by Nemesis 4 Replies latest watchtower bible
“It is sown a physical body, it is raised up a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual one.”—1 Corinthians 15:44 NWT
I was wondering if anyone had an explanation for this scripture? Even when I was a JW I never heard any explanation for the fact that we are told in scripture we have a “spiritual body” also. I was just wondering what others think about this scripture, be they JWs or Ex-JWs.
The spiritual body is the white robe given to Christians (Revelation 6:11; 7:9)
These are given when Christians are ressurected, as opposed to a fleshly body as flesh with its blood cannot enter the kingdom of the heavens.
Enter AGuest as she can explain it better than I can.
And why wouldn't this "blood" be accepted if it is so sacred?
mind body spirit separate but one.
I can speak my mind, you can see my body, my spirit will be resurrected, 1 Corin 15:44
Things visible, things invisible. The mystery of man, life, God.
The text which you have quoted from 1 Corinthians is not talking about a physical body and a spiritual body existing simultaneously - if that is what you are asking about. It is referring to the physical body being succeeded by a spiritual body in the resurrection.
Exactly what the "spiritual body" will be is the subject of controversy. If it is altogether "spiritual," it could not really be a body. And if it is a real body, its essence could not be spiritual. Perhaps it is a body which is animated by a spiritual principle rather than mere animal vitality. Of course, to JWs this is one of those texts which apply exclusively to the 144,000 rather than to mankind in general. But, I'll leave it to others to thrash this out.
My main point is that the spiritual body succeeds the physical body, and does not coexist with it.
Justin
First lets talk about the resurrection in general. I would recommend using the King Version or maybe the old ASV version.
The old testament concept of the resurrection involves the raising up of the original body that died. (Isaiah 26;19 KJV, ASV see also Daniel 12:2.) Jesus taught that he would raise his own body (John 2:19-20). Jesus also taught that the bodies in the graves come out (John 5:28-29). Paul continues this thought (Romans 8:11, Romans 8:23). So we see that both the old and new testaments teach the resurrection of the original body.
The watchtower disagrees with these plain Bible verses and instead teaches that the body placed in the grave is NOT raised.
"NO BODILY RESURRECTION Besides, nowere in the Scriptures do we read that the bodies of the dead will be raised up; . . . The 'dead,' yes, but not the 'dead bodies.'" Watchtower January 1, 1961 p.29
The watchtower also teaches that Jesus's body was NOT raised But was "disposed of"
On to 1 Corinthians 15:44
Look again at Romans 8:11. Paul is talking about our mortal bodies being resurrected. This is confirmed by Romans 8:23.
Now compare 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 with Romans 8:11. They are talking about the same thing-the resurrection of the original body. So the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians agrees with the rest of the scriptures previously showing resurrection of the original body (albeit in a glorified state)
What about 1 Corinthians 15:44 then?
1. Most Bible versions render the word as "natural" rather than the NWT,s "physical"
2. The verse is showing that our original bodies will be raised as righteous and sin free. 1 Corinthians 15:44 is comparing the righteous sin free resurrected body with the sinful natural nature of the old body.
3. The same greek words are used in 1 Corinthians 2:14 as in 1Corinthians 15:44. Paul is contrasting the "natural" man with the "spiritual" man. Both men however still have their original fleshly bodies.
I hope that this has helped you, and I also hope that you believe in the scriptural truth of the resurrection of the body, as well as the resurrection of the body of the Lord Jesus which is necessary for salvation (Romans 10:9). Please let me know if I can help.
