We know that God is able to do all things. However, so much of our lives are spent focusing on the negative of who we are and our limitations, that we fail to acknowledge with our actions who is in control. We function as if this life is all there is, and that we need to live to the fullest extent of what the world defines as living. Yet, if we believe the truths of God’s word, we will live with the hope that the life we have now is just a staging ground for eternity.
In Philippians 3:21, Paul teaches us that our vile bodies will one day be made to be like Christ’s glorious body. In this verse, the word vile means depressed, humiliated, or frail. This is speaking of the fact that we are subject to sickness, pain, and eventually death. This body will deteriorate as it gets older, and try as we may, we cannot change the inevitable. We shop for the latest creams or vitamins that will help us to look younger. When that doesn’t help, we look for cosmetic surgeries or makeup to change our appearance. However, changing our appearance does not change the facts. We live in a body that is going to eventually go back to the dust from whence it came. We have a body that even after becoming a Christian, has a sinful nature residing within it. At our best, we are a sinner saved by His grace. Paul noted this in Romans 7:24 when he said, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul is lamenting the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. It is a struggle between good and evil for the Christian who continues to draw closer to God each day. As they get closer to The Light, they see more of their own sinfulness exposed to them. That’s what light does; it allows us to see clearly. In Romans 7:24, it is evident that Paul understood the propensity of the mortal man to sin. His thoughts then turn to the only one who is able to deliver him from the sinful desires of the flesh. We understand, as Paul did, that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides a way of complete deliverance. In Philippians 3:21, we will be changed from this vile body to a glorified body like Jesus had after He ascended back to Heaven. We don’t know what the body of Christ is like in Heaven, but we do know that there is no pain, no death, and no sorrow. Everything in Heaven is perfect. In Philippians 3:21, we will get a glorious body because He is able to change us. In I Corinthians 15:26-27, the last enemy to be destroyed is death and that will be complete at the resurrection. God has given Jesus all power. Power for transforming our minds and hearts here, and power to change us and give us a body like His at the final resurrection! Our frail, weak, deteriorating bodies will no longer be our home. I can’t imagine a body with no pain and no physical restrictions. I will forever be grateful for all that God has done for me here, and the hope He has given me for the future. He and He alone is able to save me and change me from this body to a glorified body!
Philippians 3:20 “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:”
Philippians 3:21 “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.”
I Corinthians 15:26-27 “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.”
