Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. He came into the world almost two thousand years ago and lived on earth as a genuine man. His life was a perfect human life that exemplifies the highest standard of morality. After thirty-three and a half years of sinless human living, He was nailed to the cross to take away the sin of all mankind (John 1:29). In this booklet we will see what happened after He accomplished the wonderful work of redeeming mankind.
The Bible says that Christ went into death for three days, but He did not remain there. On the third day He resurrected spiritually and physically (1 Cor. 15:3-4). The abundant witnesses to His resurrection, who saw and talked and walked with Him, are a strong testimony to a historical fact that has remained unshaken for the past two thousand years (1 Cor. 15:5-7). Socrates died; Napoleon died; Alexander the Great died; Karl Marx died; and Mohammed, Buddha, and Confucius all died. But Jesus Christ is alive! His tomb is an empty tomb, and He lives within the spirits of millions of people today.
In nature we can see the principle of resurrection every day. When a grain of wheat is planted into the ground, apparently it dies. Actually, what dies is only the outer shell. Soon the wheat germ germinates, and the wheat life comes out in a better and more glorious form. A caterpillar goes through its cocoon stage. Apparently, it dies and ceases from all outward activity; but the life within the creature continues to operate, and in a short time it emerges in full splendor and glory as a butterfly. Similarly, in His resurrection Christ was not only made alive but was also changed to another form. The Bible says that He was changed to a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). When He was on earth, He was in the flesh. In resurrection He became the Spirit. The flesh was His form before His resurrection, and the Spirit is His form after His resurrection. Paul the apostle tells us that the first form, the flesh, was "in dishonor," "in weakness," and "earthy," but that the second form, the life-giving Spirit, is "in glory," "in power," and "heavenly" (1 Cor. 15:43, 48).
The best way to understand the Spirit is by way of illustration. Consider the air around you. It is everywhere and is available to everyone. Whether you are in the East or in the West, in a closed room or at the marketplace, the air is always with you. The Bible compares the Spirit to air. In fact, the word for Spirit in Greek is pneuma, which can also be translated "breath" or "wind." On the evening of the Lord's resurrection, He came to His disciples and did something rather strange to them: He breathed into them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). The divine breath that He breathed into the disciples was just Himself in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit.