How are the dead raised?

What Kind of Body Will We Have After Death?

Paul’s Answer:      From a Natural Body to a Spiritual Body

You can almost feel Paul's urgency as you read 1 Corinthians 15.

This is not a casual theological discussion over a cup of coffee.

Paul is passionate.

He is intense.

And he is trying very hard to help the Corinthians understand something that he believes is absolutely essential:

What happens after we die?

And:

With what kind of body are the dead raised?

Those are not small questions.

They are the kind of questions that can keep a person staring at the ceiling at two o'clock in the morning.

Paul devotes an entire chapter—

fifty-eight verses—

to answering them.

And at one point,         when someone asks,

“How are the dead raised?”

and,

“With what kind of body do they come?”

Paul responds:

“You foolish one.”

Paul was not exactly sprinkling powdered sugar over the discussion.

He wanted his readers to wake up and pay attention.

But I think it is important to hear the heart behind his intensity.

Paul is not trying to humiliate sincere believers.

He is trying to move them beyond thinking only in terms of the physical body they can see,

touch,

measure,

feed,

dress,

exercise,

and occasionally complain about.

Paul wants them to understand that God's promise of eternal life is far greater than this present mortal body.

Paul Begins With a Seed

Paul uses one of the simplest things imaginable to explain resurrection:

a seed.

A seed is placed into the ground.

What comes out does not look exactly like what went in.

The seed changes.

It dies to one form,

and God gives it another.

Paul's point is beautiful:

resurrection is not merely putting the old thing back exactly as it was.

God brings transformation.

A kernel of wheat does not climb back out of the dirt,

dust itself off,

and announce:

“Good news.      I have successfully remained a kernel.”

Something new grows.

That is the picture Paul gives us.

A butterfly is another example.

Its body form is a cocoon.

The cocoon splits open and degrades.

But a beautiful butterfly emerges,      and joins a world that it could not see as a cocoon.

Natural Body and Spiritual Body

Then Paul makes one of the clearest statements in the entire chapter:

“It is sown a natural body;      it is raised a spiritual body.”

And then,      almost as though he knows somebody in the back row still isn't convinced,      he adds:

“There is a natural body,      and there is also a spiritual body.”

Those words are enormously important to me.

Paul is telling us that our present bodily existence is not the final form of life God has prepared.

Our natural bodies are mortal.

They are perishable.

They weaken.

They age.

They return to dust.

And anyone who has lived long enough knows that the body occasionally sends reminders of this without being asked.

The knees make announcements.

The back files complaints.

The eyesight renegotiates the contract.

And sometimes we walk confidently into a room and realize that our brain apparently forgot to accompany us.

Our bodies are marvelous gifts from God.

But they are not permanent.

Flesh and Blood Cannot Inherit the Kingdom

Then Paul reaches his great conclusion:

“Flesh and blood can't inherit God's Kingdom;      neither does the perishable inherit imperishable.”

I find those words breathtaking.

Paul does not say that our present mortal flesh simply becomes immortal by remaining exactly as it is.

He speaks of change.

Transformation at death.

The perishable becomes imperishable.

Mortality gives way to immortality.

Weakness gives way to power.

The natural body gives way to the spiritual body.

That is Paul's hope.

And Jesus gives us the center of that hope when He says:

“I am the resurrection and the life.      He who believes in Me,      though he may die,      he shall live.”

Our hope is not in the durability of flesh.

Our hope is in Christ.

Paul Is Not Teaching Us to Worship the Body

This is where I believe many Christians can benefit from reading 1 Corinthians 15 slowly and prayerfully.

Paul is not asking us to make the physical body the center of our hope.

Quite the opposite.

He repeatedly reminds us that the present body is perishable.

It returns to dust.

It does not inherit the imperishable in its present condition.

Our hope rests in God's power over death.

Christ is the resurrection.

Christ is the life.

And Paul tells us that there is a spiritual body.

Our spirit bodies are immortal,

conquering death once and for all.

That means we should not live as though everything that is real must be something our physical eyes can see or our hands can touch.

Scripture repeatedly invites us to understand a spiritual reality that is far greater than the visible world around us.

We Are More Than What We See in the Mirror

Paul says there is more to us than what we can see in the mirror.

That realization changed the way I began thinking about my relationship with God.

For much of my life,      I trusted the physical world.

If I could see it,

hear it,

touch it,

measure it,

or test it,

I could believe it.

That is excellent training for a veterinarian.

It is considerably less useful when trying to fit the Creator of the universe onto an examination table.

Eventually I began understanding that Scripture speaks again and again about realities that are spiritual.

Paul says:

“There is a natural body,      and there is also a spiritual body.”

And Galatians tells us:

“God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.”

For me,

Christ was no longer simply someone who lived two thousand years ago.

Through the Holy Spirit,

He became someone I could seek,

listen to,

love,

and serve today.

This Is Where Centering Prayer Becomes Important

This is one reason Centering Prayer has become so precious to me.

Our natural minds are extremely busy.

They process everything around us.

Sounds.

Pain.

Schedules.

Bills.

Memories.

Fears.

Plans.

Imaginary conversations.

Actual conversations.

Conversations we wish we had handled differently fifteen years ago.

My mind is remarkably committed to recycling material.

If it isn't worrying,

it's planning.

If it isn't planning,

it's remembering.

If it isn't remembering,

it's preparing a speech for an argument that may never occur.

Sometimes I think the thoughts in my head have formed their own homeowners association.

They have meetings.

They have committees.

And apparently nobody has the authority to adjourn.

Then Centering Prayer gives me another option.

Become still.

“Lord Jesus,      May I Listen?”

Centering Prayer is not about forcing God to speak.

It is not about manufacturing supernatural experiences.

It is about becoming quiet enough to stop giving our own thoughts the microphone every minute of the day.

I become still.

I quiet the noise.

I turn my attention toward Christ.

And I ask:

“Lord Jesus,      how may I serve You today?”

Then I listen.

That quietness matters because Scripture repeatedly shows that God's guidance is not always loud.

Elijah encountered wind,

earthquake,

and fire.

Yet God came to him in:

“a still small voice.”

Most of us would probably prefer divine guidance to arrive with flashing lights and a printed instruction sheet.

Preferably laminated.

God does not always work that way.

Sometimes listening requires stillness.

Our Bodies Protect Us—But They Also Demand Attention

Our physical bodies are designed to keep us alive.

That is a wonderful gift.

If a smoke alarm goes off in the middle of the night,

we don't pause to appreciate its musical qualities.

We move.

If we suddenly find ourselves standing ten feet away from a hungry lion,

we probably do not begin by asking:

“Lord,      what spiritual lesson might this lion be bringing me?”

Our bodies react.

Fear rises.

Our heart rate increases.

Our muscles prepare to move.

And if we're wise,

we begin creating considerably more distance between ourselves and the lion.

Those survival instincts are gifts from God.

But fear,

noise,

hurry,

anger,

ego,

and endless distraction can also dominate our attention.

That is why peace and stillness are so important to Centering Prayer.

We become quiet enough to notice what fear and noise often bury.

Christ's Work in Us Begins Now

Paul's hope is not simply that something happens after death.

His teaching also changes the way we live before death.

Romans tells us:

“If by the Spirit,      you put to death the deeds of the body,      you will live.”

Paul repeatedly calls believers to live according to the Spirit.

That means the spiritual life is not merely something waiting for us after the funeral.

It begins now.

As we surrender our own wills and learn to walk with Christ,

His Spirit begins transforming our spirits today.

Love becomes stronger than resentment.

Peace begins replacing anxiety.

Joy becomes deeper than circumstances.

Kindness becomes more natural.

Faith grows.

Gentleness grows.

Self-control grows.

Christ is not simply preparing us for eternal life.

He is teaching our spirit how to live with the Holy Spirit now.

How to listen and hear Him.

Discernment.

Obedience.

Service.

Resurrection Is Transformation

This is the word I keep hearing throughout 1 Corinthians 15:

Transformation at the death of our bodies.

Perishable...

to imperishable.

Weakness...

to power.

Natural...

to spiritual.

Mortal...

to immortal.

Paul is not telling frightened people merely to cling more tightly to the body they already possess.

He is directing their hope toward what God will do.

That should bring tremendous comfort.

We do not have to understand every mystery of resurrection.

We do not have to know the mechanics.

We do not need architectural drawings of heaven.

Paul himself calls it:

“a mystery.”

Our responsibility is to trust Christ.

Jesus said:

“I am the resurrection and the life.”

That is enough for me.

Christians Can Disagree Without Becoming Enemies

Christians have understood some details of resurrection and Christ's future coming differently for many centuries.

Those disagreements are real.

And sincere Christians can read certain passages and arrive at different conclusions.

But I believe 1 Corinthians 15 gives us common ground that is far more important than winning an argument.

Christ lives.

Death does not win.

The mortal body is not the final reality.

God transforms.

There is a spiritual body.

Flesh and blood,      in their present perishable condition,      cannot inherit God's Kingdom.

Those are Paul's words.

So rather than using resurrection to divide Christians,

perhaps we can allow Paul's message to draw us toward the same hope:

Jesus Christ.

Don't Miss Jesus Today While Thinking About Tomorrow

This is the part that matters deeply to Centering Prayer.

Whatever we believe about the exact details of resurrection,

we should never allow our expectations about tomorrow to prevent us from knowing Jesus today.

Paul tells us there is a spiritual body.

Scripture tells us that the Spirit of God's Son has been placed in our hearts.

Jesus tells us He is the resurrection and the life.

So I do not want to spend my present life merely waiting for Christ while ignoring the relationship He is offering me now.

I want to know Him now.

Love Him now.

Listen to Him now.

Serve Him now.

Follow Him now.

Because eternal life is not merely an interesting subject for theological debate.

It is life with Christ today.

Little by Little,      He Changes Us

Every morning I become still before Jesus.

I ask:

“Lord Jesus,      how may I serve You today?”

Then I listen.

Little by little,

Christ reshapes my heart.

Little by little,

He teaches me to love unconditionally.

Little by little,

He makes His priorities more important than mine.

Little by little,

the things I once believed were essential become less important.

And the things of the Spirit become more precious.

That transformation doesn't make me perfect.

If anyone is waiting for that announcement,

please don't hold your breath.

But I am not the same person I once was.

And I give God the credit.

Death Does Not Get the Final Word

Paul ends      1 Corinthians 15      with an explosion of hope:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Then:

“Death,      where is your sting?”

Paul is almost taunting death.

Why?

Because Christ has won.

The body may weaken.

The body may age.

The body may return to dust.

But death does not own those who belong to Christ.

That is why Paul finishes the chapter by telling believers to remain:

steadfast,

immovable,

and always devoted to the Lord's work.

Because:

our labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Every act of love matters.

Every act of forgiveness matters.

Every quiet act of obedience matters.

Every moment spent listening for Christ's direction matters.

Every time we surrender our will and say,

“Yes, Lord,”

matters.

Nothing offered to Christ in love is wasted.

Our natural bodies belong to this present life.

They are wonderful,

fragile,

temporary gifts.

But Paul tells us:

“There is a natural body,      and there is also a spiritual body.”

And Jesus tells us:

“I am the resurrection and the life.”

My hope is not ultimately in what happens to dust.

My hope is in Jesus Christ.

And instead of spending today worrying about exactly how God will accomplish tomorrow's resurrection,

I would rather spend today knowing,

loving,

listening to,

and serving the One who is the Resurrection.

So tomorrow morning,

I will become still.

I will quiet the neighborhood association inside my head.

I will turn my heart toward Jesus.

And I will ask:

“Lord Jesus...      how may I serve You today?”

Then I will listen.

Because whatever mysteries await us beyond death,

I already know the One I want to follow there.

Our bodies may return to dust.

But God's work,         in those who belong to Him,         is preparing us for something that dust could never contain.

Questions for prayer:
          What do these passages reveal about God?
          What response does it ask of me?
          Is the impression I receive consistent with the character and teaching of Jesus?
          What loving and faithful action should follow?

Daily prayer:

How may I serve You this day?”