2 Peter 3:13-15 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation…
	When last we were dealing with our series on heaven, based on Dr. Donnelly’s Biblical studies, I encouraged each of us to read and to re-read 1 Corinthians 15. This passage deals with the resurrection of the believer’s physical body. While we will have the same bodies, they will be different. The Apostle Paul relates that these bodies will be raised in incorruption, raised in glory, raised in power, and raised a spiritual body. These are the elements of our bodies in heaven that we will take up this morning. It is with the continual prayer that the Lord will guide us into His complete heart with regard to His absolute victory over the death that so plagues these mortal bodies. This is all part of the new heaven and new earth that the Apostle Peter declares in this morning’s passage. We will have bodies in which righteousness dwells. They will be spotless and blameless in the perfection of Jesus Christ’s resurrection power.
	 One of the first aspects that we need to deal with, at this point, is the fact that it will be a body that God raises up. As the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor 15:35-38, But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?" You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. The bodies that we will have in heaven will be the perfect bodies that God gives us which are no longer under the curse. They will be bodies that are no longer burdened with the decay of this realm. They will be the bodies of God’s perfect design for us. 
We will deal with this in greater depth as we continue this morning, but what needs to be realized at this point is that they will be raised according to the power and the plan and the purpose of God. This is so important because there are many Christians who fully believe in the resurrection of their physical bodies and so they get caught up in making these bodies of flesh the center of their concern on this earth. What do I mean by this? They lose sight of the fact that God will raise up our bodies as He deems fit. They lose themselves in making themselves the uber perfect physical specimens on this earth with the idea that the bodies in which they leave this earth will be the exact bodies of their eternity. Therefore they want to be slim and trim and as perfect as possible. This is not a bad thing until it becomes the domination of every waking thought and purpose on earth. That place and priority is to be reserved for Jesus Christ, Alone!
In another vein, there are those who feel that the cremation of the body is eternal ruination. They fail to recognize that these bodies will decay into dust, even if they are put into the earth whole. There is a lack of recognition that very many Christians, over the course of history, have died in fires and other catastrophes which have left little of the physical remains. They fail to realize that God’s power will draw forth every particle of our being from wherever it may be in the resurrection of our bodies. There will be no partial resurrection, no part of our bodies missing in heaven. We will be perfectly formed as God directs and makes and raises us. 
1 Cor 15:42-44, So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…
	  …It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body… As we are gathered here today, we are dying in every physical sense. Our physical bodies are decaying, aging, feeling the effects of the corruption of this age. We are caught up in the lament of the preacher in Eccl 12:1-3. Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in them"; before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim… We suffer the pains of bodies that are perishing, the decay of our bodily functioning, the arthritis of our joints and operations, and the distress of our physiological abilities. These bodies are decomposing into the dust of the ground, even while we live in them today.
	Quote, But Paul tells us that in heaven no such deterioration will be possible. We will be rejuvenated, for ever beyond the reach of sickness and injury, pain and death. Our present experiences of weakness, frailty and suffering will end. ‘Raised in incorruption’, no process of change and decay can touch us again. End quote.   
	…it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory… When we perish on this earth, we leave behind only a rotting shell of our physical body. There is no beauty, no life, and no goodness. It is merely the physical remains. The soul and spirit have departed, taking away all that once brought glory to God in these lives that we lived. Our bodies are buried in dishonor, to simply return to the dust of the earth. 
	Quote, But this same flesh is ‘raised in glory’. We do not know exactly what that involves, but it certainly means that in heaven our bodies will be characterized by awesome splendor. ‘The righteous’, says Jesus, ‘will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father’ (Matt. 13:43). Wrinkles and grey hairs will be no more, all marks of ageing and weakness will be gone. We will be for ever young, in the beauty of our strength, in bright, God-honoring manhood and womanhood. In C.S. Lewis’s words, ‘He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us…a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine.’ End quote. 
…it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power… Consider the weakness of our bodies in this life. We get exhausted. We lack energy. We lose our strength and our will and purpose. We suffer depression and anxiety. We are undone with pressure and seemingly endless responsibilities. Our will power fails us and our determination can only take us so far. We are easily fatigued and enjoyment ceases with effort. We are wearied and find that we cannot cope with things as we once did. We are weak.
	However, we will be raised in power. There will be a new strength within us, as Isaiah promises. Isa 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. While this is a promise even in this life, it does absolutely describe our lives in heaven. As A. A. Hodges writes, quote, Our energies will not flag with fatigue, nor will they be exhausted with age. Without inertia or friction our purposes will be spontaneously executed by inexhaustible energies, to which all exercise will be pleasure and continuing activity the unshadowed rapture of an immortal life. End Quote. 
	Consider what it will be like to never again grow weary or weak or overwhelmed. Quote, Try for a moment to imagine the sheer physical well-being of heaven. Just as the pains of hell are more excruciating than any conceivable on this earth, so are the pleasures of heaven infinitely more delightful than any we can presently imagine. Our bodies here are subject to the results of the Fall. Even the youngest and strongest do not know what real health is like. We have no idea of the exhilarating sense of well-being that will course through our veins in heaven. It will be physical pleasure of the most intense kind. End quote. 	    
	…it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body… Dr. Donnelly points out a very important realization in this regard. Quote, We need to be careful here. ‘Spiritual’ does not mean ‘non-material’ or ‘non-physical’. That is where many go wrong. It refers, in this context, to a body dominated by the Holy Spirit. The ‘spiritual’ man (1 Cor. 2:15) is indwelt and directed by the Spirit. ‘Spiritual songs’ (Eph. 5:19) are inspired by the Spirit. In the same way, ‘a spiritual body’ is one completely under the Spirit’s control. 
	Cornelius P. Venema explains the distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘spiritual’ like this: ‘These terms do not contrast a body that is made up of “material stuff” with a body that is made up of “spiritual stuff”, as if to suggest that the resurrection body will be immaterial or non-fleshy. Rather, they distinguish sharply the present body as one which belongs to the present age which is passing away and under the curse of God, and the resurrection body which belongs to the life of the Spirit in the age to come.’ End quote.
	In our present life, our bodies distract us from God. We grow hungry and tired. We seek after the things that our bodies crave. There is a battle between what our bodies want and what our spirit wants. As the Apostle Paul writes in Rom 7:19-23, For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 
	But this will not be so in heaven. There our bodies will be obedient servants to our spirits. There will be no battles raging within us as to what we should do. Body, soul, and spirit, in union, will worship and serve and glorify God. What a wondrous reality to consider, the fact that we will not be hindered from absolute expressions of love for God by these bodies. Rather, we will find ourselves in perfect and eternal union with the heart of God in every aspect of our beings.
	Quote, this is the glory which will be revealed in us. Our souls will be sinless, perfect. Our bodies will be incorruptible, glorious, powerful, Spirit-filled. We will be like our Savior, conformed to His image. The angels will look at us and glorify God. Is it not thrilling to think of what Our Father is going to make of us, what riches of blessing He plans to shower upon us? End quote. 
	Above and beyond all this, Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, will be delighted in us. He will look upon us with gladness and joy. Isa 53:11, As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. 
	This will be the complete satisfaction of the Lord in His redemptive work in the general sense. There will be none missing of His flock, of His church. There will be no missing or lost souls for whom He has died. All will be gathered together in heaven and the fullness of His accomplished work will be perfectly in place. He will be absolutely satisfied.
	As well, beyond all of our comprehension, He will be utterly satisfied with each one of us individually. He will look at you and at me with absolute joy in His heart and face. So often, we are beset with the fear that we will disappoint Him. We know our weaknesses and limitations and struggles and failures. We suffer the shame and the disgrace of our imperfect testimony of Christ on this earth. We know that He will be gracious and kind to us. At the same time, however, we harbor the intense fear that He will be dissatisfied with how we have lived our lives on this earth. 
	Quote, We need not be afraid, for we will by then be changed, conformed to His likeness. God’s work of grace in each and all of us will have been brought to such a pitch of perfection that the Lord will be ravished with love for His bride, ‘a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing’ (Eph 5:27). We will be all He wants, everything He desires. We will be the people He chooses to be with Him for ever. ‘Behold, you are fair, my love!’ He will exclaim (Song of Sol. 1:15). We will then be able to say with joyful assurance, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know.’ That will be heaven. End quote.
The Lord Jesus Christ will delight in us corporately and individually. It will be in that joy, in that celebrated satisfaction in His work in us that our bodies will be raised in incorruption, raised in glory, raised in power, and raised a spiritual body. He will have His heart’s desire completed in you and in me. We will be fully and entirely consecrated unto Him, our head, our Husband, our Lord, and our Savior. That will be the richness of heaven for us. So be it!
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation… Amen

This morning’s benediction is 2 Peter 3:18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.