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It’s easy enough to say that the Bible tells us there is a day when the dead in Christ will be resurrected. But that opens up a world of other questions. Let’s talk about a few of them.
1 Corinthians 15:35
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
The first question, “How are the dead raised up?” is easily answered with the simple statement that it is God who breathes life into our bodies to begin with. He is the one who has the power to give life, even to a pile of dirt as He did when He made Adam.
But what kind of body will we have if our current body has turned to dust? What about people who have been cremated? Will people who lost limbs have new ones? These are the kinds of questions this study will address today.
What Kind Of Body Will We Have At The Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
2 Corinthians 5:1-2
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
The Bible tells us our current bodies are not the same kind of body that we will have at the resurrection. The body we have now is subject to sickness, dismemberment, and death. It is limited to the physical restrictions of our world and is therefore subject to decay and death.
But at the resurrection our bodies will be raised incorruptible and immortal. We will no longer experience the effects of death. That means we will not decay or grow old in the way we do now. We will not get sick, and our limbs will not be broken or removed. Everything that entered the world as the result of sin will have no effect on our resurrected bodies.
Ezekiel 37:5-9
5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
It doesn’t matter if your earthly body was cremated, turned to dust, had its ashes scattered at sea, or was cast to the four winds. God can and will call your body together and change it.
Just as the physical body of Jesus was raised from the dead, ours will be as well—and just as His body was changed, ours will be changed. The body we see Jesus possess after His resurrection is our example.
Luke 24:37-43
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 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. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
John 20:27
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.
When Jesus was raised from the dead we received a picture of what the resurrected body looks like. He could be seen and touched. He could eat and drink, proving that He was not a ghost or merely a spirit but was raised in His physical body.
However, His body was altered. The one that went to the grave had been beaten, bloody, thirsty, hungry, and frail. His body after resurrection was clean, indestructible, and needed nothing. He remained flesh and bone, but enhanced.
Jesus ate and drank with His disciples, not because He was hungry, but for fellowship and to prove He was alive. In Jewish thought, table fellowship expresses covenant restoration. Eating will not be required for survival after resurrection—our bodies will be immortal—but eating will still exist for fellowship and joy (Luke 22:30).
We also see that the one who died is the same one who arose: same identity, same person, same body—now transformed. In the same way we will be risen with our same identity and our same bodies, but transformed.
The Enhanced Body
John 20:19
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
John 20:14
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Luke 24:16
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
Luke 24:31
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Acts 1:9
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
There is something different about this resurrected body. He appears and vanishes at will. He sometimes looked different, being unrecognizable at times, yet at other times He looked the same and showed His wounds. He was able to ascend and descend from heaven at will, not bound by time or space.
These are not characteristics of a mere flesh-and-blood body; they are characteristics associated with spirit. If Jesus was raised physically, how could His physical body do these things?
Because the resurrected body is the perfect unity between spirit and flesh, with each lending its ability to the other.
Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Today our spirit and flesh are at war with one another. But in that day our spirit and flesh will be in perfect harmony. Jesus was able to do whatever the flesh could do, and His flesh was able to do whatever the spirit could do.
1 Corinthians 15:44
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
The body of Jesus is physical but can also be described as a spiritual body. It is therefore both physical and spiritual, able to be manifested in different ways at will.
Marriage After The Resurrection
Just as we will not carry our old flesh into our new lives, we will not carry our old relationships into our new lives unchanged. Instead, our relationships will be transformed. And just as our bodies will be transformed into something better, so will our relationships.
Let’s look at marriage as an example.
Luke 20:27-33
27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, 28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. 31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.
What an awkward situation! The Sadducees likely used this question to mock the idea of resurrection. But there were things they did not understand—things that many in the church still struggle to understand.
Luke 20:34-36
34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Imagine loving someone so completely on earth only to be told you will no longer be married in the resurrection. For many this sounds sad, but the reality is far more hopeful than it first appears.
When Jesus said that the children of the world to come “do not marry,” He was not saying earthly relationships end. He was saying those relationships are transformed into a different kind of relationship suitable for the new world.
Earthly marriage seals a covenant between two people to be together for life; it is a bond of exclusivity and mutual help. In the new world, all of humanity will be united under Christ, and the exclusivity of earthly marriage will be replaced by universal inclusion.
Ephesians 5:24-25
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Ephesians 5:31-32
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Revelation 21:9-10
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Revelation 22:17
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The wife of the Lamb is not the physical city; she is the church—the redeemed people within the city, pictured as one body. Jesus never said there would be no marriage at all. Marriage is not done away with entirely in heaven. We see Christ and His wife. But earthly marriage is only a shadow of that ultimate union.
In the new world there will be no jealousy, no separation, no disagreements, and no reason to exclude others. There will be no loneliness or longing, and no need to create new covenants of marriage when we will already be united in covenant as the bride of Christ.
The bond you had with your spouse before the resurrection will remain, but it will be expanded. It will not be only between you and them; it will be part of a larger body of humanity caring for one another with a depth that surpasses even our strongest earthly bonds.
It isn’t called marriage not because the bonds, affection, and unity don’t exist but because the same level of love will be universal among everyone.
You may wonder if that will make you feel less special to them. That’s understandable. But the reality is that you will feel special to everyone. Each person will be special for their own uniqueness and what they bring to the body as a whole.
1 Corinthians 12:14-26
14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet. 22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked. 25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
Ephesians 5:28-29
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Each of us will remain unique. As the fingers are to the hand, so we will be to one another: special in our own way, unique, and cherished. Bonds aren’t severed; they are made stronger in the new world.
But here’s another question: will it be possible to sin in heaven as Satan did? That question will be answered in our next study.
Continue To Unit 6:3 – Can We Sin in Heaven OR
Return To Christianity 101 Unit 6 – The Resurrection & the Big Picture