These bodies of ours are perishable, dishonorable, and weak (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Simply put, our biological clocks will wind down one day. The wrinkles around our eyes, the thinning of our hair, the soreness in our joints, and dimness of our vision betrays us. So, through a monumental act of grace, God promises to raise us in immortality, glory, and power.

“Can science cure death? It sure looks like it.”

“Can Google solve death?”

“With brain preservation, nobody has to die.”

These are just a few of the headlines that caught my attention recently while preparing for a message on the future resurrection of saints. One author claimed that microscopic robots repairing our bodies on the cellular level will be the key to overcoming the Grim Reaper. Another proposed cryopreservation as the means of conserving our brain identity and structure, making it possible to create a new, digital existence simply by uploading the content of our gray matter. The common denominator of each article, though, is that giving science a bit more time is the key to our achieving biological immortality.

While reading, my mind continually returned to the book of Hebrews, which plainly states every person has an appointment with death, followed by the judgment (Heb. 9:27). Scripture unapologetically and indiscriminately insists human mortality is a reality for all due to our inherited sin nature (Rom. 5:12). Avoiding our end is impossible despite the marvels of modern medicine or the advancements of contemporary technology.

I understand the ambition to dodge death, but our only real hope is to defeat it entirely. Therein lies the pastoral heart of the Apostle Paul as he writes to the Corinthian church seeking to explain the various reasons we should anticipate our future resurrection, why we need it, and how we should respond in the meantime.

Because Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead serves as the foundational cornerstone of Christianity (1 Cor. 15:3-4), its inextricable link to our coming victory over death is no surprise. Simply put, if we are not raised from the dead there is no reason to believe that Jesus ever was (1 Cor. 15:13, 16). Inversely, if Jesus indeed rose on the third day, we should never doubt our ultimate victory over the grave (1 Cor. 15:20).

Read More