1.1 Resurrection- Meaning
A. Definition from the Greek
The word resurrection comes from the Greek (anastasis) meaning “A standing up” and has come to be known as “a rising from the dead”.
If we wish to gather a proper meaning of the word we are best able to do so by contrasting with other current thoughts and ideas of life after death.
B. Definition by contrast:
By resurrection we do not mean:
1) … a resuscitation– to bring back to life. This can only occur medically if the person is not totally brain dead. Jn 19:33 proves that resuscitation was not a possibility.
2) … the raising of dead body back to its former state. There are several cases in the Bible where dead people have been raised back to life by the power of God but in each case the individual was to die again indicating that they were still mortal. e.g.:
a) A young girl (tabitha) raised by Jesus
b) widow’s son from Nain raised by Jesus
c) a young girl raised by Peter
d) a widow’s son raised by Elijah
e) Lazarus raised by Jesus.
3) … the translation of the body. Two men have been described in the Bible as not having passed through the article of death:
a) Enoch- was not because God took him.
b) Elijah- ascended into heaven in a whirlwind.
In both of these cases the individuals did not experience death at all. They were taken into heaven by God. We have no indication of what happened to there bodies but it is safe to say that they did not enter heaven with their mortal bodies since “flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God”.
4) … a spiritual resurrection. This is the claim made by those of the Muslim religion or by those of the Ba’hai faith. These groups make the claim that the spirits of their leaders have ascended into heaven. In such a resurrection the original body has been left behind.
5) … a reincarnation. This system of belief suggests that upon death we are able to return again to this world in the body of some other living creature to carry on our existence in another form. The form we take depends upon the quality of life that we have lived in our previous life.
From the information above we can summarize by saying that the resurrection is not a resuscitation, a simple raising from the dead, a translation of the body, a spiritual resurrection, or a reincarnation.
C. Definition from the scriptures (bible)
The scriptures describe two outstanding characteristics of the Lord’s raised body that make it unique from any other idea about life after death:
1) The original body of Christ was used in the resurrection. The proofs are as follows:
a) grave clothes- Jn 20:7
b) wounds- Jn 20:27 Lk 24:40
c) eating- Lk 24:42
d) touchable- Lk 24:39
2) This resurrected body was new, incorruptible, and not bound by conventional laws of physics.
a) a new body not to be touched- Jn 20:17
b) laws of nature not followed- Lk 24:31; Jn 20:19,26
c) incorruptible- Acts 13:34; I Cor 15:42
d) glorious- I Cor 15:43
e) spiritual- I Cor 15:44
f) heavenly- I Cor 15:49
g) immortal- I Cor 15:54
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