The Apostles’ Creed: The Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting

The Apostles’ Creed ends with a big, glorious confession: “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” This hope declares that earthly death is not the end of anybody’s existence. Jesus makes clear in Matthew 25 that every person will continue forever, either in eternal life with the Father, Son, and Spirit or in eternal punishment. Christ’s final judgment separates sheep from goats, and the fruit of a person’s life reveals whether that person belongs to him.

The gospel does not make eternal life a reward for doing enough good things. Jesus makes dead trees alive, and living trees bear fruit. Christ’s people care for the hungry, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned because his life is in them. God saves the ungodly by grace through faith, not by works. Eternal life belongs to those who have been made new in Christ.

Jesus defines eternal life in John 17 as knowing “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” God’s presence is the greatest promise of heaven. Paul says that believers now see dimly, like looking into an old mirror, but one day they will see God face to face. God knows every part of his children fully, while his children only know him in part for now. Eternity will never reach the end of God’s glory, because God is infinite. Angels can cry, “Holy, holy, holy,” forever because God will always reveal more of himself.

Ephesians says God has already made believers alive and seated them with Christ in the heavenly realms. Jesus says those who believe have eternal life and have crossed from death to life. Eternal life has already started for the person whose hope is in Christ. Christ’s people must live like life has started, rather than acting as though death has the final word.

Paul also declares that Christ will transform lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. The resurrection is not merely spirits floating somewhere. Jesus rose bodily from the grave, and God will raise his people bodily too: imperishable, glorious, powerful, and free from sin. Revelation 21 shows God making everything new, with God himself dwelling among his people, wiping every tear away, and removing death, mourning, crying, pain, curse, and night.

Hope matters because this world hurts. Jesus promises trouble, yet he also says, “Take heart. I have overcome the world.” The resurrection changes grief, sickness, aging, sacrifice, failure, and funerals because none of them is the last chapter. God’s children groan while waiting for the redemption of their bodies, but their present suffering cannot compare with the glory that is coming.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Eternal life means knowing God Jesus does not define eternal life mainly as a place, a length of time, or a collection of blessings. Eternal life is knowing the Father through the Son, face to face and without the limits of sin and flesh. God’s infinite glory means eternity will not become repetitive or empty, because there will always be more of him to know. [58:19]
• 2. Life has already started in Christ God has made believers alive even now, not merely promised life later. Christ has already carried his people across from death to life and seated them with him in the heavenly realms. Present circumstances may still hurt, but they cannot undo the life Christ has given. [62:45]
• 3. Christ will raise physical bodies Jesus rose with a real body, and his resurrection is the pattern for his people. God does not throw away what sin has broken; he restores it and makes it new. The body sown in weakness and dishonor will be raised in power and glory. [65:04]
• 4. Hope changes present suffering Jesus does not deny the trouble, grief, exhaustion, sickness, betrayal, and temptation of this world. Christ gives hope in the middle of suffering because suffering is not the final chapter. The coming glory makes faithful endurance meaningful, even when life feels desperate.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:37] - The Best News: Life Everlasting
• [49:26] - The Creed’s Final Confession
• [50:52] - Christ’s Final Judgment
• [55:14] - Grace, Faith, and Living Fruit
• [57:30] - Eternal Life Is Knowing God
• [60:52] - The Infinite Glory of God
• [62:45] - Eternal Life Has Already Begun
• [65:04] - The Resurrection of the Body
• [69:22] - God Is Making Everything New
• [74:06] - Hope in a World of Trouble
• [77:38] - Glory Beyond Present Suffering
• [80:09] - Confessing the Apostles’ Creed

Bible Reading

Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” [50:52]

John 17:3
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” [58:19]

Ephesians 2:4-6
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” [01:03:03]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 25:31–46, what groups does the Son of Man separate, and what actions are named as evidence in the lives of those welcomed into the kingdom? [52:28]
2. What contrast does Ephesians 2:4–6 make between believers’ former condition and what God has already done for them in Christ? [01:03:03]
3. According to John 17:3, how does Jesus define eternal life? [58:19]
4. What kinds of suffering and hardship are named as reasons believers need hope in the resurrection and life everlasting? [01:14:28]

Interpretation questions

1. In Matthew 25, the sheep care for hungry, sick, lonely, and imprisoned people, yet salvation is by grace through faith. How can these acts of mercy be understood as fruit of new life rather than a way to earn eternal life? [55:45]
2. Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the Father and the Son. How does this definition challenge the common idea that heaven is mainly about receiving good things or escaping pain? [01:01:12]
3. Ephesians says believers have already been made alive and seated with Christ, even while they still live in a broken world. What difference should this make in how a Christian understands present struggles and identity? [01:03:29]
4. Why does the promise of a resurrected body matter for people facing aging, sickness, disability, grief, or death? [01:08:39]

Application questions

1. Where are you most tempted to live as though death, failure, pain, or disappointment has the final word? What would it look like to remember that your life has already begun in Christ? [01:04:00]
2. Jesus connects belonging to him with caring for “the least of these.” Is there a hungry, lonely, sick, struggling, or overlooked person God may be calling you to notice and serve this week? What could one practical step look like? [56:19]
3. Eternal life is knowing God, and believers can know him truly even now by his Spirit. What practice could help you pursue knowing God more deeply this week—prayer, Scripture, worship, confession, or time with another believer? [01:02:05]
4. Think about a current grief, sickness, temptation, burden, or disappointment. How does the promise that God will make all things new speak into that particular situation? [01:17:17]
5. How can this group better support one another in suffering without pretending that pain is small or easy? What would it look like to grieve honestly while still holding onto resurrection hope? [01:16:18]
6. When you think about eternal life with Christ, what gives you the most hope or joy? How might remembering that hope shape the way you face the coming week? [01:19:47]