Posted on 04/21/2017 7:48:58 AM PDT by Salvation
When Christ rose from the dead, His body was the same one that had been cast down in death. Yet it manifests qualities not currently enjoyed by our bodies. It was truly Christ’s same body, with its bones and muscles, but it was also a glorified body, wholly reflective of and subservient to the glory and faculties of His soul. He could appear and disappear at will, be somewhere at one moment and then elsewhere the next, and so forth.
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that in order for the resurrection to be a true one, the same body that fell and died now rises and lives. Thomas writes,
That is said to rise, which fell. [So] Christ’s body fell by death … inasmuch as the soul, which was its formal perfection, was separated from it. Hence, in order for it to be a true resurrection, it was necessary for the same body of Christ to be once more united with the same soul (Summa Theologiae III, Q. 51, Art. 1).
But why did the Lord’s soul not shine through perfectly before the resurrection? Why did He suffer fatigue? Why could He not appear and disappear at will? Thomas answers,
Christ’s soul was glorified from the instant of His conception by perfect fruition of the Godhead. But … owing to the Divine economy, the glory did not pass from His soul to His body, in order that by the Passion He might accomplish the mystery of our redemption. Consequently, when this mystery of Christ’s Passion and death was finished, straightway the soul communicated its glory to the risen body in the Resurrection; and so that body was made glorious (ST III, Q. 51, Art. 2).
In rising, Christ takes up His same, true body, but it now also manifests a perfected glory. When our bodies rise on the last day, the same will be true of ours.
But if all this be the case, then why are Christ’s wounds visible in His glorified body? Are not wounds and scars inconsistent with a glorified body? St. Thomas provides five reasons that Christ’s wounds are fitting in His glorified body. His reflections, from the Summa Theologiae III, Q. 54, Art. 4, are beautiful and poignant. St. Thomas’ words are presented below in bold, black italics, while my remarks appear red text.
It was fitting for Christ’s soul at His Resurrection to resume the body with its scars. In the first place, for Christ’s own glory. For Bede says on Luke 24:40 that He kept His scars not from inability to heal them, “but to wear them as an everlasting trophy of His victory.” Hence Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xxii): “Perhaps in that kingdom we shall see on the bodies of the Martyrs the traces of the wounds which they bore for Christ’s name: because it will not be a deformity, but a dignity in them; and a certain kind of beauty will shine in them, in the body, though not of the body.”
These wounds are a dignity not a deformity, a sign of love not of loss, an indication of obedience not of onerousness. Through His wounds the Lord can say, “Here is what the world did to me, and yet I live. Here is the cost of your redemption and the lavishness of my love.”
Secondly, to confirm the hearts of the disciples as to “the faith in His Resurrection” (Bede, on Luke 24:40).
This is what theologians refer to as “continuity.” The wounds demonstrate that the same body that died on the cross is the same body the disciples now see standing before them. Continuity means that Christ has not taken up or fashioned some new body or a similar body. Christ is truly risen. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis, which literally means to stand again. The English word resurrection means the same thing: re (again) + surrexit (he stands). None of this would be true if some different body were before them, no matter how similar. Thus Christ’s wounds confirm the truth of the resurrection.
Thirdly, “that when He pleads for us with the Father, He may always show the manner of death He endured for us” (Bede, on Luke 24:40).
Beautiful! The picture here is of the Son, Jesus, showing His wounds to his Father and saying, “See how I have loved them, Father. Have mercy on them.”
Elsewhere, Scripture says, Consequently, Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself (Heb 7:25-27).
Fourthly, “that He may convince those redeemed in His blood, how mercifully they have been helped, as He exposes before them the traces of the same death” (Bede, on Luke 24:40).
To those who doubt the Lord’s love or understanding of our trials, Christ’s wounds speak tenderly and clearly of His love and of the price He was willing to pay. His wounds are more eloquent testimony than any words could be. Is God merciful? Does God understand or care at all about our condition? Look to the wounds of Christ; dwell in them. Take shelter in the wounds of Christ.
Lastly, “that in the Judgment Day He may upbraid them with their just condemnation” (Bede, on Luke 24:40). Hence, as Augustine says (De Symb. ii): “… So will [Christ] show His wounds to His enemies, so that He who is the Truth may convict them, saying: ‘Behold the man whom you crucified; see the wounds you inflicted; recognize the side you pierced, since it was opened by you and for you, yet you would not enter.’”
Such powerful and moving words, in this case from St Augustine. There is also an answer here to those who think that God is simply harsh on Judgment Day. In effect He will say, “I endured suffering from you out of love for you. When I was on the Cross, the soldier pierced my side. My heart was literally opened for you and still you would not enter. What more could I have done than to allow your own sins to be your redemption? Still you refused.”
In spite of receiving lifelong graces and unmerited favors and blessings, in spite of God’s call echoing in their depths, many still refuse God’s offer. It is such a tragedy that some hearts are so hardened. The wounds of Christ testify to the justice of God’s only (and final) recourse: to allow them to live apart from Him. Accepting the choice of their free will, God’s last act is simply to recognize their refusal and say, “you would not enter.”
Dwell in the wounds of Christ.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
I think He could. There's at least one passage that mentions that Jesus was out in the middle of a sea and then, instantly, he was on the other shore.
I'm not sure where it is, but it's in there somewhere.
I have thought about this myself. When we meet Helen Keller in heaven, will she be blind? Will those who have, for the glory of God, lived through pain and suffering, bear some mark of their affliction? Here’s what I think. We will, each of us, have our own distinctive crown of glory, and we will place them all at the feet of Jesus. As God is, himself, three distinct persons in one, we will join in the communion of saints each of us retaining our distinct personhood.
He kept His scars not from inability to heal them, “but to wear them as an everlasting trophy of His victory.”
Like many other people, I bear scars on my body. I would miss them if they were to disappear. The events which caused them are part of who I am; they themselves are reminders of where I've been, what I've done, and what it cost to do it. If my scars have limited value (and they do, to me at least) then surely Christ's scars have infinite value. To erase them would be wrong, and God by definition can do no wrong.
Also, the Transfiguration.
Because before His death and resurrection, Jesus did not act according to His own will, but in accordance with His Father's will (Phil. 2, among others). For example, His Father would tell Him to walk on the water, and give Him the authority over the water to do this. After the resurrection, Christ (re)gained all authority in heaven and on earth, and so could act miraculously at will.
“Thy will be done.”
Thanks for posting.
Then there was the Transfiguration too. Jesus could do what he wanted to do, such as he saw was appropriate at the time.
Resurrection means more than just making alive. Lazarus was made alive from the dead, but he had to die again to be resurrected into a glorified body for Heaven. This new body will be able to walk through walls, travel in space and time, along with never get old and die ever again. 1 Cor 15 speaks of what must happen at Resurrection to enter heaven. Zech 12:10 speaks of the Jews seeing the marks and repenting. Obviously Jesus could have made Himself a body of any sort he wanted, but the death, burial, and resurrection of The Begotten Son of God was a big deal and it should be commemorated. Everyone will know Jesus when they see Him and be reminded of just what He did for our sakes.
We, OTOH, can look like anyone. We will be known by our spirit. Someone eaten by a shark can appear as they did at any point in their life. The actual appearance of a resurrected body is less important than what it can do.
Peter described our flesh body as a "tent". It has been described other places as a Tabernacle, Temple, house, and even a clay pot. But when Jesus said, "In my Father's House there are many mansions, He wasn't speaking of large brick homes. We won't need a building with bricks and mortar because we will not sleep or need a place to rest. Jesus will shine like the Sun forever and no darkness will ever be in Heaven. The mansion reference points to what these new bodies can do compared to what we can do in the tent we have now.
One of the better verses speaking to what happens is Luke 20:36--nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Being "equal to angels" denotes many changes we have to look forward to in the resurrection. Forget the arguments on being fat, skinny, old or young, but look forward to a supernatural container to hold the spirit man you really are. It all goes back to Genesis and Adam being created in the image of God. God is One God in 3 parts. The Father was seen as a fire and pillar of smoke because we could not look upon His glory. Jesus was the flesh container of God while He dwelt among His people. He then sent His Spirit to live in our hearts as a down payment for our inheritance. It's all One God, but in 3 parts. We lost the Spirit in the Garden of Eden and could only reproduce flesh containers with a fallen soul and dead spirit. Jesus fixed all that and we will someday be able to walk and talk with God in the cool of the evening without death. That was God's aim from the beginning. We will be His people and He will be our God, finally!
If you look at the parable of the talents, the first 2 servants took what the master gave them and multiplied the investment to give to Christ. The third "servant"( this denotes he was a believer that took the same investment of blood given by the Master) and did nothing with it. It has nothing to do with glorifying ourselves, but glorifying the Father and Son while on Earth. We are all expected to do something with what was freely given to us, no matter what our station in life. This is NOT salvation by works, but works BECAUSE you are saved. We are His hands and feet while He is away and are expected to work as He worked to build the Kingdom. If you build your own Kingdom and neglect God's Kingdom, then you could be double minded.
Obviously, we all have different abilities to accomplish these actions. The first servant was given 5 talents and gained 5 more. This denotes He was equipped to spread the gospel effectively, such as maybe a preacher or missionary. The second received 2 and gained 2. This is a respectable gain for one that follows the Spirit. But the third servant was given one and only needed one to make the Master a return. He did nothing and gave back what was freely given to him. Everyone is capable of glorifying Jesus in some way. Being blind and cripple doesn't keep you from glorifying God. A couple of examples might be "Nick" Vujicic, or Joni Eareckson Tada. If your heart pushes you to serve Jesus, He will open doors for you and reward you for being available. It's the ones that say they weren't made a preacher or have no talents for speaking that disappoints God. If you are saved, you have a testimony and should be able to give it. We have family members that don't even know if we are saved because we never open our mouths or even do a good work to glorify God. If people you know don't know you are saved,you might check your dipstick for the "oil" level.
The Truth is, we do what we want to do. If we don't give glory to God, it's because we really don't want to in our hearts. There is always a motivating factor in everything we do. If we go fishing on Sunday morning, it's because we wanted to fish more than be in God's presence.
Thanks.
If you mean to say that Jesus’ wounds will be healed in heaven, because there will be no death sickness there, and that Jesus only had those wounds during his short stay on earth prior to ascending into heaven, fine. I can go along with that. If you mean to say that Jesus’ wounds will not be healed in heaven, but eveybody else’s will. Fine, I can also go along with that. Basically, I’m o.k. with whatever is God’s plan.
In this life, we need faith and hope. But, in the next life, when we know, we will only need love.
Now, as to where God is on Sunday morning, is he in church or is he at a fishing hole, I’m going along with Jesus. He had a kind of relaxed attitude regarding the Sabbath. I realize, he got in trouble with the Pharisees regarding this.
But, if we’re going to be sticklers, the commandment regarding the Sabbath isn’t to go to church, but is to rest. Six days you shall work and do all your labor, and on the seventh day you will rest. It is instructive that many times we find Jesus at the Temple or in a local synagogue on the Sabbath. So, going to church on Sunday is following Jesus’ example, and is a good thing. But, I wouldn’t necessarily put down going fishing.
As you yourself say, we are all called up to be fishers. Fishers of men. The church, after all, isn’t a building, but is us.
bump
I seriously doubt it.
And what form will all the aborted babies have?
This is not a novel question. Theologists have grappled with it long before there were elective abortions because of spontaneous abortions, still births and deaths of innocent babies. There is no definitive answer and about this we must put our trust in God.
“This is not a novel question. Theologists have grappled with it..”
Right. I was a seminary student in the ‘60s and that was one of the big discussions when everyone was sitting around the dorms brainstorming. Kent State was having riots. We were discussing the form of our Heavenly bodies.
” Kent State was having riots. We were discussing the form of our Heavenly bodies.”
I have to suppose that you spent your time much more wisely than the mind-numbed robots of the left.
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