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The Resurrection Body

1 Corinthians 15:12-58

Around A.D. 51 there were questions in the church at Thessalonica about Christ's return to earth: What about Christians who die before Christ's return? Will they be overlooked? Paul answered that question in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Deceased believers will be raised from the dead and, along with believers alive on that day, will be reunited with Christ in the air at the Rapture of the Church.

A few years later, Paul went into much more detail about the resurrection from the dead based on the facts of Christ's resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12-58). Specifically, what will the transition from an earthly body to a heavenly body be like (verses 35-58)? Verses 42-44 sum up the transition: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."

The only reference for what this body will actually be like is the resurrected body of Jesus Himself (Philippians 3:20-21). He had a glorified body and appearance following His resurrection (John 20:15), yet He had the ability to manifest Himself in non-human ways by simply "appearing" (John 20:19, 26).

Picking up on the theme of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul says we will not all sleep [die] but we will all be transformed "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet" (1 Corinthians 15:52). "The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall [all] be changed" (verse 52). Living with this expectation is the Christian's motivation for "abounding in the work of the Lord" (verse 58).

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