Originally started by the [[Wikipedia_contributors2023-bo|Gnostics]] and pushed by groups such as [[noauthor_2018-vp|Jehovah's Witnesses]] and the disbanded [[Vincent_undated-ba|Jesus Seminar]], this theory against the physical resurrection of Jesus is that He was raised only as a spirit from the dead. Verses said to be in support of this view are that of 1 Peter 3:18 and 1 Corinthians 15:45, which state: > [!bible]+ [[1 Peter 3:18](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1PE.3.18) - ESV](https://bolls.life/ESV/60/3/) > 18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, %% #1Peter %% > [!bible]+ [[1 Corinthians 15:45](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1CO.15.45) - ESV](https://bolls.life/ESV/46/15/) > 45. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. %% #1Corinthians %% Additionally, [Luke 24:36-43](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/LUK.24.36-43) and [John 20:19-27](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.20.19-27) is used to support the theory as Jesus was able to appear and disappear at will. ## Is that really the Christian belief? However, this interpretation leaves problems when you start to compare the rest of the Christian Bible. Notable passages include [Luke 24:36-43](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/LUK.24.36-43); [John 2:19-21](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.2.19-21) [John 20:17-27](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.20.17-27); [John 21:12-14](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.21.12-14); [Acts 10:41](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ACT.10.41); [Matthew 28:9-10](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/MAT.28.9-10); [Philippians 3:20-21](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/PHP.3.20-21); [Romans 6:5](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ROM.6.5); and [1 John 1:1](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1JN.1.1). Reading these passages will leave you with the following list about Jesus's body and appearances. - Jesus predicted that He would have the same body and showed His post-resurrected body to Thomas The Apostle to prove His claim - Still retained the scars of His former crucifixion trauma (scars on His wrist, feet, and side) - Was composed of flesh, blood, and bone - He could get hungry, He ate and drank with his followers - Could be touched by His disciples and physically held in place during an embrace - Interacted with physical matter, started a fire, cooked fish, and prepared bread with his disciples - Walked for an extended period with 2 of His followers The Gospels also go to great lengths to show that His former body was gone from the grave ([John 20:5-7](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.20.5-7),[Luke 24:12](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/LUK.24.12)); in them, we find that His body missing from the burial clothes in the tomb. > [!info] SEE ALSO > [[The Burial Clothes Of Jesus]] This leaves the problem of scriptural inconsistency if Paul and Peter are teaching a merely spiritual resurrection. The term [resurrection](https://paperpile.com/app/p/448ca3ad-6c33-0e16-a422-3c25ae3ff224 'Definition of RESURRECTION') means "the state of one risen from the dead". The thing that was once dead is what is resurrected which, in this case, is the body of Christ. Some select [Jewish Extra-Canonical](https://paperpile.com/app/p/18a9ad02-62cb-01f2-9f7b-5b30c2eb905d 'RESURRECTION - JewishEncyclopedia.com') Apocalypses supports the phrase "resurrection" as a bodily resurrection. Reading the entire passage of [1 Corinthians 15](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1CO.15) shows us the fuller context of Paul's teaching. In this, he describes bodies made for their purpose, such as how animals have bodies suited for their environment. Paul goes on to contrast earthly things to heavenly, mortal vs. immortal, natural vs. spiritual, and more. It is clear that he is speaking of the differences that the new "glorious" body will have compared to our old ones made for life only on Earth. In his book, Mike Licona says this about Paul's wording in 1 Corinthians: > [!quote] [[noauthor_2018-vp| Mike Licona]] > In regards to Jesus being �made alive in the spirit�, this does not mean that Jesus was given a different, spirit body, as the Witnesses argue, but it could mean one of two things: > > 1. The "spirit" is actually the "Spirit" with a capital "s", referring to the Holy Spirit. In this case, it means that Jesus was made alive by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is taught in [Romans 8:11](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ROM.8.11), which says: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. > 2. It could mean that when Jesus was raised, his body was glorified. It was still the same body that he died in, but of a higher degree of glory. This is supported in 1 Corinthians 15:40, which says: "There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another." Mike Licona also adds in his book **The Resurrection of Jesus**: > [!quote] [[Licona2020-jj]] > It is clear that Paul is not contrasting material and immaterial objects, since for him humans can be natural or spiritual. In other words, when employing the terms "natural" and "spiritual" Paul is not referring to the substance of the old and new bodies but rather their mode of existence. Later on in 1 Corinthians 15:44, when Paul employs these same terms, he is saying that our current body is buried with all of its "natural" or "this-worldly" appetites and weaknesses but is raised and transformed into a new body with spiritual appetites and qualities. He may also be including the power that animates the body.452 Modern machines are empowered by steam, diesel or nuclear power. Our present mortal body is animated by a heart, lungs and so on. Our resurrection body will be animated by God'�'s Spirit. Additionally, the term **flesh and blood** is not referring to only the body or material self, but as N.T. Write states: > [!quote] [[Wright2003-bg]] > Ever since the second century (and increasingly in scholarship during the twentieth) doubters have used this clause to question whether Paul really believed in the resurrection of the body. In fact, the second half of verse already explains, in Hebraic parallelism with the first half, more or less what he means, as Paul's regular use of 'flesh' would itself indicate: 'flesh and blood' is a way of referring to ordinary, corruptible, decaying human existence. It does not simply mean, as it has so often been taken to mean, 'physical humanity' in the normal modem sense, but 'the present physical humanity (as opposed to the future one), which is subject to decay and death' # The First Christian Creed Support A Physical Ressurection > [!NOTE]+ Read The First Christian Creed > ![[The First Christian Creed]] Keeping in the theme of Biblical consistency, the Bible shows that Jesus was still a man during His transfiguration ([Matthew 17:1-2](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/MAT.17.1-2);[2 Peter 1:16-18](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/2PE.1.16-18)) and continues as a man even after His ascension to Heaven. Passages such as[1 Timothy 2:5](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1TI.2.5); [1 Cor 15:47](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1CO.15.47); [1 Cor 15:21](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1CO.15.21); [Rev 1:13](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/REV.1.13) show that Jesus appears in Heaven and at the end times still in His human body. The idea that the Bible teaches a spiritual resurrection goes against modern scholarship on the topic ([[Stanton2002-tv]], [[Dunn2003-uo]], [[Kee1995-hd]], [[Brown1997-fz]], [[Grieb1997-no]], [[Copan1998-vh]]), [[Morledge2007-wa]], [[Barnett2001-ca]], [[Wright1996-yj]], [[Boyd2010-qn]], [[Witherington1997-ok]], [[Hays1994-mw]], [[Wilkins1996-qw]], [[Bird2014-bm]], [[Bockmuehl2006-fr]], [[Habermas_undated-hj]]). The Spirit Resurrection Theory, also known as the "spiritual resurrection of Jesus," is an outdated theory that states that Jesus was raised from the dead only as a spirit. The Bible, however, does not support this view and instead argues for a physical resurrection of Jesus. Passages from the Gospels, [1 Corinthians 15](https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1CO.15), and Jewish Extra-Canonical Apocalypses all point to a bodily resurrection of Jesus, with the body being animated by God's Spirit. Moreover, Jesus' appearances in Heaven and during the end times are still in His human body. This theory is inconsistent with modern scholarship on the topic.