One of the most common misunderstandings I have encountered in forty years of ministry is that at death humans are transformed into angels. We have all heard silly sentimental statements like: “Well, now Grandmama is singing in God’s angelic choir;” or “Daddy got his angel’s wings today.” No, when we die we do not become angels. So, what happens when we die?
First, we must understand who we are.
Humans are unique in all of creation in that only humans are created in God’s image. “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NLT). The image of God does not refer to human physical form. Rather, the image of God speaks to the preeminent status of humanity over creation. In humans, God reveals God’s self. Humans rule over the earth as God’s representatives. Humans share God’s glory.
What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet… (Psalm 8:4-6 NLT).
Angels are distinct created beings, created before humans, and they are not created in God’s image. The writer of Hebrews explains that “angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14 NLT).
The result of human sinfulness is death. The Apostle Paul declared, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NASB) and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Death is twofold. First, humans suffer spiritual death, that is, we are alienated from God. This means that even as we live, we are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). Second, we will all suffer physical death because of the corruption of sin (Hebrews 9:27).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that death is defeated and all who die in Christ will live eternally. Paul exclaimed, “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT). He also anticipated the question we all have asked: “But someone may ask, ‘How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?’” (1 Corinthians 15:35). Paul answered,
Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT).
According to Paul, our physical body will die and be raised as a spiritual body. That does not mean that our resurrected bodies will be made of immaterial, ghostly, or spiritual matter. No! The word body implies physical, material being. When Paul speaks of “spiritual bodies” he means physical bodies empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you (Romans 8:11 NLT).
Don’t miss the point here. In the resurrection, humans are not transformed into angels.* Instead, “our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT).
The resurrection of the body means that those who die in Christ will be raised in the likeness of Christ. Just as the first humans were created in the image of God, in the New Creation humans are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). In our sinfulness, we fall short of God’s glory. In the resurrection, we are glorified (Romans 8:30). The Apostle John proclaimed, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him…” (1 John 3:2 NASB).
Humans will never be angels. The good news is that if we die in Christ we will become something the angels can never be: we will live eternally as perfected humans with immortal bodies sharing the glory of God; and we will rule over creation with God as God’s sons and daughters – a kingdom of priests for God (Revelation 5:10).
We will lose our loved ones to death. We will all die. But the hope of Christ is that we will be raised to new life in which we will be recognized; and we will recognize our loved ones, embrace them, and live eternally together with them and with God.
*I am aware that Jesus said that in the resurrection humans are like angels in heaven. But Jesus was referring only to marriage. In the New Creation, humans will not marry (cf. Matthew 22:30).
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