© 22 Colin Melbourne
Q: I heard a preacher comment that because the Bible says the outward man perishes then our bodies are not redeemed. Is that correct?
A: Absolutely not!
I’m sorry to say that I’ve even heard a leading Spirit-filled full Gospel preacher make the same blunder, (perhaps the preacher you heard) but of course it’s plainly a wrong teaching.
Your body is redeemed right now, whether you believe it or not
It’s not the kind of error that can be made with the slip of the tongue, inadvertently, so I suspect this dear Brother spoke in genuine ignorance of the truth, rather than deliberately teaching falsehood.
None of us has complete knowledge, do we?
The Apostle Paul admitted he only knew in part, 1 Cor. 13:9 KJV;
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
So let’s be charitable toward preachers and prophets who miss the mark once in a while, because we all do.
The Apostle Peter missed it several times, Paul even had to rebuke him publicly (See Galatians ch. 2), and we note that in Acts chapter 21, The Apostle Paul compromised his conscience, under pressure from Judaizers, by paying for four believers’ Nazirite vows. A major whoops for anyone, let alone God’s Apostle to the Gentiles!
That’s why the LORD in His great mercy has placed believers under a Covenant of God’s Grace, so saints… let’s rejoice in that… Amen.
Redeemed By Grace
Be assured, no matter what anyone says, writes, or teaches; every believer’s body is redeemed right now as much as their spirit, and soul, are redeemed.
Here’s the Holy Ghost explicitly reminding us (note especially the verb tenses), 1 Cor. 6:19-20 KJV;
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your BODY, and in your spirit, WHICH ARE God’s. [Caps added]
The Holy Ghost reminds us of the basic fact of redemption, that the Blood of Christ has redeemed the whole man and the whole woman, sinner and saint alike, spirit, soul, and body were purchased by Almighty God in exchange for the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son.
Worship Him you saints: Repent and believe on Him all sinners.
The Outward Man Perishes
Here is the verse you refer to in context, 2 Cor. 4:11-18 KJV;
For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Notice the context is not redemption, but the contrast between our mortal flesh. and eternal spirits, between the perishable, and the imperishable, between visible temporal things, and the eternal invisible.
All flesh has been limited by mortality in its duration on Earth, after which the temporal is replaced by the eternal.
For the believer in The LORD Jesus Christ this means a glorified immortal body, similar to the one Christ showed Peter, James, and John, a glimpse of on the Mount of Transfiguration.
The outward man perisheth refers simply to the mortality of our flesh.
It cannot imply that our bodies are not redeemed, because that would contradict numerous other scriptures showing our bodies are as much redeemed as our spirits.
Bought With A Price
Though He gives us many more, one word from God is sufficient, 1 Cor. 6:19-20 KJV
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your BODY, and in your spirit, WHICH ARE God’s. [Caps added]
That single scripture is suffcient to convince a Bible believer but there are many more, for example, Rom. 12:1 KJV;
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
How were our bodies made holy and acceptable to God: Through the Sacrifice of The Precious Blood of Christ alone!
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1 Pe. 1:18-21 KJV
Our redemption is full free and finished: Christ’s incorruptible Blood redeemed the believer’s body and soul, just as it redeemed their spirits.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Rom. 3:23-26 KJV
To imply redemption does not include the believer’s body, is an insult to the finished work of Christ, whose body was marred bearing our sins, diseases, guilt, and infirmities, so that our bodies may be healed, and sanctified by faith in Him. And just like the believer’s soul, it is their individual responsibility to; hear, believe, and receive the benefits of Christ’s redemption.
The Evidence of Christ’s Miracles
If the outward man has not been redeemed, then each time God heals a believer physically He would be unjust. Satan could rightly accuse God of taking what does not belong to Him. “Hold on there God, that believer’s body is still mine, because you only redeemed their spirit. That’s stealing!”
But God has redeemed mankind spirits, souls, and bodies; once and for all.
When Christ died for you, He laid down His perfect life, and Precious Blood to pay for all that you are, including all the sin that you have ever done, or will do.
As if Christ would die only for your spirit, and leave your body and soul in Satan’s possession.
No! That’s not the way God works: He does a perfect job, and we have a complete eternal redemption of the whole human being: Spirit, soul, and body.
Be crystal clear on this so that no person, or devil, can ever move you from confidence in your total redemption through the Faith of Christ.
The instant a preacher veers from the narrow path, your spirit will let you know on the inside (if you are spirit conscious), so you can reprove and correct them in love.
Just as your LORD reproves us.
Seek Him today, and be certain you understand what redemption is, and what Christ’s redemption means for your life on Earth today, as well as later in The Glory.
© 22 Colin Melbourne