THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST: PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL?
As we near the time of year that Christians rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb, I believe a discussion on the Watchtower doctrine of Christ's resurrection would be appropriate. Many do not realize that Jehovah's Witnesses deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When a Christian asks a JW whether or not he believes in the resurrection of Jesus, the JW will invariably reply "Yes, I do." But there is something else that the Christian should be aware of. When the JW claims to believe in Christ's resurrection, he actually believes in a SPIRITUAL resurrection. What does this mean? Simply put, the Watchtower teaches that when Christ arose from the dead, He arose in a spirit body, and not a fleshly body. In other words, the body that Jesus Christ occupied during His earthly ministry was NOT the same body in which He arose from the dead. This leads us to a couple of questions.
1. What happened to the earthly body of Jesus Christ?
2. Does this view harmonize with what the Bible says about Christ's resurrection?
3. Why do the JWs teach this doctrine?
Before answering these questions, let us see what the Watchtower itself has said concerning the resurrection of Christ. Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Watchtower Society, had this to say: "WE DENY THAT HE WAS RAISED IN THE FLESH, AND CHALLENGE ANY STATEMENT TO THAT EFFECT AS BEING UNSCRIPTURAL" (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 7, page 57). On another occasion, he stated that "THE MAN JESUS IS DEAD, FOREVER DEAD" (Studies in the Scriptures, 1899 ed., Vol. 5, pg. 454). Surely modern day Jehovah's Witnesses do not hold to this belief, do they? Unfortunately, the Watchtower has failed to receive "new light" concerning Christ's resurrection, and still deny that He arose physically. Regarding the body of Jesus Christ, consider this statement from the Watchtower of September 1, 1953, on page 518: "...WAS DISPOSED OF BY JEHOVAH GOD, DISSOLVED INTO ITS CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OR ATOMS". In more recent times, the Watchtower has added this statement: "GOD DISPOSED OF JESUS' BODY, NOT ALLOWING IT TO SEE CORRUPTION AND THUS PREVENTING ITS BECOMING A STUMBLING BLOCK TO FAITH" (Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1991, pg. 31).
It is interesting how that the WT inadvertently admits that, if people were to actually view the dead body of Jesus, it would destroy faith in the resurrection. That is the whole point! The fact that the tomb is empty is wonderful proof that the body is risen from the dead! This is echoed by the words of the angel at Matthew 28:6, where we read: "HE IS NOT HERE: FOR HE IS RISEN". The reason given by the angel for Christ's absence from the tomb was that He had risen from the dead. The angel did not say: "HE IS NOT HERE: HE HAS BEEN DISPOSED OF", nor did he say "HE IS NOT HERE: HE HAS BEEN DISSOLVED"! The fact that He wasn't there, was shown to be proof that He was alive. The women had come to see a body, and that body was not there when they arrived. We can either accept the Watchtower's explanation for the absence of the body, or we can accept the explanation given by the angel of God.
When a Christian thinks of the empty tomb of Jesus, he rejoices in this marvelous proof of the Savior's resurrection. When a JW thinks of the empty tomb, however, he sees that as proof that Christ has been disposed of. To sum it up, the JW belief about the resurrection is this...
"Jesus was born in a fleshly body in Bethlehem's manger, grew up, and died on the torture stake (not the cross). At this point, Jesus Christ ceased to exist in the spirit or physical realm. His body was then placed in the tomb., where at some point, it was dissolved or disposed of by Jehovah God. Then, after 3 days, Jehovah re-created Jesus again out of nothing,, gave Him a spirit-body, in which He ascended back to Heaven and there resumed His lofty position as Michael the Archangel."
What is the reason for the Watchtower deviation from the Scriptural account of Christ's resurrection? The reasoning goes like this... "If Christ had raised in the same physical body that He had sacrificed, then He would be taking back the ransom that He paid for our sins". Is this argument really valid? Why don't we simply let Jesus Himself answer that question? He says in John 10:17-18-
"THEREFORE DOTH MY FATHER LOVE ME, BECAUSE I LAY DOWN MY LIFE, THAT I MIGHT TAKE IT AGAIN. NO MAN TAKETH IT FROM ME, BUT I LAY IT DOWN OF MYSELF. I HAVE POWER TO LAY IT DOWN, AND I HAVE POWER TO TAKE IT AGAIN. THIS COMMANDMENT HAVE I RECEIVED OF MY FATHER".
Who will you believe today, Christ or the Watchtower?
What Scriptures do the JWs use to support their erroneous view? One such passage is 1 Peter 3:18...
"FOR CHRIST ALSO HATH ONCE SUFFERED FOR SINS....BEING PUT TO DEATH IN THE FLESH, BUT QUICKENED BY THE SPIRIT".
The Watchtower's New World Translation renders the phrase "QUICKENED BY THE SPIRIT" as "MADE ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT". They then proceed to use this passage to justify their belief that the resurrected Christ was actually a spirit. First of all, as with many other passages in the NWT, this phrase has been altered to suit their doctrine. There is a BIG difference between Christ being raised BY the Spirit of God, and Christ being raised AS a spirit-creature. For the sake of argument, however, let's just say that the NWT rendering is correct (which it is not). Even if it did say "MADE ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT", the Watchtower has over-looked the fact that this passage is not even dealing with the resurrection, but the period BETWEEN His death and resurrection. Consider verse 19: "BY WHICH ALSO HE WENT AND PREACHED UNTO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON". The next chapter, 1 Peter 4:6, tells us that the gospel was "PREACHED ALSO TO THEM THAT ARE DEAD". While no one knows for sure everything that went on during the 3 days Jesus was dead, we KNOW FOR CERTAINTY that He did not cease to exist in the spirit realm for the 3 days His body was in the tomb. If 1 Peter 3:18 proves anything, it proves that, for the immediate context here does not even deal with Christ AFTER his resurrection. His resurrection is mentioned in verse 21, but verse 18 actually belongs with verse 19. Another thing to ask yourself is this: Since we just read in John 10:17-18 where Christ said that He would raise HIMSELF, how could He possibly have pulled that off if He had ceased to exist for those 3 days in which He was dead? Someone who doesn't exist cannot raise anything! I think this point is clear to any honest reader of the Scripture.
Another passage that is often used by the Watchtower is 1 Corinthians 15:44-45, which reads:
"IT IS SOWN A NATURAL BODY; IT IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY.....THE LAST ADAM WAS MADE A QUICKENING SPIRIT".
"See", the JW will say, "the Bible says that Jesus was raised in a spirit-body". It should be pointed out that there is a difference between a spirit-body and a spiritual body. Actually, the term "spiritual" has been completely misunderstood by the Watchtower. Note the contrasts presented in 1 Cor. 15:40-50....
celestial (heavenly) is contrasted with terrestrial (earthly), corruption (perishable) is contrasted with incorruption (imperishable), weakness is contrasted with power, natural is contrasted with spiritual (meaning supernatural), and mortal is contrasted with immortality.
It is plain from this context that, due to the comparisons made here in the context, "spiritual" means the same as supernatural. Actually, this passage says nothing about what Jesus' resurrected body was made of, but rather teaches that His resurrected body would be a body that would never die or see corruption. The same word, in fact, conveys the meaning of "supernatural" in 1 Cor. 10:4.
What then, of verse 45 where we are told that Jesus became a "quickening spirit"? Interestingly, we find in John 3:6 that Jesus says that those who are born-again are "spirit". Does that mean that they cease to have fleshly bodies upon being born-again? Of course not. It means that they have allowed the Spirit of God to control their lives, and that their lives now had a spiritual direction. They are still physical human beings. JWs teach that Christ gave up His fleshly body by being resurrected. But, in reality, 1 Cor. 15:40-50 doesn't speak of "giving up" anything, but rather, putting on something. What is it that we put on? Verses 52-53 tell us that we will put on "immortality"! We do not cease to be physical humans, and give up our physical bodies to enter Heaven, but rather, we "put on" immortality, and hence, we will never die.
1 Corinthians 2:9 speaks of "spiritual" men, who understand the Word of God. Does this imply that these are men who are walking around in non-fleshly, spirit-bodies? No, it implies that these are men who have given their lives over to God, and have become "spiritual".
Actually, there are some very clear and powerful passages of Scripture that should remove any doubt from the minds of an honest person, who questions the nature of Christ's resurrection. The first is found in John 2:19-21...
"JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, DESTROY THIS TEMPLE, AND IN THREE DAYS I WILL RAISE IT UP. THEN SAID THE JEWS, FORTY AND SIX YEARS WAS THIS TEMPLE IN BUILDING, AND WILT THOU REAR IT UP IN THREE DAYS? BUT HE SPAKE OF THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY."
The Jehovah's Witness needs to be asked a few very important questions about this passage.
1. Who , in verse 19, did Jesus say would raise up "this temple"?
2. What was "this temple" that Christ said He would raise (v. 21)?
3. If Christ's physical body was not going to rise from the dead, then why did Jesus here say that He would raise His own body?
4. If Christ ceased to exist for the 3 days that His body was in the tomb, how was He able to fulfill this prediction?
5. What does this passage clearly teach about the resurrection of Christ's body?
Verse 22 even tells us that, after Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples called to mind this statement of Jesus. Isn't this proof positive that the empty tomb proves the resurrection of Christ's physical body?
In Acts 17:31, long after Jesus' ascension back to Heaven in His resurrected body, we find that He is still referred to as a "man". What would that suggest about the nature of His resurrected body? Another post-resurrection passage calling Jesus a "man", is found in 1 Timothy 2:5...
"FOR THERE IS ONE GOD, AND ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS".
Jehovah's Witnesses should be asked to explain why Christ would still be called a "man" after His resurrection, if indeed He had lain down His physical body forever? The obvious reason is that Christ is still fully God, and fully man!
We find strong evidence for Christ's physical resurrection in John 20:24-27. Jesus asks Thomas to feel the wounds in His hands and side. JWs claim that Jesus merely manifested a temporary physical body here, to convince Thomas that He had been raised. This strongly implies that Jesus was being deceptive to Thomas, because after this moment, Thomas believed that Jesus truly had risen from the dead. If Christ were really a spirit, would it have been honest for Him to lead Thomas to believe that He was really a physical being? Or, could it be that Jesus REALLY was a fleshly being?
Perhaps the most powerful proof of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is found in Luke 24:36-39, where we read...
"AND AS THEY THUS SPAKE, JESUS HIMSELF STOOD IN THE MIDST OF THEM, AND SAITH UNTO THEM, PEACE BE UNTO YOU. BUT THEY WERE TERRIFIED AND AFFRIGHTED, AND SUPPOSED THAT THEY HAD SEEN A SPIRIT. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, WHY ARE YE TROUBLED? AND WHY DO THOUGHTS ARISE IN YOUR HEARTS? BEHOLD MY HANDS AND MY FEET, THAT IT IS I MYSELF: HANDLE ME, AND SEE; FOR A SPIRIT HATH NOT FLESH AND BONES, AS YE SEE ME HAVE."
Either the Watchtower is lying to us about the resurrection, or Jesus is. Somehow, I don't think it is Jesus. If Christ were really a spirit after His resurrection, this would have been the PERFECT time to have taught this, BECAUSE THE DISCIPLES ALREADY BELIEVED THAT HE WAS A SPIRIT!!!! Instead of re-enforcing what the disciples already believed, Jesus corrected their false notion by telling them that "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have". To deny that Christ was raised in a physical body after reading this passage, is to make Him out to be the worst kind of deceiver! JWs should be asked the following:
1. What did the disciples believe that Jesus was in this passage, a spirit-being, or a fleshly being?
2. If He really had been a spirit, then weren't the disciples correct to start with?
3. If the disciples were correct to begin with, why did Jesus try to convince them that He was NOT a spirit?
4. Isn't this clearly proof that Jesus Christ rose again in a fleshly body?
One may ask: What does it really matter whether Christ rose again in a fleshly body? Well, according to 1 Cor. 15:17, if "CHRIST BE NOT RAISED, YOUR FAITH IS VAIN; YE ARE YET IN YOUR SINS".
In the clear language of the Bible, the value of everything we believe in is determined by whether or not Christ really rose from the dead. If the Watchtower is correct, then the Jesus that rose is not the same Jesus as the one that died. If that is the case, then we have no hope of salvation. Only by the physical body of Jesus rising again, can we hope for the resurrection of our mortal bodies to a condition of immortality. Thank God, He did rise again in the flesh, and because of this, we have the promise of eternal life through faith in His death and resurrection.
