“How are the dead raised up?
And with what body do they come?”
(1 Corinthians 15:35)
The above text presents us with two special questions to ponder this Easter season.
Let’s examine the second first: “And with what body do they come?”
If you are like me, every year brings with it evidence of bodily deterioration: reading glasses signify failing eyesight; recuperation time lengthens after vigorous activity or illness; joints ache for no apparent reason.
And if there is anything certain in this life, it is that aches and pains will continue to get worse!
Then there are millions who experience the decay of the mind (perhaps even more debilitating and frustrating for those who experience it).
Of course, this wasn’t always the case. In God’s perfect creation Adam and Eve suffered no physical or mental handicaps. That was the case until the entrance of sin. With sin came all disease, decay, and pain.
Thedebilitating daily reminders of sin and its consequences help the Christian maintain a proper focus—a focus on a better life to come, a life with bodies not unlike those which Adam and Eve had before the Fall into sin.
So—“With what body do they come?” Answer: “With a perfect body – one without pain, blemish, dementia, or disease!”
But how is this possible? Our second question asks: “How are the dead raised up?”
How can God take something that is impure, sinful, dead, decayed, and ugly, and turn it into something that is glorious and holy?
This is possible because God can accomplish for us physically what He has already accomplished for us spiritually. He took our sin-darkened hearts and minds and created in them light and faith. He resurrected our spiritual “dead bones” by breathing new life into them (see Ezekiel chapter 37).
On Easter we celebrate the fact that Jesus demonstrated His authority over death by rising from the dead, just as was prophesied. Because He lives, we shall live also (John 14:19)!
So—“How are the dead raised up?” Answer: “By the same power and by the same means as Jesus Himself was raised up, free from sin and with a perfect body.”
Without Jesus’ perfect life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection we would have nothing good to look forward to, either spiritually or physically.
May all of us who suffer here below find comfort in the Easter message of life renewed and restored—life eternal!
I am flesh and must return
Unto dust, whence I was taken;
But by faith I now discern
That from death I shall awaken
With my Savior to abide
In His glory, at His side.
—
Glorified, I shall anew
With this flesh then be enshrouded;
In this body I shall view
God, my Lord, with eyes unclouded;
In this flesh I then shall see
Jesus Christ eternally.
(TLH #206:4-5)