On Death (Part 6)

5. The body is sown in weakness and raised in power. a. As the body ages it becomes weaker until it succumbs to death which is the ultimate weakness, for the dead can do nothing. ECC 8:8; 9:10. b. The resurrection body will have power such that the present body has never had. c. The children of the resurrection will be equal to the angels of heaven who excel in strength. LUK 20:36; PSA 103:20. (1) One angel slew 185,000 men. 2KI 19:35. (2) They can hold the wind. REV 7:1. (3) They can fly swiftly. REV 14:6; DAN 9:21. (4) They have more power than any earthly dignitary. 2PE 2:10-11. d. The resurrection body will not sigh. ISA 35:10. (1) sigh: A sudden, prolonged, deep and more or less audible respiration, following on a deep-drawn breath, and esp. indicating or expressing dejection, weariness, longing, pain, or relief. (2) The spiritual body will not tire. (3) This condition will be attained when death is swallowed up in victory at the resurrection of the dead. ISA 25:8. 6. The body is sown a natural body and raised a spiritual body. a. The body that is now natural will be made spiritual. b. Although it will be spiritual, it will still be a body. c. The body will not be made a spirit. LUK 24:36-43. d. There is a natural body. (1) natural: Having a real or physical existence, as opposed to what is spiritual, intellectual, fictitious, etc. (2) When God breathed into the first Adam's nostrils the breath of life, man became a living soul. GEN 2:7. (3) It was the man formed of the dust of the ground that became the living soul. (4) Paul quotes these words to substantiate his point that there is a natural body. 1CO 15:45. [a] A natural body is a body with a soul. [b] Without the soul, the body has no life. [c] It could be said that the present body is a soulish body. e. The soul and body belong together. It is sin that brought about their division at death. f. The soul possesses the identity of the body it indwells and can be recognized as the person when disembodied. (1) Though disembodied, Moses was recognized as Moses in the Mount of Transfiguration. DEU 34:5-6; MAT 17:1-3. (2) The souls of both the rich man in hell and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom retained their form and identity though their bodies were dead and buried. LUK 16:22-25. (3) The soul is that vital principle that causes the body to process its nutrients so as to produce tissue with its specific identity. This can be deduced from the fact that in the absence of the soul, the body decomposes and loses its identity. ECC 12:6-7. g. The soul animates the bodily senses and appetites. On Death 8-29-15 Page 14  (1) The soul has sensation and appetite, even in a disembodied state. GEN 34:3; DEU 12:15; PRO 6:30; 27:7; ISA 29:8; LUK 16:22- 24. (2) Without the soul, the body senses and craves nothing. (3) The soul gives the body an appetite for the things needful to its survival and propagation. (4) With man's fall, the bodily appetites have been put in control to the defiance of the will of God in satisfying them. [a] Man's unregenerate soul and spirit advance the bodily appetites to the forefront. EPH 2:1-3. [b] Therefore, Paul accurately describes the unregenerate man as being and walking after the flesh. ROM 8:4-8.