Thursday, April 19, 2007
Job 19:26 In my flesh I shall see God.
I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY
In the Church we talk a lot about saving souls. Or we say things like, "We have 250 souls in the congregation." That's kind of funny because every Sunday morning when I walk out into the sanctuary, I see a lot of bodies sitting in the pews.
Easter brings the truth into sharp focus. It shows us the truth that God saves all of you, soul and body. Job says: "And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:26). Paul says: "The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable" (1 Corinthians 15:42). Jesus told His disciples: "Behold My hands and feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones are you see I have" (Luke 24:39). We say it every Sunday: "I believe in the resurrection of the body!"
Sometimes it seems that even Christian people miss the vital truth of Easter. A Christian pastor recently observed that most Christians aren't afraid of hell because they know Christ paid for all their sins on the cross; yet some of these same Christians are afraid of heaven. They're afraid because they imagine heaven to be a place where they exist as disembodies spirits, floating around in some foggy realm.
Pinch yourself! Go ahead! Give yourself a good hard pinch! Then say it: "This body will live forever!" "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21).
