The Goal, Nature, and Process of Resurrection

The resurrection of the physical body is the central act of redemption, the conquering of the last enemy. From the first century, Satan has vigorously fought the concept of the physical resurrection. The teaching of other philosophies, such as Gnosticism, has confused this central doctrine. The current source of confusion is the so called "pre-tribulation rapture."

10/22 2006) What is the nature and process of the resurrection of the physical body? Most of us probably have never thought much about this, since apparently the resurrection of our mortal body is not emphasized in current Gospel teaching.

Yet, in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul sets forth attaining to the resurrection as his goal. Also in the eighth chapter of the Book of Romans, and the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians, Paul writes of his longing for the redemption of his body, the making alive of it by the Spirit of God.

The Lord Jesus, as recounted in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, stresses the fact that His body and blood are the source of our resurrection.

How can we, in the present hour, dare to remain ignorant of a Christian doctrine that the Apostle Paul points toward as his goal? Perhaps it is time now for the Holy Spirit to restore this central topic of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The first aspect we should consider is precisely what is meant by "resurrection"? Two of the prevailing notions are misleading. One such notion is that the resurrection has something to do with going to Heaven. It does not. The resurrection has nothing to do with location.

The second notion is that implicit in the term "resurrection" is the idea of elevation. I do not know the etymology of anastasis, the Greek term for "resurrection," but I rather doubt that the flavor of "elevation" is found in the word. Perhaps it is.

But raising up from the ground, and Heaven, have little to do with resurrection. Resurrection is reconstruction, the reconstruction of our physical body, of the "tent" in which we are living at the present time.

Consider for a moment our mortal, physical body. It is not a desirable dwelling place for God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, or a child of God. It is weak, perishable, subject to every sort of pain, sickness, and tiredness. Worse than that, it is prone to sin. It is our "body of humbling" (Rotherham), and the children of God are placed in this animal body so we may demonstrate the constancy of our faith in God.

Jesus told us the flesh profits nothing. What worse thing could He say about this "jar of clay" (Paul) in which has been placed "the light of the Glory of God in the face of Christ"?

Wouldn't you like a body like that of Christ? We find in the New Testament that our present flesh-and-bone body shall be made alive by the power of God, and then clothed with a "house from Heaven" (the gold of Divinity covering the wood of humanity).

The body of Christ is portrayed in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation. It is an improvement over the body in which He appeared to His Apostles after His resurrection.

Our body shall be restructured in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. Such a restructuring was the goal of the Apostle Paul.

But won't all believers be made alive in their body at the return of Christ? I do not believe this is true. In the third chapter of the Book of Philippians, where Paul mentions attaining to the resurrection as his goal, he describes his straining to know Christ, to walk in resurrection power, to share the sufferings of Christ. It appears to me Paul's statements about his own consecration suggest that the resurrection of all believers, regardless of their personal consecration, may not be founded on spiritual reality.

So the nature of resurrection is not movement to another place but a restructuring of our physical body. I emphasized this goal in the morning service, and then the nature of resurrection, and the process that leads to resurrection, in the evening service.

The central idea of the process of attaining to the resurrection is that we must experience an inward resurrection before we will be entrusted with the resurrection of the vehicle in which our inward nature is housed.

The body and blood of Christ are the building blocks, we might say, of our inward resurrection. As our inward nature is resurrected, a body that reflects our inward nature is being constructed before the Throne of God in Heaven, and shall be given to us as our reward when the Lord returns. Here is the perfect justice of God.

If we have taken up our cross of self-denial, and are following Christ diligently, we experience some sort of inward restructuring each day. Our personality potentially is a throne room for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but it is filled with the garbage of love and trust in the world system; various lusts and passions, and self-will. Our throne room, our inward nature, must be cleansed if it is to be a suitable house for God.

So God by various means, often by suffering, sometimes by temptation, sometimes by permitting us to be deceived, highlights some aspect of worldliness, or lust, or self-will in our personality. This aspect may be dearly loved by us, and we are not anxious to surrender it. But surrender it we must if we are to proceed with our discipleship.

If we say yes to God, giving up a coveted relationship, or pleasure, or other idol, the Spirit of God will put it to death. As this death occurs, we are fed in the spirit realm with the body and blood of Christ. If the specific aspect of our personality we have yielded up to God is a desirable part of our personality and will bring us love, joy, and peace, it will be returned to us, now filled with Christ, who Himself is the resurrection. The house that will be given us in the Day of the Lord is modified accordingly.

However, if we refuse to give to God the relationship, or pleasure, or ambition, or plan, or possession, or whatever He is requiring of us, the process of resurrection ceases. We remain an intelligent animal without Divine Life, without Christ. In the Day of Resurrection we will be clothed with the corruption we have sown. We may lose our soul at this time and become a carcass, doomed to be placed in the area where the worm of corruption never dies.

Thus the goal of our discipleship is to attain to the resurrection from the dead. The nature of resurrection is the reconstruction of the body in which our inward nature is housed. The process of attaining to the resurrection is that of dying a little bit each day, and having a little bit of our personality restructured in Christ each day.

Christ Himself is the End of all of God's redemptive working. In order for God to be pleased, Christ must be in every element in the new world of righteousness. Any relationship, thing, or circumstance, which is not of Jesus Christ is perishable and eventually shall be discarded.

With the above in mind, let us study Paul's words in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians, and set our course accordingly.

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. (Philippians 3:15)