Are you ready for this End?

Title: "Are you ready for this End? (v. 24)"

The bodily resurrection is the reason that all people must and will recognize the supremacy of God.

Title: "Are you ready for this End? (v. 24)"

Physicist and author Stephen Hawking possessed an uncanny ability to come up with memorable phrases and sayings that summed up his world view. - DIED IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR

"My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all."

"I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful."

What is Paul saying?

Introduction:

Confusion about what the end is. What is the end? (v. 28) The end is the supremacy of God.

(i) War/punishment/vengeance

(ii) Death/realization

1. The Coming End has definitive evidence (v. 20 - 22)

(i) the resurrection of Christ is the evidence (v. 20)

After the crucifixion, the disciples of Jesus underwent a radical shift in behavior. They were quite positive that they had seen a resurrected Jesus and soon went out into the world and fearlessly preached his message. Known as the apostles, the men paid a tremendous price for their faith....The often-pessimistic Thomas is thought to have been speared to death near Madras, in India. Bartholomew preached in Egypt, Arabia, and what is now Iran before being flayed (skinned alive) and then beheaded in India. Simon the Zealot was thought to have been sawed in half for his preaching in Persia. Philip evangelized in what is now western Turkey. He is said to have been martyred by having hooks run through his ankles and then being hung upside down in the Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis. The gregarious former tax collector Matthew may have died in Ethiopia, murdered just like all the rest for his fervent preaching. - O'Reilly, Bill; Dugard, Martin. Killing Jesus: A History (p. 264). Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

O'Reilly, Bill; Dugard, Martin. Killing Jesus: A History (p. 263). Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

O'Reilly, Bill; Dugard, Martin. Killing Jesus: A History (p. 264). Henry Holt and Co.. Kindle Edition.

(ii) the evidence is the firstfruits of a particular group (v. 20b - 22) -

2. The Coming End has definitive expectations (v. 23 - 24)

(i) There is an expected order (v. 23)

(ii) There is an expected subjugation (v. 24)

3. The Coming End has a definitive emperor (v. 25 - 28) [emperor - a sovereign ruler of great power and rank, especially one ruling an empire.]

a sovereign ruler of great power and rank, especially one ruling an empire.]

(i) He cannot be truly sovereign unless it is over ALL enemies (v. 25 - 26)

(ii) His sovereignty is accomplished through the Son (v. 27 - 28)

Why is he saying this?

They are confused by wrong teaching, by possible cultural blending of beliefs with what they had been taught. They need to see how this is impossible.

(1) To see that their part is of something much bigger than what is happening in Corinth at the time.

(2) To see that to deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is to turn a blind eye to the key event that God used to declare the end of all his enemies.

(3) To see that to deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is to deny God the supreme glory for His all-powerfulness.

What is the principle?

If death is unstoppable in any fashion, spiritual or physical, then God cannot be sovereign.

So:

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the trigger that God pulled to re-establish the supremacy that He rightly deserves.

How does this apply (in light of the End)?

(1 - NO SLIDE) It should give a tremendous amount of confidence in the fact of the bodily resurrection of Christ.

This would impact how we speak/teach: Our table talk/our family talk would be influenced by what we are confident in - that it is true Our verbal confrontations would not be foolish but be guided by what matters most

This would impact our confidence about what we give ourselves to: Sometimes we wonder if we or our children will miss opportunities to play/act/sing/school...if they are involved in something around the church But confidence in the bodily resurrection assures us that it is not a bad decision or a waste of time or a loss of opportunity when we or our children are missing an activity for service to Christ or learning of Christ.

(2) It should produce a deep sense of humility in knowing that we are part of something far greater than we could have ever imagined.

For the unbelievers: it requires a recognition that science and technology will never be able to conquer the final enemy. It is not a matter of time. Time will run out. You must allow what you see here to humble you to accept Jesus Christ.

For the believers: Important to develop that in Adam we were not humbly submissive, but in Christ, we are accepted as perfectly submissive. What could this do when we consider the federal headship of Christ?

For the confused: How can you claim that you are ready for this End, in the future, if your life does not show any desire for the supremacy of Christ now?

J. R. R. Tolkien, author of "Lord of the Rings," was captivated by the Bible’s teaching about the resurrection, and wished to reflect it in his writing.

He knew that Westerners tend to be disillusioned with “fairy tale endings” and prefer endings that are more “realistic,” but he wanted them to understand that, because of the resurrection, a deeply joyful ending is the most realistic. To borrow a phrase from "Lord of the Rings," Tolkien wrote, “Everything sad becomes untrue.”

And immediately following this phrase, a pressing question arises from Sam Gamgee as he speaks to Gandalf: “What’s happened to the world?” To which Gandalf responds, “A great Shadow has departed.”

Christians celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus, because we are happy that, in the future, the “great Shadow” of death and sin will finally depart (). [Bruce Ashford - http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/04/15/jesus-and-easter-why-resurrection-is-most-important-truth-in-world.html]