Salvation and Resurrection

Central to the hope of the Apostolic Faith is the future bodily resurrection of the dead, which is based on the past resurrection of Jesus.

The biblical faith is focused on the future. The doctrine of salvation includes the future resurrection of the dead, which will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links this coming resurrection to two events: The past Resurrection of Jesus, and his “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ at the end of the present age. Our salvation will remain incomplete until Christ returns and raises us from the dead.

The Apostle Paul declared that if the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, the God who “raised Christ Jesus from among the dead will quicken even our death-doomed bodies.” This future “quickening” of our bodies is due to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus - (Romans 8:9-11).

[Photo by Matthew Lancaster on Unsplash]

We possess “death-doomed bodies,” bodies condemned to decay, aging, and death, not because they are physical, but because men and women are condemned to bondage and death because of sin. The transgression of Adam has subjected all men to death. In a word, we are mortal.

If God intends to redeem us and recover all that was lost millennia ago, our salvation must include the human body. Likewise, the creation itself was also condemned to bondage and corruption by the disobedience of Adam. It, too, must be redeemed.

The Spirit of God confirms that we are “coheirs” with His Son, therefore. we who belong to Jesus will be “glorified together with him.” Just as Christ was resurrected, we will be raised from the dead and receive glorious immortal bodies. Even now, the creation is “eagerly awaiting” this Day of Liberation since, like humanity, it has been subjected to slavery and death.

On the Last Day, the “creation itself will be freed from the bondage of decay into the freedom of the glory of the sons of God.” The possession of the Spirit is the “first fruits” of the future resurrection life, the foretaste and the guarantee of our inheritance, therefore, we also “eagerly wait for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” In his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul speaks of the bodily resurrection of believers and the arrival of the New Creation when Jesus returns – (Romans 8:15-23).

RESURRECTION IS ESSENTIAL

In the City of Corinth, some believers denied the future resurrection. Paul responded by reminding the Corinthian believers of the Gospel he first delivered to them - “That Christ died for our sins, and was buried, and that he has been raised on the third day.”

If there is no resurrection in the future, then “even Christ has not been raised,” and if not, the Gospel is little more than empty words, the Apostles of Christ lied to us, and we remain “dead in our sins,” without hope and “most to be pitied.” Paul again links our future resurrection with the past Death and Resurrection of Christ - (1 Corinthians 15:1-20).

The Resurrection of the Son of God was the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Just as death came through Adam, the “raising of the dead will come through one man, and in Christ, all will be made alive.” This will occur at the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus (παρουσια). On that day, he will complete the Kingdom of God and subjugate all his enemies, especially, the “Last Enemy, Death.” With his glorious appearance, Death will cease, and the Grave will lose its legal claim on believers – (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

Resurrection does not mean the reanimation of our “death-doomed bodies,” nor does it mean we will live in a disembodied state. Our mortal body is “sown in corruption but will be raised incorruptible.” We will receive a body equipped for life in the Spirit.

The Apostolic Tradition does not view bodily existence or the physical creation as incompatible with the Holy Spirit. The difference is the kind of body one has, whether a “body of the soul” or a “body of the spirit.” Just as we now bear the “image of the Man of the Earth,” Adam, we will “bear the image of the Man of Heaven,” Jesus Christ.

When Christ “arrives,” we who remain alive will be transformed, and those who have died will be raised from the dead. All the saints will receive “immortality…for whenever this mortal will clothe itself with immortality, then will be brought to pass the saying, Death has been swallowed up victoriously.” The Grave will not have the last word – (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

When the saints in the City of Thessalonica expressed grief over the deaths of fellow believers, Paul reminded them that “if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus” - (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Christ will descend from Heaven and the “dead in Christ will rise first.” After that, the living and the now resurrected saints together will “meet” him as he arrives from Heaven, and so, “we will be with the Lord evermore.”

As in Corinth, so in Thessalonica, Paul connected our coming resurrection to the past raising of Jesus from the dead, and his “arrival” at the end of the age. It will be a collective event. All believers will be raised and transformed when he returns.

The completion of our salvation is in the future. When we repent, our sins are forgiven and we become “coheirs with Christ,” but the full realization of that promise will remain incomplete until the return of Jesus.

On that Final Day, dead believers will be resurrected, and the saints who are still alive will be transformed by receiving glorified bodies. The followers of the Nazarene past and present will receive immortality, and together, we will be with Jesus forever.

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SEE ALSO:

• No Other Name! - (Jesus Christ fulfills the promise to bless all nations in Abraham. There is salvation in No Other Name)

• Death, the Last Enemy - (The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, namely, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

• Salvation for All! - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)

• Спасение и Воскресение - [Salvation and Resurrection] - (Центральное место в надежде апостольской веры занимает будущее телесное воскресение мертвых, которое основано на прошлом воскресении Иисуса)