Article III: The Resurrection of Christ in Anglican Theology

Among the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Article III holds a place of quiet but profound importance. In a few measured sentences, it stakes the Anglican confession on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ — 'with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of Man's nature.' Far from a peripheral concern, this affirmation is the cornerstone on which Anglican soteriology, sacramental theology, and eschatology all rest.

The Precision of Article III

The language of Article III is intentional. By specifying 'flesh, bones,' the Anglican reformers echoed the words of the risen Christ in Luke 24:39 — 'A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.' The resurrection being affirmed is not a spiritual renewal or a metaphorical hope but the bodily raising of the crucified Jesus. This matters because the entire Christian hope — the resurrection of the dead, the renewal of creation, the final judgment — depends on what happened to the body of Jesus in Joseph's tomb.

The article also addresses the descent into hell, a phrase inherited from the Apostles' Creed. Anglican interpretation has varied: some read it as affirming the full reality of Christ's death and burial, others as a proclamation of victory over the realm of the dead as in 1 Peter 3:18-20. The Articles do not resolve this exegetically, but they insist that the full arc of Christ's journey — death, burial, descent, resurrection, ascension — be confessed together as the shape of redemption.

The Session, the Return, and Anglican Worship

That Christ 'ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth' is not a statement of divine rest but of divine reign. The session at the right hand of the Father is the posture of an enthroned king whose rule extends over all creation (Hebrews 1:3; Ephesians 1:20-22). Anglican liturgy captures this confidence — the Book of Common Prayer is saturated with the expectation that Christ is present as risen Lord, interceding for his people and governing history toward his return.

Sunday worship in Anglican tradition has always been shaped by resurrection theology. The Lord's Day is the weekly commemoration of the first Easter. The Eucharist proclaims the death of the Lord 'until he comes' (1 Corinthians 11:26), making every celebration an anticipation of the resurrection feast. Even the Anglican practice of Morning and Evening Prayer is structured around resurrection — the day begins and ends in the light of the risen Christ.

The Weight of the Confession

Anglicanism's confession of the bodily resurrection in Article III is not a historical relic but a living claim about the nature of the world. If Christ rose bodily, then matter matters — bodies, creation, and social life all fall under his lordship. Anglican social engagement, from William Wilberforce's abolitionism to the faith-informed public life of countless Anglican statesmen and women, has drawn energy from the conviction that the risen Christ is Lord of all. Article III is not merely doctrine. It is the fulcrum on which an entire vision of human life and history turns.