Living in a Tomb? (Phil. 3:21, Lord’s Day 22)
Many times as Christians we can be influenced by Greek thought. We can fall into a mindset that the body is merely a temporary shell for the soul. However, Scripture teaches that God redeems his people as whole people. He redeems us body and soul. The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, makes it clear that we are not merely escaping fleshly tombs in our resurrection, but we will be raised in glorified bodies. Our current flesh was made for this world. Adam is from the dirt. He was created good in body and soul. Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 15 is that we would need a glorified flesh that is fit for heaven even before the fall. Therefore, rather than seeing our bodies as unimportant or disposable, we should recognize that God created us body and soul. He created us good. This backdrop is important to understand Philippians 3:21.
We know that right now our bodies are subject to the death of the common curse, but God has not forgotten what he created good. God created us as whole beings—body and soul—and intends to glorify body and soul in his redemption. The Bible provides numerous examples of life after death, showing that believers consciously dwell with Christ while awaiting the physical resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus affirms that our future bodies will be physical, but a physical spiritual flesh that is fit for heaven glorified. As temples of the Holy Spirit, our bodies are not just vehicles for the soul but are meant to be cared for and honored. Instead of viewing our flesh as inherently sinful or something to be escaped, we should understand it as a good creation, personally made by God’s hand, and it will one day be perfected because we taste Christ’s blessings now in the Holy Spirit.
In Philippians 3:21 Paul reminds us of our ultimate hope: the full realization of our redemption in glory. The work of the Holy Spirit in us now is a foretaste of the eternal joy we will experience. While we struggle with the effects of sin and the limitations of this age, we are being transformed by God’s energy, which will ultimately bring us to our full glory. Our heavenly citizenship calls us to live with a mindset fixed on Christ’s glorious return. The same divine energy that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. It is not a mere manifestation of God, but the power of God that orients us and moves us through this age.