LOOKING AT THE BODY OF THE BELIEVER

GREETINGS IN THE NAME OF JESUS:


   I have had some very interesting questions come to mind over my studies lately. We are right now studying 1 Corinthians, and I am in chapter 15 of my personal studies.  I ran across some things from Paul to the Corinthians in 15:35 that intrigued me and I thought I would share some thoughts on.

 We are all interested in what the future holds for us in Eternity especially when it comes to our bodies. Paul was very much dealing with a group of people that had all kinds of ideas about resurrection and therefore eternal life. In 1 Corinthians 15:35-45 he states" But someone may ask " How are the dead raised?" With what kind of body will they come? How foolish! What you sow does not come to life until it dies when you so you do not plant the body that will be, but just as a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else. But when God gives it a body as He has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives, it's own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another. There are also Heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies, but the splendor of Heavenly bodies is one kind and earthly another kind. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another, and star differs from star in splendor.  So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor and raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown in a natural body, it is raised in a spiritual body. If there is a natural body there is also a spiritual body, so as it is written: the first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

  There are so many questions that we can have about this that it will take an eternity to answer them, but aside from the obvious things that are not answered here about such a body; things like our personalities, likes and dislikes, memories of this life and our preparedness to be with one another for all eternity; I think about our ability to love someone.  I know that God will be able to deal with the inconsistencies we have in our personalities that cause us to clash by perfecting us in such a way that we will know and understand in ways that bridge those gaps we now have.  We are sown in one way and we are raised in another way. We are sown perishable, and raise imperishable, sown in dishonor, and raised in glory, sown in weakness and raised in power. God will have given us the ability to go from what is natural to us to what is spiritual to us; sown in the dust of the ground and raised to dwell in Heaven for all eternity. Just like the seeds that we plant in the ground, we will be raised altogether different.

  I somehow think that what we are doing here and now in this life has a great deal to do with what the end result is that will be achieved in our resurrected bodies too.  I want to note here that for each one of us it becomes a very personal cost as to what we are building.  All along Jesus has likened our bodies to be temples that require materials to be used to build with, and while we may be thinking about a mansion to dwell in it is just like God to think of our having a body that we are personally contributing to building in the same ways we build through the exercise required here on earth; only it is by the exercise of our spiritual growth in Christ Jesus.

We each one have the chance to equally build that temple; that place where we shall dwell forever more.  I for one will be intrigued to see how many of us get this right.  I pray that you are one of those who do!  May you richly bless God through your life in Him.







THE UNWORTHY SERVANT