The Hope of the Resurrection (2)

Some were teaching that there is no resurrection of the dead.

Why is the resurrection important?

In this world there is so much suffering. Sickness. Cancers. Aging. Vision Problems. Hearing problems. Weakness. Pain. Sorry. Conflicts. Wars.

We need hope. We long for something beyond this suffering.

That is the hope of the resurrection. We need it daily. We need to keep it always before us. Without the resurrection, we are as Paul said,

1 Corinthians 15:19 NIV

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Why have we worshipped and served our Lord if there is no resurrection.

Paul has already shown that there is a resurrection, as especially proven by our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who rose from the dead on the third day—as was foretold by the scriptures—and was seen by many witnesses.

But they had questions. How was this going to be? What is the resurrection like? What will we be like?

Not uncommon for today. We still have questions, don’t we? Like, what age will we be when we are resurrected? Some, including skeptics ask, “How will this work?”

What about people who were cremated?

What about organ donors?

What about Roger Williams?

The scriptures are clear. There is a resurrection. And in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us the lengthiest section of scripture dealing with the topic of resurrection. It may not answer all of our questions, but it gives us a strong basis upon which to rest our hopes. It points us to the key points of the resurrection which we really need to give us hope in this world.

There were some who had bought into the philosophies of the world, and taught that there was no resurrection. Paul has been, and continues to address it here. First, he addresses those who have fallen asleep in Christ, and then he addresses the issue of those who have not fallen asleep, but who remain alive when Christ comes for us.

1 Corinthians 15:35–58 NIV

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it 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 there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

First Issue:

How will the dead be raised? What kind of body?

This addresses some of the questions, like those about the bodies that have been completely destroyed, or organ donors, etc. It also addresses, to some degree, what age will we be.

Let’s look at it.

1 Corinthians 15:35–38 NIV

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

3 analogies

Seed Analogy

Personal continuity, qualitative discontinuity… God is not putting the pieces back together.

continuity - wheat seed to wheat

Jesus - same, but different

The resurrected body is not just the old parts put back together again.

My tractor.

1 Corinthians 15:39 NIV

Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

Flesh Analogy

Different animals, all alive. All have bodies. They can be identified, but they are distinct.

Our resurrection bodies will be recognizable, yet distinct from the bodies we had.

1 Corinthians 15:40–41 NIV

There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

Heavenly Bodies Analogy

Differing in glory. You can distinguish between them by their light, how they shine.

Our resurrection body will be distinct from our earthly body.

It will be us, but it will be different. How will it be different exactly?

The Earthly Body vs. the Resurrected Body

Paul explains this in more detail in the following verses.

1 Corinthians 15:42–44 NIV

So will it 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 there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Continuity, yet distinctly different.

Perishable - Imperishable

Our bodies have an expiration date. We are all going to die. There is, in this world a 100% death rate.

We tend to go through life as if we will live forever. We do not tend to think about our coming demise. It seems like death always comes a shock, even though it is inevitable.

We ignore the daily evidence. Our eyes are getting weaker. Our strength and stamina are not what they used to be. Our hands begin to shake. We slow our pace. We have more pain. We get sick more often. Our hearts grow weaker. We cannot catch our breath. Our minds lose their way. We lose our thoughts. We begin to talk about the same things over and over. We cannot function the way we used to. We are awake when we want to sleep, and we fall asleep when we want to be awake because we couldn’t sleep before!

This body is perishing! It is perishable goods, and will not be good for long.

Eventually this bodies wear out, and we die.

However, the resurrected body will be imperishable. It is not going to wear out. It is not going to grow weak. The mind will not lose its retention. The hands will be steady. The legs will be strong. Our eyes will not be clouded nor dim. The heart will beat resolutely, our lungs will fill, and push out the breath strongly as we sing the glorious praises of the One who will raise us from the dead!

Dishonorable - Glorious

Our bodies now are corrupted by sin. We wear the shame of our past. We bear the scars of our mistakes. We feel trapped in this body in the weakness of our sinful nature.

However, the resurrected body will be done with sin! No longer will our sinful nature plague us! We will finally have a pure heart and mind that will love the Lord our God! We will finally love one another as we ought! We will not bear the shame any longer. We will no longer deal with guilt. We will finally be fully recreated in holiness and righteousness. Oh what a glorious day that will be!

Weak - Powerful

Our culture places a lot of emphasis on being strong. We have gyms, and weights, and workout routines. It is good to be physically fit. We should care for this body which the Lord prepared for us to use while we are here on the earth.

However, this body is weak. No matter how ‘strong’ we make it, we are truly weak. How susceptible are our bodies to tiny little bacteria and viruses?

We fall and we get hurt. We brush up against the wrong thing and we are bleeding. We bump against something and we are bruised.

Our will is also weak. We want to do right, but we give in to the wrong. We want to think correctly, but we think incorrectly of ourselves and others.

We are weak in this body.

However, the resurrection body will be strong! It will be powerful. Our constitution and resolution will finally stand up as we live through eternity with our Lord and Savior!

Natural - Spiritual

These bodies are of this fallen world. It seems tied so strongly to the things of this world.

We want to follow the Lord, and yet, the things of this world draw us ever in.

Finally, we will have Spiritual bodies that will be like Him, and focus on Him

Paul goes on to make the contrast using Adam and Christ as examples.

1 Corinthians 15:45–49 NIV

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

Natural first, than Spiritual

We will bear the image of the heavenly - 1 John 3:2

1 John 3:2 NIV

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

The second issue, if the resurrection is so important, than what about those who do not die? What about those who are left when Christ comes?

1 Corinthians 15:50–53 NIV

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

We will all be changed

Perishable, cannot be in the kingdom of God.

Perishable cannot be in an eternal kingdom. That doesn’t make sense.

Imperishable only will be in the eternal kingdom of God.

The mortal, the body subject to death cannot be a part of that kingdom. We need an immortal body. So, God will raise us and change us!

And when that happens...

1 Corinthians 15:54–56 NIV

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

The Victory

We all love victory! And we will have the ultimate victory in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Death has no victory over us! We will be raised!

There is no longer a sting for us who will be raised.

The sting of death is sin. Like the scorpion’s sting, or the viper’s bite, so sin delivers the sting that leads to our death! And what empowers sin? Oddly enough, the righteous law of God!

As Paul wrote in Romans 7, the law is good, but the sinful nature in me takes the law and twists it turning the prohibitions in to what I desire!

But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Jesus fulfilled the law!

Jesus paid for our sins!

Jesus conquered death as he was raised from the dead!

Colossians 2:13–14 NIV

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Our Response

1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing we have the victory should change the way we live.

Too often, we live as defeated people. We act as those sin, or these mortal bodies, or death have the upper hand.

They do not! For those in Christ Jesus, for those who have received him, that is for those who believe in His name, we have the victory!

Our sinful nature has been defeated!

Though our mortal bodies are daily decaying outwardly, we are being renewed in our spirit day by day as we look to Him in faith!

Death cannot hold us any more than it held Jesus!

We will rise again! We will be with our Savior! We will be with those who have fallen asleep in Christ!

This life, this time with our loved ones in this Earth seems like all we have, yet we know that it is really just like a vapor compared to the time we will have together in the eternal kingdom! We need to keep this hope of the resurrection always before us! We need to keep it ever on our mind, setting our minds on things above, and not being so focused on this mortal, perishable life.

Instead of being discouraged, we need to do what Paul says, in response to this great victory:

1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Romans 8:2 NIV

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:10 NIV

But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.