1 Corinthians 15:20-23

Date: May 4, 2025

Title: In Christ shall all be Made Alive

Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

INTRODUCTION

Considering the implications of the believer’s union with Christ.

Comes to the forefront in V. 22 = “… In Christ all shall be made alive.”

“In Christ” = Language of union: spiritual union, personal union, vital union.

Benefits we receive as a result of this union with Christ we share.

That’s the primary theme.

There’s a reason why he gets into this here.

Very much connected to what came before.

V. 11-19 = Began to address an issue the Corinthians were confused about.

Believers will not participate in any bodily resurrection.

No future resurrection of the dead.

To counteract this false idea, Paul responds to that charge in a few different ways in this chapter.

As of last week, we saw:

V. 11-19 = Demonstrated the untenability of maintaining the position that Christ was raised but believers won’t be raised.

Betrays logic.

If the implications of that position were consistently followed through, it would entail that not even Christ was raised.

Destroy the entire Christian message.

Gospel would be reduced to ashes.

Faith would be vain. Left in our sins. The grounds of all hope would be lost.

V. 11-19 = Showed the negative consequences for denying the resurrection of the dead.

Serious matter.

Deadly consequences.

But whereas V. 11-19 deals with a negative denial; V. 20-23 deals with a positive affirmation.

First he deals with a hypothetical scenario.

“If Christ has not been raised,” then this is what the implications are.

After arguing in that manner… makes a transition to deal in the realm of reality.

“Since Christ has been raised,” here’s what the implications are…

Both passages are dealing with the same issue, but they’re dealing with them in different ways.

First he showed them how denying the resurrection of the dead must result in a denial of the resurrection of Christ.

Now he’s going to show them how affirming the resurrection of Christ (which we all agree on) must result in affirming the resurrection of dead.

The main reason for that, as we shall soon see, is because we are united to the risen Christ.

So with that, let’s now look at Paul’s positive case for the resurrection of the dead.

Three things Paul wants to get us thinking about:

1 - The order of the resurrection

2 - The fate of the first Adam

3 - The benefits of the last Adam

1 - The Order of the Resurrection

Read V. 20.

“Fact” - Whenever we speak about the resurrection, we’re speaking about something that is to be categorized as a fact.

The historicity of this event is not up for grabs.

It’s not like you go either way on this one.

Doesn’t treat the resurrection as something that may or may not have happened, as if the resurrection belongs in the realm of possibility.

The resurrection belongs to the realm of certainty.

Not just a liklihood, it’s a reality that demands our trust.

Jesus has been raised as the firstfruits…

“Firstfruits” - First in the order of the entire resurrection harvest.

This concept is rooted in the feast of firstfruits—one of Israel’s holy days.

Every year—early spring—they celebrated God’s provision and faithfulness by offering the first yield of their harvest to God.

This is what they were mandated to do in the law.

On the day after the Sabbath following the Passover feast, Moses instructed them to offer a sheaf of first grain to the Lord.

(More to it) This feast actually consisted of two stages: 1) The waving of the sheaves before the Lord, 2) A series of sacrifices—both of which were offered to the Lord as an act of dedication.

Fundamentally, that’s what this feast was—a feast of dedication.

When the priest waved the sheaf of firstfruits before the Lord, it was a sign that the entire harvest belonged to Him.

The firstfruits was a token of thanksgiving.

They recognized that the firstfruits offered to the Lord was a pledge of a much greater harvest God would give them.

So it is with the resurrection of Christ.

He is the guarentee of a much greater harvest to come.

Christ is the firstfruits to be sure! But His own unique resurrection is an irrefutable sign that a forthcoming resurrection on a mass scale is on its way for all those who belong to Him.

Paul is explicit about this.

Details the particular order by which this will occur.

Read V. 23.

God cares about order.

He does things in stages.

There is a definite sequence of events through which God chooses to display His glory.

First, with the resurrection of Christ.

That’s the first stage.

He’s the firstfruits.

He comes first.

In the the drama of redemption, He gets prime of place.

He’s on the front page of the paper, but if you keep reading to the end… you find out He’s going to do something marvelous for His people.

The same power with which He was raised is the same power that will be manifested in the raising up of His people when He comes again.

That’ll be phase two.

That’ll be the second stage.

The second stage is the final stage.

It’s the consumation.

It’s the wrapping up of all things here below.

It’s the restoration of all things.

Such restoration has already begun in Christ now; when He comes again it will be brought to completion once and for all.

This is what we have to look forward to church.

This isn’t an event we need to doubt.

Shouldn’t doubt our participation in the future resurrection of the dead anymore than we would doubt the resurrection of Christ!

His is the guarentee of ours!

Christ’s resurrection is God’s assurance to us that one day we shall all be raised, as those who have been dedicated by Christ to be part of that resurrection harvest.

That’s why Paul refers to dead Christians as “those who have fallen asleep.”

Metaphorical way of saying that we’re not going to be in the grave forever.

At God’s appointed time, our bodies shall awake, but only at His appointed time…until then they remain dorment. They must sleep the sleep of death.

This is the lot of all humanity. Nobody is excluded from this.

We all must die, because we all trace our lineage back to our forefather, Adam, who incurred this curse upon us.

Paul spoke to this in V. 21. Look at that verse as we consider:

2 - The fate of the First Adam

V. 21a, “For as by a man came death…”

V. 22, “For as in Adam all die…”

The fate of the first Adam, including all those who belong to him is death.

Adam’s fall had implications for all humanity.

Wasn’t an isolated individual whose actions only affected him.

Affected all creation.

The curse of sin, and the result of sin, which is death, entered the world through one’s man’s disobedience.

Adam stood in a unique position.

He was the representative head of the human race.

When he fell, the whole tree came crashing down with him.

Paul Barnett, “The ‘seed’ of every man and woman in history was present in Adam, so that all people owe their life and their physical descent to that man. But because of his sin, Adam’s ‘seed’ was infected with the fatal virus called ‘Death’ so that all people must die.”

That’s what Paul is affirming.

The inescapable fate of humanity is death.

It’s a plague that cannot be ignored.

It’s a virus that cannot be avoided.

We all must die, because we have all sinned in Adam.

This is something you have to acknowledge.

You can run from it for a while, but it’s going to catch up to you.

You will grow older.

Your body will begin to deteriorate.

May also be the case that death’s sting catches you off guard at a moment you’re not prepared for it.

This happens all the time.

Fleeting as life already is, sometimes it’s even cut shorter than expected.

It’s that fast!

Our walk through this life is sometimes no more than a step.

We take a step in this world, and walk into the next.

We’re here for a moment and we’re gone in the next.

The years of our life are seventy; by reason of strength, sometimes, 80.

But not much more than that.

Oftentimes a lot less than that.

What’s the point? We’re all going to die!

Might not think much about it, but you should.

Once it arrives it’s too late.

No second changes.

Appointed to man once to die, and after that comes the judgment.

You need to be ready for that day.

Repent… Believe… if you don’t, death will swallow you up in victory.

Only way to defeat death is to be united to the one who defeated it.

And there is someone who has has defeated it.

Look again at V. 21-22 as we consider:

3 - The Benefits of the Last Adam

Read V. 21-22.

One man brought death.

Another man brought life and immortality!

In fact, He brought a lot of other things.

That’s why I emphasize the benefits (plural) of Christ.

Even though this passage only emphasizes one major benefit, namely, resurrection.

There are many other benefits we receive as a result of being united to the last Adam.

Benefits that we experience now and benefits that we’ll experience later.

I want to show you what I mean by this.

Two passages in the NT that draw a contrast between these two federal heads of humanity. These two Adam’s. As we think about the benefits of the last Adam, I want us to think about what we receive in Him now and what we will receive later.

1 Corinthians 15 emphasizes the benefits we receive later.

Romans 5 emphasizes the benefits we receive now.

Read Romans 5:15-19.

Paul is putting a potlight on the amazing gift we receive in Christ right now.

The first Adam brought condemnation and death.

His one trespass led to ruin.

The last Adam has brought justification and life.

This is what we receive in Him now.

If you are united to Christ by faith, you are justified.

His righteousness is your righteousness!

It’s not something you need to wait for!

If you are in Christ, there is no condemnation.

In Christ is the key.

There’s no universalism here.

That’s what Paul means in V. 18, “so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”

“All men” = a) Qualified by those who receive it (V. 17). b) All those in Christ is a smaller category of persons.

You belong to the first Adam through physical birth.

You only belong to Christ through spiritual birth.

Which isn’t true of everyone.

Same thing going on in 1 Cor 15.

I flag this… sometimes people try to claim the Bible teaches universalism...

Not only does that contradict hundreds of other passages.

But it also requires a complete misreading of these passages.

There’s nothing difficult about this.

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

The “all” is qualified by the one to whom you belong.

In Adam you’re going to die.

In (only) Christ you’ll live.

Here, is emphasizing the future aspect of our union with Christ.

We’ve considered what we already receive in Him now.

Justified, spiritual life, forgiveness, adoption, many other things.

Paul is emphasizing something we get in the future.

When it comes to the bodily resurrection unto life, there is an order.

First Christ, then us.

There’s an interval of time.

But we will get our turn!

So be patient. But also wait for it with eager expectation.

One day we shall all be raised!

The dead in Christ shall rise from their tombs.

Our bodies will be every bit as physical as the body of Christ.

The benefits of union with Christ are remarkable.

CONCLUSION

I want to close by asking a pertinent question.

Who do you belong to?

Are you still united to the man of death?

Or are you united to the man of the resurrection?

You are united to someone.

There’s no other altnernative here.

There only two possible positions you can be in.

The family of Adam or the family of Christ.

If Adam is your head, then all the curses of his broken covenant has affected you.

To be in Adam is to be in sin—under the power of sin. It’s to have the sentence of death ruling over you. It’s to be subject to the penalty of your sin, which is the eternal condemnation in the lake of fire. Life will not be yours / death will be yours—death in its fullest form. The second death. The eternal judgment of God is your fate.

The most a son or daughter of Adam can ever hope to experience is what this common cursed creation has to offer them. That’s it. Even then, it’s temporary.

This creation is fading away.

Its on its way out.

The old is outdated.

But the new is already shining.

The light has dawned—Christ.

Jesus is the new Adam, the better Adam, who cleaned up Adam’s mess—our mess. He dealt with our sin. He dealt a deathblow to death itself. He reversed the affects of the fall. All this He did, not only to restore us to the original paradise in Eden, but to advance us to an escalated form of glory in a new creation!

“We shall all be made alive!” We shall all be given new glorified bodies to enjoy life with God in a restored, redeemed, renewed, remade, new creation, forever.

This is the benefit of being united to Christ!

He has secured for His people an everlasting inheritance.

Goes to show you how much of a stark contrast there is between these two representative heads…

The fate of the one cannot compare to the benefits of the other.

But whose it going to be for you?

Who do you want to belong to?

Adam or Christ?

I pray you choose Christ.