“ … who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:21).
There is some discussion about what constitutes the “glorious body” of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some claim that the risen Lord was given a new, spirit body, as distinct from a physical body, and evidence for this is given that in John chapter 20 he is said to have walked through solid walls into the room where the disciples were gathered:
“… then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you …” (Jno. 20:19).
“… and after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you” (Jno. 20:26).
The perceptive reader, however, will note that not on either of these two occasions does the record state that Jesus walked through walls. It is an assumption, deduced from the statement that the doors were shut. Again, there is no Bible verse which states that a spirit-body can walk through walls – it is also assumed. And finally, it is assumed that there could not have been a miracle whereby a body of flesh could pass through walls. The theory is comprised from supposition and assumption, and not the testimony of the inspired record itself. Moreover, there is a hidden assumption that a “glorious body” has no physical form – which the Bible does not say. When challenged to define exactly how a spiritual body is unsubstantial, our adversaries cannot do so from the written Word. The assumption is that a spiritual nature has no bodily form, and is therefore some abstract essence – akin to an immortal soul. But there is no Bible verse that states this.
AN IMMORTAL BODY
The first question to address then, is “What is an immortal Body?” The Psalmist spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ:
“David speaketh concerning him, I forsaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope …” (Acts 2:25-26).
This verse proves that an immortal, glorified body can also be a flesh body: the “flesh” of Jesus rested “in hope” – which can only mean that it would be raised up again. Unless it was restored to life, it would rest with no hope. Moreover, Messiah himself specifically denied being an intangible spirit, and claimed to have a flesh body:
“Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Lu. 24:39).
This is why Messiah’s flesh rested in hope: it was to be revived (Rom. 14:9), and live once again. According to his own testimony, the incorruptible body of Christ was “flesh and bones”. He specifically denied being “a spirit’ in the sense under discussion, which should settle all debate. It is said by some that he could change his body from spirit to physical, and did so to convince Thomas – but that would make Jesus a liar – that he actually did have a body that he denied possessing!
Brother John Thomas defines an immortal body in his book Catechesis thus:
“ 19 – What are the characteristics of the spiritual body?
It is incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and immortal “flesh and bones” (1 Cor. 15:42, 43; Luke 24:39, Eph. 5:30).
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- – What is IMMORTALITY?
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Incorruptibility in living action; or life manifested through an incorruptible body. The Deity, who is the life, is the only Being in the universe who has it underived from anything exterior to Himself (1 Tim. 6:16).” (Catechesis, page 6).
We would recommend that the reader look up the references Bro Thomas uses to support his conclusions.
It is clear then, that the “glorious body” of Christ is, as he claimed, “flesh and bones”. In other words, it has a bodily form, and is substantial. “Life manifested through an incorruptible body” is a body that has the condition of immortality. Not some abstract spirit, but “flesh and bone”, glorified as a bodily spirit being.
But what then, are we to make of Messiah’s entry into a room when the doors were shut? It is claimed that a physical form could not pass through walls, but a spirit body could. Yet as we have said, there is nowhere in Scripture where these assumptions are stated. True, I cannot define how a physical body can pass through walls – but neither can our adversaries define how a spirit body can pass through walls! By definition, the miracles performed by the Lord defy human explanation!
But brother Robert Roberts, in his book, “Nazareth Revisited” makes an interesting suggestion in passing:
“The disciples were thunderstruck at his presence. It was not as if he had entered in an ordinary way. The door of the room where they were assembled was “shut” in the sense of being locked, for fear of molestation from the Jews. They had not seen him open the door and come in, though it is probable he did this while holding their eyes. It was therefore a great shock to see him suddenly standing in their midst.”
There are precedents for this in Scripture. Concerning the resurrected Master, it is said that: “Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him” (Lu. 24:16). Again, this verse is sometimes used to support the assumption that Jesus had a different spirit body – the disciples did not recognise him. But the assumption denies the plain teaching of the text – it was not his body that was different, it was their ability to perceive – “their eyes were holden”.
There was also another occasion when the apostles were brought out of a prison:
“the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning” (Acts 5:19-21).
But when the High Priest and the senate sought for them in the prison, there was a most remarkable occurrance:
“But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, Saying the prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within” (Acts 5:21-22).
Notice that here, the prison was “shut with all safety”, yet the apostles were still able to exit their cell – even without the prison guards who stood by the doors seeing them! Noone would suggest that the Apostles were disembodied spirits, yet they passed through the prison doors undetected, even by those guards who were watching them. The testimony states that the Angel “opened the prison doors” – yet that action was unseen by the keepers.
There is a similar occasion in the example of Peter. Acts 12 records how he was also brought out the prison without the knowledge of those who were guarding the door. In his case, we are told that the Angel delivered him, and “when they were passed through the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him” (Acts 12:see verses 7-10).
Notice that again, it was not only the case that Peter was able to vacate the prison without being noticed by the guards, he was also miraculously brought through the iron gate that led to the city.
There is another incident concerning the Lord which may be relevant. Luke chapter 4 describes the anger of those who opposed him:
“… and all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way …” (Lu. 4:28-30).
Notice, that the Lord – in his mortal state – was able to pass through the crowds of his accusers, without being detected, so that he “went his way” without them laying hands upon him.
In the upper room, therefore, there is no reason why Jesus, as “flesh and bone” could enter the room without the occupants seeing it. The claim is that a physical body could not miraculously pass through walls (an assumption), but we have also seen occasions where physical bodies could pass through the prison doors without being seen. The doors were opened, and closed again, even without those who kept watch seeing it.
Finally, it is suggested that Jesus was able to change his body from flesh to spirit at will. It is said that God, being all powerful, is able to do all things, so why not this? But we must not confuse the fact that God can do all things, with His actually doing them. There is no Scripture which states that Jesus had an immaterial essence for a body (a contradiction in terms), but there is a claim from Jesus himself that he did have a “flesh and bone” body. Rather than to change his body at will, Jesus specifically denied having an immaterial body. There is no record of Jesus so changing the nature of his body, and to say otherwise contradicts his own testimony. We must not speculate, and extrapolate assumptions from the text which contradict it’s face value teaching. Rather, we must look to the future, when by God’s Grace, the brethren of Messiah shall be given a glorious nature like his: not an abstract immortal soul, but a “flesh and bone” body fitted for an incorruptible existence.
Christopher Maddocks
