Material or Immaterial Resurrection Bodies?
In the article "Material or Immaterial Resurrection Bodies?", Rev. Angus Stewart discusses the nature of resurrection bodies as described in I Corinthians 15:42-58, emphasizing the transformation from "soulish" bodies to "spiritual" bodies. He references David J. Engelsma's interpretation that the resurrection will involve a change to bodies that are not merely animated by the soul but are spiritual in nature, suitable for a heavenly existence. The article outlines the theological implications of this transformation in the context of the Last Judgment, where all individuals will be resurrected and judged according to their deeds.
Sermon Description
Material or Immaterial Resurrection Bodies? Preacher: Rev. Angus Stewart Series: Belgic Confession 37 Scripture: I Corinthians 15:42-58
THE LAST JUDGMENT
… Then all men will personally appear before this great Judge, both men and women and children, that have been from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, being summoned by the voice of the archangel and by the sound of the trumpet of God. For all the dead shall be raised out of the earth, and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies in which they formerly lived. As for those who shall then be living, they shall not die as the others, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and from corruptible become incorruptible. Then the books (that is to say, the consciences) shall be opened, and the dead judged according to what they shall have done in this world, whether it be good or evil. Nay, all men shall give an account of every idle word they have spoken, which the world only counts amusement and jest; and then the secrets and hypocrisy of men shall be disclosed and laid open before all …
David J. Engelsma: “It is helpful in explaining this change to know that the Greek word that the KJV translates as natural in 1 Corinthians 15:44-46 is literally soulish. The distinction in the passage is between a body that is animated merely by the soul and a body that is animated by the spirit. A body that is animated merely by the soul is fitted to live an earthly life. This was Adam in paradise. Had Adam not fallen, this would have been the life of the human race. A body that is spiritual is a body that is fitted to live a higher, better, more glorious life—a heavenly life. This is the higher, better, more glorious life of the body that Jesus acquired for himself by his death and resurrection. His bodily life is spiritual because his body is spiritual in nature. It is still a real, substantial, genuinely human body, but its substance is not ‘soulish’ but spiritual. Sharing in the quality of his body in the resurrection, the elect too will undergo the change from their formerly ‘soulish’ bodies to spiritual bodies. They will be fitted to live the new, different, better, more glorious heavenly lives” (The Church’s Hope: The Reformed Doctrine of the End – The Coming of Christ [Grand Rapids, MI; RFPA, 2022], p. 129)