One absolute proof we have that the Lord Jesus’ body was raised from the dead was when He presented Himself to Thomas. John 20:27 says, “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” The Lord was showing to Thomas that same body that had been crucified. Although now resurrected from the dead, He chose to keep those wounds in His body as a reminder to us of the incredible price He paid for our sins.

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-22, the Apostle Paul speaks of the actuality and importance of the physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In verses 12-14, he writes, “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” It is probable that those who said that ‘there is no resurrection’ were from among the Sadducees. The Sadducees were a sect among the Jews who were rationalists. In other words, they tended to believe in the things that could be rationalized to be true. We read in Acts 23:8, “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit…” The Apostle Paul insists that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then his preaching and our faith is useless. He goes on to say in verse 17, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” Without the resurrection of Christ, there is no salvation.

The resurrection of the saints of God is mentioned throughout scripture and is a precious promise to those who know Him as savior. Job understood that he would be physically resurrected to see the Lord. He wrote in Job 19:25-27, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself…” He knew that after death, that although his body would be eaten by worms, his body would be raised again. So he boldly states, ‘yet in my flesh shall I see God.’

In describing what happens to the living saints and those that had died when the Lord raptures His church, Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Those who are ‘dead in Christ’, or those believers who have passed away, shall ‘rise first’. This indicates that their bodies will be raised back to life. No matter what the condition of the bodies, the Lord will raise them back to life the same way as He raised His Son, the Lord Jesus. We read of the raising of the saints in 1 Corinthians 15:42, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.”

Of course, everyone that has ever lived will be resurrected, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting punishment. Acts 24:15 tells us, “…there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” I trust that you have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and will thus be raised again at the return of the Lord Jesus to dwell with Him for eternity. (167.7)