A New Body

by Pastor John Fredericksen

 

 

The older we get, the more our bodies wear out and are filled with aches and pains. It reminds us of our heavenly home, and helps prepare us for the time when we step into eternity. In the fall of 2013, a dear saint in our assembly was having increasingly severe health problems. One day he stood and said to us all: “Enjoy your aches and pains now because one day soon we will be with the Savior in heaven. There we will be given new heavenly bodies. We will have no pain, no sorrow and no death. A glorious future awaits us. Rejoice in this.”

The above expectation is right on target. When John the Apostle explained the physical eternal state, he wrote, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2). Gospel accounts of our resurrected Savior describe Him with a body similar in appearance to His previous state. We would surely expect that as God Himself, the Savior no longer experienced any pain. Revelation 21:4 confirms this when it refers to the eternal state of the kingdom saints. John wrote, “And God shall wipe away all tears…there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” The Apostle Paul explains there will be vast differences in our new eternal body. It will be a “celestial” body (I Cor. 15:38-40), meaning it will fitted by God to thrive in the atmosphere of the heavens. In contrast to our physical bodies that are weak, degenerating and eventually corrupt, our new bodies will be “raised in incorruption…glory…power…[and as] a spiritual body” (I Cor. 15:42-44). Paul continues his explanation by saying: “…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…behold I show you a mystery…we shall all be changed” (I Cor. 15:50-51). To summarize our change he says, “…as we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (I Cor. 15:49).

Whenever you get weighed down with physical pain, remember, one day our Lord is going to give us new bodies without weakness or pain. Believe it, rejoice in it and look forward to it with thanksgiving. Keep looking up for His return in expectation and faithfulness until He comes.