The Future Hope of the Resurrection

Main Idea

The resurrection of Jesus is your anchor of hope in this life and the next.

Introduction

Last week, we reviewed four accomplishments made by the resurrection of Jesus. Much of that pertained to our life in the here and now. Today, we will discuss what that means for the future and to get a better sense of what that means, I want to tell you about a man named Polycarp.

Polycarp was an Apostolic Father, which means he was a leader in the church who was from the generation just after the 12 Apostles, reportedly discipled from the Apostle John. He ministered as the Bishop of Smyrna during a time where christians were being persecuted and executed in horrific ways like being torn apart by wild beasts in the Roman arena.

Polycarp was eventually arrested, and brought into one of these areas. The Roman proconsul gave him a way out by renouncing his faith, which he would not do. Then, after many threats, he was bound to a stake and threatened again or else be burned. That is the platform where he gave his famous speech:

The Apostolic Fathers The Martyrdom of Polycarp

“Lord God Almighty, Father of thy beloved and blessed Servant Jesus Christ, through whom we have received full knowledge of thee, ‘the God of angels and powers and all creation’ and of the whole race of the righteous who live in thy presence: 2I bless thee, because thou hast deemed me worthy of this day and hour, to take my part in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, for ‘resurrection to eternal life’ of soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit; among whom may I be received in thy presence this day as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, just as thou hast prepared and revealed beforehand and fulfilled, thou that art the true God without any falsehood. 3For this and for everything I praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Servant, through whom be glory to thee with him and Holy Spirit both now and unto the ages to come. Amen.”

After he had finished speaking, the wood was set on fire and Polycarp was burned alive without resistance and when the fire didn’t kill him, he was finally stabbed to death.

I tell this story so that we understand that the power of the resurrection reaches beyond this life. As the familiar song asks: “What is our hope in life and death?”

Today, we will discover four anchors of hope (found in 1 Cor. 15) that you can cling to for the future and how it impacts your life today.

Outline

I - The necessity of the resurrection (vv. 12-22)

II - The future hope for a bodily resurrection (vv. 36-43)

III - The future reality of Jesus’s rule (vv. 22-28)

IV - Final Exhortation (vv. 54-58)

I - The necessity of the resurrection (vv. 12-22)

At the beginning of this chapter, Paul opens up with one of the clearest definitions the gospel - that in accordance with the scriptures Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day. Then afterward, Jesus appeared to his disciples, 500 + witness, then finally to Paul himself.

That is a pretty solid attention-getter.

Then, Paul goes on to describe just how crucial the resurrection is to the christian life. Not only is it important, but it is wholly necessary. It is at the core of our faith. Let’s read it together:

1 Corinthians 15:12–22 ESV

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

If the resurrection is false, Jesus has not been raised

This is a heavy statement, argued from the negative perspective. Instead of talking about the benefits of the resurrection, Paul explains the negative implications if resurrections don’t happen. If it’s true that the dead are not raised… that any account of a bodily resurrection is false and misleading… then by implication, that reality must apply to Jesus. If people do not rise from the dead, there can be no exceptions.

Maybe that bothers you, or maybe it doesn’t… but it should. You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, does the resurrection really matter? If he died for our sins, doesn’t His sacrifice still apply to us regardless of a resurrection?

At first glance, that logic makes sense. If the sacrifice was made, then what does it really matter what happens after that. However, as we see in this passage, and as we touched on last week, it makes all the difference in the world!

Last week, we discovered two reasons why this matters. First, Jesus acted in two capacities: the sacrifice and the High Priest who offers the sacrifice. He offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb on Friday, but still had to raise on Sunday so he could be alive to ascend to the Father and present His sacrifice. Second, Jesus predicted His death, so if He didn’t fulfill that prophecy, he would be a false prophet… meaning he was a lier. Lying is a sin, and if Jesus sinned, he could not be the spotless sacrificial lamb.

Paul strikes that very same chord here in this passage, specifically in verse 17, when he says that if Christ had not been raised (not just sacrificed), then you are still in your sins.

If Jesus hasn’t been raised, you won’t be either

That reality is grim enough, but Paul doesn’t stop at our sinfulness. Living an entire lifetime of being stained by sin is bad.

Living a life that is futile and meaningless is also pretty terrible. Not only was Paul’s ministry a waste, but your faith is lived in vein. It doesn’t matter in the slightest. You have put all your eggs in the wrong basket, because Jesus’ death affected absolutely nothing. Your faith is futile and no one on planet earth should be pitted more than christians.

Why? Because we dedicated our entire lives to a lie and it ultimately meant nothing, because there is no life after death. Your loved ones that have gone before you are simply gone and you hope for a future that is a fiction.

How’s that for grim?

And what’s worse, you are misrepresenting God

But, that still isn’t rock bottom. Even though Jesus proved to be a false prophet, there is still a God that is to be worshiped. And, because you recognized Jesus as God, accepted His teachings, and falsely taught others that this God raised Jesus from the dead, then you are guilty of misrepresenting the true and living God, which is an egregious offense.

What do you think the punishment is for bearing false witness to a holy God is?

But...

Thank the Lord there is a ‘but!’

If there is no resurrection of the dead, all of those horrible things are our fate… BUT the truth is, Jesus WAS raised from the dead, which means our lives have the opposite affect. Because Jesus was our spotless sacrifice and raised from the dead, our faith is powerfully lived out with purpose and compounding fruitfulness for the present time and the life to come. If it is true that in Adam’s sin we all die (because the wages of sin is death), then it is also true that in Christ’s resurrection, then you will be made spiritually alive for all time.

And, we don’t misrepresent God, but declare him faithfully and truthfully.

The resurrection of Jesus is your anchor of hope in this life and the next.

This also means that if we are the ones who have it right, then the people who reject Jesus are living in these grim circumstances. Outside of Christ, your life culminates into nothing. Everything you have ever done and attained is ultimately meaningless, because the only thing that is eternal is God’s Kingdom. That should be a solid anchor of hope for your future… that there will be one because Jesus rose again. And, that should also light a fire in each one of us to start having conversations with unbelieving friends and family.

The necessity of the resurrection is our first anchor of hope.

II - The future hope of a bodily resurrection (vv. 36-43)

Now, we are going to lunge forward to verse 36, so we can continue the conversation for the second anchor that the resurrection gives to us.

The first point speaks to necessity of the resurrection, because if Jesus wasn’t raised, we won’t be either. This next section continues to flesh out what that means for us in the next life. Let’s read together:

1 Corinthians 15:36–43 ESV

36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of 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 is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.

You must die in order to live

As odd as it may seem to say, the power of the resurrection is that we get to die… in order that life itself might be fully realized. The hope of the resurrection is that WHEN we die, the concept of sowing and reaping will come into full effect.

Paul communicates this concept in agricultural terms. He asks his readers (then and now) to consider what happens when a seed is plated. First, the seed itself has its own form. It is tiny. It has an outer shell with all the necessary ingredients inside to become what it was designed to become. Watermelon seeds will become watermelon plants that produce watermelons. Watermelons are different from chili peppers, which are different from oak trees. Each seed has its own shape and form, and then becomes something more once it is sown into the ground and dies.

Likewise, all of existence has its own form: birds, animals, fish, and humans. Each of these categories has its own appearance and form on earth. For humans, when we die, our physical bodies are planted into the ground, just like seeds. Our mortal bodies die, but for those who are in Christ, we will rise again in a different form… the form that we were designed to become.

We will resurrect… bodily. We won’t be disembodied spirits floating out there in the ether or sitting on puffy clouds. When Christ comes, we will have resurrected bodies that have a different glory than that of our earthly bodies. So men, while it is great to stay in the gym and maintain those rock-hard abs, do so in light of the fact that those abs will rot in the grave one day. Be a good steward of the body God has given you, but know that the resurrected body will have its own form of glory that isn’t like the fleshly one, just like the beauty of the sun is different from the moon or the stars, so don’t go overboard on it. Don’t invest too much in what will rot. Invest in what will last forever.

The glory of Jesus’ resurrection is the anchoring hope that we will also have resurrected bodies and forever live with Him.

The perishable will become imperishable

And that resurrected body will be perfect.

Your mortal body is frail. Once Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world, all of creation, including your physical body was corrupted by sin’s curse. It is now perishable. It is weak and dishonored by a lifetime of sin’s impact, but it won’t always be that way.

When Christ comes back and we are raised, that which was sown:

as perishable

in dishonor

in weakness

mortal

corrupted

will be raised...

imperishable

in glory

in power

immortal

incorruptible

In short, we will be like Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus is your anchor of hope in this life and the next.

And that is a sturdy anchor both for us, and all of us who have lost someone in the faith.

III - The future reality of Jesus’ rule (vv. 22-28)

This will sound familiar to those of you who were here last week, because this section of scripture boasts of Jesus’ ultimate reign. Last week, we touched on the concept of God’s Kingdom being NOW and NOT YET. Jesus is already ruling and reigning presently, however, His rule is not yet fully realized. In the meantime, there is a progressive act of everything being put under His feet. That is precisely what is in view again here in 1 Cor. 15.

1 Corinthians 15:22–28 ESV

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

In Adam, we all die. In Christ we all shall be made live (the future tense indicating the full realization of our spiritual, resurrected bodies). The order of events is: (1) Jesus as the firstfruits, and (2) all believers. As we live in the tension of the NOW and the NOT YET, two things are happening:

All believers are becoming believers

That is the connotation of verse 23. Jesus has already resurrected, so that part is complete.

Later, all believers are resurrected at His 2nd coming. As it stands now, not all believers believe yet. Had Jesus returned in the 5th century, you and I wouldn’t be here. Selfishly, I praise God that Jesus didn’t return prior to 1982 when I was born or in 2000 when I was born again, or else I wouldn’t get to enjoy eternity with Him. We don’t know the day or the hour of His return, but when He does, the fulness of believers will have believed because the end will come and we will resurrect.

This is encouraging news for us, but it should also put a sense of urgency in our hearts to go out and evangelize, because we should all want everyone to have what we have now and long for the future, anchoring hope for the future.

Human history is putting all things under Jesus’ feet

Did you catch the wording in verse 25? Jesus must reign (confirming His current rulership right now in human history), until he has put all his enemies under his feet. That is exactly what we talked about earlier while referencing Ps. 110:1. It is true that Jesus holds authority over all things now, but not all enemies are destroyed yet. The tares have been sown among the wheat and Jesus allows them to both grow together, but the day of reaping will come when the wheat is collected to the Master and the tares are gathered and burned. And, according to verse 26, this is when the last enemy - death - will finally be defeated. Then follows verse 27, reiterating that all things are in subjection to Him - referencing the Ephesian passage we read last week. And when that day comes, Jesus gloriously hands the Kingdom over the Father.

Is that not beautiful? The third anchoring hope of the Resurrection is that Jesus lives to rule and reign, which will be fully realized at his second coming, where you and I will be bodily resurrected to witness it firsthand, because the resurrection of Jesus is your anchor of hope in this life and the next.

These first three anchors are all future hopes (with some present-day application), but this final anchor of hope equally applies to now and in the future.

IV- Final Exhortation (vv. 54-58)

Paul ends this section on the resurrection with some encouraging words. These are victories you and I can carry with us every moment over every day.

1 Corinthians 15:54–58 ESV

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

The sting of death is defeated

As we just discussed, death itself is (1) already under Jesus’ authority and (2) will eventually be defeated at His second coming. That has already been stated by Paul. What he is now saying is that even the sting of death is removed from the believer. This is pulled from two Old Testament passages:

Isa 25:8 - the sign of the new age to come

Hosea 13:14 - the sting - or the bitter, painful impact of death on the believer. When a poisonous snake strikes, there is prolonged pain and swelling, and when the venom has gone untreated and has had its full affect, you die.

But, in Christ, even the sting of death is removed in light of Jesus’ victory. We will certainly experience sadness when we lose someone we love, but because Jesus lives, we know they live and when we die, we will see them again. There is no ultimate separation from Jesus or our loved ones who are in Him, therefore, death has no real power to its punch.

Be Immovable

Paul ends this discussion with an exhortation… a takeaway for us to act on, so I thought that would be an appropriate way to end our time together. As he does often, he says, “therefore.” That is a connecting word which means that we are to take the following action based on the previous information.

In light of the resurrection: your future hope and Jesus’ realized rule… therefore...

Be steadfast

(unshifting, settled, self-controlled, and inwardly secure).

Immovable

(unmovable, rooted, secure, unshaken, the immovable object clashing with the unstoppable force)

Abounding in the work of the Lord

(unstoppable in your mission)

Knowing your labor isn’t in vain

(confident in God’s ability to bear fruit through all of your work and circumstances)

And that is what I want for us… that as you learn more and more about the impact the resurrection has on your life and witness, that your faith will be steadfast and immovable by the current culture and secular wisdom… that your work in the Lord will only continue to increase as you live out your faith inside and outside of the church… and that you will discern how God is using your work and experiences.