OUR BODIES Devotion 11 of 15 All of the dead will be raised unconditionally. There are no qualifying factors in the resurrection. A redeemed body will be given to everyone! In this sense, as I have already said, Christ "is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe" (1 Tim 4:10, NIV). The death and resurrection of Christ procured a regenerated body for every one. As it is written, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor 15:22). – Tomorrow:
" . . . Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body . . . Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? . . . Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:13-20, KJV)
The presence of immortal bodies will also render the grave and Hades obsolete, and thus they will be thrown into the lake of fire. As it is written, "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death" (Rev 20:13,14, NIV).
The Fate of the Unbeliever
Here is a dreadful consideration – and yet it is needful to examine it. It will assist us to keep control of our present bodies, living in anticipation of occupying our house from heaven.
Now, believers are in a state of inner frustration. They have redeemed spirits, but unredeemed bodies. This sets the stage for fierce warfare and conflict. It is a miserable condition in which to be. Often they cry with the Apostle, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24, NASB). Their condition is one in which "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal 5:17). This is the warfare that is so vividly described in the seventh chapter of Romans (7:15-25). It is one which produces the groans of travail that are mentioned in Romans 8:23 and Second Corinthians 5:2,4).
However, this is not the case with the unbelievers! They delight in their situation, having spirits that are compatible with their degenerate and cursed bodies. Their only regret is that their bodies grow old, becoming incapable of fulfilling their lusts. They are at home in the body, considering it to be one of their chief assets. However, this will not be the case with their resurrection body.
I have often heard scoffers say they did not mind going to hell because they would be with their friends. Such fools! I recall during the 1970's when a wicked saying went throughout the land: "I had rather reign in hell than serve in heaven." This was a delusion perpetrated by the wicked one! No one will reign in hell. There will be no leaders among the condemned, nor will there be any satisfaction. They will have spirits cultured in depravity, but bodies incapable of carrying out their corrupted desires. If believers have experienced frustration here, think of the condemned there – in the lake of fire! They will be dominated by appetites, longings, and lusts that cannot be fulfilled or gratified in any sense or measure. They were not satisfied with God, and thus He will not allow them to experience satisfaction in any sense throughout eternity. A fearful contemplation, indeed!
Jesus spoke specifically of this condition. When I was young, it frightened me to hear His words. They are still awesome to me. The only relief I find when reading them is that Christ Himself is a habitation for me now! Hear Jesus speak of the grim destiny of those who choose to refuse His salvation. "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:47-48, NIV).
These awesome words are taken from Isaiah 66:24; "Then they shall go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm shall not die, And their fire shall not be quenched; And they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind." These are the final words of the prophet Isaiah, and arresting words they are! They speak of unimaginable torment without cessation!
You will rarely hear this warning sounded today--a day that is marked by unparalleled indulgence! Notice that hell is described as a place "where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." The "worm" does not speak of loathsome crawling creatures that dominate the realm of the damned. That would be far better than the real condition of the condemned.
Ordinarily the worm consumes a disorganized body and then dies. The fire consumes and then dissipates. But here, neither worm nor fire go away or diminish! One of the ancients said of this passage, "the worm that never dies is the memory of the past, which never ceases to gnaw the conscience of the impenitent." But it goes even deeper than this! The English word "worm" has a suitable meaning for this text--a meaning garnered from Scripture. "An insidiously tormenting or devouring force: the worm of guilt." "The worm that shall there gnaw the conscience shall never die."
It may seem gruesome and uncultured to speak in such a manner, but it is germane to our discussion. Picture a sinner than has given himself over the appetites of the flesh. He has cultured cravings that dominated him in the world. He developed no appetite for God, no hunger and thirst for righteousness, and no longing for heaven. He lived for this world, and for the pleasure it affords. But now, in the region of the damned, the world is gone, together with the lusts, or desires that connected men with it. All of the objects and experiences he craved have passed away with it. As it is written, "And the world is passing away, AND ALSO ITS LUSTS . . . " (1 John 2:17, NASB). It is the object of the lusts that pass away with the world. That is another way of saying they will not be able to be fulfilled. Yet, the sinner keeps them all – every single lust or desire to which he gave himself in this world. His state has been fixed, and he cannot change it. His body is redeemed, but he is not! There is no way to adequately describe that condition. Suffice it to say, it is worth your while to subdue sin – at any cost!
Viewed from this perspective, life in Christ Jesus is designed to get you ready for the resurrection body. Of course, that is precisely what the Word of God declares. "For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Cor 5:4-5, NKJV). How about you:? Are you ready for the time you this corruptible body will put on incorruption?
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask for grace to prepare for the resurrection, so that when Jesus empties the graves with a shout, it will be to my eternal advantage.