A SERIOUS difficulty arises in reference to man's mission to the
celestials. His present body is not at all capable of carrying it
out. It is not adapted to any environment except the surface of
the earth. When the Corinthians doubted the resurrection, this
seems to have been the chief stumbling block. "How are the dead
being roused, and with what body are they coming" (1 Cor.15:35)?
For Israel there is no need of much change except immunity from
death. For the celestial saints, that is not enough. With a body
of flesh and blood they would suffer intensely from a celestial
environment. Those who talk glibly of "going to heaven," should
not think only of the golden harps, but of the possible pain and
distress which is the lot of human beings who ascend to a great
height above their normal surroundings in the lower regions of the
earth.
In meeting this question, the apostle appeals to the facts of
nature. He points to three distinct spheres, the plants, the
animals, and the heavenly bodies, and draws a different lesson
from each. He calls attention to the seeds of plants, the
flesh of men and beasts and flyers and fishes, and to the
bodies of celestial beings. The terrestrial bodies differ from
the glory of the celestial. These have many degrees of glory, as
shown in the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then this is further
elaborated and applied to the resurrection, and the marvelous
change which will transform our corrupt, dishonorable, infirm,
soulish, soilish frames into incorruptible, glorious, powerful,
spiritual, celestial bodies, fit for our high mission among the
heavenly hosts.
Three distinct phases of our return from death to life are
presented in the Scriptures, each of which is associated with a
distinct feature of man's constitution. Resurrection is related
especially to the body, rousing to the soul, and vivification to
the spirit. Of course they are so closely involved with one
another that one usually implies the rest of them. Yet it seems
that, in explaining how vivification proceeds, we are pointed to
seeds; rousing to flesh; while resurrection is explained
by means of celestial bodies. The vegetable, the animal and the
mineral kingdom are called upon to explain the change in spirit,
soul and body respectively.
VIVIFICATION BY DEATH
The oldest life forms on the earth's surface, so far as I am
aware, are plants. I once saw a tree in the high Sierras of
California, which is, perhaps, the largest form of life known to
man. So far as I could determine, it dates back as far as the
deluge, about four thousand years. Plants come much nearer to
incorruptibility and immortality than animals. But this is not the
illustration used to explain the resurrection. This tree has had
no need of vivification, for it has never died. It is so vast in
its proportions that it contains enough lumber to build a whole
village.
All life, even that of plants, is due to spirit, and can
only spring from spirit. But the mode of transmission in most
plants differs from that in animals. In the latter the seed
gradually develops into a new individual. In the grains the kernel
does not bring forth another kernel, but produces a whole plant,
with foliage and flowers, much more wonderful in form and
appearance than itself. The point here seems to be that the
vitality, the spirit of the seed is transmitted to a habitation
quite different from that which it left, even if it is the same
spirit. The great change is in the two bodies that the one
spirit receives. A grain remains a grain until its form perishes. If its
outward form does not decay and die, the plant
does not spring up.
The usual translation, "that which thou sowest is not
quickened except it die," seems to suggest that only dead seed can
produce a new crop. But quite the opposite is true. Dead seed will
only decay. It will bring forth nothing. It should read, "what you
are sowing is not vivifying if it should not be dying." That is,
the dying (not dead) seed imparts its life to the new plant.
In the process of doing this, it must give up its own life. It
loses its form and what is left of it decays. There is no return
from death as with us. We are not pointed to plants as examples
of vivification such as we will experience at the presence of
Christ. Seeds are simply illustrations of how the same spirit
may be clothed with a body far more marvelous than the one which
has decayed.
The comparison between the seeds of plants and ourselves is
not immediately enforced, but is delayed a few lines, in which the
flesh of animals on earth and the bodies of celestial spheres are
also introduced, in order to cover the soul and body as well as
the spirit, which we have just discussed. That the seeds are once
more the subject is evident from the resumption of the figure of
sowing. Terrestrial flesh and celestial bodies are not sown.
So long as this picture is used, we may be sure that the
comparison is between the seed and the plant which springs from it
and stresses the spirit. Yet this is also linked to the next
comparison, which concerns the soul, because our soulish bodies
will be roused a spiritual body. It is important to remember
that, although spirit and soul are often in view in this
discussion, the dominating theme is the resurrection body.
As the seed in the soil goes to corruption, so it is with our
mortal bodies. They are, so to speak, planted in the soil, and are
returning to it. While the seed is left to decay in the earth, the
plant is thrusting its blade above the ground, its stalk is
shooting upward, its foliage is spreading abroad, its flowers are scenting
the air. What a
contrast! So it is with the bodies which our spirits now inhabit,
compared with that which shall be. Like the seed sown in the soil,
our mortal frames are dying, disintegrating, returning to the
soil, until the spirit leaves and returns to God Who gave it. But
this same spirit, like the vital force of the plant, will vivify a
body which will never die, which the least tinge of corruption
will never touch. What a relief! What a joy! How unutterably
thankful we will be! Our adoration of God will no longer be
handicapped by a corrupting corpse, but, rather, that by-gone
experience will enable us to enjoy it to the full, and respond to
the grace of which it is an expression.
THE BODY THAT SHALL BE
Our present fleshly frame is sown in dishonor. It will be
roused in glory. Humiliation was God's aim in giving us the bodies
which we now possess. Its very grace and beauty, when in its
prime, only emphasizes the degradation to which it sinks as its
vitality vanishes, its bloom fades, and its features are
disfigured. Teeth decay, hearing becomes dull, sight becomes dim,
and the bodily functions fail. Senility is a sad sight, indeed,
unless we see in it a God-given contrast to the glory which is in
store for us in the resurrection. Even to be rid of these
inglorious signals of decay and death would be a consummation
devoutly to be wished. But that is far from fulfilling the
expectation held out to us. Even the glory of Adam's sinless form,
doubtless clothed in a luminous robe of light, cannot compare with
the celestial splendor that will be ours in that day.
It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. How helpless
is a babe of the human race! Perhaps no other living thing is so
dependent as a newborn child. And even when it reaches maturity,
how pitifully puny man is when matched with the forces of nature!
And how soon the strength of the mighty leaves them! A few score years and
most men have spent their vigor. Work becomes a burden. Steps
begin to totter. Backs begin to bend. Infirmity makes life an
intolerable load, in case disease or violence has not cut short
our career. All this would reflect seriously on the Creator if it
were the object and end of His dealings with mankind. But it only
enhances His fame, when we see that infirmity is merely the foil
for the display of the future power that will be ours in
resurrection. Then, by comparison, even the professional strong
men of today will be puny puppets. Then the work that wearied us
once will be like a welcome relaxation.
It is sown a soulish body, it is roused a spiritual. We may
not be able to grasp this contrast as easily as the previous ones,
but here we are given a clue which will lead us to see why our
present bodies are corruptible and dishonorable and infirm. The
life principle, spirit, is not paramount. Instead, it unites with
the soil to form the soul, or sensation, and this takes the
first place in controlling the body. As this is the principal
point in the next discussion, we will not go into it farther here.
It will be much easier to understand after we have studied the
place of the flesh in our present bodies.
Having shown by the illustration of the seed that the same
spirit may vitalize two different kinds of bodies, such as a bare
kernel and a plant with branches, leaves, flowers and fruit, when
the one first goes to corruption, Paul now turns to the soul, and
appeals to the animal world to illustrate quite a different aspect
of the return from death. There was no change in spirit, unless it
be in quantity, in the plant. The change was in the structure, the
body of the life form. But the soul of animals, being in the
blood, is closely connected with the flesh. Superficially, one
might expect that the different bodily forms or shapes be
pointed out, which adapt each animal to its surroundings, the fish
for the water and especially the bird for the air. But we will not receive
wings in
resurrection! The change goes deeper than that. It is our flesh
that needs a renewal.
In order to be able to grasp the greatest change in
resurrection we will need to be well grounded in the part played
by the flesh in man as he now is. The lack of this knowledge has
led to much misapprehension of man's past. It is essential if we
wish to apprehend his future. The flesh is the villain in the
tragedy of human history. To it is due the failure and futility
which has characterized his existence hitherto. It is impossible
for us to realize this apart from God's revelation. Even then much
has been missed, and believers themselves are tempted to try and
improve the incorrigible flesh. It was not until Paul's epistles
were penned, and we hid the final verdict condemning the flesh,
that its true character and function could be understood. But when
once we learn this, then we can see its real role from the very
beginning.
VARIOUS FORMS OF FLESH
All flesh is not the same, however (1 Cor.15:39). This is
vital to our theme. We can see this in nature. Not only is there
human flesh, but the various forms of animal life have flesh also.
From these we may learn the needful lesson that all flesh is
adapted to its sphere. The birds may fly in the air and the fishes
swim in the sea, but woe to the bird that seeks the depths of the
ocean or the fish that would fly in the empyrean! Both would die
in a comparatively short time, because their flesh is not
fashioned for the element in which they find themselves. Man may
dive beneath the water and jump into the air for a short space of
time. He may prolong his stay by artificial means for a longer
period. But his flesh is so constituted that it cannot live
anywhere except on the surface of the earth, for which it was
made. Airplanes and submarines are abnormal, and are chiefly used
as instruments of destruction and death.
FLESH AND BLOOD GO TO CORRUPTION
Flesh and blood is not able to enjoy an allotment in the
kingdom of God because it is corruptible (1 Cor.15:50). Flesh
without blood tends to disintegrate, decompose, decay, putrefy,
and return to the soil from which it came. It is by a constant
renewal of elements from the soil through the blood that living
flesh is kept from total decomposition or corruption, such as
would take place if it were severed from the body altogether, and
there were no blood to replace the waste, and repair the tissue.
This is what takes place at death. The beginning of decomposition
commences long before life ceases. That has been going on from the
start, even before birth. Before death it is counteracted by the
assimilation of food and oxygen in healthy, youthful organisms,
but to a diminishing degree as age decreases the vitality.
Let us repeat this important fact in other words. Soil from
the ground, formed into an organism by the hand of God, would soon
return to the soil without blood to bring further supplies in the
form of food, as well as oxygen from the air to replace the losses
due to the disintegration which results from the life processes.
If we take a piece of flesh which is cut off from these supplies
and take no measures to hinder it from spoiling, it will soon
decompose and disappear, with very disagreeable accompaniments.
This simple fact in nature, which all men have observed, gives the
word flesh, its special meaning and usage in God's word. It is
the corruptible part of man, often miscalled his "sinful
nature," and other misleading terms. When mankind is called
flesh, by the figure near association, it does not mean merely
that he is composed of organic soil, or that he has a body, but
that he is corruptible and mortal.
METABOLISM
The process of building and demolishing the bodies of living
creatures is called metabolism by medical men, and is divided into
anabolism (UP-CASTing) and katabolism
(DOWN-CASTing). It is, in effect, living and dying at the same
time. If the flesh were not continually supplied with fresh
substance and energy by means of the blood, it would gradually
waste away until all of it had returned to inorganic soil. It
would go to corruption. The blood is needed, not merely to build
and to vitalize, but to repair the damage which is constantly
occurring. This is what is meant by the phrase "flesh and blood."
First of all, flesh continually inclines to decompose, yet is
hindered by the blood, which reaches every part and counteracts
decay.
ADAM AND EVE
This system of flesh and blood may last indefinitely, so long
as it functions perfectly. It seems that Adam and Eve continued to
keep themselves nourished and healthy by means of the fruits of
Eden's garden. Even though their flesh was the same as ours (for
we inherit ours from them), it was renewed as fast as it was
broken down, so, for practical purposes, displayed none of the
signs of decay. The repair was so persistent and perfect that the
measure of the flesh's decomposition was made up by the continual
assimilation. But the moment that they ate a substance which,
instead of repairing and restoring the flesh, acted rather to
cooperate with the latter in its tendency to decay, then the flesh
was no longer restrained as it had been, and a gradual process of
corruption, or dying, changed the course of life toward death, and
immediately dimmed the glory of primeval perfection.
Adam, in Eden, was not immortal in any sense. That he could
die is evident from the fact that he did, eventually. That he
was not immune from death even before he sinned seems indicated by
the presence of the tree of life in the midst of the garden
(Gen.2:9). Of this he could freely eat, though there was no need.
As a result he was not dying. He was not undergoing the process of
death,
which characterizes all humanity since his expulsion from Eden,
and will continue until the tree is restored in the future
(Ezek.47:12; Rev.22:2). The immortality of the soul, or of the
spirit, or of the body, or of the whole man, is contrary to God's
Word from beginning to end. Sin and death are necessary for
training man for his mission in the universe, as well as for his
own knowledge of God, and His grace and love. Therefore Adam was
made mortal and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was put
within his reach, so that, through the discipline of death, he
might be prepared for his place in the universe.
That the tree of life was not only a food, but also a
medicine, is clear from later scriptures, and is intimated by
Adam's expulsion from the garden. Even after he had offended, he
was driven forth lest he take of the tree of life and live for the
eon. The tree that he did not need before he sinned could have
kept him from death afterward. In the next eon, when Christ is the
great Priest of His people, the tree will be a panacea for the
ills of the nations. Its fruit will be for food, but its leaves
will heal them of their diseases (Ezek.47:12). In the new earth
its curative power will not be needed for the nations. That is why
death will be no more (Rev.21:4). It is not that the nations will
be immortal, or that the dying process has been done away with.
That does not come until the consummation, when death is abolished
(1 Cor.15:26). Were there no tree of life to arrest the ravages
of the last enemy, death would still reap its grim harvest in the
last eon.
THE TREE OF LIFE
There was an antidote for the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. All that Adam needed to do was to take
of the tree of life, and the dying process, which had begun in
him, would have been arrested. To those who are not in God's confidence it
seems strange that He
should have planted a poisonous tree in the midst of the garden,
even if He did warn Adam not to eat of it. Yet it is stranger
still that, after planting the tree of life, He would not let Adam
eat of it in order to counteract the evil that had been done. And
not only so, but why does He not give us such a tree today, when
it is so sorely needed? In the coming eon He will not withhold
this boon from mankind, and they will find relief from the
weakness and the corruption which is inherent in the flesh, by
eating the fruit of the tree of life (Ezek.47:12, Rev.22:2).
There will be no need of the tree in the fifth eon as God will be
in their presence and the light.
The setting of the scene in Eden was entirely contrary to the
teaching of theology. To make it agree we would be forced to
exchange the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst
of the garden for the tree of life. If God wanted men to be
immortal at that time He would have put this tree within man's
easy reach and taken the fatal tree away entirely.
Moreover, why were the cherubim with their flaming sword not
used to bar the serpent out of Eden before Adam sinned, rather
than Adam after his transgression? Or why not to keep Adam away
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rather than from
the tree of life?
