The Resurrection of the Body

 

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-56 ESV).

 

While we are alive, our spirits are united with our bodies. When we die, our spirits depart, and our lifeless bodies return to the earth. Is that the final destiny for our bodies? Some religions welcome death as a release from the “prison” of the body. But, according to the Bible, God made us to have both souls and bodies; moreover, he made our bodies good (cf. Psalm 139:14). So, when the two are separated by death, we cease to be as God made us. For that reason, we say, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.”

 

With the accumulation of years we all come to intimately understand that our bodies are vulnerable and frail. They break down and eventually just give out. Yet our bodies remain integral to who we are as God has made us. Without our bodies, we are no longer fully ourselves.

 

For all of us who believe in Christ, we can take great comfort that when we die, our souls will immediately be with Jesus. And when Jesus returns, our bodies and souls will be reunited. Then we will again be fully ourselves.

 

On that day, though, our bodies will no longer be frail and mortal. Death will be conquered, and we will have “…glorified” bodies, just like Jesus’ body at his resurrection. What a day that will be!