Reformation 500 WEEK 22: Heidelberg Catechism QA’s
57-58
Question 57: What
comfort do you receive from ‘the resurrection of the body’? That not only my soul after this life shall be immediately taken up to
Christ its Head, but also that this my body, raised by the power of
Christ, shall be reunited with my soul, and made like the glorious body
of Christ.
Question 57 summarizes the biblical
teaching concerning article 11 of the Apostles Creed, “the resurrection of the
body.” We have already learned from Question 45 that Christ’s resurrection
guarantees our resurrection, which will occur when Christ returns to usher in
new heavens and a new earth (John 6:44; 1 Thess. 4:15-16; 1 Pet. 3:10-13). Our
resurrection will follow the same basic pattern as His. His human soul after He
died went immediately to heaven (Luke 23:43), and then returned to His body and
came forth from the grave. Our soul after we die “shall be immediately taken up
to Christ its Head.” Paul said: “to be absent from the body is to be present
with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8; cf. Phil. 1:23). The souls of believers go
immediately to heaven; and the souls of unbelievers go immediately to hell
(Luke 16:22; Rev. 6:10). During the time between death and the resurrection
[“the intermediate state”], “the soul does not sleep,” but “feels, and
understands without the body…although the manner of its operation without the
body is altogether unknown to us” (Ursinus, 310).
The resurrection is when our souls
shall be re-united with our bodies – which will be raised from the dust by the
Lord’s almighty power (Job 19:26; Ezek. 37:12; Acts 26:8; 1 Cor. 15:42-44). Our
resurrected body will be just like Christ’s “glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
Christ’s resurrected body was the very same body that was crucified (John
20:24-29). It was still “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), but adorned with
immortality (Luke 24:31, 51; Rev. 1:14). Our resurrected bodies will be the
same as those which we now have, only they will be immortal, incorruptible,
imperishable, free from all defects and imperfections. Yes, we will recognize
each other (Matt. 8:11)!
The bodies of the wicked will also
be raised but only to endure eternal punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29;
Acts 24:15; Matt. 25:30, 46).
Question 58: What
comfort do you receive from the article ‘life everlasting’? That, inasmuch as I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy,
I shall after this life possess complete blessedness, such as eye has
not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, therein
to praise God forever.
Since eternal life is a life in
“fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3; cf.
John 17:3), eternal life begins the moment God works truth faith in our
hearts (John 5:24). As believers, we begin
in this life to know what the unbelieving eyes and ears and hearts do not know,
because “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (see 1 Cor. 2:8-10).
But we have only a beginning of
eternal joy (Phil. 1:6; Heb. 12:2). God’s image is only partially restored in us (Gal. 5:22-23). But when Christ returns,
God’s image will be perfectly restored in us; and on a new earth in our
resurrected bodies we will see Him face to face (1 John 3:2); “there shall be
no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). We can only imagine!
NOTE: These Posts were written and designed as bulletin inserts by Pastor David Fagrey of the Grace Reformed Church of Rapid City, SD .
Link to this blog entry as a bulletin insert: Reformation 500 HC QAs 57-58
For a double-sided PDF for easy printing: Reformation 500 Week 22
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