Will you be like Casper the Friendly Ghost?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Will you be like Casper the Friendly Ghost?”

If you’re as old as I am then you probably remember the old children’s cartoon “Casper the Friendly Ghost”. Casper was a ghost, but he was a happy and friendly ghost and he had a good time interacting with people in the physical world.

Some Christians have the false idea that in eternity we will all be like Casper, a spirit/ghost. A nice ghost, but a ghost none-the-less. But that’s wrong. There isn’t much debate among Bible scholars that we will spend eternity in a glorious resurrection body. Virtually everyone agrees that is what the Bible teaches. It’s true that we don’t know a lot about what that body will be like, but the Bible is clear that we will have one, and the Bible does give us some clues about what it will be like.

In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul tells us that Jesus will transform our lowly bodies into something like His glorious body. So, what was the glorious resurrection body of Jesus like? If we look at the concluding chapters of each of the four gospels, we find that we are given descriptions of Jesus in His resurrection body. We read that He was recognizable for the person He had been in life. We also see that He was physical, “Touch me and see; because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have …” The resurrected Jesus also ate food, He conversed with people, and he lit a fire and cooked breakfast for His disciples.

But we also find in those scenes that His body had spiritual qualities not associated with our current physical bodies. For instance, He could appear and disappear in an instant. He could pass through doors and walls. And finally, His entire resurrection body – physical and spiritual, rose and ascended up into heaven. Paul says that our resurrection bodies will be something like that. Exactly like that? I don’t know, but something like that.

There will probably be many surprises in store for you with respect to your resurrection body. There will be characteristics of it that you never would have imagined, and it will be capable of things you never would have guessed. But you will still be you – redeemed and perfect, but still you and enjoying eternity in a redeemed and perfected world.

The great Bible scholar and author Dr. R.A. Torrey wrote, “We will not be disembodied spirits in the world to come, but redeemed bodies, in a redeemed universe.”

No, you will not be like Casper the Friendly Ghost.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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