JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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"But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its
own body" (1 Co 15:38).
Paul continues by saying that the resurrection body will be different from the mortal
body. He begins by pointing out that not all flesh is alike:
"There is one kind of flesh for men, another for animals, another for birds, another
for fish" (v. 39).
Paul is using the word "flesh" as synonymous with the word "body."
Later Paul states that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 50), that is,
our present earthly, mortal, decaying, sinful bodies cannot inherit the glorious world of immortal
life. The perishable cannot inherit the imperishable (v. 50). There is a mortal body and an
immortal body.
Paul illustrates this further:
"There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of
the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another; and stars differ from star in
splendor" (vv. 40-41).
Although these illustrations from nature and astronomy do not prove the resurrection,
they do throw light on the fact that there can be a body in the resurrection which is different yet
similar from the mortal body that is buried.
Paul continues by describing the resurrection body. While he does not describe the
composition or matter of the physical body, he does point out its characteristics. The mortal body
is perishable, dishonoring, and weak; the resurrection body will be imperishable, glorious,
and powerful (vv. 42-43). What Paul says about the body is parallel to what he says about the
deliverance of creation from its bondage and decay. Salvation means the salvation of the whole
man, not merely of his soul or spirit.
Here Paul teaches the Hebrew (Old Testament) view of man. In biblical thought, earthly
bodily existence in itself is good. It is an evil only because "creation was subjected to futility"
(Ro 8:20) because of man's sin. Therefore when redemption is complete, the whole creation—the
whole man will be redeemed. As biblical scholar George Ladd put it:
"The ultimate destiny of man is a redeemed, transfigured earth, dwelling in redeemed,
transfigured bodies."10