@ Rattigan,
No, we don't repeat the Watchtower's opinion.
We repeat what Peter said in 1 Peter 3:18 "He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit."
Sure you do. The denial of of Jesus' bodily resurrection is a feature of cults, apostates and anti-Christ's, not Christians. The scripture you cited from the NWT and the WT interpretation of it requires:
1. Re-defining a resurrection as something other than a reintegration of the soul, body and spirit of a person.
2. Requiring Jesus to be a liar.
3. Requiring the early church leaders to be liars.
4. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised….For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. (1 Cor. 15:13, 16)
5. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Cor. 15:14)
6. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. (1 Cor. 15:15)
7. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (1 Cor. 15:17-18)
Denying the resurrection of Jesus is considered a characteristic of the spirit of Antichrist, as it contradicts the core Christian belief in Christ's divinity and resurrection. This denial aligns with the broader definition of Antichrist as one who opposes or substitutes as a Savior in place of Christ or along side him as Savior, which is exactly what Watchtower claims, "Come to Jehovah's Organization for Salvation".
There is a simple exegesis of 1 Peter 3: 18 that does not require abandonment of core Christian doctrine.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit - 1 Peter 3: 18 NKJV
This verse is easily translated as "made alive by the Spirit", as shown above.
This agrees with several verses that claim:
a.) God raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2: 24)
b.) The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8: 11)
c.) Jesus raised himself from the dead. (John 2: 18-22; John 10: 18)
This (correct) exegesis confirms Jesus’ statement that His resurrection body was his “flesh and bones”.
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. - Luke 24:39
Anytime an exegesis of scripture requires God to be a liar, it should be a red flag that the exegesis is wrong.