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Spirit Bodies
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Daniel 10:5  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) What did his clothing hang on, if the common conception of spirit as just an essence is true—that there is not really anything there? Casper the Friendly Ghost seems to be covered in a white sheet, and he goes flitting around, but he has no real form or shape there because that is the common conception of spirit—that there is really nothing there. But with angels, there is something there! Spirit beings have substance, though they are spirit. Notice, he even has a waist (or loins, KJV) as human beings do. John W. Ritenbaugh Image and Likeness of God (Part 3)

Luke 24:36-40  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Consider the context and the time. He is resurrected, composed of Spirit. He is God. Does He indicate at all that being in the body is only a part-time experience for God? No, instead He teaches them that a spirit being's body is not vaporous like a ghost and that it is not composed of earthly flesh and bone. The implications are important in relation to other parts of the Bible. In this case, what He does not say is important because He wants them to answer in their own minds just the opposite of what they originally thought, "This is a ghost. It has no form or shape." Yes, He did have form and shape, and it was solid to the touch. They felt Him, and their hands did not pass through Him. He is saying that He has flesh and bones, but they are not physical. They are spirit flesh and bones. John W. Ritenbaugh Image and Likeness of God (Part 1)

John 3:2-8  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The "we" in verse 2 implies that the divine identity of the messenger and the source of His message was known to the Pharisees. But they were carnal people, concerned with protecting their status as rulers under the Roman government, not with receiving revelations from God. Jesus perceived the import of Nicodemus's first words. His message was the good news of the coming world government of God'that is, the kingdom of God, which shall rule all nations with the government of God. These Jewish rulers feared that message. Jesus was of their race'a Jew. If they did not oppose Him, they feared being shorn of their power and perhaps put to death as subversives threatening the overthrow the Roman government. And the Pharisees thought Jesus proclaimed the immediate takeover of that rule! Therefore Jesus did not waste words. He struck straight through to the crux point'the Kingdom of God is not of this world'this time, this age'but of the world tomorrow'a different and a following age. Not composed of humans, but of immortals'the God Family! So Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Notice carefully that being "born again" has a vital connection with the Kingdom of God'with the fact that it is not of this time'this age. But Jesus' abrupt opening statement left Nicodemus confused. The religious leaders and the hundreds of denominations and sects professing Christianity today are confused and deceived! Today's religionists put a different twist on it than did Nicodemus, however. Nicodemus did understand clearly what is meant by being born. He knew it meant being delivered from his mother's womb. It meant being delivered into the world! . . . What Nicodemus could not understand was how'in what manner'anyone could be born again! And of course, being carnal-minded, he could only conceive of a second physical birth. But he knew what being born meant! Puzzled, he asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" He was not confused about what is meant by being born. . . . He thought Jesus was talking about a second human birth. . . . His mind could not grasp spiritual things. Now Jesus had made clear that the Kingdom of God is something that can be seen'but not until or unless one is "born again." Not during his physical lifetime! Also, verse 5, the Kingdom of God is something a man may enter into'but not until after he is born again'another and entirely different birth. Here is the crux point that explains it all: Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Man is now flesh'human. He is material substance. "Dust thou art," said God to Adam, "and unto dust shalt thou return." Again, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 3:19; 2:7). But, said Jesus plainly, when one is born of the Spirit he will be spirit! The Kingdom of God will be composed of spirit beings'not of humans! At birth of human flesh, one is delivered from his mother's womb into this world. When born of the Spirit, one will be delivered from the church of God (physical)'the mother of begotten Christians (Galatians 4:26)'into the kingdom of God (a Kingdom of spirit beings). Man is now composed of flesh'material substance'matter. When born again he will be spirit'a spirit being, no longer human. He will be composed of spirit'of spirit composition'with life inherent'with self-containing life'not then existing by the breath of air and the circulation of blood. Of the next age when the Kingdom of God will rule the world'the life after death'the next life'Jesus said, "They neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God . . ." (Matthew 22:30). Marriage is a physical, fleshly union. In the age of God's Kingdom, when "born again" we shall be spirit, not flesh. Born of God as spirit beings, no longer human. Angels are spirits'composed of spirit (Hebrews 1:7). Jesus did not say we shall then be angels'but as the angels'sexless and composed of spirit. Angels are spirit beings'created as such'but not begotten and born of God as God's own born children. We therefore shall be greater than angels! Jesus explained this further to Nicodemus: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). You cannot see wind. Wind is compared to spirit. It is invisible. That is why mortal flesh, as we now are, cannot see the Kingdom of God. Those who inherit it will be spirit'normally invisible to eyes still human. The apostle Paul made clear that the Kingdom of God is something a human may inherit, but not in this age'not while he is composed of material flesh. "The first man is of the earth, earthy [human]: the second man is the Lord from heaven [a divine God being]" (I Corinthians 15:47). This is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus. He was of the earth, earthy'human. He was flesh, not spirit. He was born of the flesh, so that is what he was'flesh. When one is born of the Spirit, he will BE spirit. . . . But we cannot be spirit in this present age. There is a time element concerned with being born again into God's kingdom. Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986) Life After Death?

1 Corinthians 15:36-37  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Paul says a change will take place, and he refers again to what comes out of the grave being a body—a spirit body. John W. Ritenbaugh Image and Likeness of God (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 15:41  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) All things in creation have bodies designed for their purpose in creation. And though there are similarities in design, they are different because of function. Notice how often the word "body" appears in this context, and within its purview, the cherubim, seraphim, and angels are included. John W. Ritenbaugh Image and Likeness of God (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 15:47  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus. He was of the earth, earthy—human. He was flesh, not spirit. He was born of the flesh, so that is what he was—flesh. When one is born of the Spirit, he will be spirit. Paul is here explaining the same truth. But we cannot be spirit in this present age. Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986) Life After Death?

1 Corinthians 15:51  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) At the second coming of Jesus Christ (I Thessalonians 4:13-16), all the dead in Christ will be raised with new spirit bodies; and those mortal Christians still alive at His return will be instantly changed into the same kind of spirit bodies—bodies which can inherit the Kingdom of God. Our present flesh is corruptible, subject to death and decay. But spirit beings are eternally new—immortal, incorruptible, never subject to death and decay! Will You Go to Heaven?

2 Corinthians 3:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) In this verse, which refers directly to Jesus Christ, "spirit" is used in the sense of composition. But just because the Father and the Son are composed of spirit does not mean they have no form. If they had no form, how could the Bible honestly say that humans were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26)? They do have form. Physically, we are in Their image. John W. Ritenbaugh The Holy Spirit and the Trinity (Part 1)

Galatians 3:25  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) With the arrival of Jesus Christ on the scene, there was no need for the agreement—the Old Covenant—to continue. This does not mean God's laws are obsolete, but that the agreement between God and the physical children of Abraham is no longer necessary because there is now a New Covenant that far exceeds the old one in terms of promises and benefits, in addition to the fact that God has divorced Israel (Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 3:8).  No longer is property or homeland a goal but the entire earth.  No longer is physical health an aspiration but a new spiritual body that is not subject to disease or decay.  Christians are not bound by the Mosaic covenant, that "guardian" that was intended to keep Israel pointed in the right direction until there was a means by which they could receive a new heart and have access to God through the Holy Spirit.  So the Old Covenant is not what we have agreed to, but it should be noted that the laws contained in "the law" (Pentateuch) still have paramount merit, because they are an extension of God's character and mind.  There is no need for animal sacrifices, because Christ has fulfilled that, but there are still many lessons that can be learned through contemplating those laws. Other laws, such as the purity laws, may indeed still have a physical application as well as a spiritual one. God recorded those statutes and judgments for our admonition (I Corinthians 10:11), and they help us to see how God lives when we examine them in the light of Christ's ministry and teaching. Obeying them does not make us righteous in God's eyes or earn us salvation, but "a good understanding have all they that do His commandments" (Psalm 111:10). By them, we can learn to live as God lives (Matthew 5:17). David C. Grabbe

Revelation 1:12-17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This is quite a description! Undoubtedly, John was given this vision to set the stage for the entire book. It is symbolic in its application. For instance, He does not always shine with all of His glory before men. After His crucifixion and resurrection, He appeared to the apostles and others in a state in which He did not appear as we see here. He also showed His disciples that He is not just an ethereal, formless, shapeless spirit because He ate a meal with them. Even though he could pass right through solid walls, He nonetheless could eat. The transformation to spirit reveals the glory of the entirety of the person. Christ's body radiates His perfect and pure nature. Symbolically, the radiation of the glory of His nature is what emanates from Him as a result of His character. That is what God is bringing us to! John W. Ritenbaugh We Shall Be God! (Part 2)

Revelation 21:22-23  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This takes place in the heavenly Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven to the earth. Everyone populating the heavenly Jerusalem is someone who has been transformed by resurrection—glorified—and is now in the Kingdom of God. John W. Ritenbaugh We Shall Be God! (Part 2)

 

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