1. If as he says, we inherit the SAME physical body, we should expect our original corpses to be missing from their coffins. But that isn't the case. So I can only conclude we don't receive the same body. It has to be remade. Apparently this isn't what happened to Jesus. He rose and his body wasn't there. And yet, Thomas put his hands into Jesus wounds. So Jesus body is not the same as our future bodies.
2. If our bodies will be remade, then of what substance will they be remade? Scripture says we are dust. Will we just be reformed dust? Or will our substance be spirit?
I don’t think your objections actually fall outside the scope of what I already addressed. I never said we inherit exactly the same body in terms of atomic composition—as though the body is merely preserved and reanimated. What I said, and what Paul teaches, is that it is this body—the one that is mortal, perishable, and subject to dishonor—that will be raised and transformed into something immortal and glorious (1 Cor. 15:42–53). The continuity is not one of unchanged material, but of identity. You seem to be assuming that “same body” must mean all the original matter is removed from the coffin now, or else it is a different body. But that ignores the fact that the resurrection is future. Paul explicitly says Christ is the firstfruits, and then at His coming, those who belong to Him will be raised (1 Cor. 15:23). Until then, our bodies remain in the grave—just as Scripture says they will (John 5:28–29). I also directly addressed your second concern about the nature of the resurrected body. When Paul calls it a “spiritual body,” he is not speaking of its substance but of its source of life. As I quoted from Ware and explained myself, “spiritual” in Paul’s usage never means non-physical or immaterial. It means empowered and animated by the Spirit, in contrast to the “natural” body animated by the soul. So no, we won’t be reconstituted from dust alone, nor will we be ethereal spirit-beings. Our bodies will be glorified, imperishable, and Spirit-powered—just like Christ’s risen body, which was touchable, recognizable, and able to eat fish, yet no longer subject to death or decay. That is our hope. A real, bodily resurrection. Not metaphor. Not spirit-only. The same body, raised in glory.
I like the way the Westminster Confessions puts it: At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed: and all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls for ever.
It will be a flesh body. But it will also have "different qualities" from what it possesses now. Continuity and discontinuity.
Hyper-preterists, including Gary DeMar, argue complete discontinuity. You ditch this flesh and it's never heard from or seen of again. Your soul goes to heaven and puts on a new body—like putting on a new suit. And that is certainly not what Paul is arguing in 1 Corinthians 15, which is probably why Gary doesn't know what to do with it.
There are two issues this article didn't address.
1. If as he says, we inherit the SAME physical body, we should expect our original corpses to be missing from their coffins. But that isn't the case. So I can only conclude we don't receive the same body. It has to be remade. Apparently this isn't what happened to Jesus. He rose and his body wasn't there. And yet, Thomas put his hands into Jesus wounds. So Jesus body is not the same as our future bodies.
2. If our bodies will be remade, then of what substance will they be remade? Scripture says we are dust. Will we just be reformed dust? Or will our substance be spirit?
I don’t think your objections actually fall outside the scope of what I already addressed. I never said we inherit exactly the same body in terms of atomic composition—as though the body is merely preserved and reanimated. What I said, and what Paul teaches, is that it is this body—the one that is mortal, perishable, and subject to dishonor—that will be raised and transformed into something immortal and glorious (1 Cor. 15:42–53). The continuity is not one of unchanged material, but of identity. You seem to be assuming that “same body” must mean all the original matter is removed from the coffin now, or else it is a different body. But that ignores the fact that the resurrection is future. Paul explicitly says Christ is the firstfruits, and then at His coming, those who belong to Him will be raised (1 Cor. 15:23). Until then, our bodies remain in the grave—just as Scripture says they will (John 5:28–29). I also directly addressed your second concern about the nature of the resurrected body. When Paul calls it a “spiritual body,” he is not speaking of its substance but of its source of life. As I quoted from Ware and explained myself, “spiritual” in Paul’s usage never means non-physical or immaterial. It means empowered and animated by the Spirit, in contrast to the “natural” body animated by the soul. So no, we won’t be reconstituted from dust alone, nor will we be ethereal spirit-beings. Our bodies will be glorified, imperishable, and Spirit-powered—just like Christ’s risen body, which was touchable, recognizable, and able to eat fish, yet no longer subject to death or decay. That is our hope. A real, bodily resurrection. Not metaphor. Not spirit-only. The same body, raised in glory.
I like the way the Westminster Confessions puts it: At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed: and all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls for ever.
It will be a flesh body. But it will also have "different qualities" from what it possesses now. Continuity and discontinuity.
Hyper-preterists, including Gary DeMar, argue complete discontinuity. You ditch this flesh and it's never heard from or seen of again. Your soul goes to heaven and puts on a new body—like putting on a new suit. And that is certainly not what Paul is arguing in 1 Corinthians 15, which is probably why Gary doesn't know what to do with it.