The Cross and the Resurrection are inseparable parts of one story; the cross without the resurrection is meaningless. The gospel includes both the cross and the resurrection; there is no gospel without the resurrection.
The significance of the resurrection includes, not only Jesus’ returning to life, but also the resurrection of God’s people, and the restoration of the whole of creation. That is the apostle Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 15. Jesus’ resurrection (in the past) is the firstfruits of both the resurrection of God’s people (in the future) and the restoration of the whole of creation (also in the future).
The idea that the physical, material universe is good and to be valued was a stark contrast to the worldviews of the Egyptians and Babylonians, and the Greeks and Romans. They perceived the material world and their bodies to be something to be escaped. So Genesis’ emphasizing that all that God had made is good directly challenged those pagan worldviews. We must beware of supposing that this material world is something to be escaped (“This world is not my home; I’m just passing through”), or that it is something that will be destroyed at the end of time. God intends to restore, not destroy, his beloved creation. So we too are to value and care for the material world – from our own bodies to the planet as a whole.
Human rebellion allowed sin and death to invade and corrupt God’s good creation. The sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus are not only for human beings’ salvation, but also to restore God’s creation as a whole.
At Jesus’ Second Coming, the dead will rise with imperishable bodies, and the living will undergo transformation – not the loss of our current bodies, but overlaying a new body upon the old one. This change will involve both continuity and transformation; our bodies will be recognizable, but different (imperishable, immortal).
This transformation process will apply also to the rest of God’s creation. This world will not be obliterated, but rather, restored – such that we will enjoy eternal life in a renewed creation, reminiscent of the Garden of Eden.
God has won the victory over sin and death, and he gives us the victory he has won (1 Cor. 15:57). God gives us victory in the present tense. It is not only a promised future, but the Spirit’s empowerment in the present. Consider Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3:10: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…” God’s Spirit is, in the present, transforming our hearts and lives, little by little, over time.
Paul concludes by urging his readers to allow the hope of the resurrection to shape their lives in the present. He doesn’t say, “Since you can look forward to the resurrection, you can relax, knowing that God is preparing a great future for you.” On the contrary, he urges them, “Throw yourselves wholeheartedly into the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain!” We demonstrate our faith by devoting ourselves to the Lord’s work with an “already, but not yet” mindset. Jesus’ resurrection has already taken place, but our resurrection has not yet taken place. And yet Jesus’ resurrection is a guarantee that our resurrection will happen because his resurrection is just the firstfruits. The rest of the fruit will, in due time, be harvested!
Confidently looking forward to something that hasn’t happened yet describes both faith and hope. Biblical faith and hope are evidence-based. Christ’s resurrection in the past gives us the assurance that our resurrection will happen in the future, and shapes the way we live in the present. Faith is not hoping upon hope with our eyes closed to reality, but rather living in the light of the evidence.
What is the work to which we devote ourselves? The Lord’s work includes caring for God’s creation in many ways – from serving people in ways big and small, to preserving and enhancing the beauty and productiveness of God’s world.
Theologian Walter Brueggemann has observed that “Hope requires a community of faith and action. Hope is a communal activity; none can fully hope alone.” The nouns and verbs in the apostle’s concluding exhortation are plural: All of you, together, “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you know that, in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.”
