The Bible seems to infer that we will have celestial bodies. If so, are they these human bodies cleaned and made whole, revamped and made over?

1 Corinthians 15 discusses the resurrection. The Apostle Paul begins by giving a synopsis of the gospel in a few brief words: “How that Christ died for our sins…and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day.” In verses 11-17, he then names those who witnessed the resurrected Jesus to prove and emphasize the fact of his resurrection. Verse 18 contains a statement that people often overlook or misunderstand. If Christ was not put to death and resurrected, “Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished!” “Perished” means destroyed or annihilated. The Apostle Paul was not referring to the bodies of those who had “fallen asleep,” since the bodies of all perish and disintegrate into dust. He was talking about the individual, the being, the soul. “The soul that sinneth it shall die (or perish)” (Ezekiel 18:4).

Because Christ died for all, all are coming forth from the tomb. But what comes forth? The Apostle Paul posed the same question: “But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?’ You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own… So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;…it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God… (therefore) the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:35-53 NASB).

When our risen Lord Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, Jesus’ spirit body was “brighter than the noon day sun” (Acts 26:13). It was so glorious that it blinded Saul. Even though we cannot comprehend the spirit body, the Apostle John explained, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).