God is a Spirit...

[silentreader]

Just to backtrack a bit: does Jesus have a different body today than he did before the incarnation? A body different from the rest of the trinity? Is that a heretical idea? Or is it moot?

So what is a heretical idea? One that is different than what is commonly held to be true by the New Testament Church.
Do we know the common thought about your question here? To be honest, I have neither heard this question asked before like this nor read any writing about it- but since Jesus was pre-incarnate & then incarnate there were not '2' separate beings- there would no longer be a 'Trinity' but a foursome- but when the Pre-Incarnate Word became flesh- there was a change (The Word became flesh and dwelt among us). As Silentreader pointed out He had nail wounds in hands & His side was pierced.
We read that He was in more than one 'form' after His resurrection- He ascended & is sitting at the right hand of the Father- He did make appearances as He did in His pre-incarnate form, but it 'seems' like He wasn't always recognizable-
By Scripture it just doesn't seem clear & I haven't read anything about this- I don't think it's heretical to 'wonder' about things- just to state them as fact & gather a following afterwards- (correct?)

Good thoughts Valerie. I guess personally I hesitate to use the term 'body' for anything other than what Jesus had when He was 'in the form of a servant' and had 'flesh and blood' in His life here on earth. To call His form now, or before His incarnation for that matter, a 'body' seems to me to diminish what He is. And no offence intended to anybody. We may perhaps speak of a 'spiritual body' for lack of a better term, but this seems to me maybe a bit of an oxymoron as well. He did take/has taken 'form' when He manifests this side of the veil, but I tend to think that is far beyond what I would call a 'body'.

[Valerie]

Just to backtrack a bit: does Jesus have a different body today than he did before the incarnation? A body different from the rest of the trinity? Is that a heretical idea? Or is it moot?

So what is a heretical idea? One that is different than what is commonly held to be true by the New Testament Church.
Do we know the common thought about your question here? To be honest, I have neither heard this question asked before like this nor read any writing about it- but since Jesus was pre-incarnate & then incarnate there were not '2' separate beings- there would no longer be a 'Trinity' but a foursome- but when the Pre-Incarnate Word became flesh- there was a change (The Word became flesh and dwelt among us). As Silentreader pointed out He had nail wounds in hands & His side was pierced.
We read that He was in more than one 'form' after His resurrection- He ascended & is sitting at the right hand of the Father- He did make appearances as He did in His pre-incarnate form, but it 'seems' like He wasn't always recognizable-
By Scripture it just doesn't seem clear & I haven't read anything about this- I don't think it's heretical to 'wonder' about things- just to state them as fact & gather a following afterwards- (correct?)

Good thoughts Valerie. I guess personally I hesitate to use the term 'body' for anything other than what Jesus had when He was 'in the form of a servant' and had 'flesh and blood' in His life here on earth. To call His form now, or before His incarnation for that matter, a 'body' seems to me to diminish what He is. And no offence intended to anybody. We may perhaps speak of a 'spiritual body' for lack of a better term, but this seems to me maybe a bit of an oxymoron as well. He did take/has taken 'form' when He manifests this side of the veil, but I tend to think that is far beyond what I would call a 'body'.

Agreed- I didn't mean to imply He had a body prior to His incarnation (but He was visible like angels were/are) - I found it curious He did not want Mary to cling to Him after His resurrection & also that afterwards it says He was seen in other forms-

[KingdomBuilder]

Jesus's mission on earth was to glorify his Father, which included his dying to extend the chance of atonement.
God is a Spirit, which is why He desires us to worship in spirit..
It's my observation that the less a church or individual desires to worship in spirit, and more in flesh, the more they dwell solely on the fleshly incarnation- i.e Jesus. Jesus essentially replaces the Father, which I see scripturally unfit. After all, that seems to be missing what Jesus himself explicitly said he came to do.
In my opinion, that is scary and dangerous.

[lesterb]

Does this passage add anything to this discussion?

[bible]John 14,16-20[/bible]

On the one hand, Jesus said he would send the comforter. On the other hand, he said that he would come himself. On the one hand he says that the spirit would dwell in them. On the other hand he says that he would be in us.

So is he saying that he is coming in the form of the Spirit? This ties into the teaching of the trinity, but it also would seem to identify Jesus as a spirit?

[gcdonner]

[bible]John 4,24[/bible]

[bible]Luke 24,36-43[/bible]

I had some correspondence on the question of Jesus being alive and having a body, etc. This finally got me to thinking. According to the verses above, God doesn't have a body like we do. But Jesus does, though it is a glorified version of a body, like we will receive when we die.

So was Jesus a Spirit, like God, until the incarnation? But now he has a body, and is the only part of the god-head to have one? So does this mean that coming to earth was more than just a thirty year sacrifice, but on ongoing eternal one?

I'd like to hear your thoughts, if you have any....

So, why do we assume that God being a spirit means he has no body???

[gcdonner]

[bible]John 4,24[/bible]

[bible]Luke 24,36-43[/bible]

I had some correspondence on the question of Jesus being alive and having a body, etc. This finally got me to thinking. According to the verses above, God doesn't have a body like we do. But Jesus does, though it is a glorified version of a body, like we will receive when we die.

So was Jesus a Spirit, like God, until the incarnation? But now he has a body, and is the only part of the god-head to have one? So does this mean that coming to earth was more than just a thirty year sacrifice, but on ongoing eternal one?

I'd like to hear your thoughts, if you have any....

According to scripture Jesus' sacrifice was "once for all..."

[KingdomBuilder]

This all makes me think of Theophany and Christophany.. Wonder if a separate thread on that would spark much interest? (I've had a few dud posts lately....)

[gcdonner]

This all makes me think of Theophany and Christophany.. Wonder if a separate thread on that would spark much interest? (I've had a few dud posts lately....)

There is only one way to find out...
I must have missed your "duds" somehow, where are they?

[lesterb]

[bible]John 4,24[/bible]

[bible]Luke 24,36-43[/bible]

I had some correspondence on the question of Jesus being alive and having a body, etc. This finally got me to thinking. According to the verses above, God doesn't have a body like we do. But Jesus does, though it is a glorified version of a body, like we will receive when we die.

So was Jesus a Spirit, like God, until the incarnation? But now he has a body, and is the only part of the god-head to have one? So does this mean that coming to earth was more than just a thirty year sacrifice, but on ongoing eternal one?

I'd like to hear your thoughts, if you have any....

So, why do we assume that God being a spirit means he has no body???

Didn't Jesus say that a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones?

[gcdonner]

[bible]John 4,24[/bible]

[bible]Luke 24,36-43[/bible]

I had some correspondence on the question of Jesus being alive and having a body, etc. This finally got me to thinking. According to the verses above, God doesn't have a body like we do. But Jesus does, though it is a glorified version of a body, like we will receive when we die.

So was Jesus a Spirit, like God, until the incarnation? But now he has a body, and is the only part of the god-head to have one? So does this mean that coming to earth was more than just a thirty year sacrifice, but on ongoing eternal one?

I'd like to hear your thoughts, if you have any....

So, why do we assume that God being a spirit means he has no body???

Didn't Jesus say that a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones?

Who says a body has to have flesh and bones?