0966. An Individuality

An Individuality

"But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body.

"All flesh is not the same flesh but there is one kind of flesh of men another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: bat the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

"There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory" (1Co_15:38-41)

Our key verses clearly teach us that in the resurrection each body that is sown in the grave, will be raised with its own body. That is, with a body distinct to itself. There are special lessons for us here:

1. Each body is distinct down here. Does it not seem remarkable that in all of God's universe, in the vegetable world, in the animal world, as in mankind, there are no duplicates. There are no two trees alike, in fact, there are no two leaves alike. There are no two beasts alike. There are no two human faces alike. All bear their own individuality. Twins may not be differentiated by their friends, but the mother knows.

2. Each body is distinct over there. In the resurrection it will be, as it is down here–no two faces will look alike. Abraham will be different from Isaac, and Isaac from Jacob. If everybody looked alike down here we would, with difficulty, be able to discern between the one and the other. The same would be true in the resurrection. We expect in those days to sit down in the Kingdom of God and talk with the saints whom we learned to know and to love down here.

In the transfiguration when Elijah and Moses appeared with Christ, the three disciples immediately recognized them. So will we recognize one another over there. Peter will be Peter, John will be John, the twelve Apostles will be the twelve Apostles. We carry with us our distinctive personality.

3. Each body retains its characteristics. We do not mean that those evil marks which marred us will be there, but we do mean that those certain characteristics that mark our new life embellished and glorified will be there.

The resurrection affords no foothold for the Darwinian theory of a change of species. It is the same and not another life that we shall have in the great beyond.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR