17  Reaching for  the Prize—Part 2:  The Procedure  (Philippians 3:17–21)

Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (3:17–21)

People who make an impact in the world invariably have a single-minded commitment to reaching their goals. Whether those goals are to conquer the world, succeed in business, or win a championship, they are willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to achieve them. On the other hand, those who are consumed with their own needs and comfort rarely accomplish much.

The same is true in the Christian life. There are no hidden secrets, gimmicks, or shortcuts to a life that makes an impact on the world for the truth of Jesus Christ. Such lives are the direct result of a maximum effort to reach the spiritual goals of Christlikeness in life and ministry. Many noble servants of God have suffered much to reach those goals. Many even paid with their lives. All had one thing in common—their own comfort was less important to them than being like the Lord Jesus Christ in this world. They left their mark on the church through their undying devotion to Him and their untiring efforts for His gospel.

Unfortunately, few in the church today have that level of commitment to the cause of Christ. There are many reasons for that, not the least of which is the devastating impact humanistic psychology has made on the church. One of the basic assumptions of modern psychology is that people exist for their own satisfaction. The primary goal of life, then, is for people to have all of their perceived needs and desires met. Only then will they be happy, content, and fulfilled.

Contemporary presentations of the gospel often reflect that humanistic philosophy. God has become a sort of utilitarian genie, who exists to grant people whatever it takes to make them happy and fulfilled. Scripture presents Jesus Christ as sovereign Lord and Savior, before whom every knee must bow in absolute submission and obedience (Phil. 2:10). But contemporary gospel presentations offer Him as the quick cure for all of life’s problems—despite His own warning, “In the world you have tribulation” (John 16:33; cf. Acts 14:22; 1 Thess. 3:4; 2 Tim. 3:12). The most glaring example of the current man-centered approach is the prosperity gospel, with its unabashed pursuit of the things of the world. Those attitudes of selfish satisfaction are the opposite of the attitude of true spirituality, which is humble, self-effacing awareness of sin and deep gratitude for the least expression of God’s grace.

The narcissism that pervades contemporary Christianity has also corrupted the doctrine of sanctification. Jesus taught, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). In stark contrast, the emphasis today is on meeting people’s needs and fulfilling their desires. Only then, it is argued, can they be effective Christians. That is the focus of much preaching, teaching, and writing.

Commenting on this new paradigm for the Christian life, Tony Walter writes,

It is fashionable to follow the view of some psychologists that the self is a bundle of needs and that personal growth is the business of progressively meeting these needs. Many Christians go along with such beliefs. . . .

One mark of the almost total success of this new morality is that the Christian Church, traditionally keen on mortifying the desires of the flesh, on crucifying needs of the self in pursuit of [Christlikeness], has eagerly adopted the language of needs for itself. . . . We now hear that “Jesus will meet your every need,” as though He were some kind of divine psychiatrist or divine detergent, as though God were there simply to service us. (Need: The New Religion [Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity, 1985], Preface, 5)

The church’s adoption of the need mentality of humanistic psychology leads to a man-centered theology, a man-centered quasi-salvation, and a man-centered substitute for sanctification. For many, the goal of Christian living is getting their needs met, being fulfilled, being happy, having a good self-image, and eliminating all of life’s problems. The focus is on people, not Christ.

But the sub-Christian “need theology” is diametrically opposed to what the Bible teaches. The satisfaction of human need is not the goal of either salvation or sanctification. The goal of salvation is for believers to be conformed to the image of God’s Son (Rom. 8:29). Hence, Christian sanctification looks outward to Christ, not inward to believers’ felt needs. The goal of Christian living is not believers’satisfaction, but God’s. In fact, believers flourish when they are overwhelmed with weakness (2 Cor. 12:9–10).

That Christians are to be like Jesus Christ is the simple truth that tends to be obscured by the plethora of theologies, seminars, books, formulas, and tapes that purport to unlock the secret of spiritual growth. Some of those offerings may be helpful, but only to the degree that they equip believers to become more like Jesus Christ.

The repeated command of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Follow Me” (cf. Matt. 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21), has not been replaced or improved upon. It is the most basic obligation of a believer. Paul expressed that same truth to the Galatians: “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19) and to the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). The apostle John taught that “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

When Paul told the Philippians, “One thing I do” (3:13), he reduced the Christian life to that one objective. For example, Christians are to glorify God, but can only do so to the degree that they are like Jesus Christ. When they evangelize the lost, they are imitating the Lord, who came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). As believers mature spiritually they “grow in the grace and knowledge of [their] Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). When they “die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24) they become more and more like Jesus, “who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21; cf. Heb. 7:26;1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

There is both an objective and a subjective resource for pursuing the prize of Christlikeness. The objective resource is the Word of God. The Bible is the revelation of Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). When Paul wrote that believers have “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16), he was referring to the revelation of Scripture given by the apostles and those New Testament writers associated with them.

The subjective power for becoming more like Jesus Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit. He uses the knowledge of Christ gleaned from Scripture to progressively change believers into Christ’s image (2 Cor. 3:18). The New Testament is clear that Christian growth results from study of the Scripture and submission to the Holy Spirit.

In this passage, Paul gives three practical elements of pursuing Christlikeness: following after examples, fleeing from enemies, and focusing on expectations.

FOLLOWING AFTER EXAMPLES

Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. (3:17)

For the third time in this chapter Paul affectionately addresses the Philippians as brethren (cf. vv. 1, 13). The phrase join in following my example literally reads in the Greek text “be fellow imitators with me.” Paul urged the Philippians to imitate the way he lived. He was not putting himself on a pedestal of spiritual perfection (cf. the discussion of vv. 12–16 in the previous chapter of this volume). Instead, he was encouraging the Philippians to follow him, an imperfect sinner, as he pursued the goal of Christlikeness.

The New Testament records Paul’s failures as well as his triumphs. Outraged at his abusive treatment at the hands of the high priest, he cried out, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” (Acts 23:3)—an outburst for which he promptly apologized (Acts 23:5). Because of his struggle with pride, the Lord gave Paul a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). Three decades after his conversion, he still thought of himself as the foremost of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).

Had he been perfect, Paul would not have been an example believers could follow. We need to follow someone who is not perfect so we can see how to overcome our imperfections; someone who can show us how to handle the struggles of life, its disappointments, and its trials; someone who can show us how to handle pride, resist temptation, and put sin to death. Christ is the perfect standard, model, and pattern for believers to emulate. But Christ never pursued perfection; He has always been perfect. Paul was a fellow traveler on the path toward the unattainable spiritual perfection, and thus a model for believers to follow. He modeled virtue, morality, overcoming the flesh, victory over temptation, worship, service to God, patient endurance of suffering, handling possessions, and handling relationships.

Moving beyond himself, Paul commanded the Philippians also to observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. Skope (observe) is the verb form of the noun translated “goal” in verse 14, and could be translated “fix your gaze on.” Paul is in effect saying, “Focus on those whose walk (daily conduct) is according to the correct pattern—the one you have in us.” That would include Timothy and Epaphroditus, whom the Philippians knew, as well as the overseers and deacons at Philippi (cf. 1:1). The word us, however, is most likely a literary plural, a humble way for Paul to refer to himself.

Paul’s example was available to the Philippians in print, as it is to believers today. But they had also observed his life firsthand during his stay in Philippi. Believers have always needed examples of godly living as patterns. Those examples are the pastors and elders of the church, who are to “show [themselves examples] of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:12) by modeling humility, unselfish service, willingness to suffer, devotion to Christ, courage, and dedication to spiritual growth.

Those who teach and preach the Word must handle it accurately. That is especially important today, when the correct interpretation of Scripture has been hopelessly blurred and seemingly any view is tolerated. Paul exhorted Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). But accurate teaching of the truth must be backed up by a godly life.

FLEEING FROM ENEMIES

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. (3:18–19)

The apostle warned that in pursuing the spiritual prize of Christlikeness it must be recognized that there are many examples to be avoided. The enemies of which Paul warned do not appear to have been openly hostile to the Christian faith. Like their evil master, Satan, they were deceptive, disguising themselves as messengers of Christ, angels of light, and servants of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:13–15). They became part of the church, possibly even in leadership roles. Their subtlety made them exceptionally dangerous.

The New Testament constantly warns of the danger posed by false teachers. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). In the Olivet Discourse He added, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many” (Matt. 24:4–5). Acts records the false teachers Simon Magus (Acts 8:9–24) and Elymas (Acts 13:8–11), while Paul dealt with Hymenaeus and Alexander at Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:20). The apostle warned both Timothy (1 Tim. 1:4) and Titus (Titus 3:9) to avoid false teachers who dabbled in myths and genealogies. Both Peter (2 Peter) and Jude wrote of the danger of false teachers. John also warned his readers to beware of false teachers:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:1–3)

In his second epistle he added, “Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7).

Sadly, because of apathy toward the truth and shallow biblical knowledge, the church today lacks discernment. It is astonishing and disturbing to see the things Christians believe and the people they follow. A lack of consistent and long-term precise biblical exposition from the pulpit has led to a lack of precise biblical thinking and discernment. The tragic result is the widespread victimization of the church by enemies of the Cross of Christ. (For a further discussion of the lack of discernment in the church, see John MacArthur, Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1994].)

Unlike the godly examples of verse 17, the walk (daily conduct) of the false teachers is not to be imitated. Some see the phrase of whom I often told you as a reference to 1:28. More likely, however, it refers to warnings Paul gave the Philippian church when he was with them in person. He gave a similar warning to the elders from the Ephesian church:

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:28–31)

Paul warned the Philippians that false teachers are enemies of the cross of Christ. But he did so not with gladness, but with weeping. This is the only place in the New Testament that Paul speaks of himself as crying in the present tense. He was a sensitive, passionate man, and the plight of lost sinners or the threat to his beloved congregations often brought him to tears (cf. Acts 20:19, 31; Rom. 9:2; 2 Cor. 2:4). Paul was heartbroken as he recognized the havoc the false teachers could cause in the Philippian church. He no doubt also wept over the false teachers’ fate (cf. Rom. 9:2). The damnation of the enemies of the Cross, their destructive impact on the church, and the reproach they brought on the cause of Christ caused Paul grief.

Paul described the false teachers as enemies of the cross of Christ. The term cross is not limited to the actual wooden instrument of death (1 Cor. 1:17–18, 23; 2:2; Gal. 3:1; 6:14; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20; 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24), but signifies Christ’s atoning death in all its aspects. The false teachers were against salvation!

Paul did not label the specific enemies of the cross of Christ who were troubling the Philippians. There are, however, only two options: they were either Jews or Gentiles, or both. The Jewish false teachers who identified with the church were known as the Judaizers (cf. Acts 15). They argued that the gospel alone was insufficient to save; circumcision and keeping the Law were also necessary. Paul forcefully denounced them in 3:2 as “dogs, . . . evil workers,” and “the false circumcision.” Though they thought of themselves as the sheep of God’s pasture, the Judaizers were actually mangy, scroungy mongrels. Their spiritual descendants—those who add works to salvation—plague the church to this day.

Since Paul did not specifically identify these enemies of the cross as Judaizers, they may have been Gentiles. Some Gentile false teachers held to the dualistic philosophy prevalent in contemporary Greek thought. Those heretics, forerunners of the dangerous second-century heresy known as Gnosticism, taught that spirit was good and matter was evil. Since the body is made of matter, it is intrinsically evil. Salvation ultimately involves not the redemption of the body, but deliverance from it. Thus, since the body is incurably evil, it does not matter what one does with it. Its desires can be satiated; a person can be a glutton, a drunkard, a homosexual, or an adulterer. All those things, the heretics taught, were inconsequential, since they affected only the body, not the spirit. The Judaizers added to the gospel; the Gentile false teachers subtracted from it.

That same spirit of antinomian libertinism lives on today. There are those in the contemporary church who teach that saving faith need not result in a life of holiness. Since Jesus’ death paid for believers’ sins, they argue, it does not matter how they live. Some even teach that all who profess faith in Christ are saved—even if they later become atheists.

Paul gave four marks of the enemies of the cross in verse 19.

THE DOOM THEY FACE

whose end is destruction, (3:19a)

Having rejected the one and only truth of salvation—the cross of Christ—all false teachers face the same fate. Their end (the Greek word telos refers here to their ultimate destiny) will be eternal destruction (torment, punishment) in hell (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9). The Judaizers deserved this fate because they added human works to the cross of Christ. To believe the truth about Him but also to believe that human works are necessary for salvation is to be damned forever. The Gentile heretics deserved their fate because they stripped the cross of Christ of its power to transform lives. The result is a dead faith, unable to save (James 2:14–26).

THE DEITY THEY SERVE

whose god is their appetite, (3:19b)

Appetite translates koilia, which refers anatomically to the abdomen, particularly the stomach. Here it is used metaphorically to refer to all unrestrained sensual, fleshly, bodily desires (cf. 1 Cor. 6:13). The false teachers were condemned because they did not worship God but bowed down to their sensual impulses. It could be a reference to the Judaizers’ emphasis on keeping the Jewish dietary laws. Or if the false teachers in view were Gentiles, it could refer to their unrestrained pursuit of sensual pleasures. Jude described such people as “ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).

THE DISGRACE THEY BEAR

whose glory is in their shame, (3:19c)

Shockingly, the false teachers boasted in the very things that brought them shame. This is the most extreme form of wickedness—when the sinner’s most wretched conduct before God is his highest point of self-exaltation. The Judaizers boasted in their “rubbish” (3:8)—as Paul himself had done before he learned to count all that “as loss for the sake of Christ” (3:7). The Gentile libertines also boasted—of their supposed freedom to pursue sensual desires. They were most proud of their worst perversions (cf. 1 Cor. 5:1–2).

THE DISPOSITION THEY DISPLAY

who set their minds on earthly things. (3:19d)

Their earthly focus offers evidence that the false teachers were not saved. James asked, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). The Judaizers focused on ceremonies, festivals, feasts, sacrifices, new moons—“things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col. 2:17). The libertines focused on the passing sensual pleasures of the world.

The enemies of the Cross, whether they add to the gospel or take away from it, are to be avoided, never imitated.

FOCUSING ON EXPECTATIONS

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (3:20–21)

The underlying motivation for pursuing Christlikeness is the hope of the return of Jesus Christ. Since Christ is in heaven, those who love Him must be preoccupied with heaven, longing for Christ to return and take them to be with Him (1 Thess. 4:17).

Paul had little interest in the comforts and pleasures of this world, as the following passages indicate:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Cor. 4:8–10)

In everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things. (2 Cor. 6:4–10)

Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? (2 Cor. 11:23–29)

This view led him to the conviction that made him write, “I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better” (1:23).

It is consistent for believers to have a heavenly focus, because our citizenship is in heaven. Politeuma (citizenship) appears only here in the New Testament, though Paul used the related verb in 1:27. It refers to the place where one has official status, the commonwealth where one’s name is recorded on the register of citizens. Though believers live in this world, they are citizens of heaven. They are members of Christ’s kingdom, which is not of this world (John 18:36). Their names are recorded in heaven (Luke 10:20; cf. Phil. 4:3; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 13:8; 21:27); their Savior is there (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16); their fellow saints are there (Heb. 12:23); their inheritance is there (1 Peter 1:4); their reward is there (Matt. 5:12); and their treasure is there (Matt. 6:20).

Though they do not yet live in heaven, believers live in the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:6); they experience to some degree the heavenly life here on earth. They have the life of God within them, are under the rule of heaven’s King, and live for heaven’s cause.

Paul’s reference to citizenship may have been especially meaningful to the Philippians, since Philippi was a Roman colony. The Philippians were Roman citizens, though obviously living outside of Rome, just as believers are citizens of heaven living on earth.

It is from heaven that we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. To the disciples who watched as Christ ascended into heaven the angels said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). In John 14:2–3 Jesus Himself promised, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Because of those promises, believers are to be “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7), and “to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). Until He returns, believers “groan within [themselves], waiting eagerly for [their] adoption as sons, the redemption of [the] body” (Rom. 8:23).

The hope of Christ’s return provides believers with motivation, accountability, and security. In this promise there is positive motivation to be found faithful when He returns to reward believers; to be accountable to God for living lives that produce gold, silver, and precious stones instead of wood, hay, and straw (1 Cor. 3:12). There is a corresponding negative reality, as John wrote: “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward” (2 John 8). Finally, the promise of Christ’s return provides security, since Jesus promised, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:39–40).

Believers are not to wait for Christ’s return with attitudes of passive resignation or bored disinterest. Instead, they are to eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers are not waiting for an event but a Person. Apekdechomai (eagerly wait) is often used to speak of waiting for Christ’s second coming (e.g., Rom. 8:19, 23, 25; 1 Cor. 1:7; Gal. 5:5; Heb. 9:28). It describes not only eagerness, but also patience.

As noted above, Christ’s return marks the end of believers’ struggling pursuit of the elusive prize of holy perfection, for it is then that He will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. It is then that the eagerly awaited redemption of the body will take place (Rom. 8:23). It is “when He appears [that] we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). Until then, the new creature (2 Cor. 5:17) is incarcerated in the unredeemed humanness (“the body of this death”; Rom. 7:24) from which it longs to be liberated.

For believers who die before Christ’s return, death means the temporary separation of the spirit from the body. The body goes into the grave, while the spirit goes immediately into the presence of God (1:21, 23; 2 Cor. 5:6, 8). Heaven is currently occupied by “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:23). Those believers who live from Pentecost to the Rapture will have their spirits joined to their resurrection bodies at the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:15–17). The Old Testament believers and those saved during the Tribulation will receive their resurrection bodies at Christ’s second coming (Dan. 12:2; Rev. 20:4).

Christ will totally transform the bodies of all believers, each group at its appointed time (cf. 1 Cor. 15:22–23), to make them fit for heaven. Believers’ bodies will have a new schematic; they will be refashioned and redesigned. Christ will change the present body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. Like Christ’s resurrection body, believers’ resurrected bodies will be recognizable. They will be able to eat, talk, and walk, but will not have the physical restrictions of our present bodies. After His resurrection Christ appeared and disappeared at will, even entering a room whose doors were locked (John 20:19). Paul gives the most detailed description of believers’ resurrection bodies in 1 Corinthians 15:35–49:

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

The combination of a redeemed spirit and a glorified body will enable all believers to perfectly manifest the glory of God. Sin, weakness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, suffering, doubt, fear, temptation, hate, and failure will give way to perfect joy (Matt. 25:21), pleasure (Ps. 16:11), knowledge (1 Cor. 13:12), comfort (Luke 16:25), and love (1 Cor. 13:13).

Salvation involves far more than mere deliverance from hell. God’s ultimate goal in redeeming believers is to transform their bodies into conformity with the body of His glory. They will “become conformed [summorphos; the same word translated conformity in v. 21] to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29; cf. 1 John 3:2). “Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:49).

Their transformed bodies will permit believers finally to be the perfect creation God intends for them to be for the joy of perfect fellowship with Him forever. Describing heaven, John wrote, “I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them’” (Rev. 21:3; cf. John 14:1–3; 1 Thess. 4:17). Those bodies will also allow believers to see God. In the Beatitudes Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8), while John wrote that in heaven “there will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:3–4). Believers’resurrection bodies will also be perfectly suited for the eternal service they will render to God (cf. Rev. 7:15).

Lest any doubt Christ’s power to transform believers’ bodies, Paul notes that He will accomplish it by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Hupotass (subject) means “to arrange in order of rank” or “to manage.” Christ will have the power to rule the millennial kingdom (Rev. 12:5, 19:15; cf. Isa. 9:6; 32:1; Zech. 14:9). By His power Christ will also transform the earth’s topography (Zech. 14:4–8) and the natural kingdom (Isa. 11:6–9). Paul’s point is that if Christ can subject the entire universe to His sovereign control (cf. 1 Cor. 15:24–27), He has the power to transform believers’bodies into His image.

As they run the spiritual race (Heb. 12:1), believers must look to godly examples for inspiration and instruction. They must also look out for those enemies of the truth who would lead them astray. Finally, they must focus on the glorious hope that is theirs at the return of Christ—the transformation of their bodies into conformity with His. Then, regenerated fully in soul and body, they will be suited to eternal, holy glory and joy.