1 Cor 15:50 (NIV) I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

You can’t take your current, human body into God’s Kingdom; you must be born again so you can receive an eternal body. The reason you HAD to be born again was because you didn’t have the right kind of spirit and body needed for God’s Kingdom. 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! It would take volumes of books trying to explain what that one verse means. You becoming a new creation has so much meaning that it would take your entire lifetime to have it all explained to you.

1 Cor 15:51 (NIV) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- Not all humans will die before Jesus comes to get us. If Jesus comes while you are still alive, first those who have already died will be caught up to meet Him in the air. Then you would be caught up to join Him right after that. But, the big issue here is, both those who have already died and those who are still living will have their human bodies changed into glorified bodies.

1 Cor 15:51b-52a (NIV) We WILL all be changed--in 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. There will be a trumpet blast and we children of God will immediately be taken up into the air to meet Jesus. As you are ascending upward toward Jesus, your body will be changed into an eternal, imperishable body. Your body will change from its current condition and type into a very beautiful, powerful, and eternal body like Jesus’ heavenly body. Our body won’t be as beautiful, powerful, or look exactly like Jesus’ body; but, it will be very similar.

1 Cor 15:53 (NIV) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. Because you have been born as a human and then born again, you have been made a child of God, a member of His family, and a citizen of His Kingdom. This qualifies you to receive a new, eternal, heavenly body to wear. You must be born as a human in order to qualify for being born again as a child of God. Those beings who are not born as humans do not qualify for this opportunity. You must have had a human body so it can be transformed into a spiritual, heavenly body.

1 Cor 15:37 (NIV) When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as He has determined, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body. A tomato seed looks very different from the tomato plant or its produce. That is the way your earthly, human body is; it looks more like a tomato seed; but, once planted, your body will grow or be changed into a new body. It will be as different as a tomato seed is to a tomato bush.

1 Cor 15:41 (NIV) The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. Just like there are different kinds of heavenly bodies like the sun, moon, and stars, us humans will have a heavenly, eternal body waiting for us. What God is going to do is use your human body like a seed. He will transform it into a heavenly body that will be very different from your human body.

1 Cor 15:42 (NIV) So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; Your body that is put in the grave or goes back to being decayed will be like planting a seed. It will be planted back into dirt as a perishable body and will grow or raise imperishable; your new body will be eternal. The spiritual growth you have been allowing Jesus to help you with is being invested in the eternal life you will live in your imperishable body. Investing in a perishable body with things that don’t count for eternity is foolish. Learning how to live your temporary life in such a way for it to count for eternity is very wise.

1 Cor 15:43 (NIV) it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; No matter how great, successful, or popular you get, if it isn’t for helping people see the glory of God, it will be for dishonor. Your job in your temporary body is to help people see that Jesus is their way, their truth, and their life (John 14:6). If you spend your temporary life pointing people to Jesus and to His glory rather than pointing them to you, you will be raised with a body of glory. If you allow yourself to be weak so Jesus can be your strength, then your weak body will be raised in power.

1 Cor 15:44 (NIV) it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. If God was able to produce a human body for you, He will be able to produce a spiritual body for you. Before you were born, you didn’t have an earthly body; you didn’t know about human life; you didn’t have any of the things you now have; God provided them all. If He did all this for you, He will do all the things He is telling you He will provide. Look at what He has given you so far; and, it will help you have hope for your future.