Resurrection – The Heart of the Gospel

Today, if you would, take your
Bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians, in chapter 15,
you know the chapter well. We stand in a long, really unbroken series of attacks
on the resurrection. And whereas in times past, the
church was, quite defensive over that truth, that doctrine of
the resurrection. I fear that today it is not so. I fear that today there are great
many of believing people or at least professing believers who
are quite ready to relinquish that doctrine of the resurrection
as being unimportant or unnecessarily troublesome, that it’s not worth
fighting for, And I sense that a great many
people would rather maintain peace with whoever they’re friends
with than trouble themselves over these attacks in defending
the gospel. If you don’t think that’s true,
just ask yourself the question. In this day and age where the things of God are being spurned,
Christians are across this world dying for their faith. Would
you die for this doctrine? I’m not going to take the time
this morning to revisit the particular attacks, at least not in any
lengthy fashion, except to say that in various degrees and with
devastating consequences, these attacks have been successful
over the years. even among those who profess
to be Christians. The doctrine of the resurrection
of Christ is among some circles deemed as expendable to the greater
economy of God. For some, believing in the resurrection
is not necessary to enjoy a warm relationship with God. For spiritual
wholeness, for eternal life, it is just not held by many people
to be crucial. It’s not the position that Paul
takes in 1 Corinthians 15. And as much as I would love to
do so, to read 1 Corinthians 15 in its entirety, I’m going
to read every word as we go through this, Lord willing. But to begin
with, I just want to shape the form, if you will, of 1 Corinthians
15. It’s broken up by Paul, by direction
of the Holy Spirit, into five very carefully delineated sections. And it’s done so primarily by
one little device, the word now. Look at verse one. Now I make
known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which
also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you
are saved, if you hold fast to the word which I preached to
you. unless you believed in vain. Paul starts this great chapter
with that little word now, and he starts his first section,
but the second is found in verse 12. Now, if Christ is preached
that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you
say that there is no resurrection from the dead? The second. Section the third is found in
verse 20, but now Christ has been raised from the dead The
first fruits from those who are asleep the fourth section is
not Delineated out by that word now, but it is clearly a unique
section in and of itself begins in verse 35 But someone will
say how are the dead raised and with what kind of body do they
come? The fifth and final section is
found in verse 50, where Paul writes, now I say this, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does
the perishable inherit the imperishable. Five distinct sections in which
Paul deals with the doctrine of the resurrection, and to him
it’s not important, to him it’s not expendable, to him it’s not
optional, If you recall, the Apostle Paul opens this epistle
by setting forth as the very foundation Christ crucified,
remember? In those opening chapters, those
are the expendable truths, that Christ is crucified and he wraps
up this glorious gospel by setting forth essentially what is the
crown of that doctrine. the risen Christ, Christ risen. In this magnificent and crucial
chapter of revealed truth, Paul sets forth not only the gospel,
but one of the key elements of the gospel, the resurrection.
And he lays out the historical facts of the resurrection, the
testimony of those who had seen the risen Christ, as well as
the implications of the resurrection. Paul’s case builds to a crescendo
that has eternal significance. that Christ’s resurrection is
the foundation upon which our own resurrection from the dead
is established. If you would, I want to look
this morning at five magnificent truths, and they’re essentially,
as I pointed out, they are contained in those five sections of this
chapter. Normally, we would honor the
word of God by reading it in full, the passage at hand before
we even delve into it. This morning, we’re going to
read all of it, but we’re going to read it in the context of
these five magnificent truths. Five magnificent truths pertaining
to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. First of all, the resurrection
is inextricably part of the gospel. It is inextricably part of the
gospel. It cannot be separated from the
gospel. If you remove the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have no gospel. Look at verse
one. Now I make known to you, brethren,
the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received,
in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold
fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in
vain. Paul is setting forth the content
of the gospel. Look at verse three, for I delivered
to you as of first importance. This is not optional to Paul.
This isn’t unimportant to Paul. For I delivered to you as of
first importance, which I also received, that Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that
he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.
You might back away from that and say, what is it exactly that
is according to the scriptures? Is it the whole scheme, or is
it the fact that Christ was raised on the third day? It’s both. The whole plan of redemption
was according to the scriptures. It was detailed in the Old Testament,
Psalm 53, Psalm 22, and so on. But that third day theme is also
contained and alluded to in the scriptures, in the Old Testament,
in passages in Jonah, in Hosea, Hosea 6-2. Those facts were laid
down, predicted, prophesied in the Old Testament, and even the
New Testament points back, pointing to those truths. Listen to just
a few. John chapter 20. For as yet they did not understand
the scripture. There was no New Testament at
this point. He’s talking about the Old Testament scriptures.
As yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise
again from the dead. It was detailed in the Old Testament
that the Savior, the Messiah, would die, be buried, and raise
again on the third day. Acts chapter 26 echoes the same
truth. In Acts chapter 26 verse 22,
having obtained help from God, I stand this day to testify,
both to small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets
and Moses said was going to take place. This again is Paul giving
his testimony once again. And what is this that he testifies
to? What does he point to that Moses
and the prophets said? that Christ was to suffer and
that by reason of his resurrection from the dead, he would be the
first to proclaim light to both the Jewish people and to the
Gentiles. You can point back, not just
to the Old Testament where it was predicted, but this suffering,
this being in the earth three days buried was foretold even
by Jesus Christ himself. One said that the resurrection
of Christ is at once the most important and the best authenticated
fact in the history of the world. How can you let go of it? How
can you refuse to defend it? How can we take such a casual
view of the resurrection as if it doesn’t matter? Not only was
it predicted in the Old Testament, foretold by Christ himself, The
witnesses of the resurrection all point to that. Their sincerity
went beyond just a strong testimony. They were willing to die for
this fact, and did. A great many of them. Even today, the willingness to
be here, the willingness to count this and hold this and maintain
it as a special day, unique among all others, as a testimony to
the world. But Paul moves in verse five,
I told you we were gonna read every verse, Paul moves in verse
five to begin outlining these testimonies, these proofs of
the resurrection. Look at verse five, that he appeared
to Cephas and then the 12. This is an occurrence that really
the gospels don’t even record, Only one alludes to it. Remember
the two disciples that were met by Christ on the road to Emmaus?
Well, they returned and they found the 11 and those that were
with them. We don’t know exactly how many,
but we know at least the 11 apostles were gathered there, Judas no
longer among them. And they said that the Lord has
really risen and has appeared to Simon. You know, the scriptures
don’t allude to that anywhere. These two individuals, disciples,
are essentially informing the apostles of something that Simon,
Peter, had not yet told them. It had to be a very amazing and
interesting scene, that all of a sudden, all eyes turned to
Peter, who had to acknowledge that yes, he had seen the risen
Christ, The Lord has really risen and appeared to Simon and they
began to relate their experiences on the road and how he was recognized
by them in the breaking of the bread. They sat with Jesus and
they realized in time that it was him who was teaching them. While they were still telling
these things, he himself stood in their midst and said to them,
peace be to you. He appeared not only to Peter,
but he appeared to the apostles as well. Look at verse six. After that, he appeared to more
than 500 brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now,
but some have fallen asleep. As one points out, as most commentators
do, there’s no distinct record of this event. And it could have
taken place on the occasion when Christ met his disciples, as
we just read. There could have been that many
people gathered. It’s theoretically possible.
But even the way that Paul speaks of this incident indicates that
the story here is well known enough in the Christian community
with enough of them who were still actually present, even
in Corinth, still alive to testify to that event. Yeah, I was there.
I was among the 500 to whom Christ appeared. Look at verse seven,
then he appeared to James, and that James can only be the Lord’s
brother who would, though he was an unbeliever so far as we
know during Christ’s time, eventually became a believer, and not only
a believer, but a leader in the church in Jerusalem, and it says
that he appeared to James, essentially, go ask him. And then to all the
apostles. John 26 says this, 20, 26, says
that after eight days as disciples were again inside and with Thomas,
with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, stood in their midst
and said, peace, be with you. Jesus Christ appeared not only
to Cephas, not only to the 12 on one occasion, not only to
500, not only to James, but to all the apostles, but there’s
one other testimony. And it’s the testimony of Paul
himself. Look at verse eight. Last of
all, as to one untimely born, what he means by there is not
that his mother’s birth was delayed. What he’s talking about here
is the fact that he was an apostle out of due time. That he was
appointed an apostle in time, but not in the same concurrent
time frame as the other apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely
born, he appeared to me also. This is Paul testifying to the
Corinthians that he had seen the risen Christ. Why does Paul call himself one
untimely born? Verses 9 and 10 tell, I’m the
least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle because
I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God, I am
what I am. I didn’t seek this office. I didn’t go looking for
it. God appointed me to this, and his grace toward me did not
prove vain, but I labored All, even more than all of them, yet
not I, but the grace of God with me. When did Jesus Christ appear
to Paul? Turn to Acts chapter nine. You know this account, but just
so you see the veracity of God’s word, Here’s where Jesus appears
and reveals himself to Paul. Now Saul, still breathing threats
and murder against the disciples, verse one. Went to the high priest
asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus so
that if he found any belonging to the way Christianity both
men and women he might bring them bound to Jerusalem And he
was as he was traveling it happened that while he was approaching
Damascus Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him and
he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him Saul Saul
Why are you persecuting me? He said, who are you, Lord? And
he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, I don’t
know in what shape or form Jesus took or whether it was more than
just that incredible light. But this is the testimony. And
if you doubt that, look at verse 17. Ananias departed, entered
the house after laying hands on him. Brother Saul, the Lord
Jesus, who appeared to you on the road which you were coming. That was the appearance. And
there were likely other occasions where Jesus Christ appeared to
Paul, revealed himself, perhaps even in bodily form, but he says,
look, I have seen the risen Christ. The same that revealed himself
to Peter and the apostles and the 500 and James. And his conclusion to this first
little section, look at this, it’s just amazing. Verse 11,
whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. whether it was the Apostle Peter
who came into various areas, primarily in Jerusalem and the
surrounding regions, and testified that he had seen the risen Christ,
or whether it was the 500 that had been disseminated from there,
or whether it was the Lord’s brother, James, or whether it
was the Apostle Paul, they all came with the same message, the
core of the gospel is the resurrection, and they said, we saw it. We
saw it with our own eyes. As my dear hero of the faith James
Boyce said, although the death of Christ is what he explicitly
came in the world to accomplish, It is the resurrection no less
important historically as evidence for Christ’s claims. It is only
because of the resurrection that the gospel of the cross can be
understood, preserved, and transmitted across the centuries to us. The
resurrection is the historical base upon which all other Christian
doctrines are built. Not optional. There can be no
doubt the resurrection is inextricably part of the gospel. The gospel
is logically necessary. What Paul does next is begin
to logically reason against the arguments that are lodged against
the idea of a resurrection. And probably now at this point
of our history, more than ever, people love this idea. that when
we die, we die, and we’re done, and we’re essentially annihilated,
and we go back as nothing more than dust. There is no soul.
Paul takes up that reasoning. The resurrection, far from being
unimportant or optional, is at the core of the Christian faith.
Paul proves it to be so by this masterful reasoning in this section.
Paul not only argues for the doctrine of the resurrection,
pardon me, the doctrine of the resurrection, but he devastates
the arguments that are levied against it. In this particular
section that carries all the way down through verse 20, Paul
utilizes this simple if-then line of reasoning. If this is
true, then this must be true. Nine logical conclusions pertaining
to the resurrection of Christ. Look at verse 12 if you would.
Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead,
how do some among you say that there is no resurrection from
the dead? As I suggested to you, there have been many attacks
against the resurrection, most just simply denying that it ever
happened, that after the body disintegrates, it’s impossible
for God to bring those particles again together We know that God
is a God of miracles and modern science. Even now, modern science
claims to have the capability to generate and regenerate life. I read this past week that, you
know, through the DNA that they’ve extracted from a mammoth, they’re
going to bring back mammoths. But if they really want to impress
me, start like God did with nothing. There’s various other historical
attacks on the resurrection. Some claim the falsehood theory
says that the disciples deceived everyone by stealing and hiding
the body which would obliterate the trustworthiness of scripture. It’s unlikely that faint-hearted
followers like that would have the courage to risk and give
their own lives for the cause. There is this theory called the
swoon theory that Jesus didn’t really die, that he merely fainted. And the scary thing is that a
lot of Christians believe that. A lot of professing Christians
believe that Jesus just kind of fainted and then revived over
time. And you have all these stories
now. I was dead for 45 minutes, you know. Jesus merely swooned,
that the effects of the week, the emotional toil, the physical
abuse that he took, he just fainted. The vision theory that it was
just visions of all these people, you know, just making it up as
they went, so to speak. They had these fantastic visions. I love J.C. Ryle here. We need
not wonder. that so much importance is attached
to our Lord’s resurrection. It is the seal and headstone
of the great work of redemption which he came to do. It is the
crowning proof that he has paid the debt which he undertook to
pay on our behalf. He has won the battle which he
fought to deliver us from hell and is accepted as our guarantee
and substitute by our Father in heaven. That’s why people
attack it so greatly. It can’t be that simple. Can
it? Paul’s logic has only just begun. Look at verse 13. And he says
this series of if-then statements. If there is no resurrection from
the dead, if you hold this to be just a theory, this life after
death motif that Christianity seems to have embraced, they
say out of foolishness, then not even Christ has been raised.
If then, if you hold to this idea of life after death and
that that’s impossible, there’s no such thing, then not even
Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised,
then our preaching is in vain. Christians can’t begin to abandon
the doctrine of the resurrection because then our preaching is
null and void and empty. Our preaching is in vain, our
faith is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to
be false witnesses of God. We are going about as so many
liars, even being here today, testifying to the fact that we
believe that there is a resurrection. There will come a day, there
will come a day where they will tell you, give up this lie. And
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised in my lifetime give up this lie
or die. We are found to be false witnesses
of God because we have testified against God that he raised Christ.
They will say in time you are lying about God. Whom he did not raise. If in
fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised,
not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ is not raised,
then your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. We
have no hope outside of the resurrection. Then those who have fallen asleep
in Christ have perished. We have no hope for those who
have died before us in Christ. If we have hoped in Christ in
this life only, verse 19, then we are of all men most to be
pitied. You begin to give up the doctrine
of the resurrection. You let go of the very truth
and truthfulness of God’s word, it’s veracity. As one said, it would mean that
our belief in the trustworthiness of scripture. Moreover, the resurrection
of Christ is represented as having evidentiary value. It was the
culminating proof that Christ was a teacher sent from God.
You begin to give up everything if you let go of the doctrine
of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely
necessary as a foundation to the Christian faith, and Paul
proves it so. Not only is the resurrection
inextricably part of the gospel and logically necessary, third,
it is theologically crucial. What Paul does here is show that
a denial of the resurrection from the dead involves a denial
of the resurrection of Christ and it’s ultimately it strikes
at the core of the gospel. Look at verse 20. But now Christ has been raised
from the dead. And he states that as a fact.
The first fruits of those who are asleep and he states it as
a hope. Christ is raised but he’s just the first of many. And then he tells us why, for
since by man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of
the dead. You know the doctrine that he’s
alluding to here. Paul discusses the realities
of life and death here. But just as Paul does in the
book of Romans, Paul points out here that sin and death came
in by way of Adam. And outside of God there is no
hope, there is no way out. But that’s the great plan of
redemption. Paul discusses this in Romans 4 and 5. Life and immortality
came in by way of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ’s resurrection
is the proof that new life, the hope of eternal life for all
who have faith in Christ, is gathered up here in His glorious
resurrection. Jesus Christ’s resurrection is
essentially the down payment for our own. Look at how this Argument unfolds
look at verse 22 for as in Adam all died. We know that to be
true You don’t have to tell anybody that they’re a sinner. They know
it All you have to do is begin to talk about what flavor it
is what particular sins they’re engaged in We know because they
are a child of Adam that every human born into this world is
a sinner. They know it and And sin, we know, brings death.
Nothing bothers me more than to read an obituary that says
he died of natural causes. No, he didn’t. He died from sin. He died from the effects of sin,
like we all do. That’s where death came. One great commentator said, Adam
is the cause of death because his sin is the judicial ground
of our condemnation. And because we derive from Him
a corrupt and feeble nature, Christ is the cause of life.
Because He is righteousness, He is the judicial ground of
our justification. And because we derive from Him
the Holy Spirit, which is the source of both life to soul and
body. We get from Christ what we most
desperately need. We need righteousness to be able
to stand before God. And it’s life-giving. And he begins to talk about the
resurrection. He has pointed to the fact that
Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the down payment of our resurrection,
and here comes the rest of it. Look at verse 23. But each in
its own order. He says, don’t get in a hurry
here. Here’s how the whole thing is
going to unfold. Christ, the firstfruits, Christ
is the first one to be raised, not the only one. Christ, the
first fruits, after that, those who are Christ’s 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 authority and power. Those who are in Christ, those
who have placed their faith in Christ, Jesus Christ will raise
them up on the last day, whether they’re in the ground or standing
with their foot upon it. Jesus Christ will raise them
up, that’s the promise. And that’s the promise that he
gave to his disciples even when they were living, John 521, just
as the father raises the dead and gives them life, even so
the son gives life to whomever he wishes. John chapter 6, same
truth. This is the will of Him who sent
me. Of all that He has given me, I lose nothing, but I raise
it up on the last day. What a glorious promise to God’s
people. Reiterated in verse 40, this
is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son
and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I myself will
raise Him up on the last day. We have young people among us
that have given their life to Christ even this last year. What
a glorious promise. The last thing in the world they’re
thinking of is their own death, years down the road. But what
a glorious promise that when they die, 70, 80, 90 years hence,
Christ will raise them up to be with him for eternity. What
a glorious truth. We’ve lost saints in our midst,
even this past year, that are already experiencing and enjoying
this truth. Pick it up in verse 25, and for
the purpose of honoring God’s word, I’ll read this with very
little comment. For he, that is Christ, must
reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last
enemy that will be abolished is death. For he has 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. In other words, God.
God is not in subjection. God the Father is not in subjection
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 28, when all things are
subjected to him, then the son himself will be subjected to
the one who has subjected all things to him, so that God may
be all in all. Otherwise, what will those who
are baptized, baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised
at all, why then are they baptized for them? Why are we also in
danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting
in you which I have in Jesus Christ our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought
with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the
dead are not raised, let us eat, drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived. Bad company
corrupts good morals. Become sober minded as you ought
and stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of
God. I speak this to your shame. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
is not optional. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
is a crucial piece in the theological puzzle of God’s great plan of
redemption. We dare not begin to let go of
it. There’s a fourth point. The resurrection is not only
inextricably part of the gospel, logically necessary, theologically
crucial, but it is here in these pages so beautifully and illustratively
presented. What he gives to us here is essentially
the nature. How is this resurrection work?
Anyway, because some of you are sitting there thinking I kind
of was hoping to trade in this body Well, there’s hope for you
to look at verse 35 Someone will say how are the dead raised? Because they know the process,
right? We already see the process. All you got to do is run home
and look in the mirror you have more wrinkles now than you did
before fewer hairs and And so on. You’re already in a state
of decay. You don’t have to get in the
ground and die. You’re already in a state of decline. Your joints
ache this morning, likely. Your eyes are more feeble than
they were a year ago. You gotta use bigger print. Every
year I do these Bible readings, I gotta increase the size of
the font, right? And so you get this argument
and it really is masterful the way Paul treats it because everybody
would say the same thing. How how is this going to work?
And what happens in cremation? You know what happens to the
particles that are scattered or somebody who falls into the
sea and eaten by so many fish and scattered throughout the
ocean the seven oceans. With what kind of body will they
come? How how is God going to do this? And Paul And I don’t
take this to be harsh. He just says it’s a foolish question.
You fool. See, what Paul is doing is playing
on the minds of the Corinthians, who had the same mindset, really,
that the Pharisees had about the resurrection. They thought
that their physical bodies in the here and now were gonna be
the same bodies in heaven, just cleaned up a little bit and,
you know, arriving at a perfect age, age 24. We all show up and
we’re all 24. I’ve made that argument elsewhere
that after 25 everything goes south. Well, he basically, this
is so amazing and so masterful, we’ll walk through it. He says,
first of all, look at the vegetable kingdom. Look at verse 36, that
which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And that
which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but
a bare grain. In other words, he basically,
this is humorous almost. Is it, yeah, it’s okay to laugh.
You don’t, if you want a watermelon, don’t go plant a whole watermelon.
That’s essentially what he says. If you want a watermelon, go
plant a watermelon seed. That which you sow, you do not
sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of
weed or something else, but God gives it a body just as he wished. So if you want a watermelon,
don’t plant the whole melon, plant the seed. And different bodies
have different seeds. If you want corn, you’re going
to need to plant corn seeds. And if God chooses the mature
form that each seed produces among the plants, then God can,
in his sovereign design, grant whatever form he chooses to those
whom he grants eternal form. In other words, your body is
not going to be the same as it is in heaven. It’s not going
to be better. It’s not going to be cleaned
up. It’s going to be entirely different. Plants are not the same at their
various phases in life, and neither is your spiritual body. He also illustrates it by creaturely
bodies. Look at verse 39. All flesh is
not the same flesh. And then he begins to delineate.
There’s one flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another flesh
of birds, another flesh of fish. Now, this being a fellowship
meal Sunday, The next time some person slides you a plate of
mystery meat and suggests to you that it tastes just like
chicken, you can rest assured that it’s not chicken. And if
it’s not chicken, it’s another kind of flesh. Paul’s point is
that from creature to creature, there are differences in their
fleshly bodies. Different creatures do not all
taste the same. And he illustrates it masterfully
another way by celestial bodies. Look at verse 40. There are also
heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly
is one and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory
of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the
stars, for stars differ from star in glory. We tend to think,
you know, we look up and they all look the same to us. Or do
they? It was 1968, Christmas Eve. Apollo
8 had just orbited around the backside of the moon. Three astronauts
on board, Borman, Lovell, and Anders, and they were about to
experience something that no person had ever experienced. No one had ever seen the backside
of the moon And as they came around the backside of the room,
the moon, they experienced what no other human had, Earthrise.
They came around the dark side, they emerged to a remarkable
surprise. And it caused an almost panic
commotion in the cabin as they scrambled for, of all things,
colored film. See, they were experiencing the
view of Earth in full color rising over the moon No human had ever
seen that. Here’s what Frank Borman said.
It was the most beautiful, heart-catching sight of my life. One that sent
a torrent of nostalgia, sheer homesickness, surging through
me. It was the only thing in space
that had any color to it. Everything else was either black
or white, but not the earth. Lovell echoed later, up there
it’s a black and white world, there is no color. And the whole
universe, wherever we looked, the only bit of color was back
on Earth. It was the most beautiful thing
there was in all the heavens. There’s one glory. Paul says
that even the celestial bodies are different, different in nature.
And he applies this all to our resurrected bodies. He says,
look, don’t ask this silly question about, you know, are we just
kind of a cleaned up version of ourself and everybody will
be just a little bit, you know, we’ll still be the same, Just
a little bit less creaky. Look at verse 42. So also is
the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in a perishable body. That’s what gets planted. That
body is dying and decaying even as you sit here. It is sown in
a perishable body. It is raised an imperishable
body. Now there’s hope. It is sown in dishonor. has to
be clothed, has to be cleaned. It’s raised in glory. It is sown
in weakness, and who wouldn’t agree with that? It is raised
in power. Power like we have no idea. It
is sown in a natural body. It is raised in a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. God
is able to do it. We are all in the midst of decay,
losing our strength, We would echo what Paul says there wholeheartedly
about the natural body, perishable, dishonored, weak. But Paul says there’s a day to
look forward to where all things become new, and I mean really
new. It’s new like the watermelon
is to the seed. It’s new like the earth is to
the most distant star. It’s new. Look at verse 45, so also it
is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last,
Adam, became a life-giving spirit. He’s talking about Christ. However,
the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth,
earthly. The second man is from heaven. As is the earthly, so
also those who are earthly. As is the heavenly, so also those
who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image
of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
Do you get that? That if you have taken on a body,
if you are alive today, if you have placed your faith in Christ,
then you can rest assured. It is an absolute promise of
scripture that you will one day have and possess and be given
by God himself a spiritual body. Different, better, by far. One pastor said, in Christ Jesus’
human nature, both body and soul was restored to its pristine
strength and perfection, and even raised to a higher level
while body and soul were reunited in a living organism. The future
body of believers will be incorruptible, incapable of decay, glorious,
resplendent with heavenly brightness, powerful, full of energy, and
perhaps new faculties, and spiritual, which does not mean immaterial,
but adapted to the spirit, a perfect instrument of the spirit. Isn’t
that a glorious hope? There’s a fifth point. The resurrection
is inextricably part of the gospel, logically necessary, theologically
crucial, illustratively presented, gloriously anticipated. And we
would all say amen to that. Paul only needs now to draw the
very practical conclusion, doesn’t he? To bring it all together,
to talk about not just the necessity of that final change, but to
really rejoice in the triumph of that final victory over death. And he does that in verse 50,
look at verse 50. Now I say this, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does
the perishable inherit the imperishable. But behold, I tell you a mystery.
And he basically says this is how it’s going to happen. We
will not all sleep. We’re not all going to die and
be buried into the ground. But we will all be changed. There
will be some living in the day that Christ returns that will
be instantaneously transformed. We will not all sleep but we
will all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at
the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will
be raised imperishable and we will be changed. For this perishable
must put on the imperishable and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will
have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put
on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory?
Oh, death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and
the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives
us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul concludes with one of
my favorite verses in all the scriptures. And it’s great to
have the context undergirding it. Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. The
gospel is not expendable. The gospel is not optional. and the resurrection is at the
core of the gospel itself. We cannot let go of the resurrection
without letting go of the gospel. We cannot let go of the gospel
without letting go of Christ. Our dear hero in the faith, Isaac
Watts, said, how divinely full of glory and pleasure shall be
that hour when all the millions of mankind that have been redeemed
by the blood of the lamb shall meet together and stand around
him with every tongue and every heart full of joy and praise. How astonishing will be the glory
and the joy of that day when all the saints shall join together
in one common song of gratitude and love and of everlasting thankfulness
to the Redeemer. With that unknown delight and
inexpressible satisfaction shall all that are saved from the ruins
of sin and hell address the lamb that was slain and rejoice in
his presence. What a joyous promise. Let’s
pray. O merciful King, we humble ourselves
in your presence. And we pray for the grace that
whereas some would willfully lay aside this doctrine. Of the
glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ as being unimportant.
God, by God’s grace, not us. Grant that we would stand firm,
firm to the end. Looking forward to that day. When you will change us from
within. to make every part of us fit
for heaven. We thank you and we praise you.
It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray, amen.