Does Jesus have a body in heaven?

[mikeboll64]

Hi All,

Phil 3:20-21
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 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.

I understand Paul, (who seems to have no doubt that he will live IN HEAVEN), to be implying that he is anxious to have his lowly earthly body transformed into a glorious heavenly body like the one Jesus now has in heaven.

I support my understanding with 1 Cor 15:35-54, which I believe to be explaining how the bodies those raised to life in heaven will have, are different from the bodies those who dwell on earth have. “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead……it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. And just as we have borne the image of the eartly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

The following is what the 25 NETNotes scholars say about the word “image”, that I've bolded above:

eikon <1504>
1) an image, figure, likeness
1a2) the image of the Son of God, into which true Christians are transformed, is likeness not only to the heavenly body, but also to the most holy and blessed state of mind, which Christ possesses

They have worded it in a way that seems odd to me, but what they're saying is that this “image of the Son” represents the likeness some of us will have, not ONLY to the HEAVENLY BODY Jesus possesses, but also to his holy and blessed state of mind.

I concur, and count that as further support that Jesus DOES have a body in heaven.

On the flip side of the coin, Istari has claimed that Jesus was raised in a “spiritual flesh body”, but then shed that body upon his ascension to heaven, so that he now does NOT have a body at all.

He believes that Jesus keeps the body he was raised with from the dead in some kind of an “earth closet”. There it hangs, waiting for him to put it on any time he comes to earth, so he has something to wear when visiting here.

He believes that the glorious body Paul is anxious to have his lowly body transformed into is one of these “earth bodies” also. He believes that Paul is anxiously awaiting the transformation of his lowly body, just so he can immediately hang this new glorious body in that “earth closet”, where it will be ready for him to put on whenever (if ever) he decides to visit earth again.

I think that if Paul starts his thought with the belief that his residence and citizenship will be in heaven, where according to Istari, he won't need a body, then it's odd that his thoughts are wrapped around this new, glorious body that he won't even need.

So, the question stems around whether you believe Paul is anxious to get a new body just to store it in an “earth closet” next to Jesus' glorious new body, or whether you believe that Jesus HAS that new glorious body in heaven right now, and Paul, knowing his citizenship will be there, is anxious to get HIS new glorious, heavenly body like the one Jesus has.

(I didn't want to create another “Bodies” thread, and that's why I made this a “Poll Only” thread.)

peace,
mike

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