Easter is all about resurrection, newness of life, springtime.

Jesus came back from among the dead to the surprise and consternation of His enemies and to the delight of His followers. He did not return as a spirit, but as a fully embodied man.

It will be the same for Christians. We will not spend eternity in a disembodied state, as many imagine.

This indisputable fact flies in the face of the heretical Gnostics, who believe the material world is fundamentally flawed and corrupt.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:16-28:

“If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

“There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, He hands over His kingdom to God the Father. He won’t let up until the last enemy is down — and the very last enemy is death! As the psalmist said, ‘He laid them low, one and all; He walked all over them.’ When Scripture says that ‘He walked all over them,’ it’s obvious that He couldn’t at the same time be walked on. When everything and everyone is finally under God’s rule, the Son will step down, taking His place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive — a perfect ending!”

Yes, there were a few “resurrections” before Christ: Lazarus, the widow’s son, and the daughter of Jairus, but they were raised only to die again.

Christ was raised in an embodied state never to die again and the same is true for all His followers who die in faith. Jesus is in heaven today, in a body and still very much a Man and yet He is God, forever joining God and man together.

Sown in One Form, Raised in Another

In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Paul went further in writing about bodily resurrection:

“… So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

Bible commentator Bill MacDonald wrote, “The resurrection body has identity of kind and continuity of substance with that which is sown, but it is purified from corruption, dishonor, and weakness and made incorrupt, glorious, powerful and spiritual. It is the same body, but it is sown in one form and raised in another.”

God’s Plan

In His life, death, and resurrection Christ is prototypical of God’s ultimate plan for all Christ’s followers.

Again, quoting Paul, from Romans 8:29-30:

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.”

How About You?

It could be said that a choice for Christ is a choice between dust and glory. All humans face physical death (dust), but not all have to face spiritual death — that’s why we need a Savior.

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?” — Romans 8:31-32

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