Resurrection: Hope for everyday life
Is there a resurrection? The question of resurrection is central to our faith. Without the resurrection, faith would be meaningless. If Christianity were limited to this physical life and we ceased to exist after death, it would ultimately be irrelevant how we live, what we do, or what we believe. Without a future perspective, it would be more sensible to simply enjoy our lives while we can. The Apostle Paul emphasizes: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and so is your faith.” (1. Kor 15,13-14).
There is a resurrection, not just for Christians, but for all people. This is an essential part of the Christian faith and affects not only our future but also our current daily lives. However, the resurrection will affect the lives of all people.
Biblical Evidence
The Old Testament contains only a few direct references to the resurrection. Hesekiel 37In the vision of the valley of the dead, God shows the prophet how withered bones are brought back to life by his Spirit, a symbol of the resurrection. Daniel also speaks of the resurrection of the dead: “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and disgrace.” (Daniel 12,2).
The belief in the resurrection is primarily rooted in the New Testament. Jesus described himself as the resurrection and the life: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whoever lives by believing in me shall never die.” (Joh 11,25-26).
Paul also writes about the hope of the resurrection, of which Jesus spoke: “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” (1. Thess 4,13-14).
We believe in Jesus' resurrection, so we trust that He will also raise all who believe in Him back to life at the time when Jesus returns to earth. Christians who have died will be resurrected and Christians who are alive will be transformed and ascend into the clouds to meet the Lord at His return and will be with Him forever.
Paul asks the interesting question: How will the dead be resurrected and with what kind of body will they come? He compares the resurrection to the state of a seed. The plant that grows from it looks very different depending on what kind of seed it is: "What you sow is not the body that is to be, but a grain of wheat or something else. But God gives it a body as he wants, to each seed its own body. If there is a natural body, then there is also a spiritual body" (1. Kor 15,37-38 and 44).
The most important difference between our present body and our future resurrection body will be that we will be imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual—and we will look like Christ: “As we have borne the image of the earthly body, so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly body. 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 rise imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must put on the imperishable, and the mortal must put on immortality.” (1. Kor 15,49-53).
Here Paul uses another expression, namely, putting on new clothes. We will receive new, glorious bodies, transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Meaning in everyday life
Our belief in the resurrection also has important consequences for our daily lives. Knowing about the resurrection helps us deal with the difficulties and persecutions we experience because of our faith in and in Christ. When our lives and ministry encounter problems, we do not simply give up. No, there is a future and we want to live with our future in mind.
God cares about how we live. The gospel tells us that on Judgment Day, through faith in Christ, we will be accepted and found righteous. Whatever we do to support the gospel and serve Christ is worth doing: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1. Kor 15,58).
Our baptism unites us with Jesus' resurrection, and through it we are called to a new life. This new life is characterized by a way of life that should reflect Jesus Christ: "For we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Röm 6,4).
The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead also dwells in us and gives us the power to live a new life in Christ: “But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Römer 8,11).
The Holy Spirit dwells in us and enlivens our mortal bodies. This living power of the Spirit helps us to live a godly life and to overcome daily challenges. Knowing that we will live with Christ forever transforms the way we live with Him now: “So you also should consider yourselves as having died to sin and being alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you do not obey its desires. Do not offer any part of yourselves to sin as instruments of wickedness, but offer yourselves to God as those who have been dead and are now alive, and offer every part of yourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.” (Röm 6,11-13).
Because there is a resurrection, we are to live in a new and different way. Instead of serving the desires of the flesh, let us serve the Lord, because we will be with Him forever: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1. Joh 3,2-3).
John later says that if we live in Christ, we should not continue to sin. But if we sin (as we all do), we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who stands by us and made the atoning sacrifice for us.
The knowledge and belief in the resurrection offers a new perspective on death. We know that death is not the end; we know that we will see our loved ones again, and faith promises us that life will then continue eternally: “Since all these children have flesh and blood, he too became a man of flesh and blood. This enabled him by his death to break the power of him who exercises authority through death—that is, the devil—and to free those who were enslaved by the fear of death.” (Hebr 2,14-15).
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are freed from the fear of death. This enemy is defeated, and we share in the victory Christ has won! He has triumphed over death, and we share in his life, freed from the fear of death. We know that the best is yet to come. That is why Paul concludes: “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1. Thess 4,18).
by Joseph Tkach
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