A Matured Consideration of the Concept of Vivification, Part 1 (Conciliation Series, Part LVII)

Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

We took a lot of time in Romans 8:10-11 to thoroughly apprehend the future vivification of our bodies – that is, the change that our bodies will undergo, being given life beyond the reach of death. If you are satisfied with that study, and are currently content with your understanding of vivification, then feel free to skip ahead to the articles that follow the “Romans” header. For those of you who want to compete faithfully in the evangel, however, boy, have I got a treat for you!

What I will do here, as an extraneous bonus for those of you who have stuck around so long in this study, is give you a comprehensive word study on vivification. I will, of course, distinguish between vivification and resurrection, but I really want to focus on fleshing out our understanding of vivification as we push forward.

As a precursor, every use of vivification can be found in the following verses:

-       John 5:21

-       John 6:63

-       Rom. 4:17

-       Rom. 8:11

-       1 Cor. 15:22

-       1 Cor. 15:36

-       1 Cor. 15:45

-       2 Cor. 3:6

-       Gal. 3:21

-       1 Tim. 6:13

-       1 Pet. 3:18

This will not be a “complete” breakdown on vivification. Like I said before, I want to save the bulk of our study on vivification for 1 Corinthians 15. However, I do want to give a more comprehensive, orderly breakdown on the word, so a word study feels fitting, here. With that said, let’s consider all the other 10 uses of “vivification” in the New Testament (excluding Rom. 4:17 and 8:11, as we’ve already covered them, though I may touch on them a few times.)

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In 2 Corinthians, our apostle breaks down three different physical states of being that a believer can be in at any time. Observe 2 Cor. 5:1-4–

For we are aware that, if our terrestrial tabernacle house should be demolished, we have a building of God, a house not made by hands, eonian, in the heavens. For in this also we are groaning, longing to be dressed in our habitation which is out of heaven, if so be that, being dressed also, we shall not be found naked. For we also, who are in the tabernacle, are groaning, being burdened, on which we are not wanting to be stripped, but to be dressed, that the mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Now, this is a big, dense paragraph that I will be breaking down at a much later date. But I don’t want to cover every tiny thing in the verse, right now. For now, I want to cover the sweeping points Paul makes. From this verse (which is speaking of our bodies,) the three different physical states of being that we can be in are as follows:

1)    In a ‘terrestrial tabernacle house’/‘mortal’ (our current physical frames)

2)    Dressed in habitation which is out of heaven (our celestial frames)

3)    Naked (dead, physically speaking)

We in Christ await our celestial frames. We await God vivifying our mortal bodies. Our spirits groan for this new habitation. Why? Well, for the same reason that you get homesick, or for the same reason that you desire comfort. Your spirit doesn’t feel at home in this physical frame; it may be all you know, but your spirit needs something more natural. Now that you have been joined with Christ, your spirit wants something to fit the occasion! It craves a proper form – one that will suit its needs, and its power, accordingly.

I’ve asked you this a number of times, but for emphasis and redundancy, I’ll ask again: how is your body going to be dressed like this?

I’ll give you a hint: it starts with a “v” and ends with “ivification.”

Obviously, 2 Corinthians 5 is not the only place that this change is discussed. We read of it in 1 Corinthians 15, Phil. 3:21, and the verses that we’ve been studying in Romans. As we go through our word study, keep in mind that the vivification of your body is God’s destination with you – it is His goal to craft a proper body for Him to dwell in. With this context, we will add to our understanding of vivification as the word appears.

As I introduced it in the previous articles, John 5:21 is the first use of the word “vivify” in Scripture. Here it is again:

For even as the Father is rousing the dead and vivifying, thus the Son also is vivifying whom He will.

This is one of the most instructive and educational bits on “vivifying,” because, as I said before, it shows that there is a critical difference between the “rousing” of the dead, and the “vivifying” of mankind. The two are separate concepts, and the resurrection of the dead is not immediately contingent on the vivifying of the dead, or vice versa.

However, most deny this fact because of the other English translations, which include an extra word. So, I would like to also provide the King James Version’s translation:

For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

As you can see, the word “them” is added in front of the word “vivify.” The issue with this is that it implies the idea that the dead are vivified either after or in connection with their resurrection. The only way for us to discern which translation is being truthful is by consulting the original Greek. Observe the Greek transliteration:

Aaaaaand the Concordant Literal wins again! No “them” is apparent in the sentence, but it is yet again an inference made by man in order to correlate two separate concepts.

Whether living or dead, Christ vivifies whomever He will. Many who will be “resurrected” for the great day of judgment are not said to be “vivified” on Judgment Day. They are only said to be resurrected (Unv. 20:12-13.) The vivification of all comes much later down the line, as we will continue studying. For now, we can grasp that the “vivification” we are looking at in this verse is entirely relative, and is used as an example of the authority that God has given to His Son. Christ’s authority is supreme, because it is given by The Supreme. Only Christ, right now, in all of creation, has the authority to impart life beyond the reach of death – and, as we have studied throughout the first 7 ½ chapters of Romans, you are one of the individuals He has done this for.

Next, let’s take a look at John 6:63, where we will find the third use of ‘vivification.’

The spirit is that which is vivifying. The flesh is not benefiting anything. The declarations which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

This verse is the wrap-up to a long exhortation that Jesus is giving to the Jews concerning the fact that He descended from heaven, Whose flesh is the living bread that sustains them (John 6:22-62.) Here, He is not speaking of “bringing you back to life” by any means. In fact, the words “death” and “resurrection” are not present in John 6 at all! Our flesh will “keep us alive,” relatively speaking, for a brief stint on earth. But life for the eons will not be sustained by hamburgers and Caesar salads. His flesh is the temple of a living, operative spirit (Heb. 4:12,) by which He is given authority to vivify – that is, to give life beyond the reach of death.

This is notable, showing us where vivification comes from. We can further compare this to our notes in Romans 8, seeing that, it is because we are joined with Christ’s spirit that God’s spirit can dwell in us – which has led to the vivification of our spirits, and paves the way for the future vivification of our bodies. Christ’s declaration is perfectly in line with this, but it is Paul that was commissioned to directly apply it to us now.

Beyond these two uses in John, as well as one use by Peter, the circumcision evangel is generally silent on the topic of vivification. The bulk of the rest of this study will be concerned with Paul’s writings – the crux of the Scriptures which impart a permanent life.

- GerudoKing