Post by Admin on Feb 2, 2024 17:36:29 GMT -5
The Glorifying of Our Bodies is Reserved Until Last.
I shall a little hint unto you the glory and blessedness of the bodies of
the saints when they shall all meet in heaven. I shall not focus upon
the privative blessedness of glorified bodies, which consists in their
freedom from all defects, deformities, diseases, and distempers
which here on earth they are subject to. Here on earth our bodies
stand in need of clothes to cover them, food to feed them, sleep to
refresh them, medicine to cure them, air to breath them, and houses
to shelter them—from all which glorified bodies shall be free, Rev.
7:16-17. But I shall only speak of the positive blessings and heavenly
endowments which glorified bodies shall be invested with. As,
(1.) They shall be like the glorious body of Christ. Philip.
3:21, "He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them
into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that
he will use to conquer everything, everywhere." Our bodies shall be
as endearing and lovely, as bright and glorious—as the body of Christ
is. Chrysostom says, that the bodies of the saints shall be seven times
brighter than the sun. Certainly saints shall be as handsome-bodied
and as lovely-featured as Christ is. Though their bodies are sown in
dishonor—yet they shall be raised in glory, 1 Cor 15:43. If Stephen's
face did shine as if it had been the face of an angel, that is, bright and
glorious, Acts 6:15; and if there were such a luster and glory upon
Moses' face, that the children of Israel were afraid to come near him,
and he forced to put a veil upon it until he had done speaking with
them, Exod. 34:29-36; I say, if there were such a glory upon the face
of these two mortals, Oh then! how will the faces and bodies of the
saints glitter and shine when their bodies shall be made conformable
to the glorious body of Jesus Christ! "Then the godly will shine like
the sun in their Father's Kingdom!" Matthew 13:43.
Certainly, as the light and glory of the sun does far exceed the light of
the least twinkling star—so much and more shall the glory of the
saint's bodies excel that glory and splendor which was upon the faces
of Moses and Stephen. The bodies of the saints in heaven shall be
surpassingly lovely, well-favored, beautiful, and amiable. Plutarch, in
the life of Demetrius, says, That he was so fair of face and
countenance, as no painter was able to draw him. I am sure that I
am not presently able to paint out the beauty and glory which shall
be upon the bodies of the saints in that day of glory, wherein the
saints shall shine as so many suns. But,
(2.) Their bodies shall be spiritual. 1 Cor. 15:44, "It is sown a
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." Their bodies shall be
spiritual, not in regard of substance—but state and
condition. Spiritual in the text is not opposed to visible—but
to natural; for their bodies, though in a sense they are spiritual—yet
they shall be as visible as the glorious body of Christ. When I say
their bodies shall be spiritual, you must not think that I mean that
their bodies shall be turned into spirits. Oh no! for they shall keep
their bodily dimensions, and be true bodies still. Look! as in the
restoration of old and broken vessels, the matter is the same, only
the color is fresher and brighter, and the fashion newer and better—
so in the day of glory, our bodies shall be the same for substance that
now they are; they shall retain the same flesh, blood, and bones, and
the same figure and members, that now is—only they shall be
overlaid or clothed with spiritual and heavenly qualities and
prerogatives; their bodies shall be glorious, of a due and lovely
proportion, of an exquisite feature and stature, of a lively color, of
cheerful aspect, and full of beauty and glory, splendor and favor!
1. Now the bodies of the saints shall be spiritual, first, in respect of
their full, perfect, and perpetual freedom from all heats, colds,
hungerings, thirstings, sickness, weakness, wants. Here on earth one
cries out, Oh my back, my back! another, Oh my belly, my belly! with
the prophet, Hab. 3:16; another, Oh my head, my head! with the
Shunamite's son, 2 Kings 4:19; another, Oh my son, my son! as David
for Absalom, 2 Sam. 18:33; another, Oh my father, my father! with
Elisha, 2 Kings 2:12.
Everyone here on earth has some ailment or other, some infirmity or
other, some grief or other—which fills his eyes with tears and his
heart with sorrow. But when these natural bodies, these animal or
carnal bodies, shall be made glorious, then they shall be fully and
perpetually freed from all manner of miseries and calamities; they
shall be as the angels, not subject to any sickness, weakness, or
infirmities: Rev. 7:16-17, "Never again will they hunger; never again
will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching
heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes." Rev. 21:4, "God will remove all of their
sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
For the old world and its evils are gone forever." In this respect their
bodies may be said to be spiritual.
2. But, secondly, they may be said to be spiritual in respect of their
spiritual agility and nimbleness. Now, our bodies are lethargic, dull,
and heavy in their motion: and by this the soul is many times
hindered in its lively operations; for when the soul would mount up
on high, and busy herself about eternal objects, the body, like a lump
of lead, keeps it down. But now, in this glorious state, the body shall
put off all lethargy, dullness, and heaviness, and be exceeding agile,
light, and swift in motion, far beyond the swiftest bird which flies,
Isaiah 40:31; 1 Thes. 4:17.
I know not by what to set forth the agility of glorified bodies; a swift
runner, a bird, a torrent—are too short to set forth their agility.
Luther says that a glorified body shall move quicker than a thought.
And Augustine says that the body will presently be here and there,
wherever the soul would have it.
Certainly the speed and motion of glorified bodies will be
extraordinary and incredible. A glorified saint desiring to be in such
or such a place a thousand miles off or more, he will be there in such
an incredible short time, that one calls it imperceptible, hardly to be
discerned: in which respect their bodies may be said to be spiritual.
3. But, thirdly and lastly, they may be said to be spiritual, because
of that perfect, full, absolute, and complete subjection that they shall
delightfully and perpetually yield to the Spirit of God. Now they often
vex and grieve, affront and fight against the Spirit of God. The
members of our bodies, as well as the faculties of our souls, do often
make war upon the Spirit of grace, as the apostle fully shows in that
Romans 6. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in
conflict with each other," Gal. 5:17. Now the body says to the soul,
"Be not over-righteous; neither make yourself over-wise: why should
you destroy yourself?" Eccles. 7:16. The body is often apt to say to the
soul, You are over-righteous, O soul! You argue and dispute against
this sin and that pleasurable way, and this comfort and that
enjoyment, more than is necessary. And the soul seems to answer,
ver. 17, "Be not over-much wicked, neither be foolish—why should
you die before your time?"
But now in heaven the bodies of the saints shall be fully, perfectly,
and delightfully—under the command, conduct, and guidance of the
soul; and therefore may truly be said to be spiritual. As the spirit
serving the flesh may not unfitly be called carnal—so the body
obedient to the soul may rightly be termed spiritual. Glorified bodies
are spiritual, not in their essence—but in condition and quality, as
being fully and perpetually under the government of the Spirit.
Now on earth, the tongue grieves the Spirit, and now the deaf ear is
turned to the voice of the Spirit, and now the eye is roving, when it
should be reading the things of the Spirit; and now the feet are
wandering when they should be walking in the ways of the Spirit;
and now the hand is idle which should be diligent in the work of the
Spirit, Eph. 4:29-31, Isaiah 63:10.
Oh! but when in heaven—the tongue, the eye, the ear, the hands, the
feet—shall be all brought into an angelical, willing, and delightful
obedience to the Spirit; upon which account glorified bodies may
truly be termed spiritual. But,
(3.) Their bodies shall be immortal—they shall be
incorruptable. 1 Cor. 15:42, 54. Here on earth, these carnal bodies
of ours, by reason of their earthly and dreggish composition, are
subject to mortality and corruption. Indeed man is so poor a piece,
that he no sooner begins to live—but he begins to die; his whole life is
but a lingering death. Death every hour lies at the door.
This sergeant, death, constantly attends all men, in all places,
companies, changes, and conditions. Petrarch tells of one, who being
invited to dinner the next day, answered, I have not had a tomorrow
for this many years.
Many dangers, many deaths, every hour surround these lives of ours.
Here, says one, we enter into the world; we follow one another in
the world; we depart all out of the world. Oh! but in heaven we shall
have immortal bodies! Luke 20:36, "They will never die again. In
these respects they are like angels." By the power, presence, and
goodness of God—their bodies shall be so perfumed and embalmed,
that they shall never corrupt, nor be subject to mortality. Manna, by
a divine power, was kept many hundred years in the golden pot
without putrefying or corrupting, and so shall the glorified bodies of
the saints be preserved and kept pure and immortal.
The immortality of glorified bodies shall far excel that of Adam's in
paradise, for they shall be free from all possibility of dying; for they
shall be perfectly and perpetually freed from all corruptible and
corrupting elements. Glorified bodies shall have no seeds of
corruption in them, nor any corruptive, harmful, malignant, or
afflictive passion attending them. Adam in his noble estate was in a
possibility of dying—but the saints in their glorified condition are
above all possibility of dying. This is a happiness which Adam could
not reach to, in his state of integrity. This great blessing lies upon all
who shall come to glory.
It is reported of the Duke of Bouillon and his company, that when
they went to Jerusalem, as soon as they saw the high turrets they
gave a mighty shout, which even made the earth ring, crying out,
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" So when the saints shall all meet in the
heavenly Jerusalem, oh how will they make even heaven to ring
again, crying out, Immortality! immortality! immortality!
And thus, I suppose, I have clearly and fully made good that great
truth, namely—that the best and greatest things are reserved for
believers until they come to heaven.
I shall a little hint unto you the glory and blessedness of the bodies of
the saints when they shall all meet in heaven. I shall not focus upon
the privative blessedness of glorified bodies, which consists in their
freedom from all defects, deformities, diseases, and distempers
which here on earth they are subject to. Here on earth our bodies
stand in need of clothes to cover them, food to feed them, sleep to
refresh them, medicine to cure them, air to breath them, and houses
to shelter them—from all which glorified bodies shall be free, Rev.
7:16-17. But I shall only speak of the positive blessings and heavenly
endowments which glorified bodies shall be invested with. As,
(1.) They shall be like the glorious body of Christ. Philip.
3:21, "He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them
into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that
he will use to conquer everything, everywhere." Our bodies shall be
as endearing and lovely, as bright and glorious—as the body of Christ
is. Chrysostom says, that the bodies of the saints shall be seven times
brighter than the sun. Certainly saints shall be as handsome-bodied
and as lovely-featured as Christ is. Though their bodies are sown in
dishonor—yet they shall be raised in glory, 1 Cor 15:43. If Stephen's
face did shine as if it had been the face of an angel, that is, bright and
glorious, Acts 6:15; and if there were such a luster and glory upon
Moses' face, that the children of Israel were afraid to come near him,
and he forced to put a veil upon it until he had done speaking with
them, Exod. 34:29-36; I say, if there were such a glory upon the face
of these two mortals, Oh then! how will the faces and bodies of the
saints glitter and shine when their bodies shall be made conformable
to the glorious body of Jesus Christ! "Then the godly will shine like
the sun in their Father's Kingdom!" Matthew 13:43.
Certainly, as the light and glory of the sun does far exceed the light of
the least twinkling star—so much and more shall the glory of the
saint's bodies excel that glory and splendor which was upon the faces
of Moses and Stephen. The bodies of the saints in heaven shall be
surpassingly lovely, well-favored, beautiful, and amiable. Plutarch, in
the life of Demetrius, says, That he was so fair of face and
countenance, as no painter was able to draw him. I am sure that I
am not presently able to paint out the beauty and glory which shall
be upon the bodies of the saints in that day of glory, wherein the
saints shall shine as so many suns. But,
(2.) Their bodies shall be spiritual. 1 Cor. 15:44, "It is sown a
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." Their bodies shall be
spiritual, not in regard of substance—but state and
condition. Spiritual in the text is not opposed to visible—but
to natural; for their bodies, though in a sense they are spiritual—yet
they shall be as visible as the glorious body of Christ. When I say
their bodies shall be spiritual, you must not think that I mean that
their bodies shall be turned into spirits. Oh no! for they shall keep
their bodily dimensions, and be true bodies still. Look! as in the
restoration of old and broken vessels, the matter is the same, only
the color is fresher and brighter, and the fashion newer and better—
so in the day of glory, our bodies shall be the same for substance that
now they are; they shall retain the same flesh, blood, and bones, and
the same figure and members, that now is—only they shall be
overlaid or clothed with spiritual and heavenly qualities and
prerogatives; their bodies shall be glorious, of a due and lovely
proportion, of an exquisite feature and stature, of a lively color, of
cheerful aspect, and full of beauty and glory, splendor and favor!
1. Now the bodies of the saints shall be spiritual, first, in respect of
their full, perfect, and perpetual freedom from all heats, colds,
hungerings, thirstings, sickness, weakness, wants. Here on earth one
cries out, Oh my back, my back! another, Oh my belly, my belly! with
the prophet, Hab. 3:16; another, Oh my head, my head! with the
Shunamite's son, 2 Kings 4:19; another, Oh my son, my son! as David
for Absalom, 2 Sam. 18:33; another, Oh my father, my father! with
Elisha, 2 Kings 2:12.
Everyone here on earth has some ailment or other, some infirmity or
other, some grief or other—which fills his eyes with tears and his
heart with sorrow. But when these natural bodies, these animal or
carnal bodies, shall be made glorious, then they shall be fully and
perpetually freed from all manner of miseries and calamities; they
shall be as the angels, not subject to any sickness, weakness, or
infirmities: Rev. 7:16-17, "Never again will they hunger; never again
will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching
heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes." Rev. 21:4, "God will remove all of their
sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
For the old world and its evils are gone forever." In this respect their
bodies may be said to be spiritual.
2. But, secondly, they may be said to be spiritual in respect of their
spiritual agility and nimbleness. Now, our bodies are lethargic, dull,
and heavy in their motion: and by this the soul is many times
hindered in its lively operations; for when the soul would mount up
on high, and busy herself about eternal objects, the body, like a lump
of lead, keeps it down. But now, in this glorious state, the body shall
put off all lethargy, dullness, and heaviness, and be exceeding agile,
light, and swift in motion, far beyond the swiftest bird which flies,
Isaiah 40:31; 1 Thes. 4:17.
I know not by what to set forth the agility of glorified bodies; a swift
runner, a bird, a torrent—are too short to set forth their agility.
Luther says that a glorified body shall move quicker than a thought.
And Augustine says that the body will presently be here and there,
wherever the soul would have it.
Certainly the speed and motion of glorified bodies will be
extraordinary and incredible. A glorified saint desiring to be in such
or such a place a thousand miles off or more, he will be there in such
an incredible short time, that one calls it imperceptible, hardly to be
discerned: in which respect their bodies may be said to be spiritual.
3. But, thirdly and lastly, they may be said to be spiritual, because
of that perfect, full, absolute, and complete subjection that they shall
delightfully and perpetually yield to the Spirit of God. Now they often
vex and grieve, affront and fight against the Spirit of God. The
members of our bodies, as well as the faculties of our souls, do often
make war upon the Spirit of grace, as the apostle fully shows in that
Romans 6. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in
conflict with each other," Gal. 5:17. Now the body says to the soul,
"Be not over-righteous; neither make yourself over-wise: why should
you destroy yourself?" Eccles. 7:16. The body is often apt to say to the
soul, You are over-righteous, O soul! You argue and dispute against
this sin and that pleasurable way, and this comfort and that
enjoyment, more than is necessary. And the soul seems to answer,
ver. 17, "Be not over-much wicked, neither be foolish—why should
you die before your time?"
But now in heaven the bodies of the saints shall be fully, perfectly,
and delightfully—under the command, conduct, and guidance of the
soul; and therefore may truly be said to be spiritual. As the spirit
serving the flesh may not unfitly be called carnal—so the body
obedient to the soul may rightly be termed spiritual. Glorified bodies
are spiritual, not in their essence—but in condition and quality, as
being fully and perpetually under the government of the Spirit.
Now on earth, the tongue grieves the Spirit, and now the deaf ear is
turned to the voice of the Spirit, and now the eye is roving, when it
should be reading the things of the Spirit; and now the feet are
wandering when they should be walking in the ways of the Spirit;
and now the hand is idle which should be diligent in the work of the
Spirit, Eph. 4:29-31, Isaiah 63:10.
Oh! but when in heaven—the tongue, the eye, the ear, the hands, the
feet—shall be all brought into an angelical, willing, and delightful
obedience to the Spirit; upon which account glorified bodies may
truly be termed spiritual. But,
(3.) Their bodies shall be immortal—they shall be
incorruptable. 1 Cor. 15:42, 54. Here on earth, these carnal bodies
of ours, by reason of their earthly and dreggish composition, are
subject to mortality and corruption. Indeed man is so poor a piece,
that he no sooner begins to live—but he begins to die; his whole life is
but a lingering death. Death every hour lies at the door.
This sergeant, death, constantly attends all men, in all places,
companies, changes, and conditions. Petrarch tells of one, who being
invited to dinner the next day, answered, I have not had a tomorrow
for this many years.
Many dangers, many deaths, every hour surround these lives of ours.
Here, says one, we enter into the world; we follow one another in
the world; we depart all out of the world. Oh! but in heaven we shall
have immortal bodies! Luke 20:36, "They will never die again. In
these respects they are like angels." By the power, presence, and
goodness of God—their bodies shall be so perfumed and embalmed,
that they shall never corrupt, nor be subject to mortality. Manna, by
a divine power, was kept many hundred years in the golden pot
without putrefying or corrupting, and so shall the glorified bodies of
the saints be preserved and kept pure and immortal.
The immortality of glorified bodies shall far excel that of Adam's in
paradise, for they shall be free from all possibility of dying; for they
shall be perfectly and perpetually freed from all corruptible and
corrupting elements. Glorified bodies shall have no seeds of
corruption in them, nor any corruptive, harmful, malignant, or
afflictive passion attending them. Adam in his noble estate was in a
possibility of dying—but the saints in their glorified condition are
above all possibility of dying. This is a happiness which Adam could
not reach to, in his state of integrity. This great blessing lies upon all
who shall come to glory.
It is reported of the Duke of Bouillon and his company, that when
they went to Jerusalem, as soon as they saw the high turrets they
gave a mighty shout, which even made the earth ring, crying out,
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" So when the saints shall all meet in the
heavenly Jerusalem, oh how will they make even heaven to ring
again, crying out, Immortality! immortality! immortality!
And thus, I suppose, I have clearly and fully made good that great
truth, namely—that the best and greatest things are reserved for
believers until they come to heaven.