Thread by @AlsoACarpenter

Another reminder that bodies matter to God, not just souls.

A thread:

1. Man is an embodied soul: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Gen. 2:7)

2. Believers’ bodies are joined to Christ: "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" (1 Cor. 6:15); "For we are members of his body."(Eph. 5:30)

3. Jesus cares for our bodies: "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ...

... yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Mt. 6:26-30)

4. God will resurrect bodies, or humans will not be in the New Heaven and Earth: "I believe … in the resurrection of the body." (Apostles Creed); 1 Corinthians 15 (ALL): "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Cor. 15:19) ...

Yes, even our skin: "For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another." (Job 19:25-27)

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…." (Rev. 7:9)

5. What one does in the body is not indifferent, it is sin or righteousness: "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." (1 Cor. 6:13); "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?" (1 Cor. 6:19)

6. Therefore, like God, we are to care for bodies: "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" (Jas 2:15-16)

7. This is true even for our enemies: "Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who ...

... persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Mt. 5:42-45)

Last, all of this is not only grounded in creation, but also in the Incarnation: “The incarnation of our Lord is definitive proof that humans, not angels, are created in the image of God, and that the human body is an essential component of that image” (Herman Bavinck).

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