READING • 1 CORINTHIANS 15
What does resurrection mean?
Resurrection means being raised from death to life again. The Christian hope is founded on the fact that God raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
Jesus was raised bodily from the dead
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples. At first they were frightened and thought they were seeing a spirit. Jesus deliberately showed them that he was truly alive and bodily present.
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
Luke 24:39 • King James Version
Luke goes on to say that Jesus showed them his hands and feet, asked for food, and ate in their presence (Luke 24:40-43). The resurrection was not merely the survival of an invisible spirit. God had brought Jesus back from the dead.
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
Revelation 1:18 • King James Version
Jesus has power to raise the dead
The picture of having “the keys” means authority to open what is shut. Jesus has been given authority by his Father over death and the grave. John 5 describes that authority clearly:
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”
John 5:21 • King James Version
The old word “quickeneth” means “makes alive”. The power of resurrection belongs to God, and He has entrusted this work to His Son.
Abraham was promised life beyond the grave
God promised Abraham the land he could see, saying that it would be given to him and to his seed “for ever” (Genesis 13:15). Yet Abraham died without receiving the promise in its fullness. For God’s promise to be fulfilled, Abraham must live again.
A promise that requires resurrection
The promises to Abraham are not promises of an immortal soul living in heaven. They concern inheritance of the land and therefore require Abraham to be raised from the dead.
Jesus himself used God’s words concerning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to teach the reality of resurrection (Matthew 22:31-32). He also spoke of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob being seen in the Kingdom of God (Luke 13:28).
A hope shared by faithful people
Hebrews 11 describes men and women who trusted God but died before the promises were fulfilled. Their faith looked forward to what God would yet do.
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them.”
Hebrews 11:13 • King James Version
At the end of the chapter we are told that these faithful people “received not the promise”, because God has appointed a future fulfilment in which His faithful servants are made perfect together (Hebrews 11:39-40).
Death described as sleep
The New Testament often speaks of faithful people who have died as being “asleep”. The figure is appropriate because sleep is unconscious and temporary, and God can awaken the dead by resurrection.
Martha understood the hope of resurrection
Jesus had close friends at Bethany: Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. When Lazarus died, Jesus came to them. Martha already understood that there would be a future resurrection.
“Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
John 11:23-24 • King James Version
Jesus then declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25), and demonstrated his God-given power by calling Lazarus from the tomb.
Lazarus was restored to mortal life; he was not at that time made immortal. The greater hope remains resurrection at the last day and, for those accepted by Christ, the gift of everlasting life.
Something better than our present life
Everlasting life in God’s Kingdom is not simply an endless continuation of present weakness, sickness and sorrow. Scripture describes a life transformed by God.
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. ... and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:16-17 • King James Version
Jesus also taught that those who are accounted worthy of the resurrection life “neither marry, nor are given in marriage”, but are “as the angels which are in heaven” (Mark 12:25).
When will the resurrection take place?
The New Testament connects the resurrection of Christ’s people with his return. Paul sets out the order plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ... For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ... Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”
1 Corinthians 15:20, 22-23 • King James Version
Christ is the “firstfruits”: his resurrection is the assurance that others will follow. Those who belong to him will be raised at his coming.
The resurrection body
Paul asks, “How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” (1 Corinthians 15:35). His answer is that God gives a body according to His purpose. The faithful are not promised existence as disembodied spirits; they are promised resurrection and transformation.
OUR PRESENT CONDITION
THE PROMISED CHANGE
Mortal
Immortality
Corruptible
Incorruption
Weakness
Power
Natural body
A spiritual body
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Corinthians 15:53 • King James Version
Some believers will still be alive
Not every disciple will be in the grave when the Lord returns. Paul explains that the dead in Christ will rise first, and that living believers will then be gathered with them.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 • King James Version
The next verse says that the living and the raised will be “caught up together ... in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”. The emphasis is not that they remain in heaven, but that they meet the returning Lord and “so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
The central hope
The resurrection hope is centred on the return of the Lord Jesus: the dead are raised, living disciples are gathered, and those accepted receive everlasting life with him in God’s Kingdom.
Resurrection, not an immortal soul
Many religious traditions teach that a person possesses an immortal soul which goes consciously to heaven at death. The Bible course has already shown a different pattern: the dead are unconscious, and the believer’s hope is resurrection when Christ returns.
If the faithful were already enjoying their final reward in heaven, the repeated New Testament emphasis on resurrection at Christ’s coming would lose its force. Scripture instead presents death as sleep and resurrection as the awakening God has promised.
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.”
John 5:28-29 • King James Version
Resurrection is followed by judgement
Resurrection is not the same as receiving everlasting life. Jesus teaches that those brought before him will be judged. John 5:29 speaks of both “the resurrection of life” and “the resurrection of damnation”. The next lesson considers judgement in more detail.
An important distinction
Being raised from the dead brings a person before Christ. Immortality is the gift given to those whom he accepts; resurrection itself is not automatically the reward.
Who is responsible to judgement?
The original lesson states that those who have heard the Gospel will be brought before Christ. Scripture clearly teaches accountability and judgement, but the detailed question of who is responsible to resurrection and judgement requires several passages to be considered together. Lesson 26 will examine this subject more closely.
Why the resurrection matters now
Paul does not treat resurrection as an abstract doctrine. He concludes 1 Corinthians 15 by showing what it should do to our lives. Because God’s promise is certain, disciples have reason to be steadfast and active in His service.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 • King James Version
The hope of resurrection gives meaning to faithful work now. What is done in the Lord is not wasted, because death will not have the final word.
The resurrection hope
The Bible’s hope is wonderfully concrete. Jesus really died and really rose. He is alive for evermore. God has appointed him to return, raise the dead, judge, and give immortality to those who are accepted.
For disciples, therefore, death is not the end. Nor is the hope an immortal soul escaping to heaven. The hope is that the same God who raised Jesus will raise those who belong to him and give them life in His Kingdom.
Christ the firstfruits
The resurrection of Jesus is both the foundation and the guarantee of Christian hope. Christ rose first; those who are his will follow “at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23).
SUMMARY
1
Jesus was raised bodily.
The disciples saw, touched and ate with the risen Lord Jesus. He is alive for evermore.
2
God has given Jesus authority over death.
The Son has been given power to raise the dead.
3
The promises require resurrection.
Abraham and other faithful people died without receiving the promises in their fullness.
4
Resurrection is at Christ’s coming.
Paul says that those who are Christ’s will be made alive at his return.
5
The faithful will be transformed.
Mortality and corruption will give way to immortality and incorruption for those accepted.
6
Living believers will also be gathered.
Those alive at Christ’s return will be gathered together with those raised from the dead.
7
Resurrection leads to judgement.
Christ will judge; everlasting life is given to those whom he accepts.
Chapters to read
1 Thessalonians 4; Hebrews 11; John 11; Matthew 22:23-33
LEARN BY HEART • JOHN 5:28-29
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
John 5:28-29 • King James Version
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