Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19950813.htm

THE DOCTRINE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Part IX: The Nature And Significance Of Christ's Resurrection Body
  1. Introduction
    1. In the last few years, a theological battle waged in the Evangelical Free Church's seminary, the Trinity Evangelical Divinity Schoo l, over the nature of Christ's resurrection body. A professor there taught that Christ was raised in a spirit body that was a different body from his body which died, From Grave to Glory, Harris, p. 392 as quoted in Culver's, A Wake Up Call, p. 4. He taught that "The post-resurrection appearances of our Lord were temporary 'materilizations' for apologetical affect," Ibid., Culver.
    2. Dr. Robert Culver, retired professor at TEDS and a member of the E Free Ministerial Association for more than 40 years, wrote a book, A Wake Up Call critiquing Harris's views. Culver complained that if Christ did not rise in the body in which he died as Harris espoused, He did not really rise from the dead, and the Christian faith is thus false, 1 Cor. 15:14-19. (Ibid., p. 15-16) Harris' view was a kin to that of Jehovah's Witnesses who teach that Christ arose as a spirit only, Christianity Today, p. 62, 11/9/92.
    3. We are happy to say that the conflict has since been favorably resolved. However, we need to examine the Scriptures on the nature of Christ's resurrection body to test the truth of our faith as has the E Free:
  2. The Nature And Significance Of Christ's Resurrection Body
    1. The Problem: Professor Murray Harris considered 1 Cor. 15:44 to mean that since there is a "spiritual body" and a "physical body," that the spiritual body was thus non-material, cf. Harris, Ibid., p. 392!
    2. The Solution is found in examining the context and related Scripture references as follows:
      1. It was not necessary for Murray Harris to conclude that just because there is a spiritual body that it is necessarily non-material. In fact, the first part of 1 Cor. 15:44 states that the natural body which is sown becomes the spiritual body like a seed sown becomes its corresponding plant, cf. v. 36-37. There is a connection between what is sown and what grows up from it, and it could be a physical one.
      2. In reality, there is a definite physical connection between Christ's pre-death body and His risen one:
        1. Mary Magdalene recognized Christ as risen by the use of His familiar vocal pattern alone, cf. John 20:11-18 with Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 342. So unique is an individual's vocal frequency that the military uses electronic voice-screening equipment to clear personnel for restricted areas of access. The vocal cord of Christ in His resurrection body were the same ones used before He died, a powerful indication that the same body in which He suffered and died was the one that arose!
        2. Jesus went out of His way to prove to His disciples, including doubting Thomas, that He was the same Lord who had died on the cross. To do so, He identified the nail prints of His hands and feet and the open wound in his side caused following His death as proof that He had risen from the dead in the very body in which He had suffered and died, Luke 24:38-39 and 20:19-31.
        3. Jesus showed additional evidences that He had a physical resurrection body structure. (a) He was able to assimilate earthly solids and liquids by eating broiled fish, Luke 24:42. The words "and of an honeycomb" are not in the best Greek manuscripts, but a broiled fish has both liquid and solid components in it! His resurrection body was physical! (b) Also, the Lord claimed that His resurrection body was "flesh and bone," Luke 24:39. Flesh and bone are physical structures that apply the physics of fulcrum and lever to perform work within the gravitational field of planet earth!
        4. Also, Jesus claimed that He was not a spirit as His disciples were at least then considering Him to be, Luke 24:38, 39b. He was a whole person as they defined personage composed of a physical body along with the indwelling spirit! Anything less makes Jesus deceive His disciples here!
      3. Thus, Jesus was raised in the same physical body in which He died, although it was formatted for existence both on the earth and in heaven, cf. Luke 24:36-43 with 24:50-51. Thus, He bodily arose from the dead, and our faith is not in vain. Salvation and eternal life is found in Jesus Christ!
Lesson: (1) As Dr. Murray Harris has since admitted, he erred in teaching that Christ's resurrection body was a different body from the one in which He suffered and died! (2) Therefore, Christ arose in the very body in which He suffered and died. (3) Thus, our faith is valid. (4) Thus our salvation of the soul and body as available in Christ is assured. (5) Thus His CURRENT heavenly mediatorship in our behalf as a risen human being is valid and assured!