What is the resurrection?
Question 3061
The resurrection stands at the very heart of the Christian faith. Without it, as Paul bluntly puts it, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). So, what exactly do we mean when we speak of resurrection? Is it the same as the immortality of the soul? Is it some kind of spiritual existence? Or is it something far more concrete and physical? Let’s dig into what Scripture actually teaches about this foundational doctrine.
Defining Resurrection
The English word “resurrection” translates the Greek ἀνάστασις (anastasis), which literally means “a standing up again” or “a rising up.” It comes from ἀνά (ana, “up” or “again”) and ἵστημι (histēmi, “to stand”). The word itself tells us something important: resurrection is not the continuation of life in some different form but the restoration of life that was lost. Something that was down is now standing up again.
This is not the same as the Greek philosophical idea of the immortality of the soul, where the real “you” escapes the prison of the body at death and floats off into some ethereal existence. The biblical concept is far more earthy and tangible. Resurrection means bodily resurrection—the same body that died is raised to life again, though transformed and glorified. When Jesus rose from the tomb, the tomb was empty. His body was gone because it had been raised. He invited Thomas to touch His hands and side (John 20:27). He ate fish with the disciples on the beach (John 21:12-13). This was no ghost or phantom but a real, physical, touchable body.
The Old Testament Foundation
Some people imagine that resurrection is a New Testament idea, but the roots go deep into the Hebrew Scriptures. Job, in what may be the oldest book of the Bible, declared with remarkable confidence: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26). Notice the physicality of that hope—”in my flesh I shall see God.”
The prophet Isaiah speaks of a future day when “your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!” (Isaiah 26:19). And Daniel gives us the clearest Old Testament statement of all: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). The Hebrew word for “awake” here is יָקִיצוּ (yaqitsu), the same word used for waking from ordinary sleep. Death is pictured as a sleep from which God will one day wake His people.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ day believed firmly in bodily resurrection, which is why they clashed so sharply with the Sadducees who denied it (Acts 23:6-8). Jesus sided with the Pharisees on this point, telling the Sadducees they were wrong because they knew “neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
The Resurrection of Jesus as the Pattern
Everything changes with the resurrection of Jesus. His rising from the dead was not just a remarkable miracle but the firstfruits (what we would call the prototype) and guarantee of our own resurrection. Paul calls Jesus “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). In Jewish agriculture, the firstfruits were the initial portion of the harvest, presented to God as a pledge that the full harvest would follow. Jesus’ resurrection is God’s pledge that all who belong to Him will likewise be raised.
The nature of Jesus’ resurrection body tells us something about what our own resurrection bodies will be like. His body was recognisable—Mary knew Him when He spoke her name (John 20:16), and the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognised Him in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30-31). Yet His body was also transformed. He could appear in a locked room (John 20:19) and vanish from sight (Luke 24:31). There was continuity with His earthly body—the nail prints were still there—but also something wonderfully and strangely new.
The Nature of the Resurrection Body
Paul tackles the question “With what kind of body do they come?” in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 (do read it all!). His answer involves contrasts for contrasts often reveal truth. The body is sown perishable but raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonour but raised in glory. It is sown in weakness but raised in power. It is sown a natural body (σῶμα ψυχικόν, sōma psychikon) but raised a spiritual body (σῶμα πνευματικόν, sōma pneumatikon).
Now, that phrase “spiritual body” can be misleading in English. Paul does not mean a body made of spirit, as if it were immaterial or ghostly. The contrast he draws is between a body animated and suited to this present age (psychikon, from ψυχή, psychē, the natural life-principle) and a body animated and suited to the age to come (pneumatikon, from πνεῦμα, pneuma, Spirit). The resurrection body is a real, physical body—but one perfectly adapted to eternal life and fully empowered by the Holy Spirit. No more sickness, no more decay, no more death.
The Timing of Resurrection
From a dispensational perspective, Scripture reveals not one general resurrection but a series of resurrections occurring at different stages in God’s prophetic programme. Jesus’ resurrection has already taken place—He is the firstfruits. At the rapture of the Church, “the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The Old Testament saints and Tribulation martyrs will be raised at the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth, at the beginning of the millennial kingdom (Daniel 12:1-2; Revelation 20:4-6). This is called “the first resurrection,” not because it is chronologically first but because it is the resurrection of the righteous, in contrast to the resurrection of the unrighteous.
The unbelieving dead are raised at the end of the Millennium to stand before the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15). This is called “the second death”—resurrection unto judgment rather than resurrection unto life. Everyone will be raised; the question is which resurrection you will be part of. So, getting in the right one is vitally important.
Why This Matters for Us Today
The doctrine of resurrection has everything to do with how we live now. Paul says that if there is no resurrection, we might as well be those who say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). But because resurrection is real, our labour in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). What we do in these bodies matters. How we serve, how we suffer, how we persevere—none of it is wasted.
The resurrection also transforms how we grieve. We do not sorrow “as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). When we stand at the graveside or the crematorium of a believer, we are not saying goodbye forever. We are saying, “See you soon.” The separation is very real and very painful, but it is temporary. The reunion will be eternal.
And for those who have not yet put their trust in Jesus, the resurrection is both a warning and an invitation. A warning, because everyone will be raised—there is no escape into non-existence. And an invitation, because Jesus has conquered death and offers that victory freely to all who believe. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said. “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
Conclusion
Resurrection is the bodily raising of the dead to eternal life. It is not the immortality of a disembodied soul but the transformation of the whole person—body and soul reunited—into a glorious, imperishable existence. Jesus’ resurrection is both the proof that this is possible and the guarantee that it will happen for all who belong to Him. This hope anchors the Christian life, transforms our grief, and gives eternal significance to everything we do in His name.
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”1 Corinthians 15:22-23
Bibliography
- Geisler, Norman L. Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2004.
- Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
- Ladd, George Eldon. I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975.
- Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958.
- Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999.
- Walvoord, John F. The Prophecy Knowledge Handbook. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1990.
