[Jesus Christ] … will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Summary: This passage offers us insight into our spiritual nature and hope for a glorious future with Jesus.
Who are “you?”
The reason I ask is that it matters who or what you think you are.
There is an old joke about a new boy in town who wanted to join the local “gang.”* The rule was that to join the gang, you had to pass a test. The test was simple: Run across the freeway without getting hit.
This is what is called a “shaggy dog” story, which means the storyteller drags it out as long as possible. Each time the kid runs across the freeway, he gets hit and loses a body part — legs, arms, torso — until all that is left is his head.
He still wants to be in the gang, so they let him try one more time. This time, he is killed trying to cross. The moral of the story is “Quit while you’re still a ‘head.’” (“ahead.”)
It’s okay if you are not laughing — it is supposed to be a “groaner” of a joke. The thing is, it raises an interesting question: If a person loses a body part, does that make them less of a “person?”
Personally, I don’t think so. The reason I don’t think it matters is that I think of you and me as spiritual beings. When the body eventually gets old and dies, you and I still live on. What Paul is describing is our new bodies in Christ.
So how does this work?
Obviously, we don’t know. We can’t know unless God reveals it to us. But he does give us clues!
Let’s look at this verse in a different translation:
“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (KJV)
In this translation, Christ fashions a new body for us.
In both translations, the Greek word for “change” or “transform” is “metaschēmatizō.” “Metaschēmatizō” can mean “to transfigure or disguise; figuratively, to apply (by accommodation):—transfer, transform (self).”†
Jesus, when he was on the mountain top with his disciples Peter, James, and John, was “transfigured” before their eyes (Mark 9:2). In this example, Jesus’ body changes from mere flesh to something gloriously bright and then returns to human form.
However, the word “metaschēmatizō” can also mean “transfer.” No matter what happens in this world to our bodies, God can “transform” or “transfer” us into our new body.
Application: Trust Jesus. He has this all figured out.
Food for Thought: How does our faith in Jesus reshape the way we think about our bodies—both now and in eternity?
*This was back in the days when “gangs” were kids who hung out together, before the word came to mean groups of desperate people who terrorize others to get what they want.
†”G3345 – metaschēmatizō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 8 Nov, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3345/kjv/tr/0-1/>.
NOTE: Paul wrote in Greek, and some of his words—like “body,” “soul,” and “spirit”—come from that world’s vocabulary. But Paul wasn’t borrowing Greek philosophy; he was speaking a deeper truth in the only language available to him. Greek thinkers often saw the body as something to escape, but Paul saw it as something God redeems.
The truth is, our bodies really do age, break down, and return to dust. But for Paul, that decay isn’t the end of the story—it’s the beginning of transformation. The God who formed us from dust once will not forget how to do it again. Resurrection means renewal, not replacement.
One of the most basic truths that every follower of Jesus must believe is His ability to raise the dead and transform our bodies to imperishable bodies.
John 11: 25 – 26: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
1 Corinthians 15: 51 – 55: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” h
55“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
For our bodies today, we are told we are not our own. Even our current physical bodies belong to the Lord Who bought us and will transform us. The life we now live in the body we live by faith in Christ.
1 Corinthians 6: 19 – 20: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Galatians 2: 20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Thank you, Rich!
“Even our current physical bodies belong to the Lord Who bought us and will transform us. ”
This is such a great point! Thank you!!
How does our faith in Jesus reshape the way we think about our bodies—both now and in eternity?
Our spirit is the life force placed in our bodies by God. In Christ we come to understand our bodies are the temporary housings which confine our eternal spirits on this earth for a time predetermined by God. The priorities we live by are seen in our daily words and deeds. Are we directed by and responsive to the desires of our flesh, or do we seek life in obedience to the will of God as we listen and live in obedience to His Spirit directing ours?
Job 32:8, But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7, Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Romans 8:16, The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
John 4:24, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
Thank you, Ron.
Yes — We constantly have to choose between the flesh and the Spirit!
Good meditation and good comments.
How does our faith in Jesus reshape the way we think about our bodies—both now and in eternity?
Our bodies are instruments of His good Will.
Romans 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Our bodies are instruments of worship.
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
When He glorifies our bodies, we will be able to be in the Glory of His presence. One of the rewards for those faithful to Christ is to be able to see Him in His Glory and remain in His Glory!
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Thank you, Chris!
Your use of the word “instrument” is interesting. When we play an instrument, like a horn or a flute, we breathe into it and it makes music (hopefully!). Without our breath, the instrument is just an object without life. Perhaps there is something to learn here?
I like that.
The “sound” of our life when Christ breathes life into it.
John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
🙂