P
Pastor Dave
Guest
The Resurrection of the Dead:
Philippians 3:11
We are going to spend our time this morning studying
what the Bible teaches about the resurrection. Paul said
in Philippians 3 that he had forsaken his own righteousness
and trusted only and completely in Christ "in order that"
he might attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:11 (NASB) in order that I may attain to
the resurrection from the dead.
What exactly did Paul mean by this? What is the
resurrection? We will attempt to answer these questions
this morning.
Let's begin by reviewing the context of this verse.
The theme of Philippians 3:4-11 is justification by
faith alone. The key verse in this section is:
Philippians 3:9 (NKJV) and be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
is from God by faith;
Paul sees only two kinds of righteousness:
1. Self-righteousness which leads to damnation.
2. God's righteousness given through faith which
equals salvation.
This is the righteousness that Paul wanted to have,
that which comes by faith in Christ. This is speaking
of justification by faith alone.
In verse 8, Paul tells us he is no longer trusting in his
own righteousness in order that he may gain Christ.
Then in verses 9-11, he tells us what it means to gain
Christ. In verse 9, he tells us that to gain Christ means
to receive His righteousness. Then he goes on in verses
10-11 to explain further what it means to gain Christ.
I see all of the things he mentions in verse 10 to be
results of justification. Paul "suffered the loss of all
things, and counted them as dung" in order that he
may "gain Christ". And gaining Christ means:
"Receiving his righteousness, knowing him, knowing
the power of his resurrection, knowing the fellowship
of his suffering, and being make like him in our death
to sin."
Philippians 3:11 (NASB) in order that I may attain to
the resurrection from the dead.
Paul "suffered the loss of all things and counted them as
dung in order that he may attain to the resurrection from
the dead. The Greek word that Paul uses here for
"resurrection" is "exanastasi". This Greek word is
only used here in all the New Testament. It is the word
"anastasis", which means: "resurrection". With the
preposition "ek" in front of it which is the equivalent
of "out". This is literally, "the out resurrection out
from the corpses".
< DID YOU ALL GET THAT NOW??? READ IT AGAIN!
>
This verse is speaking of the resurrection of the righteous.
The resurrection of the righteous will take them out of the
total number of those dead.
Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament says,
"Apparently Paul is thinking here only of the resurrection
of believers out from the dead, and so double "ex"
(ten exanastasin ten ek nekron). Paul is not denying a
general resurrection by this language, but emphasizing
that of believers".
What exactly did Paul mean by "the resurrection"?
The traditional view that is held by most of the church
is this:
"When a believer dies, their body goes into the grave and
their spirit goes to heaven to be with the Lord. They are
in a disembodied state awaiting the resurrection at the
end of time. Then at the end of time the Lord returns,
resurrects all the decayed bodies of the dead saints,
puts them back together, then changes the physically
resurrected bodies into spiritual immortal bodies like
Christ's."
Does that sound like what you have been taught?
Have you ever thought about how the Lord will put all
those decayed bodies back together. Will He re-gather
and reassemble all the scattered atoms and molecules
which composed individual bodies at the time of death?
This problem is addressed by M.C. Tenney in his book,
The Reality of the Resurrection:
When the body of Roger Williams, founder of the Rhode Island
colony, was exhumed for reburial, it was found that the root
of an apple tree had penetrated the head of the coffin and
had followed down Williams' spine, dividing into a fork
at the legs. The tree had absorbed the chemicals of the
decaying body and had transmuted them into its wood
and fruit. The apples, in turn, had been eaten by people,
quite unconscious of the fact that they were indirectly
taking into their systems part of the long-dead Williams.
The objection may therefore be raised: How, out of the
complex sequence of decay, absorption, and new formation,
will it be possible to resurrect believers of past ages,
and to reconstitute them as separate entities?
This problem of joint ownership of atoms and molecules is
a big problem! After death, various body particles returned
to dust, reentered the food chain, got assimilated into
plants, eaten by animals, and digested into countless other
human bodies. At the resurrection, who gets which atoms
and molecules back? As you can see, it can get quite
complicated. Another thing that bothered me was why
does God raise our dead decayed bodies, put them all back
together just to change them into immortal spiritual bodies?
That is basically what the church teaches abut the
resurrection, but is it what the Bible teaches? Paul
clearly taught that the resurrection was the hope of
Israel.
Acts 23:6 (NKJV) But when Paul perceived that one part
were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in
the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son
of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of
the dead I am being judged!"
Acts 24:15 (NKJV) "I have hope in God, which they
themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."
Acts 28:20 (NKJV) "For this reason therefore I have called
for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the
hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."
Acts 26:6-8 (NKJV) "And now I stand and am judged
for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.
To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God
night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King
Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be
thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?
It is clear from this last verse that Paul sees the
resurrection of the dead as that which fulfills
"the hope of the promise made by God unto
our fathers."
The word "resurrection" does not appear in
the Old Testament, but the concept does.
Daniel 12:2 (NASB) "And many of those who sleep in
the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting
life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:13 (NASB) "But as for you, go your way to
the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again
for your allotted portion at the end of the age."
Here we see a resurrection at the end of the age.
THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF RESURRECTION:
It is interesting to note that the Bible never uses the
terms "resurrected body", "resurrection of the body",
or "physical resurrection". Does that surprise you?
The church uses those term quite often, but the Bible
never does. The phrases that the Bible does use are
"the resurrection of the dead" and "the resurrection
from the dead".
So, in order to understand "resurrection" we must
understand death. Resurrection is "resurrection from
the dead". To understand death we need to go back
to the book of beginnings, Genesis. In the book of
Genesis we see God creating man:
Genesis 2:7-8 (NKJV) "And the LORD God formed man
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being. The
Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there
He put the man whom He had formed."
After creating man, God placed him in the garden of Eden
and gave him a command.
Genesis 2:15-17 (NKJV) "Then the Lord God took the man
and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every
tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
God warned Adam, regarding the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, "the day that you eat of it you
shall surely die". Adam disobeyed God and ate of the tree:
Genesis 3:6 (NKJV) "So when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and
ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
Did Adam die that day? Not physically! Adam lived at least
800 years beyond the day he ate the fruit. But, God said he
would die the day he ate and we know that God cannot lie.
Adam did not die physically that day, but he did die
spiritually. He died spiritually the moment he disobeyed.
Spiritual death is separation from God.
Isaiah 59:1-2 (NKJV) "Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it
cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear."
Ephesians 2:1-5 (NKJV) And you He made alive, who were
dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked
according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works
in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all
once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and
were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love
with which He loved us, even when we were dead in
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace
you have been saved).
Because of his sin, man was separated from God. He was
dead in trespasses and sins. The focus of God's plan of
redemption is to restore through Jesus Christ what man
had lost in Adam.
Romans 5:18-19 (NKJV) Therefore, as through one man's
(Adam) offense judgment came to all men, resulting in
condemnation, even so through one Man's (Jesus) righteous
act the free gift came to all men, resulting in
justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience
many will be made righteous.
1 Corinthians 15:21 (NKJV) For since by man came death,
by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
Because of Adam's sin, we are all born dead, separated from
God. But through Jesus Christ came the resurrection from
the dead. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the
devil:
1 John 3:8 (NKJV) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil
has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works
of the devil.
What were the works of the devil? They were to separate
man from God. Jesus Christ came to redeem man from
death, to resurrect man back into the presence of God.
The Bible is God's book, about His plan to restore the
spiritual union of His creation. Resurrection is not about
bringing physical bodies out of the graves, it is about
restoring man into the presence of God.
SHEOL AND HADES.
Prior to Jesus' messianic work, no one went to Heaven:
John 3:13 (NKJV) "No one has ascended to heaven but He
who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who
is in heaven.
If prior to Jesus' messianic work, no one went to Heaven--
where did people go when they died? They went to a holding
place of the dead and waited for the atoning work of Christ
and the resurrection from the dead.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for where they were
prior to the resurrection is Sheol. In the New Testament the
Greek word is Hades. What this place amounted to was a
waiting area for disembodied spirits.
The Old Testament uses the word "Sheol" to refer to a place
in the depths of the earth. The expressions, "go down" or
"brought down" are used twenty times in connection with
Sheol. The "depths of Sheol" are mentioned six times
(Deut. 32:22; Ps. 86:13; Prov. 9:18; 15:24; Isa. 7:11;
14:15). Four times Sheol is described as the farthest point
from heaven (Job 11:8; Ps. 139:8; Isa. 7:11; Amos 9:2).
Often Sheol is parallel with the "pit" (Job 17:13-14; 33:18;
Ps. 30:3; 88:3-4; Prov. 1:12; Isa. 14:15; 38:18;
Ezek. 31:14-17). Nine times it is parallel with death
(2 Sam. 22:6; Ps. 18:4-5; 49:14; 89:48; 116:3; Prov. 5:5;
Isa. 28:15,18; Hos. 13:14; Hab. 2:5). Sheol is described in
terms of overwhelming floods, water, or waves (Jonah 2:2-6).
Sometimes, Sheol is pictured as a hunter setting snares for
its victim, binding them with cords, snatching them from
the land of the living (2 Sam 22:6; Job 24:19; Ps. 116:3).
Sheol is a prison with bars, a place of no return (Job 7:9;
10:21; 16:22; 21:13; Ps. 49:14; Isa. 38:10). People could
go to Sheol alive (Num. 16:30,33; Ps. 55:15; Prov. 1:12).
In Jewish tradition, it was also known as "Abraham's bosom"
since at death, the faithful Israelite was said to be
"gathered unto his fathers". Whatever it was called,
it was not Heaven.
Acts 2:29 (NKJV) "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to
you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his tomb is with us to this day.
Acts 2:34 (NKJV) "For David did not ascend into the heavens,
but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My
right hand...'"
David was dead, but he did not go to Heaven. But he had
a promise that he someday would. God had promised to
redeem His people from the grave:
Hosea 13:14 (NKJV) "I will ransom them from the power
of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death,
I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your
destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes."
Psalms 49:15 (NKJV) "But God will redeem my soul from
the power of the grave; For He shall receive me. Selah"
This verse expresses hope that God will provide salvation
beyond the grave, one of the few Old Testament references
to life after death. This verse anticipates the clear New
Testament teaching of life after death, and eternal life,
and salvation from God.
The earliest Christians saw this as a reference to Christ's
resurrection. What the psalmist saw as God's providential
care in present danger, Jesus knew was God's ultimate
caring and power to bring life from death.
All people were believed to go to Sheol when they die:
Psalms 89:48 (NASB) "What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah."
To be taken out of Sheol and brought into the presence
of the Lord is what the Bible calls resurrection. Daniel
spoke of this in:
Daniel 12:2 (NASB) "And many of those who sleep in the
dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life,
but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."
Daniel 12:13 (NASB) "But as for you, go your way to
the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again
for your allotted portion at the end of the age."
THE TIME OF THE RESURRECTION
According to the Bible, when was the resurrection to
take place? The Scriptures testify that the time of the
resurrection was to be at the end of the Old Covenant age.
We know this to have happened in AD 70 with the destruction
of the Jewish Temple. The disciples knew that the fall of
the temple and the destruction of the city meant the end
of the Old Covenant age and the inauguration of a new age.
Daniel 12:1-2 (NKJV) "At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your
people; And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at
that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is
found written in the book. And many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, some to shame and everlasting contempt."
Daniel says that this resurrection will come after a time of
great trouble for the Jewish nation. That sounds just like:
Matthew 24:21 (NKJV) "For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Here, Jesus was speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem.
<and remember folks, while the Dispy's claim that Daniel
has yet to be fulfilled, Jesus unsealed it in His time,
by quoting even Daniel 12 and applying it to Himself
and His time>
Notice also verse 3:
Daniel 12:3 (NKJV) "Those who are wise shall shine like
the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn
many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
Now compare that with:
Matthew 13:40-43 (NKJV) "Therefore as the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end
of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels,
and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will
cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Both Daniel 12 and Matthew 13 are speaking about the
destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The resurrection is
an event that was to happened in AD 70.
Verses 4 and 8 of Daniel 12 identify this time as
"the time of the end."
Daniel 12:4 (NKJV) "But you, Daniel, shut up the words,
and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
Daniel 12:8 (NKJV) "Although I heard, I did not understand.
Then I said, 'My lord, what shall be the end of these
things?'"
In response to Daniel's question at the end of verse 6,
"How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?",
the angel answers in:
Daniel 12:7 (NKJV) "Then I heard the man clothed in linen,
who was above the waters of the river, when he held up
his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by
Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times,
and half a time; and when the power of the holy people
has been completely shattered, all these things shall be
finished."
This again speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
In verse 12, Daniel connects the resurrection to the
abomination that makes desolate.
Daniel 12:11 (NKJV) "And from the time that the daily
sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation
is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and
ninety days."
Jesus referred to this in Matthew 24:15, in discussing
the fall of Jerusalem.
The last verse in Daniel 12, records a promise given
to Daniel about his own personal resurrection.
Daniel 12:13 (NKJV) "But you, go your way till the end;
for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at
the end of the days."
The statements of verses 1, 7, 11, and 12 tie the
resurrection to the time immediately following the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
What Daniel had written was well ingrained into the thinking
of the Jews. We see from Jesus' discussion with Martha that
Martha had no doubt as to when the resurrection would be.
John 11:23-24 (NKJV) Jesus said to her, "Your brother
will rise again. Martha said to Him, "I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Jesus taught that the resurrection would happen on
the last day:
John 6:39-40 (NKJV) "This is the will of the Father who
sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the
will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son
and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will
raise him up at the last day."
John 6:44 (NKJV) "No one can come to Me unless the
Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up
at the last day."
John 6:54 (NKJV) "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks
My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at
the last day."
When is the last day? To the Jews, time was divided into
two great periods, the Mosaic Age and the Messianic Age.
The Messiah was viewed as one who would bring in a new
world. The period of the Messiah was, therefore, correctly
characterized by the Synagogue as "the world to come".
All through the New Testament, we see two ages in contrast:
"This age" and the "age to come".
1 Peter 1:20 (NKJV) He indeed was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest IN THESE
LAST TIMES for you.
Jesus came during the last days of the age that was the
Old Covenant age, the Jewish age. That age came to
an end with the destruction of the temple in AD 70.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV) "God, who at various times and
in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, has IN THESE LAST DAYS spoken to us by
His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,
through whom also He made the worlds;"
Jesus was speaking in the last days. What last days? The
last days of the Bible's "this age" -- the Old Covenant age.
Hebrews 9:26 (NKJV) "He then would have had to suffer
often since the foundation of the world; but now, once
at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of Himself."
When was it that Jesus appeared? He was born, not at
the beginning, but at the end of the ages. To suppose
that he meant that Jesus' incarnation came near the end
of the world, would be to make his statement false.
The world has already lasted longer since the incarnation
than the whole duration of the Mosaic economy, from
the exodus to the destruction of the temple. Jesus was
manifest at the end of the Jewish age.
In Jesus' answer to the Sadducees about the woman who
had seven husbands, indicates that the resurrection was
to occur at the changing of the ages:
Luke 20:34-35 (NKJV) "And Jesus answered and said to them,
'The sons of this age (the Old Covenant age) marry and are
given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to
attain that age, (the New Covenant age) and the resurrection
from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;'"
The resurrection was not something that was available to
them in "this age" (the Old Covenant age) but would be
available to them in "that age" (the New Covenant age),
implying that the resurrection would occur at the beginning
of the New Covenant age.
So, the resurrection was to happen at the end of the Jewish
age, the Old Covenant age. We know that this happened in
AD 70.
Paul spoke of the nearness of the resurrection in his day:
Acts 24:15 (NKJV) "I have hope in God, which they themselves
also accept, that there will be (mello -about to be) a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."
If the TIME of the resurrection is seen as AD 70, then we
know that the NATURE of the resurrection was spiritual,
rather than physical. It is a fundamental fact of
eschatology that TIME DEFINES NATURE. Since we know
that the resurrection is past, we know that it was spiritual
and not physical. The resurrection of the dead that took
place at the end of the Old Covenant in AD 70 and was
not a biological resurrection of dead decayed bodies,
but a release from Sheol of all who had been waiting
through the centuries to be reunited with God in the
heavenly kingdom.
We can see from the teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus
several things about the resurrection beliefs of the early
Christians.
2 Timothy 2:17-18 (NKJV) "And their message will spread
like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that
the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow
the faith of some."
They must have believed that the resurrection would
be spiritual in nature, and, therefore, not subject to
confirmation by any physical evidence. If the early
Christians had believed that the resurrection would involve
the physical bodies coming out of the graves, as is taught
today, Hymenaius and Philitus could never have convinced
anyone that the resurrection had already happened.
They also must have believed that life on earth would go on
with no material change after the resurrection. They didn't
believe that they would be on a renovated planet earth as
a consequence of the resurrection. Otherwise, the teaching
of Hymenaeus and Philetus would have been impossible.
No one would have paid any attention to them.
The reason that their teaching that the resurrection has
already happened was overthrowing the faith of some was
that it postulated a consummation of the spiritual kingdom,
while the earthly temple in Jerusalem still stood. This was
a mixture of law and grace. This destroyed the faith
of some by making the works of the law a part of the
New Covenant.
WAS CHRIST PHYSICALLY RESURRECTED?
YES! Absolutely, without a doubt. Since Christ's
resurrection was physical, won't ours be? NO!
Christ's actual resurrection was His going to Hades
and coming back out. When he was resurrected
from Hades, He was raised into his original body,
which was transformed into His heavenly form.
This was done as a SIGN to the apostles that he
had done what He had promised. The resurrection
of Jesus' body verified for His disciples, the
resurrection of His soul. David had prophesied:
Psalms 16:10 (NKJV) "For You will not leave my soul in
Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."
Peter preached that David looked ahead and spoke of
the resurrection of Christ:
Acts 2:31 (NKJV) "He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning
the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left
in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption."
These verses speak of both spiritual death (the soul in
Hades) and physical death (decay of the flesh). Jesus
was resurrected from both.
The reason there are differences in the way we are raised
and the way in which Christ was raised is because of those
Biblically defined differences between Christ's body and
ours. Differences such as:
Christ is the only one who is both fully God and fully Man
-- God incarnate (John 1:1-18). Christ is the only one who
was virgin born, and, therefore, born without original sin
(Rom. 3:21-26; 5:12-21; 7:4-11; etc.). Christ is the only
one who ever lived a sinless life. (Heb. 4:15). Christ is
the only one promised that his flesh would not suffer decay
(Acts 2:27,31).
His human body was not subject to original sin, nor
corruptible (i.e. He was "impeccable"), nor did He ever
commit sin and become corrupted. Because of this,
He could keep His selfsame body, whereas, we cannot.
Unless Jesus' body had been resurrected, His disciples
would have had no assurance that His soul had been
to Hades and had been resurrected. The physical
resurrection of Christ was essential to verify the
spiritual, to which it was tied. While the physical
resurrection of our bodies would have no point,
since we will not continue living on this planet,
breathing earth's oxygen, and eating earth's food
after we die physically.
WHAT HAPPENS TO US AT DEATH?
Since the resurrection is past, what happens to believers
when they die? Their physical body goes back to dust
from which it came:
Ecclesiastes 3:20 (NKJV) "All go to one place: all are
from the dust, and all return to dust."
And their spirit is united to their spiritual body and
goes to be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:35-38 (NKJV) "But someone will say,
'How are the dead raised up? And with what body do
they come?'. Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive
unless it dies. And what you sow, YOU DO NOT SOW
THAT BODY THAT SHALL BE, but mere grain; perhaps
wheat or some other grain. But GOD GIVES IT A BODY
as He pleases, and to each seed its own body."
We get the same kind of body Christ has, but we do not get
it the same way He got His, nor do we get our same physical
body back like Christ did. We get a new spiritual body
which arises out of the inner man. God gives us a
spiritual body!
1 Corinthians 15:44-46 (NKJV) "It is sown a natural body,
it is RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY. There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written,
'The first man Adam became a living being'. The last
Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual
is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual."
This affirms two different kinds of bodies. Our natural
body dies, and we receive a spiritual body. Paul says,
"IT IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY".
Those of us who have trusted Christ in the New Covenant age,
have life and do not need to be resurrected.
John 11:25-26 (NKJV) "Jesus said to her, 'I am
the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me,
though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives
and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'"
Jesus is saying, "He who believes in me shall live
(spiritually), even if he dies (physically), and everyone
who lives (physically), and believes in Me, shall never
die (spiritually)".
Two categories of believers are discussed: those who
would die before the resurrection and those who would
not. For those who died under the Old Covenant, He
was the Resurrection, but for those who lived into the
days of the New Covenant, He is the Life.
Under the New Covenant, there is no death,
spiritually speaking:
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NKJV) "So when this corruptible has
put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
'Death is swallowed up in victory'. 'O Death, where is
your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?'. The sting
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ."
Revelation 21:4 (NKJV) "And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes; THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, nor
sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away."
Where there is no death, there is no need of a resurrection.
We have eternal life and can never die spiritually.
Therefore, we don't need a resurrection. At death,
we go immediately to heaven in our spiritual body.
The resurrection was a one time event in which the
Old Testament saints were brought out of Hades and
finally overcame death to be with the Lord. We have
put on immortality and will put on our immortal body
when we die physically. As believers, we live in the
presence of God, and in physical death, we simply
drop the flesh and dwell only in the spiritual realm.
This message preached by David B. Curtis on May 9, 1999.
Tape #103.
Reader's Comment:
"Excellent job of lining up prophetic scriptures from the
Old Testament with statements made by Jesus which are
understood by all serious scholars to refer to the fall of
Jerusalem in 70 AD, proving that the resurrection had
to have occurred at the time of Jerusalem's destruction.
Great point about the nature of Hymenaeus and Philetus'
teaching, and that such a teaching would not have been
believed by anyone if the early church were expecting
a literal reviving of dead corpses. I gotta give you credit
for taking on the question of the nature of the afterlife
too. Many passages we used to think were about the
afterlife, we're finding out are actually about New Covenant
truths. So the nature of the afterlife is a big question
and there's a lot to learn. Maybe a lot that we simply
can't learn in this life."
--
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die
so that you may live as you wish." - Mother Teresa
Philippians 3:11
We are going to spend our time this morning studying
what the Bible teaches about the resurrection. Paul said
in Philippians 3 that he had forsaken his own righteousness
and trusted only and completely in Christ "in order that"
he might attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:11 (NASB) in order that I may attain to
the resurrection from the dead.
What exactly did Paul mean by this? What is the
resurrection? We will attempt to answer these questions
this morning.
Let's begin by reviewing the context of this verse.
The theme of Philippians 3:4-11 is justification by
faith alone. The key verse in this section is:
Philippians 3:9 (NKJV) and be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
is from God by faith;
Paul sees only two kinds of righteousness:
1. Self-righteousness which leads to damnation.
2. God's righteousness given through faith which
equals salvation.
This is the righteousness that Paul wanted to have,
that which comes by faith in Christ. This is speaking
of justification by faith alone.
In verse 8, Paul tells us he is no longer trusting in his
own righteousness in order that he may gain Christ.
Then in verses 9-11, he tells us what it means to gain
Christ. In verse 9, he tells us that to gain Christ means
to receive His righteousness. Then he goes on in verses
10-11 to explain further what it means to gain Christ.
I see all of the things he mentions in verse 10 to be
results of justification. Paul "suffered the loss of all
things, and counted them as dung" in order that he
may "gain Christ". And gaining Christ means:
"Receiving his righteousness, knowing him, knowing
the power of his resurrection, knowing the fellowship
of his suffering, and being make like him in our death
to sin."
Philippians 3:11 (NASB) in order that I may attain to
the resurrection from the dead.
Paul "suffered the loss of all things and counted them as
dung in order that he may attain to the resurrection from
the dead. The Greek word that Paul uses here for
"resurrection" is "exanastasi". This Greek word is
only used here in all the New Testament. It is the word
"anastasis", which means: "resurrection". With the
preposition "ek" in front of it which is the equivalent
of "out". This is literally, "the out resurrection out
from the corpses".
< DID YOU ALL GET THAT NOW??? READ IT AGAIN!
>This verse is speaking of the resurrection of the righteous.
The resurrection of the righteous will take them out of the
total number of those dead.
Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament says,
"Apparently Paul is thinking here only of the resurrection
of believers out from the dead, and so double "ex"
(ten exanastasin ten ek nekron). Paul is not denying a
general resurrection by this language, but emphasizing
that of believers".
What exactly did Paul mean by "the resurrection"?
The traditional view that is held by most of the church
is this:
"When a believer dies, their body goes into the grave and
their spirit goes to heaven to be with the Lord. They are
in a disembodied state awaiting the resurrection at the
end of time. Then at the end of time the Lord returns,
resurrects all the decayed bodies of the dead saints,
puts them back together, then changes the physically
resurrected bodies into spiritual immortal bodies like
Christ's."
Does that sound like what you have been taught?
Have you ever thought about how the Lord will put all
those decayed bodies back together. Will He re-gather
and reassemble all the scattered atoms and molecules
which composed individual bodies at the time of death?
This problem is addressed by M.C. Tenney in his book,
The Reality of the Resurrection:
When the body of Roger Williams, founder of the Rhode Island
colony, was exhumed for reburial, it was found that the root
of an apple tree had penetrated the head of the coffin and
had followed down Williams' spine, dividing into a fork
at the legs. The tree had absorbed the chemicals of the
decaying body and had transmuted them into its wood
and fruit. The apples, in turn, had been eaten by people,
quite unconscious of the fact that they were indirectly
taking into their systems part of the long-dead Williams.
The objection may therefore be raised: How, out of the
complex sequence of decay, absorption, and new formation,
will it be possible to resurrect believers of past ages,
and to reconstitute them as separate entities?
This problem of joint ownership of atoms and molecules is
a big problem! After death, various body particles returned
to dust, reentered the food chain, got assimilated into
plants, eaten by animals, and digested into countless other
human bodies. At the resurrection, who gets which atoms
and molecules back? As you can see, it can get quite
complicated. Another thing that bothered me was why
does God raise our dead decayed bodies, put them all back
together just to change them into immortal spiritual bodies?
That is basically what the church teaches abut the
resurrection, but is it what the Bible teaches? Paul
clearly taught that the resurrection was the hope of
Israel.
Acts 23:6 (NKJV) But when Paul perceived that one part
were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in
the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son
of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of
the dead I am being judged!"
Acts 24:15 (NKJV) "I have hope in God, which they
themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."
Acts 28:20 (NKJV) "For this reason therefore I have called
for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the
hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."
Acts 26:6-8 (NKJV) "And now I stand and am judged
for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.
To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God
night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King
Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be
thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?
It is clear from this last verse that Paul sees the
resurrection of the dead as that which fulfills
"the hope of the promise made by God unto
our fathers."
The word "resurrection" does not appear in
the Old Testament, but the concept does.
Daniel 12:2 (NASB) "And many of those who sleep in
the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting
life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:13 (NASB) "But as for you, go your way to
the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again
for your allotted portion at the end of the age."
Here we see a resurrection at the end of the age.
THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF RESURRECTION:
It is interesting to note that the Bible never uses the
terms "resurrected body", "resurrection of the body",
or "physical resurrection". Does that surprise you?
The church uses those term quite often, but the Bible
never does. The phrases that the Bible does use are
"the resurrection of the dead" and "the resurrection
from the dead".
So, in order to understand "resurrection" we must
understand death. Resurrection is "resurrection from
the dead". To understand death we need to go back
to the book of beginnings, Genesis. In the book of
Genesis we see God creating man:
Genesis 2:7-8 (NKJV) "And the LORD God formed man
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being. The
Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there
He put the man whom He had formed."
After creating man, God placed him in the garden of Eden
and gave him a command.
Genesis 2:15-17 (NKJV) "Then the Lord God took the man
and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every
tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
God warned Adam, regarding the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, "the day that you eat of it you
shall surely die". Adam disobeyed God and ate of the tree:
Genesis 3:6 (NKJV) "So when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and
ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
Did Adam die that day? Not physically! Adam lived at least
800 years beyond the day he ate the fruit. But, God said he
would die the day he ate and we know that God cannot lie.
Adam did not die physically that day, but he did die
spiritually. He died spiritually the moment he disobeyed.
Spiritual death is separation from God.
Isaiah 59:1-2 (NKJV) "Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it
cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear."
Ephesians 2:1-5 (NKJV) And you He made alive, who were
dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked
according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works
in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all
once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and
were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love
with which He loved us, even when we were dead in
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace
you have been saved).
Because of his sin, man was separated from God. He was
dead in trespasses and sins. The focus of God's plan of
redemption is to restore through Jesus Christ what man
had lost in Adam.
Romans 5:18-19 (NKJV) Therefore, as through one man's
(Adam) offense judgment came to all men, resulting in
condemnation, even so through one Man's (Jesus) righteous
act the free gift came to all men, resulting in
justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience
many will be made righteous.
1 Corinthians 15:21 (NKJV) For since by man came death,
by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
Because of Adam's sin, we are all born dead, separated from
God. But through Jesus Christ came the resurrection from
the dead. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the
devil:
1 John 3:8 (NKJV) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil
has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works
of the devil.
What were the works of the devil? They were to separate
man from God. Jesus Christ came to redeem man from
death, to resurrect man back into the presence of God.
The Bible is God's book, about His plan to restore the
spiritual union of His creation. Resurrection is not about
bringing physical bodies out of the graves, it is about
restoring man into the presence of God.
SHEOL AND HADES.
Prior to Jesus' messianic work, no one went to Heaven:
John 3:13 (NKJV) "No one has ascended to heaven but He
who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who
is in heaven.
If prior to Jesus' messianic work, no one went to Heaven--
where did people go when they died? They went to a holding
place of the dead and waited for the atoning work of Christ
and the resurrection from the dead.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for where they were
prior to the resurrection is Sheol. In the New Testament the
Greek word is Hades. What this place amounted to was a
waiting area for disembodied spirits.
The Old Testament uses the word "Sheol" to refer to a place
in the depths of the earth. The expressions, "go down" or
"brought down" are used twenty times in connection with
Sheol. The "depths of Sheol" are mentioned six times
(Deut. 32:22; Ps. 86:13; Prov. 9:18; 15:24; Isa. 7:11;
14:15). Four times Sheol is described as the farthest point
from heaven (Job 11:8; Ps. 139:8; Isa. 7:11; Amos 9:2).
Often Sheol is parallel with the "pit" (Job 17:13-14; 33:18;
Ps. 30:3; 88:3-4; Prov. 1:12; Isa. 14:15; 38:18;
Ezek. 31:14-17). Nine times it is parallel with death
(2 Sam. 22:6; Ps. 18:4-5; 49:14; 89:48; 116:3; Prov. 5:5;
Isa. 28:15,18; Hos. 13:14; Hab. 2:5). Sheol is described in
terms of overwhelming floods, water, or waves (Jonah 2:2-6).
Sometimes, Sheol is pictured as a hunter setting snares for
its victim, binding them with cords, snatching them from
the land of the living (2 Sam 22:6; Job 24:19; Ps. 116:3).
Sheol is a prison with bars, a place of no return (Job 7:9;
10:21; 16:22; 21:13; Ps. 49:14; Isa. 38:10). People could
go to Sheol alive (Num. 16:30,33; Ps. 55:15; Prov. 1:12).
In Jewish tradition, it was also known as "Abraham's bosom"
since at death, the faithful Israelite was said to be
"gathered unto his fathers". Whatever it was called,
it was not Heaven.
Acts 2:29 (NKJV) "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to
you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his tomb is with us to this day.
Acts 2:34 (NKJV) "For David did not ascend into the heavens,
but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My
right hand...'"
David was dead, but he did not go to Heaven. But he had
a promise that he someday would. God had promised to
redeem His people from the grave:
Hosea 13:14 (NKJV) "I will ransom them from the power
of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death,
I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your
destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes."
Psalms 49:15 (NKJV) "But God will redeem my soul from
the power of the grave; For He shall receive me. Selah"
This verse expresses hope that God will provide salvation
beyond the grave, one of the few Old Testament references
to life after death. This verse anticipates the clear New
Testament teaching of life after death, and eternal life,
and salvation from God.
The earliest Christians saw this as a reference to Christ's
resurrection. What the psalmist saw as God's providential
care in present danger, Jesus knew was God's ultimate
caring and power to bring life from death.
All people were believed to go to Sheol when they die:
Psalms 89:48 (NASB) "What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah."
To be taken out of Sheol and brought into the presence
of the Lord is what the Bible calls resurrection. Daniel
spoke of this in:
Daniel 12:2 (NASB) "And many of those who sleep in the
dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life,
but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."
Daniel 12:13 (NASB) "But as for you, go your way to
the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again
for your allotted portion at the end of the age."
THE TIME OF THE RESURRECTION
According to the Bible, when was the resurrection to
take place? The Scriptures testify that the time of the
resurrection was to be at the end of the Old Covenant age.
We know this to have happened in AD 70 with the destruction
of the Jewish Temple. The disciples knew that the fall of
the temple and the destruction of the city meant the end
of the Old Covenant age and the inauguration of a new age.
Daniel 12:1-2 (NKJV) "At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your
people; And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at
that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is
found written in the book. And many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, some to shame and everlasting contempt."
Daniel says that this resurrection will come after a time of
great trouble for the Jewish nation. That sounds just like:
Matthew 24:21 (NKJV) "For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Here, Jesus was speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem.
<and remember folks, while the Dispy's claim that Daniel
has yet to be fulfilled, Jesus unsealed it in His time,
by quoting even Daniel 12 and applying it to Himself
and His time>
Notice also verse 3:
Daniel 12:3 (NKJV) "Those who are wise shall shine like
the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn
many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
Now compare that with:
Matthew 13:40-43 (NKJV) "Therefore as the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end
of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels,
and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will
cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Both Daniel 12 and Matthew 13 are speaking about the
destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The resurrection is
an event that was to happened in AD 70.
Verses 4 and 8 of Daniel 12 identify this time as
"the time of the end."
Daniel 12:4 (NKJV) "But you, Daniel, shut up the words,
and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
Daniel 12:8 (NKJV) "Although I heard, I did not understand.
Then I said, 'My lord, what shall be the end of these
things?'"
In response to Daniel's question at the end of verse 6,
"How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?",
the angel answers in:
Daniel 12:7 (NKJV) "Then I heard the man clothed in linen,
who was above the waters of the river, when he held up
his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by
Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times,
and half a time; and when the power of the holy people
has been completely shattered, all these things shall be
finished."
This again speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
In verse 12, Daniel connects the resurrection to the
abomination that makes desolate.
Daniel 12:11 (NKJV) "And from the time that the daily
sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation
is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and
ninety days."
Jesus referred to this in Matthew 24:15, in discussing
the fall of Jerusalem.
The last verse in Daniel 12, records a promise given
to Daniel about his own personal resurrection.
Daniel 12:13 (NKJV) "But you, go your way till the end;
for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at
the end of the days."
The statements of verses 1, 7, 11, and 12 tie the
resurrection to the time immediately following the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
What Daniel had written was well ingrained into the thinking
of the Jews. We see from Jesus' discussion with Martha that
Martha had no doubt as to when the resurrection would be.
John 11:23-24 (NKJV) Jesus said to her, "Your brother
will rise again. Martha said to Him, "I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Jesus taught that the resurrection would happen on
the last day:
John 6:39-40 (NKJV) "This is the will of the Father who
sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the
will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son
and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will
raise him up at the last day."
John 6:44 (NKJV) "No one can come to Me unless the
Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up
at the last day."
John 6:54 (NKJV) "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks
My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at
the last day."
When is the last day? To the Jews, time was divided into
two great periods, the Mosaic Age and the Messianic Age.
The Messiah was viewed as one who would bring in a new
world. The period of the Messiah was, therefore, correctly
characterized by the Synagogue as "the world to come".
All through the New Testament, we see two ages in contrast:
"This age" and the "age to come".
1 Peter 1:20 (NKJV) He indeed was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest IN THESE
LAST TIMES for you.
Jesus came during the last days of the age that was the
Old Covenant age, the Jewish age. That age came to
an end with the destruction of the temple in AD 70.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV) "God, who at various times and
in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, has IN THESE LAST DAYS spoken to us by
His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,
through whom also He made the worlds;"
Jesus was speaking in the last days. What last days? The
last days of the Bible's "this age" -- the Old Covenant age.
Hebrews 9:26 (NKJV) "He then would have had to suffer
often since the foundation of the world; but now, once
at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of Himself."
When was it that Jesus appeared? He was born, not at
the beginning, but at the end of the ages. To suppose
that he meant that Jesus' incarnation came near the end
of the world, would be to make his statement false.
The world has already lasted longer since the incarnation
than the whole duration of the Mosaic economy, from
the exodus to the destruction of the temple. Jesus was
manifest at the end of the Jewish age.
In Jesus' answer to the Sadducees about the woman who
had seven husbands, indicates that the resurrection was
to occur at the changing of the ages:
Luke 20:34-35 (NKJV) "And Jesus answered and said to them,
'The sons of this age (the Old Covenant age) marry and are
given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to
attain that age, (the New Covenant age) and the resurrection
from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;'"
The resurrection was not something that was available to
them in "this age" (the Old Covenant age) but would be
available to them in "that age" (the New Covenant age),
implying that the resurrection would occur at the beginning
of the New Covenant age.
So, the resurrection was to happen at the end of the Jewish
age, the Old Covenant age. We know that this happened in
AD 70.
Paul spoke of the nearness of the resurrection in his day:
Acts 24:15 (NKJV) "I have hope in God, which they themselves
also accept, that there will be (mello -about to be) a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."
If the TIME of the resurrection is seen as AD 70, then we
know that the NATURE of the resurrection was spiritual,
rather than physical. It is a fundamental fact of
eschatology that TIME DEFINES NATURE. Since we know
that the resurrection is past, we know that it was spiritual
and not physical. The resurrection of the dead that took
place at the end of the Old Covenant in AD 70 and was
not a biological resurrection of dead decayed bodies,
but a release from Sheol of all who had been waiting
through the centuries to be reunited with God in the
heavenly kingdom.
We can see from the teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus
several things about the resurrection beliefs of the early
Christians.
2 Timothy 2:17-18 (NKJV) "And their message will spread
like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that
the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow
the faith of some."
They must have believed that the resurrection would
be spiritual in nature, and, therefore, not subject to
confirmation by any physical evidence. If the early
Christians had believed that the resurrection would involve
the physical bodies coming out of the graves, as is taught
today, Hymenaius and Philitus could never have convinced
anyone that the resurrection had already happened.
They also must have believed that life on earth would go on
with no material change after the resurrection. They didn't
believe that they would be on a renovated planet earth as
a consequence of the resurrection. Otherwise, the teaching
of Hymenaeus and Philetus would have been impossible.
No one would have paid any attention to them.
The reason that their teaching that the resurrection has
already happened was overthrowing the faith of some was
that it postulated a consummation of the spiritual kingdom,
while the earthly temple in Jerusalem still stood. This was
a mixture of law and grace. This destroyed the faith
of some by making the works of the law a part of the
New Covenant.
WAS CHRIST PHYSICALLY RESURRECTED?
YES! Absolutely, without a doubt. Since Christ's
resurrection was physical, won't ours be? NO!
Christ's actual resurrection was His going to Hades
and coming back out. When he was resurrected
from Hades, He was raised into his original body,
which was transformed into His heavenly form.
This was done as a SIGN to the apostles that he
had done what He had promised. The resurrection
of Jesus' body verified for His disciples, the
resurrection of His soul. David had prophesied:
Psalms 16:10 (NKJV) "For You will not leave my soul in
Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."
Peter preached that David looked ahead and spoke of
the resurrection of Christ:
Acts 2:31 (NKJV) "He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning
the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left
in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption."
These verses speak of both spiritual death (the soul in
Hades) and physical death (decay of the flesh). Jesus
was resurrected from both.
The reason there are differences in the way we are raised
and the way in which Christ was raised is because of those
Biblically defined differences between Christ's body and
ours. Differences such as:
Christ is the only one who is both fully God and fully Man
-- God incarnate (John 1:1-18). Christ is the only one who
was virgin born, and, therefore, born without original sin
(Rom. 3:21-26; 5:12-21; 7:4-11; etc.). Christ is the only
one who ever lived a sinless life. (Heb. 4:15). Christ is
the only one promised that his flesh would not suffer decay
(Acts 2:27,31).
His human body was not subject to original sin, nor
corruptible (i.e. He was "impeccable"), nor did He ever
commit sin and become corrupted. Because of this,
He could keep His selfsame body, whereas, we cannot.
Unless Jesus' body had been resurrected, His disciples
would have had no assurance that His soul had been
to Hades and had been resurrected. The physical
resurrection of Christ was essential to verify the
spiritual, to which it was tied. While the physical
resurrection of our bodies would have no point,
since we will not continue living on this planet,
breathing earth's oxygen, and eating earth's food
after we die physically.
WHAT HAPPENS TO US AT DEATH?
Since the resurrection is past, what happens to believers
when they die? Their physical body goes back to dust
from which it came:
Ecclesiastes 3:20 (NKJV) "All go to one place: all are
from the dust, and all return to dust."
And their spirit is united to their spiritual body and
goes to be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:35-38 (NKJV) "But someone will say,
'How are the dead raised up? And with what body do
they come?'. Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive
unless it dies. And what you sow, YOU DO NOT SOW
THAT BODY THAT SHALL BE, but mere grain; perhaps
wheat or some other grain. But GOD GIVES IT A BODY
as He pleases, and to each seed its own body."
We get the same kind of body Christ has, but we do not get
it the same way He got His, nor do we get our same physical
body back like Christ did. We get a new spiritual body
which arises out of the inner man. God gives us a
spiritual body!
1 Corinthians 15:44-46 (NKJV) "It is sown a natural body,
it is RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY. There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written,
'The first man Adam became a living being'. The last
Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual
is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual."
This affirms two different kinds of bodies. Our natural
body dies, and we receive a spiritual body. Paul says,
"IT IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY".
Those of us who have trusted Christ in the New Covenant age,
have life and do not need to be resurrected.
John 11:25-26 (NKJV) "Jesus said to her, 'I am
the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me,
though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives
and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'"
Jesus is saying, "He who believes in me shall live
(spiritually), even if he dies (physically), and everyone
who lives (physically), and believes in Me, shall never
die (spiritually)".
Two categories of believers are discussed: those who
would die before the resurrection and those who would
not. For those who died under the Old Covenant, He
was the Resurrection, but for those who lived into the
days of the New Covenant, He is the Life.
Under the New Covenant, there is no death,
spiritually speaking:
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NKJV) "So when this corruptible has
put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
'Death is swallowed up in victory'. 'O Death, where is
your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?'. The sting
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ."
Revelation 21:4 (NKJV) "And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes; THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, nor
sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away."
Where there is no death, there is no need of a resurrection.
We have eternal life and can never die spiritually.
Therefore, we don't need a resurrection. At death,
we go immediately to heaven in our spiritual body.
The resurrection was a one time event in which the
Old Testament saints were brought out of Hades and
finally overcame death to be with the Lord. We have
put on immortality and will put on our immortal body
when we die physically. As believers, we live in the
presence of God, and in physical death, we simply
drop the flesh and dwell only in the spiritual realm.
This message preached by David B. Curtis on May 9, 1999.
Tape #103.
Reader's Comment:
"Excellent job of lining up prophetic scriptures from the
Old Testament with statements made by Jesus which are
understood by all serious scholars to refer to the fall of
Jerusalem in 70 AD, proving that the resurrection had
to have occurred at the time of Jerusalem's destruction.
Great point about the nature of Hymenaeus and Philetus'
teaching, and that such a teaching would not have been
believed by anyone if the early church were expecting
a literal reviving of dead corpses. I gotta give you credit
for taking on the question of the nature of the afterlife
too. Many passages we used to think were about the
afterlife, we're finding out are actually about New Covenant
truths. So the nature of the afterlife is a big question
and there's a lot to learn. Maybe a lot that we simply
can't learn in this life."
--
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die
so that you may live as you wish." - Mother Teresa