A Matter of Death and Life

Well, you know where we are.
We’ll be in 1 Corinthians 15 for several more weeks. We’ve
been in 1 Corinthians 15 for several weeks already, but there’s
much, much more to go. So as you turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, I’ll just note that we come again to this incredible
chapter. Paul’s arguably one of Paul’s
greatest anywhere. certainly Paul’s greatest articulation
of the doctrine of the resurrection, this chapter is an impressively
monumental presentation of one of the most foundational doctrines
in all of Scripture. Paul has come to know that There
were some people in the Church of Corinth who were beginning
to deny the resurrection. Worse yet, some of those same
people are beginning to actively promote such falsehood in their
teaching. And since this is a church that
he himself had planted, Paul passionately and aggressively
defends the doctrine of the resurrection. It was not optional. For the sake of review, would
you glance at verses one through four, 1 Corinthians 15, verses
one through four, where Paul just says, now, I make known
to you, brethren, the gospel that had to just rock the Corinthians’
world, that he’s got to go back again and preach the gospel all
over again. I make known to you, brethren,
the gospel which I preached to you, which you received, in which
you stand, by which you are saved, If you hold fast the word which
I preached to you, unless you believed in vain, for I delivered
to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was
buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to
the scriptures. The resurrection was at the core
of what Paul had preached and taught at Corinth for 18 months. And these people, the very people
to whom he’s writing, had received it. And ultimately, they were
transformed. They were established in their
Christian faith and saved by the gospel of the resurrection
that Christ had died, was buried, and raised. This message to Paul
was of first importance, he says. And yet, even though Paul’s opening
words on this matter are hard-hitting, he leaves room that someone still
could express doubt and could expect some proof of this claim
that Jesus had been raised from the dead. And one by one, in
verses 5 through 8, he reveals a lengthy list of witnesses who
could come and testify to the fact that they had seen the risen
Savior. Paul basically tells them that
there are at least 514 people, eyewitnesses who would be more
than willing to come and testify to the fact that Jesus Christ
had risen bodily from the dead. Peter and the other 11 apostles,
James, more than 500 eyewitnesses, and last and certainly not least,
Paul himself was bearing direct witness to a risen Savior. And so how absurd and even unconscionable
it was that some of these very believers who had heard and received
and believed should now be denying it. How
do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead,
Paul says in verse 12, and suddenly in verses 12 through 19, as we
saw last Lord’s Day, Paul reverts to logic. If eyewitness accounts
aren’t enough, their faulty argument can be done away with by logic. As we considered last Lord’s
Day, Resurrection Sunday, our celebration of Christ’s resurrection. If someone, anyone doubts the
resurrection, there are logical conclusions that must necessarily
flow from such doubt. And Paul dismantles those logical
conclusions that must attend a denial of the resurrection,
and those seven logical conclusions are immediately turned on their
head. Christ has been raised from the dead, and that means
that a Christian’s testimony of the resurrection is true and
right. Christ has been raised from the
dead and that means that our preaching about Christ’s resurrection
is not in vain. People come to know Christ based
on that same testimony. That anyone who truly calls upon
the risen Savior for forgiveness of their sin shall be saved. Our faith is not in vain. Jesus
Christ is alive and risen from the dead. The great testimony
of believers from the beginning until now is true, that we bear
witness to truth, not lies, not fiction, not conjecture, not
just hopeful sentiment. We bear witness to the truth. Christ has been raised from the
dead and that means that our sins have been paid for in full.
Christ was indeed raised for our justification. Because of
that, we have a firm hope that all who have died in Christ are
already enjoying the Savior’s presence. Their souls to one
day be reunited with their physical bodies. Christ has been raised
from the dead and that means that not only are we as believers
not to be pitied in this life, we have a glorious hope. We have
a glorious hope of eternal life with an already risen Savior. Well, by the time Paul reaches
the end of this paragraph, verse 19, a reasonable person would
have to conclude that a denial of the resurrection is absurd.
Well, Paul dispatched with all those foolish notions associated
with a denial of the resurrection, but here in verse 12 through
19, Paul was dealing with hypotheticals here. The inevitable conclusions
built upon a sandy foundation of a denial of the resurrection.
And at the time, the time, however, for conjecture and entertaining
theoretical positions built on a false narrative is over. Now
it’s time to declare the truth. If there in verses 12 through
19, Paul was playing defense, here, beginning in verse 20,
Paul switches back to offense. just as that which he began in
the opening paragraph. And he will remain on offense
for the entirety of this discussion to the end of chapter 15, instead
of articulating the potential consequences of a faulty idea. Beginning in verse 20 through
28, he presents some magnificent features of the resurrection. Would you glance down at verse
20? and we’ll course down through
verse 28. Chapter 15, verse 20, and we’ll
hold it today just to verse 28. But now Christ has been raised
from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. For
since by man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of
the dead. For as in Adam all dies, so also
in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ,
the firstfruits. After that, those who are Christ
at his coming, Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom
to the God and Father, when he has abolished all rule and all
authority and power. For he must reign until he has
put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will
be abolished is death, for he is put all things in subjection
under his feet, but when he says all things are put in subjection,
it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection
to him. When all things are subjected
to him, then the son himself will also be subjected to the
one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all
in all. We’ll come to those latter verses
of that paragraph next Lord’s Day, beginning in verse 25. I
want to just focus on 20 through 24 this morning. Far from hypothetical,
these are the genuine features of the actual resurrection. The
resurrection was real, it actually happened, and Paul wants to extol
some of the beautiful features of the resurrection. And as Paul
has already indicated, this is a subject that is vitally important
to him and to all believers. It is of first importance. Now,
if we wish to emphasize the absolute importance of a subject in which
we’re discussing, we might say that the subject is a matter
of life and death, right? You’ve all probably all said
that. We can effectively, however, reverse that and arrive at an
even more powerful heading for what Paul is presenting in verses
20 through 24. To the Apostle Paul, the resurrection
is a matter of death and life. So that’s where we want to begin
this morning, a matter of death and life, in looking at the magnificent
features of the resurrection. And we see the first one in verse
20. Verse 20 provides us the established priority of Christ’s
resurrection. The established priority of Christ’s
resurrection. Look at verse 20 again, but now
Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those
who are asleep. Paul boldly begins this new section,
verse 20, with a strong contrast with the previous section. There
he was, as we just reviewed, he was entertaining some potential
problems, the logical consequences of a denial of the resurrection.
But Paul immediately counters in verse 20. Christ has been
raised from the dead. which instantly renders all of
those hypothetical conclusions invalid. He stamps them. The tone of this, enough already
with theory. Let’s talk about reality. This
declaration that Paul makes is thrillingly dramatic. The buildup
reminds me of that song that unfortunately we tend to sing
only on Resurrection Sunday. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus
my Savior, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord. And then there’s that dramatic
pause in the music that captures those three heart-wrenching days
as Christ’s disciples awaited this resurrection, and then powerfully
in that song, up from the grave, he arose with a mighty triumph
over his foes. It has that same dramatic feel. When Paul says, but now Christ
has been raised from the dead, that’s Paul’s tone here, all
of those dreary hypothetical conclusions, and then absolute
truth. The gloomy bewilderment, the
hopelessness that attends doubt must now flee. Christ arose. Paul has spent long enough over
these supposed positions of uninformed skeptics. With a single line
he proclaims the truth and thereby destroys the false idea that
there was no resurrection of the dead. A bodily resurrection
of Christ which promises a bodily resurrection of believers. A
misguided person cannot possibly suggest that the resurrection
is spiritual only, because Christ’s spirit never died, only his physical
body. When Paul says, but now, he’s
not referring to a point in time now as opposed to yesterday or
next week. He’s utilizing this word now
in its logical sense. Some of the Christians there
in Corinth were saying that there was no resurrection, and Paul
sharply contends, oh, but yes, there is. Christ has been raised
from the dead. This is not Paul’s opinion. This
is not a strong personal conviction born out of years of arduous
study. Nor was this information something
that he had learned secondhand from others. This is ironclad,
rock solid, a statement that was based upon his own firsthand
experience. He saw it with his own eyes. Here, Paul is essentially taking
the witness stand, and he references here his dramatic and life-changing
encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He knew that Jesus
Christ was risen from the dead. There was no doubt in his mind,
no equivocation in his words. Christ has been raised. And Paul adds a fascinating little
clause in the second line of verse 20. Glance again there
if you would. But now Christ has been raised
from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. Jesus
Christ in his bodily resurrection from the dead, Paul says, is
the first fruits of those who are asleep. This phrase to our
ears is at once, at the same time, unfamiliar and yet intriguing. The first fruits, what can that
mean? The word literally means beginnings.
And it’s variously translated throughout the New Testament,
but most of the time it’s translated just as it is here, first fruits. How are we to understand it?
What’s the significance? In the Old Testament book of
Leviticus, God was teaching his people to render gratitude and
praise to him by bringing in an offering of their produce.
And in Leviticus chapter 23, verse 10, it says, speak to the
sons of Israel and say to them, when you enter the land, which
I am going to give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring
in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. You say, how does that relate
to Christ? Well, those Jewish worshipers
were to bring in initially as a representation of their harvest,
the first sheaf, the first grain stock from their crops. This
was symbolic in a number of ways. To begin with, it indicates that
God should be thanked first by an offering before any of the
harvest is consumed, But it also indicated that this was but the
first fruit, that this offering was merely representative of
a greater offering that was coming. This wasn’t all that God would
receive, a single stalk of wheat. There would be a still greater
offering. God considers this initial offering
as a pledge of the full offering. If there is a first fruit, it
tells us that there will necessarily be more fruit. And applying this
to Christ, Paul says, if Christ has risen, and he has, then we
too must rise. Well, that truth is echoed throughout
Paul’s writings, but especially in his writings to the Corinthians,
who must have been seriously struggling with their idea of
the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 14, God
has not only raised up the Lord, but will also raise us up through
His power. He writes again in 2 Corinthians,
he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus. Our Savior’s resurrection is
a pledge to believers of their resurrection from the dead as
well. Jesus Christ’s resurrection isn’t the end of the story, it’s
only the beginning. As the Puritan Thomas Watson
said it, Christ is risen, therefore the bodies of the saints must
rise. Christ’s rising is a pledge of
our resurrection. As the first fruits is a sure
evidence that the harvest is coming, so the resurrection of
Christ is a sure evidence of the rising of our own bodies
from the grave. And so the first magnificent
feature of the resurrection here in verses 20 through 24 is the
established priority of Christ’s resurrection. He was first. He had to be first, but he’s
not the last. Christ was raised first, but
we too. His children will be raised as
well. But there’s another equally magnificent
feature, and we find that in verse 21. The first, the established
priority of Christ’s resurrection, but in verse 21, we find the
necessary means of Christ’s resurrection. How? Verse 21 says, for since
by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of
the dead. Now here in verse 21, Paul is
basically explaining his statement in verse 20. And we know that,
that he’s offering proof here by that little word for. For
since by man came death. Paul seeks to explain death and
resurrection, and with that even smaller word, look at the verse,
by, used twice, Paul tells us of the means of both death and
resurrection. He tells us how death came about,
and he tells us how life, resurrection, came about. How did these things
come to be? Paul presents this as an almost
matter-of-fact reasoning. If a man introduced death into
the human equation, only a man could reintroduce life. That’s
Paul’s argument, and at least initially, Paul doesn’t even
explain it. He just bluntly states it, by a man came death, by a
man came resurrection. The first man brought disaster
and devastation, death. The second man brought restoration
of life. And Paul provides the identity
of these two men in verse 22. Glance there briefly, we’ll study
it more in full in a moment. But look at verse 22, for as
in Adam, there’s our suspect. Adam is
the man who brought death. So also in Christ, Christ is
the victor. In Christ, in Christ Jesus, he
is the man who brought life again. Now, in order to enhance our
consideration of this astounding truth, would you please turn
to one of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture? And I know,
I know, but this one really is one of my favorite. chapters
in Scripture, and certainly one of the most significant chapters
in all the Bible. Unfortunately, we can only spend
a few minutes here today, but please allow me to walk through
a kind of a review. We’ve looked at it before, and
we’ll hit only the highlights, the simple sentences of Romans
5, if we could. Now in chapters three and four,
as you know, Paul has introduced the gospel there in Romans, and
he says basically that since we cannot be saved by the law,
no one has ever been saved by law keeping, God has provided
salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. And this is where he
introduces the idea of justification by faith, presenting as the chief
example of such faith, Abraham in chapter four. And so as he
glides effortlessly into chapter five, Paul is responding to this
glorious news of salvation by justification through faith. Look at verse 1 of chapter 5. The first thing that he says
is, because we have been justified by faith, we have peace. This
is no small statement. We have peace with a holy God.
We have peace, restored peace, with God who is perfectly sinless. What an astounding statement.
And because of that, look at verse two. Because of that, we
exalt in the hope, the great confidence that we have in the
glory of God. And because of this, look at
verse three, we as Christians can indeed exalt even in our
tribulation. Even in the difficulties and
trials that life brings, we can still worship God. That’s one
of the things that astounds the people of the world, is that
Christians aren’t devastated as they are when they face the
difficulties of life. And Paul uses this word, exalt,
a third time. In verse 11, just glance there,
we exalt in God. Exalt, exalt, exalt. The Christian’s life becomes
one long-running worship service, right? Exalting in hope, exalting
in tribulation, exalting in God himself. And now look, if you
would, at verse 12. Therefore, just as through one
man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men because all sinned. And if you noticed,
like a good pastor here, Paul doesn’t even finish his statement,
yet. He just kind of breaks things
off there at the end of verse 12, temporarily. And I only want
to call attention to the fact this is the same argument that
Paul uses in 1 Corinthians, isn’t it? In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul
just says, the death came by a man. And in verse 21, he doesn’t
name him, And Paul initially here in Romans 5 is vague as
well. He just says that sin and death
came through one man. Now we know who it is now. Sin and death came through one
man. And please, I just want you to
pause here in Romans for a minute. Keep your finger there. Keep
it even open. No doubt about it, the one man
to whom Paul is referring here that brought death and destruction,
no doubt about it, we’ve considered many times before, it’s Adam.
Even as we just learned from verse 22 of 1 Corinthians 15.
Adam and Eve, as are garden representatives. They were humanities representatives
in the Garden of Eden. They were real people in a real
garden. They committed real sin and brought
about real consequences. For in all, as I’ve told you
in times past, because of Adam’s sin, we are first of all inherently
sinful. That’s where we acquired our
sin nature, our proclivity to sin. Born into this world, it
is inevitable we will sin. Adam and Eve brought and introduced
the sin nature into their entire progeny. Well, Secondly, not
only are we inherently sinful, we are temporally vexed. Adam
and Eve’s sin brought down God’s curse upon them personally, but
also upon all humanity. Sweat of the brow, pain in childbirth,
and all the rest. Inherently sinful, temporally
vexed. Third, physically dying. That’s when the clock started
ticking. There was no clock prior to this. Physical death was the
inevitable sentence upon us as humanity because of Adam’s sin. And finally, inherently sinful,
temporally vexed, physically dying, spiritually dead. Our
separation from God, the worst curse of all, dead in our trespasses
and sins, all came about, all of those four things came about
because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Adam is the one man about whom
Paul speaks here. A moment ago, I told you that
in verse 12, Paul starts a sentence that he does not complete. Verse
12, He’s on a roll, and then he gets diverted, and he starts
talking in verse 13, and he finally takes a breath in verse 18. Would
you glance down at verse 18? Because that’s where he completes
his sentence, and that’s where he gives us the good news. Verse
18, so then, as through one transgression, Adam and Eve’s sin as they ate
the fruit, in defiance of God’s law, as through one transgression
there resulted condemnation to all men. That’s where all of
those elements of the curse were found. That’s the bad news. But
look at the good news. Even so, through one act of righteousness,
there resulted in justification of life to all men. That’s the good, the glorious
news. Without any doubt, the man who committed the one act
of righteousness is no other than our Lord Jesus Christ, who
offered himself up as an atonement for sinners. And now please,
with all of that fresh in our minds, would you turn back to
1 Corinthians 15 and to verse 21. Where Paul says, for since by
a man came death, without a doubt, Adam, by a man also came the
resurrection from the dead. Christ’s resurrection does have
implications for us. It restores the hope of life.
And here too, Paul is maintaining the same argument that he does
in Romans 5. By a man came death, by a man
came the resurrection. The little word, by, provides
us the means to both death and resurrection. And I suppose that
someone still might wonder, how? How does Christ’s resurrection
lead to a resurrection of anyone else, let alone all believers? How does that happen? Paul anticipates
that very question and answers it in verse 22, would you glance
there, for the third magnificent feature of the resurrection.
We saw the established priority of Christ’s resurrection, verse
20, the necessary means of Christ’s resurrection, verse 21, and the
consequential sphere of Christ’s resurrection in verse 22. The consequential sphere. Look at verse 22, for as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. It’s kind of an amusing thing
to say, to note, but what Paul does here in verse 22 is to offer
an explanation for his explanation. There in verse 21, he was explaining
his statement in verse 20, And he quickly offers up an explanation
of verse 21 here in verse 22. Verse 21, as we saw, death was
directly tied to one man, resurrection to another man. The first man,
even as we considered Romans 5, is Adam, and the second man
is Jesus Christ, but how? We might wonder, how does one
man, Christ, restore what another man, Adam, destroyed? How does one man bring resurrection? And Paul’s amazing answer here
in verse 22 is plainly seen, even it is in the fine print.
It’s that little word in. That little word in tells us
of two spheres, two realms, if you will. The first sphere is
Adam, in Adam. And the second sphere is Christ,
in Christ. And someone may wonder, in what
sense are we as human beings in Adam? We just talked a little
bit about it, but quite simply because Adam was humanity’s representative
there in the garden, his fall into sin was our fall into sin. His fall was our fall, his sin
was our sin, his guilt was our guilt, his sentence is our sentence. As humanity was marched out of
the garden, we found ourselves, as we said, inherently sinful,
temporally vexed, physically dying, and spiritually dead. Mankind was now, by virtue of
their generation from Adam, inherently sinful, possessing a sin nature. As Paul summarizes the biblical
testimony in Romans 3, there is none righteous, not even one. leading to his overarching characterization
of humanity in Romans 3.23. All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God. And from time to time, I hear
people exclaim, it’s not fair that I or we should have to bear
the guilt and punishment of something that Adam and Eve did, allegedly. And I say, oh really? If you don’t care for the fact
that Adam and Eve were your garden representatives, then you really
shouldn’t lay claim to the fact that Christ was your representative
in righteousness. You may not lay claim to the
promise of Romans 5.18, or as here, the second clause of verse
22. In Christ all will be made alive. Because as in Adam, our garden
representative, Jesus Christ is our righteous representative,
and that before the very throne of God. And thanks be to God
that if we are in the sphere of Christ, we will be made alive. Well, if we were inevitably placed
in the sphere of Adam simply by virtue of our birth as human
beings, how then can we come into the sphere of Christ? That
sounds very much better than being inherently sinful and physically
dying and all the rest. How do we get into that sphere? We’re brought right back to the
foundation of Paul’s presentation of the gospel in Romans 3, it
is by faith. It is by faith that we are justified. It is by faith that we come into
the sphere of Christ, being in Christ, our faith and the righteousness
that God has manifested to the world in his Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. So that by faith, when we come
to believe and to trust in Christ’s completed work of redemption,
there’s nothing left for us to do. Because of His death on the
cross, we are placed into Christ’s sphere, into the realm of Christ. As we saw from our consideration
of Romans chapter 6 a few weeks ago, we are literally immersed
into Christ. We are placed into him. And if we are in Christ, we are
declared righteous because of Christ’s righteousness. Let me make one thing very clear. It pertains to that word, another
little word, all, in both clauses of this sentence. In Adam, all
die. In Christ, all will be made alive. What great hope In the first
clause, without a doubt, every single person ever born on the
face of the earth throughout all generations and all time
is by virtue of the fact that they are human beings fallen. We will die in our sin unless
God moves. All people are in Adam. But not all human beings are
believers in Christ. And so this verse cannot possibly
be stretched to imply a universal salvation for all. It’s only
in the sphere of being in Christ that a person is saved. The all
in both clauses refer only to the respective sphere or realm
in Adam, in Christ. Well, you can think of it graphically
if you think of two circles, two drawn circles on a page.
One larger circle that would represent all of humanity. All
of humanity is in Adam. But then within that larger circle,
think of a smaller circle penciled in. And that smaller circle represents
those who are in Adam, that is, in the sphere of, rather, in
the sphere of Christ, in the sphere of having placed their
faith in Christ. Those are the all who will be
made alive. All people that are in the larger
circle Pardon me, all people are in the larger circle, but
not all people are in that smaller circle. Since not everyone believes
in Christ, not every person is in Christ. That second all there
in that sentence points only to those who are Christians.
And so anyone who places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
is identified as being in Christ. What a safe and wonderful place
that is. And being in Christ, we can look
forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises of resurrection.
Romans 8-11, if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the
dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who
dwells in you. What a great hope. And if you’re
in Christ, the hope is yours. So whereas in his or her natural
condition, we were in Adam, now by faith, believers find themselves
to be in a completely different sphere. And they can therefore
justly look to their own resurrection one day. The only question is
when. And Paul takes that up in verses
23 and 24. When? He’s presented the magnificent features
of Christ’s resurrection, the established priority, the necessary
means, the consequential sphere. Fourthly, he gives us the divine
climax of Christ’s resurrection. Look at verse 23, if you would,
please. But each in his own order, Christ, the firstfruits, after
that, those who are Christ at his coming, then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he
has abolished all rule and all authority and power. The way
that verse 23 unfolds, it’s almost as if Paul blows a trumpet for
a military march And I say that because the word there that Paul
uses at the beginning of verse 23, order, it’s a military word. In its most basic meaning, it
refers to rank. And a military troop does not
just present themselves haphazardly, however they please, but rather
in precise order. And the illustration implied
here is one of a great army arranging themselves according to rank. Basically, Paul says, line up
each in his own order. And the one at the head of the
line is no other than Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the firstfruits.
We already considered the idea of firstfruits back in verse
20. And since Jesus is already raised from the dead, he has
already presented himself as raised from the dead. Paul refers
to this same thing, this same idea, with the word firstborn. And I’ve met people before in
conversation and heard them, they’re confused. They think
that firstborn simply refers to the fact that Jesus was the
first to be born to Mary in that family. That’s not what he’s
referring to. Jesus was indeed the firstborn
child born to Mary, but that’s not the significance of this
word. Instead, as Romans 8.29 has it, Jesus is the firstborn
among many brethren. He was the first to be resurrected,
never to die again. Or Colossians 1.15, He is the
firstborn of all creation. He was the first ever to be resurrected
from the dead, never to die again. Or Colossians 1.18, He is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead. In each of those places,
Paul refers to the same thing that he’s declaring here. that
Jesus Christ is the first one to be raised bodily from the
dead who will never taste death again. He has conquered death. Death has been conquered because
Christ is the first fruits. But as we said earlier, even
that word first implies that there will be others who follow. And Paul says this openly there
in verse 23. each in his own order, Christ,
the firstfruits, after that, those who are Christ’s at his
coming. And if you’re wondering, that
word coming used here at least two dozen times in the New Testament,
nearly every time is used to speak of Christ’s second coming,
the coming of the Lord, the coming of the Son of Man, So here, without
any question, His coming can only refer to Christ’s second
coming. First, Jesus, then His children,
whom Paul identifies here as belonging to Christ. They are
Christ’s. They belong, body and soul, to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn’t that a comfort to you,
if you’re a believer? What a soul-stirring promise
this is, that when Jesus Christ returns, every believer will
fall into order behind Christ in a bodily resurrection. And
there will be no pushing and shoving. Order. And so Paul gives
us the order, the Lord Jesus, then his people when he comes,
and then Paul says, then comes the end. And what Paul says, the end,
here he means the end. This will be the end of the world’s
history, the end of God’s plan of redemption, the end of gospel
opportunity, the end of praying for and preaching to your friends
and loved ones. It will be the end of the age
as Matthew records of Christ three times in Matthew 13. It’ll
be the end of all things, as Peter says in chapter four. It’ll be the end of life outside
of Christ’s visible presence. We will see him face to face. It’ll be the end of waiting for
heaven. It’ll be the end of the effects of sin, the end of Satan’s
reign of terror. It’ll be the end of suffering,
the end of death, the end of deferred judgment. The end. And just to make it explicitly
clear when this is, Paul adds two temporal clauses at the end
of verse 24. Would you just glance there? Then comes the end, when he hands
over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he has abolished
all rule and all authority and power. But make no mistake, The event
noted in the second clause must occur first. Jesus would not,
will not present his father an incomplete gift. He’s not gonna
quit early. So first the abolishing and then
the presentation. Only once Jesus has abolished
all rule and authority and power, then will he hand over the kingdom
in its completed form to His heavenly Father. It’s true, as
Paul details in Ephesians 1, that the Father of glory has
already seated Christ far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion. He’s already sovereign. He’s
already put all things in subjection under Christ’s feet. This was
God’s promise to His Son, remember, I will make your enemies a footstool
for your feet. But those things are not yet
destroyed. We read about it this morning. In Ephesians chapter
six, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this
darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places. Those things still exist. But those things will be destroyed.
evil men, sin, demons, Satan, unrighteousness, death, all of
those pernicious things prevail until now. But at the consummation of Christ’s
resurrection of his people, he will abolish, utterly destroy
all rule, authority, and power, whether earthly or spiritual,
Those things Christ will abolish. And when he has done that. When
he has done that, then he will make a glorious presentation
of his bride. To his father. By the way, that first clause.
Need not cause you any consternation when it says that what Jesus
one day hands over the kingdom as if he’s retiring. Jesus will
never relinquish his sovereignty. Just as the angel Gabriel declared
to young Mary, he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
His kingdom will have no end. Or as Daniel 7, 14 says of the
son of man, his dominion is an everlasting dominion. Or as the
writer of Hebrews records of the father, Speaking of Christ,
of the Son, he says, your throne, oh God, is forever and ever. Or as the Apostle John in Revelation
11, 15, he will reign forever. Jesus will never cease to reign
as our sovereign Lord. And so the image here is one
of a victorious general returning to his home country following
a great victory in battle. and he’s parading before the
king and bringing behind all the spoils of war. Once all opposition has been
conquered, all adversaries of any kind, all hostile forces,
spiritual and earthly, they will be abolished and nullified, done
away with, and then Then Jesus will present his spotless
bride to his heavenly Father. What a day that will be. What
a glorious, stupendous, incredible, spectacular, marvelous, wonderful
day that will be. And what was once promised by
his Father will be fulfilled, or promised to his Father, will
be fulfilled, John 6, 39. All that he has given me, I lose
nothing, but I raise it up on the last day. What an incredible
day that will be. You humble yourself in consideration
before him.