in a closed room. It will possess unlimited possibilities. Sixth, it will be perfect. By this I do not mean that twisted limbs will be made straight. I do not know about that. I have sometimes thought that heaven’s standards of beauty may be so different from earth’s that what we call deformity here may be beauty there. Certain I am that the spiritual beauties will be the important ones.” I recall a beautiful passage from the pen of Dr. W. B. Riley: “ It is the one note of joy for the bereaved. Nothing that has ever come into the world has so Scarred its face, and so sorrowed human hearts as the spade of the ceme tery sexton. The author often drives through beautiful Lakewood. In the spring time, all nature breaks into beauty there. The blooming flowers are as fresh and fra grant as the season; the green sward is a landscape of God indeed; the monuments and obelisks are expressions of classic beauty, marking the resting places of the be loved dead. But he hates the cemetery, nonetheless! It has started too many tears, broken too many hearts, destroyed too many homes, dissipated too much happi ness, given rise to too great sorrow and grief; it has shown too little pity for bereaved mothers; too little con cern for broken-hearted fathers; too slight sorrow for suffering brothers and sisters. Therein is the promise of redemption from the grave. Our bodies that shall be — all corruption gone, all mor tality gone, all weakness gone, all dishonor removed, all carnal appetites destroyed. A woeful sense of inadequacy oppresses when one attempts to imagine the glory and beauty of such a body. But take heed to these words: “Earthly bodies were victims of the curse of sin. They were mortal, doomed to wither and die, subject to disease, suffering and pain. “Resurrected bodies will be free from the curse of sin, and therefore will be free from all pain and death. “ Earthly bodies were instruments of sin and tempta tion, and the flesh was an enemy of spiritual perfection and growth. “The resurrected bodies will be agents of spiritual growth, freed from sin’s attacks, aiding spiritual growth and attainments. “Earthly bodies were physical, adapted to a physical environment, serving as a medium between man and the physical world. “The resurrection body will be spiritual and will serve as a medium of man’s fellowship with God in a hea venly environment. “The earthly body was like that of the first Adam and was of the animal order. The resurrected body will be like Christ, the second Adam, freed from all animal appetites and passions. “There will be marks of identity between the earthly and the resurrected bodies. We shall know each other, and we shall know as we are known.” Our resurrection bodies will be spiritual bodies, such as the body our Lord Jesus had after His resurrection — a body of “flesh and bone” — animated by the eternal spirit, “ a spiritual body.” The resurrection body of the redeemed man will be a body such as the angels have, who are spirits. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of sal vation? (Heb. 1:14). Jesus, speaking to the skeptical Sadducees, said: And Jesus answering said unto them, The chil dren of this world marry, and are given in mar riage: but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being 27
have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23). So the resurrection body is a redeemed body -— redeemed from sin itself, from the results of sin, from the death of sin, as well as the tendency and bent to sin. Nor will weariness ever beset the glorious and incorruptible res urrection body. For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself (Phil. 3:20-21). Do we not then think Scripturally when we say that the resurrection body will be like the resurrection body of Jesus? Will not the resurrection body be a literal and physical body with flesh and bones like the one disciples felt when they put their hands upon the resurrected Jesus? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for the spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them (Luke 24:39-43). One noted preacher wrote: “At the last supper, Jesus ate and drank with the disciples and said, ‘But I say "Our bodies will not only be free from sickness, but also they will not be found by limitations of time and space." unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom’ (Matt. 26:29). So in the heavenly kingdom Christians will eat and drink with Jesus Christ. And no doubt the fruit of the tree of life is literal fruit, and these resurrected and glorified bodies will be, like the perfect bodies of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, sustained by food and drink, in perfect health. And that indicates, I think, that there will be fluids in the bodies, and so blood as well as flesh and bones.” Dr. W. E. Denham, great and good Bible teacher for years, writes: “The resurrection body will be like that of the Lord Jesus. That body had several characteristics. First, it was in appearance like His earthly body, since the disciples recognized Him. Second, it differed from his earthly body, since Mary and the two on the Em- maus Road did not at first recognize Him. Perhaps the resurrection body will be similar to that which we pos sess now but will have the power to change its appearance whenever desired. Third, it will be a physical body. Our Lord was able to eat with His disciples. He challenged them to handle Him. Such things could not have been possible had He not possessed a physical body. Fourth, this physical body will be animated by spiritual and not by mortal life. Fifth, it will have certain glorious qualities not possessed by us now. It will be deathless and, so far as we can see, not subject to any form of sickness or weakness or weariness. It will be free from limitations of time and space. Our Lord could appear
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