May 5– LD 18, Day 6: Our Flesh is in Heaven
by Rev J. Kortering
I Cor. 15:20, 21, “But
now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits
of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the
resurrection of the dead.”
The second advantage for
us of Christ’s ascension into heaven is expressed this way, “That we have our
flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, as the Head, will also take up to
Himself, us, His members.”
The importance of
accepting the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ is now set forth.
It is so down to earth
that it affects us as Christians in many ways. We believe there is life after
death for us. Even as Christ arose from the dead and ascended into heaven, we
also will follow Him. We believe that when we die, our body is a house without
an inhabitant. It is not to be discarded or cremated willfully. It is to be
laid in a grave to testify that our body is an important part of our existence,
on earth and ultimately in the new earth.
True, our body cannot be
taken into heaven without change. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians quoted
above makes this plain, I Cor. 15:50 “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the
In that glorified body,
Jesus ascended into heaven.
He did that not simply as
an individual, but He did that as the head of the body, His beloved Church. Thus
the verse quoted above states, “But now is Christ risen
from the dead, and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept.” The reference to
firstfruits is a reference to harvest time and the
harvesting of the bodies of all the redeemed is connected with Christ Who is
the first.
You have the guarantee
that your body will partake of the glory of perfection.
That is quite an
advantage which is sealed in the ascension of Jesus into heaven.