The Body’s Eternal Purpose

In an age obsessed with bodies reshaping them, displaying them, redefining them we often miss the most profound truth about our physical form our bodies were made to see Jesus.

That might sound strange at first. We think of the soul as the part of us that relates to God. We imagine eternity as a disembodied experience, full of ethereal praise and spiritual communion. But Scripture paints a different, richer picture one in which our bodies are not cast aside but redeemed, not minimized but essential to our eternal joy.

The Confusion of Our Age

Our culture swings wildly between two errors. On one side, it places unbearable expectations on the body, treating it as the defining center of identity. From cosmetic obsession to radical alterations, the body is seen as the canvas upon which the self must be constantly rewritten. At the same time, it treats the body as disposable something to be changed at will, used for gratification, or dismissed in favor of a so-called “true self” that exists apart from it.

This confusion has crept into the Church too. Many Christians unintentionally adopt a low view of the body, treating it as a temporary vessel, or worse, an obstacle to spiritual growth. The result is an anemic theology of embodiment one that struggles to explain why God created us with bodies in the first place, or why He insists on giving them back to us in resurrection glory.

But the Bible offers a compelling correction our bodies are not accidents or obstacles. They are part of our eternal destiny.

A Vision Worthy of a Body

Theologians have long spoken of the beatific vision the ultimate experience of seeing God as He truly is. This is the fulfillment of all human longing, the pure and perfect satisfaction of the soul. As Psalm 17:15 declares, “When I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

But here’s the twist: this vision is not merely spiritual. It’s embodied. While theologians like Thomas Aquinas emphasized the intellectual aspect of the beatific vision knowing God in His essence he and others also recognized that this vision is not complete without the resurrection of the body.

Aquinas taught that the soul may apprehend God in the intermediate state (after death but before resurrection), but the fullness of beatitude our ultimate happiness requires our whole humanity, body included. As the apostle Paul put it, “We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23).

Why the Body Matters

Scripture consistently affirms the goodness and purpose of the human body. From the very beginning, God called His creation “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He made us as embodied souls, not disembodied spirits. And even after sin corrupted our nature, God's plan was never to discard our bodies but to redeem them.

Job testified to this hope thousands of years ago: “After my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God.” Job 19:26

This is not metaphor. Job looked forward to a literal, bodily resurrection when his eyes, renewed and glorified, would behold his Redeemer. This is the destiny of every believer.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn’t leave His body in the tomb. He walked, talked, ate, and was touched. And in His glorified humanity, He still bears flesh and bone. As 1 John 3:2 promises, “We shall see him as he is.” With real eyes. In real bodies. Forever.

Seeing God in the Face of Christ

Paul tells us that “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). God, who is invisible, made Himself visible in the incarnation. Jesus the eternal Son took on flesh not for a moment, but for eternity. And through His glorified humanity, we will behold the divine.

In eternity, we will see the fullness of God’s glory through the person of Jesus. We will not only know Him with our minds, but we will see Him with our eyes, hear Him with our ears, feel the warmth of His presence with our resurrected bodies.

This is the embodied beatific vision: the soul rejoicing in perfect knowledge, and the body sharing fully in that joy.

The Resurrection Body Perfects Our Joy

Aquinas and other theologians make an important distinction between esse (being) and bene esse (well-being). Our souls can exist and even rejoice in God without our bodies (as believers do now in heaven). But the fullness of our joy the complete experience of beatitude is only possible when our bodies are raised and glorified.

Imagine delight that is not just intellectual, but physical. Eyes that see beauty. Ears that hear the voice of Jesus. Tongues that sing with perfect pitch. Hands that touch the scars that bought our peace.

This is what the resurrection promises. This is why the body matters.

Stewarding Our Bodies Today

Understanding this glorious future should shape how we treat our bodies now. We are not souls trapped in flesh, waiting for escape. We are embodied beings preparing for resurrection.

This means:

• We honor the body God gave us, without idolizing or neglecting it.

• We flee from sin that defiles the body (1 Corinthians 6:18–20).

• We offer our bodies as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), knowing they are instruments for worship.

• We grieve death, not because it is final, but because we long for the restoration of what God declared good.

A Glorious Destiny

Our bodies were made for something far greater than fitness goals or fashion trends. They were made for glory to see the risen Christ with eyes redeemed from death, to join the saints in endless praise with voices no longer prone to fatigue, to dwell with God in a new creation where pain and decay are no more.

This is the future God has promised. Not less of you just your soul but more of you: whole, healed, and holy.

So don’t despise your body. Don’t distort it. Don’t define yourself by it. Instead, present it to God, await its resurrection, and declare with Job, “In my flesh, I shall see God.”

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