CONFORMED TO CHRIST IN GLORIFIED HUMANITY (PART II)

“From the Empty Tomb to the Glorious Body”

By Akin Ojumu

Last time, we concluded that glorified humanity already exists. It exists in Jesus Christ. The Christian future is therefore not speculation about what redeemed humanity might someday look like. God has already shown us. Look at the risen Christ.

If glorified humanity already exists in Jesus Christ, then the resurrection of Christ becomes the key to understanding our own future.

Jesus did not merely survive death spiritually. He rose bodily. The tomb was empty. The same body that was crucified was raised.

Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 24:39

“See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

The resurrection preserves both continuity and transformation.

It is the same Jesus. The same body. The same wounds. The same human identity. Yet His human existence has entered an entirely new mode of life.

He will never die again.

Paul writes:

Romans 6:9

“Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”

His humanity is now beyond corruption. Beyond death. Beyond decay. Beyond weakness.

This is glorified humanity. And it is precisely this glorified humanity that becomes the pattern of the believer’s resurrection.

CHRIST AS THE FIRSTFRUITS

Paul describes Christ as:

1 Corinthians 15:20

“The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

The language of firstfruits means that Christ’s resurrection is not an isolated event. It is the beginning of the harvest. His resurrection announces what will happen to those who belong to Him.

Christ does not merely escape death individually. He inaugurates the resurrection of the people united to Him.

Paul continues:

1 Corinthians 15:22–23

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in His own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.”

This is federal and representative language.

Adam stands as the head of fallen humanity. Christ stands as the head of redeemed humanity. Adam transmits death. Christ brings resurrection life. The first Adam returns to the dust. The Last Adam rises from the dust in glory.

THE SECOND ADAM AND THE NEW HUMANITY

Paul draws the contrast explicitly:

1 Corinthians 15:45

“The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

And again:

1 Corinthians 15:47

“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.”

The great movement of redemption is therefore from Adam to Christ. From the old humanity to the new humanity. From corruption to incorruption. From mortality to immortality. From dishonor to glory. From death to resurrection.

Paul concludes:

1 Corinthians 15:49

“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”

That is the promise of glorification.

Believers will not cease to be human. They will become fully human after the pattern of the risen Christ.

GLORIFICATION IS THE COMPLETION OF SALVATION

Christian salvation does not end with justification. Justification declares the sinner righteous before God because of Christ. Sanctification progressively conforms the believer to Christ in holiness. Glorification completes the work.

Paul expresses the whole movement in:

Romans 8:29–30

“Those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… and those whom He justified He also glorified.”

The goal of predestination is conformity to Christ. Salvation is not merely deliverance from punishment. It is restoration to the image for which humanity was created.

Glorification is the final perfection of that image. What sanctification begins, glorification completes. 

There will no longer be remaining sin. No divided heart. No sinful desire. No inward rebellion. No moral corruption. No conflict between flesh and Spirit.

The believer will love God perfectly. Worship God perfectly. Obey God perfectly. And delight in God without interruption.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

Glorification is bodily. Christianity does not teach that salvation consists in escaping physical existence. The body is not a prison from which the soul must finally flee. The body is part of God’s good creation. And because sin brought corruption to the whole person, redemption restores the whole person.

Paul writes:

Romans 8:23

“We… groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

Notice the language.

Not the abandonment of our bodies. The redemption of our bodies.

The resurrection body is therefore not a replacement body unrelated to our present identity. It is this mortal body raised and transformed by divine power.

Paul explains:

1 Corinthians 15:42–44

“What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.”

It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.”

The body is sown. The body is raised. There is continuity. And there is transformation. The mortal becomes immortal. The corruptible becomes incorruptible. The weak becomes powerful. The dishonored becomes glorious.

THE “SPIRITUAL BODY”

Paul calls the resurrection body a “spiritual body.”

That phrase is sometimes misunderstood. It does not mean an immaterial body. A “spiritual body” is not a contradiction in terms.

Paul is contrasting a body governed by the present mortal order with a body fully animated, empowered, and perfected by the Holy Spirit.

The resurrection body remains a body. But it is a body belonging to the age to come. A body no longer dominated by death. A body fully suited for the presence of God. A body transformed by resurrection power. This is exactly what we see in the risen Christ.

CHRIST’S GLORIOUS BODY AS OUR PATTERN

Paul writes:

Philippians 3:20–21

“Our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body.”

This verse is one of the clearest statements of Christian glorification. Our bodies will be made like His glorious body.

Again, not identical to Christ in deity. But analogous to Christ in glorified humanity. 

We will remain finite. We will remain creatures. We will remain dependent. We will remain worshipers. But our humanity will be perfected.

Death will be gone. Disease will be gone. Corruption will be gone. Weakness will be gone. Sin will be gone. The image of God will shine in redeemed humanity without the distortion of the Fall.

1 JOHN 3:2 AND THE BEATIFIC HOPE

John writes:

1 John 3:2

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.”

This statement contains both transformation and vision.

“We shall be like Him.”

And:

“We shall see Him as He is.”

The Christian hope therefore includes not only resurrection but the direct enjoyment of God’s presence.

The vision of Christ transforms His people. The One whom believers presently know by faith will be seen in unveiled glory. 

Yet even here the Creator-creature distinction remains.

We behold. He is beheld. We worship. He is worshiped. We receive glory. He possesses glory intrinsically. Our glorification is a gift. His glory belongs to Him by nature.

Part III will examine our union with Christ and the world to come.