AT THE RESURRECTION, DO WE RECEIVE THE SAME BODY WE HAD ON EARTH?
Sometimes when referring to the resurrection, Christians will speak of receiving their "new" body. That way of speaking is not necessarily wrong if the meaning is that our current bodies will be renewed so that they are "as good as (or, better than) new." But we should not think of the resurrection as the reception of a new body in the sense that we are given a different body disconnected from the body we had on earth.
the Bible teaches that the resurrection is a transformation of the same bodies we had on earth. As humans, we are not just spiritual, but physical. Our bodies are a very important part of our identity--they are part of who we are. Therefore, if we deny that we are raised with the same bodies we had on earth, we are denying a significant part of our identity.
At the same time, if we deny that our resurrected bodies are transformed, we are left with the depressing idea that we will forever be subject to the weaknesses we now have, such as sickness, fatigue, etc. As Piper has said: "The old body will become a new body. But it will still be your body. There will be continuity. God is able to do what we cannot imagine. The resurrection is not described in terms of a totally new creation but in terms of a change of the old creation"
We will have the same bodies
There are many Scriptural reasons for believing that we will be raised with the
same body that died. First, Christ was raised in the same body He had before He
died. We know this because the tomb was empty (Luke 24:1-6) and because His
resurrected body retained scars from the crucifixion (John 20:25, 27). Since
Christ's resurrection is the pattern that our resurrection will follow
(Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:49), then we will also be raised with the same
body.
Second, this is also evident from the very meaning of the term "resurrection of the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:13, etc.). The phrase means: that which is dead (namely, our body) is made alive. If the same body that died is not the body that was raised, Paul could not call it the "resurrection of the dead." It would not be a resurrection at all.
Third, the phrase "the dead will be raised" (1 Cor. 15:52) also communicates this. If God meant to start all over with no continuity between the body I have now and the one I will have, why would Paul say 'the dead will be raised'? Why would he not say, 'the dead will not be raised (since they are decomposed and their molecules are scattered into plants and animals for a thousand miles) and so God will start from scratch'? He did not say that, because it is not true"
Fourth, Philippians 3:20-21 says that our earthly body is transformed into
conformity with Christ's body in the resurrection, not that God creates a new
body from scratch: "For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ:
3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his
glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself."
Fifth, Jesus speaks of the resurrection as involving the coming forth out of tombs, which strongly indicates that the resurrection is the reanimation of the body that had been lied to rest originally: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28-29).
Sixth, Paul's statement: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:" (1 Corinthians 15:42) establishes that there is a continuity between our current body and our resurrected body, for it is the same "it" in both cases.
Seventh, verse 53 indicates that the same body we have now (which is mortal), will become immortal: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
We will have transformed bodies
In 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, it may appear as if Paul is teaching that we are
raised with a different body than which we had on earth: "But
some man will say, How are the dead raised up ? and with what body do they come
? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And
that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain,
it may chance * of wheat, or of some other grain:" But upon examining the whole context, we see
that Paul is not denying that it will be the same body. Instead, he is affirming
that in the resurrection our bodies will be made better than the state they are
now in.
In fact, this passage teaches a continuity between our bodies now and in the resurrected state by using the analogy from agriculture. Paul compares the resurrection of the body to the growth of a plant from a seed. The plant that results is definitely much better than the seed, just as our resurrection bodies will be better than those we have now. But there is also a real continuity between the seed and the plant, for they are the same organism.
The same seed that was sown becomes the plant that grows. Likewise, the same body we have now becomes our resurrected body. But just as the plant is a result of the seed being transformed into something with better capacities and qualities, so also in the resurrection our bodies will receive better qualities and capacities. Thus, when Paul says that we do not yet have the body that shall be, he means that our current bodies are not yet in their glorified and improved state (see verses 42-44). They are not as they will be.
Paul also affirms that the resurrection involves the transformation of our current bodies in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." He said two things: the dead will be raised (that teaches continuity); and the dead will be changed (they will be made imperishable and immortal)"
In what sense will our bodies be transformed? Paul tells us in verse 42-44. He says that our current bodies are: "... sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."
Our bodies will be powerful--they will not be subject to stress or fatigue or weakness. Our bodies will be imperishable--they will not get sick, die, age, or become injured. Our bodies will be spiritual--they will be fully oriented to and filled with the Holy Spirit. And our bodies will be glorious.
Because the word 'glory' is so frequently used in Scripture of the bright shining radiance that surrounds the presence of God himself, this term suggests that there will also be a kind of brightness or radiance surrounding our bodies that will be an appropriate outward evidence of the position of exaltation and rule over all creation that God has given us.
This is also suggested in Matthew 13:43, where Jesus says, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Similarly, we read in Daniel's vision, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:3).