1 COR. 15:21-44: “We’ll Be
Resurrected To Glory”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we began chapter 15, and we looked at the fact
of Christ’s Resurrection. We saw that Paul
was concerned because he had heard either from Cloe’s people, or some other
source, that some in the church in Corinth were wavering in their belief in
some of the essential doctrines that a person must believe in order to come to
salvation through Christ, and thus he attempted to remind the Corinthians of
these teachings he had already taught them when he had been their pastor. Paul then reiterated for the Corinthians the
most essential doctrines of the Christian faith in chapter 15
1.1.1. I gave two analogies which
illustrate the seriousness of understanding and believing in these essential
doctrines of the Christian faith, for they are matters of life and death
1.1.1.1.Being called upon to land a
jetliner when you had never done it before you would be sure to pay close
attention to the instructions given by the flight instructor over the radio
1.1.1.2.If you went in for heart
valve surgery you would be very interested that the surgeon strictly followed
the procedures for
1.1.2. Paul told the Corinthians
that these are the essential truths that must be believed in order to be saved
1.1.3. We saw that there are many
things about which we Christians might disagree and yet maintain fellowship
with each other, however in this chapter Paul lays out some doctrinal
essentials that we must believe if in fact we are truly Christians
1.1.4. Paul told the Corinthians
that they will be saved if they hold fast to these doctrines
1.1.5. Paul told the Corinthians
that these doctrines are accepted into our Christian belief system because they
are according to the scriptures, in other words because the Old Testament
taught these essential truths
1.1.6. We saw that if we Christians
were to have hope in Christ only in this life then our faith would be in vain,
the Bible would be unreliable, we would still be in our sins, and we of all men
should be most pitied because we have forsaken worldly enjoyments and pursuits
for eternal promises, and incurred persecution for a false faith
1.2.
In this study, we are going to continue to ponder the bodily
resurrection of Christ and the resultant assurance of our bodily resurrection
for believers when Christ returns
1.2.1. Paul is going to give
further arguments for the fact that if Christ was bodily raised from the dead
then all believers in Christ are likewise assured that they will also be bodily
resurrected
1.2.2. We will look at the glory of
the resurrected bodies that we will be given and the hope that generates for us
1.2.3. We’ll see that having that
hope of being gloriously resurrected in Christ causes us to want to be like the
Lord in holiness
1.2.4. One thing that I want to
point out as we consider the resurrection of Christ and our inter-related
resurrection in Christ as believers is that when we speak of Christ’s
resurrection we are speaking of a bodily resurrection. Christ didn’t just have His spirit live on,
and He didn’t just get dissolved into the great oneness, so to speak, as some
might teach in these days. One of the
major cults believes that Christ returned to earth in, I believe, 1917, however
only His presence came, not Him in body.
Christ was bodily raised from the dead, and so shall we also be bodily
raised from the dead as believers when Christ returns for us
1.2.5. Yesterday afternoon my son
who is 15 and a baseball pitcher at his high school asked me if I would be
willing to go down to our local batting cage so that he could practice his
pitching with me as his catcher. I
thought about the last time that he pitched to me and the fact that I couldn’t
move fast enough to dodge one of his throws and then it was two weeks of major
rehab that I faced after one of his pitches hit me straight on the big
toe. However, in the time between that
last time he pitched to me I had done some work at the CSN radio station site
after which I developed a trick right knee and had to have arthroscopy surgery
to cut my ACL ligament completely out and remove some dangling cartilage. I mused upon the fact that it seems like
every time that I try to do any working out or playing of a sport at this point
in my life, I either strain or tear something.
We all reach a certain point in our life where we realize that we are
facing a losing battle with time and gravity over the health and shape that our
body is in. However, the hope that all
of us have as Christians of a future resurrected body that will have none of the
limitations of this body, and which will be raised in power, glory, and
holiness, looks better every day that we live upon the earth. In fact, having been, due to genetics,
vertically challenged all throughout my life, I have also always enjoyed the
fact that I believe that the scriptures teach us that if I still have a desire
to dunk a basketball when I get to heaven, that this will be no problem for me
to perform! What a great hope we
Christians have in that perfect afterlife promised to those who are God’s
people through Jesus Christ in this life.
1.2.6. Because we know that Christ
has been raised from the dead and thus we shall also be raised up with Him, we
will see that we will be motivated to perfect godliness in Christ knowing that
everything that we do in this life will have eternal consequences of privilege
and rewards, and, this hope will also help us to be able to endure and be
obedient through any suffering or difficulty that we may have to do through
2.
VS 15:21-22 - “21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in
Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that by Adam came death for all men, but by Christ came life
for all men
2.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians in these verses, that in the wisdom of God,
that since by one man, namely Adam, all people became sinners and therefore
they will die physically, and spiritually, and eternally, therefore, also by one man, namely Christ,
all people may be able to have their sins forgiven and inherit eternal life,
which guarantees their having a glorious bodily resurrection one day.
2.2.
It is deeper than this however, for not only do we inherit death from
Adam, Paul writes in Romans that when Adam sinned we also sinned.
2.2.1. In Romans 5:12, Paul
writes about the effects of Adam’s sin that have been transmitted down to us,
and we need to understand that when Adam sinned he did so as our “Federal
Head”, and thus in the wisdom of God all of Adam’s descendants also sinned when
Adam sinned, “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—”
2.2.2. This is what theologians
have called the doctrine of, “Original Sin.”
All mankind suffer the consequences of Adam’s “Original Sin.”
2.2.3. Because of “Original Sin”
all people are born as sinners and alienated from God, and thus no one can be
accepted before God based upon his own works of righteousness. All people can come to have a personal
relationship with God and be accepted by Him only on the basis of the finished
work of Christ for the sins of mankind.
Only through coming to know Christ as Lord and Savior can men come to
know God and be accepted by Him.
2.3.
Jesus however acted as man’s “Federal Head” also when He died upon the
cross of
3.
VS 15:23 - “23 But each in his own order: Christ
the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming,” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that there is an order in those who will be resurrected, first
Christ is resurrected, then those who are Christ’s at His coming
3.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians in this verse that there is to be an order
in regard to those who are to be resurrected by the Lord. Christ Himself was first resurrected three
days after His death on the cross, and everyone one of His followers will be
resurrected when He comes the second time for His church, at that event known
as “The Rapture.”
3.2.
“The Rapture” of the church is written of in the scriptures.
3.2.1. 1 Thess. 4:16-17 tells us what will happen
when Christ returns for His church, “16 For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet
of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.17 Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
3.2.1.1.The word “rapture” is the
Latin word that is used in the Latin Vulgate translation of the scripture for
this word translated as, “caught up.”
4.
VS 15:24-25 - “24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and
Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must
reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that after all believers are resurrected that the end times
will come when Christ delivers up the kingdom to God the Father
4.1.
Here is the timeline of prophetic events yet to occur upon the earth (assuming a Pre-millennial
Pre-tribulation Eschatology):
4.1.1. At the resurrection of
believers at “The
Rapture,”
the end of this present epoch of the “Church Age” will have occurred.
4.1.2. Then, at some point after
“The Rapture” the
7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation will occur.
4.1.3. Christ’s ‘Second Coming’ will occur right at the end
of the 7 Year Tribulation.
4.1.4. Then, the Millennial Reign of
Christ upon the earth will occur.
4.1.4.1.During that time, Christ’s
kingdom will rule upon earth from
4.1.5. At the end of the thousand year
reign of Christ, Satan will be unleashed for a season and will lead a rebellion against
Christ,
however the rebels will be crushed by the Lord.
4.1.6. Then, Christ will abolish all
rule, authority, and power, and He will put all His enemies under His feet.
4.1.7. The resurrection and Great
White Throne Judgment of nonbelievers will occur after this rebellion is
crushed by Christ, and then after that, all of the demons along with all of the
people who were not God’s people in their lifetime will be thrown into the lake
of fire where they will spend eternity.
5.
VS 15:26 - “26 The last enemy that will be
abolished is death.” - Paul tells us that the last enemy of mankind,
death, will finally once and for all be abolished
5.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians in this verse that Christ is to rule until
He has abolished all of His enemies, and the last enemy to be abolished is
‘death’ itself.
5.2.
On the earth during the Millennial Reign of Christ we read in the Old
Testament prophets that people will die but that they will die of a ripe old
age and probably only from natural causes.
5.3.
‘Death’ is to be abolished by the resurrection of the dead to new
bodies which will never grow old, decay, or perish.
5.4.
In this chapter, Paul is primarily talking about resurrection as it
applies to believers, however there is also to be a resurrection to judgment
and damnation to occur for nonbelievers.
5.5.
I believe that those who live natural lives during the 7 Year
Tribulation and on into the Millennial Reign of Christ must at some point also
be resurrected, otherwise they would have hope in Christ only in this life and
this does not appear to be God’s desire for people living in any era of time.
6.
VS 15:27-28 - “27 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 excepted who put all things in
subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself
also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may
be all in all.” - Paul tells us that when Christ has finally
put all things in subjection to Himself that He will place Himself in
subjection to God the Father
6.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians in these verses that there is one exception
to Christ’s subjecting of all things to Himself when He comes again and
abolishes all rule and authority, and that is that He Himself will become
subject to God the Father.
6.2.
When Jesus was upon earth, He often talked about His being in
subjection to the Father, and from these verses we can see that this is to be
the case also for eternity.
6.2.1. It is wonderful to see that
there is no competition in the godhead.
All persons in the godhead live to be subservient to each other.
6.2.2. In love, Christ will not
hold onto that which He has conquered, rather He in turn will turn it all over
to God the Father and be in subjection to Him.
7.
VS 15:29 - “29 Otherwise, what will those do who
are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they
baptized for them?” - Paul asks the Corinthians a rhetorical
question of how if they did not believe that the dead would be raised from the
dead, why then were some baptizing for the dead?
7.1.
This verse has raised a lot of controversy, and it belongs in that group
of verses called the ‘difficult Bible passages’. The Mormons have built a whole false theology
and practice because of this one verse in the Bible. We will never know everything about why this
verse appears in this text, however we must consider what we do know from this text:
7.1.1. This is the only verse in
the entire Bible that mentions being baptized for a dead person.
7.1.2. One of the important things
to keep in mind whenever interpreting the Bible is that God is consistent and
immutable, and therefore He does not contradict Himself. Whenever one is attempting to interpret the
Bible, he must keep in mind what the rest of the Bible says about that
particular subject. If the ‘lake of
truth’ in God’s word teaches a certain thing, and you find one verse that
seems to contradict the flow of that lake, then you must realize that you are
trying to interpret that passage wrongly.
Then, you must find a way to interpret that passage according the flow
of the ‘lake of truth’ of the word.
7.1.3. Paul does not command the
Corinthians to ‘baptize’ for those who have died. In fact, in one place in this book, Paul
tells them that there are a bunch of things that he will set in order when he
next visits them. This may have been a
further error in their understanding that Paul did not attempt to put straight
in this letter, waiting for a time to do that in person.
7.1.4. We know that God’s word
teaches that baptism
is not essential for salvation.
7.1.5. We likewise know that the Bible does not teach
‘baptismal regeneration’. The thief on the cross was
saved without being baptized. Paul told
the Corinthians that God did not call him to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and if baptism were essential for salvation, he would have baptized everyone
who received Jesus from his preaching.
In the book of Acts when Peter was preaching the gospel to the Gentile
household of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit fell upon the household and they were
saved, and as a result Peter felt that it must be ok now to baptize them, which
he did.
7.1.6. Since baptism is not
essential for salvation, perhaps the Corinthians were not performing a ceremony
in order to effect the salvation of a departed Christian loved one who had
never been baptized, but perhaps they were being baptized for dead loved ones simply to honor
and remember them.
7.1.7. Some people surmise that a
literal baptism may not have been what Paul was referring to.
7.1.8. All we can really conclude
from a close look at this one verse is that the Corinthians were doing something
unusual in baptizing for the dead.
8.
VS 15:30 - “30 30 Why are we also in danger every
hour?” - Paul asks the Corinthians why it is that they
were always in danger?
8.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians in this verse that it if the dead are not to
be raised one day, then why would he and the rest of the apostles risk their
lives every hour?
8.2.
Paul himself risked far more than mere persecution as he journeyed from
city to city and across oceans in order to proclaim the gospel and plant
churches all over the world.
8.3.
It would be completely futile for Paul to always risk what he did in
his missionary journeys if there were not a hope for Christians after the
grave.
9.
VS 15:31-32 - “31 I protest, brethren, by the boasting
in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If from
human motives I fought with wild beasts at
9.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians in verse 31 that he could boast in them that
he would be able to tell them the truth and know that they would receive it,
and continue to love and respect him and his position as an apostle of Christ’s
church.
9.2.
As a result of knowing that he could tell them the truth, Paul tells
them, ‘I die daily’. Paul died to self
(his old sinful nature) and the resurrected Christ lived through his life every
day of the week.
9.2.1. In Rom. 6:11, Paul
exhorted us as Christians that we are to moment by moment “reckon our old man dead
to sin and our new man as raised up to walk in the newness of life” in Christ, “11
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ
Jesus.”
9.2.1.1.This means that we are to consider
it a fact that our old nature has been crucified in time past (it was nailed to
the cross with Christ), and that we have also been made alive to God in Christ
Jesus. Having considered it a fact, we
are to in faith act upon that as being true in our lives.
9.2.2. What is to the majority of
us Christians today mostly textbook, was to Paul mostly the reality of his
daily experience. He daily lived mostly
in the resurrection life of Christ.
9.2.2.1.Perhaps most of us as
Christians know that we are supposed to die to ourselves, however in our daily
living many tend to see little of the results of a resurrected life. The flesh tends to rule Christian’s lives
rather than the Holy Spirit. However,
for the apostle Paul it was much more the case in his daily living that the old
nature was crucified and he was walking in that resurrection life in
Christ.
9.2.2.2.Do you die to self and to
sin each day of your life as Paul did?
You ought to follow Paul’s godly example and live that way!
9.2.2.3.The resurrection of Christ
should be evidenced as part of the normal daily living of God’s people because
we have been made alive spiritually with Christ!
9.3.
Paul had no selfish motive for going around preaching the gospel,
teaching the resurrection of the dead.
9.4.
Paul tells them in verse 32 that he has even had to fight wild beasts
at
1.1.1. This fighting with wild
beasts could be a reference to:
1.1.1.1.His having suffered in
Ephesus the sort of torture of Christians which the Romans later performed when
they would throw Christians into an arena filled with lions, bears, or some
other predatory animal.
1.1.1.1.1.However, we have no
reference to this sort of thing having occurred with Paul in
1.1.1.2.The crazy mob of people who
attempted to kill Paul in
9.4.1.1.1.In Acts 19:23-41, we
read that after a very productive ministry in the city of Ephesus that the
apostle Paul was almost killed by an angry and violent mob that erupted, “23
And about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way.24
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of
Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen;25 these he gathered
together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our
prosperity depends upon this business.26 “And you see and hear that not only in
Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a
considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at
all.27 “And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into
disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as
worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship should even be
dethroned from her magnificence.”28 And when they heard this and were filled
with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the
Ephesians!”29 And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with
one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s
traveling companions from Macedonia.30 And when Paul wanted to go into the
assembly, the disciples would not let him.31 And also some of the Asiarchs who
were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into
the theater.32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the
assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know for what cause they
had come together.33 And some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since
the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was
intending to make a defense to the assembly.34 But when they recognized that he
was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two
hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”35 And after quieting the multitude,
the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not
know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great
Artemis, and of the image which fell down from heaven?36 “Since then these are
undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.37 “For you
have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers
of our goddess.38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him
have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are
available; let them bring charges against one another.39 “But if you want
anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.40 “For indeed
we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s affair,
since there is no real cause for it; and in this connection we shall be unable
to account for this disorderly gathering.”41 And after saying this he dismissed
the assembly.”
1.1.1.2.1.This would mean then that
Paul was describing the people in
1.1.1.2.1.1.2 Peter 2:12: “12 But these, like
unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed,
reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those
creatures also be destroyed.”
9.4.1.1.1.1.Jude 10: “10 But these men revile the things which
they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like
unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.”
9.4.1.2.Some other experience not
recorded in the book of Acts or mentioned directly in any of his epistles.
9.4.1.2.1.We do know for instance from
2 Corinthians that Paul had something that was so difficult happen to him in
Ephesus that it caused them to even despair of life itself, and this event
caused Paul to change his travel plans to visit the Corinthians.
9.5.
Paul’s point here is that none of the things that Paul suffered or
labored to perform in ministry were any profit to him if the dead were not to
be raised from the dead.
9.6.
Paul tells the Corinthians that if the dead are not to be raised, then
we all may just as well “party hearty” and live for the things of this word,
‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’.
10.
VS 15:33-34 - “33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company
corrupts good morals." 34 Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop
sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” - Paul exhorts the Corinthians about the fact
that who a person hangs around with can cause his morals to be corrupted
10.1. Paul knew that there were
some in the church in
10.1.1.We see from the book of 2
Corinthians that Paul finds out not only that there were some in the Corinthian
church who had committed sexual immorality, but that there were some others who
were continuing to do so. This will then
prompt Paul shortly after the writing of this letter to pay an immediate visit
to the church to make a difficult confrontation of those who were continuing to
live in sexual immorality.
10.2. Paul in these two verses
stops in order to suggest practical applications of the things that he has said
to the Corinthians in this chapter. He
tells them that they should not allow anyone to deceive them from the truth
that if a Christian hangs around a lot with ungodly people, then those people
will wear off on them, and the people’s morals will become their morals.
10.3. In verse 34, Paul tells the
Corinthians that as a result of contemplation of these truths concerning the
verity of the resurrection of the dead for all true Christians, that they ought
to ‘become sober-minded’, which means that they ought to have a reality
check.
10.3.1.If each true Christian is
going to be resurrected by Christ, then he ought to try to the best of his or
her ability to live for the things that count, the things that will last for
eternity.
10.3.2.If a non-Christian is going
to be resurrected to damnation if he or she does not know Christ in this life,
then they ought to think ‘soberly’ and repent of their sins asking the Lord
Jesus to be their Lord and Savior.
10.4. In verse 34, Paul tells the
Corinthians to ‘stop sinning’, and the reason that he gives for this is not
only that when God’s people sin it deeply grieves the Lord, but also that some
people of this world who do not know God may as a result of a Christian’s
conduct stumble spiritually, instead of be persuaded to become a Christian and
thus have that eternal life that is promised to true believers.
10.5. We Christians must be
careful about whom we hang around with.
10.5.1.We can and must be witnesses
to the people of this world, but we must be very careful about how much time
and what sort of time we spend with non-Christians, especially non-Christians
that are into very ungodly habits.
10.5.2.We often think that we will
be able to change our non-Christian friends, however if we spend too much time
with them or the wrong kind of time with them, we will be changed not
them.
10.5.3.I usually don’t recommend
that a single Christian have a non-Christian as a roommate. The reason is that the Christian is in too
close of proximity to the non-Christian and his lifestyle habits, and what
usually happens in these situations is that the Christian will stumble in his
walk instead of influence the non-Christian for Christ.
10.5.4.I also always try to talk a
Christian out of dating or marrying a non-Christian for the same reasons: if you do so you are going to have a
struggle to keep your morals from being corrupted.
10.5.4.1.Paul has already exhorted
them not to be bound together with non-believers.
10.6. When we Christians consider
the fact that one day we shall be resurrected and stand before the Lord for a
judgment of rewards, then we should be persuaded not to live a life of sin in
this world. We shall one day be ashamed
of our life if we have not lived it as the Lord would have us to do.
11.
VS 15:35 - “35 But someone will say, "How are
the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"” - Paul asks
a question that someone might ask concerning what type of body those who are
raised in Christ will have?
11.1. In this next section of
chapter 15, Paul answers the questions that some have wondered concerning what
type of body that Christians shall have in the resurrection, and how their body
can and will be transformed by God?
11.2. Some of the Corinthians
could not understand how that God would be able to transform their earthly
bodies into a resurrection body, and therefore they were believing and teaching
others that there was to be no resurrection of the dead.
12.
VS 15:36-38 - “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.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that their present body has to die in order for the new
resurrected body to be created
12.1. In these verses, Paul uses
as an analogy of how the body is to be changed by God in the resurrection. The
example is that of seed that is sown by a farmer in order to grow a crop.
12.1.1.Paul tells the Corinthians
that a seed is not the actual crop that is to be grown, but is of a different
nature itself.
12.1.2.The seed is thrown into the
ground and it dies.
12.1.3.Next, after it has died the
seed comes to life as something new, the actual crop itself.
12.1.4.In the same way, Christians’
earthly bodies are similar but different than their resurrected bodies shall
be. And even though their bodies die
physically, and are placed in a grave, in due time when God resurrects their
body, it shall be reformed from out of the grave to be the actual perfected
resurrection body they shall possess for eternity.
12.2. Christians will likewise
receive a resurrection body like that of Jesus body, and Jesus’ body after His
resurrection was different in many ways than His earthly body.
12.2.1.In His resurrection body
Jesus was not recognized by any disciples unless He revealed His identity to
them.
12.2.2.Jesus was able to go through
walls and appear or disappear at any time.
12.2.3.Jesus was able to eat food
yet didn’t require it.
12.2.4.Jesus ascended in that body up
to heaven in the sight of many witnesses.
13.
VS 15:39 - “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.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that every type of animal has a different type of flesh
13.1. In this verse, Paul reminds
the Corinthians that their God is a very diverse creator who can create
creatures of infinite varieties. They
should not assume that God cannot have the ability to resurrect their bodies to
be of a gloried form.
13.2. When we Christians observe
the wonder of the diversity of God’s creations, we ought to know that He is
almighty and therefore able to do all that He has promised to do. He surely has the power to create resurrected
bodies for each and every believer in Christ.
14.
VS 15:40-44 - “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; 44 it
is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural
body, there is also a spiritual body.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians of the unique properties that their resurrected bodies will
have
14.1. In this section of
scriptures, Paul uses God’s creation of the various elements of the universe in
order to teach about the resurrected bodies of saints.
14.1.1.Paul says that there is a
difference between the glories of earthly bodies, such of those of the various
species on our planet, and those of the heavenly bodies, such as stars and
planets.
14.1.2.There is also a difference
between the glory of the sun, moon, and other stars.
14.2. In the same way, there will
be a difference between the glory of a Christian’s resurrected body verses
their earthly body.
14.2.1.The earthly body perishes,
or dies and must be buried, however the resurrected body will live
forever.
14.2.2.The earthly body is ‘sown in
dishonor’, or when the body breaks down and finally gives out, it has lost all
of its excellence, power, grace, and honor.
14.2.3.However, the resurrected
body is to be raised up in glory which shall never be tarnished in any
way.
14.2.4.The earthly body is ‘sown in
weakness’, or the body eventually dies because of its inherent weaknesses.
14.2.5.However, the resurrection
body will be raised to have power and never suffer any weaknesses.
14.2.6.The earthly body is sown a
natural body, or it is a natural body made from the dust of this very
earth.
14.2.7.However, the resurrected
body will be a spiritual body made up of God’s very own spiritual power and
essence.
14.3. In 1 John 3:2-3, we
learn that our resurrected body which we will receive will be a body just like
Christ’s resurrected body, “2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it
has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we
shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.3 And everyone who
has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
14.3.1.Note in these verses that
the apostle John tells us that everyone who has this kind of a hope for his
future will “continually” (present tense) purify himself to be just like Jesus.
14.3.2.If we are obedient
Christians laboring diligently for Him because we love Him, then we can have
assurance that we will receive the reward of glory which He promises for all
our labor. Therefore, we ought to strive
to obtain the greatest glory in our resurrected state by our diligence and
obedience to the Lord.