The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Scars

1. Is there a Reformed doctrine wrt the scars Jesus bore after the resurrection?

2. It is evident that our Lord's body which died was raised up, is it also then evident that our eventual resurrection will also be our body that died?

3. How important is it to make/or not this distinction?

1 Corinthians 15:20-21,36-49 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive...36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 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. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (ESV 2001)

This, quite simply, tells us we shall have as our future reward a new body, just as Jesus had a new body, when we are resurrected, and it will be like His.

By asking for a Reformed doctrine on this, I presume you are asking what the Scriptures teach?

This is what they teach - the new body will be perfect, and it will be of the same kind as that which Christ was raised in - the image it bears will represent us as surely as His did, yet we will be of a different type - it will be the corrupt being regenerated even as our nature was regenerated, so that which is dead (this decaying tent of flesh we now live in) will as surely be given perfect life as our regenerate natures were, when the perfect state has been ushered in, and we realize our salvation hope in full, by God.

This is a succinct but straightforward reply - I was somewhat surprised none had replied already.

Also, this is imperative to believe - this is the resurrection life we hope to experience in its fullness - this is the completion of our salvation by our Lord. Any belief along these lines that falls short of this is not only suspect, but will reveal other malformed beliefs that lend to that warping - when we say Reformed doctrine, it should always been taken as biblical doctrine, for that is exactly what it means.

As to Christ our Lord's scars - I do not see that is a great issue, other than the Scripture which says "They will look on him whom they have pierced." (John 19:37 - cf. Zechariah 12:10 & Revelation 1:7).

Blessings in our Lord