We are Doing a Month-Long Sunday Night Series on the Day of the Lord

In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul Told the Thessalonians that We Don’t Know When the Day Will Be

But We Do Know that it is Coming

So We Need to Stay Ready

Last Week, We Looked at 2 Thessalonians 1…

Where Paul Bragged On the Thessalonians for Their Perseverence and Ever Increasing Faith and Love During Persecution

He Reminded Them that the Day of the Lord Will Bring Justice to Their Oppressors

And it Will Bring Rest and Glory to Them

Now I Want to Look at One of My Favorite Texts in the Whole Bible

1 Corinthians 15

It’s One of My Favorites Because it’s All About Our Future Resurrection

I Did a Series a Little Over a Year Ago Called, “What is the Gospel?”

In that Series, We Broke Down What the Gospel of Jesus Christ Really Refers to

And I Believe Paul Gives Us a Detailed Answer in 1 Corinthians 15

And it Has Everything to Do with the Day of the Lord

Let’s Jump into the Text and Learn the Incredibly Good News of the Reign and Rule of God

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (NASB)

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

The Corinthians Believed and Held Firm to the Gospel

The Gospel that was Currently Saving Them

What is that Gospel Paul Delivered to Them?

Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection

But We Usually Stop There

Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection are of First Importance for Christians to Believe…

But That Doesn’t Mean That’s All the Gospel is

“Gospel” was a Very Political Word in the Greco-Roman World

It was Often Used When an Emperor was Born or Took the Throne

Good News!

We Have a New King!

“Gospel” Holds the Same Meaning for Christians Too

Isaiah 52:7 (NASB)

How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

What is the Gospel in a Nutshell?

That Peace and Happiness are Coming

How?

Through the Reign of God

Our God Reigns!

God Reigning as Our King Through Jesus Could Not Have Happened Unless Jesus Died, was Buried, and Resurrected

That is Why that is of First Importance

But There’s Still Much More to the Gospel Story

Jesus’ Death Burial and Resurrection Were Just the Beginning of the Gospel

Paul Wants to Tell Us About the End as Well

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 (NASB)

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

There was a Problem With the Corinthians’ View of the Gospel

They Believed in Jesus’ Resurrection

But They Didn’t Believe in Their Own!

If We Have No Hope of Resurrection, the Good News Isn’t Good News at All

We Have Jesus as Our Lord in this Life…

But Once We Die, We Have Nothing to Look Forwad to

We Only Have Hope in This Life

And No Hope Afterward

“Dying and Going to Heaven” was Not the Hope of the Gospel

Resurrection From the Dead was the Hope

1 Corinthians 15:20–23 (NASB)

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

It’s an Absolute Fact that Jesus was Raised From the Dead

And Paul Tells Us that He was the First Fruits of Those Who are Asleep/Dead

He was the First, and Many More are Coming

Just as All Who Belong to Adam Will Die

All Who Belong to Jesus With Be Resurrected From Death

Jesus Resurrected in His First Coming…

So That We Can Resurrect in His Second Coming

1 Corinthians 15:24–28 (NASB)

then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.

When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

After the Resurrection, Jesus Will Abolish Every Rule, Authority, and Power

This Refers to All Who Stand Against Him and His Kingdom

Both Spiritual and Physical Forces

Jesus Will Reign Until All of His Enemies are Abolished

Death Will Be the Final Enemy that is Destroyed

I Can’t Wait for the Day When Death Dies!

All Things Will Be Subject to Him, Except God of Course

And After All That, He Will “Hand Over the Kingdom” to the Father

He Will Hand Over the Reign and Rule to the Father

And He Himself Will Be Subjected to the Father

Just as God Made Him Ruler Over All Things…

Jesus Remained Subjected to His Father

This is a Harder Concept for Us to Grasp

But I Believe What We See in This Passage is the Eternal Subjection of Jesus to the Father

1 Corinthians 15:28 (NLT)

Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

Ever Since Jesus’ First Coming, He Has Subjected Himself to the Father

I Believe Paul is Telling Us that He Will Remain in Subjection to the Father Even in the New Age

This Text Not Only Shows Us the Power and Authority of King Jesus

But Also the Humility of King Jesus

1 Corinthians 15:35–49 (NASB)

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 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 there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

This is a Big Section of Scripture…

But it is All About What Our New Resurrection Bodies Will Be Like

Some Were Apparently Asking in a Sarcastic, Arrogant Way…

What Kind of Body We Should Expect in the Resurrection

In the Greek Culture, Resurrection was the Most Absurd Idea Ever Purposed

Christians Were Often Mocked When They Spoke About Their Belief in Coming Back to Life After Death

Paul Doesn’t Put On His Kiddy Gloves With These Mockers

He Calls Them Fools and Tells Them to Look at Seeds for Their Answer

You Put a Dead Seed in the Ground and it Decomposes

And Before You Know it, Out of the Ground Pops a Beautiful Plant

It’s the Same Concept With Death and Resurrection

You Place a Dead Body in the Ground and it Decomposes

But God Raises Something Beautiful Out of the Ground

But What Kind of Flesh Will it Be?

Don’t Worry About the Specifics!

God is Able to Make All Kinds of Different Flesh and Bodies

Just Know that the Resurrected Body Will Be Better Than the Previous One

Our Old Body is Perishable (It Grows Old and Dies)

Our New Body Wont

Our Old Body is Buried in Shame

Our New Body Will Be Glorious

Our Old Body is Weak

Our New Body Will Be Powerful

Our Old Body is Made of the Earthly Material

Our New Body Will Be Made of Heavenly Material

1 Corinthians 15:50–57 (NASB)

Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now Paul Moves to a Different Aspect of the Discussion

He Moves Away From Talking About the Dead Will Be Resurrected and Transformed…

To Talking About the Living Will Be Transformed in the Day of the Lord

Their Perishable Bodies Will Also Be Changed to Imperishable Bodies

Our Mortal Bodies Will Be Made into Immortal Bodies

It Will Happen Very Fast When the Last Trumpet Blows

Death Will No Longer Have the Last Laugh

It Will Be Swallowed Up in Victory

A Victory That Jesus Gave Us Through His Death and Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NASB)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Therefore - Knowing All This to Be True

What We Know to Be True:

Jesus Raised From the Dead

When Jesus Returns, He Will Conquer All His Enemies, Including Death

Christians Will Be Resurrected or Transformed into Imperishable, Glorious, Powerful, Immortal Bodies

Knowing All that to Be True:

We Should Be Steadfast and Immovable in Our Faith, Hope, and Love and Devotion to the Lord

We Should Always Abounding/Overflowing in Our Works for the Lord

Why?

Because it Won’t Be in Vain

Because it Won’t Be for Nothing

Because it Will Be Totally worth it

Jesus’ Promise of Resurrection to Eternal Life is Worth Every Effort