Two Kinds of Bodies: Earthly and Heavenly #
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, draws a contrast between earthly (terrestrial) and heavenly (celestial) bodies:
1 Corinthians 15:40 — There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. (KJV)
The Greek word for celestial is ἐπουράνιος (epouranios), meaning “heavenly, belonging to the realm above.”
The word for terrestrial is ἐπίγειος (epigeios), meaning “earthly, belonging to the ground or earth.”
This is not a contrast between physical and non-physical, but rather between two types of physical bodies with differing kinds of glory (Greek: doxa – splendour, radiance, honour).
- Terrestrial bodies are natural, corruptible, subject to decay and weakness.
- Celestial bodies are spiritual, incorruptible, governed by the Spirit, clothed with resurrection glory.
Paul is building a case for bodily transformation, not bodily disposal.
Christ’s Resurrection Body: The First Celestial Man #
“Resurrection is not about leaving the body behind—it is about the mortal being clothed with immortality, as heaven fills earth through Christ’s risen life.”
After Jesus rose from the dead, His body was glorified but still touchable, physical, and able to eat.
Luke 24:39 — See my hands and my feet—that it is I myself! Touch me and see; a spirit does not have flesh and bones like you see that I have. (NET)
Luke 24:42-43 — So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in front of them. (NET)
He is not a ghost. He is the Firstfruits—a bodily man raised in a new mode of life:
1 Corinthians 15:20 — But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (NASB)
- Firstfruits (Greek: ἀπαρχή – aparchē) refers to the first portion of a harvest, offered to God, guaranteeing the rest will follow (Leviticus 23:10-12).
- Christ’s glorified body is the pattern for all who are in Him.
Philippians 3:21 — He will transform our humble body into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself. (CSB)
From Dust to Glory: Transformation in Christ #
Paul draws the link between Adam and Christ:
1 Corinthians 15:47-49 — The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the one made of dust, so also are those made of dust; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, we will also bear the image of the heavenly man. (CSB)
- Adam’s body was natural (psuchikos – soulish, perishable).
- Christ’s body is spiritual (pneumatikos – Spirit-governed, imperishable).
Romans 8:23 — …we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. (NKJV)
This redemption of the body is not escape from the body, but transformation into incorruptibility.
“The celestial body is not a rejection of the physical—it is the transfiguration of the physical by the glory of the Spirit.”
Already and Not Yet: Fulfilled Yet Ongoing #
The resurrection harvest began with Christ:
- Firstfruits at Christ’s resurrection (AD30)
- Outpouring of Spirit (Acts 2) and spiritual resurrection life in believers (Romans 6:4-11)
- Climactic judgment in AD70—the final collapse of the Old Covenant system of sin and death (2 Corinthians 3:6-11)
Yet, this does not mean bodily transformation is absent. It continues corporately and individually, in and through union with Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:11 — For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. (CSB)
We are moving from terrestrial to celestial—not by leaving our body behind, but by being clothed with resurrection glory.
2 Corinthians 5:4 — …so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (ESV)
Final Clothed Glory: The Immortal Body #
1 Corinthians 15:53 — For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (ESV)
This is not simply an event at the end of time, but the manifestation of a new order inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection. We live in the tension of:
- Already resurrected spiritually (Colossians 3:1-4)
- Yet to be fully clothed with bodily glory (Romans 8:23)
This glory is not just for the afterlife, but begins now as the Spirit transforms us:
2 Corinthians 3:18 — And we all, with unveiled faces, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. (ESV)
Summary #
- Terrestrial bodies are earthly, perishable, and tied to Adam.
- Celestial bodies are heavenly, glorified, and patterned after Christ.
- Christ’s resurrection body is the first of its kind—physical, glorified, and immortal.
- We too shall be transformed, not discarded, as His glory fills our mortal frame.
- The process is already in motion—Christ has come, the Spirit has been given, and glory is at work in us.
Final Word: Clothed With Christ #
Colossians 3:4 — When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (NET)
Resurrection is not merely a future hope—it is the present life of Christ in us, manifesting now and awaiting its full unveiling. We are not waiting to escape to heaven. We are being conformed to the image of the heavenly Man, until all that is mortal is swallowed up by His life.
In Christ,
Godwin.
