spirit.) Also, Paul’s reference to the spiritual body was not to Christ’s risen body but to the risen bodies of the descendants of the first man, Adam, redeemed so as to be fit for the kingdom of God (15:42–50).(1)
This is an important takeaway. We will have physical bodies, and remember…God created them and they are good. We’re both body and soul. But remember, Jesus still has a body, too. It’s weird to think about, and it was obviously transformed (and you remember other weird stories of Him appearing to the disciples even though the door was locked, right). Heaven isn’t a bunch of disembodied spirits sitting around on clouds, it’s creation transformed…a new heavens and earth. It’ll be awesome.
Our OT segment today’s going to be shorter, but here’s the deal: it’s about…
61:1–62:12 The Anointed Preacher Renewing the World. The Messiah will preach into existence his new, liberated people, who will pray into existence his new, redeemed world.
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Isaiah 61-62
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 33
Words: ~900
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Psalm 128
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 6
Words: ~98
The bottom line:
It’s useful to remember that Jesus is Truth, capital T. We’re not simply Christians because we like the philosophy or there are some good principles for living…because what good would that do if it were not true? The good news is that it IS true, and that also happens to mean that the God who created us knows what’s best for human flourishing and wants us to experience shalom.
And that, my friends, should bring comfort to us all.
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Paul W. Barnett, “1 Corinthians,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1444–1447.
(2) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1352.