Resurrected Glory
Notes
Transcript
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Introduction:
Glory, is a sensational appearance of something in particular.
The Apostle Paul here, speaks o the glory of different things observed.
It is the last verse (49), that I would like to talk to you about this morning.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Preliminary Remarks:
The resurrection of Jesus is tantamount to the Christian faith, and a part of the plan of salvation.
For without the resurrection, there is no eternal life. And as the Apostle Paul states in the nineteenth verse of this chapter,
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
So yes, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God the Son was made for the payment of your sin debt, but also, the resurrection of Christ is essential, for with out it everything Jesus did would have ended with His death.
What’s more, is that we have partaken of this resurrection.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
So we see that we are partakers of the glorious resurrection of Christ, and affected by His eternal life, in that we shall bear His image!
But, why should we be concerned at all about this?
I. We Cannot be Content with the Earthly Man.
I. We Cannot be Content with the Earthly Man.
The first man on earth, disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit, awakening his senses to a condition he was ill equipped to handle. i.e. the knowledge of good and evil.
We may think we can handle that idea, but the truth is no one has ever been able to except for one, The Lord Jesus Christ.
15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Yes, Jesus did what we could not!
So why then, can’t we be satisfied with the earthly us?
A. Because our natural flesh is corrupt.
A. Because our natural flesh is corrupt.
The Physical body
Is there anyone present here this morning or watching online, that can say their body is getting younger with each passing day?
Is there anyone who believes that their own physical body defies every law of nature?
The Mind and Emotions
B. Because our natural flesh will inherit death.
B. Because our natural flesh will inherit death.
Physical death
Spiritual death
II. Our Hope and Glory is in the Heavenly Man.
II. Our Hope and Glory is in the Heavenly Man.
Naturally, when we think of the heavenly Man, we think of Jesus, and that is who Paul speaks of when he says the second is the Lord from Heaven.
But, how does this benefit us, those of the earthly corrupted and dying humanity?
first, we have, as we’ve seen in the first point, a corrupted physical body, with a corrupt heart and mind.
Because our thoughts and feelings have been tainted by the flesh, we are incapable of doing anything in this human state, that can remedy our state or the path of destruction that awaits each and every one of us!
A. God plants a seed in us.
A. God plants a seed in us.
9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
We push far beyond the bounds of religion here.
For we are saved by grace through faith. Eph 2:8
We have been justified by faith. Romans 5:1
We also live by faith. Gal. 3:11
We see the place of faith, and the world can also relate as they have their faith practices.
But to say that we are held in that blessed state by our faith, is not correct. For we are held in this beautiful state of redemption by the power of God!
For as we just saw, He has put His seed in us!
Now seeds are never planted unless there is a desire to see something grow from it.
And that’s exactly what God would have His seed do in us - grow into something.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The seed is His life that flows into us through Him the vine.
The same principal applies in the picture of His body.
But this is only part of it...
B. Our new nature exists with the old.
B. Our new nature exists with the old.
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
Now some have asked, why doesn’t God just get rid of the old man, the flesh?
And He will, all in good time, for if He did, there would be no hope for anyone, because there would be no-one!
You see, God told Adam and Eve that the day they eat of the forbidden fruit they would surely die. God always keeps His word.
Think about this: If God’s promise to Adam and Eve was meant literally in the physical sense, they would have died after eating the forbidden fruit, right then and there! and that would have been the end of the human race.
No! Both the old man and the new man must exist simultaneously, so that we can grow into the likeness of Christ, being transformed day by day, as His seed grows within us.
It’s like John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
As He increases in the new man, the old me decreases until it is buried in the ground and the fulness of the new man comes to it’s fruition when God resurrects the body of the old man, joining it to the Spirit of the new man, making it one glorified new man in Christ, fully whole and complete!
C. Our new nature is hidden in Christ.
C. Our new nature is hidden in Christ.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
In the resurrection, when Jesus rose, we rose.
12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Yes, raised with Him through faith in the working of God!
If we believe God accepted His Son’s sacrifice on our behalf, why would we not believe that He raised us up in Christ?
For, as He has been risen from the dead, and is alive at the right hand of the Father, we are alive in Him through the body of Christ.
That is, the spiritual body of Christ which He, Jesus, is the head and everyone that comes to Him a member!
And because w e are members of His body, we have eternal life, and will inherit the kingdom of God, as our Savior sits upon His throne in Glory.
When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He was calling them to die to self and be resurrected in new life.
He calls us to the same today! To die to the old man, his thinking and his schemes, and to a resurrected life in Him, one that never ends!
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.