Flesh and Blood Will Not Inherit the Kingdom
"I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable."
1 Corinthians 15:50
Argument:
- The Bible says that flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom, therefore Jesus was not raised in a physical, flesh and blood, body.
Rebuttal:
- Luke 24:39:
- "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
- It doesn't say Flesh and Blood, but Flesh and Bones
- The term "Flesh and Blood" denotes the Natural Order in certain contexts.
- "And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 16:17
- "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 6:12
- "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil," - Hebrews 2:14
- The blood of Christ was drained on the cross. Therefore, His body could be raised, and the blood remained shed as the thing that “makes atonement”: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” - Leviticus 17:11