Getting An Understanding - The Ressurrection of The Body
/By Joseph L. Watkins
The Greek word in our Bible for our word body is No. 4983, soma. We find this word over 140 times and all have been rendered body, or bodies all but one time, in Rev. 18:13 the word slaves was used. In studying this subject, it became very interesting to find that the Old Testament Hebrew language does not have a word for body in it. The word they use is the word for flesh. And whereas we think of the individuality of a man in the word body, the Jewish mindset finds this in the Hebrew word nephesh, the word for soul, so they would say that souls will die or there were eight souls in the
The truth is - as we learn from Gen. 2:7: "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
So, yes, the whole man became one human soul and any and all men are, and will always be, one human soul. A human soul consists of one human body and one measure of neshamah spirit (the spirit that is life).
Never do we read of the body being raised in resurrection; always it is the dead that are said to be made alive, not a body. However, the dead that are said to be made alive are men, and a man cannot be a man without: one, the spirit of man, and two, the body of man; one human spirit and one human body results in one human soul. Now, in resurrection, that body is to be a celestial body, that is for sure, but it is to be a real human body, just like the body of Chris Jesus that was last seen as He went up into heaven. And these men were assured of heaven that Christ Jesus shall come back again "in the same body." And in John 3:2 we are told that, "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
Oh, yes, I understand that this great glorious appearing is to take place upon the earth, in His "parousia" when He returns, and that His appearing in glory in heaven that which we read of in Col. 3:4, are two altogether different events.
Yes, this is true, yet He is the very same one that we all are to see. He is to be the very same spirit and the very same body. He did not use two different bodies - all are "celestial" - out of God.
It is only reasonable to understand that real human tangible bodies are to have our being within some form of outward body in the heavenlies. And such reasonable, realistic thinking is right in order as we truly learn to rightly understand and fully appreciate the divine "eternal purpose which He (our One God) purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
For He that was the seeable, knowable image of the invisible, imperceptible God of all creation, has chosen a body of real human beings to become the images of that image, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God."
Yes, the real outward perceivable body of Christ Jesus, is the very divine entity that is to know this great joy and responsibility. Oh, what a calling, what a grand hope! Amen and amen.
And may all living creatures, both great and small, even as He has purposed, both know Him and worship Him.
Always our goal is to know and better understand the truth of the word of God, so it is most imperative that we learn the divine principle of positional truth, and present state of truth - that great truth which our God only can view as having been reckoned to our accounts because of our identification and position in Christ Jesus. And because of our position in the out-calling of the body of Christ, whereas "state truth" has in view what we have in hand today. Historically, it has become a part of our present state.
Perhaps the best written work we can recommend on this subject is Mr. E.W. Bullinger's booklet, "The Two Natures in the Child of God." This can be found on our website or write and ask for it, for every child of God needs an understanding of this great truth.
We also must know and understand that our great God always is in "the now" - to Him there is no past and there is no future. That which we view as our future He views as the present. He sees the "now" in His foreknowledge. The divine work of election is always perfect because it is always "...according to the foreknowledge of God" (1 Pet. ).
We must learn to understand, that which is His view, the positional view, or His and our view as it is our true state of being, and always seeking to be faithful unto His divine law of right division with these. To do otherwise and misunderstand this great truth can result in nothing but mass confusion and heartache.
Yes, each one in Him have His life; we are new creations in Him (2 Cor. ). However, this life is only in seed form, 1 Peter 1:23: "Being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible (seed), by the word of God."
As we consider each of the many verses of God's truth, we must ask, "Is this being stated positionally, or is this addressing our present state of being? Does it have our future in view, or is it being accounted to us right now, today?"
Let us consider Eph. 2:10. Yes, we were dead in sin, and, yes, He has made us alive, in Him. But we still have a lot of dying to do, hopefully both as to our state, and positionally. In verse 6, the words "hath raised us up together" has in view our resurrection, even though we must die first. The words "made us sit together with Christ." Now our Lord has already been seated in His right, as God, but this seating that we have been "sit together in heavenly places" has yet to take place, for we must wait for His appearing in glory as "the head" of the body. It is then that we are to be made to sit with Him. Yes, it is to be our true state at that hour, and not before. jlw
