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The Body
Much of the language of Paul's epistles is rooted in the subsoil of
covenant. Being a Hebrew of the Hebrews and a Pharisee beyond
reproach [Phil 3:5] the
framework of his writings is grounded firmly in the redemptive workings
of a covenant keeping God. Paul's first century audience would have had
less difficulty in grasping the "covenantal nature" of his words than
the modern fundamentalist' penchant for literalness.
Paul's use of 'body' in 2Cor 5 has nothing to do with an
individual's personal status beyond death then or now, but everything
to do with that 'corporate body' of the old covenant Israel, from which
the first-fruit believers of the "this generation" [Mt 24:34]
were in the process of rising up out of. Theirs was a resurrection like
unto Christ's a coming up out of from among the dead [Act
26:23; Rev 1:5] i.e., out of old covenant Israel. They as the
first-fruit saints, 'the body' of believers were the first of the new
and restored or
"raised" Israel [Ezk 37:1-14],
being refashioned in the likeness of their master. They were the
first-fruits of and thus on behalf of, the whole harvest the
whole harvest being historic Israel of the Old Covenant. Israel's
redemption came through THE first-fruit Christ. The outworking to
fullness of this reconciliation was then administered through Christ's first-fruit elect [2Cor 5:19-20],
which
in turn was to bring the redemption-reconciliation beyond the borders of
ethnic Israel to encompass the whole world Israel was a means to an
end, the restoration of humanity to God. This was the outworking
of Christ's victory established through the Cross.
Paul using clear Old Covenant language said:
2Cor 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan,
being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Paul's "mortality" or fleshliness was in relation to that of the
limitations of the Old Covenant in regards to receiving the "promised
redemption" [of which Israel through the auspices of the first-fruits
was in transition from] into the fullness of redemptive life in the New Covenant through Christ.
Jesus was one
born under the Old Covenant to redeem those of the Old Covenant to bring
them from child-hood to "son-ship" [Gal 4:1-4], from
servitude into authority. In fulfilling its requirements through
obedience, Jesus died in and to the body of the Old
Covenant that
was the "body" of which Paul speaks what could
rightly be inferred to as 'the body of Moses' i.e., the old covenant, as
per 1Cor 10:2.
Note; the Greek tenses of the 2Cor 5 passage are in the
singular not "bodies" plural. Likewise is found in Phil 3:21; Rom 8:23
with the redemption of our [plural] body [singular] i.e.,
the corporate new covenant body. It is the same language, therefore same
understanding of covenantal transition that Paul uses
in describing being delivered up daily and dying daily out of the old
world and into
the new. And particularly so on behalf of those to whom he writes, hence
what is "working death in us" means "life in you" [2Cor
4:12]. In no way is any of Paul's language speaking of literal
individual fleshly [of whatever nature] bodies post death. Not only
that, but the tense constructs of absent and present
in 2Cor 5:8 are both aorist infinitive meaning actions as
having occurred with ongoing results i.e., it was a reality that they then
were in the
process of experiencing. This was NOT something that was to occur upon or beyond
the realms of physical death.
Further, Paul's statement: Therefore we also have as our ambition,
whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him 2Cor 5:9
shows this understanding of the 'corporate body' image. It makes no
sense at all supposedly being at home "in
heaven" in a "glorified fleshly" body [never actually stated], trying "to
be pleasing to Him" or as the KJV has it "accepted" what,
is there still more to do after death to be accepted
and found pleasing to Him? This makes no logical or biblical
sense at all. Their being "at home" or "absence" [from the body] was the
continual putting off and putting on of the
old/new natures [covenants] respectively. They were in the process in
that transitional generation of moving out of one glorious House
[covenant] whose splendour was fading and ready to crumble [Heb
8:13], into another more glorious House [covenant] built
without hands, complete and glorious in the heavens [2Cor 3:7-11].
It is all covenantal language [2Cor 5:1]
the House of Moses was being replaced by the House of Christ
the covenant of Law being replaced by
the covenant of Grace:
Heb 3:5-6
And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but
Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we
hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to
the end.
[Speaking of the then perseverance of the elect]
Thus their walk was in the likeness of Christ's faith, not
according to fleshly ordinances i.e., they were to walk by
New Covenant faith and not by Old Covenant sight.
The Old Covenant was natural, corruptible, dying and ready to pass away,
but the New Covenant spiritual, incorruptible and full to life.
For Paul the 'body' was one entity, [historic Israel] just
having two modes or "worlds" of existence in that transitional
time period AD30-70. The first mode was that of the Old Covenant world
i.e., Law-works. The second mode was the New Covenant i.e., Grace-faith.
As one was being "cast out" [Gal 4:30] the other was being
"put on" [Eph 4:22-24]. Resurrection was about the
finality of the transformation of that one entity, Israel
that is why Paul in relation to the resurrection [restoration] of the body
[Israel] uses the singular
descriptive word IT:
1Cor 15:42-44
So also is the resurrection of the dead [Israel]. The body is
sown in corruption [old covenant], it is raised in
incorruption [new covenant]. It is sown in dishonor
[old covenant], it is raised in glory [new covenant].
It is sown in weakness [old covenant], it is raised
in power [new covenant]. It is sown a natural body
[old covenant], it is raised a spiritual body [new
covenant]. There is a natural body [old covenant], and there
is a spiritual body [new covenant].
Further textual proof of this is found in parsing the Greek: each "it
is sown
it is raised" is in the present tense, thus literally
reading "it is being sown
it is being raised"
a death to resurrection reality that was ongoing and continuous
through the first-fruit saints on behalf of the whole harvest in their
end of the age ministry; as opposed to the notion that this
speaks of a given mode of existence
beyond the grave. The old covenant Mosaic life was being put off
while the new covenant life in Christ was being put on [Eph
4:22-24; Col 3:5, 8-10; Rom 6:4; 7:6; 8:13].
There is in this passage NOT two distinct separate "bodies" as such, but
rather the ONE BODY in transition. The natural body
answers to life as it was being lived under the Old Covenant world that was passing; the
spiritual body answers to life as it was burgeoning in the New
Covenant
"IT" was the one body ISRAEL in transition the
ministration of "death" as it was, embodied in
the old covenant was being swallowed up in the new covenant ministration
or spirit of life [Isa
25:8;
1Cor 15:54-57].
"IT" was Israel, or more poignantly corporate Israel "in
the fullness of the times" Eph 1:10 in the process of coming
into her redemption via Christ and the first-fruit saints "and so
all Israel will be saved" Rom 11:26; which subsequently
lead to the preordained reconciliation of the whole world [Rom 11:15]. Israel was the
divinely appointed means to this end [Jn 4:22b] in Christ and
His first-fruit saints this has been fulfilled [2Cor
1:20].
[DISCUSS
HERE]
David G. Embury
© Copyright 2004ΰ
Email:
contact@pantelism.com
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