Was Jesus still a man of flesh after his resurrection?

Will others going

to heaven have modified fleshly human bodies?
H. Flemings

One doctrinal difference that Jehovah’s Witnesses have with many other religious communities
professing to be Christians settles on the question “In which body was Jesus restored to life?” Jehovah’s
Witnesses claim Jesus was resurrected a spirit being with the capability of materializing in a human body
like the holy angels whereas their detractors affirm that he was resurrected in the same body in which he
died. Both sides maintain there is scriptural evidence for their position. Our task is to consider both sides
objectively. Linked to this is the argument that those going to heaven after death will have glorified
human bodies versus the denial of that claim.

The Argument that Jesus was a fleshly man when he was resurrected
After Jesus overturned the work tables of merchants in the Jerusalem Temple, we read the following
report: “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority
to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ The
Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’
But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled
what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:18-22,
New International Version) The plain expression “the temple he had spoken of was his body” confirms
to many that Jesus was referring to his fleshly body. Can more evidence be found?

At Luke 24:36-43 we are introduced to a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples. The
account proceeds:

While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to
you.”
But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them,
“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See, My hands and My feet, that it is I
Myself, touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when
He
had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of
their
joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a
broiled fish: and He took it and ate it before them. ---New American Standard Bible.

Jesus statement “a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” is taken as absolute proof
that he was not a spirit. To finish off the argument, it is claimed that when he had his disciples feel his
body, noting his hands and feet, he was communicating to them that it was the same body he had before
his death.
In a post-resurrection report about Jesus by the Apostle John, we find this additional information at John
20:26-29:

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors
were

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locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas,
“Put
your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and
believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you
have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” --New International Version

It is firmly believed by many that Jesus was strongly making the point that he was in the same physical
body
that he had before his impalement and demise at Calvary.

Not at all finished, some advocates of this view consider the words at Psalm 80:17 as a prophecy about
Christ describing him after his resurrection and ascension to heaven. It reads:

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. -
New International Version

The description of the subject as “the man at your right hand” is taken as positive evidence that the
resurrected Christ was not a spirit but a man.

Another affirmation, it is argued, with similar thrust is found at 1 Timothy 2:5:

 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. -- King James
Version

This statement made many years after the death and resurrection of Jesus is understood to mean Jesus was
a “man” at the time of its writing and not a “spirit.”

These scriptures taken together seem impressive in providing a foundation for the conclusion promoted.
Even so, let us see the opposing argument.

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The Argument that after his resurrection Jesus was a spirit capable of a
materializing as a man
Those coming to a different conclusion are not bereft of evidence. One of the passages cited is 1 Peter
3:18. Let us consider how this verse has been rendered in various translations:

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God,
having
been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. – New American Standard Bible

Christ died once for our sins, the Righteous One for the guilty, to bring us to God. He was killed in His
body but made alive in His spirit. -- The Holy Book by William F. Beck

The reason why Christ died for sins once for all, the just man for the sake of the unjust, was that he
might
lead you to God. He was put to death insofar as fleshly existence goes, but was given life in the realm
of
the spirit. --- The New American Bible

For Christ, the Messiah, [Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous—the
Just
for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty—that He might bring us to God. In His human body He was
put to death but He was made alive in the spirit. --- The Amplified New Testament

This passage sets up a contrast by declaring that prior to his death Christ existed as a man but after his
resurrection he was a spirit.

Seeming to support that understanding are the words we find at 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47. Again, we shall
view a variety of translations:
 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening

spirit…The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. – The King James
Version

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit…The
first
man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. --- The New International Version

So it is also written, The first human, Adam, became a living person, and the last Adam became a spirit
that gives life…The first human was from the earth made from the dust; the second human is from
heaven. –Common English Bible

What we learn from this is that the “last Adam”, who is understood to be Christ Jesus and who came from
heaven, became a spirit, no longer like the “first man Adam” who was of the dust of the earth.

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Another supporting message comes from what is related at Hebrews 10:5-10 where we find:

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a
body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
The said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above
when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings an offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither
hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.
He
taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.—King James Version

A sacrifice by definition is something prized but given up, no longer possessed. What did Jesus sacrifice
to make it possible for us to have eternal life? Since he was given his life again at his resurrection what
was it he sacrificed and no longer possessed? According to Hebrews 10:5-10 what he sacrificed was his
“body”, his fleshly human existence. If he took it back then the sacrifice would have been nullified and
that would mean we remain in our sins. A sacrifice returned is no longer a sacrifice.

The account at Hebrews 5:7 must be entered in this discussion. It relates:

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the

One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of his piety. –New American Standard
Bible

To characterize this part of Jesus’ life experience as “In the days of His flesh” certainly separates it from
what followed “the days of His flesh.” The expression has a temporal reference not an ongoing one.
We return to 1 Corinthians 15 for an additional insight. At 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 we are informed:

Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the
perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all
be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. – New American Standard Bible

Human bodies are perishable; they corrupt and therefore for maintenance need food, air and rest to stay
alive. With regard to what we just read such bodies “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”; they cannot
exist
in heaven. We are informed that those going there from the earth must be “changed.” That would mean
when Jesus returned to heaven he did not have such a body.

An accession to this argument chimes in from Hebrews 1:1-3 which states:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and
through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. – New International
Version.

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If Jesus is now “the exact representation of [God’s] being” then what is God’s “being”? Is God a man?
Consider the following comments about God:

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. –Numbers
23:19 New International Version -

[Job states of God] He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each
other. --- Job 9:32 New International Version

[Jesus states of God] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
New International Version.

If God is a spirit and when Jesus returned to heaven he became an “exact representation” of God’s being,
then Jesus would be a spirit. Moreover, if we are to understand God is not “a man” then Jesus would not
now be “a man.”
 Nothing on which to stand. No air to breathe. No food to put in my mouth.

A logical question can be added to this list and that has to do with the principal of functionality. The
human body is designed to interact with physical realities. Legs function because there is solid matter on
which to stand or to move. In a spiritual environment, in heaven, what would be the function of legs?
Noses function because air is inhaled and needed to sustain physical life. What is the function of a nose
in a nonphysical spiritual domain? Imagine humans transferred to heaven in human bodies, whether
“glorified” or not --what
would literal hands, arms, legs, ears, mouths do in a spirit world? When the Bible speaks of Jehovah’s
mouth, arms, hands, and nostrils, most Bible scholars of all persuasions know that they are used as
symbols of God’s capacities. –See Deuteronomy 4:10-19 and Isaiah 55:8, 9

A theological question can also be introduced at this point and that relates to the doctrine of the Trinity.
Those evangelicals and others who hold to the teaching that Jesus was resurrected in his human body and
was NOT a spirit at the same time teach that while on earth Jesus was both God and man. That would
mean, ipso facto, he was both spirit and flesh simultaneously.

If this doctrine is to be believed then it must be held that at his resurrection, if Jesus was still a God-man
then he had spirit nature. The dual nature doctrine would require that. This means that those holding the
view that Jesus was a God- man and also holding that at his resurrection he was NOT a spirit have a
conflict that needs to be resolved. Both views are mutually exclusive.

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Resolving the apparent conflict

What the Apostle Paul writes under inspiration at 1 Corinthians 15:36-40, 42, 44, may be helpful in
understanding Jesus’ words at John 2:18-22. Again, in concert with our pattern let us place what Paul
wrote before us for inspection:
 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do
not
sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it
a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh,
but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another flesh
of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and
the
glory of the earthly is another…So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body,
it is raised an imperishable body…It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a
natural body, there is also a spiritual body. --- New American Standard Bible

We are instructed that for those going to heaven though they die in a fleshly body “[they] do not sow the
body which is to be” in their resurrection. They die in a physical body and are resurrected in a spiritual
body.
Thus applying this process to John 2:18-22, our Lord was alerting his opposers that his body would be
resurrected in 3 days but what we are further informed that “body” would be a spiritual body, not a
fleshly body. But if that is the case what about the account at Luke 24: 36-43 which, once more, will be
placed on the table for viewing. Here is the account; this time as rendered in the King James Version:

And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be
unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he
said unto them, Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands
and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me
have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet
believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him
a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.

When Jesus plainly commented “a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have”, it does, for a fact,
seem as though he is announcing he is NOT a spirit. He backs that up by having his apostles feel his
physical

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body and by eating physical food. But the reflective Bible student and scholar have some questions about
that conclusion. First, do we not agree that the holy angels are spirits? Let us show the scriptural
evidence before proceeding. We shall quote from the King James Version:

[God] maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire. -- Psalm 104:4

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.—Hebrews
1:7

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. – 1 Kings
22:21
With that description established, do we not have examples in the Bible of angels who materialized and
did what Jesus did at Luke 24:36-43? Consider the following accounts involving materialized angels. At
Genesis 18 we are given a scene where Abraham is visited by “three men” whom he accommodates by
having their feet washed and later fed a meal of meat and bread. After the meal one of the men remains
with Abraham and the other two leave to walk to the city of Sodom. At Genesis 19:1-3, according to the
King James Version, we are told:

And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them
rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with face toward the ground. And he said, Behold now,
my
lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall

rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And
he
pressed them upon theme greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made
them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

Genesis 19:1 reveals to us that the “three men” were really three materialized angels, that is, three
materialized spirits who had fleshly bodies that could be felt and that could be fed physical food. On that
basis the question can be asked: What did Jesus mean when he said “handle me, and see for a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” after which he ate a piece of fish? Are we missing something?
Yes, we may be missing a very important set of Biblical facts. It relates to identifications connected to
the term “spirit.” Let us investigate.

“Spirit OR angel? Are you kidding me? “

Under arrest in Jerusalem, the Apostle Paul has an opportunity to defend himself. His defense is not
relevant to our discussion but something that is said about the event is. At Acts 23:6-8 we read:

But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the

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Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of
the dead!” As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the
 assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit,
but
the Pharisees acknowledge them all. And there occurred a great uproar; and some of the scribes of the
Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man;
suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”-- King James Version.

What is surprising are the expressions “nor an angel, nor a spirit” and again “a spirit or an angel.” A
distinction is being made between the two never mind the fact that we know that both are “spirits.” It is
understood that the “angel” in this context would be one of the holy angels and the “spirit” would refer to
one of the rebel spirits, a demon. The use of the term “spirit” to refer to evil angels or demons can be
seen in the following citations:

When the even was come, they brought unto him [Jesus] many that were possessed with devils; and
he
cast out the spirits with his word, and he healed all that were sick. –Matthew 8:16 KJV

Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter
in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first…-- Matthew 12:45 KJV

The Bible shows that after the Flood wicked angels could no longer come to earth and materialize. For
that reason they need human mediums to make a “physical” presence. (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy
18:11) Holy angels have not lost their ability to materialize as demonstrated throughout the Bible.
Therefore the “angels” do not need mediums and can fully materialize and be “handled”, but demons, the
“spirits” no longer have this ability. On the occasion in question, when the resurrected Jesus materialized,
those disciples were “terrified and affrighted” because they thought a demon was in their midst but our
Lord reminded them that such “spirits” can longer appear in the flesh.

We now return and consider Psalm 80:17. If we read the context, it becomes clear that this is generic
reference to a man favored by God to lead his people Israel and not clearly a prophecy about the Jesus.
Let us look a Psalm 80:14-19 which provides that context:

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine:
And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for
thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Let thy
hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O
LORD
God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Basically, we do not have here a definitive reference to our Lord Jesus.

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However, there is a different situation when we turn to 1Timothy 2:5 which clearly is a reference to our
Lord Jesus. We will inspect this verse again and add verse 6:

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.-- New American Standard Bible

Since this was written years after the death and resurrection of Jesus the statement that our mediator is
“the man Christ Jesus” and not “the spirit Christ Jesus” is taken as proof Jesus, in heaven, is a man.

What may be overlooked in coming to the conclusion that this is a statement about the resurrected Jesus
who sits at the right hand of God is that often both in the Bible and in modern speech comments are made
about individuals that connect them to events in the past but which may not be true of them in the present.
Consider the following examples. Just recently we were quoting Acts 23:6 which says this: “But
perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council,
‘Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!’”
(New American Standard Bible). The historical Paul before he became a Christian was a Pharisee though
at that time he was not. One would have to see his comments as stating an historical truth not a present
truth. If that is not clear, perhaps what we find at Hebrews 11:31 will demonstrate the point: “By faith
Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies
in peace.” This statement made many hundreds of years past the time of Rahab connects her to her
harlotry at the time she helped the Israelite spies but may not be true of who and what she was after that
time. So, we have examples of looking at a person in the context of a certain time or event but which
may not be true of them now. Jesus’ sacrifice and the formation of the New Covenant took place in the
context of Jesus living and then dying as a human not a spirit. On that basis, it is no surprise that 1
Timothy 2: 5. 6 refers to Jesus in the way it does.

What about humans who will be blessed to go to heaven?

What about humans who will be blessed to go to heaven? That question seems to be linked to our
previous conversation. What does the Bible say?

Again, under inspiration, the Apostle Paul responds to the question under consideration. This time we will
study 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to
be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be
unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared
us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge. –New American Standard Bible

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It would appear that most readers of these words would understand that the “earthly tent” is our human
body and that the “house not made with hands” is a spiritual body. Being “naked” would, by deduction,
mean being without a body. Putting on the “house not made with hands” after the “earthly tent is…torn
down” would seem to be an exchange not a modification, a change not an embellishment of the previous
body.
We should note that evidence to the person selected to go to heaven is the testimony of God’s spirit, given
as a pledge. This same message is presented at 1 Corinthians 15:49-54:

Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say
this brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit
the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a
moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will
will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable,
and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death
is swallowed up in victory.” New American Standard Bible

Conclusion
What does the collection of relevant data tell us about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and those
humans who will be privileged to rule with him in heaven as kings, priests and judges? Superficial
reading of the Biblical text can result in misunderstanding what is really meant. Aggregating all or most
of the pertinent scriptures and letting them speak as a composite will help in reaching the correct
conclusion. That was the object in this discussion. We have learned that Jesus died in a human body and
was raised in spiritual body. And there is no doubt that those humans privileged to join Jesus in heaven
will not have human bodies but spiritual bodies designed to inhabit a spiritual habitation.

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