Chapter 11 of 12

Section 10

Section 10

to Himself." The transfiguration of our body will be the ultimate consummation of God's salva tion. In His salvation God first regenerated our spirit (John 3:6), now He is transforming our soul (Rom. 12:2), and, consummately, He will transfigure our body, making us the same as Christ in all three parts of our being.

In Philippians 3:21 Paul refers to our body as "the body of our humiliation." This describes our natural body, made of worthless dust (Gen. 2:7) and damaged by sin, weakness, sickness, and death (Rom. 6:6; 7:24; 8:11). But one day this body will be transfigured and conformed to the body of Christ's glory. Christ's body of glory is His resurrected body, saturated with God's glory (Luke 24:26) and transcendent over cor ruption and death (Rom. 6:9).

No matter how we may feed and clothe our body and no matter what kind of automobile we use to transport it or dwelling place to house it, it is still a body of humiliation. You may allow your body to rest on the best and most expen sive bed, but it is nonetheless a body of humilia tion. However, we should not hate or despise our body. If we despise our body, we shall practice asceticism. In a very real sense, we should love our body for the Lord's sake. We need to care for

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