Flesh
and Blood vs Flesh and Bone
As human beings we have become accustomed to living in
these physical bodies made of flesh and blood.
We take for granted the relative freedom we experience as we move
through our various environments, as we use our senses of sight, hearing,
smell, taste and touch. We learned to walk and talk . In our “play time” we learned
to run, jump, swim, and otherwise “defy gravity”. All these things were viewed
as relatively “natural”, because we had seen or were taught by others to do
them.
Our knowledge from science tells us that our physical
bodies can accomplish these acts because they have energy supplied from the
glucose, oxygen and other nutrients in our blood. Without the blood none of the
experiences of our daily living would be possible. As a liquid, blood has
physical properties that affect how it reacts to gravity and the other elements
and forces of our environment. This is perfectly appropriate for our existence on
the Earth.
However, there are definite limitations that become more
apparent when we review the Scripture to see how the body of our Resurrected
Lord Jesus has overcome those limitations because it is composed of flesh and
bones…without blood.
With that introduction, I’d like to share the following
edited excerpt from one of my earlier posts. After this opening focus on “flesh
and blood”, I then want to look at what the Scripture says about our coming physical
experience in our eternal bodies of “flesh and bone”, not unlike that of our
Lord Jesus.
Excerpt (edited) from Blog Post on July 13, 2023:
The Power of the Blood –
Part Two
In Part One of this discussion on “The Power of the Blood”,
I simply quoted the two chapters of our Bible that I felt provided special
insight into the topic. From the Old Testament I chose Leviticus Chapter
17. From the New Testament I chose Hebrews Chapter Nine. In this
follow-up piece, I’d like to expand on the concepts found in those chapters.
Of the verses in Leviticus Chapter 17, I feel that the most
significant ones for us today are Verses 11 and 14, which read respectively:
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I
have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls:
for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the
soul.”
“For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for
the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat
the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood
thereof:…”
The fact that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” is
cited twice in the Scripture is for emphasis as inspired by the Holy
Spirit. I’ve underlined it for additional emphasis, and I’d like to
offer two reasons why blood is so critical.
Regarding humans, remember the creation of man. The essence
of man is our eternal soul / spirit. That essence was infused first into this
temporary, inert body when the LORD God breathed into the nostrils of man the
breath of life and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2: 7) Just as
oxygen is inhaled through the nostrils into the lungs and then absorbed into
the blood, I contend that is the same mechanism through which the soul / spirit
enters the blood. Without oxygen and other vital nutrients the body will
die. Without the soul / spirit, man’s body was already without life.
When the human body “dies”, the soul / spirit departs and returns to the God
who gave it life.
Man’s soul / spirit has been tainted from having been affected
by the blood, and the sin-nature in it as inherited from Adam. The blood been
made impure / contaminated from God’s perspective from Adam’s original sin. (Romans
5: 12) ( https://www.gotquestions.org/inherit-sin.html )This
Scripture is telling us that God requires that sinful flesh be cleansed by the
elimination of the offending blood. When we were saved by believing
the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13), we became “new creations /
creatures”. (Romans 3: 23-26; 2 Corinthians 5: 17) Our soul / spirit became
“housed” in Christ Jesus. Now, as He is, so are we in this world. (1
John 4: 14-17) He has already shed His blood to atone for our sins. Further, the
Lord Jesus’ new, glorious body is made of flesh and bone…with no blood! After
we leave these earthen bodies, in our resurrected form we also will have a new
body fashioned after His glorious body made of flesh and bone…with no blood! (Philippians
3: 20-21)
Now, what does the Scripture say about the Lord’s Resurrected
body of “flesh and bone”?
·
The Book of Matthew Chapter 28 shows that the Lord met with
His remaining eleven Disciples in Galilee and gave them His last instructions
while on the Earth. They not only recognized Him in the person, but also affirmed
that He was the same Lord they followed before His body was mutilated through
His suffering before His death.
·
The Book of Mark Chapter 16 reports that the Disciples saw
Him “received up into heaven.” His physical body overcame gravity and ascended
out of their sight.
·
The Book of Luke Chapter 24 reports that on the same day of
His Resurrection, the Lord joined two of His followers who had left Jerusalem after
His Crucifixion, returning to their home village of Emmaus. He hid His identity
from them even as He taught them to see Himself in the Scriptures. (Only the
Old Testament existed at that time.) As
He ate the evening meal with them, He took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave
it to them. As their eyes were then opened to His identity, He vanished from
their sight. Later that same evening He suddenly appeared to the assembled Disciples
and others of His followers. To allay their fears that He was actually a “spirit”,
He demonstrated the reality of His physical presence by eating broiled fish and
honeycomb in front of them. He then led them to Bethany, blessed them, and as
noted above He was carried up into heaven.
·
The Book of John Chapter 20 gives reports similar to those
noted above. Perhaps most amazing is John’s report of the Resurrected Lord’s
having seen Mary Magdalene shortly after He appeared in His new body of flesh
and bone. He couldn’t allow her to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to
His Father. We know that the Lord’s journey from the Earth to the abode of God
in the Third Heaven, and His return that same day were beyond miraculous. Later
in Chapter 21, John reported that as the Disciples were returning from an
unsuccessful fishing trip, the Lord invited them to join Him on the shore. He
had made a fire, cooked fish, and made bread. Then He ate with them. Imagine!
These are individual and collective glimpses into the Resurrected
Lord’s activities in His new body of flesh and bone. They do not tell us all that
we might want to know about our future lives in similar bodies after we leave
these current bodies of flesh and blood.
But just the idea of being able to transcend time and space is an
amazing prospect. To retain the recognition of those who had been close to us,
and our appetites for food are only bonuses.
In the Book of Philippians Chapter Three, the Apostle Paul has
shared with us the following:
“20 For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ:
21 Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself.”
We have a lot to look forward to!
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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