Resurrection of the body

1. I Corinthians 15:35 "But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?"
   
   
   1. The resurrection of the body is an important and essential doctrine in the Scriptures. It refers to God's raising of a body from the dead and reuniting it with the person's soul and spirit (I Corinthians 15:35-50), We must realize that the resurrection of Jesus was quite different from that of Lazarus. Lazarus needed the body that had been buried, but when Jesus came forth from the tomb, his body was so changed that he could not be easily recognized. About the burial of our bodies, Paul said, "Thou sowest not that body that shall be" (I Corinthians 15:37). The body that rises is not made of the same substances as the one that was buried, but is immortal and incorruptible.
      
      
   2. Paul makes the contrast between living in a tent, a temporary home that can be pulled down and put away, and living in a permanent home that will last forever (II Corinthians 5:1). Our bodies are our temporary tents. Our resurrected bodies will be our permanent homes. They are similar in appearance but different in substance.
      
      
2. The Bible reveals at least three reasons why the resurrection of the body is necessary.
   
   
   1. The body is essential to man's total personality; he is incomplete without a body. Thus, the redemption Christ offers applies to the whole person, including the body (Rom. 8:18-25).
      
      
   2. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19); Our new body will also be the temple of the Holy Spirit at the resurrection.
      
      
   3. To undo the result of sin at all levels, man's final enemy (death of the body) must be conquered by the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:26).
      
      
3. Both the Old Testament Scriptures and the New Testament Scriptures teach the future bodily resurrection.
   
   
   1. Compare (Hebrews 11:17-19 with Genesis 22:1-14); (Psalm 16:10 with Acts 2:24; Job 19:25-27; Isaiiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Hosea 13:14).
      
      
   2. Also Luke 14:13-14; 20:35-36; John 5:21,28-29; 6:39-40,44,54; I Corinthians 15:21-23; Phil. 3:11; I Thessalonians 4:14-16; Revelation 20:4-6,13 teach the future bodily resurrection.
      
      
4. Our bodily resurrection is guaranteed by the resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28:6; Acts 17:31; Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 15:12,20-23).
   
   
   1. In general terms, the believer's resurrected body will be like the Lord's own resurrected body (Romans 8:29; I Corinthians 15:20,42-44,49; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2). More specifically, that means that the resurrected body will be:
      
      
      1. A body possessing continuity and identity with the body of this life and therefore recognizable
         (Luke 16:19-31)
         
         
      2. A body changed into a heavenly body adapted for the new heaven and new earth
         (I Corinthians 15:42-44, 47-48; Revelation 21:1)
         
         
      3. An imperishable body, free from decay and death
         (I Cor. 15:42)
         
         
      4. A glorified body, like Christ's
         (I Cor. 15:43; Phil. 3:20-21)
         
         
      5. A powerful body not subject to disease or weakness
         (I Corinthians 15:43)
         
         
      6. A spiritual (i.e., not natural, but supernatural) body, not bound by the laws of nature
         (Luke 24:31; John 20:19; I Corinthians 15:44)
         
         
      7. a body capable of eating and drinking
         (Luke 14:15; 22:14-18,30; 24:43).
         
         
   2. When believers receive their new bodies, they put on immortality (I Corinthians 15:53). Scripture indicates at least three purposes for this:
      
      
      1. So that believers may become all that God intended for humans at creation
         (I Corinthians 2:9)
         
         
      2. So that believers may come to know God as fully as He wants them to know Him
         (John 17:3)
         
         
      3. So that God may express His love to His children as He desires
         (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:7; I John 4:8-16).
         
         
   3. The faithful who are still alive at the return of Christ for His followers will experience the same bodily transformation as those who have died in Christ prior to the day of resurrection (I Corinthians 15:51-53). They will leave their old bodies and be given new bodies identical to the new bodies given to those raised from the dead at that time.
      
      
   4. Jesus speaks of a resurrection of life for the believer and a resurrection of judgment for the wicked (John 5:28-29).