Anticipating eternal life as resurrected beings in a resurrected universe has present, practical implications. “Therefore [in light of our eventual resurrection], my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
How do we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain? Because of our bodily resurrection. Just as we will be carried over from the old world to the new, so will our labor. In a sense, not only our bodies but our service for Christ will be resurrected. J. B. Phillips renders 1 Corinthians 15:58 as follows: “Let nothing move you as you busy yourselves in the Lord’s work. Be sure that nothing you do for him is ever lost or ever wasted.”
Bruce Milne writes in The Message of Heaven and Hell, “Every kingdom work, whether publicly performed or privately endeavoured, partakes of the kingdom’s imperishable character. Every honest intention, every stumbling word of witness, every resistance of temptation, every motion of repentance, every gesture of concern, every routine engagement, every motion of worship, every struggle towards obedience, every mumbled prayer, everything, literally, which flows out of our faith-relationship with the Ever-Living One, will find its place in the ever-living heavenly order which will dawn at his coming.”
If the creation itself will be resurrected, could this also include some of the works of our hands? “If any man builds on this foundation [Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
We have the assurance of Scripture that all believers will survive the fire of testing and be raised. But it is not only ourselves that will outlast this world and be carried over to the new one. It is what we do with our lives. Our righteous works will follow us to Heaven (Revelation 14:13). Not only will some things that God has made survive His judgment, but so will some things we have done. Products of faithful lives will endure. They will be purified and “laid bare,” so their beauty will be forever seen. God’s fire will not destroy the whole Earth; it will destroy all that displeases Him. But there is much that pleases Him, and these things will endure the fire, to be reconstituted after the final resurrection of the dead. Not only acts of obedience and spiritual sacrifices, but also everything good will last forever and be carried over from one world to the next.
Moses prayed, “Establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17). The Hebrew word translated “establish,” as indicated in the margin notes of the New American Standard Bible, means “make permanent.” So Moses was asking God to give permanence to what he did with his hands.
If the components of our disintegrated bodies will endure the fire and be reassembled in resurrected bodies, what about the gold, silver, and costly stones of our works? Paul appears to be saying more than just that we will be rewarded for what we did on Earth. He appears to be saying that what we did on Earth will itself endure. Does he mean that these things too will be resurrected?
In my book The Law of Rewards, I make a case from these passages and many others that what’s done in this life has a direct carryover to the next life. Resurrection is not a figurative expression. It indicates durability. If our physical bodies will survive, doesn’t it suggest that other physical things might also survive?
