The Mystery Of Resurrection

by HYDON, G. | Category: Opened Secrets | Sept 2005

The idea of everyone coming back to life after dying is unbelievable to many people. But the Bible does not call this action itself, resurrection, a mystery. It accepts as a simple fact that God can bring people back to life.

A mystery the Bible does address is what will happen to people when they are raised from the dead in a series of future resurrections the Bible predicts, and how some will avoid dying at all. The mystery is how people may be blessed instead of banished when the resurrection day arrives. The Bible reveals that those who believe in Christ will at the appointed time receive new bodies that are intended for their eternal happiness, ending for them the processes of suffering and dying. For the unsaved, unbelievers, the Bible confirms a different reality: death, followed by inescapable resurrection to judgment and the prospect of eternal punishment. The book of Revelation in particular has much to say about that.(1)We will focus on aspects to do with believers.

Appreciation of the mystery of the resurrection should distinctly modify our attitude to life and prepare us for what God definitely will do. If we were to believe the rest of what God says to us in the Bible, but have no real belief in the truth of resurrection, we would be among the saddest specimens of humanity. Without this truth the treasury of the New Testament begins emptying and our faith is bankrupt.(2)

The Bible passages in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 are the fundamental statements on which this article is based, so if you are not familiar with them please read them now.

Resurrection and translation

A fuller title for this article would include both resurrection and translation. 'Resurrection' is being made to stand again after falling in death. 'Translation' describes a removal or change, and here specifically the immense change that happens to all Christians who are still alive when Christ returns. At that time, Christians who have died will come back to life; raised from the dead and given new bodies. Those who are still alive will be changed too, for all Christians will in the indivisible duration of the twinkling of an eye receive new bodies.(3) The God of creation does not need a time-consuming evolutionary process to accomplish such things. Belief in resurrection makes demands on faith at least equal to belief in creation; and vice versa of course!

Consider the change in qualities between the body we now live in and the resurrection body we shall have. First think of God's power exhibited in the change from dust to the body formed for Adam. Simple, soul-less dust became a being with all the complexity discernible in the human genome - and more, for Adam had personality and spirituality not just physical properties (Gen.2:7). So it will be in resurrection; the apparent complexities of our present bodies (or even the added complexity of the disintegration of the bodies of the long-dead that have returned to 'dust') are not limiting factors for the power of God in providing immensely changed and significantly more glorious bodies we shall live in for ever. That is the force of Paul's argument in 1 Cor.15:35-42a. What we now experience is but a seed compared to a flourishing plant.

This should dispel concerns about whether we will recognise each other when we are raised from the dead, or even the physical or emotional need to do so. The comfort that the truth of resurrection provides is not simply that of being re-united with deceased fellow-believers but to be recognized by the Lord and united with Him.(4)

These new bodies have properties that are hard for us to understand. We cannot explain them simply through scientific enquiry and the mystery of the resurrection is revealed to faith and forms a basis of faith.(5) In fact, most of the Bible descriptions refer to the amazing new bodies being virtually opposite to the reality we now know. At present we are mortal, our bodies have no capacity to live forever. The new bodies Christians will receive from God have no capacity to die. Even now we know that our present bodies can deteriorate or be damaged and eventually decay, but our new bodies will be 'incorruptible', which means just the opposite. This is not the unbelievable invincibility imagined by modern sci-fi movie makers; it is a reality that God will let us enjoy in that coming day. Dishonour and weakness are characteristics of our present bodies; glory and power are what the new bodies will have.

Most importantly, our present bodies are natural, in the sense of having properties generally seen in animals. Our new bodies will be spiritual. Now this is hard to explain, because we usually describe a spirit as having no body. Yet if we think about it for a minute we will soon remember that angels, who are spirits, have visibly appeared to people.(6) More to the point, the Lord Jesus appeared in bodily form to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead, and they were able to see and touch His glorious body. But that body did not confine Him as our bodies do now; He could appear in a locked room without the door being opened for instance, and He could ascend through the clouds without gravity holding Him down.(7) 'Spiritual bodies' might seem a contradiction in terms, and it is indeed an oxymoron: that is a wise statement that sounds foolish. But if in contrast we were to experience everlasting continuity of life in these present natural bodies that would be a great disadvantage. Glorious spiritual bodies, like the Lord has in resurrection, provide relief from present painful constraints and provide wonderful potential. They are worth waiting for; how we long for them when we sense through service to God the limitations of what we have at present!(8)

Old Testament material (9)

Job confidently stated that despite dying he would yet see God. This can only show faith in resurrection. He was surely not alone in this belief. Jude reveals that as far back as Enoch, who lived at the same time as Adam, there was a belief in resurrection for the purpose of accomplishing prophesied divine judgment. In the Old Testament there were both inferences and direct statements about resurrection as well as illustrations, such as Enoch and Elijah's translations, Aaron's rod that came back to life, and the feast of first-fruits that took place on the first day of the week, the same as Christ's resurrection. But these must be left for your study.

Christ: the Resurrection and the Life

While Christ was here in the flesh, He acknowledged the belief of many Jews that God would bring about resurrection. Martha no doubt expressed a belief common among Jews of her day when she said she knew Lazarus, her dead brother, would rise again at the resurrection at the last day.(10) What she had not realized was that the resurrection of any person is dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Resurrection and the Life. Dead people cannot resist His call. Just as surely as Adam's sin inflicted natural death on all people, Christ has the power to bring all back to life,(11) and He will be thoroughly satisfied in the use of that power. Christ was the first man to be raised from the dead never to die again, and He is also the greatest of all that shall be raised from among the dead - in their order - after Him.(12) He must take the lead. Likewise, because Christ has been raised there can now be no question, the rest will most definitely follow.

It is necessary to note that in raising Christ there is an emphasis on the unsurpassed greatness of the power required: 'according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead',(13) and this ensures the same for us, and power even now in our lives of service.

Application

If we really grasp this mystery it should make a difference in our lives right now. For instance:

- The knowledge that unbelievers are bound to be raised for judgment should make us more urgent and earnest in trying to bring the good news of salvation to them.(14)

- Faith that we shall be raised from the dead to a much better life should help us to put current problems and suffering into proper perspective.(15)

- Expectation of the imminent return of the Lord, which will determine eternal reward for service here, should encourage us to live holy lives that please Him.(16)

- An increasing appreciation of the wonder of resurrection should encourage us to worship God who alone can accomplish it.(17)

(1)For more on this subject see The Finger of Prophecy (available from the publishers of this magazine) (2)1 Cor.15:14,19 (3)1 Cor.15:52 'moment' = Gk 'atomos' which means indivisible (4)1 Cor.13:12; Mark 12:24,25; 1 Thes.4:17,18; 5:10 (5)1 Cor.15:42-44; see 1 Cor.15:14 re.faith (6)Heb.1:13,14; Gen.16:13; Judg. 6:12; 13:9,10; Luke 1:11,12,28 (7)Luke 24:39; John 20:26; Acts 1:9 (8)Phil.3:20,21; 2 Cor.5:2 (9)References for this paragraph are, in the order they appear: Job 19:25,26; Jude 14,15; examples from Gen.22:5; Ps.49:14,15; Is.26:19; Daniel 12:2; Gen.5:24; Num.16:1-3; 17:1-11 (see also Heb.7:12,13; 8:4); Lev.23:11 (10)John 11:24,25 (the opposition of the Sadducees indicates there was in fact a strong public belief in resurrection; see Luke 20:27,33) (11)1 Cor.15:21,22; Is.53:10-12 (12)1 Cor.15:16,20,23 (13)Eph.1:19,20 (14)Luke 16:25-28 (15)2 Cor.4:14-18 (16)1 John 3:2,3; 2 Pet.3:14 (17)1 Cor.15:54-57; Eph.1:19-22

HYDON, G. | Sept 2005
Opened Secrets