Is the doctrine of the bodily resurrection an essential, biblical Christian doctrine?

[UnitedWithChrist]

Easter is rapidly approaching, and it is time to think about the resurrection.

Christianity teaches that Jesus' body was resurrected on the third day.

He appeared to many after the resurrection, and showed his resurrection body to the disciples numerous times. This body was glorified, and changed in terms of characteristics and qualities, but it was the SAME BODY.

In fact, that is the point of the wounds from the nails and the spears. God chose to retain those in Jesus' body because they will be a perpetual reminder of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf.

This may surprise most Christians, but numerous groups and individuals simply deny that he was resurrected in the same body. Jehovah's Witnesses are the most notable, but there are other groups such as Armstrongites. These individuals claim that Jesus' body was not resurrected, but the resurrection body was a mere manifestation, like a Christophany.

However, that is absolutely not what Christianity teaches. Christianity teaches that Jesus' body was resurrected. It was the same body, only it was changed in terms of characteristics and qualities, so that it is fit for the new creation.

Why is this important?

It is important because God redeems his creation. Man's body is part of the creation that he is redeeming. Man is a physical/spiritual composite. He is not complete without both aspects. While the spirit is conscious without the body, it is not complete without the body.

Pagans believed that the objective for man is to be liberated from the body. Gnostics, which influenced some Christian heretical groups, taught that matter is evil by nature, and the man needs to be liberated from the body. This is a false belief system. Unfortunately, though, it has affected some Christians and their outlook in this regard.

Anyways, the poll question is simple: is the bodily resurrection a biblical, essential doctrine of Christianity?

For the purposes of this discussion, the bodily resurrection is described as the process, which occurs at Jesus' return, involving the resurrection of deceased believers' bodies, which are then changed in terms of composition and qualities to a glorified body that is suitable for the new creation. This glorified body is no longer corruptible, and is imperishable. It is a reclamation of man's body, which has been corrupted by the Fall.

Additionally, the word "essential" means that it is part of the fundamental doctrines that comprise Christianity, such as these: 1) the full deity and full humanity of Jesus Christ (Jesus is God and glorified man) 2) monotheism or the belief in one God 3) the doctrine of the Trinity 4) justification by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone 5) the inspiration and sole authority of Scripture as the rule of faith 6) substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross (Jesus died in the place of the believer) 7) original sin 8) virgin birth of Jesus 9) bodily resurrection of Jesus and 10) eternal reward of the righteous and eternal punishment of the unrighteous. A new believer might not understand the details of these teachings, but no sound evangelical bible teacher denies them. They are integral to the message of Scripture, because they are focused on the person and mission of Jesus Christ, and if someone continually promotes doctrines in opposition to them, the person should be strongly corrected. If correction is not received after a reasonable amount of time, they should be placed outside of one's fellowship, and warnings should be issued concerning them, in the local church environment. The word "essential" does not mean that the person must understand the doctrine comprehensively before being saved, but it means that a sound Christian will not be teaching against it.

And, obviously I believe it is a biblical, essential doctrine of Christianity, and should not be compromised upon. If some group or individual claims that the resurrection body of Christ was only a temporary manifestation, and is not the same body (only glorified) as the pre-resurrection body, then he is compromising a core Christian teaching.

It is a changed body, but it is still the same body in some sense. Paul uses the analogy of the seed and the plant. There is continuity between the seed and the plant. The plant is much more glorious than the seed, but there is continuity between the two.

I recommend that everyone reads Romans 8 to see how God redeems his creation, including man's body, as well as 1 Corinthians 15.

Salvation is about God's redemption of his creation. The Fall devastated his creation. He is in the process of redeeming it.

Here are some Scriptures to keep in mind (offer others if you can). Notice carefully the focus on the redemption of the creation, including the person's body.

Romans 8:11 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:18-23 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
(ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:1-7 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

1 Corinthians 15:35-49 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:50-54 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory O death, where is your sting?”

Notice, also, that there is a distinction between the word "spirit" and "spiritual". The resurrection body is not spirit, as some claim, but it is spiritual. The body has been glorified, or changed in some respects. Obviously, the resurrection body God gives is not going to reflect the damage of the Fall.

And, my position is apparent. I believe the bodily resurrection of Jesus is an essential Christian doctrine. Paul said the resurrection was of "first importance" in 1 Corinthians 15.

 

[UnitedWithChrist]

This article has some very good info on this topic.

It is focused on the resurrection body of believers, but much of the same material applies to Jesus' resurrection.

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Do We Receive the Same Body We Had on Earth at the Resurrection?

Matt Perman

Often when referring to the resurrection, Christians will speak of receiving their "new" body. That way of speaking is not necessarily wrong if the meaning is that our current bodies will be renewed so that they are "as good as (or, better than) new." But we should not think of the resurrection as the reception of a new body in the sense that we are given a different body disconnected from the body we had on earth.

Instead, the Bible teaches that the resurrection is a transformation of the same bodies we had on earth. As humans, we are not just spiritual, but physical. Our bodies are a very important part of our identity--they are part of who we are. Therefore, if we deny that we are raised with the same bodies we had on earth, we are denying a significant part of our identity. At the same time, if we deny that our resurrected bodies are transformed, we are left with the depressing idea that we will forever be subject to the weaknesses we now have, such as sickness, fatigue, etc. As Piper has said: "The old body will become a new body. But it will still be your body. There will be continuity. God is able to do what we cannot imagine. The resurrection is not described in terms of a totally new creation but in terms of a change of the old creation" (Future Grace, 372).

We will have the same bodies

There are many Scriptural reasons for believing that we will be raised with the same body that died. First, Christ was raised in the same body He had before He died. We know this because the tomb was empty (Luke 24:1-6) and because His resurrected body retained scars from the crucifixion (John 20:25, 27). Since Christ's resurrection is the pattern that our resurrection will follow (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:49), then we will also be raised with the same body.

Second, this is also evident from the very meaning of the term "resurrection of the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:13, etc.). The phrase means: that which is dead (namely, our body) is made alive. If the same body that died is not the body that was raised, Paul could not call it the "resurrection of the dead." It would not be a resurrection at all.

Third, the phrase "the dead will be raised" (1 Cor. 15:52) also communicates this. John Piper comments on this verse that, "If God meant to start all over with no continuity between the body I have now and the one I will have, why would Paul say 'the dead will be raised'? Why would he not say, 'the dead will not be raised (since they are decomposed and their molecules are scattered into plants and animals for a thousand miles) and so God will start from scratch'? He did not say that, because it is not true" (Future Grace, 372).

Fourth, Philippians 3:20-1 says that our earthly body is transformed into conformity with Christ's body in the resurrection, not that God creates a new body from scratch: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself."

Fifth, Jesus speaks of the resurrection as involving the coming forth out of tombs, which strongly indicates that the resurrection is the reanimation of the body that had been lied to rest originally: "An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28-29).

Sixth, Paul's statement "it is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body" (1 Corinthians 15:42) establishes that there is a continuity between our current body and our resurrected body, for it is the same "it" in both cases.

Seventh, verse 53 indicates that the same body we have now (which is mortal), will become immortal: "For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."

We will have transformed bodies

In 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, it may appear as if Paul is teaching that we are raised with a different body than which we had on earth: "...what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but mere grain." But upon examining the whole context, we see that Paul is not denying that it will be the same body. Instead, he is affirming that in the resurrection our bodies will be made better than the state they are now in.

In fact, this passage teaches a continuity between our bodies now and in the resurrected state by using the analogy from agriculture. Paul compares the resurrection of the body to the growth of a plant from a seed. The plant that results is definitely much better than the seed, just as our resurrection bodies will be better than those we have now. But there is also a real continuity between the seed and the plant, for they are the same organism. The same seed that was sown becomes the plant that grows. Likewise, the same body we have now becomes our resurrected body. But just as the plant is a result of the seed being transformed into something with better capacities and qualities, so also in the resurrection our bodies will receive better qualities and capacities. Thus, when Paul says that we do not yet have the body that shall be, he means that our current bodies are not yet in their glorified and improved state (see verses 42-44). They are not as they will be.

Paul also affirms that the resurrection involves the transformation of our current bodies in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." John Piper comments: "He said two things: the dead will be raised (that teaches continuity); and the dead will be changed (they will be made imperishable and immortal)" (Future Grace, 372).

In what sense will our bodies be transformed? Paul tells us in verse 42-44. He says that our current bodies are weak, perishable, unglorified, and natural. But in the resurrection state they will be powerful, imperishable, glorious, and spiritual. Our bodies will be powerful--they will not be subject to stress or fatigue or weakness. Our bodies will be imperishable--they will not get sick, die, age, or become injured. Our bodies will be spiritual--they will be fully oriented to and filled with the Holy Spirit. And our bodies will be glorious. Wayne Grudem comments on the wonder of this truth:

Because the word 'glory' is so frequently used in Scripture of the bright shining radiance that surrounds the presence of God himself, this term suggests that there will also be a kind of brightness or radiance surrounding our bodies that will be an appropriate outward evidence of the position of exaltation and rule over all creation that God has given us. This is also suggested in Matthew 13:43, where Jesus says, 'Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.' Similarly, we read in Daniel's vision, 'And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever' (Daniel 12:3). (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 833).

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-we-receive-the-same-body-we-had-on-earth-at-the-resurrection