The Case For A Bodily Resurrection

THE CASE FOR A BODILY RESURRECTION

There are many who do not believe in a bodily resurrections, and they are no different than the Corinthians of Paul's day; "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?" Cor. 15:12)  Let them be convinced whosoever does not believe in this now, that they shall read and understand that God's will is a bodily resurrection, and be not conformed to a worldly view that currently causes them to think otherwise.  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom. 12:1 - 2)

Jesus Himself declared it truth that when He comes again, He will call the dead out of their graves, each and every one!  "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.  For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:21 - 29)  Here Jesus asserts He has been given the honor and authority of judging all from the Father, believers being free of the judgment, bodily resurrected to eternal life, and unbelievers will be resurrected to the lake of fire at the white throne judgment, where they will find eternal damnation.

Paul actually described the bodily resurrection to the Thessalonians, even giving the order of precedence among the dead!  "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:13 - 18)  So here we know from Paul's teaching how the rising of the dead bodily shall occur.

Now the believer understands that to be saved, there had to be a sacrifice; Job knew this.  "And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.  And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.'  Thus did Job continually." (Job 1:4 - 5)  Job did this for what purpose?  He also believed in a bodily resurrection!  "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." (Job 19:25 - 27)

Just as Job made sacrifices for his children, so God our loving Father sent Christ to do the same for us, and Jesus became our spotless intercessor who died and rose bodily.  "Who is he that condemneth?  It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:34 - 39)  Since God is in full control of all creation, nothing, not the devil, no, not even ourselves, are able to separate us from His eternal love.

Now if there be any skeptics who might say there were no witnesses to the resurrection of Christ Jesus, the answer is that there was indeed!  "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." (1 Cor. 15:3 - 8)  So the bible bears record that over 500 people witnessed Him in the flesh prior to His asencion into heaven.  As believers we understand that we should ready ourselves for what resurrection we should expect, knowing Christ Jesus has risen from the dead; "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Heb. 13:20 - 21)

Just as God provided a sacrifice in the stead of Isaac, so God also provided a sacrifice for us.  "And Abraham said unto his young men, 'Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.'  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, 'My father:' and he said, 'Here am I, my son.'  And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'  And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering': so they went both of them together.  And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, 'Abraham, Abraham': and he said, 'Here am I.'  And he said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.'  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." (Gen. 22:5 - 14)

While Abraham acted on great faith, his logic was that God would resurrect his son after he was sacrificed in order to fulfill His promise; "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'That in Isaac shall thy seed be called': Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." (Heb. 11:17 - 19)

Now who else of the faith, believers in the true God, believed also in a bodily resurrection?  Surely Peter was one!  "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption.  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. " (Acts 2:29 - 32)  Now this speech of Peter gives testimony that as he believed, so did David of the Old Testament!

So let's now look where David testifies of a bodily resurrection; "Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust.  O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to Thee; but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.  Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.  The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot.  The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.  I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.  I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.  For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psa. 16:1 - 11)  "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me.  Selah." (Psa. 49:14 - 15)  Now not just David from the Old Testament, but three prophets also gave witness of bodily resurrection.

Isaiah was the first to account for a bodily resurrection; "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.  Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." (Isa. 26:19) "...The earth shall cast out the dead"; seem clear enough?

And now, Ezekiel, too, wrote of a bodily resurrection; "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.  And He said unto me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'  And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.'  Again He said unto me, 'Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.  Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD."'   So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.  And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.  Then said He unto me, 'Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."'  So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.  Then He said unto me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts."  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it', saith the LORD." (Ezek. 37:1 - 14)  Just as Paul described the bodily resurrection in the New Testament, here also Ezekiel described it in the Old Testament.

One more prophet affirmed a bodily resurrection; Daniel. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Dan. 12:2)  Now here you have a number of Scriptural references that make a strong case for a bodily resurrection.  For we who believe, to everlasting life.  O, convert unbelievers, harvest as much as the Lord allows, that none might rise to eternal condemnation, my brothers and sisters, who believe in Christ Jesus!