The Bodily Resurrection of Christ (Episode 136)

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NASB). These words penned by Paul the apostle underscore the importance of believing in the bodily resurrection of Christ. Our eternal salvation depends upon it. That is the focus of this Easter episode by Frank King.

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul addressed the church members who said there is no resurrection of the dead. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen,” Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:13, KJV). 

Paul also saw the argument that there is no resurrection from the dead as an attack on the credibility of the apostles.  He said, “We are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not” (verse 15).

All the apostles saw the Lord Jesus Christ with their own eyes. The original twelve were with Him throughout His public ministry. After He returned to heaven, they became witnesses of His life, His death, and His bodily resurrection.

A false witness is a person who claims to have seen something that he has not seen. That’s, in effect, what the apostles would be, Paul argued, if there is no resurrection of the dead.

Believing Having Not Seen

Just as it was in the church at Corinth, some who listen to this episode may not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They wrestle with the idea of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Perhaps many who attend church weekly have the same struggle. This is not a minor issue. Rather, it is a matter of eternal consequences. That’s why Paul so passionately addressed the subject in his letter to the church.

According to the Scriptures, early on that first day of the week, God raised Jesus bodily from the grave. He took victory from the grave and the sting out of death. Because He lives, those who believe in Him will live forevermore. And that’s what we celebrate this awesome time of the year we call Easter.

Everything we hope for and live for rests upon the fact that God raised Christ bodily from the grave. That’s why this is such a big deal for us. And why Paul was inspired to challenge the unbelievers in the church on this matter.

But accepting the bodily resurrection of Christ is a matter of faith. None of us have witnessed it. No one can show us infallible proof of the same. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” Jesus said (John 20:29, KJV).