Pastor, I Have a Question April, 2007

Question: I know better than to believe what the Sunday papers generally print about Easter on Easter Sunday morning. I believe God’s Word when it talks about physical, bodily remains becoming alive again after death. But in practical terms, what does that mean for me eternally? What will I be like in heaven?

Answer: St. John answered this question about as fully as we could hope for: “What we will be has not yet been made known.” Then John added: “But we know that when [Jesus] appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

John certainly doesn’t mean that we will become “gods” in the same way that Jesus is truly God; but what has happened to Jesus according to His human nature will also happen to us. He died, and His body stopped functioning. We will die and our bodies will then no longer function, either. However, Jesus’ body was also brought back to life again, and changed to be far more glorious than it had been while Jesus lived on earth. Our bodies will be brought back to life and, like the body of Jesus, be made far more glorious than they currently are, as St. Paul states, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him” (I Corinthians 15:22,23).

Those who take God at His word are not questioning Christ’s resurrection, or their own. At some point in their lives many Christians have asked, “What will I be like in heaven?” Indeed, the Christians in Corinth were asking this very question, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” (I Corinthians 15:35).

The inspired St. Paul gave the Corinthians a general answer: “As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the Man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven” (I Corinthians 15:48). Notice how Paul makes a distinction between the present and future: “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven” (I Corinthians 15:49). In this world we now follow the pattern of Adam and Eve: eternally we shall follow the pattern of Jesus in our heavenly form of existence. And St. Paul describes some of the changes we will undergo: “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, 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” (I Corinthians 15:42-44).

It certainly is not wrong to wonder about what life will be like after Christ raises us from the dead. Because God’s promises are certain, we should be excited about the eternal life Jesus has won for us on the cross. We ought to study Scripture to find out all we can concerning what God has revealed about heaven. Our study of the Bible will show that the idea of people becoming angels when they die is not correct. The Bible states that when the Son of God took on His human nature, “Jesus was made a little lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:9). There is a definite difference between humans and angels. In the resurrection, we will be like Jesus according to His glorified human nature, not like an angel.

The Bible tells us why our bodies need to be changed in eternity, “I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (I Corinthians 15:50). Our present flesh and blood would be overwhelmed by God’s heavenly glory, just as a light bulb burns out instantly when it is given too much electrical voltage. However, St. Paul teaches us, “We will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (I Corinthians 15:51,53).

While we cannot say what our exact appearance will be like or how young or old we might appear to be, believers in Christ have His sure promise that “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:30). Jesus tells us in the Book of Revelation that in heaven Christians will “never again 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” (Revelation 7:16-17). Simply stated, life will be perfect again just as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Our human nature is ever curious for more details about life in heaven. Jesus has given us enough information so that we eagerly wait for His return and we remain in the “living home through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance…reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Paul Zager is pastor of Holton Lutheran Church in Holton, Michigan and a member of the ELS Doctrine Committee.

Send your questions to: Pastor Paul Zager, P.O. Box 181, Twin Lakes, MI 49457.