1 Corinthians 15:39-44 “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
God has filled this earth with great variety. While everything that lives, and even the plants, can be said to have flesh, there is great variety within that flesh. As God created, He commanded the sea and the earth to bring forth that which swims, that which flies, that which creeps and crawls, and that which walks. In all this great variety, it is only of man that the scripture says God formed him as a potter would make a vessel.
God took the dust which He had made and formed that dust into the shape of a man. He then did something to man that the scripture does not say He did to any other living thing: God breathed into his nostrils. By the very breath of God, man became a living soul. By the breath of God, man was able to have dominion over the earth, to dress and keep God’s garden, and to speak to the voice of God (Gen 3:8).
We can still look around us today and view the handiwork of God, which He said was very good. It is still abundantly apparent that there is a difference in the bodies that God has made, whether terrestrial or celestial. We have seen the pictures taken from space of this beautiful earth God has made. It is awe-inspiring to behold, and yet it has no light: it does not glow as do the sun, moon, or stars.
The sun brightly lights our way during the day, and its strength is such that even when clouds obscure it there is sufficient light to move around by. Not only does it provide light, but it also provides heat essential to life and the systems that sustain life. The moon may provide some light, but never to the degree that we move with the same confidence as we do in the sunlight. We are never warmed by the light of the moon or the stars, even though we may gaze with joy upon their beauty.
Paul describes all this great variety of flesh and glory, as he continues his instruction concerning the resurrection. He assures us in this that God is able to raise up what goes down in ruin and decay. Not only does He raise it up, but He raises it with miraculous power to be no longer subject to weakness and death. It is sown a natural body, and it is raised a spiritual body.
May we find great comfort in Paul’s admonition that just as surely as there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body according to the might power of God!