Heavenly Bodies

Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
November 2024

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:35-44 NIV)

We are studying the greatest chapter in the Bible on the resurrection. It is a long chapter. It is a doctrinal chapter. Paul has refuted moral errors in the Church at Corinth. He dealt with the immoral members of the church. Now, he is dealing with doctrinal problems.

Today, we are going to look at two questions the Corinthians had about the resurrection. One is a HOW question and one is a WHAT question. The Corinthians get to do a little Q & A with an apostle.

It would be great to see the Apostle Paul interact directly with questions that skeptics raise today. Here, he answers two questions the Corinthians had in his day.

Two Questions

But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. (I Corinthians 15:35-36 NLT)

Last week, Paul shamed the Corinthians and told them to stop sinning. In this verse, he calls them fools. There are some fools in every church. He called these foolish questions.

What makes a question foolish? Many questions are foolish. A foolish question is a question that is obvious. A foolish question is a question that we should already know the answer to.

A foolish question is a question that is asked not out of sincerity but to trick people. The Pharisees did that all of the time to Jesus. They asked him impossible questions just to try to trick him or trap him

There are plenty of great questions that people ask to get information. Some questions are just gotcha questions. Just watch any presidential press conference.

Skeptics ask questions like, If God is all-powerful, can He create a rock that He cannot lift? If God is all-powerful, can God create a square circle? Can God create a married bachelor? These are foolish questions. They are logical impossibilities.

1) How will the dead be raised?

What they are really asking is, How can the dead be raised? How is that even possible? How is it possible for dead bodies to come back to life? People can’t rise from the dead. When you are dead, you’re dead.

The Corinthians believed in the afterlife. They believed in life after death, but some didn’t believe in the resurrection of the body, because they believed that the body is evil.

They believed that the spirit is good, but matter is bad. They taught that anything physical or material is evil. Why did they believe that? They got that from their culture. The Corinthians were Greek.

That is what Greek philosophy said. Some of the greatest philosophers who ever lived were Greek (Plato, Socrates, Aristotle). Does this happen today? It happens all of the time.

It doesn’t happen so much with the doctrine of the resurrection. All churches have that doctrine down, thanks to Paul, but the world’s way of thinking creeps into the church. The church becomes secular.

The church begins to think like the world on a number of issues. Instead of the church influencing the world, the world influences the church. That is why Paul exhorts us NOT to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-2)

What is the answer? How can the dead be raised? That is no problem. If God can create man, He can raise man. Resurrection from the dead is not harder for God than creation. Paul says there are even examples in nature of resurrection.

A farmer plants a seed in the ground. The seed seems dead, but a living plant comes from the dead seed. Paul says that our bodies will be sown in the ground and raised the same way.

Paul says, “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.” (I Corinthians 15:42 NIV). The Corinthians said, “You can’t live again if you die.” Paul said, “You can’t live again unless you die.”

If someone asked us a theological question today, we would immediately go to Scripture and begin quoting verses. That’s not wrong. Paul did something different.

When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first… It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. (I Corinthians 15:36. 42 NLT)

Paul makes an analogy. He says if you want to understand the resurrection, go outside and look at your garden. He used nature to teach theology. He observed plants. He observed animals. He observed the stars in the sky and even gardening to illustrate spiritual truth.

We should not be surprised. Jesus did the same thing. He used nature illustrations all of the time. He used nature as sermon illustrations. This world is full of illustrations of spiritual truth.

Jesus gave a parable about a sower (Matthew 13). A man who sowed seed in different places. That was an illustration of deep truth. It had nothing to do with a farmer sowing seeds in a field.

He used mustard seeds as an illustration of faith (Mark 4:30-32). He used food as an illustration of the Bible. Man shall not live by bread along but every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus talks about the birds of heaven (Matthew 6:26. He talks about the flowers of the field (Matthew 6:28-30). He talks about the vultures and a carcass (Matthew 24:28). These were all illustrations of something spiritual.

2) What kind of bodies will they have?

That is our topic for today. Today, we are going to talk about resurrection bodies. We are going to talk about heavenly bodies. When we think of bodies in the heavens, we think of the stars, planets and galaxies. We are going to talk about people.

Albert Einstein made a statement that imagination is more important than knowledge. One of the most important ways to study the Bible is to use your imagination.

It is to ask questions. We need to think about what we read and ask questions about the text. Our problem is that we do not ask enough questions.

Have you ever wondered what a resurrected body will be like? What will a glorified body be like? Will it be a spiritual body floating around on some cloud or will it be a physical body?

What will resurrection bodies be like? Will they be like the bodies that we have now? Will they be different? How will they be different?

Can we eat with a resurrection body? We must be able to. Jesus was able to eat with His resurrection body. We will eat with ours as well.

John says that there will be food on the new earth for all eternity. We will be able to eat but the food won’t make us sick. It won’t make us unhealthy. It won’t make us gain weight.

When you get your new body, will you look the same as you do now? Will you still retain your personal identity? Will you still be you?

Will there still be gender in heaven? Jesus did not lose his gender in heaven. He was not a man on earth, and He was raised from the dead as a man, not a woman.

Will people recognize you? Will we recognize others? Will all of our bodies look the same? Will we have to wear name tags in heaven?

How old will we be in our resurrection bodies? The Bible doesn’t say. Will we look like we are in our 20s or our 40s? What about babies who are aborted?

Do babies who died or were aborted remain infants in heaven? Will they be grown in heaven or will they stay little? Will mothers get a chance to see them grow up? Some of these questions we can answer. Some of them we can’t answer but they are worth thinking about.

Two Important Truths

1) We will have a body for all eternity

Paul says several things. I am going to summarize what he says in this section with three points.

Variety in Creation

God not only made a lot of animals; He made a lot of different kinds of animals. In fact, every animal has thousands of varieties.

Why are there so many spiders in all different shapes, sizes and colors? There are 40,000 different species. Why so many different kinds of spiders? In fact, why are there spiders at all?

There are varieties of plants, animals and people. There are varieties of planets and stars. How many stars are there? The experts say it is one followed by twenty-four zeros.

They are all different. It is a scientific fact that no two stars are the same. There are all kinds of different stars (white dwarf, red dwarf, brown dwarf, supergiant, etc.).

The planets are all different as well. Some are big. Some are small. Some have hot surfaces. Some have cold surfaces. Some have a rocky surface and some are mostly gas, like some politicians. Some have a moon and some do not. Some can support life and some cannot.

Different Types of Bodies

Fish have a body. Birds have a kind of body. Ants have a body. People have a body. They are all different, but they have bodies.

There are eight billion people in the world today. They do not look alike. They come in different sizes, shapes, colors, and races.

For all eternity, we will have bodies. We won’t be ghosts. We won’t be spirits floating in the sky. We will have a body. Now, Paul does say that we will have a spiritual body.

It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:44 NIV). What does that mean? What’s a spiritual body? Is it a body composed of spirit? No. It is a body completely controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual bodies can be physical. Resurrection bodies can be material. Jesus rose from the dead. He had a resurrection body. He had a glorified body. He had a spiritual body.

It was a body that could go through walls. After he was raised, He went right through the tomb, even though it was covered by a big rock.

This one to two ton stone did not keep Jesus inside. He went right through it. He could also ascend into heaven with His body. It had special abilities that ordinary bodies do not have.

It was a supernatural body, but it was also a physical body. He could eat with the body. It was a body that you could touch. Jesus told Thomas to touch his hands and his side.

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39 NIV)

Paul said that our resurrection body will be like His body. The Bible says that when Jesus returns we will be like Him.

And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. (I Corinthians 15:49 NIV)

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV)

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2 NIV)

What Paul meant by “spiritual” when he talks about spiritual bodies is different from what we mean by the word spiritual. Spiritual does not mean immaterial. It does not mean non-physical; it means supernatural.

Now Jesus did say, “in the resurrection, we will be like the angels” (Matthew 22:30) but He did NOT say in the resurrection we would become angels. Angels are spirit beings.

Body Fit for the Environment

The body we have goes with the environment in which we live. That is why birds and fish have different bodies.

We can’t go to heaven with be body we have now. Paul said, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 15:50 NIV). Our body will have to change. It will still be out body, but it will be changed.

Mormon Misinterpretation

Cults have used this passage to come up with a false doctrine. Based on this passage in I Corinthians 15, Mormons have come up the doctrine of the three kingdoms. They believe that there are three kingdoms.

They believe there is the celestial, terrestrial, and the telestial kingdom. All who go to heaven will be assigned to one of three kingdoms. Only those in the celestial kingdom will live in God’s presence. Is it biblical?

There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. (I Corinthians 15:44-45 ESV)

This passage mentions earthly bodies. It mentions heavenly bodies. It mentions like the glory of the Sun, Moon and stars but it is not just a threefold glory. Paul says, “star differs from star in glory.” Each of the hundred trillion stars in the sky differ in glory.

What we don’t see in this passage is anything about a celestial, a terrestrial, and a telestial kingdom. In fact, the word “kingdom” is not even in the passage. There are no three kingdoms here.

2) Our new body will be nothing like the body we have now

Paul compares the resurrection to seeds that go into the ground and come out something else. Our bodies are just like seeds. We are a bunch a seeds that will eventually go six feet under.

What goes in the ground is different from what comes out. They look completely different. Seeds go in. Plants come out. Flowers come out. An acorn goes in, an oak tree comes out.

The body that comes out will look completely different from the one that went into the grave, except that it is still recognizable. How will it be different?

The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised IMPERISHABLE; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised IN GLORY; it is sown in weakness, it is raised IN POWER; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised A SPIRITUAL BODY. (I Corinthians 15:42-44 NIV)

Four Characteristics of Heavenly Bodies

1. Resurrection bodies will be perfect

Our bodies on earth have all kinds of flaws and imperfections. They are flawed. Our eyes don’t work right. Some of us have glasses. Some are completely blind.

Some of our ears don’t work right. Some have legs that don’t work. Some are completely paralyzed and can’t walk. Some walk with a cane. Some have missing limbs.

Our resurrection bodies will be perfect. We try to get the perfect body now through exercise, diet, make-up, surgery.

We won’t have the perfect body until the resurrection. We will be physically perfect. We will be morally perfect. We won’t have a sin nature.

2. Resurrection bodies will be powerful

We will be able to do all kinds of things with our resurrection bodies that we can’t do with our earthly bodies. We will have supernatural bodies.

Bodies on earth can experience pain. They can get sick. They catch diseases. They get tired. They get weak. They wear out. They age.

Resurrection bodies won’t get tired. They won’t need to take naps. They won’t get sick. They won’t need doctors. They won’t need surgery.

They won’t get old or start to slow down. We will have a body that will never age, even after a million years. We will all be in our prime in heaven.

3. Resurrection bodies will be bright

They will be glowing. They will be shiny. These bodies will be so bright, they will shine. They won’t just shine. Jesus said that they would shine like the Sun.

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Matthew 13:41-43 NIV)

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3 NIV)

Resurrection bodies will be characterized by beauty and splendor. They will be bright and radiant. Some bodies look pretty ugly on earth.

There will not be any ugly resurrection bodies in heaven. Paul said, this body will be “raised in glory” (I Corinthians 15:43 NIV). It will be characterized by God’s glory.

4. Resurrection bodies will be immortal

We will not just have a body that won’t age, we will have a body that can’t die. It will not just be hard to die. It will be impossible for this body to die. Paul says that we will be clothed with immortality (I Corinthians 15:53 NIV). Paul did not just say this. Jesus said this.

Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:34-36 NIV)

One day, death will be destroyed (I Corinthians 15:26). Death will die. It will be swallowed up in victory (I Corinthians 15:54 NIV). Right now, death is swallowing people up but eventually death itself will be swallowed up. We will live forever.

I Corinthians 15