The resurrection of the dead

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha" (John 11:25-26 NLT)? Resurrection means to cause to rise from the dead.

The Old Testament foretold the resurrection of Jesus. "But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave (Acts 2:30-31 NLT).

Jesus rose from the dead. He appeared at different times to many people after his resurrection. He had the same body, but without human limitations. That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said (John 20:19 NLT). And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet (Luke 24:36-40 NLT). Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:27-28 NLT).

Belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is important because if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:13-14 NLT). If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NLT). And he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 1:4 NLT). I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself (Ephesians 1:19-23 NLT). He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God (Romans 4:25 NLT). Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14 NLT). But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NLT). He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control (Philippians 3:21 NLT). All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation (1 Peter 1:3 NLT).

There is also a present spiritual resurrection of believers. This means that those who were once spiritually dead in sin are now made alive spiritually through Jesus Christ. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins (Colossians 2:13 NLT). This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)! The evidence of the spiritual resurrection of the believer comes from several examples. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11 NLT). He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them (2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT). Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth (Colossians 3:1-2 NLT). The outward act that signifies the spiritual resurrection of the believer is baptism in water. For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was (Romans 6:4-5 NLT).

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NLT). In the future, there will be the resurrection of the just, also called the resurrection of life, and the resurrection of the unjust, or the resurrection of damnation.

At the time of death there is a separation between the body and the spirit and soul. The physical body is put in the grave, but the soul and spirit live on in eternity. The spirits and souls of those who were righteous go to a different place than those who were wicked. The destiny of the righteous was different before and after the death of Jesus. Those who die will still be rsurrected, but our living bodies will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. At the time of death there is a separation between spirits of those who were righteous and those who were wicked. The dead cannot be saved. No amount of prayer can change that. The destiny of the righteous is different now than before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, the resurrection of Jesus is important but it is not really part of the Gospel message.

There are two different responses people have to the resurrection message. Quite simply, some will hear it and accept it, assuring their own eternal life. Others will hear it and reject it, assuring their eternal damnation.