Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:21)

Not another body; the same body, but a body that is not the same. There is a one to one correlation with the body that dies and the body that rises. Hear the exchange between Christ and His disciple Thomas upon seeing the risen Lord, “Then saith Jesus to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side… and Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” He who made the body has power over the body to refashion it as He pleases.

The body dies corruptible, but the body rises incorruptible. The body dies mortal, but the body rises immortal. The body dies gruesomely, but the body rises glorious. The funeral parlor presentation often leaves us saying what a good job the funeral staff did with the remains; however, no matter how good the person is made up and dressed, I’ve never heard anyone say he or she looked glorious. Such a term seems, and no doubt should be, reserved for the resurrection of the believer. Because Paul has a term reserved for the pre-resurrected body in this verse. The best body builder; the most well kept runway model; the healthiest and most nutritious eater, from the cradle to the grave, Paul’s assessment of your body in this verse: it is “vile.” A line from the book “Fight Club,” authored by Chuck Palahniuk, seems to capture an irony between the two states, “Only after disaster can we be resurrected.” And on resurrection day, bearing the scars of time and yet standing in eternity, in a body liken unto Jesus, and seeing Him as He is, this once vile body shall finally reach its apex. And the only term suitable to describe it will be “glorious.”

Yuri Solomon holds degrees from Gospel Ministry Outreach Theological Institute and the College of Biblical Studies. He is author of the book Biblical Masculinity. More info @ www.wordtalkonline.org