This document provides commentary on a Sunday school lesson about Philippians 3:20-21. It discusses how Christ will transform believers' bodies at His return to be like His glorious resurrected body. It references several Bible passages about the resurrection and glorified bodies. The document also describes the five crowns that believers can receive as rewards for faithful service - including the incorruptible crown and crown of rejoicing.

1. MOTHER’S DAY
PHILIPPIANS 3:20
May 13, 2012
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Sunday School Lesson!
Commentaries Consulted:
 The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and
John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007

 The Prophetic Scroll by Joel Joseph April 8, 2012 116th Edition
Philippians 3:20-21
21 “For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity
with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all
things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20-21
Christ's return marks the end of our struggling for it is then that He will transform the
body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. It is then that the
eagerly awaited redemption of the body will take place (Romans 8).
Spirit was saved.
 Justification (imputed)
Soul has been being saved.
 Sanctification (imparted)
Body will be saved.
 Glorification (completed)

2. Until then, the new creature (2 Cor 5:17) is incarcerated in the unredeemed
humanness ("the body of this death") from which it longs to be liberated.
We believers who live from Pentecost to the Rapture will have our spirits joined to our
resurrection bodies at the Rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then
we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore
comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
Christ will totally transform the bodies of all believers to make us fit for Heaven.
 Our bodies will have a new schematic; they will be refashioned and
redesigned.

3. Like Christ's resurrection body, our resurrected bodies will be recognizable and we will
be able to eat, talk, and walk, but will not have the physical restrictions of our present
bodies. Our bodies will not be subject to the limitations of this earth after our
resurrection.
After His resurrection Christ appeared and disappeared at will, even entering a room
whose doors were locked (John 20:19).
We may be free to travel at the speed of thought to anywhere in the universe
just like our Lord and Saviour did.
Paul gives the most detailed description of believers' resurrection bodies in
1 Corinthians 15:35-49:
“But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do
they come?’ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the
heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable
body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown 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. Just as we have borne the image of the
earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” 1 Corinthians 15:35-49

4. The combination of :
a) a redeemed spirit
b) a sanctified soul
c) a glorified body
will enable all believers to perfectly manifest the glory of God!
Sin, weakness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, suffering, doubt, fear, temptation, hate,
and failure will give way to
 perfect joy (Matt 25:21),
 pleasure (Ps 16:11),
 knowledge (1 Cor 13:12),
 comfort (Luke 16:25),
 and love (1 Cor 13:13).
JOY
Matthew 25:21
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with
a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your
Master.’” Matthew 25:21
PLEASURE
Psalm 16:11
11 “ You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In
Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11
KNOWLEDGE
1 Corinthians 13:12
12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but
then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

5. COMFORT
Luke 16:25
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good
things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you
are in agony.” Luke 16:25
LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:13
13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
 Salvation involves far more than mere deliverance from hell.
 One of God's ultimate goals in redeeming us is to transform our bodies into
conformity with the body of His glory. (Phil 3:21)
 We will "become conformed [summorphos; the same word translated
conformity in v. 21] to the image of His Son" (Rom 8:29; 1 John 3:2).
1 John 3:2
“We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as
He is.” 1 John 3:2

6. These new bodies will allow us to see God!
*In the Beatitudes Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"
(Matt 5:8), while John wrote that in Heaven "there will no longer be any curse; and
the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads" (Rev 22:3-4)
Our resurrection bodies will also be perfectly suited for the eternal service we will
render to God.
Revelation 7:15
15 ”For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and
night in His temple; and He Who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over
them.” Revelation 7:15
Lest any doubt Christ's power to transform believers' bodies, Paul notes that He will
accomplish it by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to
Himself.
 Christ will have the power to rule the millennial kingdom (Rev 12:5; 19:15; Isa 9:6;
32:1; Zech 14:9).
 By His power Christ will also transform the earth's topography (Zech 14:4-8) and
even the natural kingdom…
Isaiah 11:6-9
6 “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young
goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will
lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the
cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den 9 They will not hurt
or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the
LORD As the waters cover the sea” Isaiah 11:6-9

8. 1 Corinthians 15:24-27
24 “ then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father,
when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until
He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is
death. 27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”
1 Corinthians 15:24-27
Paul's point is that if Christ can subject the entire universe to His sovereign control, He
has the power to transform believers' bodies into His image.
Finally, we must focus on the glorious hope that is ours at the return of Christ — the
transformation of our bodies into conformity with His. Then, regenerated fully in spirit,
soul and body, we will be suited to eternal, holy glory and joy!

9. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the
prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games
exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but
we an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box
in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my
slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
The word, bema, was taken from the Isthmian Games where the contestants would
compete for the prize which was a wreath made of pine boughs.
At least up until the 5th century BC, the winners of the Isthmian games received a
wreath of celery; later, the wreath consisted of pine leaves.
If we are to accept the traditional date of the first Olympic Games (776 BC), we can
say that the first Isthmian Games would have been held in 582 BC.

10. The Isthmian Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic
Games (the second and fourth years of an Olympiad).
So by the time Paul arrived in Corinth, the Isthmian Games were 500 years old.
Throngs of people from all over the Roman Empire flocked to Isthmia, either to
participate in or to watch the competitions. (Some stayed in tents.)
The basic athletic events of the Isthmian Games included foot races, wrestling,
jumping, boxing, hurling the javelin, and throwing the discus.
Large amounts of money changed hands, not only from the gamblers who won and
lost, but also from those who showered gifts upon the victors.
 In Paul’s time, the crown (stephanos) awarded as a prize at Isthmia was made
of pine boughs.
 This fits particularly well with the phrase, "crown that will not last," or, more
literally, "perishable crown."
 By the time the Isthmian athletes received their herbal crown, it was already
wilted.

11. Matthew 6:1-6
1“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them;
otherwise you have no reward with your Father Who is in heaven. 2 So when you give
to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to
you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left
hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and
your Father Who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 5 When you pray, you
are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues
and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they
have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your
door and pray to your Father Who is in secret, and your Father Who sees what is done
in secret will reward you” (with an imperishable crown, not with a perishable wreath).
Matthew 6:1-6
The judge at the Isthmian Games made sure that every rule of the contest was strictly
obeyed (2 Tim. 2:5).

12. 2 Timothy 2:5 NIV
5 “Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown
unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5 NIV
The victor of a given event who participated according to the rules was led by the
judge to the platform called the Bema. There the celery/pine bough wreath was
placed on his head as a symbol of victory (1 Cor. 9:24-25).
 Stephanos is Greek for wreath, crown, reward.
 It literally means “that which surrounds or encompasses”.
 Crowns are given as rewards for faithfulness to appropriate God’s grace and
Christ’s victory in the Christian life.
A crown is a symbol of ruling power – the faithful Christians will rule with Christ!
 Paul was picturing the believer as a competitor in a spiritual contest.
 As the victorious Grecian athlete appeared before the Bema to receive his
perishable award, so the Christian will appear before Christ’s Bema to receive
his imperishable award.

13. The judge at the Bema bestowed rewards to the victors. He did not whip the losers.
We might add, neither did he sentence them to hard labor. The Bema is a reward
seat and portrays a time of rewards or loss of rewards following examination, but it is
not a time of punishment where believers are judged for their sins.
 He awards us with five crowns as symbols of ruling power.
 The elders cast their crowns at His feet in worship (Revelation 4:10).
Revelation 4:10-11
10 “the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him Who sits on the throne, and will
worship Him Who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne,
saying, 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and
power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were
created.” Revelation 4:10-11
Trusting God here and now increases your capacity for joy there and then (you
create more room for more glory).
You must bear the cross if you are going to wear the crown: bear in order to wear!

14. The Crowns and Their Significance
The Crown of Thorns
Speaks of Christ’s work on the cross and stands for His victory over sin, Satan, and
death. (Matt 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2, 5).
FIVE CROWNS
1) Incorruptible Crown
2) Crown of Rejoicing
3) Crown of Life
4) Crown of Righteousness
5) Crown of Glory

15. (1) The Incorruptible Crown
A crown given for faithfulness in running the race and exercising self-control in
order to serve the Lord and finish the race. 1 Corinthians 9:25
1 Corinthians 9:25 ASV
25 “And every man that strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now
they do it to receive a corruptible wreath; but we an incorruptible crown.”
1 Corinthians 9:25 ASV
The Incorruptible Crown is earned by being filled with the Holy Spirit, putting off the
fleshly desires & appetites of the body, and turning from worldly things.
Those who receive the Incorruptible Crown will be “good and faithful” servants, they
will be called “The Faithful” and they will rule over many things.

16. (2) The Crown of Rejoicing
This crown is a reward given for witnessing, following -up, and ministering to others.
1 Thess. 2:19-20; Phil. 4:1
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 NKJV
19 “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the
presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.”
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 NKJV
The Thessalonians will be one of Paul’s crowns, and the effect at the Bema and
throughout eternity will be rejoicing or exultation over their presence in Heaven.
Luke 15:10
10“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

17. The Crown of Rejoicing is earned by being a soul winner.
Those who receive the Crown of Rejoicing will be “faithful and wise” servants, they will
be called “The Wise” and will rule over all His goods.