Our 78th Word is Resurrection

The simple definition is the act of raising the dead to life physically and in every other way.

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.” (1 Corinthians 15:21)

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Growing numbers of people, facing the grim reality of mortality, are turning to science or maybe science fiction. Believing that researchers are close to figuring out how to eliminate disease, reverse the effects of aging, and eradicate death, some are forking over big bucks to have their bodies placed, immediately upon death, in “cryonic suspension.” Their hope is that if scientists discover the secret to immortality, their frozen bodies can be reanimated or resuscitated.

The Bible offers a better, surer hope for those facing death; resurrection.

Stories of certifiably dead people being brought back to life are found throughout the story of God. The Old Testament prophets Elijah (1 kings 17: 8-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 4: 1-37) performed such miracles. In the New Testament, Jesus (Mark 5: 35-43; Luke 7: 11-17; John 11: 17-44), Peter (Acts 9: 36-42), and Paul (Acts 20: 9-12) also raised people from the dead. In one sense, however, these resurrections feel incomplete, so far as we can tell, they were only temporary reprieves from death.

The resurrection of Jesus was different. It was permanent. And in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talked about how Christ’s conquering of the grave was a kind of preview of coming attractions. It signaled the glorious fact that all those in Christ will one day experience everything He did, the remaking of our old, perishable, flawed, weak physical bodies into new, imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual bodies.

In the earliest days of the church, the bodily resurrection of Jesus was central to the apostles’ preaching. Paul said it was essential to the Christian faith, telling the believers in Corinth, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

The resurrection is also crucial for another reason. The fact that Jesus had a touchable body means that eternity for us won’t be a matter of floating through the heavens like disembodied ghosts in the ether. We’ll be fully alive in the new heaven and new earth, completely redeemed souls in totally restored bodies. No cryogenics needed.

Finally, at the most practical level, the biblical truth of resurrection means God is powerful enough to make dead things live again, with a vitality not seen before.

Questions to Ponder

1. How is resurrection different than resuscitation?
2. What in your life could use God’s resurrecting touch? Your faith in Christ? your marriage? Your church? Your passion for your work? A friendship or relationship with a child?