"But someone will say, “How are the dead
raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 36 You fool! That
which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37 and that which
you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain,
perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body just
as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh
is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh
of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 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. 41 There is one glory
of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the
stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
I Corinthians 15:35-49
Good Morning Beloved,
Welcome to worship, we're so glad you're here!
As we continue our study in The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians in a series I am calling All Rise.
There
is a lot of confusion in our culture about what happens to us after we
die. There are some who believe in reincarnation, and so they think that we will come
back to earth as a different person or being. While others believe that we
simply cease to exist. And yet others believe that we become angels. The
apostle Paul, however, clearly teaches what happens to Christians after
we die. As we have been discussing in our previous lessons. Paul taught how our bodies are raised and what our resurrection bodies will be like. So, in our study today we learn about the Christian’s resurrection body.
Today's Message: All Rise - Resurrection Bodies
First let's bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
We thank You, Lord, for the opportunity to gather together today, to worship You, praise You. We thank You for such a staggering promise, the hope of the resurrection, to us unworthy sinners.
May our gratitude be demonstrated, by
living our every earthly moment bringing glory and honor to You.
Lord, we bless Your name for all that You have already done for us, that which is presently being worked out on our behalf, and that which is yet to be done, in faith believing. Lord, we know that are not worthy. Help us to be faithful, and to
live with the fullness of joy regardless of what this life brings, knowing there is a day that is to yet come,
may we being willing to bear any suffering here for the eternal weight of
glory, the inheritance set aside for us in Your presence.
Lord, we bless
You and thank You, in Christ’s name
Amen
Open with me your Bibles to I Corinthians, chapter 15, as we continue our study Paul’s
chapter on resurrection. The resurrection of believers is the theme of
this chapter. The Bible promises a redemption of the body, not just the
spirit, not just the soul, not just the inner person. Romans 8:23 says that we are waiting for the redemption of our body.
In verse 35, the apostle Paul asked a question regarding the manner of the resurrection body is
in "But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"
In other words, how can a dead, disorganized, disintegrated body live again? In other words, they are saying, "Paul, given that you are very
pro-resurrection, why don’t you explain how it happens!”––a question
that they were certain Paul could not answer!
Secondly, "With what kind of body do they come?"
which has to do with the resurrected body, the body that is produced
by resurrection. Again, they feel certain that Paul is unable answer this
apparently simple question, which casts a dark shadow on the
resurrection-belief that Paul is advocating here.
"But alla will say,.." in the Greek, The Greek word alla is a strong adversative, meaning that what follows can be expected to be an opposing viewpoint. This is certainly true in this case. Paul has been discussing the resurrection of Christ in verses 1-11 and the resurrection of the dead, in verses 12-34.
Then, in verse 36, Paul answers the question when he says, "You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;"
In the original Greek, the word aphron is composed of a, not or without, and phren or wisdom. Here, in his answer, Paul is accusing his opponents of being fools––people utterly without any understanding. Paul was rebuking those who asking the question. The point Paul was making, was only a foolish person questions the power of a sovereign, almighty God!
So, in verse 36, Paul explained that death is not an obstacle to, but rather a means
to, a resurrection body. "That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies." Just as a seed must die in order to produce a
growing plant, even so, our present body must die in order to produce our resurrected
body. In both cases, death is the means to a new body. Disorganization
and disintegration must take place before there can be reorganization
and reintegration.
Paul is saying, "how is the dead raised? God will raise a resurrection body from a dead body by his own sovereign, almighty power!" And, to the question, "and with what kind of body do they come?" or what kind of resurrection body will Christians possess?
In verses 37 through 49, Paul answers that question. "and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 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, and another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly."
There is a continuity between the seed sown and the plant that is
produced. The seed changes radically, but it continues to have the same
life form. A wheat seed does not become barley, and a grass seed does
not become corn. God has given each kind of seed its own body, whose
identity continues into the grown plant.
After Jesus’ resurrection
from the dead, he was not initially recognized until he revealed
himself to people. But once he revealed his identity, he was
recognizable. The disciples knew his face, and recognized his wounded
side and pierced hands and feet.
Similarly, our resurrected bodies as Christians will have a
continuity with the bodies we have now. Our present bodies will die and
they will change form, but they will still be our bodies.
Surely,
it is not hard to believe that the God who has worked this process daily
through the centuries in his creation of plants, will be able to do it
again with Christians when we received resurrected bodies.
The resurrection body will be a different body as we read in I Corinthians 15:37; 39-44.
The resurrection body will be a different body. Although
our resurrection body will be in continuation with our present body, it will
nevertheless be a different body. So Paul says in verse 37, "and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else." God, in accordance with his own power and
pleasure, causes the plant produced to be different than the seed sown.
Paul
then noted that there is a difference in the bodies of earthly
creatures. Paul says in verse 39, "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish." God, in his wisdom, created all creatures
differently.
Amino acids are the building blocks of all life. Not only does each type
of plant and animal life have a distinct pattern of amino acids, but
each individual plant, animal, and human being has its own unique
grouping of them. Therefore, no two flowers, snowflakes, seeds, blades of grass, or
human beings—even identical twins—are exactly alike. Yet each is
completely identified with its own species or kind.
Those two facts make one of the strongest scientific evidences
against evolution. No matter what we may eat, no matter how specialized
or unbalanced our diet may be, and no matter what our environment may
be, we will never change into another form of life. We may become
healthier or more sickly, heavier or lighter, but we will never be
anything but a human being and never any human being but the one we are.
The biological codes are binding and unique. There is no repeatable or
demonstrable scientific proof that one form of life has changed or could
change into another.
There are even differences between
terrestrial and celestial bodies, as Paul said in 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."
Not only are our heavenly bodies vastly different from the earthly
bodies, they are greatly different from each other. So, Paul said in
verse 41, "There is one glory of
the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars;
for star differs from star in glory."
Like flowers, the stars have their own colors. At the first upward
glance, all gleam white as frost crystals, but single out this one and
that for observation and you will find a subtle spectrum in the stars.
The quality of their lights is determined by their temperatures.
In the
December sky you will see Aldebaran as pale rose, Rigel as bluish white
and Betelgeuse orange to topaz yellow. Every star is vastly different,
just as every plant is different, every animal is different, and of course, every
person is different.
God has infinite creative capacity, including the
capacity to make infinite variety. Why would anyone think it to be difficult for Him to re-create and resurrect human bodies, no matter what form they
may be after death?
Now, having given us several illustrations
from nature of the differences among various bodies, Paul made
application of these illustrations to the differences between the
present body and the future resurrection body of Christians.
In verse 42, Paul says, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body."
In other words, Paul was saying, "Just as nature’s bodies differ, so, will the
resurrection body differ from the present body."
Here are several ways
in which the resurrection body will be different.
First, the body is sown perishable, but it will be raised in
imperishable. Paul says in verse 42, "What is sown is perishable; what
is raised is imperishable." The body of a Christian is sown —that
is, it has died and is buried in the grave—perishable, but it will be
raised imperishable.
Secondly, the body is sown in dishonor, but it
will be raised in glory. Paul said in verse 43, "It is sown in
dishonor; it is raised in glory." It is sown an unattractive body, but
it will be raised in a resplendent body.
Thirdly, the body is sown
in weakness, but it will be raised in power. In verse 43, Paul says "It
is sown in weakness; it is raised in power." It is sown without any
strength, but it will be raised with incredible strength.
In other words, our bodies
begin to decay, even as a seed planted in the ground begins to decay as
it prepares to give birth to a new plant. But that decay isn’t the end of the story, its only the beginning. The
body which was sown in corruption is raised in incorruption––no longer
subject to decay.
And fourth, the body is sown a natural body, but it will be raised a
spiritual body. Paul said in verse 44, "It is sown a natural body; it
is raised a spiritual body." It is sown in the flesh, but it will be
raised by the Spirit of God. And so Paul concluded in verse 44, "If
there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."
The
great illustration of the resurrection body that is different is that of
Jesus’ resurrection body. Before Jesus’ death he had a human body, just
like every body else. It was a natural body. His body was subject to
weakness and failure and even death. However, after His resurrection
Jesus had a spiritual body. It was a resurrection body. He could be
touched, and He could eat. However, He could also appear and disappear
at will. He could suddenly appear in a locked room. His body was gloriously and wonderfully different. And that is the kind of body that we as Christians
will receive also.
Paul, citing Genesis 2:7,
Paul said in verse 45: "So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Just as Adam
gave human life to all people, so Christ gave spiritual life to all His
people, that is, Christians.
That is why Paul said in verse 46, "However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual." All people have a natural, human nature. However, at
some point when we are regenerated we receive a spiritual nature. So,
the natural nature precedes the spiritual nature.
Then, moving
back to Adam and Christ, in verse 47, Paul notes that the first man, Adam,
was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man, that is, Christ, is
from heaven. Adam was an ordinary human being, however, Christ
exceeds Adam’s glory because Christ came from heaven.
Paul then says in verse 48, "As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly." In other words, Adam’s descendants are like
him. They inherit his physical nature. Similarly, Christ’s own are like Him. They inherit His spiritual nature. Therefore, in verse 49 Paul says, "Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly." That is, we shall be like Christ
with resurrected, heavenly bodies.
In Closing.....
So, what happens to Christians when we die? At the time of our
death, our bodies stop functioning. We are buried. Our bodies will decay
and decompose, if they are not cremated. And we await the return of
Jesus Christ. At the time of our death, our spirits go immediately
to heaven. We go into the presence of God where we will enjoy
unimaginable joy and bliss and delight for the rest of eternity.
And, a
some point in the future, God the Father is going to send the Son back
to earth to wrap up history as we now know it. When Jesus returns again our
spirits will be reunited with our bodies. It is at that point that we
receive our resurrection bodies. God, by his power will raise up our
old, earthly bodies and give us our new, heavenly bodies.
Paul assured us that we will have new resurrection bodies because
Jesus was raised from the dead on that first Easter Sunday. Jesus was
seen by Cephas, the twelve, more than five hundred others at one time,
James, the apostles, and finally by Paul himself after His
resurrection.
Christ is alive, and He has a resurrection body.
Do you
know for sure what will happen to you after you die?
You can receive a
resurrection body if you have placed your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acknowledge that He paid the penalty for your sin. And when you repent
and believe, you can receive the gift of eternal life.
I pray that you will do so today..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen