What nature of body did Jesus have after resurrection?

BQ NO 90 -  WHAT NATURE OF BODY DID JESUS HAVE IMMEDIATELY AFTER HIS RESURRECTION BUT BEFORE HIS ASCENSION? WAS IT SPIRITUAL OR PHYSICAL OR BOTH?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

INTRODUCTION

I must admit that this is a fairly complex question which my wife posted to me during her devotion. I have taken time to reflect upon it through the Scriptures before writing this article.

Scripture gives us a glimpse into the nature of the post resurrection body of Christ. This picture may not be fully comprehensible to our limited human minds but this is the much that God determined to reveal to us through His word and should therefore be sufficient for our purposes.

BIBLICAL ANALYSIS

We learn from the Bible that Jesus took on a divine spiritual body after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).

The Bible further reveals that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. This therefore implies that we cannot enter heaven in our earthly human bodies. We must first be transformed into new bodies that are compatible with the new heavenly realm where we shall dwell in the presence of God and of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

This therefore implies that Jesus lost His humanity on the cross and took on a heavenly body which was immune to earthly perils.

So what nature of body did Christ possess upon His resurrection from the dead?

Whereas we do not have a clear description of the nature of this new body but we can identify a few aspects of it from some passages of the Bible.

1) It was a visible body which was witnessed only by those to whom He chose to reveal Himself.

2) There were physical aspects of this body in that He could be touched. We believe that Thomas touched His wounded side to confirm that it was indeed Jesus who stood before him (John 20:26-30).

3) Jesus also ate fish (Luke 24:42-43), suggesting that the post resurrection body was possessed of some physical attributes.

However we need to appreciate that Jesus was and is eternally divine and could therefore permit certain things to happen for His divine purposes! Nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26).

One feature that we can observe about His new bodily nature is that He was certainly no longer dependent on earthly food after His resurrection!

The next question that would naturally follow is thus: How different was this new body from the human body that Jesus previously possessed since His miraculous birth?

There is biblically evidence that He may have looked far different in complexion because the disciples were amazed at seeing Him. It appears that they could not easily recognize Him at first instance but this was partly due to their unbelief. Most of the disciples did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead because their spiritual discernment was obscure.

Notice their reaction in John 21:1-15.

They had gone fishing in the sea and this strongly suggests that they had possibly abandoned the gospel by mistakenly believing that Jesus never rose from the dead!

John reports that the revelation of God on the resurrection was not clear to them and even after Christ rose from the dead they were still in denial until Jesus appeared to them (20:1-10).

Jesus later appeared to them in person and called them back to Him and recommissioned them to ministry again. He also restored Peter who was so broken and remorseful knowing that he had denied Jesus and abandoned Him at the hour of need. Peter had probably quit the ministry before being called back.

THE APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN CHRIST

On two separate occasions in John 20, Jesus entered into a room whose doors were shut by the terrified disciples because of fear of persecution following the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus just simply appeared from nowhere, meaning that He was not limited by physical barriers (John 20:19-29). He could appear and disappear at will just as happened on the Road to Emmaus.

We may not fully comprehend the nature of His divine body in human terms but it was definitely a body without the limitations associated with our human body.

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

We shall conclude our analysis by examining a key passage of Scripture which touches on the description of the post resurrection body.

1 Corinthians contains what is perhaps one of the most exclusive and elaborate passages of Scripture that explains the nature of the new bodies.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:42-49:

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man."(NKJV)

Notice the clear distinction between the human body and the post resurrection body as revealed by Paul in the above passage. The two natures are entirely different from each other. This is God's divine order.

CONCLUSION

It is therefore safe to refer to Jesus' post resurrection body as a divine body rather than simply designating it as a spiritual body.

We need to bear in mind that while still on earth, Jesus was not yet possessed of His full divine glory which He left in heaven (Philippians 2:5-8).

This does not suggest that He lost His divinity as God in any way. Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time until His death and resurrection when His human body was miraculously transformed into a divine and incorruptible body.

THE GLORIFIED CHRIST

Once He ascended to heaven, He took back His divine glory and His heavenly presence was no longer unapproachable by sinful flesh!

The glorified Christ who is described in Revelation 1 is far different and terrifying in glory compared to the post resurrection appearance described in the Gospels.

I wish to conclude by stating that we should comprehend the post resurrection body purely on the basis of what Scripture reveals and nothing else.

Any extra biblical description or speculation about the nature of Christ's body is heretical and misleading. Beside the description of Christ in the Book of Revelation, there is no evidence that Christ has physically revealed Himself in person to anyone after His ascension to heaven.

Those who teach about apparitions [earthly appearances] of the glorified Christ are heretics. No man can see Christ in His glorified state until we appear before His divine Presence.

Jesus will not appear again physically on earth until His coming for the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and during His second coming to reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years (Rev. 20).

The Bible teaches that during His second coming, Jesus will physically descend to earth with the saints in the same manner that He rose in His ascension to heaven and will contend with the enemies of God's people (ref. Zechariah 14).

It is my hope that this article has shed some light on biblical truth touching on the post resurrection body of Christ.



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