The New Body Verses the Old

I read about an underground storage site near Los Angeles where a dozen men and women lie in capsules that look like giant vacuum flasks. Their bodies are wrapped in tinfoil. Remove the foil and a thin layer of frost covers their faces. An icy mist of liquid nitrogen clings around each body. These people have been dead for some years. But centuries from now, attempts may be made to bring them back to life again. They chose this odd method of entombment in the hope that, at some time in the future when medical science has improved far beyond today’s standards, they will be thawed from their deep-frozen state and cured of the disease that killed them. Some of the corpses have been there since 1967.

I have my doubts about cryogenics (the practice of freezing a body at death and preserving it in a refrigerated storage in a cryotorium) but I don’t have any doubts that there is a future cure for all disease and sicknesses of the body. One of these days, those who are saved will experience a eternal healing of the body. In the passage before us Paul continues talking about the resurrection of the believer’s body and he specifically talks about the new body that believers will have.

Paul has declared through out chapter 15 that there will be a resurrection of the believer’s body. Now he tells us what that resurrected body will be like. He tells us that we will receive new bodies. Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:1, “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. The house that he is speaking of is our new body. He writes in verse 2, “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.” All of us long for more than the kind of body we now possess and the life we possess in this body. This body has its limitations and is not immune to pain, sickness, and disease. We all long for a body in which such things no longer exist. Paul declares, “For we know!” Praise God we have the promise that one day we will have new bodies.

We read in verse 35, “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” Paul anticipates some of the questions that some of the doubters and skeptics might ask. The two questions are: (1) How are the dead raised up or how can the dead be raised? (2) With what body do they come or what kind of body will they have?

Paul answers the first question beginning in verse 51 and he answers the second question in our text. What will the resurrected body of the believer be like? What will our new body be like? In verses 35-49 Paul compares the new body (the body we will get at the resurrection) with our old body (the body we presently live in). He lays one beside the other, like placing a diamond on a dark background, so the new body brilliantly shines forth in all its splendor and glory. Let me point out three truths from our text.

1. THE NEW BODY WILL REPLACE THE OLD BODY

Paul begins verse 36 by saying, “Thou fool.” The word “fool” was used derisively of one who lacked understanding. It is a word that means, “without mind.” Paul says to the skeptics that to deny or disbelieve, in light of all he has said, is without reason or sense. In light of what he has previously said and shown, reason dictates that you accept the truth of the future resurrection of the believer’s body.

Then Paul begins using a series of analogies to illustrate certain truths about the new body. The first that he uses in verses 36-38 is that of a seed, the planting of the seed, and the plant that eventually comes from the seed. As he does so he brings to our attention a couple of truths.

A. THE CESSATION OF LIFE

In verse 36 Paul reminds us that at some point, life as we know it in this body, will cease to exist. We read, “Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.” Simply stated, before there can be a resurrection of the body there must be the death of the body. The word “die” literally means to “die off.” Somewhere, sometime, someday, and somehow we all die off. Life will cease to exist as we know in this body. It is an appointment that we all face. There is no escape. The only exceptions are those who are living when Jesus comes. For everyone else, again there is an appointment with death (Cp. Hebrews 9:27).

I read about a fellow named Fred. He had been a faithful Christian. He was in the hospital, near death. The family called the preacher to be with them. As the preacher stood next to the bed, Fred’s condition seemed to deteriorate and he motioned frantically for something to on which to write. The pastor handed him a pen and piece of paper and Fred used his last bit of energy to scribble a note and then suddenly died. The preacher thought it not best to look at the note at the time, so he placed it in his jacket pocket. At the funeral, as he was finishing the message, he realized that he was wearing the same jacket that he was when Fred died. He said, “You know, Fred handed me a note just before he died. I haven’t looked at it, but knowing Fred, I’m sure there is a word of inspiration there for all of us.” He took the note out of his pocket, opened it up and read, “Please step to your left—your standing on my oxygen tube!”

Again, somewhere, sometime, someday, and somehow we will die. According to insurance company averages, the number of deaths is greatest in the first year after birth. A secondary peak in the number of deaths occurs near age 77.

B. THE CONTINUANCE OF LIFE

The analogy that Paul uses in verse 36 is that of a seed planted in the ground. That seed when planted actually dies or goes through a process of decomposition. In the same fashion, our bodies die, are buried, and go through a process of decomposition. But even though the body dies, life does not end. The word “dead” in verse 35 found in the question “How are the dead raised up,” does not speak of someone that has ceased to exist. It is a word used by the Greeks to speak of those who are not living in this present world, as you and I are now living. The implication being that they are still living.

They live, but live in different conditions than we do on earth. Our loved ones that have died in the Lord are now living in the presence of the Lord and in a heavenly place. When they died, they did not cease to exist. They only ceased to exist in their body. Their soul lives on in the presence of the Lord. They are personalities that continue to live but not in their bodies. We often say that when a person dies they have now received their new body. Actually that is not correct. One will not get their new body until the resurrection. They are actually living as spirit-beings having left the body at death.

It is the soul of our loved ones that is in heaven at the present. From all I can understand, their soul possesses a bodily form and they still retain their individuality and identities. They are known by others, walk, talk, have emotions, etc., except they are spirit-beings. They left their body behind on earth. If you were to open their grave you will find the remains of their body still there. They continue to live but in different conditions and in a different environment.

However, Paul tells us that one day, at the resurrection, they will once again indwell their bodies. Notice the word “quickened” in verse 36. The word means “to make alive, or to be made alive.” Paul is talking about the body being made alive. To put it simply, one day our bodies will live again.

But in verse 37 Paul tells that it will be a different kind of body. The old body will be replaced with a new body. We read, “And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain.” Paul continues using the analogy of the seed. Paul says that one may plant a naked seed (bare grain), a seed of wheat or some other kind of seed, but when you plant that seed into the ground it comes up it is altogether different. It will be a beautiful plant. The body of our loved ones that buried will one day be quickened, made alive, raised from the dead, and the body that comes forth will be altogether different than one placed in the grave. It will be a new body; a new body that replaces the old body.

We read in verse 38, “But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.” This new body will be a gift of God, a body that He has planned and will give to every believer at the resurrection. Just as each individual, single seed will produce its own plant; God will give each believer a new body. God gave us our first body and He will give us a new body, a body that will replace this body.

Jewish tradition held that the blind, lame, dumb, and other afflicted men would be raised in the same condition in which they died. But Paul tells us that the new body God is pleased to give us will be a new kind of body. What is sowed is not what is coming up! Our bodies in this life are but seeds put into the ground, but when they come up out of the grave they will be a beautiful plant, altogether different.

2. THE NEW BODY WILL RESEMBLE THE OLD BODY

Even though the new body will totally different, it will still retain certain features from the old body. Paul continues using certain analogies to illustrate what the new body will be like.

A. THE NEW BODY WILL RETAIN HUMAN INDIVIDUALITY

In verse 39 Paul speaks of the different kinds of bodies that all living creatures possess. We read, “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.” All living creatures possess a body. However their bodies are different. The beasts (horses, cows, lions, elephants, etc.,) have a different kind of body than a man or woman. The fish have their own distinct bodies as well as the birds and they are all different.

It is the distinction and differences of these bodies that give all living creatures individuality. We see a horse and we know it is a horse because of its body. We see a giraffe and we know it is a giraffe because of its body. We see a man or a woman and we know it is a man or woman by their body (in most cases). The new body we will have will retain its human individuality. We are not going to be angels or some other heavenly creature. We will have a body that will bare the resemblance of the body we now have. It will be a new body but will retain its human individuality.

A woman was worried whether or not her dead husband made it into heaven, so she decided to try and contact his spirit by having a séance. Sure enough, after using the usual mumbo-jumbo of calling to the spirits, her husbands voice was heard answering, “Hello, Margaret, this is meeeee…” “Fred,” she answered, “I just have to know if you’re happy there in the afterlife. What’s it like there?” He answered, “Ooooooooh, it’s much more beautiful here than I ever imagined. The sky is bluer, the air is cleaner, and the pastures are much more lush and green than I ever expected. And the only thing we do, all day long, is eat and sleep, eat and sleep, over and over.” His wife shouted out with joy, “Thank God you made into heaven.” “Heaven?” he answered. “What heaven? I’m a buffalo in Montana.”

When we die we will continue to live but it want be as a buffalo in Montana. We will live in a new body that will retain its human individuality.

B. THE NEW BODY WILL RETAIN ITS HUMAN IDENTITY

Paul then moves from bodies on earth to bodies in heaven. We read in verses 40-41, “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.” He says in the first part of verse 40, “There are celestial bodies (heavenly bodies; sun, moon, stars, etc.,) and bodies terrestrial (earthly bodies; men, animals, plants. etc.,). He further adds that each have their own glory (beauty). The heavenly bodies have their own beauty and glory and the earthly bodies have their own beauty and glory. The sun is glorious in one way and the moon in another, and the stars in their own way.

The point that Paul is making is that each has their own identity. Each are known for what they are and are distinguished and identified by their individual glory. People often ask, “Will we know each other in heaven?” The answer is yes. The people that are in heaven have not lost their identity and when we get our new bodies those bodies will still retain their human identity. Paul said in I Corinthians 13: 12, “then shall I know even as also I am known.” In heaven and in my new body you will know me as Ken Trivette and I will know you as who you are. When I see you I will know you and you will know me because our new bodies will not lose their human identity.

A very dirty little fellow came in from playing in the yard and asked his mother, "Who am I?" Ready to play the game she said, "I don't know! Who are you?" "WOW!" cried the child. "Mrs. Johnson was right! She said I was so dirty, my own mother wouldn't recognize me!"

In heaven we will know and recognize others. Our new bodies will not lose their human identity. What is even more glorious is that we will know people we have never met. Everyone will know each other. We read in Philippians 3:21, “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.” After our Lord was raised from the dead He appeared in His glorified body. When people saw Him they recognized Him and knew Him. His glorified body still retained its human individuality and identity. Our new body will be fashioned like His glorious body. It will keep its individuality and identity.

3. THE NEW BODY WILL RECTIFY THE OLD BODY

In a certain poem written about the parting of the spirit from the body at death, the spirit is represented as saying to the body, “When I would have started on the moon’s track, on the comet’s pathway, you held me back.” (“Conquering the Fear of Death” by Spiros Zodhiates, AMG Publishers,1982, p.584.) What the author was referring to is that our bodies are hampered by certain limitations and afflicted in certain ways. Some live life with certain handicaps and others suffer with sickness and disease. All of us, as we get older, realize that this body has its limitations and those limitations increase with the years. But the new body will rectify or correct all the problems we have in this body.

A. WHAT WE WILL PUT OFF IN THE NEW BODY

Beginning in verse 42 Paul lists several things about the new body that will be different from our old body. We read in verse 42, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.” He tells us that the body is “sown in corruption.” The word “corruption” is a word that describes decomposition. It is the opposite of genesis, which means coming into being. The moment our bodies come into being they began a reverse process of genesis. A process of decomposition starts from time they come into being and goes on until we die. These bodies began a process of wearing out and breaking down.

But Paul tells us these bodies will be raised in “incorruption,” a word that means, “incapable of deterioration.” Our new body will never break down, wear out, and deteriorate. The process of decomposition will be no more and throughout the ages of eternity they will remain the same.

As the years pass, our eyesight breaks down and we have to wear glasses. Our hearing fades and we have to wear hearing aids. Our teeth rot and we have to wear dentures and have our teeth capped. Our muscles that used to stand up now hang down. But things will be different in our new body. It will be raised in incorruption.

Notice verse 43, “It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory…” The word “dishonour” is a word that indicates the present sphere in which our body now exists. This world we live in is in a fallen state and the evidence is all around us. The daily newspapers remind us that this we live in a fallen state. Each of live in an environment and atmosphere of corruption. It is a world that tends to make us the same. We are faced with temptation to dishonor our bodies, names, and testimonies. But Paul tells us that our new bodies will be raised in “glory,” a word that usually stands as the opposite of dishonor. Our new bodies will know nothing of temptation, defilement, corruption and dishonoring. It will be “glory for me.” It will no longer be subject to sin but only praise, honor, and glory.

We also read in verse 43 that “it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” The word “weakness” means “without strength.” It is a word that especially speaks of bodily strength. The word also carried the ideal of sickness. These old bodies are plagued with all sorts of sicknesses that deplete us of our physical strength. There is cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, strokes, and on and on the list goes. But the new body will be raised in “power.” The word speaks of a power that will be imparted by God. Whereas the old body is characterized by weakness, the new body will have a God-given strength containing a God-given element that prevents the new body from ever experiencing a loss of strength. Praise God our new bodies will be never grow weak. They will be immune from all sickness and disease. No more colds, flu, cancer, heart attacks, or strokes.

We read in verse 44, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” Paul sums it all up by saying that our present bodies are natural subject to corruption, dishonor, and weakness. But our new bodies will be spiritual, immune to all that our natural bodies have known. All that we known in this body will be put off and we will live in a body that is immune to such things.

B. WHAT WE WILL PUT ON IN THE NEW BODY

Paul has given certain contrast between the old body and the new body and now beginning in verse 45 he gives contrasts between the first Adam and the Last Adam. We read in verses 45-48, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. [46] Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. [47] The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. [48] As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.”

The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” Adam, the first man that ever lived was given life by God. His body was natural (Vs.46) and created of the earth (Vs.47), thus a body subject to death. But on the other hand, the Last Adam, the Lord Jesus, Jesus, by His resurrection from the dead imparts life (Vs.45) having received a spiritual body (Vs.46) and declared the Lord of heaven (Vs.47). We look back to Adam to the earthly origin of our bodies but we look to Christ for the origin of our heavenly bodies. We have lived in a body that is earthly but we will live in a body that is heavenly. What will be the ultimate expression of that new body?

Notice verse 49, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” The words ‘we have borne” and “we shall bear,” describe the putting on of something like a garment. Our new bodies will bear the image of heavenly. We will put off an old body that is corruptible, dishonoring, and weak. But we will put on a new body that will bear the image of the One that loved us, saved us, and raised us from the dead. John declared in I John 3:2, “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.”

In this life God is working to make us like Christ but one day he will give us a new body that will like His and we will bear His image through all eternity. It makes me want a new body.