JW’s, where in God's word are we told that there is any difference between

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itry

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Lazarus and Christ’s resurrection? In an online publication below we are told that Lazarus’s resurrection increased faith in Christ’s resurrection, thereby implying that the disciples fully expected a bodily resurrection for Christ as they saw with Lazarus.

That is, the disciples were taught that Christ would be resurrected bodily and Lazarus’s resurrection was part of that teaching. Therefore to teach that Christ was resurrected as a spirit would go against Christ’s teachings.

The miracle of Lazarus' restoration to life served to increase faith in Jesus and the resurrection. (John 11:41, 42; 12:9-11, 17-19) In a touching way, it also reveals the willingness and desire of Jehovah and his Son to perform the resurrection.
http://www.watchtower.org/e/we/article_05.htm
 
I'm no JW, but I can still see the difference between Jesus' resurrection and Lazarus' revivication. Lazarus was restored to life, but ended up dying later on (like everyone else Jesus raised), whereas Jesus was no longer subject to death after his resurrection (Romans 6:10). The difference is not do to with a bodily resurrection vs a 'spiritual' resurrection, it was to do with a bodily restoration to the type of life we have now (Lazarus) vs a bodily resurrection to a deathless condition (Jesus).
 
Certain scriptures are unambiguous. I sure you have some twisted reasoning on this scripture though.

1 Corinthians 15:50 King James Version (KJV)

50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
 
Greetings,

Just the slightest thought process would reveal that there is a very great difference between being resurrected back to earth to live as a human and being resurrected to live in the spirit realm.


Every explicit Scripture absolutely confirms that Christ now has an invisible spirit body rather than a physical one.


1.) 1Pet. 3:18 says: "Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones, that he might lead you to God, he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit" (NRSV, NASV, ACV, WEB, NWT).

(Some translations mistranslate this as "by the Spirit" (KJV, NIV). These versions ignore the use of the dative in their translation. In the Greek text the words "flesh" and "spirit" are put in contrast to each other, and both are in the dative case, referring to the realm of "flesh" verses "spirit." It cannot be properly translated as instrumental "by the flesh/spirit.")

2.) 1Cor.15:45: "[Jesus] became a life-giving spirit." The context is also explicit that those resurrected to heaven have spirit bodies not fleshly (1Cor.15:35- 49; Cf. 2Cor.5:1-4; 2Pt.1:13-14).

3.) 1Cor.15:50 "flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom" (Cf. Ac.13:34). Only spirit persons with spirit bodies can live in heaven.

4.) 1Tim.3:15-16 "He was made manifest in flesh, was declared righteous in spirit, appeared to angels, was preached about among nations, was believed upon in the world, was received up in glory."

5.) Heb. 1:3 Jesus is now "the exact representation of God's very being." God is a Spirit and has never been flesh.

6.) The Bible says that Christ returns in glory with all the angels under him, and that he 'sits down on his glorious throne.' (Mt.25:31) If Jesus were flesh, he would be lower in station than the angels (Heb.2:7-9, Phil.2:7-10). He will never be flesh again.

7.) Jesus Christ gave his *flesh* as a ransom for us (Jn 6:51). Having given us his flesh, would he ever take it back again? If he did he would nullify his sacrifice. If Christ had kept his body then there was no ransom! According to Heb.10:5-10 Christ's physical body was "prepared" so that it could be "offered," once and for all time and just like the animal sacrifices the body of Jesus would no longer exist afterwards (Hb.13:10,11).

8). Christ's ability to make himself manifest after his resurrection was a "grant" from God, not his natural appearance (Ac 10:40).

9.) The description of Christ's existence on earth as "the days of his flesh" indicates a temporary situation (Heb 5:7).

10.) The Bible says that Christ was made greater than all the angels (Heb.1:4; 1Pt.3:22; Mt.25:31). It would be inappropriate for Christ to still have a body of flesh since he would still be lower than angels (Hb.2:7-9; Php.2:7-10; Ps.8:3-5). Therefore, he can never be flesh again.

11.) When his apostles asked him, Jesus did not say: "You can't miss me, I'll be visible to all." Instead he gave them a "sign" of visible events to tell when he returned (Mt.24:3-39). Why would he do this if it were to be so obvious as him visibly appearing in the heavens? (Mt 24:3-39). Christ clearly showed that his return would go unnoticed by humans (Mt 24:40-41). Now, how could they "not know" if in fact Jesus was going to appear visibly. ((Lk.17:20).

12.) Christ's explicit and frequent description of his second coming was: "Behold, I come as a thief" (Mt.24:43-44; Rev. 3:3; 16:15). Coming "as a thief" explicitly denotes an invisible, unseen, presence even to Christians on earth: 1Thes.5:2-6.

13.) 2 Cor. 5:16 "Consequently from now on we know no man according to the flesh. Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, certainly we now know him so no more." He could not have said this if Christ was going to be visible again.


It is clear that the physical body seen by his followers was not the same body he had while on earth. While Jesus obviously could materialize a physical body, it is also evident that he could pass through walls and appear and disappear just like spirit angels (Jn.20:19).

Just because they were able to see and feel Christ and he was able to eat does not demand the conclusion that he now exists in heaven with his physical body. No one would claim that the angels who visibly appeared exist as physical bodies in heaven.

The above scriptures consistently and explicitly contrast a body of flesh and a heavenly spirit body. Conversely there is no explicit Scripture that states he has a body of flesh, only some that could imply that if we didn't have the above.

"Corporeal visibility [of Christ] to men in the present life is a dream, altogether unsanctioned in the New Testament, and calculated from age to age to involve feeble believers in disappointment."— Glasgow; The Apocalypse, Translated and Expounded, p. 126. Edinburgh, 1872.

Yours,

BAR-ANERGES
 
We are spirit, made in God's image. As Spirit. we make bodies to serve our purpose, to communicate love to others who believe we are bodies until they realize they are spirit.

That is truth, regardless how people see Lazarus as related to Jesus
 
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