Will Saints Have A Physical Body In Heaven?

2nd Corinthians 5:1-4, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”

Someone recently asked me if the saints have a physical body in Heaven. That is a very good question. We read in Luke 16:19-31 that Abraham had a physical body in the afterlife in Paradise. Interestingly, so also did the former rich man (now utterly poor) in Hell, in the place of Torment. He begged Abraham for a single drop of water to cool his tongue, tormented in the unbearable intense flames. This is a literal true story in Luke 16:19-31, not a parable! Jesus used proper names of actual people (Abraham and Lazarus), which He never did when telling parables. If this were a parable, then Jesus would be guilty of misleading people about what happens in the afterlife.

Let's examine the Scriptures to see what we can find. We see in Genesis that two angels met with Brother Lot and enjoyed eating a feast together:

Genesis 19:1-3, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.  And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.”

I love that! Lot saw the angels. Lot invited them into his house. Lot baked some delicious bread they ate a feast together. I look forward one day in Heaven to eating a feast with the angels. I love angels! Angels have physical bodies, capable of enjoying a fine meal. So if the angels have bodies, I humbly think the saints in Heaven will likely also have bodies (but I cannot say for certain). What if we won't have bodies in Heaven? That would be odd, since God the Father and Jesus have bodies, and the angels have bodies.

1st Corinthians 15:6, “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.” The Apostle Paul penned the Epistle of 1st Corinthians at about 53-54 AD (roughly 20 years after Jesus resurrected from the dead). Paul says that some of the 500 saints who saw Jesus had died, but “the greater part” were still alive and kicking. What a tremendous priviledge and blessing to have actually seen Jesus in His glorified, immortal, resurrected body.

Also, we see in 1st Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus raised up in a physical body and was seen by over 500 saints at one time; and we learn in Acts 1:11 that Jesus ascended into the sky in a physical body (seen by His disciples as He departed). So, Jesus has a physical body in Heaven today. He sits on a physical throne on the right-hand of God the Father, who also has a physical body (Colossians 3:1). The angels in Acts 1:11 told the disciples that Jesus will return in the same physical and visible manner that He left (Revelation 1:7).

Also, please read Revelation 22:8-9, "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." John thought he was talking with an angel, but the angel corrected him, letting John know that he was "of thy brethren the prophets." I humbly think this was one of the saints, not an angel.

It is also clear from this passage that angels and humans look the same. The Bible says that some saints have met angels "unawares." Hebrews 13:2, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." That is what just happened with the Apostle John's interaction with a fellow saint, John mistaking him for an angel. Obviously, this fellow saint had a physical body. If you met an angel, you wouldn't know it just by looking. Angels look the same as humans.

In Matthew 17:3, Moses and Elijah appeared to Peter, James and John. Moses and Elijah had physical bodies. Matthew 17:1-3, “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.”

So, we have learned that Jesus has a physical body in Heaven. The Father has a physical body in Heaven. The angels have physical bodies in Heaven. The fellow brother that John met in Revelation 22:8-9 had a physical body. Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus, Peter, James and John on a high mountain in physical bodies. Considering all that evidence, I think there is a good chance that we will all have a physical body in Heaven.

I cannot explain how this relates to our future resurrected immortal body received at the time of the Rapture, which will be fashioned like unto the Lord's resurrected body (1st Corinthians 15:51-58; Philippians 3:21). We know biblically that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 2nd Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” That is a beautiful truth!

2nd Corinthians 5:1 teaches that when our earthly tabernacle (body) is dissolved (dead), we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. 2nd Corinthians 5:1, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." I am not sure if this verse is referring to a heavenly body, or an actual house house. Jesus promised in John 14:1-3 to go prepare "a place" for us in Heaven, where there are many mansions. We won't all have mansions. Only those saints who are soulwinners will shine as the brightness of the stars forever (Daniel 12:3). I think this means that all the people we led to Jesus Christ will love and adore us for eternity, without which they would have been burning in the fires of Hell without hope or rest, tormented day and night forever!

I hope that helps a bit to answer our $64,000 question. I am not saying dogmatically that we will receive some form of body in Heaven before the Rapture, but I think there's a good chance we will based upon the Scriptural evidence which I have shared with you in this blog. Thank you for reading.