The Resurrection

The Resurrection 1 Corinthians 15 Introduction Have you ever considered from where your food comes? I read a FaceBook post some months ago, supposedly written by a man who was against the practice of sport hunting and harvesting meat for family meals. In it, he said, "Those of you who think killing is appropriate should be ashamed of yourself, and you should simply go to the grocery store for your meat like the rest of us do." This man had lost touch. He forgot that the boneless, skinless chicken breast that is found in the grocery store used to walk around the barn in a chicken house, and have feathers covering it, and cluck as it walked. For too many of us, we forget that our burgers used to be on the hoof; our pork chops and bacon used to wallow in the mud, and even our milk was once udderly fattening. We have, for so long, been removed from the source of our food that we have forgotten that what we buy did not always look like what we serve on the table or buy at the restaurant. Like our food, Resurrection is removed from the source, from the death, from the grief. Jesus, for instance, when he spoke about Abraham, says, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," Yet, he said this 2000 years after Abraham died. And as we recently saw in our Wednesday Night studies, the tomb of Abraham, the tomb of the Patriarchs is still known and visited by tourists. Abraham's body was dead, but he, his spirit, his essence, himself, was and is still alive. The writer of Hebrews, in fact, (12:1) declares to us that Abraham is in the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds true believers and urges us on to complete our work so that we may join them. The Seed and the Harvest There are so many more aspects of resurrection for us to explore in thought, unfortunately, we will never really know what resurrection is like until Jesus returns. And, some of us will not experience resurrection, we will simply be transformed from our present state into an eternal state. Today, we look at Paul's treatise on resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15. In this, he compares our mortal bodies to a seed that is sown in the ground, dies, and gives life to a plant that bears no resemblance to the seed that started it. Scripture (3-6) For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter) and then to the twelve (eleven). After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living. This is the essence of the Gospel. Resurrection is real. Resurrection has already happened in the historical context of Jesus. And his example points to something special that is going to happen for the people of God who have believed in Jesus. (12-13) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. Here is how important the truth about resurrection is: If Jesus has not been raised, life is meaningless. But, because Jesus is alive, there is meaning for life, at least for those who believe in him. (17-19) And if Christ has not be raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Asleep or Alive? There are two aspects to eternal life, the first is our bodies and the second is our spirit. Paul variously refers to the dead as having fallen asleep and also that they are present with the Lord. This appears to be a conundrum. Some people believe that when we die, we enter into a state of sleep until the day of judgment. Time passes, but we are oblivious to it for we die in one moment and are at the throne of God in the next. I believe that scripture teaches something else, however. When we die in Christ, our body is dead. We bury the bodies of the dead. We cremate the bodies of the dead. Some bodies are consumed by wild beasts or buried at sea. And the scripture testifies about our bodies that they came from the dust of the earth and will return to the dust. Besides, who wants to live forever with these kinds of bodies? (We can talk about that more in a moment.) But we are not simply a body. We are multifaceted beings. Our spirit is alive and as Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "this day, you will be with me in paradise." The day our bodies and spirit separate, is the day we are untied with Jesus. Our bodies remain here, but the spirit of those who believe in Jesus are with him. Philippians 1:22-24 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. We are not our body. We have a body, but we can separate from this mortal body and still be our essential self. But, there is a day coming when we will have that new, that different kind of body. We will have the kind of body that Jesus has had, since his resurrection. And we, too, will be resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15 (21-23) For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn; Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul talks about the day of resurrection with vivid language that emphasizes both aspects of life and death. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. Now this seems kind of obvious, but he is talking about two different things. If he is bringing them with him, then they are alive with him, before he comes. And then comes resurrection. (4:16) For the Lord, himself, will come down from heaven, with a loud command, wth the voice of the arch-angel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. So, how is it possible that Jesus will bring with him, those who have fallen asleep, and that the "dead in Christ" will rise first. But it makes perfect sense if we separate the spirit from the body, and the return of Christ is, in part, a mission to reunite the spirits of believers with a body. But, it will not be the same body. It will be an eternal body. Paul calls it a spiritual body. Our Spiritual Body if we look back at 1 Corinthians 15, Paul asks a question that each of us might ask, in fact, we have asked over the last weeks since Easter: "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" (vs 35). Paul's answer does not really give us any more details than we already know, but it does logically address the issue. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If Paul ever made a true statement, it is this one. These mortal bodies all end in weakness and dishonor. It happens for the godly and the ungodly alike. We have witnessed it over and over again. Death is preceded by weakness, particularly for those who have lived long lives. Gradually, each of us slips into a weaker and weaker state before our mortal bodies succumb to death. And even those who die in the prime of life, at the height of their strength, each of us finds that our body is really frail and weak and cannot endure forever. Universal Resurrection But it is not just the ones who belong to Jesus who will be resurrected, for there is a resurrection of the ungodly, the unbelievers, as well. One is raised to eternal life, and the other raised to eternal judgment. (John 8:28-29; 12:47-48) The greatest question that you and I will ever answer, is about our eternal fate: Will we be with the few who have travelled the narrow road and are resurrected eternal life, or will we be with the multitude who have travelled the broad road, the road that leads to destruction, the resurrection to judgment and death, the second death? 2