SERIES: Christ Is the Answer When the Church Is in Crisis
The Mechanics of the Resurrection: How Are Dead Bodies Raised?
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 15:35‑49
Introduction: Some workmen were moving a little cemetery to make way for a new highway. One man, standing in a deep hole, held up a small zinc plate, and read to the others, “Jennie Stewart, 1905‑1908.” Then his shovel uncovered some moldy wood, a few bones and a blackened skull. “That’s all that’s left of little Jennie,” he said. Then he put her remains in a new box and moved on.
Now you look like rational people. Do you really believe Jennie Stewart, who died in 1908 at the age of 3, will ever be raised from the dead? Oh, I know most of you believe Jennie’s spirit and soul are alive, because you can’t kill a soul or a spirit. But how is it possible for Jennie’s body to have any future? In another 100 years in this moist earth, even her few remaining bones will disappear.
But I know some of you are pretty stubborn in your faith. So just for the sake of argument I’ll grant you that Jennie Stewart may be resurrected. If so, what kind of body will she have? Will it be immaterial and ghost‑like? What connection will there be, if any, to those bones in the grave? If her actual earthly body is resurrected, will she just have a partial skeleton, because that’s all that’s left of her? And even if her entire body were revived, would she be a 3-year old or full-grown? Don’t you see how ridiculous the whole concept of bodily resurrection is?
The conversation you have just witnessed is very old. Nineteen hundred years ago some members of the Corinthian church were expressing just such viewpoints, and the record of their skeptical questions and the Apostle Paul’s incisive answers is found in 1 Corinthians 15:35‑49:
But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life‑giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
We’ve been studying the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians for more than a month now. We first noted the historical evidence for the resurrection, then the practical impact of the resurrection on a believer’s life. Two weeks ago, we examined the logic of the resurrection, and today, the mechanics of it.
I want you to notice the structure of this passage–it is in a question-and-answer form. Two questions appear in verse 35 and the answers constitute the rest of the passage. Either these questions had actually been asked of Paul, or possibly he anticipates that they are in the minds of some of his listeners. The first is, “How are the dead raised?” And the second is, “And with what kind of body will they come?”
Those questions sound legitimate enough in English; after all, we’re all curious about such things. But these are not really questions seeking information; they are skeptical questions asked with an attitude of scorn and unbelief. The sense of the Greek is this: “How is it possible for the dead to be raised? How can you be so gullible? Everyone knows that the human body is a weak and decaying tent and it’s inconceivable that these bodies of ours can ever be renovated for heaven.”
It’s this skeptical and contemptuous attitude that elicits Paul’s response, “How foolish!” Our English translation really softens his words, for he actually calls the person a fool. He’s dealing with a skeptic who is trying his best to make the whole doctrine of bodily resurrection appear ridiculous, and Paul has little patience with that kind of skepticism.
It is a little strange, you know, that any professing Christian should be skeptical about resurrection. As one writer asked, “Why would anyone who acknowledges a creator God think it any more difficult for Him to restore human bodies to their original condition (or even better) than it was for Him to create them in the first place?” [i] Or we can just quote Paul as he stood before King Agrippa, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8). If such a question could be asked of an unbelieving king of Jewish people, how much less sense does it make for a professing Christian to have doubts about the resurrection?
There are, of course, some legitimate questions that concern us, like “What about those who have been lost at sea, cremated, or otherwise disintegrated beyond recognition?” But friends, let’s face it, every dead body, no matter how well embalmed, eventually disintegrates. Besides, we live in a day and time when cloning is no longer just a science fiction notion; it’s reality. In the St. Louis Post Dispatch on Friday there was news about a house cat who was cloned in December. If scientists today can take a single cell from a cat or a sheep or, God forbid, a human being, and produce a full-fledged replica, can we really imagine that God is handicapped by the fact that a human body has been lost to the elements?
Now with that introduction, let’s consider the first of the two questions raised:
Question One: “How is it possible for dead, decaying bodies to be resurrected?” (35)
Paul’s response is essentially this:
Death always precedes new life. (36)
Our present bodies are like “seed” for our resurrection bodies. (37-38)
Death and decay, far from being a hindrance to resurrection, are actually a necessary prerequisite to it. An analogy from nature helps to press home the point: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” You can have a whole sack of grass seed, but as long as you keep it dry and on the shelf in the garage, it will never sprout. However, if you take it out and plant it in the dark, damp soil so that the seed begins to decay, then it will sprout. If this is true in the realm of gardening, why is it so hard to believe in regard to the future of the human body? No decay, no growth. No death, no resurrection. (There is an exception, of course, in the special, unique case of those believers still alive when Jesus comes again, which will be discussed in the final paragraph of the chapter. Thus, my sermon title for next Sunday: “Some Will Never Die”).
Interestingly, Jesus used the same kind of argument about the necessity of death before resurrection when speaking of His own resurrection in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Before Christ could bear the fruit of salvation for all of us, He had to die; His death then produced a great harvest of souls. Likewise, before we can enjoy resurrection life, we too must die. There has to be an end to the old before there can be a beginning of the new.
Question Two: “What kind of body will the resurrection body be?” (35)
In responding to this second question, Paul’s principal concern seems to be maintaining a balance between continuity and discontinuity:
Our resurrection bodies will be similar to our present bodies. (37-38)
Our resurrection bodies will be different from our present bodies. (37, 42-44)
The seed analogy serves well here too. Verse 37: “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.” When a farmer plants corn, he doesn’t plant the luscious ears of corn, all yellow and juicy, that he hopes to harvest. No, he plants bare corn seeds. So also, when a dead body is planted in the ground, it is just a bare seed in comparison to the resurrection body which will take its place.
But just because what is planted and what sprouts are not identical does not mean that there is no similarity between them. As a matter of fact, there is an organic relation between them. Verse 38 expresses it this way: “But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body (i.e., a body which corresponds to the seed planted).” [ii] If you plant a corn seed, you’re going to get a corn plant, not wheat or cucumbers or an oak tree.
So also, our resurrection bodies will have an organic connection or continuity with our present bodies. If a human body is buried, a human body will be resurrected. God is going to fashion our resurrection bodies out of these present bodies. Your body will be different, but it will still be you. That is why when Jesus rose from the dead, His earthly body was missing from the grave. It had to be missing because His new body was the old body–resurrected and transformed.
But while our resurrection bodies will be similar, they will also be different. How different? If we can skip down to verse 42-44, we see four key aspects in which they are different: “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” The first contrast has to do with …
Permanence. Our physical bodies are perishable; our resurrection bodies will be imperishable. The word “perishable” means “subject to deterioration and decay.” Medical science indicates that the process of aging and deterioration begins in infancy, but, of course, the older we get, the more we notice it. And death rapidly accelerates the rate of decay. One of the reasons bodies are embalmed is to retard the deterioration, but nothing, not even mummification, will prevent it.
Frankly, I believe we have carried the effort to preserve dead bodies to a ridiculous length today–far surpassing the ancient Egyptians. There is a movement in the United States called cryonics. It is the science of preserving corpses in liquid nitrogen at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars a year, with the hope that eventually a cure will be discovered for the disease from which the person died, and then the person who died can supposedly be treated and resuscitated.
What a tragedy for the living to spend that kind of money on the dead, when there is a foolproof way to preserve one’s body which doesn’t cost a thing–it pays. The Apostle Peter put it this way: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you….” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Our new bodies will know no sickness, decay, deterioration or death. They will be permanent.
Second, he speaks of their …
Value and potential. “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.” By this Paul probably means that because of sin, our bodies, which were originally created to bring honor to God, have become characterized instead by dishonor. We dishonor God by misusing and abusing our bodies; we dishonor God by not taking advantage of the gifts and abilities He as placed in us; we dishonor Him when our physical passions dominate us. But in the life to come our bodies will no longer be the servants of passion and impulse, but rather the instruments of service for God, perfected for pleasing, praising and enjoying the Creator who made our bodies and the Redeemer who restored them. That is the highest honor and glory imaginable.
Next, Paul mentions the resurrection body’s …
Strength and ability. “It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” The human body is a truly amazing instrument. Man has never been able, and likely never will be able, to build a camera to match the human eye, or a tool to do what the human hand can do, or a computer capable of the intricate thought patterns of the human brain. When we contemplate such features of the body we are inclined to think of our physical bodies as very powerful. But actually, there is much more evidence of weakness than power in our bodies, especially as we get older. The body sags, it groans, it aches, sometimes even smells. A healthy person can easily be felled by just a draft of cold air or a microscopic virus.
When I was 18 three of my friends and I were at the Grand Canyon just goofing off. One suggested we walk to the bottom. So, with one canteen and no food, no flashlights, no hats, no hiking boots (one guy had just sneakers and no socks), we took off for the bottom. When we got to the Colorado River it was nearly dark, and for the first time we began to think, “Wonder what we’re going to do now that we’re down here?” We discovered they had no place for us to stay at the Phantom Ranch at the bottom, so our only option was to walk out. We did–at night, with no flashlights. We completed the 18-mile round trip, down the Bright Angel trail and back up the Kaibab trail in just 12 hours from the time we left the rim. I was incredibly exhausted, but I made it! Today I can only dream about such feats. I fall asleep now watching a movie about the Grand Canyon.
Our physical constitution so often says to our visions and our plans, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” But not so with our new bodies which will be raised in power. Whatever our heavenly spirits determine to do, our heavenly bodies will be able to carry out.
Finally, he speaks of the resurrection body’s …
Sphere of operation. “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” It is very important that we not interpret this contrast wrongly. Paul is not saying that our present bodies are material whereas our resurrection bodies will be immaterial. Rather I think his point is that our present bodies are natural, while our resurrection bodies will be supernatural. Our present bodies are a kind of “earth suit” designed for time but not for eternity.
In the NT the term “natural” almost always denotes that which is controlled by natural impulses. In contrast, the term “spiritual” denotes that which is controlled by God’s Spirit. In this life we are imperfect instruments for the Spirit; but in the life to come our bodies will be such that the Spirit can fill us and use us to a degree that is not possible now. Prof. J.A. Schep, who wrote one of the classic books on resurrection defines a “spiritual body” as follows: “a body of flesh completely dominated by the Spirit’s powers, living in space and time and yet not enslaved to present laws of space and time.”[iii]
To summarize, our resurrection bodies will have continuity with our present bodies, but there will be discontinuity as well, sameness but difference. Isn’t that exactly what we see when we look at the body of Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances? He appeared and disappeared at will. He could go through doors without opening them, being essentially unlimited by space and time. Yet he still bore the wounds in his hands and side. He still sat down with His disciples to eat and drink with them, though it’s difficult to imagine He needed nourishment. He was recognized at times but not at other times. He generally operated within the laws of nature, but He wasn’t bound by them. He was remarkably the same, yet remarkably different. Our resurrection bodies, too, will experience both continuity and discontinuity with our present bodies.
Now a third important truth Paul presents here is that …
Our resurrection bodies will be perfectly suited for heaven. (39‑42a) Backing up to verses 39‑42, Paul reminds us that there is not just one kind of body in the world–each separate part of creation has its own unique nature. There are differences between all earthly bodies. There are differences between all heavenly bodies. And there are differences between the earthly and the heavenly. Here’s how Paul expresses it in verses 39-41: “All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.”
There is an almost infinite variety of creatures on this earth. A visit to any aquarium or a zoo or a junior high school will confirm that (just kidding!). No two flowers, snowflakes, seeds, blades of grass, or human beings–not even identical twins–are exactly alike. Yet each is completely identified with its own species or kind. We will never change into another form of life. In fact, there is such a difference that a trained scientist can tell whether a single cell comes from a human, an animal, a bird, or a fish.[iv]
Now since God has infinite creative capacity, able to give this world infinite variety without any crossover between species, why would anyone think it hard for Him to fashion one more kind, a resurrection body, and to make it perfectly suitable for a heavenly environment?
Finally, in the middle of verse 44 Paul informs us that …
Our resurrection bodies are guaranteed by Jesus. (44b-49) “If there is a natural body (and there is), there is also a spiritual body.” We know there is a natural body because we can see it and feel it. Therefore, he argues, there must also be a supernatural body. And to prove his point he draws upon a series of contrasts between Adam and Christ.
1. The nature of the first Adam and the last Adam. “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” The fact that the first man became a living being is a tremendous, mind‑boggling fact, considering that God started with dirt. But that’s nothing in comparison to the last Adam who, by virtue of His death and resurrection, became a life‑giving spirit. One received life, the Other imparts it.
2. The order of the first Adam and the last Adam. “The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.” In the order of creation, natural life comes first; then spiritual life can be enjoyed. We came into existence on a physical level, but God has designed something far greater for us, and death is but a bus stop on the way, but a necessary stop.
3. The origin of the first Adam and the last Adam. “The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.” The fact that Adam was of the dust of the earth is literally true, as well as figuratively true. Jesus, on the other hand, was from heaven. He existed before He was conceived and is the only one who ever did. That’s the point of the Incarnation–God becoming man.
4. The people of the first Adam and the last Adam. “As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” The point seems to be this: Adam is the pattern for all who come after him; as is his nature, so is theirs. This includes the entire human race.
But Christians are not only earthly; they are also heavenly because of their relationship to Christ. And this has far‑reaching implications for the life to come. Those implications are spelled out a bit more clearly in Phil. 3:20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Let me ask you, “Are you ‘of heaven’? Having been born into the human family, have you gone on to become a part of the family of God? Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ into your life so that you can become–body, soul, spirit, mind, emotions, and will–the man or woman God intended you to be, now and for eternity?”
So far this morning we have wrestled with two primary questions raised and answered by Paul. But there are …
Some other curious questions about the resurrection body:
I suspect that most of us have asked these questions, or others like them, concerning the resurrection body:
Will I recognize my loved ones?
Will my family be together?
Will I still be short, have crooked teeth, and bad hair days?
Can I still enjoy Dove Bars and banana cream pie?
Will my pets be there?
I don’t purport to have definitive answers to all of these questions, but perhaps I can shed a little light on them in view of what we have learned this morning.
1. Will I recognize my loved ones? I can’t imagine that we will know any less in heaven than we know now. On the contrary, I suspect our knowledge will be greater to an incredible degree. Frankly, I’m looking forward to knowing the names of all the dear people who call First Free their home. That’s beyond my capacity now, and it’s frustrating, but I expect to recognize all of you–names and faces–when we get to heaven. Sure, you’ll recognize your loved ones, and they’ll recognize you, too.
2. Will my family be together? Now that’s a more difficult question. A group of Sadducees challenged Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12. They tried to trip Him up with a ridiculous question about a hypothetical woman who had seven husbands–not all at one time, but successively. The Sadducees didn’t believe in resurrection at all, and they were trying to undermine the whole concept by suggesting, in effect, that the resurrection creates a huge dilemma–whose wife would this woman be in heaven? Jesus responded, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”
Let me tell you something. Nearly every theological error known to man can be traced to one of those two things: ignorance of God’s Word and/or ignorance of God’s power. They were ignorant of all the evidence in the Scriptures, even in the OT, about the resurrection. But they were also ignorant of God’s power. Without God’s power, let’s face it, belief in resurrection is utterly ridiculous. But with God’s power, it’s almost normal.
But then Jesus goes on to address the case of the woman with seven husbands, and His answer is this: “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” Apparently, families will not simply take up their living where they left off on earth. Does that trouble you? Maybe your marriage is so special you’re saying to yourself, “If there is no marriage in heaven, I don’t want to go.” I suppose there might even be a few who are saying, “Not being married is what makes it heaven.” I hope not too many feel that way.
Jesus indicates that angels don’t pair off and neither will we. But while there will be no marriage as such in heaven, that does not suggest in the slightest a reduction in love. We will be more lovable and more capable of loving than ever before, but we will have that capacity for the whole family of God, instead of having it only for our own families and those closest to us.
3. Will I still be short, have crooked teeth, and bad hair days? (Fill in the blank, because all of us have something we don’t like about ourselves). I don’t know for sure. Some of the things we view as defects today may turn out to be badges of honor then. Jesus, you know, still had the wounds in His hands and side in His resurrection body. Maybe the scars on my face will still be there because it’s part of who I am, but they won’t bother me then. We will not be comparing ourselves to others, so there will be no feelings of inferiority generated by those unique differences.
Gordon MacDonald writes cogently, “The accidental, the nonessential, the unrevealing, the incomplete will have vanished. That which made the body what it was in the eyes of those who loved us will be tenfold there.” [v] I think I agree.
4. Can I still enjoy Dove Bars and banana cream pie? I have no doubt. We won’t need to eat at all, but we can if we want. Jesus fixed a fish supper on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and ate with His disciples–in His resurrection body. Friends, let’s face it: heaven will be a place of infinitely greater pleasure than we know today, but if we wish to have a piece of banana cream pie, I’m sure we can.
5. Will my pets be there? I won’t be surprised. I can’t imagine God being any less creative in eternity than He has been in time. Just as our resurrection bodies will be our present bodies transformed and redeemed, so the New Heavens and the New Earth will be the present earth and heaven restored and transformed and redeemed. I suspect there will still be mountains and canyons and wildlife and pets. After all, Isaiah says the lion will lie down with the lamb.
Well, So what?
What are the conclusions we should draw this morning from a passage on the mechanics of the resurrection?
1. Face the fact that we’re not getting any younger. That’s easier for some of us to face than for others. Children are generally oblivious to time. Teens seem to feel they are indestructible. Twenty-somethings and Thirty-somethings have most of their lives ahead of them, and their thoughts are rarely on the end of life. But somewhere during the 40’s, or certainly during the 50’s, most of us come face to face with the fact that life is short and getting shorter. I encourage all of us to realize this morning that in respect to eternity, our lives are but a vapor–here today and gone tomorrow.
2. Face the fact that eternity is coming. There is life after death. Not only is that the almost universal view of human beings, no matter what philosophy or religion they hold, but nothing could be clearer in the Word of God. Eternity is coming. It won’t be the same for everyone, for the Bible makes it clear that for some it will be a time of incredible joy and blessing; for others it will be a time of shame and loss and suffering. But it is coming.
3. Face the fact that now is the time to prepare for eternity. The Bible tells us that where and how we spend eternity depends upon what we do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ now. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 5:24ff:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live….”
Have you crossed over from death to life?
Friends, I want to close with two verses from the book of 1 John: (3:2-3): “Dear friends, now we are children of God….” That much we can know if we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. But there’s something we can’t be so sure of, and that’s the exact nature of our resurrection bodies. He goes on, “and what we will be has not yet been made known.” But what we can be sure of in respect to the resurrection body is that “when (not if) he appears (i.e., when Jesus Christ returns), we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” The order of events is this:
He appears.
We see Him.
We shall be like Him.
What a hope! What a difference that makes to everything in life! It transforms the way you act and the way you think. It transforms your dreams, your aspirations, and what you do with your time. Everything is changed for little Jennie Stewart, for your departed loved one, and for you–if you know Christ as Lord and Savior.
DATE: February 17, 2002
Tags:
Resurrection
Continuity
Discontinuity
Heaven
Eternity
[i]. The general sense of this quotation, though not the exact words, is taken from John MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, 432.
[ii]. Notice that Paul leaves no room in verse 38 for Mother Nature. Nature with a capital “N” is merely an idol substituted for God. Every time a tree is born from an acorn, every time a grass seed sprouts, it is God, not Mother Nature, who is at work. Does that mean God directly gives life to every blade of grass? Not necessarily, though He could if He wanted to. Actually, I believe God does so indirectly by having set in motion the laws of nature (nature with a lower-case “n”). Listen to Genesis 1:11: “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’” At creation God willed that whenever a grass seed died in the ground, a blade of grass would sprout from it. Therefore, every time a seed sprouts God is indirectly giving a new life to a dead seed.
[iii]. J. A Schep, The Nature of the Resurrection Body, Eerdmans, 1964.
[iv]. Ray Stedman, “The New Body: What Is It Like?”, sermon 3606, 3.
[v]. Gordon MacDonald, “The God of the Living,” a sermon quoted by Roland Hein, ed., Creation in Christ, 246.