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1 Corinthians 15:35-58 (NIV)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed, he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another. 40 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. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
What practical problem is causing some to question their belief in the resurrection?
The world has become a place where people can’t rely on what they hear, trust the motives behind what others do, or believe what they don’t see. It is no wonder that the same people have trouble believing in Your resurrection because they have never seen it happen. If they can’t explain something, they assume it can’t be true. They are skeptical of the motive behind the gift of eternal life since there is always a catch and nothing is free. Your resurrection did actually happen as it is written in Your Word and proven by many witnesses. The resurrection is proof that You are God, and Jesus is the Savior of the world. Faith in Your resurrection is the key to Christianity. Just as Jesus died, was buried and raised to life, so too through Your power, I will be raised and have a spiritual body like Jesus’. This promise gives me so much hope, confidence, and anticipation that my current body will be transformed into my resurrection body that will never get sick, broken, or die again. All of my aches and pains, anxiety, fear, sickness, and all of the ways that I have damaged my body through unhealthy habits, will all be replaced with a perfect eternal body. Deepen my faith to know and trust that You have always been with me, are with me now, and You are coming back in Glory. No matter what I face in this life, You will never leave me or betray me. You are coming back for me in victory. You have conquered the sting of death with eternal life. Therefore I will stand firm in faith and will not let anything in this life move me. I will give myself fully to the work of the Lord because I know that my labor in the Lord is not in vain. You are the resurrection and the life! Amen