Read: 1 Corinthians 15:42-56
The dead will be raised imperishable. (v. 52)
Do you ever look in the mirror and wish that your hair wasn’t so thin? Do you get up in the morning and wish your joints didn’t ache, that your eyesight wasn’t dimming, or that your hearing wasn’t fading? You think, I wish I felt like I did when I was 16.
When Jesus comes back and ushers in the new heaven and a new earth, the bodies of his people will also be made new. In the new heaven and new earth, we will have immortal bodies—bodies like Jesus received when he rose from the dead. In 1 Corinthians 15:52, the apostle Paul tells us, “The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” Verse 53 claims that this must be—bodies that have been corrupted by sin must be made imperishable and immortal because we have been set free from sin. We need new bodies for the glories of the new heaven and new earth.
In the new heaven and new earth, aches and pains will be gone and dimming eyesight and fading hearing will be restored. We will be free of disease as well as mental and emotional struggles. We will have bodies appropriate for life in the new heaven and new earth, bodies which can enjoy the wonders of God’s new heaven and new earth! It will be way better than being 16!
As you pray, remember those who struggle with illness and give thanks for the promise of the new heaven.
Rich Bawinkel is a retired pastor who has served churches in the Reformed Church in America and the Kingdom Network. He is married to Anne and serves as a musician in their local church, as the administrator of the Kingdom Network, and on the Words of Hope Board of Directors.
