Section 9: The End Times
Week 2: The Resurrection
Day 3: After the Resurrection, Death Will No Longer Have a Hold on Believers
1 Cor. 15:35-58
The resurrection of believers after Christ’s return won’t be the first time someone was brought back from the dead. Jesus, for example, brought Lazarus back to life, and Elijah brought a widow’s son back from the dead. There is, however, a fundamental difference between those cases and the final resurrection of believers. Lazarus and the widow’s son both died again. That won’t happen after our resurrection, though, because, as Paul says, our resurrected bodies will be imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42).
What accounts for the difference? Why didn’t Lazarus live forever? As we noted earlier, God intends to extend Christ’s dominion until it includes all things, even death. But that hasn’t happened yet. Christ’s victory is assured, but God has not yet taken the final step. That won’t happen until Christ returns to establish his kingdom. At that point, death will finally be defeated. When that happens, we will no longer be subject to death because death will have lost all power.
Until then death is a reality we must face. But we eagerly wait for the day when death will be destroyed.
Challenge:
Read John 11:17-44.
Reflection Questions:
Why didn’t Lazarus’ body survive forever after Jesus raised him from the dead? Would our hope be different if our resurrection were no different than his? Why/Why not?
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