Resurrection and Physical Bodies
Hi L____,
Thank you for your question.
You ask, “was Christ resurrected in a spiritual body, and can you go into more detail and cite some scripture? Also, please comment on Luk 24.”
I will be happy to do that for you.
Here is the foundational scripture for the fact that a resurrected body is not a natural body:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
So there it is plain and simple: “It is raised a spiritual body… made a quickening spirit.” Now all we have to ask and answer is; what are the characteristics of a spiritual body? Can a spiritual body be seen? Can it be handled? Or is a spiritual body invisible like the wind which we cannot see or feel? What say the scriptures? What is Christ’s own answer to this question?
Joh 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water [ physically] and of the Spirit[ spiritually], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit .
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
“So is every one that is born of the Spirit… you can hear the sound of him but you cannot tell where he came from or where he goes.” That is characteristic of a spiritual body. But there is another characteristic of a spiritual body which Christ did not mention here to Nicodemus, but which is demonstrated on many occasions after His resurrection. That characteristic is the fact that a spiritual body can manifest itself in many forms which appear to be “flesh and bone” which can actually eat food and be handled by those around it. But then when it wants or needs to it can again become what it is:
[ Like] the wind [ which] bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Those who read that Christ said “A spirit hath not flesh and bone as you see I have,” are forgetting that “flesh… cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Truth to these folks is defined as the subtraction instead of the “sum of God’s Word.”
Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.
So we will never arrive at the Truth by declaring that one part of God’s Word is not true. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” is true!
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Now if 1 Cor. 15:50 is true, then Christ’s appearance as flesh and bone after His resurrection must have been a temporary condition for the sake of the apostles’ lack of faith. And as it turns out this is exactly what our Savior tells us is the case:
Joh 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Joh 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe .
Joh 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Joh 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
This entire story is not for the purpose of showing us that we will be given visible bodies. It is rather for the exact opposite: “Blessed are they that have NOT seen, and yet have believed.”
This truth is demonstrated by the fact that Christ appeared in four different forms after His resurrection. One of those forms just happened to be the one you refer to in Luk 24.
The first form in which Christ appeared was that of the gardener at the tomb of Christ:
Joh 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Joh 20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
The second time Jesus appeared “in another form.” This took place the same day that He appeared to Mary as a gardener:
Mar 16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
Mar 16:13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
“Another form” shows us that Christ appeared in several forms. Here is that same story in much more revealing detail:
Luk 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
Luk 24:14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
Luk 24:15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
Luk 24:16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
Luk 24:17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
Luk 24:18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
Luk 24:19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
Luk 24:20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
Luk 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
Luk 24:22 … certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; [“that same day”- verse 13]
Luk 24:23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
Luk 24:24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
Luk 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Luk 24:26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
Luk 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luk 24:28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
Luk 24:29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
Luk 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed [ it], and brake, and gave to them.
Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luk 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
“They arose the same hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them” is the verse which precedes the verses you are asking about. This form, as Himself, is then the third form in which Jesus appears. In this particular form, He appears with his crucifixion wounds still intact. If the point of this story is that we are raised with a physical body; why is Christ still bearing His wounds which are not seen in any of His other appearances? Here is the story of Christ’s appearance in His third form. Here is the story about which you inquire. It take place just as the men from Emmaus are finishing relating to the disciples that Jesus had appeared to them in “another form” (Mar 16:12).
Luk 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luk 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luk 24:38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luk 24:40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
Luk 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luk 24:42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luk 24:43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
Being Spirit, Christ simply materializes in a locked room as a hungry “flesh and bone” person whom Thomas could handle.”A spirit hath not flesh and bone as ye see me have” sounds as if Christ is denying what He Himself had affirmed to Nicodemas concerning being:
[ Like] the wind [ which] bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Was Christ not a resurrected body? Was He yet a natural body? No, He was not a natural body! And yes, He was a resurrected spiritual body. When we see only Luk 24:39…
Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
… to the exclusion of Joh 3:8…
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
… and 1 Cor. 15: 44 and 45…
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
… and verse 50…
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
… we are missing the point. This is not speculation. This is true for every resurrected body:
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
When we forget these many verses which tell us that we will all be changed from corruptible flesh to incorruptible spirit, from which all the things which are seen are made, we are placed in the unenviable position of pitting one verse of God’s word against a dozen other verses of God’s word.
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Christ’s fourth form of appearing to His disciples is related to us in the gospel of John:
Joh 21:1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
Joh 21:2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the [ sons] of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
Joh 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. [ Sounds just like Mary in the garden]
Joh 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
Joh 21:6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
Joh 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt [ his] fisher’s coat [ unto him], (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
Joh 21:8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
Joh 21:9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
Joh 21:10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
Joh 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
Joh 21:12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
“They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”
Joh 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord…”
Two hundred cubits is just three hundred feet. Who does not recognize their own teacher’s voice from a distance of three hundred feet? “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said ‘It is the Lord,” not because he recognized the voice, but because “they cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”
And then we are even told “And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. If Christ were standing there as Himself with His wounds still intact, then the words “no man durst ask Him, Who are you?” would be meaningless. I hope this helps you to see that if indeed Christ were seen (“a spirit hath not flesh and bone as ye see me have”) then “the things which are seen are temporal.” Christ was therefore simply temporarily appearing to be “in another form” as flesh and bone, and we are specifically told why He appeared in this particular form:
Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Always remember this verse when considering the “things of the spirit.”
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
So it was necessary that Christ first appear as “the things that are made.”But it is now necessary that we learn from His admonition to His disciples who had seen His crucifixion and burial:
Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.
Mike
Other related posts
- Resurrection and Physical Bodies (May 5, 2008)