Here’s an argument I’ve seen from time to time in theological circles, but it never becomes more plausible, no matter how many times I see it.
One of the apparently embarassing doctrines of Christianity is the resurrection of the dead. That dead people could return to physical life by a miracle of God is utterly absurd to many. Apparently it’s absurd to a number of people who say they believe the teaching of the New Testament as well. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example say that they believe in an immaterial invisible “spiritual” resurrection. Mind you, they only had to start teaching that when Jesus failed to return in 1914 as the WatchTower society predicted, so they had to start saying that He did…. invisibly! But what about the resurrection that was supposed to happen? Well, they said, that is happening too. Invisibly. OK….
Then there are a wee group called “full preterists,” who also believe in an invisible, immaterial resurrection, that started happening in AD70 or thereabouts. We will never again have a physical body, say these people, and we will be better off as non physical beings forever.
But how do people like this who claim to adhere to the teaching of the New Testament get around what the New Testament says, namely that there will be a bodily resurrection? Well, here’s one way. They point out that 1 Corinthians chapter 15 says that we currently have a “natural” body, but at the resurrection we will have a “spiritual” body, showing that we will be immaterial.
This view of the biiblical teaching has literally nothing going for it. In the first place, a body that is not physical is not a body, just like a drink that’s not liquid is not a drink.
But secondly, this view involves importing highly dualistic concepts into texts that really don’t contain them at all. The assumption being made is that the word “spiritual” just means “immaterial.” But in the writing of the Apostle Paul who wrote 1 Corinthians, we know this is just not true at all. In fact, we can see this in 1 Corinthians itself. have a look at 1 Corinthians 2:14-15
The natural (psuchikos) man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual (pneumatikos) man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment.
The Greek words for “natural” and “spiritual” here are psuchikos and pneumatikos, respectively, the same words used in 1 Corinthians 15 when talking about the present natural body and the future spiritual body. Notice that the Apostle Paul is talking about living people in 1 Corinthians 2. What is the difference between the natural man and the spiritual man? Is one physical, and the other immaterial? This is clearly not what is meant. But if this is so, why should we assume that “spiritual” means “immaterial” when it comes to the resurrection?
The contrast in 1 Corinthians 15 is not one of physical and immaterial. It is one of “mortal” and “immortal.” “Corrupt” and “incorruptible.” Spirituality is about being right relation with your creator, not about being made of different stuff.
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Glenn
I would take issue with your last sentence here. I followed and agreed with all you wrote until right at the death (pun intended) when you appeared to do a u-turn. A post-resurrection body will be made of ‘spirit’, or ‘different stuff’, according to 1Cor 15. Jesus went to some lengths to show his resurrected body had physical presence yet could perform such feats as materialising out of no-where. In 1 Cor 2 Paul is clearly talking in the present tense and it looks as though he puts forward that the in-dwelling Holy Spirit gives a believer the ‘spirituality’ to discern spiritual things. So, the cross provides a spiritual existence yet we still die, but are counted as ones who will become eternal through our bodily resurrection at Jesus’s return. Is this what you meant, or do you believe we are ‘resurrected’ on a declaration of faith as your last line suggests?
Just need a bijou word of clarification here for me. Cheers.
James, the resurrection body is physical, which is what I meant when I referred to “stuff.” You say that 1 Corinthians 15 actually teaches that the resurrection body will be made of spirit, but it actually doesn’t say this. It says that the body will be spiritual, but the fact that we ourselves can be spiritual now illustrates that this doesn’t mean non-physical.
I think it’s a snag for a lot of people. They see a reference to spiritual and misread it as saying that the body will be made of spirit, which is a flat contradiction in terms. If something is “a spirit” then it’s not a body.