At first glance, it might seem a ridiculous question to ask but there are those who think that when Jesus went back to Heaven, He did so as a physical being.
In our Q&A entitled “How Important is the Correct Understanding About the Immortal Soul? (Part 2),” we quoted a Christian author who wrote:
“A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth. It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven.”
On the website catholic.com, we read: “In Luke 24:39, the risen Jesus says to the disciples, ‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’ (emphasis added). This verse is sufficient to debunk the idea that Jesus did not rise bodily, but John 2:19-22 provides another nail in the coffin. Here Jesus claims, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Two verses later, it is made clear what Jesus has in mind; ‘he spoke of the temple of his body.’ Thus, Jesus prophesied that his body would rise.”
We will discuss at length Jesus’ statement in Luke 24:39 in the next instalment. Regarding John 2:19-22, the Catholic teaching does not follow, as it is being overlooked that Spirit Beings do have Spirit bodies; that is, they do have form and shape, but that is not physical. God created us in His image; with our potential of becoming immortal Spirit beings, as God is Spirit or a Spirit being.
In the book of Daniel, God the Father is described with form and shape consisting of Spirit, and so is Jesus Christ, even before His incarnation. We read that Moses saw the form of the LORD—Jesus Christ. Also, glorified angels are described with form and shape. What Christ is saying in John 2 is that He will be resurrected with a body composed of Spirit. His body which did not see corruption would be changed into Spirit—as we will be changed into Spirit when we are still alive at the time of Christ’s return. Others who have died in Christ, will then be resurrected as Spirit Beings. More about that later.
So, Christ confirmed that the Father would resurrect Him—bring Him back to life—and that He then would rise up—stand up—no longer with a physical body, but with a body composed of Spirit.
It appears that there are others who share this false Catholic “understanding”.
Let us have a thorough look at this assertion.
In John 1:1-3, we read:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
In verse 14, it states:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
It is evident that the Logos, The Word, was always an immortal Spirit being along with the Father. Jesus later prayed to God the Father prior to His arrest, to bestow on Him the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers observes: “‘The Word was made flesh.’ The term ‘flesh’ expresses human nature as opposed to the divine, and material nature as opposed to the spiritual…”
It is interesting that Jesus as the God of the Old Testament had a discussion with Moses about Who He was and what His Name was, as we read in Exodus 3:13-14:
“Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary states: “A name that denotes what he is in himself, I AM THAT I AM. This explains his name Jehovah, and signifies That he is self-existent: he has his being of himself. That he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and forever…”
That was about Jesus Christ as the God of the Old Testament—He was Spirit or a Spirit being for eternity along with God the Father, with no beginning. Then He came to earth and for about 33½ years was a human being before being crucified.
Most theologians and writers would probably agree with the fact that Jesus has always existed, except for those who believe that Jesus was a created Being which is contradicted by a number of Scriptures, or that He is the archangel Michael or Gabriel although the Bible shows that “Jesus is so much better than angels.” We also read that we will rule angels. If Christ was an angel, we would rule over Him—a preposterous concept.
Hebrews 1:2-4 reads:
“[God the Father] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
In addition, this passage also describes Jesus as “the brightness of His glory” which, of course, far exceeds any physical body.
Regarding the assertion that we are discussing in this Q&A, “Is Jesus Christ a Spirit Being Today?” the following is the answer given on gotquestions.org:
“Later in the same chapter of Luke, Christ makes it plain to His disciples that He does have a physical body; He is not a disembodied spirit: ‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’ (Luke 24:39). After spending forty days with His disciples, Jesus ascended bodily into heaven (Acts 1:9). Jesus is still human, and He has a human body in heaven right now. His body is different, however; earthly human flesh is perishable, but heavenly bodies are imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:50). Jesus has a physical body, with a difference. His resurrected body is designed with eternity in view.”
As mentioned, we will address Luke 24:39 in the next instalment. It seems, one writer copies the false “explanation” from another writer, and so on. All of this is just a man-made invention. Why not just admit that Jesus was raised from the dead with a body composed of Spirit and all of this new-found wording would be unnecessary?
1 Corinthians 15:50 reads: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption,” but then there are those who invent a new description of Jesus “who has a physical body, with a difference. His resurrected body is designed with eternity in view.” It is much easier to accept that Jesus, at His resurrection, was resurrected as a glorified Spirit being to continue as He was before coming to this earth to die for the sins of mankind, than making up a new description which is without any biblical foundation.
At His resurrection, Jesus was raised from the dead with a body composed of Spirit. Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers discusses 1 Peter 3:18, as follows:
“‘Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.’… we should point to such passages as Romans 1:4; Romans 8:11 to show that the resurrection of Christ was due to the action of the Holy Ghost (better “Spirit”).”
Romans 1:4 reads:
“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
McLaren’s Expositions state, “The grand avowal of faith in His Resurrection loses meaning, unless it is completed as Paul completed his ‘yea rather that was raised from the dead,’ with the triumphant ‘who is at the right hand of God.’ Both are supernatural, and the Virgin Birth corresponds at the beginning to the supernatural Resurrection and Ascension at the close.”
Since both Father and Son are “supernatural,” the Son cannot have a physical body!
In Romans 8:11, we read:
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who (better “which”) dwells in you.”
Acts 13:34 confirms the following Truth: “And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption…”
It has been pointed out that Christ gave His flesh for the world, and He could therefore not receive it back in the resurrection, as His Supreme Sacrifice was made only once and for all time. Another question is: How could He appear and disappear with a physical body?
This, and more, will be answered in the next instalment.
(To be continued)
Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link