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On the Resurrection of the Flesh

Tertullian

Chapter 38

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXXVIII.—Christ, by Raising the Dead, Attested in a Practical Way the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Flesh.

After the Lord’s words, what are we to think

‹ Chapter 37 Chapter 39 ›

of

the

purport

of

His

actions

,

when

He

raises

dead

persons

from

their

biers

and

their

graves

?

To

what

end

did

He

do

so

?

If

it

was

only

for

the

mere

exhibition

of

His

power

,

or

to

afford

the

temporary

favour

of

restoration

to

life

,

it

was

really

no

great

matter

for

Him

to

raise

men

to

die

over

again

.

If

,

however

,

as

was

the

truth

,

it

was

rather

to

put

in

secure

keeping

men’s

belief

in

a

future

resurrection

,

then

it

must

follow

from

the

particular

form

of

His

own

examples

,

that

the

said

resurrection

will

be

a

bodily

one

.

I

can

never

allow

it

to

be

said

that

the

resurrection

of

the

future

,

being

destined

for

the

soul

only

,

did

then

receive

these

preliminary

illustrations

of

a

raising

of

the

flesh

,

simply

because

it

would

have

been

impossible

to

have

shown

the

resurrection

of

an

invisible

soul

except

by

the

resuscitation

of

a

visible

substance

.

They

have

but

a

poor

knowledge

of

God

,

who

suppose

Him

to

be

only

capable

of

doing

what

comes

within

the

compass

of

their

own

thoughts

;

and

after

all

,

they

cannot

but

know

full

well

what

His

capability

has

ever

been

,

if

they

only

make

acquaintance

with

the

writings

of

John

.

For

unquestionably

he

,

who

has

exhibited

to

our

sight

the

martyrs

’

hitherto

disembodied

souls

resting

under

the

altar

,

was

quite

able

to

display

them

before

our

eyes

rising

without

a

body

of

flesh

.

I

,

however

,

for

my

part

prefer

(

believing

)

that

it

is

impossible

for

God

to

practise

deception

(

weak

as

He

only

could

be

in

respect

of

artifice

)

,

from

any

fear

of

seeming

to

have

given

preliminary

proofs

of

a

thing

in

a

way

which

is

inconsistent

with

His

actual

disposal

of

the

thing

;

nay

more

,

from

a

fear

that

,

since

He

was

not

powerful

enough

to

show

us

a

sample

of

the

resurrection

without

the

flesh

,

He

might

with

still

greater

infirmity

be

unable

to

display

(

by

and

by

)

the

full

accomplishment

of

the

sample

in

the

self

-

same

substance

of

the

flesh

.

No

example

,

indeed

,

is

greater

than

the

thing

of

which

it

is

a

sample

.

Greater

,

however

,

it

is

,

if

souls

with

their

body

are

to

be

raised

as

the

evidence

of

their

resurrection

without

the

body

,

so

as

that

the

entire

salvation

of

man

in

soul

and

body

should

become

a

guarantee

for

only

the

half

,

the

soul

;

whereas

the

condition

in

all

examples

is

,

that

which

would

be

deemed

the

less

—

I

mean

the

resurrection

of

the

soul

only

—

should

be

the

foretaste

,

as

it

were

,

of

the

rising

of

the

flesh

also

at

its

appointed

time

.

And

therefore

,

according

to

our

estimate

of

the

truth

,

those

examples

of

dead

persons

who

were

raised

by

the

Lord

were

indeed

a

proof

of

the

resurrection

both

of

the

flesh

and

of

the

soul

,

—

a

proof

,

in

fact

,

that

this

gift

was

to

be

denied

to

neither

substance

.

Considered

,

however

,

as

examples

only

,

they

expressed

all

the

less

significance

—

less

,

indeed

,

than

Christ

will

express

at

last

—

for

they

were

not

raised

up

for

glory

and

immortality

,

but

only

for

another

death

.

Notes

1
Rev. vi. 9–11.