Do You Believe in the Resurrection of the Body?

Christians believe that each of us has both a mortal body (physical part) and an immortal soul (spiritual part). The body is perishable and will at some point die, but the soul is not perishable (Ecclesiastes 12:7). We believe that our immortal soul separates from our body and can live on in heaven when we die, but we also believe that our mortal bodies will at some point be resurrected and live again. We profess this mysterious Truth every time we recite the Apostle's Creed: "I believe in..... the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." Do we really believe these words?

What about the resurrection of the body? In fulfilling scripture, Jesus proved by His own resurrection that new life can be given to a dead, perishable body. All things are possible with God! The New Testament contains multiple passages with evidence that Jesus appeared to His followers alive and in the flesh after His death. The two Marys "clasped" Jesus' feet when they saw Him on Easter morning (Matthew 28:9). In Luke 24:38-43, the disciples at first think that Jesus is a spirit when He appears to them, but they soon realize that He is there in bodily form when He shows them His wounded hands and feet and invites them to touch Him. He also eats a piece of fish in their presence. And eight days after His resurrection, Jesus famously gave the disciple Thomas the opportunity to not only see Him alive, but to also touch His wounds (John 20:26-27). It was then finally clear to Thomas that Jesus had actually risen in the body that had been crucified and died. It was also clear that the resurrected body of Jesus was greater than His old body that was beaten and broken. He had the scars that He showed to Thomas, but He had no pain.

What about the resurrection of our bodies? The Bible tells us that our dead bodies will, indeed, not only be raised at the time of Jesus' Second Coming, but will be raised to eternal life if we are saved or to eternal anguish if we are not saved.  Jesus said to the crowd at Capernaum: "For My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day" (John 6:40). The Apostle Paul refers to this mystery in 1 Corinthians 15:52: "For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." In 1 Corinthians 15:42, to help us grasp this concept of a raised and changed body, Paul likens our dead body to a planted seed that germinates to new life: "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable."

We are told that the faithful "dead in Christ" will be raised initially and that those believers still alive at the time will then join them: "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). God does not give us details about how and when these events will occur. Such things are known only to God. He only tells us that they will happen if we believe in Jesus and that we should be prepared to see Jesus on "the last day", whenever it comes. We are also not given details about what our "changed" bodies will be like. Paul gives us a clue in Philippians 3:21 when he says that Christ "...will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body." And we can live with the additional hope that our body and soul will be reunited in heaven on that day.

We may die before Jesus returns, but we can live each day with the blessed assurance that our mortal bodies will be resurrected to eternal life when He comes. We really need not fear death, for it is not the end for us, but rather just one part of God's plan. Death cannot separate us from God and His love. The Disciple Group urges you to reflect on your mortality and to fully embrace God's promise that our bodies will ultimately triumph over death. Be encouraged and strengthened in your faith by 1 Corinthians 15:54: "When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' "