The Differences Between Our Earthly Bodies And Our Heavenly Bodies

I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.
–Luke 22:29-30

What are some of the differences between our earthly bodies and the Heavenly bodies we will have for the New Heaven and Earth?

• Our earthly bodies decay; our Heavenly bodies will endure.
• Our earthly bodies are infected with sin; our Heavenly bodies will be free of sin.
• Our earthly bodies are weak; our Heavenly bodies will be powerful.
• Our earthly bodies are for the old earth; our Heavenly bodies are for the New Earth.

People have all kinds of questions about what our new bodies will be like. The best way to answer those questions is to look at the body of Jesus.

First of all, we will eat in our new bodies. Can I hear an amen on that? When Jesus appeared before His disciples, He was hungry and asked for something to eat. We will be hungry in Heaven, and we will have plenty to eat. In Luke 22:29-30, Jesus said, “Just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.”

Second, we will wear clothes in Heaven. The Bible describes Jesus as being clothed. Revelation 1:13 says Jesus in His resurrection body was “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.” Revelation 3:5 promises, “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments.” In Revelation 19:14, the Second Coming of Christ, we the Church are pictured as coming with Christ, and we will be “clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

Third, we will retain our sexual identities in Heaven. We will be male and female just as God created us. Some people point to Galatians 3:28–“[In Christ] there is neither male nor female”–to say there is no gender in Heaven. But that verse refers to our equality right now before God. God makes no distinction between male and female in spiritual status. Galatians 3:28 is not talking about the future. In Luke 24:16, Jesus was with His disciples on the road to Emmaus, “but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” How does that relate to gender? Obviously, when those disciples were talking to Jesus, He appeared to be just another man. He did not appear as some strange, sexless alien. The disciples would have had a whole different conversation if that had been the case! In our resurrection bodies, we will retain our gender.

In Heaven, we will be the best version of ourselves we can imagine. You will still be you, and the relationships you have here on earth with Christians will continue in Heaven. You will know other people, they will know you, and you will enjoy perfect fellowship, untainted by sin. Now, that is something to look forward to in Heaven!

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Will We Know One Another In Heaven?” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2016.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.lockman.org)