John 3:16 is speaking of our whole personality, including our body, being given everlasting life. It was eternal life in the body that was lost through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The great hope of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is not that we will go to Heaven to live forever but that our body finally will be redeemed, permitting us to resume our life on the earth. Our adoption as sons of God, the powerful declaration and release for which the creation is waiting, is the saving of our body.

And not only they [the peoples of the earth], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)

"Redemption of our body."

The last tremendous trumpet blast will reverberate throughout the heavens and the earth. The Lord Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven in the fullness of the power of almighty God. God will bring with Christ every saint who has died in Him.

The Lord's warriors will shout for the battle. Michael, at the head of the legions of angels that Christ could have summoned during His hour of suffering, will announce the coming of the Kingdom of God and of Christ as King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Christ Himself will reach personally into each place of decay of the mortal body and will bring back into eternal wholeness and vitality the flesh and bones of each of His saints who have come with Him from Heaven, and then will transform the saints who still are living on the earth at the time of His coming (Philippians 3:21).

The reason that Jesus personally will conduct the resurrection of each of His elect is that the resurrection from the dead is a demonstration of the love of Christ for that person—a love so powerful, so intense, that death itself cannot hold apart Jesus and the individual whom God has joined to Him.

When the last trumpet sounds, the army of the Lord, the most terrifying host ever assembled, now will be standing on the earth. The nations of the world and their Satan-filled leaders and teachers will behold with utter horror and agony of mind and spirit the sons of God. God has spread the banquet of incorruptible life for His beloved in the presence of their enemies.

The Lord's eagles will gather around the slain Lamb who is their Life. Each will receive his reward for the things he has practiced in his body.

A major part of that reward consists of a "house" of indestructible, incorruptible, eternal resurrection life that will clothe the flesh and bone that has been raised from the dead by the power of the Lord's resurrection (II Corinthians 5:2).

The power of the resurrection is dwelling today in the saints who are living in the Spirit of God.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)

"By his spirit that dwelleth in you."

The Spirit of the resurrection already is present in us. We must be sure to keep the "oil" in our vessel. The resurrection of our body depends on it.

We know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. (from Kingdom Concepts)