Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, And The Mission Of The Church

Many Christian scholars have asked: What bearing does the resurrection of the individual Jesus of Nazareth have on our lives today? Wright argues that Jesus’ resurrection has a great deal to do with our lives in the present and with the church’s mission in the world. This is because the resurrection shows that “the present bodily life is not valueless” and that “what you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it” (193). Bodily resurrection affirms that God’s creation is good and that he intends to renew his creation rather than abandon it. Thus, salvation is not primarily about where we go when we die but about sharing in Jesus’ resurrection and “God’s new world.”

This means that salvation is not merely something that happens to an individual but that it is about God working through us for the sake of other human beings and creation. Salvation is social as well as individual, and it affects the whole person (body and soul). Just as Jesus’ resurrection showed that God’s future kingdom has been effectively launched now, so our salvation is a present event, taking place in this life while anticipating the next.