When Is Resurrection? (Resurrection Is Future) - GraceLife Church of Pineville

Introduction: Waiting in the Cemetery

Growing up, I had a friend whose father was a pastor, and one day he said something strange. (Pastors will do that.) We were in the vehicle and passing by a cemetery, and he said, “I hope I’m near a cemetery when Christ returns.” I didn’t quite understand why he said that, so I asked, “Why?

“Because,” he replied, “Scripture says that when Christ returns, the dead in Christ will rise first, and I want to see them come out from the grave.”

What a strange and simple and silly notion, I thought to myself. I mean, we believe in life after death, but that’s a bit organic, don’t you think?!

But, as I would come to realize, the Scripture vindicates his position much more than it vindicates my skepticism. It was I who had an inadequate view of resurrection, not fully understanding the promise of the age to come or what Christ has accomplished for us.

You see, I had in my mind that the goal of Christianity is living in heaven with God. I was ignorant of what “living” actually meant. I had substituted some glorified version of merely existing in heaven, and I was ignorant of what—and perhaps I should say “when”—heaven was.

And lest you, too, live in ignorance I invite you to fix your mind on that image of waiting in the cemetery. (How’s that for a Christmas scene?!) It’s that image that captures the two foundational elements of the foundational doctrine of resurrection: resurrection is a physical event and resurrection is a future event.

In my previous sermon, we looked at the question “What is resurrection?” In this sermon, we examine the question, “When is resurrection?” We covered the physical nature of resurrection in that last sermon. From that message, I hope you realize that Jesus’s body not being in the tomb wasn’t some parlor trick; it wasn’t some one-off side show. It is the exemplar of resurrection. And that means that your body, too—whatever is left of it—will be transformed and raised.

The degree to which the resurrection body is continuous or discontinuous with the old body, we’ll save for later. For now, know that the Scriptural picture of resurrection is physical and future. Let’s focus now on the future and its Scriptural support.

Resurrection in the Future

In 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, Paul writes:

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.¹ For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming. (ESV)

Let’s break down this passage. First, we’ll establish four facts and then we’ll make two conclusions. The facts, in sequence, are:

Christ has been resurrected.
Christ will one day return to earth.
Christians will be resurrected when Christ returns to earth.
But Christ has not returned to earth.

Now, here are our conclusions based on these facts:

Therefore, no Christian has been resurrected yet.
Therefore, resurrection does not occur at death but will take place in the future.

Let that settle in for a moment. It means that some of our thinking (at least among many Christians) is wrong on what we believe about life after death. These facts—and their logical conclusions—mean that resurrection does not refer to some immediate existence that we receive the moment we die. If you were to unfortunately die a sudden and unexpected death today, you will enter into life after death but not resurrection. Resurrection is something that comes after life after death.

Resurrection does not refer to some immediate existence that we receive the moment we die. … Resurrection is something that comes after life after death.

Again (as earlier in this sermon series), I appeal to the work of N.T. Wright, who refers to resurrection not as “life after death” but, rather, as “life after ‘life after death.’” Consider his words:

The meaning of “resurrection” as “life after ‘life after death’” cannot be overemphasized, not least because much modern writing continues to use “resurrection” as a virtual synonym for “life after death” in the popular sense.²

Resurrection means bodily life after “life after death”, or if you prefer, bodily life after the state of “death”. That is why it is very misleading—and foreign to all the relevant texts—to speak, as does one recent writer, of “resurrection to heaven”. Resurrection is what did not happen to Enoch or Elijah. According to the texts, it is what will happen to people who are at present dead, not what has already happened to them. If this point is grasped, a good deal becomes clear; if forgotten, confusion is bound to follow.³

Resurrection means bodily life after “life after death”.
—N.T. Wright

Waiting for Resurrection

Where I see the most confusion on this matter is at funerals. What we say about the dead, especially as believers, is important and must be true well-meaning statements, not false ones. Well-meaning statements designed to comfort are often issued in error. We may stand by the casket and say things about our loved one such as, “She’s finally whole.” I submit to you that she is most definitely not whole—not yet.

If you see a body in a casket, the body and soul have been ripped asunder. Death, the great enemy, has, won another battle (not the war, but a battle), and that body will be committed to the dust. That is the very evidence that we await a resurrection: the bodies of the deceased are still in the grave (in some form).

If you see a body in a casket, the body and soul have been ripped asunder. … That is the very evidence that we await a resurrection.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,⁴ but what we currently consider to be heaven is not the place of the resurrected⁵ (with one exception—Jesus, who alone exists in His resurrected state).⁶ Those currently with the Lord exist in His presence in heavenly bliss, but they are incomplete.⁷

Those currently with the Lord exist in His presence in heavenly bliss, but they are incomplete.

I say all of this not to downplay the current existence of our departed loved ones. I say it to emphasize the happy future that we followers of Christ will one day experience together, and to emphasize the truth about what Christ’s resurrection means.

So let’s focus on the emphasized promise found in this repeated principle in Scripture: that Christ is the first fruits, and there yet remains a harvest.

First Fruits

First Corinthians 15 uses the term “first fruits”: “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits …” (v. 23).⁸ What exactly does this mean? The first fruits are those produced first, and that first fruit is a reason to celebrate. If you’ve grown a garden, you understand this, and this is a great activity to do with children to teach them the principle of first fruits in a visible and tangible way. That first fruit is:

A celebration of the fullness that has come to pass
A celebration because it is a sign of promise of the subsequent production of fruit that has yet to come of age

So, Christ is the first fruits in the sense that:

He is the first to ever bodily resurrect from the dead.
His resurrection is an inauguration of the new life that will come to those who are of His kind.

The fruit that follows will be like the (first) fruit that has come. God raises first His Child, the first fruits, and later His children, the later fruits.

God raises first His Child, the first fruits, and later His children, the later fruits.

The Holy Spirit—Also a First Fruit?

As I’ve said before, so much of what we know about resurrection comes in this letter from Paul to the Corinthians, especially chapter 15 (and we’ll explore more of it in future sermons). But it’s believed that while Paul was with the Corinthians, he wrote the book of Romans. In that book, he also calls the Spirit of God a first fruit in Romans 8:23. Let’s look at the buildup to that verse for context.

In Romans 8:11, Paul says the Spirit of God indwells us: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Paul then writes that the indwelling Spirit testifies to what kind of children we are: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).

In verse 23, he concludes, “Not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” The indwelling Spirit is a first fruit promise to us, telling us that we are children, but we await a future promise of an even better existence. That existence is a future one—it only comes about when the body is redeemed. And in the next two verses, Paul again makes clear that none of this has happened yet.

Let’s read the entire passage now to get a fuller picture of the emphasis on the future:

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (Romans 8:19–25).

In summary, we hope for a resurrection that has not been seen, and the Spirit is a future pledge—it’s given as a pledge of our future inheritance. Returning to Paul’s correspondence with the Corinthians, look at 2 Corinthians:

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (1:21–22)

Paying attention to the word “pledge,” look now at 2 Corinthians 5:2–5,⁹ where Paul again speaks of our present groanings:

For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

That word “pledge” carries the idea of a down payment. He is a down payment that has been placed upon us, meaning that something in the future is coming—something future is a guarantee.

In what way does the Spirit function as a pledge? In what way is He a guarantee of our future promise? The Spirit can be said to be a pledge because of what we previously read in Romans:

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (8:11)

The Spirit is a pledge of promise because we possess the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. That is the same Spirit dwelling in us. And the Spirit of God begins the work in our lives that directs us toward kingdom living¹⁰and conformity to that image to which we who are in Christ will ultimately be conformed.

It’s this promise of being conformed to Christ that is our great hope. And there’s a verse later in Romans 8 that can be somewhat disappointing if we don’t tie it to that future hope. Verse 29 says:

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [guaranteed]¹¹ to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29).

The verse just prior says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). A lot of things in this life don’t look so good—life often doesn’t turn out as we want it to; but God causes all things to work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. And what is that purpose? It’s that He has predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son. When does that happen? It happens fully at our adoption, and we eagerly wait for our adoption because that is the redemption of our body.

Jesus’s own experience tells us that there is an expected delay between death and resurrection. Jesus could’ve died and immediately resurrected from the dead, but that’s not what happened. Following His death, there were three days. Wright astutely observes:

The mention of any time lag at all between Jesus’ death and his resurrection is a further strong indication of what is meant by the latter: not only was Jesus’ resurrection in principle a dateable event for the early Christians, but it was always something that took place, not immediately upon his death, but a short interval thereafter.¹²

Jesus’s own experience tells us that there is an expected delay between death and resurrection. … Following His death, there were three days [before His resurrection].

What About Lazarus and Others?

Now wait, you say resurrection is future, that it’s never happened before to anyone except Jesus, but what about Lazarus and the widow’s son who were raised by Jesus? And what about Peter raising Tabitha and Paul raising Eutychus?

There are certainly other stories in the Bible that speak of people being “raised from the dead” or even experiencing what is termed “resurrection.” What are we to make of such stories?

There have indeed been people who were sick and died and then were raised, but in these cases, each person has been revived within the same body that he/she died in, with no change to that body other than what it takes to make it live again in its previous state. These are what you could call resuscitations, not resurrections like the one that will occur in the future. The resurrection to come will result in a new body. This body will be transformed—so transformed that we call it “new.” It’s not new and separate, but it’s new because it’s been transformed and it cannot die.

These are what you could call resuscitations, not resurrections like the one that will occur in the future. The resurrection to come will result in a new body.

Lazarus and the others mentioned above had to go through the process of death all over again. The first time they died, they were raised to life again—life as it was before they first died. This was different than being raised to resurrection life.*¹³

Conclusion: Resurrection Means Life

Resurrection means “life,” and unfortunately for some “resurrection” means something closer to death than it does to life. When we think of resurrection as anything other than a physical and future event, we are simply whitewashing a tomb.

When we think of resurrection as anything other than a physical and future event, we are simply whitewashing a tomb.

We must acknowledge death as the enemy that it is. If we hit fast forward on the resurrection timeline, we will not understand the story. Death must be dealt with. God deals with it not by simply putting a stop to it and certainly not by ignoring it. He deals with it by defeating it and undoing its work.¹⁴

Resurrection is re-creation. Again, from N.T. Wright:

“Resurrection” is never a way of describing death itself, or of “coming to terms” with it as though it were not after all particularly significant. … It is always a way of reaffirming … the goodness of the world, the nature of death as an evil intrusion into it, and the creator’s promise to overcome death by the gift of the new bodily life.¹⁵

Paul … sees the final act of redemption not as a rescue from creation but as the renewal of creation.”¹⁶

The promise of resurrection is the promise of renewal. We’re not just rescued from out of this world, we’re not just rescued from the place where death occurs, but death will be reversed.

Resurrection is re-creation. … The promise of resurrection is the promise of renewal.

Here’s the final act of redemption, as described by Paul in Colossians:

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:13–18)

We do not know fully what we will one day be, but Jesus has given us a glimpse of the invisible. He is the firstborn over all creation; He is the one who bridges heaven and earth. He is the head of the body, the church; and His body is the firstborn from the dead; He stands in first place, victorious. And His victory over death is one He will share with us.

* Other Resurrections in Scripture

Many people were raised after Jesus’s resurrection—not only the couple that I mentioned earlier in this sermon. In Matthew 27:50–53, we read:

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. (NASB, emphasis mine)

It is not known who these people were or how long such people had been dead. If they had been dead some time, it is feasible that there was some sort of “re-creation” that had to take place for them to have been raised. There is more than one possibility for this mysterious story.

How long had these people been asleep?

Option 1: These were the recently dead, who were raised in a way similar to Lazarus and others.
Option 2: These had been dead some time and thus experienced some sort of “re-creation” of the body.

What kind of body did these people have when they were raised?

Option 1: Their old bodies were merely restored, and thus they would experience death yet again (as did Lazarus and others).
Option 2: Theirs was in fact a resurrection body, which they received after Christ’s resurrection. Thus, they ascended back into heaven at some point after their death. If this second option is true, then this was the one exception to the rule. Only here is there mentioned anyone who might possibly have experienced resurrection other than Christ.

Hebrews 11:35 also mentions some resurrections:

Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection. (NASB)

The latter part of this verse that refers to a “better resurrection” is perhaps a definitive clue to interpreting the first part. The better resurrection is the resurrection about which we’ve been speaking—the future event in which new bodies are received. The first resurrection mentioned here is simply a raising of the dead as in Lazarus’s case.

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