Resurrection is the rising from death back into life. It always follows death—nothing can rise again unless it has first gone down into the grave. The Bible speaks of several kinds of death, each carrying its own meaning and consequence. In this study, we will look at the first death, spiritual death, and the second death—and discover how every believer who shares in Christ’s resurrection overcomes them all.
According to Scripture, the first death refers to the separation of the human spirit from the physical body. As Ecclesiastes 12:7 states, the body returns to the dust, while the spirit returns to God who gave it. This is the death appointed for all humanity, with only a few exceptions—Enoch (Gen. 5:24), Elijah (2 Ki. 2:11), and those who will be caught up to meet Christ in the air at the Parousia.
Those who hold a purely materialistic worldview believe death ends everything. To them, there is no spirit, no life beyond the grave. Yet Scripture speaks with clarity and weight: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27).
If Christ does not return in the next century, then all of us reading these words will eventually pass through the first death. This is the reality of our earthly lives unless the Lord comes beforehand.
We will discuss the other two types of death later on. For now, let’s turn our attention to resurrection.
Resurrection
The Bible provides multiple accounts of individuals restored from the first death:
- Elijah raised the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17–22)
- Elisha raised the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4:18–37)
- A man revived upon contact with Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:20–21)
- Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:21–43)
- Jesus raised the young man at Nain (Luke 7:11–15)
- Jesus raised Lazarus (John 11:38–44)
- Peter raised Tabitha/Dorcas (Acts 9:36–42)
- Paul raised Eutychus (Acts 20:7–12)
- And most wonderfully, Christ rose from the dead by His own power.
Among all the resurrection accounts in Scripture, the resurrection of Jesus rises above them all. It stands out for three key reasons we will consider next.
First, Jesus’ resurrection stands apart because it is the only case in which the one who died raised Himself from the dead.
The gospel of John records that when the people demanded more signs, Jesus answered by telling them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Although they missed His meaning, Jesus was speaking about rising the temple of His own body (Jn. 2:19-21).
Again, Jesus made this truth unmistakably clear in John 10:17–18: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” Here, Jesus asserts both His voluntary death and His authority to raise Himself.
Second, Jesus’ resurrection stands apart as the only case in which the one raised from the dead did not return to death afterward.
It is theologically sound to conclude that every other person restored to life in Scripture later experienced the first death again. Jesus alone, having raised Himself, now lives eternally. In Revelation, He declares of Himself:
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” —Revelation 1:18, NKJV
It matters deeply to every Christian that Jesus died and rose again and now lives forevermore. Everything we believe stands on this unshakable truth: Christ died, Christ rose, and Christ lives.
It is of utmost importance that Christ’s resurrection is true. The apostle Paul insists in 1 Corinthians 15:14–17 that if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is empty and our faith is in vain. He presses the point that the dead must be raised, for if they are not, then Christ Himself was not raised. And if that were true, our faith would be worthless and we would remain trapped in our sins.
Praise be to God! Jesus died, He rose, and He lives forevermore. Because of this, our faith is not in vain.
Third, Jesus’ resurrection is unique as the only resurrection that is not limited to Him alone—it is a resurrection He shares with all who believe.
The Bible tells us that believers were once dead in their sins. This introduces us to another kind of death: spiritual death. Scripture describes it as a life of disobedience, driven by the cravings of the flesh and the desires of the mind. (Eph. 2:1-3).
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” —Ephesians 2:1-3
Scripture continues to teach that Christians have been resurrected from spiritual death by being united with Christ in His resurrection—through faith and the saving grace of God.
“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.” —Ephesians 2:4-6
We share in Christ’s resurrection only through salvation, received by God’s grace. And to share in His resurrection, one must first be spiritually dead, because resurrection is for the dead. That means every Christian has a former life; none of us came to Christ spiritually alive. Apart from this shared resurrection with Christ, the whole world remains in spiritual death.
God has brought us into Christ’s resurrection by forgiving all our sins. As Paul says in Colossians 2:13: “You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.” Here, spiritual resurrection is directly tied to the complete forgiveness of sins.
Signs of someone who has shared in Christ’s Resurrection
Newness of life is the sign that we truly share in Christ’s resurrection. The old man dies with Christ. We are buried with Him in baptism. We are raised with Him through salvation and the forgiveness of sins. And from then on, we walk in the newness of life He gives as new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” —Romans 6:3-6
We all once lived a dead life—caught in trespasses and sins, driven by the passions of our flesh with no self control. But by the grace of God, through salvation, we were made alive with Christ in His resurrection, and we are no longer slaves to sin.
The blessings of Sharing in Christ’s Resurrection
There are great blessings of sharing in Christ’s resurrection. John recounts the moment when Lazarus fell sick and his sisters, Mary and Martha, urgently sent for Jesus. Yet Jesus delayed, and by the time He arrived, Lazarus had already died. When Jesus reached their home, Martha met Him with these words: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (Jn. 11:21).
Jesus replied to her: “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 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” (Jn. 11:23-26). In that moment, Jesus shifted Martha’s hope from a distant future to Himself.
The first blessing of sharing in Christ’s resurrection is that when believers face the first death, they are immediately with the Lord.
Jesus assured Martha that whoever believes in Him—even if he dies the first death—will live. Paul echoes this confidence in 2 Corinthians 5:8 when he says, “To be absent from the body is to be present at home with the Lord.” This blessing belongs only to those who are in Christ, for they have shared in His resurrection.
The second blessing of sharing in Christ’s resurrection is that death no longer has power over believers.
In the same conversation with Martha, Jesus added, “Everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (Jn. 11:26). But what death is He talking about? Clearly not the first death—He had just affirmed that even if we die, we will live. So what does Jesus mean when He promises that those who believe in Him will never die?
Here Jesus was pointing to another kind of death—the second death. In His letter to the church in Smyrna, Jesus encouraged them to remain faithful in the midst of tribulation and poverty, and He made a promise to those who would overcome:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11).
We have already identified two other kinds of death—the first death and spiritual death. But what exactly is this second death?
Revelation 20:14 identifies the second death as the lake of fire. And Revelation 21:8 gives further clarity, describing exactly who will face this second death.
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”—Revelation 21:8
We previously identified sharing in Christ’s resurrection as the believer’s first resurrection—the moment God raises us out of spiritual death. Scripture gives us assurance of the blessing of rising with Christ:
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” —Revelation 20:6
Jesus taught us not to fear the first death, but to fear Him who has the power to cast into the second death (Lk. 12:4–5). Those who rise with Christ now will never face the second death.
The third blessing of sharing in Christ’s resurrection is that we will be resurrected to life at the Parousia.
“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” —John 5:28-29, NKJV
At the second coming of the Lord, the dead who died in Christ—those who died after sharing in His resurrection—will come out of their graves to the resurrection of life because there is no condemnation to those who walked in the Spirit and died in Christ (Rom 8:1).
If you have shared in Christ’s resurrection, when you face the first death, you will go to be with Him, and the second death cannot touch you. And when the Lord returns, you will be raised to life. Praise God for Christ’s resurrection.
But if you have not shared in Christ’s resurrection, you risk dying twice: the first death and the second death. And when Christ returns, you will be raised—not to life, but to condemnation.
The good news is that the Lord is patient, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). By God’s grace, you can share in Christ’ resurrection by repenting of your sins and believing in Christ through faith.
Amen.
