We are continuing our study of the afterlife this morning. We have been saying that the Scriptures don't tell us much about the afterlife, but they affirm that there is one. Yeshua affirms this in Matthew 22.
For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living." Matthew 22:30-32 ESV
This text affirms the reality of an afterlife. Yahweh referred to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thus speaking of these patriarchs not as dead men but as those who are alive, immortal. If God spoke of dead men as though they were alive, then this implied that these men would live again; they would rise from the dead. So, we see from this passage that Yeshua affirms the fact of an afterlife.
In this text, Yeshua tells us that in the afterlife we will be like angels. We have been looking at this for the last two weeks and have seen that angels have bodies. They have feet that can be washed, they can eat, and they can perform supernatural things. We've seen that angels can be visible or invisible. We see many times in Scripture where angels are protecting believers.
Look at what Yahweh says when creating man.
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26 ESV
A careful examination of all passages that use these words shows that Hebrew references to "image" (tselem) and "likeness" (demût) convey the idea of an object similar to or representative of something else, but not identical to it. Further, the words "image" and "likeness" should not be understood as referring to two different things but rather as interchangeable terms that reflect a Hebrew form of synonymous parallelism. The New Testament Greek word for "image" (eikōn) conveys virtually the same meaning as the Hebrew. Both languages indicate that God created humans to be similar to himself but certainly not identical to himself. Since we have bodies, why is it hard to believe that Yahweh has one?
Now someone is bound to ask: Isn't God invisible?
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15 ESV
God created humans to be similar to himself; we are made in his image. Yeshua manifests the invisible God. The very nature and character of God have been perfectly revealed in Him. In Him the invisible has become visible. We have also seen that angels can be invisible until they manifest themselves.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. John 1:18 ESV
I think that this verse draws from the book of Exodus.
But, " he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." Exodus 33:20 ESV
"No one has ever seen God"—does that sound right to you? What about what Isaiah said.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1 ESV
This is a throne-room vision, and Isaiah says he saw the Lord. There are many passages of Scripture that record various individuals seeing God (e.g., Exod. 33:21-23; Rev. 1:10-18). Passages like Exodus 24:9-11 state explicitly that some men have seen God. Let me just say here that whenever anyone sees Yahweh, it is Yahweh the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity whom they see.
not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. John 6:46 ESV
So, has anyone ever seen the Father?
Yeshua said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? John 14:9 ESV
I think that Calvin is right when he says, "When he says that no one has seen God, it is not to be understood of the outward seeing of the physical eye. He means that, since God dwells in inaccessible light, He cannot be known except in Christ, His living image." No man has ever seen God in His essence. That's the meaning.
When Yeshua says that in the afterlife believers, "are like angels in heaven," he is saying that we will be like the gods. This is theosis, "the deification of man." We have seen that this truth of deification is stated throughout Scripture.
And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Genesis 15:5 ESV
They viewed the stars as deities. A number of early Jewish interpreters of Genesis 15:5 understood the patriarchal promise of being multiplied as the stars of heaven, not merely quantitatively, but also qualitatively. Abraham's seed would become star-like, assuming the life of the gods or angels.
In commenting on Gen 15:5 in, "Who Is the Heir?" 86–87, Philo states:
"When the Lord led him outside, He said 'Look up into heaven and count the stars, if thou canst count their sum. So shall be thy seed.' Well, does the text say 'so' not 'so many' that is, 'of equal number to the stars.' For He wishes to suggest not number merely, but a multitude of other things, such as tend to happiness perfect and complete. The 'seed shall be,' He says, as the ethereal sight spread out before him, celestial as that is, full of light unshadowed and pure as that is, for night is banished from heaven and darkness from ether. It shall be the very likeness of the stars."
The promise of Genesis 15:5 for Philo entails being transformed into being in the "very likeness of the stars," and participating in their celestial life.
We saw last week that Daniel also says that believers in the afterlife will be like angels. In 12:3, he uses astral language to speak of resurrected believers as stars or deities.
So, Yahweh says we will be like the gods. Daniel tells us the same thing. Then Yeshua says we will be like angels. Because of this, the common belief of the Second Temple Period was that in the resurrection we would be like the gods. And they believed that the gods had bodies.
I believe that Paul also taught this.
But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus, it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 ESV
There is a lot of controversy over what Paul means in this text, but I think if we see that Paul develops this from Deuteronomy 4, it helps us understand what he is saying.
This passage focuses on this metaphor for the resurrection of the sowing of the into the ground and coming up different. It indicates the old body versus the new body in the resurrection. And right in the center of that conversation, we have this interesting list of creatures, this comparison between earthly bodies like terrestrial bodies that are on the earth and then celestial bodies.
For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:39-41 ESV
Paul speaks of earthly man, animals, birds, and fish and then moves on to celestial bodies. He separates them—the earthly from the celestial ("sun, moon, stars"). There's actually a text that follows that same order in Deuteronomy 4:15-20. There's a group of texts throughout Deuteronomy that all refer to these celestial powers as the gods or angels of nations.
In 1 Corinthian 15, Paul is talking about resurrection. By reflecting Deuteronomy, he shows us that resurrection is about an actual change of nature. These celestial bodies that Paul is listing are not just inanimate objects. In the Jewish cosmology, in the Jewish view of the cosmic order, these are actual creatures. These are beings but not just beings or creatures. The use of the specific language of sun, moon, and stars points to the gods of the nations, those who would rule over the nations.
For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 1 Corinthians 15:39 ESV
These fleshly creatures (humans, animals, birds, fish) are all the first order from Deuteronomy 4. The next order is that of the glorious ones—the sun, moon, and other stars.
There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 1 Corinthians 15:40 ESV
Glory is the language he's used for these celestial creatures. They are of glory. The word "glory" is not in the text a second time. The heavenly has glory, the earthly does not.
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:42 ESV
These are terms used by Philo and other Jews to describe the gods. They are imperishable. The Stoics use that language to talk about the pneumatic beings, the spirit beings who are imperishable. Whatever that body that is raised is made of, it's made of stuff that's imperishable, something that is like the substance of those beings who are imperishable. Paul is saying that believers will be like the gods. This is deification!
So, in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul draws from Deuteronomy 4 to express that in the resurrection, we will put on the body of the gods. When believers die, they are given a spiritual body and move into the spiritual realm. Christians are going to put on a body of the gods.
The common belief of the Second Temple Period was that in the resurrection we would be like the gods. And they believed that the gods had bodies. There is actually a considerable amount of literature in terms of ancient texts where writers talk about what the gods are made of because they appear in bodily form.
In Paul's day, Gentiles of the Greco-Roman culture and Jews both believed that gods had bodies. They were certainly spirit beings, but when they interacted with people on earth, they took form. They took physical form. It wasn't in flesh and blood. It was something else. They were made of something superior to flesh and blood.
M. David Litwa has a full chapter on the bodies of gods in both Jewish texts and Greco-Roman texts in his book, We Are Being Transformed (subtitled, Deification in Paul's Soteriology).
The Roman gods could be depicted in physical form (and often were), and that was because they were thought to actually have some sort of embodiment, some sort of corporeality, particularly and especially when they were interacting with humans in their affairs.
More importantly to these Greco-Roman and Jewish views, however, is what the Israelites believed? Benjamin Summers, in his book, The Bodies of God, shows that in Israelite thinking and in wider Ancient, Near-Eastern thinking, the gods were believed to exist in more than one form simultaneously.
Summers is big on the idea that the gods could be embodied. He has lots of evidence for it, both from the Hebrew Bible and outside the Ancient Near East and other Ancient Near-Eastern religions.
In the Scriptures, we see Yahweh embodied.
And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. Ezekiel 1:26 ESV
Ezekiel sees a human figure seated on the throne, and he calls him the glory of Yahweh.
Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. Ezekiel 1:28 ESV
So, the glory is a human figure seated on the throne. The glory has form. It's not just a light, and it's not just a formless spirit. Yahweh is often seen in bodily form. The watchers or sons of God are seen to have bodily form and so are the angels. And when we leave this earth, we will receive our spiritual bodies fit to dwell in the heavenly realm.
By now I hope that you have concluded that I believe we will be embodied in the afterlife. And as I have said, I think that in heaven we will be busy working for Yahweh, using our glorified body in service of our God.
I'm sure that you are aware that the Preterist camp is divided on this issue of having a body after death (I know, big shock, right?). Preterists have come up with terms like Corporate or Collective Body View (CBV), and Individual Body View (IBV). And of these two views, there are many variations.
The Individual Body View (IBD) believes that at death, we receive a spiritual or immortal body. This is what I believe. Most of those holding to CBV believe that we don't get a body at death. They see the body talked about in Scripture as the corporate Body of Christ. I believe that the Bible often uses "body" to refer to the corporate body of Christ. But I see the corporate body made up of individuals with personalities and spiritual bodies. So, I guess I would have to say that I hold both of these views. I'm a "CBV-er" who believes we will be embodied. So, that also makes me an "IBV-er." I think that the Bible clearly teaches both. I don't think we have to pick one side or the other. You do have to be on one side or the other about being embodied. But you can believe you will be embodied and still believe in the corporate view of Scripture.
Teaching through the book of Romans changed my thinking on many things, one of which was understanding the Scriptures corporately. We must learn to read the Bible from a corporate, not individualistic, perspective. The biblical perspective is that every person is a member of a community, and that membership determines his or her identity. Please understand this: the corporate presupposes the individual, but the individual does not presuppose the corporate. You cannot have corporate without individuals.
For those of you who are Preterists, you know how grasping an understanding of audience relevance changed your view of the Scriptures. Well, I want to propose that grasping an understanding of the corporate nature of the Scriptures will have the same effect.
Notice what Paul writes to the Philippians.
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, Philippians 1:27 ESV
The Greek word for "manner of life" here is politeuomai. The word politeuomai here is a verb that means "to conduct oneself worthily as a citizen of a polis, or city-state."
The Roman world had colonies like Philippi, a small-scale version of Rome. To be a Roman citizen was the epitome of human dignity. Being a Roman citizen was very important in that day. During the Great Civil War, Octavian defeated Anthony. After the battle, a number of soldiers were settled in Philippi and the town became a Roman colony. Philippi was 800 miles from Rome geographically, but it was very near in mind-set and lifestyle. There was great pride in the fact that they were a Polis, a city-state. It spoke of their protection, culture, and high esteem in the eyes of Rome. The Philippians thought of themselves as Romans. In Acts 16, we see the founding of the Philippian Church:
And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice." Acts 16:20-21 ESV
"Our city" is referring to Philippi. Notice that they saw themselves as "Romans." It is important that we understand this. Rome was their mother, and they never forgot whom they belonged to. They spoke the Latin language, wore the Roman dress, and called the magistrates by their Latin or Roman names. They were deeply into Roman citizenship and all that it meant.
Well, what did it mean to be a Roman citizen? I don't think that citizenship is a big deal to people today, except perhaps for those who come from another country and have to work to gain citizenship in their adopted land. To the Greeks, the Polis was not just a place to live, it was a source of tremendous pride. The people viewed their Polis as a partnership with other people to obtain the highest good for all society. There was very little living for oneself. The good of all of the citizens of the Polis was in the minds of the people. The individual citizen developed his abilities, his talents, his skills, not for his own sake, but for the benefit of the community and for the sake of all. Mutuality, interdependence, and pride of the state was the issue.
In Philippians 3:20, Paul uses the noun form of politeuomai and tells the Philippians that they are to live as citizens of heaven.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Christ, Philippians 3:20 ESV
"Citizenship" is from the Greek politeuma. Paul is telling his readers to live for the good of the body of Christ and not themselves. They were to use their talents and abilities for the good of the Messianic community. Believers are to live as citizens of heaven by using all our talents and abilities for the sake of the Kingdom and not simply for ourselves. Local churches would be transformed if believers thought about the needs of the body above their own needs. Why do you come to church? Do all your reasons revolve around you and how you benefit? So, do you come when you feel like coming and have nothing else to do? Or do you consider the body, and, therefore, go to church to minister to the body by being a minister of grace.
The importance of community in Ancient Near-Eastern thought and life and a corporate understanding of the nature of humanity provides an important perspective on the interpretation of the Scriptures. Until E. P Sanders' recent work (Paul and Palestinian Judaism, 1977) helped to usher in a far greater appreciation of the concept of the covenant in Paul's thought, the overwhelmingly dominant approach was an individualistic understanding of Paul. A far greater emphasis on corporate over individual concerns, particularly concerning the relationship of Jews and Gentiles in the Church, emerged. Now the corporate perspective is widely accepted and may even be called the firm consensus among New Testament scholars.
We must recognize that, first of all, Paul's thought was thoroughly covenantal and focused on the fulfillment of the covenant purposes of God in Christ and their consequences for Jews and Gentiles. Second, for Paul, and for virtually all Jews (and non-Jews in Mediterranean and Hellenistic culture) of his time, the group was primary and the individual was secondary. This is an essential point to grasp for interpretation of Paul and the New Testament. Modern westerners tend to view social reality in the opposite way. In other words, the individual is primary and the group is secondary. The individual is viewed as standing on his own and corporate concerns are subordinated to individual concerns.
Paul's and his culture's perspective was essentially corporate. The individual was not viewed as standing on his own but was seen as embedded in the group to which he belonged. Corporate concerns generally took precedence over individual concerns, and when they did not, it was judged as wrong. Such corporate interest can be seen in Paul's primary concern for love and unity—a concern that is dominant in all of his letters. The Pauline corporate perspective found individual identity based in the group rather than vice versa.
One of the big differences between the IBV and CBV is that of getting an individual body in heaven. Most of those holding the CBV position believe that when the Scriptures talk about the body in connection with the afterlife, it is with a corporate understanding. And I would agree with this, but this does not mean we are incorporeal in the afterlife.
Let's look at some of Paul's uses of body and see what we can learn. His first corporate use of "body" is found in Romans 6.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6 ESV
Paul speaks of "The body of sin." To what is he referring? "Body" is singular. Notice also that it is "the body of THE sin." This is the same as "the sin" that he had been talking about since chapter 5. When Paul speaks of the "body of sin," he is not writing with an individualistic Greek understanding of the spirit of a man being polluted by his sinful body but rather of the solidarity of mankind with Adam. The unredeemed members of the human race form the "body of Sin." The picture is of a covenant community which is outside of the Kingdom of God. Conceptually, Paul thinks in corporate terms.
This expression "the body of sin" occurs nowhere else in Scripture, so we must seek to determine its meaning from the context and the Hebraic understanding of the body. The Jews, who have a strong sense of solidarity, normally use the term sōma "body" when referring to a corporate reality. Paul often called the Church "the body of Christ."
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 ESV
Each believer is "individually" a member of the corporate body of Christ. It doesn't say: And you are Christ's body, absorbed into the Borg. Individually, you are members of the body of Christ.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
Paul uses the plural to emphasize that the entire Church community is God's Temple (His dwelling place on earth).
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
Is this referring to the corporate body of Christ or to our individual bodies? "Your body" refers to the body of each believer. Paul's use of the singular form of "body" may emphasize that each believer is a temple of God. In this context, Paul focuses on individual believers instead of the entire Church community. One is individual and the other is corporate. It is a plural pronoun. Therefore, we are the temple of God both corporately and individually.
Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV
Is this talking about our physical bodies and our spiritual bodies or is it talking about the covenants, using "body" to speak of them? I spoke at a conference in Kansa City and one of the speakers was William Bell. He got up and spoke on 2 Corinthians 5 and said it was all about the corporate body of Christ. The next speaker was Ed Stevens. He spoke on the very same passage and said it was about believers getting their immortal bodies in heaven. Same exact text—two very different views. So, which is it?
Ed Stevens writes, "In verse one he says that if his 'earthly tent' (physical body) was 'torn down' (killed) as a martyr in the persecution, it was not a problem because he knew there was another eternal body waiting for him in the heavens. The words 'torn down' here in verse one imply being killed by others (martyrdom), NOT dying a natural death."
Ed translated "tent" as earthly body. The Greek here is the noun skēnos. It is used only here and in verse 4. Peter uses the word skēnōma to talk about his physical body.
I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Yeshua the Christ made clear to me. 2 Peter 1:13-14 ESV
"Body" here in Greek is the term skēnōma. It's related to other terms like skēnos or skēnoō. This is the term in Greek that is used to translate the term for "tabernacle" in the Tanakh. Peter sees his body in terms of being a tabernacle or temple because the Spirit of God is dwelling in them. So, Paul could be using tent to refer to the physical body.
Ed says, "The words 'torn down' here in verse one imply being killed by others (martyrdom), NOT dying a natural death."
The word "destroyed" is from the Greek word kataluo. Notice how Matthew uses this word.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17 ESV
"Abolish" here is kataluo. Matthew uses kataluo of the removing of the Old Covenant.
But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." Matthew 24:2 ESV
Here what is being "thrown down" (kataluo) is the Jewish Temple. This word (kataluo) is used 16 times in the New Testament, 10 of them clearly referring to the Jewish Temple. This word is never used of physical death. Is Paul trying to confuse us? If this text is talking about physical death, why did he use a word so often connected with the Temple?
The word "building" is from the Greek word oikodome, which is used several times for the Jewish Temple and is also used of the Body of Christ. But it is never used of an individual body, earthly or heavenly. Why does Paul use these words if he is not talking about the destruction of the Old Covenant?
Paul says, "We have"—this is a present active indicative. It conveys that at the time of Paul's writing "they already had a house not made with hands (around AD 55)." So, there are two houses existing at the same time—the earthly tent and an eternal house not made with hands. This certainly fits the transition period where the Old and New covenant existed together for a period of forty years. Can these houses be two bodies, physical and spiritual?
In my opinion this text leans strongly to the corporate side of the argument. The context of chapter 5 is covenantal. Remember context is king when it comes to interpretation.
who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6 ESV
For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 2 Corinthians 3:9 ESV
It should be clear that Paul is contrasting the two covenants. The Old kills, the old condemns, and therefore they groan.
For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. 2 Corinthians 3:11 ESV
The old was "being brought to an end"; the tent of the Old Covenant body was being torn down. Now look at chapter 4.
always carrying in the body the death of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:10 ESV
"Body"—here in both uses is singular. Paul is not talking about plural bodies. The "our" is plural, but "body" is singular. Paul has been talking about the covenants, and now he uses "body" to speak of them. He hasn't switched his topic to physical, biological bodies; he is still talking about the covenants.
So, we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV
Paul says the "outer man" is decaying. That is what he said in 3:11. They were not to look at things "seen"—this is again the Old Covenant: the temple, priesthood, sacrifices, feast days, which were temporal. But they were to look at things not seen—the New Covenant, which is eternal.
Now from this context of the contrast of covenants we move to chapter 5 where the subject is still a contrast of covenants, not biological bodies.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV
So, in my opinion the argument is much stronger for the corporate body view in this text. But having a corporate body does not exclude an individual body. If you are part of a student body and the student body gets locked out of the school, where are you? You are locked out of the school. The language in this text does not exclude an individual body—it affirms it. Because if you have corporate, you must have individual.
We saw that "tent" can be used of a corporate or individual body. And the word kataluo (torn down) is mostly used of the Temple. But at the same time, our body is a temple. And the Greek word for "building" (oikodome) is used several times for the Temple and is also used of the Body of Christ. We are a temple and part of the body of Christ. Maybe both sides are right on the interpretation of this text.
In conclusion, I don't think we need to be arguing about corporate or individual. You can only have a corporate body if you have individual bodies. Each and everyone of us believers are temples in which Yahweh dwells; we are sacred space. And together we are the corporate body of Christ. As I said earlier, most CBV guys don't believe we will have a body because they see the reference to body referring to the corporate body. But even so, Yeshua said we will be like angels and angels have bodies. The corporate view of the body, therefore, does not exclude the individual. Believers individually and corporately are the temple of the living God. So, I'm CBV and IBV (I'm Corporate Body Individual Body). This is a hybrid view. Hybrid humans created by the gods mating with women is sin, but a hybrid view of CBV and IBV is not.