Question

Is there a resurrection of the body that we have now?  And if so, what happens to those who die in a fire or those who are cremated?


Answer

Yes, there is a resurrection of our body.  What our heavenly body will be like after the resurrection is somewhat of a mystery.  But let's look at resurrection first.

John 5:28-29   28  Do not marvel at this;  for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
  29  And come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

1Thes 4:16-17   16  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.
  17  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

I always forget about the fact that ALL will be resurrected; not just Christians.  However, not all are risen into blessing.  Those who rise outside of Christ will face an eternal judgment with weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:14-43).  It also appears that Christians who have "fallen asleep" prior to Christ's return will be with the Lord and (in a sense) disembodied spirits until the Lord's return.  In the meantime, our physical bodies will return to dust.

What will the resurrected body be like?

1Cor 15:42-51   42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
  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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
  ...
  50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
  51  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--

1John 3:2   2  Beloved, now we are children of God;  and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Our resurrected bodies will be quite different than they are now with qualities of immortality, incorruptibility, glory, and power.  Our new bodies will resemble the resurrected body of Christ and will be adapted to exist in the heavenly realm.  Paul said our lowly body will be like His glorious body (Phil 3:21).

In His resurrected body, Christ appeared in the midst of the disciples when the doors were locked (John 20:19), and vanished from the two at Emmaus (Luke 24:31).  We can then conclude that His body (and also our bodies) are not of the same physical nature or dimension of this world.
We also know that there will be a continuity between our new bodies and our old.  You really can't have a resurrection without raising a dead body.  In the same manner, Christ's body was no longer in the tomb after His resurrection.  What happens if a Christian is cremated and his ashes scattered at sea?  I believe if God was big enough to create mankind from dust, then He is big enough to resurrect the dead from dust.
There is the age old question (which is somewhat humorous),  "If a man died at sea and essentially became fish food, then a fisherman caught the fish which he ate (along with the elements of the dead man),  who's elements would be who's at the resurrection?"  Once again, I believe God (who's word can divide joint and marrow) can sort out the elements.  God's power is awesome.
Our bodies are not the only aspect of us that will transformed either.  C.S. Lewis talks about shedding our sin as a cloak.  Each man's work will be revealed by fire to receive reward or loss (1Cor 3:13).

As you can see, this is a huge subject, which I have just lightly touched.  But I hope this answer helps.

For help with this answer, I used:  R.C. Spoul : "Essential Truths of the Christian Faith",  Tyndale : "New Bible Dictionary",  Gleason Archer : "Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties" .


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