The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University

How has the resurrection of Christ any influence on the bodies of believers and on their resurrection, by virtue of the union that is betwixt them? How shall we give a rational account of it? In order to answer this question, we must first show how can the bodies partake of this union, which are really no more than a stock or a stone. Indeed everything about a man besides the rational soul is no more than a house, ship or coach, but only this: the rational soul has power to affect the one and not the other, and the one and not the other has power to affect the rational soul. And how is it possible that a stock or stone should partake of the union to Christ?

To this I answer, that although the body be in itself no more than a stock, yet because God made the human soul with a design that it should be united to a body, therefore he has made it inseparable from itsMS: "his." nature, eternally inseparable (that is, by any but God), that it should strongly incline to a union to the body. So that this inclination to the body is part of the nature of the soul, which is just the same thing as if the body were part of the soul; so that with the soul it becomes partaker of the union with Christ in common with the rest of the soul. That is to say, to speak plainly and intelligibly: that part of the souls nature, its inclination to the body as well as other parts of its nature, is

united to Jesus Christ; which is the same thing as to say the body is united to him, and is most familiarly so expressed. If God had created the soul with the same inclination to some stone in the mountains as it has to the body, that stone, together with the soul, would be united to Christ. Thus we have shown how the body partakes of the union with Christ. So much for that.

Now it is by virtue of this inclination of soul to body, that the resurrection of the body becomes absolutely necessary in order to complete happiness. For how is it possible that the soul should be completely happy in the denial of an inclination that Almighty God, in the creation, has made inseparable from it? But then, you'll say, at that rate the separated souls of saints are not completely happy. I answer: they have a certain hope, a certain knowledge of the resurrection, that completely satisfies this inclination during the separation; so that they are so far completely happy before the resurrection, that they are without any uneasiness.

But to return to the question first proposed: suppose it be granted that the body partakes of the union with Christ; what rational account can be given how, by virtue of that, the resurrection of Christ's body influences the dead bodies of saints, though they are united? I answer, by virtue of the union between Christ and believers, it follows that believers must be partakers of all Christ's glorification. That is, they are so united that he, having them as parts of him, necessarily wills it (don't misconstrue necessity), John 17:22–24.

Thus it is that souls espoused to Christ must reign over the world, because Christ reigns over the world. This is frequently promised. They must sit down in his throne because he is set down on his Father's throne, Revelation 3:21. Because Christ has power over all the nations, and rules [them] with a rod of iron, and breaks them in pieces as a potter's vessel, so Christ says, Revelation 2:26–27, that they also shall have power over me nations, and "shall rule them with a rod of iron," and break them in pieces as a potter's vessel, too. Because Christ is God's Son and heir of all God's estate, believers must be sons and heirs of all God's estate too, Romans 8:17. Because Jesus Christ is possessor of heaven earth and sea, sun moon and stars, so believers must be possessors of heaven earth and sea, sun moon and stars too (Revelation 21:7; 2 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Corinthians 8:22), and, as I could mention, in fifty other things. So, because Christ rose from the dead, which was a great part of his glorification, so shall saints rise from the dead too, which is a great part of their glorification.