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Question

What will we look like in heaven?

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Answer


First Corinthians 15 addresses the resurrection and the resurrected body. Our heavenly bodies will be different from our natural bodies, with some stark contrasts. Our earthly bodies are subject to decay and corruption, but at the resurrection they will be incorruptible: “The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:53a). Likewise, our earthly bodies are characterized by mortality, being susceptible to death, but our resurrected bodies will be characterized by immortality and not susceptible to death (verse 53b). Also, whereas our natural bodies are prone to weakness, our resurrected bodies will be characterized by strength (verse 43).


We will have a body in heaven, and it will be the same body we have now. God redeems the whole person, body, soul, and spirit. But our resurrected body will be “heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:40) “imperishable” (verse 42), glorified (verse 43), “spiritual” (verse 44), immortal (verse 53), and bearing Christ’s image (verse 49). So, a lot will change, but we will not lose our identity. You will still be you.

Philippians 3:21 contains the promise that Jesus “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” After His resurrection, Jesus was recognizable for who He was (except when God prevented people from seeing, as in Luke 24:16). He had His hands and His feet (Luke 24:39). He ate food (Luke 24:42). His body was transformed, but it was still His body. The same will hold true for us in the resurrection.

Our natural bodies are associated with the word dishonor in 1 Corinthians 15:43 because they sustain damage; they scab and scar, they lose function, and eventually they decay and die. In short, they bear the marks of sin. Sometimes our bodies are damaged due to our own personal sin. Other times our bodies are marred by the sins of others. But everyone grows old, and the ravishes of time have their effect. The process of physical deterioration is a direct result of humanity’s fall into sin. But God, through Christ’s transforming power, is able to raise up His children with new, glorious bodies. When Jesus healed the man with the shriveled hand, “his hand was completely restored” (Luke 6:10). That’s a small picture of what the resurrection of the body will accomplish. We will be “completely restored,” completely free from the devastation of sin and possessing the glory of Christ instead.

The Bible does not say exactly what we will look like in heaven. What age we will appear to be? Will the texture of our hair stay the same? Will we have the same eye color? The same fingerprints? We can’t answer any of these questions. We do know that whatever was associated with our natural, perishable condition will be removed. No more pimples, pains, or palsies. No more cataracts, coughs, or cancers. No more missing teeth, lazy eyes, or hereditary defects. Jesus may still bear His scars in heaven, but ours will be gone.

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What will we look like in heaven?
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This page last updated: October 29, 2024