Acts: An Important Point, Pt. 3: A Material Body
The Book of Acts opens with a summary statement from Luke in verse 3:
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
And then this in the next verse:
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[ the Holy Spirit.”
Let’s think about what this means.
Our first stop, John 1:14, which says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” The Word who was with God, and was God put on a human body, in utero, in Mary’s womb. He was 12 once, and grew in stature and favor with God and man. As Paul expounds in Philippians 2, Jesus took the very nature of a servant, was made in human likeness, and was found in appearance as a man.”
Our next stop, Luke 23:33, which says, “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.”
And then we see Luke 23:52-55, which says, “Going to Pilate, [Joseph of Arimethea] asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid . . . The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.”
And finally, we come to Luke 24:36-43:
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
Which verses connect with the eating in Acts 1:4 above. Spirits don’t eat broiled fish.
Jesus’ human body, from womb to cross to tomb to this eating-on-one-occasion episode in the first chapter of Acts, is fundamental to our salvation and our sanctification. Because Jesus is the intersection of both God and man—he is where both meet and are found together—we can expect a salvation of spirit, soul, and body. 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. See John 4:24. As for us human beings, He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust—flesh. Psalm 103:14; Genesis 2:23. But in Jesus both live in union. In him we see the Father. John 14:9. And in him, we see a man. John 4:29 (“"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?").
But here is the thing: Jesus is pure. (1 John 3:3). He is the Holy One of God, but also born of a virgin, after David. (Luke 1:35, Romans 1:3).
A thing that is pure is, well, pure; it has no admixture. It is unmixed with any other matter. Merriam-Webster’s definition is quite interesting on this point: pure means free from dust, or dirt, or taint.
Jesus is, in a sense, mixed. Jesus most certainly has an admixture of our humanity. So what gives? How can he still be pure. Herein lies a wonder of our salvation. Through this tabernacling among us in his flesh, through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has declared our fleshly bodies clean, and pure. Not impure, not low, not abased, not gross, or defiled, as most of us are inclined to think. In God, the material can be in a word, good.
I am reminded of Peter’s rooftop vision in Acts 10. God gave Peter a vision of foodstuffs and things that were unclean under the Mosaic law and gave him a command: Rise up and eat. In response to Peter’s protestations, God declared these things clean, pure: “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unclean.” In Christ, our righteousness, our bodies have been declared clean.
To be sure, we can live low, abased, and defiled—we can remain in our flesh and out of our bodies as our primary impulse. The Bible frames it this way: their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with their minds set on earthly things. And their end? Destruction. Philippians 3:19.
But we do not have to live out of our appetites or glory in shame as the world does. We can instead remain in Christ, and he with us (See 1 John 5:20), and thereby transform our mortal bodies into temples of the living God, through his body and blood. See, our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6), so that we might not let sin have dominion over us as Cain did. See Romans 6:12.
Note Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians:
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. See 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.
And again Paul testifies: now we are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Cor. 12:27) and the temple of the Living God (2 Corinthians 6:16) based upon the promises in Ezekiel 37, and their ultimate fulfillment in Christ:
I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.
So, God in Christ Jesus has declared us clean (John 15:3) and bestowed cleanness upon our mortal bodies through his body and blood (1 John 1:7)—a free gift among many in our salvation. See Ephesians 2:8. But we must maintain that position of purity in Christ as Paul admonishes:
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1. Compare 1 John 1:7 (“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”). Thus, our sanctification.
On account of God’s mercy towards us in Christ Jesus, let us offer our bodies as living sacrifices as Jesus did (John 10:18), holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual service of worship. Let’s eschew being conformed to this world, but instead let’s be transformed by the renewing of your mind, to be able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2.
May God himself, the God of all peace, sanctify us through and through. And may our whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Amen.
