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Resurrection

Resurrection (Greek anastasis), meaning "a raising up" or "rising," [REF] comes from a word (Greek anistēmi) which literally means "to stand up." [REF] Resurrection is "a return to life subsequent to death." [REF] Although it does not have a great deal to say on the topic, the OT does make some crucial assumptions regarding life and death. These form the foundation for the clearer picture presented in the NT, first as Jesus raises people from the dead, speaks of a general future resurrection, and is himself raised from death, and then as the apostles seek to explain both the theological and practical ramifications of this incredible phenomenon.

Rather than a soul that is trapped in a body, the OT presents human beings as a dichotomy of the material (physical body) and the immaterial (soul or spirit). [REF] Thus any future existence of a person beyond the grave would necessarily involve some sort of physical body. When coupled with the problem of evil, this idea forms the background for the general belief that death does not spell the end of our existence. If this life is all there were, God's sense of justice could be called into question since the wicked would be no worse off than the righteous and the righteous no better off than the wicked. [REF] The preaching of the prophets just prior to the Exile led to further developments in this thought, as well as to its general application toward God's chosen people, Israel, giving the notion of resurrection a corporate dimension. [REF] [REF] At some unspecified point in the future, following the outpouring of God's wrath upon the earth, everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected in order to face the eternal consequences of their actions in this life (DANIEL 12:1–3, 13).

Jesus believed and taught that we each have a crucial choice to make: serve self or serve God. That is the most important decision we will ever make, for its consequences are eternal. All of us will one day stand before the judgment seat of God. Those who have chosen to serve God by serving Jesus Christ will receive Heaven; those who have chosen otherwise will receive Hell. Jesus' own resurrection was the crowning proof that he spoke the truth. [REF] Those whom Jesus chose to spread the Gospel of salvation through personal faith in him repeatedly emphasized the importance of Jesus' resurrection. Not only did it prove he was who he claimed to be -- the divine Son of God -- but it was also a guarantee that all who follow Jesus will one day be raised to life as well. Their writings (our New Testament) repeatedly express the fact that both Jesus' resurrection and the future resurrection of believers are of central importance to the Christian faith. [REF]

The fact of Jesus' death and resurrection, proclaimed so boldly by the first Christian preachers, set them apart from all other religious teachers of their time. Most of the stories of resurrection from the ancient world were simply mythological tales having to do with the changing seasons and the miraculous "rebirth" of nature that occurs each spring. The gospels, on the other hand, attest to a real person who really died and was really raised to life again. [REF] Because of their position in Christ, all those who serve and obey him have the assurance that they too will be raised from the dead (ROMANS 6:5; COLOSSIANS 2:12; 3:1; 1 CORINTHIANS 6:14; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:15).

Concerning the actual body believers in Christ will receive at the resurrection, the Bible says little. In the passage that offers the most in-depth exposition of our future, resurrection body (1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49) the apostle Paul refers to it as "a spiritual body" (v. 44 NASB) -- i.e., a real body but one made fully fit for the Sprit, and hence not some sort of bodiless ethereal spirit floating around in Heaven. [REF] [REF] Again, Jesus' personal experience anticipates our own, including the fact that his new, resurrection body was both material and immaterial -- people recognized him; the crucifixion wounds remained; he could eat; he breathed; his body had flesh and bones; and he could walk through doors; he could appear suddenly and then just as quickly disappear; and he did not appear bound by physical needs such as sleeping and eating. [REF] Since Christ is twice referred to as the firstborn from the dead (COLOSSIANS 1;18; REVELATION 1:5), it is not at all unreasonable to expect that our own resurrection bodies will be very similar to his.

Many religions and belief systems teach some sort of existence beyond the grave. No one, however, can match the claim of Jesus Christ, backed up by his own resurrection from the dead: "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (JOHN 5:24).