Jesus/God lived as a complete being before he came to earth without a body in human form. And I believe scripture supports evidence that Jesus/God does not need a body made in human form in order to be compete after he returned to heaven. I am not saying Jesus does not have a form. I am saying Jesus does not need a body made in human form like ours in heaven in order to be complete.
After all, when Jesus/God was speaking of Himself to the women at the well Jesus said,"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)
The beloved Apostle John, who spent years with Jesus and saw, and heard, him after his resurrection obviously know what Jesus looked like (in human form) but notice what he writes. 1 John 3:1-2 ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be CALLED the SONS of GOD, therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, NOW WE ARE the SONS of GOD & it does NOT YET APPEAR WHAT WE SHALL BE. For we KNOW that when HE SHALL APPEAR, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; for WE SHALL SEE HIM as HE IS. (1 John 3:1-2) (emphasis added.)
John knows what Jesus looked like in a resurrected body, but here John says he had no idea what (they or Jesus) would be like until Jesus was revealed? The word translated “appears” (NKJV, NASB) or “shall appear” (KJV) is phanerothe literally means “he shall be manifested. The word “manifested” means to make visible. It can mean that something is revealed or made plain to the senses (especially sight) or is made clear to the understanding.
It is used by Paul and John in a similar manner to apokaluptesthai (to be revealed, or unveiled, cf. 1 Cor. 1:7; 3:13; Rom. 2:5; 8:18; 2 Thess. 1:7. In fact, phanerothe is translated “revealed” in 1 John 3:2.). It is obvious that you don’t unveiled or reveal something that you already know what it looks like. Thus John says they shall see Jesus as he is.
Did you know that God had a body that was "PREPARED" for Him many times in the Old Testament. The Bible never says God CANNOT become a man, but says God is not a man, that he should lie, a major difference: Cf. Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hosea 11:9. The Hebrew Bible itself supports the view that God can become a man, without ceasing to be God, and as has done so many times in the Old Testament since there are places where God appeared in human form.
For example. In Genesis 18:2 Abraham is visited by “THREE MEN.” Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, (three men) were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground. The Original word for man in verse 2 is אנוש . The definition is man, mortal man, person, mankind 1. of an individual 2. men (collective) 3. man, mankind.
Abraham said, "my Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. (Gen 18:3) Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
Abraham puts forth a great deal of effort to ensure that these three are well taken care of. He has Sarah bake fresh bread, he has one of his servants kill a fatted calf, and he brings out milk and butter. (Gen 18:6) Clearly these three are important, even though we are never specifically told how Abraham recognizes them. As the chapter progresses, though, we find out that one of the “men” has a plan to destroy the city where Abraham’s nephew, Lot, is living.
Only two men show up at Sodom, which the text identifies as two angels. "The TWO angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, and said, 'My lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way.' They said, 'No; we will spend the night in the street.' But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate." Genesis 19:1-3 RSV Original word here for angels is מלאך . The definition is messenger, representative 1. messenger 2. angel 3. the theophanic angel.
Where was the third man? You guessed it, the third man had remained behind to talk to Abraham since that man was actually Yahweh God who had appeared with the other two. To support the premise that God actually appeared as one of the three men note that Genesis 18:17 says: The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him. The original word here for Lord is יהוה Transliterated word Yĕhovah. Definition Jehovah = "the existing One" 1. the proper name of the one true God.
Yahweh remained behind with Abraham: Now, here, we have a biblical text that indisputably says that the Lord - Hebrew YHWH - appeared to Abraham.
However in order to get around this truth I have also heard is said: The three men were the angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, each with his own special task. Michael came to talk with Abraham and give Sarah the good news that she would soon have a son, and Raphael Gabriel went to overthrow the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
But there are problems with this view. When a angels replaced or represented the Lord it is always said that it is a Angel of the LORD throughout the Bible. As in Genesis 22:11 when a Angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"
Other references to God manifesting in human form include. "So Jacob was left alone, and A MAN wrestled with him till daybreak. When THE MAN saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with THE MAN. Then THE MAN said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ THE MAN asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then THE MAN said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.’ Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I SAW GOD FACE TO FACE, and yet my life was spared.’" (Genesis 32:24-30)
Ezekiel 1:26-28 RSV And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a HUMAN FORM And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
What about the 4th man in the furnace do we believe that was Jesus? "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. (Daniel 3:25)
What ever happened to those "PREPARED" bodies???? Does Jesus have a closet in heaven fulled with multiple fleshly bodies that He can chose from? My point is that - in all these bodily forms Jesus appeared in the Old Testament. All the Theophanies in the old Testament? Why don't we point to those physical bodies as the body we will eventually wind up with? No one seems to dwell on those other bodies, just the one that came out of the tomb.
We must receive that body and only that body. Jesus rose that body out of the tomb as proof that He was who He said He was = God and the resurrection and the life. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. So why did Jesus rise from the grave and appear to his disciples in his crucified body? More on this very important point tomorrow.
