In Philippians 3:21 Paul says, that the Lord’s transfiguring the body of our humiliation, conforming it to the body of His glory, will be “according to the operation of Him who is able even to subject all things to Himself.” To transfigure our body of humiliation is a difficult matter and needs the operation of the One who is able to subject all things unto Himself. Therefore, the transfiguration of our body is by the great power which subjects all things to the Lord (Eph. 1:19-22). This is the almighty power in the whole universe.
The transfiguration of our body will take place at Christ’s appearing from the heavens (Phil. 3:20). At the time of the Lord’s coming back, He will transfigure our body of humiliation. Thus, we are waiting for Christ to come back so that we may be brought into the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation-the transfiguration of our body.
For the believers to be redeemed in their body is also to have death in their entire being swallowed up by the resurrection life in victory. The time is coming when the last enemy, death, will not only be destroyed but also swallowed up by resurrection life.
First Corinthians 15:54 says, “Whenever this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word which is written, Death has been swallowed up in victory.” The word “whenever” refers to the time that our corrupted and mortal body will be resurrected or transfigured from corruption and death into glory and life. Then death will be swallowed up in the victory of resurrection life. This is the consummation of the resurrection we share in God’s New Testament economy through redemption and salvation in Christ. This resurrection begins with the making alive of our dead spirit and is completed with the transfiguration of our corruptible body. In between is the process of the metabolic transformation of our fallen soul by the life-giving Spirit, who is the reality of resurrection.
Literally, “in victory” is “into victory.” Death means defeat to man. Through Christ’s salvation in the resurrection life, death will be swallowed up into victory to us, the beneficiaries of Christ’s resurrection life. In this verse victory is a synonym of resurrection. Resurrection is the victory of life over death.
When death in our entire being is swallowed up by Christ’s resurrection life, the corruptible will put on incorruption. Life is the divine element, even God Himself, imparted into our spirit; incorruption is the consequence of life saturating our body (Rom. 8:11). At present we have a corruptible body. But when our body is transfigured at the time of the Lord’s coming, our body will become incorruptible. In this way the corruptible will put on incorruption.
Furthermore, when the death in the believers’ being is swallowed up, the mortal will put on immortality, that is, will be swallowed up by the resurrection life. In 2 Corinthians 5:4 Paul says, “We who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened, in that we do not desire to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” To be burdened here means to be weighed down, depressed, oppressed. The apostles groaned in the desire not to be unclothed, disembodied, that is, not to die but to be clothed upon, to put on the spiritual body. This is to have our body transfigured, to have it redeemed.
In 2 Corinthians 5:4 “what is mortal” denotes our mortal body (2 Cor. 4:11; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:53). To have our mortal body “swallowed up by life” is to have it transfigured by resurrection life swallowing up the death in our mortal body.
Our fallen, mortal body is a great burden to us. Under the weight of this burden, we groan, not that we would be unclothed, or found naked, but that we would be clothed with a transfigured body. Like Paul, we should desire to have our body transfigured. When we are transfigured and clothed with the heavenly, spiritual, and resurrected body, then what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
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