THE BELIEVER’S RESURRECTED BODY
b y L lo y d T . A n d e r s o n
Keep this in mind that the Chris tian doctrine of the resurrection is that not only do the soul and the spirit live after death, but also that the body will one day rise up and rejoin both soul and spirit. Basical ly, this is the supreme difference be tween Christianity and all of the oth er religions and philosophical ideas of past, present, and future ages to come. After death, this body of mine will be preserved by the power of God. One day it will be gathered and made into a new body. I t will not be a vapory, intangible, ghost-like sub stance, but rather a body that can feel and be felt, a body that can see and be seen, a body as real, as active, and as substantial as the body in which I am now residing. This res urrection takes place at the coming of Jesus Christ for His saints (I Thess. 4:13-18). This clones the age of the New Testament Church. Jesus Christ said, “I am the res urrection and the life.” The redemp tion of the believer’s body was pur chased by His own death on the cross. We are then raised in His likeness to His throne, and will ap pear when He comes again in the first phase of the Second Coming. This is not in any sense speculation on the character of the resurrection body. It is a simple presentation of the teaching of the Bible. While the Bible teaches us that there is a nat ural body and a spiritual body, that does not mean that the natural body is real, tangible and substantial while the spiritual body is not. 5
CHAPTER ONE
I N t h e w o n d e r f u l teachings of the Word of God, we find tremendous insight into the future, especially concerning life after death. The glo rious truth of the resurrection of the believer, whether living or dead, should thrill all of our hearts in eager anticipation. Certainly t h e coming of the Lord should mean a great deal to the wonderful army of God’s people, especially those whose bodies sleep in the dust of the earth, although their spirits and souls are now with Christ in Heaven. Some of these faithful were martyred while others died a natural death. All of us have loved ones who are among the millions of Christian people who are physically dead. If Christ comes in our life time, we who are believers will not die physically. We shall be changed from mortals into immortals. In a moment we shall be caught up alive, without dying, to find ourselves standing before the Son of God. But, what about us if, as believers, we die before He comes for us in the Rapture? What about the born-again saint whose body now lies in the dust of the earth? True believers believe that the soul lives on after death. Redeemed souls are in Heaven with Christ. But there should be more than that. Even Plato and Socrates believed that the soul lived after death in conscious joy or misery de pending upon how the person lived during his life. This is not the res urrection of the dead.
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