When many people think about heaven today, they picture what theologians sometimes refer to as the intermediate state. When we die, our bodies are separated from our spirits. Our spirits enter into the presence of the Lord, and our bodies remain on the earth. Speaking about our heavenly dwelling, Paul said, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:6-8)
Entering into the presence of Christ in heaven is going to be far better than any earthly experience we’ve had (Phil. 1:23), but it isn’t our final hope. This is why this period is called the intermediate state, because it lies between our present earthly existence, and our final glorification. Our redemption is holistic in that it includes not just the salvation of our souls, but also our bodies! Paul says, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil. 3:20-21)
This means that our ultimate destiny isn’t some sort of eternal disembodied existence, but an embodied life of worship. The reunification of our bodies and spirits will take place on the Last Day described in 1 Corinthians 15:
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (vs. 50-53)
Picture the day when our lowly bodies, which succumb to sickness and death, will be changed and clothed with immortality. It’s this resurrection that Christians have always held as the ultimate hope of our union with Jesus. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Rom 6:5) The ancient Christian creed written in the 5th century, the Nicene Creed, concludes, “…I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.” For the last 2,000 years, Christians have confidently looked forward to the new – glorified – bodies which God will bestow upon us.
What will these bodies be like? The new bodies which God will raise us up with are like Jesus’ current glorified body. He met with his disciples after his resurrection and walked with them upon the earth. Our Lord’s body could be felt (Jn 20:27), and could consume food (Jn. 21:9-19). Jesus stressed that he wasn’t a phantom, or a spirit (Lk. 24:39), but a glorified person. One day, through Christ’s work on our behalf, we will be too!
