The Apostles’ Creed: God The SonSample

Jesus’ Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

The resurrection proves that Jesus was a real human being because it reaffirms that his full, glorified human existence included the reunion of his real human body with his real human soul. The resurrection of his body occurred when his human soul was introduced into his perfected human body. Yes, his resurrected body was different in some ways because it had been glorified and was no longer mortal. But this did not make it any less physical or any less human. On the contrary, as we see throughout 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus’ resurrected body is the firstfruits of the bodily resurrections of all believers. As such, it shows us what our own human bodies will be like in the future. 

Consider what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23:

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man... But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

Just as Adam was the first human being to be created, Jesus was the first human being to be resurrected with a glorified body. Others before him had been brought back to life, some of them raised by Jesus himself. And Enoch and Elijah had even been taken bodily into heaven without dying. But none of these had received glorified, immortal bodies. 

But even though Jesus’ body is now glorified, it is still fully human — just as we will still be fully human after God has renewed our bodies at the great resurrection of the dead. 

He was an infant baby. He was absolutely dependent upon his mother in his infancy. He grew — Luke tells us that he grew in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man. We are told that he experienced the same hunger we experience, the same thirst we experience, and on Calvary’s cross he experienced death as a human being experiences death. Now, it was far more. He was not only fully human, he was also fully God, but the reality is that Jesus is not only authentic humanity; he is perfected humanity. – Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.