Building a Better Body
Notes
Transcript
Next week we will finish chapter 15 w/vv 50-58; the most glorious passage of the letter, arguably all of Paul’s work
Still dealing with the resurrection; not the intermediate state
We know it exists: thief on the cross, account in Luke of Lazarus and the rich man; “absent the body, present with the Lord” 2 Cor. 5:8
A “10-mile out view”
A great agricultural illustration—one of many Paul uses
Give a man a fish…teach him to fish...
Teach a woman to garden…neighbors eat zucchini forever
Paul uses the diatribe—an imaginary questioner
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 15:35–37
As a plant which sprouted from a seed was directly linked to it but remarkably different from it, so too was the relationship of a natural and a resurrected body.
We will see the end result; but can’t fully grasp the process
It is a divine function
Thus it begins
Some Background
Some Background
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
…ashes to ashes, earth to earth, dust to dust; looking forward to the resurrection of the dead...
Once again: without the fall, all this falls apart!
Without the life, death (payment for our sins), and resurrection of Jesus it falls apart
The absolute veracity of Scripture is critical to our faith
Main Idea: Examining the Promise of a Better Body
Main Idea: Examining the Promise of a Better Body
We’ve dealt with necessity of the resurrection; both of Christ and of believers
Now we start looking into the process
A Broken Body
A Broken Body
The process of decay began when Adam sinned
The human body, the whole earth, began the decay process on account of that event
As we age, we fail
Undeniable process: my strength between 60 and 61; still have one fight…but not the second one
A Buried Body
A Buried Body
But what if...
example of Wycliff—burned, dumped, carried away
>>Comment on cremation
God has said we will be put back together—no reason to doubt that
A Better Body
A Better Body
A human form
Extract that from vv. 38 ff
>>Kills any idea of reincarnation!
>>>A so -called Christian who seriously is looking for reincarnation is NOT a believer!
A glorious body
bearing the image of the 2nd Adam, the man of Heaven, Jesus
who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Point of Application—we should be working to be like Jesus in our character; but only after the resurrection will be like Him in body
The matter of subjection to himself plays out in 1 Cor.; in Hebrews
We have only one example to describe the glorified bodies.
The transfiguration of Matt. 17 was NOT quite the same
>Not post resurrection; but something special, certainly recognizable about them (intermediate state)
Resurrection of Christ
And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Other appearances leading to the ascension
In all He was recognizable
and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
A spiritual body
All of what’s there we can’t decipher from Scripture
Not subject to the powers of the earth; not having the weaknesses of the flesh
>Lust of flesh; lust of eyes; pride of life
An everlasting body
No more degradation
Imperishable is used in v. 42 and next week’s passage
Greek implies immortality, lack of decay
Directly opposed to the Greek for perishable—subject to decay
Not in the text, the fate of the unsaved
>They will appear in judgement, in an eternal body as well—to face eternal punishment
We who know Christ will live with Him eternally…in a new body
Single Point of Application
Single Point of Application
We who are saved bear the image of the Second Adam—Jesus Christ—and live with Him—in eternity
Those in this group are part of the church
Paul was addressing the Church; particularly @ Corinth
One ordinance of the Church (last week we mentioned baptism), is practice of communions
>Joining at the Lord’s table
We celebrate the Lord’s death “until He comes”
>until the resurrection
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