“Everyone will be made alive in Christ. However, everyone in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, followed by those who are Christ’s members at his return. Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:22–23
Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection. Believers who pass away also go to heaven. Their bodies don’t, though. These corpses just appear to “return to dust” and deteriorate.
All believers will, nevertheless, get their bodies back at the end of time—repaired, exalted, and eternal. Because when Jesus Christ returns to earth for the last judgment, those who belong to Him will also be resurrected to life, just as He was made alive with His body. Then, instead of existing as spirits on His new globe, they will live alongside Him as human beings with bodies free from deformities, diseases, and death.
Jesus is referred to as “the firstfruits.” Being exalted to immortality and never dying again, he was the first. And if we are “in Him,” He also made it possible for each and every one of us to obtain this eternal life. Because of this, life after resurrection is inextricably linked to Jesus Christ. It cannot be obtained outside of a relationship with Him. He even claims to be the Life in John 14:6. The relationship that individuals have with Him is what gives life meaning and immortality.
Do you believe it would be just as good to spend all of eternity in paradise without having our bodies resurrected, or do you think the bodily resurrection is more important?
