A Bodily Resurrection

For Christians, Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But some people have fuzzy or unclear ideas about what that really means. They might see the resurrection as a symbol for new beginnings and second chances. Some churches even teach that the resurrection means “the spirit of Jesus lives on in His people.” They don’t proclaim the actual, physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus. Does it make a difference? For the early Christians, the fact that Jesus literally rose from the dead was the foundational truth—the single most important teaching of Christianity. One by one, the apostles were put to death because they refused to back down from their testimony that they had seen the risen Christ. They endured gruesome deaths, such as being stoned, crucified, beheaded, speared, axed to death—or even worse. But they refused to take back what they said because they knew it was true, and God’s love compelled them to share this good news. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 that our own hope of eternal life after death is dependent on this very truth: “If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” The good news of Easter, however, is that the resurrection of Christ really happened. After being dead for three days, Jesus was raised from the dead by God the Father, and He was seen by hundreds of witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6). He had a physical body that could be touched (John 20:27). This same resurrection power will raise all believers from the dead someday, with new resurrected bodies of our own. Yes, the bodily resurrection of Jesus matters. For without the bodily resurrection, there is no gospel. • Laura N. Sweet • Why is Jesus’s resurrection essential to the gospel? (For more information, see our “Know Jesus” page.) • Have you ever thought about what it will be like to have a resurrected body when Jesus returns? To be fully human but without physical flaws, health issues, or sins? And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 1 Corinthians 15:14 (NLT)

Read Verses:

1 Corinthians 15:12-1 Corinthians 15:22