Unraveling the Mystery
The
place we will occupy in the future will be similar to places we occupy now, but
there will also be differences. The heavenly place will be a place of manifest
glory. Our bodies will have continuity with our present bodies. There will also
be discontinuity. Our new bodies are shrouded in mystery—we see through the
glass darkly. Yet we receive hints about our glorified bodies by comparisons
with Jesus, as well as by His words that we will be “like the angels” (Matt.
22:30).
Paul
gives further hints: After discussing various kinds of bodies we experience on
this planet, and various levels of glory of created objects, he adds: “The body
that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor,
it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is
sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42–44, NIV).
We
understand corruption, dishonor, weakness, and natural bodies. Only by contrast
or eminence do we contemplate an incorruptible, glorified, powerful, spiritual
body. The new body will be clothed with immortality. It will receive a garment
it does not presently or intrinsically possess.
Coram
Deo
Spend
some time in worship, thanking God for the eternal destiny He has planned for
you.
Passages
for Further Study
1
Corinthians 15:42–44
