A Long Awaited Return

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 ESV

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. 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.

Introduction: Our Longing for the Return

The advent season has “officially” come to a close with the arrival of Christmas. Millenia of longing, of wondering, and of eager expectation found their end in the virgin birth of a Jew named Jesus two thousand years ago. Yet although Jesus accomplished many things when he came and has accomplished many things since, we find ourselves still longing, still wondering, still hoping. Though Christ has healed the world in many ways already, there is still much death, much corruption, and much suffering. Murder still exists. Miscarriages still occur. Some people get cancer. War is always just over the horizon.

Because of these curses, Christians for the last two thousand years have been anticipating another advent: the second advent; the return of Christ to bring to completion that which he started so many centuries ago. And that is the topic of the sermon today: the long awaited return of Christ.

We will very simply be looking at 1 Corinthians 15 and asking and answering four questions:

What happens when Christ returns?

When will Christ return?

How does Christ’s kingdom relate to his return?

How should we live in the meantime?

I. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHRIST RETURNS?

Our first question is what happens when Christ returns?

Our text in 1 Corinthians speaks of at least two things: resurrection and judgement.

First, we will consider resurrection:

(A) Resurrection (v20-23)

1 Corinthians 15:20–23 ESV

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. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

1. First-fruits

The contrast between Adam and Christ is powerful: Adam brought death, Jesus brought resurrection. This doesn’t mean that every single human will experience the saving resurrection of Christ. What it means is that those who are united to Adam die, yet those united to Christ are resurrected. That is what it means to be “in” Adam or “in” Christ. We are by default born united to Adam. That is why we must be born again and united to Christ.

This Scriptures teach us that Jesus is the firstfruit of the resurrection. That means that his resurrection is the prototype of ours. So if we want to know what our resurrection is going to be like, we need only look at Christ’s.

2. Bodily Resurrection

Amongst the things we can learn from Christ about our resurrected bodies, one of the most essential is that it will be a physical body. We will have real bodies that do real things, like eat, drink, talk, and move. Listen to this passage from Luke’s gospel:

Luke 24:36–43 ESV

36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.

Real bodies that do real things, not ghostly bodies that do ghostly things.

In the past and even today, some think physical things are crude and inherently sinful somehow. But what is often neglected is that God made matter—the physicality of the universe—and he loves it. Before there was any sin at all, God made the trees, the birds, the stones, the water, and human bodies. Human bodies with hands and feet, eyes and nose, arms and legs. All of it God declared “very good”.

When we are raised from the dead, it won’t be less physical.

Remember this: grace never destroys nature; grace restores nature.

3. Sinless Resurrection

Related to this is the fact that our resurrection will free us from the presence of indwelling sin. We will be perfect as Christ is perfect. We will always want what is good and never want what is evil. We will always be content and thankful. We will always be patient with one another.

No more hurting one another, for all that is in us will by wisdom and love.

No more repenting, for there will be no failure to turn from.

No more killing sin, for it will have been slain once for all.

No more selfishness or apathy, for we will all be filled with a holy zeal to outdo one another in serving each other.

No more discontentment or boredom, for we will all be satisfied with Christ and the station he has assigned to us.

Just as Jesus is sinless, we will be sinless.

What a glorious day that will be, brothers and sisters.

4. By his wounds we are healed

Before we move on from discussing resurrection, there is one more glorious truth to consider.

Interestingly, Jesus’s resurrected body still has his scars in his hands and from where he was nailed to the cross and when he was pierced with the spear We know this from the account in John 20 when he appears to Thomas and tells him to touch his wounds in his hands, feet and side. Does this mean our resurrected bodies will carry the scars our old bodies had at death? Certainly not, for many of our people have died in gruesome ways. That would be hideous to look at, and there is nothing hideous in heaven or on the new earth. Then why do Christ’s scars still show? Because of Isaiah 53:5 which says:

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

His scars are an eternal reminder of the price of our healing. Which as absolutely incredible because everything will be so perfect on the new earth that the only thing resembling dead and suffering will be the scars of Christ.

But not all will experience this bliss. That brings us to the next consideration of what happens when Christ returns:

(B) Judgement (v24)

While the return of Christ is an unbreakable comfort for the Christian, it is also an unshakable dread for the unbeliever. The same Jesus who brings salvation to his people brings wrath to his enemies.

Verse 24 of 1 Corinthians says this:

1 Corinthians 15:24 ESV

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

When Christ returns, he will destroy every rule, authority and power. Who would that be exactly? Chiefly, it is Satan and his demons. Secondarily, it is the humans who have submitted to darkness along with them.

This is what we see in Revelation 20:

Revelation 20:7–14 ESV

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

There is such a weightiness to his: the devil and his wicked demons will finally be judged, along with all who follow them.

1. Satan and his Demons

All the terror demons have brought on humanity will finally be done away with. The temptations, the possessions, the oppression, the insanity—all of it done in a single moment. They will be cast into the most horrid torture imaginable. They will always be dying, yet never dead. They will always have upon them the wrath of the Most High and it shall never be quenched.

2. Unbelieving People

Likewise, those who have not chosen Christ have by default chosen the way of Satan, for there are truly only two paths: the path of light and the path of darkness.

This is a great comfort for us, brothers and sisters, and the reason why when we are mistreated or persecuted, it is best not to take matters into our own hands. God will judge them. And God’s judgement will be far worse than anything humans could find.

II. WHEN WILL CHRIST RETURN?

(A) Consensus: When the Appointed Time Comes (No explicit answer given)

1. Danger of date setting

2. Inherent difficulty of interpreting prophecy

3. We can agree to disagree

(B) Opinion: When the Great Commission is Accomplished (v24; Hebrews 10:12-13)

It is my opinion, along with many others, that Christ will return when he has deemed the Great Commission accomplished. First, lets look at verses 23 and 24 of 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:23–26 ESV

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.

Here, Paul gives us a timeline. He says the first, Christ must be raised from the dead, then at his return, we will be raised from the dead, and then following that comes the end when he gives his Father the consummated kingdom as a gift. However, in order for the kingdom do be consummated and given as a gift to the father, Christ’s enemies must first be destroyed. And that he must reign until all his enemies are under his feet.

So here is question: when did this reign begin and when did his enemies begin being placed under his feet? Does this process begin when Christ returns? Certainly not. Listen to Hebrews 10:12-13:

Hebrews 10:12–13 ESV

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

This text indicates that Jesus on the throne right now, at the right hand of God, as we saw in last week’s sermon. But then it says something interesting: it says he is waiting there until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. In other words, it seems this text is indicating that Christ wont leave the father’s right hand until his enemies are yielded to him. How then are his enemies defeated if not by his second coming? The answer is through his Holy Spirit empowered Church. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says to the Christians in Rome:

Romans 16:20 ESV

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Wait, I thought that Jesus was the one who would crush the head of the serpent? Now the Bible says it is the church? This isn’t a contradiction if you remember that the church is the body of Christ, which means in large part, that the church is the foot of Christ that will crush Satan. And notice that this happens in this age before Christ returns.

This is how we are to piece it together: as Christianity spreads throughout the world, as men and women submit to Christ as Lord, as children are raised to love Christ, and as the fruits of Christianity change the cultures around us, Satan’s armies are being pushed back and in many ways, crushed.

Certainly, the last battle when death itself is defeated and Satan is ultimately cast into hell is still in our future. Christ himself will return to destroy the last enemy personally. But in the mean time, he is pleased to use us to defeat his enemies.

This is why it is so essential that we live holy lives of love. This is how we fight the powers of darkness.

III. HOW DOES CHRIST’S KINGDOM RELATE TO HIS RETURN?

1 Corinthians 15:27–28 ESV

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.

(A) Christ’s Kingdom is a gift from his Father, to his Father

When Christ returns, his kingdom will be fully consummated and he will hand it over to his Father. Does this make Jesus less divine? No, because Jesus as the incarnate Son of God is doing what Adam should have done: been perfectly obedient and brought creation to its ultimate end, presenting it to God as an offering.

Because Adam failed his mission, the Divine Son came to complete it.

He equal to the Father as regards divinity, but less than the Father as regards humanity, thus as the perfect and ultimate man, he submits himself and his kingdom to his Father.

(B) What about the Millennium?

If you have been a Christian long enough, you have likely heard something about the prophecy of 1,000 years from the twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation.

I would be remiss not to mention something about it.

Though there are various views within Christianity about the thousand year reign of Christ in the book of Revelation, they call all essentially be boiled down to two views: either Christ will return before the thousand years or Christ will return after the thousand years: pre-millennialism or post-millennialism, in other words.

I take the post-millennial view that the thousand years are symbolic of this present age and that Jesus will return after that time has ended.

What follows is my case for the same.

A WORD ABOUT INTERPRETIVE METHOD

Before getting into my argument for a post-millennial return of Christ, I should say a word about my method of interpretation. Christian’s have long held that unclear scriptures should be interpreted in light of that which is clear. When we read the letters of Paul or of Peter, they are generally didactic in nature, meaning they are using plain language and to make an argument or point. However, some literature, like the book of Revelation, is apocalyptic, meaning it carries symbolism and is much more poetic and sometimes cryptic, making it less clear. Thus, we should first start with what Paul’s epistles or Peter’s epistles say about the second coming and the events following it before we go to the book of Revelation to try to interpret an apocalyptic prophecy.

FINAL JUDGEMENT TIED TO THE SECOND COMING

According to the Scriptures, the second coming of Christ immediately ushers in the final judgement and the new heaves and earth, not a thousand year of a pre-eternal state.

2 Peter 3:1–13 ESV

1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

RESURRECTION OF CREATION TIED TO THE SECOND COMING

The scripture’s teach that when we are raised from the dead, creation will be raised from the dead. Listen to this passage from Romans 8:

Romans 8:18–23 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

In other words, all of creation will be set from from sin and corruption when we are raised from the dead, which means that the eternal state begins when Christ returns, not a pre-eternal state where Jesus is ruling from a physical Jerusalem for a thousand years with sin and death still present in the world to some degree.

THE LAST ENEMY TO BE DESTROYED IS DEATH

III. HOW SHOULD WE LIVE IN THE MEANTIME?

(A) Be patient for the Long-haul (James 5:7-8)

James 5:7–8 ESV

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

specifically, be patient in suffering

Build families

Built institutions

(B) Be eager for the Any-moment (Hebrews 9:28)

Hebrews 9:28 ESV

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hold things with an open hand.

(C) Love Christ, not the World (2 Timothy 4:8)

2 Timothy 4:8 ESV

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Remember that the best things this world has to offer pail in comparison to the world to come.

(D) Take Hope, not Despair (1 Thess 4:13-18)

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Regardless of how much suffering you are going through, take hope that it is temporary and is not worth comparing.