So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
The body laid in the grave in decay, dishonor and weakness is raised incorruptible, glorious, powerful and immortal, as the dying seed buried in the ground springs up into new life. It is the very same body that was buried that is raised, yet as a new creation not made from the same particles of matter, with continuity kept in organization, personal identity and character. The resurrection of Jesus is the pattern of the rising of all who sleep in Him, whose identity is perfectly preserved so they are recognizable to loved ones, and who rise free from all disease, deformity and defect in perfect health and symmetry. The whole person sleeps until the Life-giver calls His own forth at the last trumpet, for reward comes at the resurrection and not at death, and since death changes no character, fitness for heaven must be gained in this life. Therefore those who mourn do not sorrow without hope, for they will meet their loved ones again not in the poor body that was buried but in immortal glory, and what is sown now decides what is reaped then.
Sown Corruptible, Raised Incorruptible
The body laid in the grave in decay and dishonor is raised in an incorruptible, immortal, glorious and powerful state, for what is sown subject to corruption is raised imperishable. The dying seed that springs into new life illustrates this, with sowing corresponding to death and burial and the new blade and growth corresponding to resurrection. As the seed hidden in the ground rises in deathless life, so death lays the body in the tomb but resurrection brings it forth imperishable.
God teaches the resurrection of the body through planting and growth, where the human agent plants the seed and God waters it and causes His sun to shine upon it to bring forth the tiny blade. This development of the earthly gives the lesson concerning the bodily resurrection and the renewing of the heart, for spiritual things about the resurrection are to be learned from the earthly growth God causes. Seeds of truth sown in the soil of the heart are likewise not lost but spring up in orderly growth, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
The very same bodies buried in corruption are raised in incorruption, sown in dishonor and raised in glory, sown in weakness and raised in power, sown natural bodies and raised spiritual bodies. The raised body is a new creation not made from the same particles of matter, for as a planted grain decays and a new kernel comes forth as God pleases, so God gives the resurrected person a body as He pleases. Continuity between the mortal person and the immortal being is in organization, personal identity and character, not in the same matter, while the same recognizable form is raised.
The resurrection of Jesus is the sample and pattern of the final resurrection of all who sleep in Him, whose bodies will likewise be glorified. Individual identity is perfectly preserved in the glorified body, so the risen are recognizable to loved ones as the disciples recognized the risen Jesus by familiar countenance, manner, deportment, speech and voice, with faces radiant with light shining from the face of Jesus. Resurrected saints are transformed into Christ's glorious image without destruction of personal identity or appearance, so they meet loved ones and recognize their faces, and every saint joined by family relationship on earth knows each other again in glorious companionship with heavenly angels. Being sown in corruption includes being deformed, diseased or disfigured in mortal life, and being raised in incorruption means rising free from disease and defect in perfect health and symmetry through the healing touch of the divine Restorer and Life-giver who removes every deformity and gives eternal life.
Resurrection Hope and Certainty
The resurrection of the body is essential and future, because the whole person sleeps in the grave until then and does not receive eternal reward or punishment at death. Reward and punishment come only at the resurrection and the judgment, when the poor moldering body laid in corruption is raised in incorruption. If the soul already entered complete glory or misery at death there would be no need for a resurrection of the flesh, and to preach it would be pointless. For this reason the hope of the righteous is not glory at death but resurrection, and inspired writers dwell so much on it as an event of new and sublime importance, whose neglect obscures a central gospel teaching.
The promise belongs to all who have believed in the name of Jesus, who are claimed by Christ and sacred to His heart, whose life is hid with Christ in God. Their mortal bodies are made alive by His Spirit dwelling in them, and the vitalizing power of that indwelling Spirit binds every believing soul to Jesus, so that sharing the divine nature they are brought forth from the dead. Until that triumphant hour every sleeping saint is kept in safety and guarded as a precious jewel known by name. Then at the sounding of the last trumpet the Life-giver calls His purchased possession with the command to awake and sing, and the vast army comes forth in the first resurrection to eternal victory, sown in dishonor and raised in glory, sown in weakness and raised in power, sown natural bodies and raised spiritual bodies.
The faithful dead to the close of time will come forth clothed with immortal splendor, including children laid in their last home, toward whom the Life-giver will come in loving care for those who mourn. The true Israel who love and fear the Most High are upheld by His arm as they enter the dark valley of the shadow of death. They come forth from their graves crowned with glory, honor and immortality, with joy beaming from every face, to rejoice in the unfading glories of the earth made new in an endless life of unalloyed happiness.
This bodily change is the second stage of redemption, bringing immortal life to those redeemed from sin in this life by exchanging the corruptible body for an incorruptible body. It is not a moral change, for moral fitness for the next life is gained in this life. Death and the resurrection do not change character, and Jesus does not change the character at His coming, but people come up from the grave with the same disposition manifested in the home and in society and with the same traits cherished in probationary life. Therefore the work of transformation must be done now, with defects of character repented of and overcome through grace, since daily life determines destiny. Only those who are saints on earth, with symmetrical character formed in this probationary state, will bear that character at His coming and be fitted to be saints in heaven for the mansions above.
The resurrection remains a mystery too deep for the human mind to explain or even fully to comprehend, standing with the entrance of sin into the world, the incarnation of Christ, regeneration and other subjects presenting mysteries in the character of their divine Author that finite beings can never fully comprehend. The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness of the human mind, for even the natural world is constantly surrounded with unfathomable mysteries and the humblest forms of life present problems the wisest philosophers cannot explain, so it should not surprise that the spiritual world also holds mysteries beyond human ken. Lack of understanding gives no reason to doubt God's Word, for God has given in the Scriptures sufficient evidence of their divine character, and His Word is not to be doubted because all the mysteries of His providence cannot be understood.
Comfort and Present Sowing
Those who lose loved ones do not grieve as those without hope, for burial in corruption is not the end and a better day precious to the faithful is coming. On the morning of the resurrection the Life-giver will come in loving care toward those who mourn and will call the dead forth from their prison houses and graves. The living will meet their dead again, not in the poor body that went into the grave but in an immortal, glorious body clothed with immortal splendor. This includes children laid in their last home in this world, who will come forth from their graves.
As the seed dies to spring into new life and as flowers die only to spring forth again, so the human body laid in the grave to decay will be raised in an incorruptible state. All who love God will live again and bloom again in the Eden above. Because Christ died and was raised, believers will come forth from the tomb to glorious companionship with heavenly angels, transformed into a glorious image without loss of personal identity or appearance. Resurrected saints will therefore meet loved ones and recognize their faces, and every saint joined by family relationship on earth will know each other in heaven.
The same sowing principle governs the spiritual life, for the seed sown produces the harvest reaped. As the husbandman who sows corn reaps corn and who sows thistles and weeds reaps thistles and weeds, so sowing what is corruptible reaps what is corruptible and sowing what is imperishable reaps what is imperishable. Constantly sowing good seed and faith yields faith. By contrast, cherishing questioning and unbelief, seeking grounds for doubt, and yielding the soul to the darkness of skepticism plants seeds of doubt that produce a harvest of unbelief and leave the power to exercise faith weaker and weaker.
The body laid in the grave in decay, dishonor and weakness is raised incorruptible, glorious, powerful and immortal, as the dying seed buried in the ground springs up into new life. It is the very same body that was buried that is raised, yet as a new creation not made from the same particles of matter, with continuity kept in organization, personal identity and character. The resurrection of Jesus is the pattern of the rising of all who sleep in Him, whose identity is perfectly preserved so they are recognizable to loved ones, and who rise free from all disease, deformity and defect in perfect health and symmetry. The whole person sleeps until the Life-giver calls His own forth at the last trumpet, for reward comes at the resurrection and not at death, and since death changes no character, fitness for heaven must be gained in this life. Therefore those who mourn do not sorrow without hope, for they will meet their loved ones again not in the poor body that was buried but in immortal glory, and what is sown now decides what is reaped then.
Sown Corruptible, Raised Incorruptible
The body laid in the grave in decay and dishonor is raised in an incorruptible, immortal, glorious and powerful state, for what is sown subject to corruption is raised imperishable. The dying seed that springs into new life illustrates this, with sowing corresponding to death and burial and the new blade and growth corresponding to resurrection. As the seed hidden in the ground rises in deathless life, so death lays the body in the tomb but resurrection brings it forth imperishable.
God teaches the resurrection of the body through planting and growth, where the human agent plants the seed and God waters it and causes His sun to shine upon it to bring forth the tiny blade. This development of the earthly gives the lesson concerning the bodily resurrection and the renewing of the heart, for spiritual things about the resurrection are to be learned from the earthly growth God causes. Seeds of truth sown in the soil of the heart are likewise not lost but spring up in orderly growth, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
The very same bodies buried in corruption are raised in incorruption, sown in dishonor and raised in glory, sown in weakness and raised in power, sown natural bodies and raised spiritual bodies. The raised body is a new creation not made from the same particles of matter, for as a planted grain decays and a new kernel comes forth as God pleases, so God gives the resurrected person a body as He pleases. Continuity between the mortal person and the immortal being is in organization, personal identity and character, not in the same matter, while the same recognizable form is raised.
The resurrection of Jesus is the sample and pattern of the final resurrection of all who sleep in Him, whose bodies will likewise be glorified. Individual identity is perfectly preserved in the glorified body, so the risen are recognizable to loved ones as the disciples recognized the risen Jesus by familiar countenance, manner, deportment, speech and voice, with faces radiant with light shining from the face of Jesus. Resurrected saints are transformed into Christ's glorious image without destruction of personal identity or appearance, so they meet loved ones and recognize their faces, and every saint joined by family relationship on earth knows each other again in glorious companionship with heavenly angels. Being sown in corruption includes being deformed, diseased or disfigured in mortal life, and being raised in incorruption means rising free from disease and defect in perfect health and symmetry through the healing touch of the divine Restorer and Life-giver who removes every deformity and gives eternal life.
Resurrection Hope and Certainty
The resurrection of the body is essential and future, because the whole person sleeps in the grave until then and does not receive eternal reward or punishment at death. Reward and punishment come only at the resurrection and the judgment, when the poor moldering body laid in corruption is raised in incorruption. If the soul already entered complete glory or misery at death there would be no need for a resurrection of the flesh, and to preach it would be pointless. For this reason the hope of the righteous is not glory at death but resurrection, and inspired writers dwell so much on it as an event of new and sublime importance, whose neglect obscures a central gospel teaching.
The promise belongs to all who have believed in the name of Jesus, who are claimed by Christ and sacred to His heart, whose life is hid with Christ in God. Their mortal bodies are made alive by His Spirit dwelling in them, and the vitalizing power of that indwelling Spirit binds every believing soul to Jesus, so that sharing the divine nature they are brought forth from the dead. Until that triumphant hour every sleeping saint is kept in safety and guarded as a precious jewel known by name. Then at the sounding of the last trumpet the Life-giver calls His purchased possession with the command to awake and sing, and the vast army comes forth in the first resurrection to eternal victory, sown in dishonor and raised in glory, sown in weakness and raised in power, sown natural bodies and raised spiritual bodies.
The faithful dead to the close of time will come forth clothed with immortal splendor, including children laid in their last home, toward whom the Life-giver will come in loving care for those who mourn. The true Israel who love and fear the Most High are upheld by His arm as they enter the dark valley of the shadow of death. They come forth from their graves crowned with glory, honor and immortality, with joy beaming from every face, to rejoice in the unfading glories of the earth made new in an endless life of unalloyed happiness.
This bodily change is the second stage of redemption, bringing immortal life to those redeemed from sin in this life by exchanging the corruptible body for an incorruptible body. It is not a moral change, for moral fitness for the next life is gained in this life. Death and the resurrection do not change character, and Jesus does not change the character at His coming, but people come up from the grave with the same disposition manifested in the home and in society and with the same traits cherished in probationary life. Therefore the work of transformation must be done now, with defects of character repented of and overcome through grace, since daily life determines destiny. Only those who are saints on earth, with symmetrical character formed in this probationary state, will bear that character at His coming and be fitted to be saints in heaven for the mansions above.
The resurrection remains a mystery too deep for the human mind to explain or even fully to comprehend, standing with the entrance of sin into the world, the incarnation of Christ, regeneration and other subjects presenting mysteries in the character of their divine Author that finite beings can never fully comprehend. The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness of the human mind, for even the natural world is constantly surrounded with unfathomable mysteries and the humblest forms of life present problems the wisest philosophers cannot explain, so it should not surprise that the spiritual world also holds mysteries beyond human ken. Lack of understanding gives no reason to doubt God's Word, for God has given in the Scriptures sufficient evidence of their divine character, and His Word is not to be doubted because all the mysteries of His providence cannot be understood.
Comfort and Present Sowing
Those who lose loved ones do not grieve as those without hope, for burial in corruption is not the end and a better day precious to the faithful is coming. On the morning of the resurrection the Life-giver will come in loving care toward those who mourn and will call the dead forth from their prison houses and graves. The living will meet their dead again, not in the poor body that went into the grave but in an immortal, glorious body clothed with immortal splendor. This includes children laid in their last home in this world, who will come forth from their graves.
As the seed dies to spring into new life and as flowers die only to spring forth again, so the human body laid in the grave to decay will be raised in an incorruptible state. All who love God will live again and bloom again in the Eden above. Because Christ died and was raised, believers will come forth from the tomb to glorious companionship with heavenly angels, transformed into a glorious image without loss of personal identity or appearance. Resurrected saints will therefore meet loved ones and recognize their faces, and every saint joined by family relationship on earth will know each other in heaven.
The same sowing principle governs the spiritual life, for the seed sown produces the harvest reaped. As the husbandman who sows corn reaps corn and who sows thistles and weeds reaps thistles and weeds, so sowing what is corruptible reaps what is corruptible and sowing what is imperishable reaps what is imperishable. Constantly sowing good seed and faith yields faith. By contrast, cherishing questioning and unbelief, seeking grounds for doubt, and yielding the soul to the darkness of skepticism plants seeds of doubt that produce a harvest of unbelief and leave the power to exercise faith weaker and weaker.