By Lewis Bayly
5. To be an assured pledge unto us of our resurrection. The resurrection of a Christian is twofold: First, The spiritual resurrection of our souls, in this life, from the death of sin (John v. 25; Rom. vi. 4, 5, 11), called the first resurrection; because that by the trumpet-voice of Christ, in the preaching of the gospel, we are raised from the death of sin to the life of grace: "Blessed and holy is he," saith St. John, "who hath part in the first resurrection; for on such the second death hath no power." (Rev. xx. 6.) The Lord's Supper is both a mean and a pledge unto us of this spiritual and first resurrection: "He that eateth me, even he shall live by me." (John vi. 57.) And then we are fit guests to sit at the table with Christ, when, like Lazarus, we are raised from the death of sin to newness of life (John xii. 2.)
The truth of this first resurrection will appear by the motion wherewith they are internally moved: For if, when thou art moved to the duties of religion and practice of piety, thy heart answers, with Samuel, "Here I am, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth" (1 Sam. iii. 10;) and with David, "O God, my heart is ready" (Psal. cviii. 1;) and with Paul, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts ix. 6;) then surely thou art raised from the death of sin, and hast thy part in this first resurrection: But if thou remainest ignorant of the true grounds of religion, and findest in thyself a kind of secret loathing of its exercises, and must be drawn, as it Were, against thy will, to do the works of piety, &c., then surely thou hast but a name that thou livest, but thou art dead, as Christ told the angel of the church of Sardis, and thy soul is but as salt to keep thy body from stinking.
Secondly, The corporeal resurrection of our bodies at the last day, which is called the second resurrection, which frees us from the first death: "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John vi. 54.) For this sacrament signifies and seals to us, that Christ died and rose again for us, and that his flesh quickeneth and nourisheth us unto eternal life, and that therefore our bodies shall surely be raised to eternal life at the last day. For seeing our Head is risen, all the members of the body shall likewise surely rise again. For how can those bodies, which, being the weapons of righteousness (Rom. vi. 13), temples of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. vi. 19), and members of Christ, having been fed and nourished with the body and blood of the Lord of life, but be raised up again at the last day? And this is the cause that the bodies of the saints, being dead, are so reverently buried and laid to sleep in the Lord; and their burial-places are termed the beds and dormitories of the saints (Isa. xxvi. 19, 20.) The reprobates shall arise at the last day, but by the almighty power of Christ, as he is Judge, bringing them, as malefactors out of the jail, to receive their sentence, and deserved execution: but the elect shall arise by virtue of Christ's resurrection, and of the communion which they have with him, as with their head. And his resurrection is the cause and assurance of ours. The resurrection of Christ is a Christian's particular faith: the resurrection of the dead is the child of God's chiefest confidence. Therefore Christians in the primitive church were wont to salute one another in the morning with these phrases: "The Lord is risen;" and the other would answer, "True, the Lord is risen indeed."
