The indeterminate period between death and the conclusion of the intermediate or disembodied state will come to an end in the resurrection of the dead. Those who have died in the Lord will be reunited with resurrection bodies. Thus, God’s plan for His children in eternity future will be an embodied life, just as life on earth is for each of us is an embodied life. Since New Testament times, the question people have wondered about is what will our resurrection bodies be like. The apostle Paul acknowledged this very question in 1 Corinthians 15:35: “Someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’”
Inquiring minds may well enlarge on this basic question. Will those who died in infancy be raised with infant bodies or will those who live to a ripe old age with all the bodily changes caused by age be raised in bodies that reflect continuity with their bodies at the time of death? Will believers who have been disfigured or maimed have evidences of this in their resurrection bodies? Will resurrection bodies reflect ethnic differences in skin color or facial features?
We may think in a general way that all these distinctions belong to the present age, but what will be the case in eternity will involve resurrection bodies that will not be living within the ravages of aging, diseases or disfigurements. Resurrection bodies presumably will be perfectly suited to the timeless and sinless realms of a new heaven and a new earth. Presumably, factors that are a part of human life in the present age will not be factors in the age to come. These and other questions might be raised but such matters are not addressed directly in the Bible.
However, we do find some general biblical statements that cast some light on some of our questions. The most notable passage is 1 Corinthians 15:37–44 which addresses death by explaining that “what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be” before adding that “God gives it a body as He pleases.” We can posit that God who makes all things perfect will not likely give anyone an imperfect resurrection body. Then concerning the resurrection of the dead, the passage promises, “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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” (vv. 43–44).
‘A spiritual body’
Immediately we wonder about “a spiritual body.” Our best insight probably lies in thinking about Jesus’ resurrection body. Philippians 3:20–21, in asserting that our citizenship is in heaven and that we anticipate Christ’s return from heaven, states that He “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” An obvious feature of Jesus after His resurrection was that He transcended time and space. He could appear suddenly in a room whose doors were locked. He could suddenly cease to be seen, such as when He departed from Cleopas and his companion in Luke 24, vanishing from their sight. Our resurrection hope is not dependent on the shape or nature of the resurrection body, but in that we will be like Jesus. “It has not been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2).
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