“The weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ”—2 Corinthians 10:4,5 NRSV
According to the Bible, Christians are to engage in “warfare,” but not with “human” weapons.” They are fighting with “divine power” to “destroy arguments ” and ‘obstacles . . . against the knowledge of God,” not people.read more
Spiritual, not fleshly, descendants of Abraham are the real Israel that counts with God
Who was God talking about when he made the promise to Abraham about his seed? Was the promise only referring to his physical offspring? Or, is there such a thing as “Spiritual Israel?”
“Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,’ though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.” (Romans 9:6-8 NLT)
The key point to keep in mind is that “Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God”. The “children of the promise” are spiritual – not fleshly – descendants of Abraham.
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:6 NIV, emphasis added)
The three uses of the word “together” here indicate the unique aspect of the equality and mutuality that Gentiles have in the church with Jews as one body. “Israel,” as used here in Ephesians 3:6, represents Jewish Christians.
“Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule–to the Israel of God”—(Galatians 6:16 NIV)
The church is the true Israel, “the Israel of God,” the new seed of Abraham.
“The Kingdom of Heaven, still to be completed, but already strongly associated with the community which Jesus founded, is thew fulfillment of God’s plan for Israel. So the Church is the true Israel, the recipient of God’s promises, which goes out to all nations in the power of Chrible” (Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew, New Jerusalem Bible [NJB]). “It is stressed that Christianity is the logical outcome of Judaism and is in conformity with it” (Introduction to Acts, NJB).read more
Were Jesus’ Resurrection Appearances Physical or Spiritual?
What do Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection tell us?
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain”—1 Corinthians 15:17 NAB
There is no doubt that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. But how? In a physical body, or in a spiritual body?
There are a number of appearances by Jesus recorded after his resurrection. What do these appearances tell us about his resurrection? Are there clues as to whether his resurrection was in a physical body or a spiritual body? Let’s examine the Bible to find out.
“He was brought to life in the spirit”—1 Peter 3:18 NAB
Since the Bible tells us that Jesus was resurrected as a spirit, let’s see if his resurrection appearances match this description.
Matthew 28:8-9 – “They hurried away from the tomb . . . and ran . . . suddenly Jesus was there in their path, greeting them.” (REB). The resurrected spirit, Jesus, materialized a fleshly body temporarily for this sudden appearance to the women who were running from his tomb..
John 20:14-17 – “She turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him.” (REB) … “Thinking he was the gardener.” (NIV). Mary Magdalene knew Jesus very well. Obviously, his materialized body looked different outwardly. Mary recognized him by his voice, and by the way he spoke.
Luke 24:15-16 – “As they talked and argued, Jesus himself came up and walked with them; but something prevented them from recognizing him.” (REB) Jesus also appears in a physical body that is different from the one he had prior to his execution, and apparently even different from the one Mary saw him in.
Luke 24:30-31 – “Broke it into pieces… suddenly they saw! And they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.” Fleshly people can’t do this. Jesus was obviously a spirit who materialized various bodies temporarily, and then disappeared back into the spirit world.
Luke 24:35 – “Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread” (NIV). Notice, they did not recognize him by his physical appearance, but by his mannerisms. Jesus obviously did not have the same fleshly body in these resurrection appearances, since he was not recognized physically. His mannerisms in the breaking of the bread in Luke 24 gave him away.
John 21:4 – “Morning came, and Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (REB), because Jesus looked different, with yet again a different fleshly body. “Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” (NIV). This gives evidence Jesus was a spirit.
John 20:19 – “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst” (NAB). read more
Was Jesus resurrected as a spirit or a fleshly body?
It is widely preached and believed that Jesus was resurrected with a physical body. It is even asserted that if one doesn’t believe Jesus was resurrected with a physical body, then that person denies that Jesus was resurrected. According to the Bible, was Jesus resurrected as a spirit or with a fleshly body? Let’s examine the scriptures to find out.
