Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 35:1 (Fall 1972)
Article: The Word "Again" in Creeds and Bible
Author: Stephen M. Reynolds

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WTJ 35:1 (Fall 72) p. 28

The Word Again in Creeds and Bible

Stephen M. Reynolds

The word again in reference to risings from the dead in the New Testament has a long history in the English Bible, going all the way back to the Wycliffe version. In the Apostles’ Creed, also, is the expression “he rose again from the dead.” The most natural meaning today would be that he rose from death more than once. If these words were to be read out of their context by a person completely uninstructed in the Christian religion, we would expect him to understand the expression in this way. Again now usually occurs in the sense of “repetition of an action or fact: another time; once more; any more; anew.” Obviously, the force of the word again in the Apostles’ Creed is different from the customary use today.

Again as “Back”

One meaning of again cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is “back into a former position or state; back.” That this is the meaning of the expression in the Bible and creed is possible. The meaning then is “the third day he rose back (or back into his former state) from the dead.”

Although again interpreted in this way is explicable, doctrinal considerations make the use of this word inappropriate for the resurrection of Christ or for the general resurrection of the dead; for according to the Bible, neither rising is to a former state. Christ’s resurrected body differed from his preresurrection body in being able to pass through closed doors or through walls; and the glorified bodies of the resurrected redeemed will be like Christ’s own glorious body (Phil 3:21; compare also 1 Cor 15:42–44).

In the case of Lazarus, again in the sense of “back” is appropriate, as this use is consistent with the context that his resurrected body was a natural and not a spiritual or glorified body. Yet, too often in places where again meaning “back” is

WTJ 35:1 (Fall 72) p. 29

inappropriate, the word has been used. The resurrection of Christ and his saints is not a backward movement; it is a forward movement to life without many of the limitations of the existence we now know.

It may be, however, that again was originally used in the sense of “back” even if only to denote a return to a state of life. Although this state might be of a different order from that experienced before, the difference of order or character might not have been taken into consideration. What could have been meant was a mere return to life from its opposite condition.

This idea may have been true of the original use of <...

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