I Believe: Resurrection of the Body and Everlasting Life

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The God of the Living, Not the Dead

Jesus dismantled hollow arguments about resurrection by pointing to God’s nature. He revealed that resurrection isn’t a theological puzzle but a declaration of God’s power over death. When God calls Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He stakes His identity on sustaining life beyond the grave. This truth anchors hope not in abstract ideas but in the unbroken relationship between God and His people. To deny resurrection is to deny the God who breathes life into dust. [31:31]

“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you limited God’s power to situations that feel “final”? How might embracing His identity as the God of the living reshape your view of loss or despair?

Day 2: Job’s Skin Destroyed, Yet Seeing God

Job’s raw confession in suffering reveals resurrection hope as an anchor. He didn’t spiritualize eternity but declared his decayed body would one day behold God. This gritty faith confronts our tendency to separate spiritual hope from physical reality. Resurrection isn’t escape from the body but its redemption. Job’s declaration turns agony into anticipation, proving hope thrives where circumstances scream defeat. [41:11]

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-26, ESV)

Reflection: What physical or emotional “ruin” do you need to entrust to the God who promises to restore flesh? How does Job’s honesty challenge your own prayers?

Day 3: Dew of Light on Dust-Bound Lives

Isaiah’s prophecy transforms graves into gardens. The image of dew reviving dust-dwellers mirrors God’s method: gentle, persistent, life-giving. Resurrection isn’t a cosmic reboot but a tender awakening. Those who feel buried by failure, grief, or shame are called to “sing for joy” – not after rescue, but in anticipation of it. The same dew that nourishes hidden seeds will resurrect saints. [42:16]

“Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.” (Isaiah 26:19, ESV)

Reflection: What dormant dream or relationship feels like “dust” to you? How might waiting with expectation change your posture toward it?

Day 4: Concept Cars and the First Fruits

Christ’s resurrection body is the prototype for ours. Like a concept car unveiled before mass production, His glorified form guarantees our future. Nail-scarred yet radiant, physical yet unbound, He embodies the paradox of continuity and transformation. Our hope isn’t in vague immortality but in following the trail He blazed through death. Every ache whispers, “This isn’t the final model.” [01:03:37]

“Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your current body or life feels most “temporary”? How does Jesus’ resurrection body reframe that limitation?

Day 5: Steadfast, Immovable, and Unimpressed

Paul’s double command – “steadfast, immovable” – inoculates believers against cultural compromise. Resurrection hope isn’t passive optimism but stubborn fidelity. Like a tree gripping bedrock during storms, immovability thrives when roots drink deep from Christ’s victory. Every act of obedience, however unnoticed, becomes eternal investment. Toil gains meaning when death’s defeat is already signed in scarred flesh. [01:16:50]

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)

Reflection: Where does cultural pressure tempt you to adjust biblical truth? What “unimpressive” work for Christ might matter most in light of eternity?

Sermon Summary

The resurrection of the body and life everlasting stand at the big crescendo of the Apostles’ Creed. The creed does not invent new beliefs over time, but gathers up what the early church believed was essential to the gospel. The resurrection is not just a New Testament idea that shows up after Jesus. The resurrection is rooted deep in the Old Testament and then gets fleshed out more fully in Jesus and the apostles.

Matthew 22 brings the Sadducees to Jesus with a gotcha question about a woman married to seven brothers. The Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection, and Jesus tells them plainly, “You’re wrong,” because they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. God calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Jesus says God is not the God of the dead but of the living. That means the Scriptures had already been pointing toward life beyond death.

The Old Testament gives more than hints. Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac shows faith that God could bring the promised son back from the dead. Elijah and Elisha raising the dead show God’s power over life and death, even though those are not yet glorified resurrection bodies. Job says, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” and that after his skin is destroyed, in his flesh he shall see God. Isaiah says the dead shall live, and Daniel speaks of some rising to everlasting life and others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Jesus then completes the picture. John 5 says all who are in the tombs will hear the Son’s voice and come out, some to the resurrection of life and some to judgment. John 11 brings Martha’s faith in a last-day resurrection, but Jesus says something bigger: “I am the resurrection and the life.” The resurrection is not just an event on God’s calendar. The resurrection is a person, and life comes from him.

Jesus’ own resurrection becomes the proof of concept, like a concept car brought out to show, “Look, this can really be done.” Lazarus came back in the same earthly body and would die again, but Jesus rose in a new glorified body. Paul calls him the “firstfruits,” the first of many who will be raised.

First Corinthians 15 presses the point hard. If there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been raised, faith is futile, and believers are still in sin. But Christ has been raised. Because of that, the perishable will put on the imperishable, the mortal will put on immortality, and death will be swallowed up in victory. Therefore, Paul calls the church to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Key Takeaways

1. Resurrection is not a new doctrine The resurrection did not appear out of nowhere in the New Testament. Job, Isaiah, Daniel, the Psalms, and even Abraham’s faith all point toward God’s power to raise the dead. The New Testament does not replace that hope, it brings it into full light through Christ. [44:22]
2. Jesus is the resurrection itself Martha believed in a future resurrection, but Jesus pressed deeper than an event on the last day. “I am the resurrection and the life” means life is not merely something Jesus gives from the outside. Life comes from him because resurrection power belongs to him. [53:46]
3. Christ is the proof of concept Jesus’ resurrection is not like Lazarus coming back to ordinary life and dying again later. Jesus rises in a glorified body, new and improved, showing what God will do for those who belong to Christ. His resurrection is the firstfruits, the first one out of the ground that guarantees more are coming. [70:56]
4. No resurrection makes faith pointless Paul does not treat resurrection as a side issue. If Christ has not been raised, then faith is empty, sin is still unpaid, and Christian sacrifice makes no sense. The resurrection is not decoration on the gospel, it is the victory that proves the cross did what God said it did. [68:13]
5. Resurrection hope makes believers immovable Paul’s “therefore” matters because doctrine is supposed to make feet steady and hands busy. A church that really believes death is defeated does not need to update the gospel to fit the culture around it. Resurrection hope calls for being steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the Lord’s work.

## [76:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:02] - The Creed’s Final Crescendo
[30:09] - The Sadducees Question Jesus
[33:46] - Jesus Corrects Their Error
[37:20] - Resurrection in the Old Testament
[40:41] - Job’s Hope in the Redeemer
[42:16] - Isaiah and Daniel on Resurrection
[45:09] - Jesus Reveals the Resurrection
[50:53] - Lazarus, Martha, and Last-Day Hope
[53:46] - “I Am the Resurrection”
[57:54] - Jesus’ Resurrection Is Different
[63:37] - Paul Clarifies Resurrection Hope
[68:13] - If Christ Is Not Raised
[71:16] - The Seed and the Glorified Body
[76:38] - Steadfast, Immovable, Always Abounding

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 22:29-32

“But Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.’” [33:55]

John 11:25-26

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” [53:46]

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” [01:08:13]

1 Corinthians 15:58

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” [01:16:38]

Observation questions

In Matthew 22, what two things does Jesus say the Sadducees do not know, and how does he answer their question about the resurrection? [34:01]
In John 11, what does Martha already believe about the future, and what does Jesus say about himself that goes even further than that? [53:46]
In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, what chain of consequences does Paul list if Christ has not been raised? [01:08:13]
What Old Testament examples were used to show that resurrection hope did not begin in the New Testament? [44:22]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says people can be wrong because they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. How can a person still make that same mistake today when thinking about death, eternity, or what God is able to do? [37:37]
Jesus does not simply promise resurrection as a future event; he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” What does that reveal about where eternal life comes from and why faith must be placed in him personally? [54:31]
Paul says that if Christ has not been raised, faith is futile and believers are still in their sins. Why does the resurrection matter so much to the gospel instead of being just one doctrine among many? [01:09:19]
Paul calls Christ the “firstfruits.” How does that picture help explain the connection between Jesus’ resurrection and the future resurrection of those who belong to him? [01:10:56]

Application questions

Resurrection hope is meant to make believers steadfast and immovable. Where does the pressure of the surrounding culture most tempt a person to soften, adjust, or stay quiet about Christian truth? [01:17:58]
Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?” When thoughts of death, grief, aging, or weakness come up, what does a person’s response usually reveal about how firmly this hope is actually being held? [53:59]
If Christ has truly been raised, then faith is not empty and labor in the Lord is not wasted. What area of obedience or service has felt discouraging lately, and how could resurrection hope strengthen a person to keep going? [01:16:50]
Christ’s resurrection is the proof that God will also raise his people. How could remembering the promised glorified body bring comfort to someone dealing with sickness, chronic pain, disability, or the loss of a believing loved one? [01:12:50]
Some in Corinth were letting the beliefs of the culture around them reshape what they thought. What are some common ways that can happen now, especially around life after death, judgment, or the uniqueness of Christ? [01:17:20]
Paul says to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” What are some real and simple ways a person in this group could be more active in serving Christ this week rather than staying passive? [01:19:13]
It does not make sense to confess resurrection hope and then live halfway. In what part of life is there the biggest gap right now between what is believed about Christ and the way everyday life is actually being lived? [01:21:09]

Sermon Clips

66s

#ResurrectionIsAPerson

“``I know that there is a resurrection in the last days. There's things that God's gonna do where he's gonna take all of those who have put their faith and trust in him, and he's going to resurrect them. And I know that Lazarus will be part of that. And Jesus says, I don't think you fully know. You know that you have this belief in this thing that's going to happen, but but I am the resurrection. He's like, the resurrection is not just an event, it's it's a person, and it's me. Like, I have the power of the resurrection. have the power of life. Life is not just something that that, you know, just passes from one living thing to another. It comes from me. All life comes from me and I have the power to take it. I've got the power to give it and it it did did like I have that power and it doesn't matter how long it's been dead. Jesus said, I can bring it back to life. Right?”

58s

#StandOnTheGospel

“You have the full teachings of God. You have the full gospel. Be steadfast in that gospel. Be immovable in that gospel. Nobody should be coming to you and giving you any other teaching other than what I've taught you and what you already have. If they're giving if they're telling you to go to the left or to the right, they're wrong. Being movable in your faith. I think if there's an application for us today in the world that we live in and the culture we live in that tells us that the Christian faith is old and outdated and we have to change some things, church, be immovable. We've got it. This is it. This is all of it. There's no adjustments to be made. There's no updating to our gospel to be more inclusive. It is for all.”

42s

#JesusConceptCar

“You go to investors and they're like, well, can you make that happen? I mean, I think I can like, you know, you're like, okay, let me build you one. Let me show you, hey, I can actually do this or get at least close enough to doing this that you'll give me a bunch of money so I can complete do the rest of it. Right? So, know where I'm going with this? Alright. Jesus is our concept car. As far as the as far as this new glorious body. We've got proof that this is gonna happen, that God can do this, that God will do this, that God is going to do this because he literally did it with Jesus.”

55s

#ChristFirstResurrection

“Jesus' resurrections was different in in two ways. One, in in whose power was he being resurrected. Right? Is is this this was so a living man calling someone back to life like in this case of Jesus calling Lazarus back to life or Elijah raising the little girl, you know, are are you following me or the is the the widow? In this case, God brought himself back to life, so to speak. Right? So in what power and in what purpose his death came, like knowing that that was the completion, that was the fulfillment the the the process of him dying for our sins, on the cross and completing that that, hey, this is proof to us that that penalty had been completely paid for because he ain't still dead.”

70s

#GlorifiedBodyReveal

“it's also different in that he was not just resurrected back into his same physical body. Right? We know that when Jesus was resurrected, when he come back, he was in this new glorified body. And what do we know about this new glorified body? Not a whole lot other than it's new and improved. Okay? It looked enough like him that they could tell it was him, and he could eat and he could do things, but it was also different because he could walk through walls. Right? Yep. He's they're all in the room. He just like shows up. He's just like boom, he's in there. Right? So exactly how what this glorified body looks like, we don't know a whole lot, but it's different. So Jesus' Jesus' resurrection is the first of this idea, this all throughout the Bible that we've talked about, about the resurrection of the body. So in the Apostles creed says, I believe in the resurrection of the body, Jesus is is our example.”

56s

#AboundInLordWork

“And then he says, be busy working for the Lord. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, there's no such thing as laboring in vain. in light of us knowing the resurrection and trusting in the resurrection and having a full faith belief, if you don't, you you need to. Right? And if you do, in light of that, be steadfast and movable and always abounding. Find ways to serve. God has given every single one of us gifts and talents, still hunting mine, but they're there, right, and time and opportunities to serve him.”

70s

#ResurrectionMattersOrElse

“if this faith is just about this life and there's not an afterlife, there's not everlasting life, it doesn't go beyond this, What are we doing? Why are we signing up for this persecuted life, for this hardship, for this life of sacrifice for nothing better. Like, we're fools. If that's the case, if Christ not be raised from the if there is no resurrection, then Christ isn't raised. If Christ is not raised, then this is all pointless and what are we doing? He later says, we should just eat, drink, be married, more or we die. Live it up. And I say the same thing to you, if you aren't all in on Christ, if you aren't all in on the resurrection, if you're just like if this is like a social event, there's better social events. What are you doing?”

46s

#JesusFirstFruits

“So that what I was talking about about Jesus being the the concept car, he's a proof of concept. The Bible refers to that as the first fruits. He is the first fruits. Right? Which the old testament symbolism, there's there's a whole festival first few fruits that was set up hundreds of years ago in the old testament, and exactly what it's pointing to is Christ being our first fruit. It's pointing to his resurrection, him being the first of many. Right? And we got the trust and the and the belief in in God doing that, he's also going to do the same for us. Right?”

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I Believe: Resurrection of the Body and Everlasting Life

Devotional

Day 1: The God of the Living, Not the Dead

Day 2: Job’s Skin Destroyed, Yet Seeing God

Day 3: Dew of Light on Dust-Bound Lives

Day 4: Concept Cars and the First Fruits

Day 5: Steadfast, Immovable, and Unimpressed

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

I Believe: Resurrection of the Body and Everlasting Life

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