Week 5: Resurrection

What happens to us when we die?

Yesterday we explored the resurrection as our present reality. Through the Spirit, God is resurrecting us with Jesus in the present. The visible splendor of this resurrection is Jesus' church. Today we explore the anticipation of our future resurrection with Jesus.

We turn today to First Corinthians 15, as we have a few times through this study, but we push further into chapter 15. First Corinthians is a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in response to some of the questions they had about their faith. It appears that Paul is again answering one of these questions in the reading for today. The Corinthians ask a question that I have found many people ask in our churches today. The question is simple, “what happens to people who die now? Where are they? Are they immediately resurrected with Jesus?”

His response is quintessential Paul. He says, "you fools!"

Most of the time, I feel like a fool!

I'm not sure that Paul knows exactly what will happen when he dies, or when any Christian dies, for that matter. As you read through the text, I'll let you explore how he responds to this question in your own thinking, but let me point out a couple of things to help guide you. First, his response of calling the Corinthians fools is his way of saying they seek what isn't knowable. He seems to say that this is beyond our comprehension and understanding. We don't like this as enlightened people.

I asked the AI generator ChatGPT what happens when you die. This was its response:

“In terms of cultural and religious beliefs, the concept of what happens after death can vary widely. Some people believe in an afterlife, while others do not. There is currently no scientific evidence that definitively proves what happens after death, and it remains a subject of much debate and speculation.”

This would seem to be an appropriate response for many agnostics in our culture today. How could we possibly know? There are things in our spiritual life we must trust in God’s hands. What happens to us when we die before the final resurrection is one of these things. Paul gives a few hints in this passage today, but we still must trust.

Second, notice as you read through the passage the agrarian and seed metaphors that litter the passage.

What does this teach us about our Gospel formation?