Q. 38: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
Answer: At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity. (WSC)The resurrection will occur which Christ returns at the end of the age (1 Cor. 15:23). At that time, “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28–29). All shall be raised and judged by Christ.
Those who have received him by faith will be openly acknowledged and acquitted by him, while those who have not done so will be condemned by him for their sins (Matt. 10:32-33, 2 Cor. 5:10). The only basis for our acquittal will be the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (Rom. 5:9-11, Phil. 3:8-11). The good works of believers will be praised and rewarded as testimonies to their genuine relation to Christ, while the evil works of unbelievers will be exposed and condemned as just grounds for their punishment (Matt. 7:21-23, 12:36-37, 25:31-46).
Having been acknowledged and acquitted, Jesus shall welcome us into our eternal inheritance. “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). We shall fully achieve the end for which we were made, glorifying God and enjoying him forever. As the Larger Catechism says, we shall be
Having been acknowledged and acquitted, Jesus shall welcome us into our eternal inheritance. “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). We shall fully achieve the end for which we were made, glorifying God and enjoying him forever. As the Larger Catechism says, we shall be
“filled with inconceivable joys, made perfectly holy and happy both in body and soul, in the company of innumerable saints and holy angels, but especially in the immediate vision and fruition of God the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity.”
Revelation 21:1-4 describes this final state, where death, mourning, and pain shall have passed away with the former order of things and where God dwells with his perfected and glorified people.
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