Our passage today about “The Resurrection Body” follows on the heels of yesterday being Easter Sunday. As Christ’s followers, you and I know that our eternal existence is made possible because Christ not only laid down His life, taking with Him the sins of the world, but three days later He overcame death when He rose from the dead, on Easter Sunday.
Within today’s passage we see that Paul is addressing questions about believer’s resurrected bodies. Paul makes it clear that because Christ rose from the dead, that one day all believers will also rise from the dead in new bodies. Believers will be transformed just as Christ was transformed. Paul stands firmly on this claim because his salvation came from meeting the resurrected Christ. Remember, Paul did not meet Jesus “in-person”, rather they met after Jesus had died. So, Paul knows the resurrected and transformed Jesus, and He wants to make sure that all believers do not get caught up in the world’s culture or ways, but rather we all stand firm on the Word of God and do not waver.
During the time of this passage the believers in Corinth were mostly Greek, and so there was a great influence by Greek culture and philosophy. Many believed that Jesus’ body rose from the dead, but that their bodies would not rise from the dead. Although this was going on at that time, Paul was not only addressing the believers in Corinth, but Jesus was using him to address you, me, and all who would hear this, message of Truth. We need to stand firmly by our faith on the Word of God and believe all that it says, not give in to current worldly trends, philosophies, or cultures. Paul tells us that we will rise, and we need to believe that we will rise. He tells us that we will have new bodies, and we need to believe that we will have new bodies. How our all-powerful God will do this, is not something we can begin to understand, but it should leave us in a state of awe, excitement, and wonder as we wait to experience it. I love that Paul uses the seed and plant to guide our understanding, to accept that one thing needs to “die” in order for the another to grow. I also love that he uses the celestial bodies (i.e. moon, stars, sun, etc.) as example because he understands his experience with the resurrected Jesus was beyond this world, fiery, gloriously glowing, and transcendent. Finally, I love the contrast he provides us of our human bodies now, which will be planted in the ground to die, are broken, and weak versus our spiritual bodies which will be raised to live forever, in glory, and in strength alongside of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:35-49 (NLT)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.
Prayer: Jesus, I am not going to pretend to know what it will look like when You resurrect Your Church. I just pray that my heart is ready and that You will welcome me with open arms. I am excited for a new body. However it happens, I trust that it will be wonderful because it is part of Your plan. Help guide me, Holy Spirit, more and more each day to grow closer and closer in relationship with You. I ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.