“I believe in the resurrection of the body.”
This phrase from the Apostles’ Creed is a statement of faith. It is a central claim of Christianity. It is based upon the promises of the Bible and upon the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In his great treatise on the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul said that if the dead do not rise, then Christ did not rise from the dead. Then he stated bluntly, if Christ did not rise, the Christian faith is a fallacy, an exercise in futility, and those who promote it are false witnesses (vv. 13-15). In the words of Paul Little, “If Christ did not rise, the Christian church is just an interesting museum piece, nothing more.”
Well, then, did Jesus really rise from the dead? Paul lists a number, hundreds actually, of people who saw Jesus alive in a physical body after he had been killed and buried. They included Peter, the other apostles, James, a crowd of five hundred, and Paul himself (vv. 3-8). These witnesses to Christ’s resurrection spread the word at great cost to themselves. In spite of persecution, suffering and martyrdom, they had the hope of the resurrection and eternal life and they kept telling the message wherever they went.
This message gave rise to the church which is founded upon their testimony. In fact, the resurrection of Jesus is the only way to account for the expansion and influence of Christianity in the world. The promise of the resurrection of the body is part of the Christian gospel by which we are saved and on which we take our stand (vv. 1-2).
The resurrection is connected to a belief in a meaningful afterlife in the presence of God. The ancient Greeks believed in an afterlife, but it was uncertain, dim, and vague. They had no certainty of a bodily resurrection. When the philosopher Socrates lay down to die, he was asked, “Shall we rise again?” He answered, “I hope so, but no one can know.”
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul answers that question with strong faith. He asks his readers to think deeply about the implications of the resurrection.
Think about those believers who have already died (v. 18). He says they are “asleep in Christ.” This phrase implies safety, comfort, and security. But if there is no resurrection, they have no continuing identity, no safety; they have “perished.” There is no salvation for them on the other side of death. There is no hope of eternal life.
Think of yourself. Paul says if this earthly life is all there is, you are to be “pitied” (v. 19). This is because the Christian message is false if there is no resurrection. You have gullibly embraced a fairy tale. It is nothing but a cruel joke. It leads to the ultimate disappointment.
Above all, think of Jesus. Paul asserts, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v.20). Jesus arose in a physical body; physical, yet more than physical. It was immortal. “Firstfruits” were the first portion of a harvest brought as a thanksgiving offering to the Lord by the Jewish people. The analogy is this: Jesus’ own resurrection is the first part of a great harvest of people who will also be raised from the dead in new physical bodies, immortal, never to die again!
When we say, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” we are trusting in the promise of Jesus who said, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). We are affirming our faith in the one who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He (or she) who believes in me will live, even though he (or she) dies” (John 11:25).
Our physical bodies wear out. We can eat all the high fiber bran muffins we want, but we know that our bodies will not last forever. They will fall apart in the end, and will return to the dust. But the good news of the resurrection is that if we trust in the resurrected Christ, we will inherit new bodies that will be suited for eternity, just as our earthly bodies are suited for time.
Pastor Randy Faulkner