True Christians believe in the resurrection of the Lord without any doubt. They also live with the hope of resurrection. Had it not been for the resurrection of the dead, not even Christ would have been raised; and if Christ had not been raised, believers would be of all men most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:13-19). However, Jesus was raised from the dead after the crucifixion and burial. And God allowed anyone who believes it to receive salvation, participate in the resurrection and enter Heaven.
Jesus Christ, the Firstfruit of the Resurrection
If one seems to be dead but is revived, it is not the 'resurrection' referred to by the Bible. The biblical concept of the 'resurrection' is 'to completely die, perfectly recover life, and live forever.' Jesus the Son of God came to the earth and achieved the providence of salvation. As written in the Bible, He was crucified for our sins and buried, and on the third day He was raised (Psalm 16:10; Matthew 12:40).
And He appeared before His disciples and more than five hundred brethren at one time (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). He presented himself as a living being and spoke of the things concerning the kingdom of God over a period of forty days. Then He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3-11). The Lord who resurrected and ascended into heaven will come again on the clouds of glory to take us (Refer to the photo).
When Jesus died, seemingly all hope was gone. But He overcame death and was resurrected. His death was one of the steps for Him to complete the way of salvation. It opened the way of blessing for believers who are united with the Lord so that they can enjoy life and glory as God's children. In human history, there has not been anyone who completely died and became resurrected but Jesus. so Jesus Christ is the firstfruit of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Therefore, if people believe Jesus Christ, they come to have hope of resurrection and to enjoy their Christian lives spreading the gospel diligently. They live by the Word of God with assurance for salvation and gratefulness.
Resurrection, the Completion of Salvation
Since man was created in the image of God, he was a living being with an imperishable body. He could communicate with God, who is spirit, and enjoy eternal life and blessings without tears, sorrows, pains, diseases or death.
However, as Adam disobeyed, sins came in to mankind and he was cursed and driven out of the Garden of Eden. As Genesis 2:17 reads, "In the day that you eat from it you will surely die," spirit, the master of the man, died, and his communication with God was severed. By this, the descendants of Adam inherited original sins and also they committed sins. As sinners, they could not help falling into Hell according to the spiritual law written in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death."
Here, "spirit being dead" means the communication with God being severed. But the God of love sent Jesus, His only begotten Son to the earth in order to save all mankind. As the spiritual law says, "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead," God allowed for the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son (Leviticus 25:23-28) and thereby let all people gain life through the resurrected Lord as all men died by Adam (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Thus, if you accept Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit as a gift, your spirit that was once dead, came alive. This is the 'resurrection of spirit'.
The resurrection of believers is prophesied in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, and it will happen when the Lord comes in the air. As we see in Acts 1:10-11, when the resurrected Lord ascended into heaven, two angels said that He would come again. As spoken, the Lord will come in the air when the gospel is spread all over the world. Then, the perishable bodies of believers will be replaced with imperishable spiritual bodies.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
When the Lord comes in the air, those believers who have already died will resurrect first. Their dead bodies will resurrect into imperishable spiritual bodies and combine with their spirit and soul coming down from heaven. Because they will be resurrected, they are called 'those who are asleep' in the Bible, not 'those who are dead'.
Next, those believers who are still living will be transformed into imperishable bodies in an instant and be caught up into the air to receive the Lord. They will be clothed in fine white linen. All these things will take place in an instant. When the Lord comes again, transforming into imperishable bodies is the 'resurrection of body'. Only after this resurrection of body will salvation be completed for us and we enjoy eternal life (Romans 10:9-10).
TIP_Characteristics of the Resurrected Body
When we put on the resurrected body that is imperishable and immortal, we can move freely beyond the limits of physical space. The body is tangible. It can breathe, eat and drink.
That is why the risen Lord could appear before His disciples even though they shut the doors for fear of the Jews and said to them, "Peace be with you." And He also spoke to the doubting Thomas and testified to the resurrection, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side" (John 20:19-29; Luke 24:36-43).
People in the resurrected body seem to be 33 years old no matter how old they were on the earth. They have wavy blond hair, and men in this spiritual body are around 190cm tall and women are about 170cm. The age of 33 is when Jesus finished His life on the earth, and it can be said that his age is the climax of one's life because one at this age is the most mature and beautiful.
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