Apostles’ Creed Week 13: Resurrection
Introduction
In the coming weeks, we’re going to walk slowly through one of the oldest, most widely embraced confessions in the history of the Church—the Apostles’ Creed. This ancient creed is more than a set of beliefs; it’s a narrative. It tells the story of God, the story of the gospel, and the story we are invited into.
The Kansas City Underground holds this creed as a foundational confession. It’s a declaration of trust, a form of spiritual formation, and a shared language that binds us together with the global Church across time and culture.
Each week, we’ll sit with a single line or phrase. You’ll engage Scripture, linger in reflection, and respond in prayer. This is not a study to rush through, but an invitation to abide with truth until it shapes your imagination and your life.
If you want to dive deeper into the meaning behind each line, we highly recommend The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism by Ben Myers. It’s a short but powerful companion that can enrich your journey.
Apostles’ Creed
Read the following line from the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”
The Creed ends not with death, but with life.
“I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”
This is the Christian hope. Not that we will float away into the clouds, but that our bodies will rise. That new creation will come. That eternity will be embodied, whole, and restored.
The final word in the Creed is not departure but arrival. Not escape but renewal.
And this is vital—because so much of what we’ve heard about heaven sounds more like leaving earth behind. Drifting into some distant, disembodied bliss. But the hope the Creed confesses is so much bigger.
The resurrection of the body is not just about Jesus—it’s about us. Because He rose in a real body, we will too.bNot as ghosts, but as whole people—soul and body restored, creation remade.
This means that matter matters. Your body matters. The earth matters. The work of your hands matters. God doesn’t scrap His creation—He redeems it.
And the life everlasting? It’s not just endless time—it’s endless fullness.
Life that cannot be corrupted.
Life in the presence of God.
Life with others.
Life that tastes like home.
This is where the story ends—or rather, where it begins again.
A garden, restored.
A city, shining.
A people, whole.
This is the hope that shapes how we live now. Not as people running from death, but as people anchored in resurrection.
This week, we let that hope take root. We remember: death is not the end. And life—real life—is coming.
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 25:6–9 – God will swallow up death forever.
John 11:21–27 – “I am the resurrection and the life.”
1 Corinthians 15:20–28, 42–58 – The resurrection of the body.
Philippians 3:20–21 – Our lowly bodies will be transformed.
Revelation 21:1–5 – A new heaven and a new earth.
Reflection
The story ends in resurrection. We don’t often think about this. We talk about heaven, but we forget about a new creation. We talk about souls, but we forget about bodies. But the Bible never separates the two.
Jesus rose bodily—and so will we. Resurrection is God’s declaration that death will not win. That decay, sickness, and corruption will not have the final say. That what God made good, He will make new.
And everlasting life is not about floating somewhere else forever. It’s about life fully restored—in a world made whole, where heaven and earth are one again.
This changes how we live now.
If resurrection is true, then we don’t live in fear of death. We live in hope. We work for renewal, not just survival. We honor our bodies, care for creation, and love in the face of despair—because life wins.
Consider
Before continuing on to the prayer prompts, considering journaling your answers to the following questions:
How do you think about life after death? Is your hope rooted in resurrection—or just escape?
What does it mean to trust in bodily resurrection—for yourself, for the world?
Where in your life do you need to live as if resurrection is real?
Where do you need hope to take root again?
How can our network embody the hope of new creation in how we live, serve, and love?
Prayer Prompts
Let resurrection hope shape your prayers this week.
Worship: Praise God for the promise of resurrection. Let Isaiah 25, 1 Corinthians 15, or Revelation 21 guide your words. Celebrate that death is not the end.
Hope: Bring before God the areas of your life, body, or relationships that feel broken or dying. Ask for resurrection hope to take root.
Confess: Where have you believed the lie that death, decay, or despair have the final word? Lay that down. Ask for renewed trust in God’s promise.
Imagine: Spend time imagining life everlasting—whole, restored, free. Let that hope expand your vision for what God is doing now.
Intercede: Pray for our network to be resurrection people—living as signs of new creation in a world that often feels stuck in death. Ask that we would carry hope, embody renewal, and witness to life everlasting in every neighborhood, every relationship, every microchurch.