What is resurrection?
Quick Answer
Resurrection is the bodily rising from the dead - Christ's resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith, and believers will be raised with transformed, immortal bodies at His return.
Understanding Resurrection
Resurrection is not merely life after death or the survival of the soul, but the bodily restoration of the dead to life. Christ's resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity - without it, faith is futile and believers remain in their sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). Jesus rose bodily from the tomb on the third day, appearing to hundreds of witnesses over forty days before ascending to heaven. His resurrection body was physical yet glorified - able to be touched and to eat, yet also able to appear and disappear. Christ's resurrection guarantees believers' future resurrection. At His return, the dead in Christ will rise with immortal, imperishable bodies like His glorious body. Resurrection affirms the goodness of the material world God created.
In the Old Testament
Resurrection hope develops through the Old Testament. Job expressed hope of seeing God after death (Job 19:25-27). Isaiah prophesied that the dead would live and their bodies rise (Isaiah 26:19). Daniel declared that many sleeping in the dust would awake to everlasting life (Daniel 12:2). Elijah and Elisha raised the dead, foreshadowing the greater resurrection to come. Ezekiel's vision of dry bones coming to life (Ezekiel 37) pictured national restoration but also pointed to resurrection hope. By Jesus' time, the Pharisees affirmed resurrection while Sadducees denied it.
In the New Testament
The resurrection of Jesus is the climax of the Gospels and the foundation of apostolic preaching. The early church proclaimed 'Jesus and the resurrection' (Acts 4:2). Paul devoted 1 Corinthians 15 to defending and explaining the resurrection, calling it of 'first importance.' Christ is the 'firstfruits' of the resurrection harvest - His rising guarantees ours. Believers' future resurrection will transform mortal bodies into immortal, perishable into imperishable. The resurrection body will be continuous with the present body (it is 'raised') yet gloriously transformed. This hope shapes how Christians view death, suffering, and bodily existence.
Key Scripture References
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Read full commentary →John 11:25-26“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
Read full commentary →1 Corinthians 15:42-44“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption... It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”
Read full commentary →Philippians 3:21“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Read full commentary →Romans 6:5“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”
Read full commentary →1 Thessalonians 4:16“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
Read full commentary →Related Concepts
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