Serve the Lord Victoriously!
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· 21 viewsThe future event of finally being raised to glory with Jesus Christ. Believers may rest assured that, on account of their faith, they will share in the resurrection and glory of Christ and be with Him forever and that our service to Him is not in vain.
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Victorious
Victorious
Derived from the root Greek word νικάω (nikaō)
Which means prevail, conquer or overcome
Prevail from your difficulties
Conquer your temptations
Overcome your weaknesses
It was used 18 times in the NIV translation and most of it is in the Book of Revelation
iServe
iServe
Opening
Opening
Around 60 years after the resurrection of Christ from the grave, and His ascension to heaven, Apostle John, the son of Zebedee, the only apostle who didn’t die violently, and the last who died peacefully, was exiled to the island of Patmos at that time. He had a vision of Christ and wrote letters to the seven churches in the Roman Province of Asia who found themselves in varying situations such as:
Church in Ephesus have forsaken the love they had at first;
c resurrection from the grave and ascension to heaven
Church in Smyrna suffered affliction & poverty;
Church in Pergamum compromised with paganism, which goes back to the days of Balaam;
Church in Thyatira was misled by the teaching of Jezebel that led them to sexual immorality & eating food sacrificed to idols;
Church in Sardis was sleepy despite having a reputation of being alive;
Church in Philadelphia were envied by the local jews and they are critical to the church;
The Church in Laodicea were lukewarm.
But to those who are “Victorious” among them despite their circumstances, Jesus said:
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
But wait!.. Who will be willing to serve a “dead” master?
But wait!.. Who will be willing to serve a “dead” master?
In my growing up years, I witnessed how my father had so much people serving him in many and different ways. As a public servant, he served as Mayor of our hometown for 12 years from 1959-1971. He was still in his prime, so he decided to go back to active politics in 1987 after 16 long years of hybernation. While gearing for another scene in the stage of politics, this time to vie for the vice-gubernatorial seat in our home Province of Isabela, he was assassinated in the process. His body could only absorb so much, but wasn’t able to endure 21 fatal bullet wounds in different parts of his head & body. Thousands of people mourned and sympathized with us from the viewing until the very long last march to bring him to his earthly body’s resting place. Not very long after that, I saw how the number of people who used to serve him gradually diminished until there were only a handful who remained loyal to serve those who survived my father including myself. I guess, it doesn’t make sense for many of them to stay and serve a “dead master”.
Today, I will defend 3 things by the help of the Holy Spirit
Today, I will defend 3 things by the help of the Holy Spirit
That Jesus is Alive
That Resurrection is Real
That our Service to the Lord is not in vain
Open your Bible to
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.
40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
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.
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.
40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
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.
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
After addressing problems regarding their worship practices (11:2–14:40),
Paul continues by addressing reports about the Corinthians’ beliefs.
In this chapter, he focuses on the issue of resurrection.
He begins by affirming the resurrection of Christ and then discusses the future hope of bodily resurrection and glorification for all followers of Christ
The people of the church in Corinth are not just mostly rich, but also wise and intelligent.
And their intelligence, head knowledge, logical thinking made them doubt the “resurrection”.
The people of the church in Corinth are wise and intelligent. And their intelligence, head knowledge, logical thinking made them doubt the “resurrection”.
In Paul quoted to them what Isaiah wrote some 730 years before when the Lord said according to
9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus is Alive!
Jesus is Alive!
If you go back a little bit to v. 20, Paul claimed that Jesus is the “first fruit” of those who have fallen asleep
In v. 22, and to those believers who will die thereafter will be made alive in Christ.
,
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Jesus is the first fruit of a new humanity glorified by God
Resurrection is Real!
Resurrection is Real!
And in our text today, Paul argues for the certainty of our own bodily resurrection
And that our bodies will be spiritually refitted for heavenly existence
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.
40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
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.
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
1 Corinthians 15;35-49
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.
40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
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.
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 15
After addressing problems regarding their worship practices (11:2–14:40), Paul continues by addressing reports about the Corinthians’ beliefs. In this chapter, he focuses on the issue of resurrection. He begins by affirming the resurrection of Christ and then discusses the future hope of bodily resurrection and glorification for all followers of Christ
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 15
After addressing problems regarding their worship practices (11:2–14:40), Paul continues by addressing reports about the Corinthians’ beliefs. In this chapter, he focuses on the issue of resurrection. He begins by affirming the resurrection of Christ and then discusses the future hope of bodily resurrection and glorification for all followers of Christ
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.
In the O.T., a fool is someone who rejects/ignore the idea of God
Paul takes an example from nature to show the Corinthians that life can come from death
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
Illustration using a Plant and a Seed
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
Glorified Bodies
Glorified Bodies
40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
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 contrast heavenly bodies with earthly bodies
That the body of the resurrected believers will be distinctly different
Earthly bodies rot and decay while heavenly ones do not
Paul uses example from nature to show transformation already takes place within creation
Jesus is the Life-giving Spirit
Jesus is the Life-giving Spirit
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
The Spirit gave life to the flesh
But, that spirit died because of the ‘fall of man’
Jesus is the first fruit of a new humanity glorified by God
We became “spiritually dead”
Then Jesus became a life-giving spirit as a result of His resurrection
Illustration using inflatable “human doll”
Why do we have to die?
Why do we have to die?
Because of sin
It’s
It’s our necessary gateway to resurrection
Inheritance of God’s kingdom will require a heavenly spiritual body like Christ
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1 Corinthians 15:50
Illustration using inflatable “human doll”
He implied that not all believers will die before Jesus returns
He echoed what Isaiah prophesied 750 years before in
8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
Quoted
8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
He quoted the victory according to
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? “I will have no compassion,
And the victory was through the Lord Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 15:51-
“Rapture”
“Rapture”
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He implied that not all believers will die before Jesus returns
And those living on the day of Jesus returns “will be changed”
Our Service to the Lord is Not in Vain
Our Service to the Lord is Not in Vain
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:54-58
He echoed what Isaiah prophesied in 750 years before
8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
He quoted
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? “I will have no compassion,
And our victory was through the Lord Jesus Christ
We have the victory
Our Master is alive
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Our Service to the Lord is Not in Vain
Our Service to the Lord is Not in Vain
So with our victory through Christ let us
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
With His victory, our Service to the Lord is not in vain
Closing
Closing
Paul said In ...
Paul said In ...
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Illustration using a “quarter”
If it is heads, “I won” but when it is tails, “you loose”!
In Christ, either way, we are VICTORIOUS!