THE RESURRECTION

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The resurrection of the dead is something a lot easier to deal with than the period between death and resurrection because it is something the writers of the New Testament were sure about. They were convinced of its certainty because of what they had witnessed. As Peter put it: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of the fact. Acts2v32. The one who had been raised to life and whose authority was not in doubt himself taught the resurrection from the dead: "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 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 him up at the last day." John6v37to40. Paul is especially emphatic about the absolute certainty of the resurrection of the body. See 1Cor15v17to24. See 1Thes4v13to18. See others.

The passages quoted from 1Cor15 and 1Thes4 also indicate when the resurrection occurs, namely, at the return of Jesus to this earth. Paul confirms this later in 1Cor15: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1Cor15v51to52.

The resurrection includes both the righteous and unrighteous. See Dan12v1to4 and John5v28and29. The Bible does not make it clear with what body the unrighteous are raised up. It will not, however, be the same as the resurrection bodies of the righteous.

The Scriptures do give us information on the nature of the resurrection of the Christian believer. First of all it is bodily. Paul deals with the nature of the raised body in 1Cor15v35to49. He says: so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. v49. This reiterates what Paul wrote earlier in the chapter: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. v20.

The gospel records leave us in no doubt that Jesus' resurrection body was real and substantial. The women whom Jesus met hurrying from the tomb on the resurrection morning came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. Mt28v9. He walked and talked with two of his supporters on the road to Emmaus. They recognised Jesus after inviting him to stay with them. When he was at the table with them he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him... Luke24v30and31. Later he appeared to his disciples and this is what Luke reports: They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took and ate it in their presence. Luke24vs37to43

The reason the writers of the New Testament believed so emphatically in the bodily resurrection of believers was because they had witnessed, or knew people who had witnessed, the bodily resurrection of Jesus. He was flesh and bones, he ate and drank, walked and talked, cooked breakfast and served it to his disciples.

The resurrection body is different from the old body. See 1Cor15v35to49. Paul writes: When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. v37and38. So our new bodies will be as different from the old as an acorn is from an oak or a spore is from a mushroom. The old body is perishable - it decays; the new body is imperishable - it is indestructible. (As such it is different from the resurrection body of the unrighteous.) The old body is dishonourable - it's urges lead us to dishonourable action and as it ages it does not show us off to advantage; the new body is glorious - it is like Jesus' body and shows our humanity to the best advantage. The old body is weak - subject to disease, disfigurement, pain, temptation and death; the new body is powerful - powerful to resist disease, to renew itself and to transcend natural law. The old body is natural - dominated by natural urges and instincts; the new is spiritual - controlled entirely by the spirit and the perfect vehicle of the spirit. Jesus gave us some information about the resurrection body when he said: "those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." Luke20v35and36. I am very hesitant to quote from the book of Revelation as I do not understand it and would base no doctrine upon it without corroboration from more straightforward Scriptures. However this lovely passage is in harmony with what Jesus and Paul taught: I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev21vs3and4.

Two of the greatest promises of the New Testament are: We eagerly await a Saviour from there(heaven), the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Phil3v20and20. But we know when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. John3v2.

When Jesus was raised from the dead his old body was not resuscitated. If it had been then the grave clothes would not have been left lying in the tomb as John described them in his gospel. John20v5to7. They were arranged in such a way as to suggest the body dematerialised. Christ's old body was taken up into the new. In the same way those who are still alive at Jesus' Second Coming will be be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. 1Cor15v52. There old bodies will be taken up into the new.

Jesus resurrection body was different from the old because his followers all had difficulty in recognising him. The Bible is honest about this. Those that knew Jesus best were not always immediately confident that it was Jesus when he appeared to them. The two on the road to Emmaus did not recognise him and nor did Martha at the tomb. His disciples thought Jesus was a ghost when he stood among them. John's description of the disciple's reaction when Jesus invited those who had been fishing on the Sea of Galilee to have some breakfast is very illuminating: None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. John21v12. This indicates a degree of uncertainty to say the least! Jesus was also able to appear and disappear at will. John remembered: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" John20v19.

However Jesus body was not entirely different from the old. The two followers he met on the road to Emmaus knew him in the breaking of bread - there was something familiar about the way he did it. Mary Magdalene knew him by the way he spoke her name and Thomas knew him by wounds in his hands and side. Jesus new body did contain enough of the old to be recognisable. A gesture, the tone of his voice and the marks of his passion all revealed him for the man he was. So it will be with us. Our resurrection bodies will not all look the same! We shall retain enough of the old - the way we smile, the expression of the eyes, the timbre of our voice, the marks of Christian service - to be recognisable to the brothers and sisters who knew us best.

The acorn has to die before the oak springs up. The oak tree is more than an acorn but it also includes the acorn. The acorn is not lost - it is there on the oak. I used to tell my pupils at school that Christians die a brush and are resurrected a Hoover. The vacuum cleaner is very different from the brush but, nevertheless, in every Hoover there is a brush. My website is here, constantly being modified, on my computer. It is also safe and secure on a remote computer. When my computer fails or becomes obsolete my website will remain safe on the remote computer of my provider. On purchasing an improved, superior model my website can be transferred back to my new computer and continue to grow.

Finally let us look at 1John3v2 again: But we know when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. We shall be like him. This refers not just to our new bodies but also to our spirits. They too will be changed. The Bible doesn't say much about this but to have eternal life must mean that we are rid of the old fallen nature and possess spirits with no inclination to sin. Paul hints at a changed spirit at the resurrection from the dead in 1Cor13v8to12.

It is almost as if my website on the remote computer is revised and all errors and inadequacies corrected before being being restored to the new model!

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