The Benefits of Real Christianity are Enormous:
Imperishable Heavenly Bodies That Will Never Die
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that we preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:23-25
So what is the Apostle Peter talking about? He is referring to the new imperishable bodies that those who are born again will receive in the next life. Following is a discussion by the Apostle Paul:
“Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message. And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it…I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me — that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT).
“But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life” ”But someone may ask, ’How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?’” What a foolish question! There are bodies in the heavens, and there are bodies on earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the beauty of the earthly bodies. It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die.
Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power. They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies. The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit. What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam’s, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ’s. Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the man from heaven. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 35-36a, 40, 42-50 and 53 NLT).
Yes, our earthly bodies do disappoint us. They are weak, sickly, and dysfunctional. And they get weaker, sicker, and more dysfunctional as they age. Eventually they die. So who does the Bible say can be trusted with these heavenly bodies – bodies that are powerful, are never sick and never die? Those who trust and obey God “Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT).
In Part IV you are encouraged to “Choose Life.”
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