It’s the end of the workweek and we’re continuing our reading in 1 Corinthians 15, the great Resurrection chapter. Yesterday’s reading was Paul’s defense of the Resurrection in the first nineteen verses. Today’s reading continues at 15:20 – 58. Take your time and look at the various ways Paul addresses the resurrection and the mystery of the new creation. Please come back after you’ve read it and we’ll walk through it to get a better look at what Paul wrote, and I will add, perhaps read it twice.
The “some” Paul spoke of in 15:12, who did not believe in the bodily
resurrection now realize the connection of the Resurrection and the Gospel.
Without the resurrection, Sin has not been erased; there is no eternal future,
and the Gospel is a false narrative. The “what if there is no resurrection?”
question is laid to rest by Paul - “But, in fact, Christ has been raised
from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (15:20).
When Paul used the words “those who have fallen asleep”, He is borrowing
the Old Testament metaphor for those who have died. There are some people who
teach “soul sleep”, a belief that the body is sleeping in the grave, awaiting
the resurrection. Paul is not teaching that, as it will become apparent in this
Scripture. The “first fruits” have to do with the Old Testament law and
involved the farmer taking the first growths of the harvest and presenting them
as an offering to the Lord. The “first fruits” was a statement of his faith
that he believed a further harvest is still coming. Jesus Christ, risen from
the dead, is the first fruits of many more resurrections! All believers “In
Christ” have this assurance that just as Jesus arose from the dead, so also
will we.
Paul
takes us back to Adam (15:21,22) to point out that as Adam’s sin doomed mankind
to Sin, and the result was death; so now the resurrection of Christ has
overcome the Sin of mankind that leads to death – “For as in Adam all die,
so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (15:22). It is Jesus’ perfect
obedience as a human that replaces Adam’s disobedience for all who receive him.
Where is it all heading? The resurrection is future tense, and in verses 24-28,
Paul gives us a window into the end of all time. Christ Jesus will return and
His Kingdom will rule over the entire earth (15:24). Jesus’ reign will put a
final end to all human rebellion, and with the curse overturned, there will be
no more death (15:25-26). In a remarkable window into the Godhead, then Jesus
will hand the authority to rule over all creation back to God, the Father.
Paul
quotes from Psalm 8, which described mankind’s smallness and yet greatness – “what
is mankind that you are mindful of them...you have made them a little lower
than angels, and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over
the works of your hands...” (Psalm 8:4-6). Jesus has come as the second
Adam, restored-as-the-perfect-human who has come to bring everything back under
God’s rule – “For he ‘has put everything under his feet.’ Now when it says
that ‘everything’ has been put under him, it is clear that this does not
include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this,
then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him,
so that God may be all in all” (15:27-28).
The resurrection is not a limited event, but a culminating event. Redemption’s
final goal is that “everything” is returned to God, and under God’s authority.
The Son is not inferior, but in his Messianic finished work, the Son also
subjects all he has done to the Father “so that God may be all in all”.
It is then that the New Creation is complete.
Why
then does Paul speak about the practice of “baptism for the dead?” “Now if
there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If
the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? (15:29).
It seems that this is a highly localized thing within in the Corinthian church
since there is no other mention within Paul’s writings that this is a practice
of the Church. There are several different interpretations of what this implies
or means. One scholar notes: “Of the many possible interpretations of this
practice, G. W. Bromiley has suggested the following two as ‘perhaps the most
helpful’: first, people were often baptized as a result of seeing Christians
'die well’ or live consistently Christ-like lives before their death. Secondly,
baptism is with a view to the dead, i.e. to their resurrection. In both cases,
it makes no sense if there is no resurrection.” [1]
Paul’s
personal commitment is further proof of what he knew was true – that Jesus was
raised from the dead. He lived in danger because he was convinced something
infinitely better awaited him in life after death. “And as for us, why do we
endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I
boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus
with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (15:30-32). Paul’s life was
dangerous because he preached the Gospel to those who often rejected it. As we
studied in the book of Acts, Paul was often harassed, injured, tortured, and
jailed because he preached the Gospel, and it was probably the worst in Ephesus
(Acts 19). The point he concludes with is, “why preach the Gospel if the
resurrection is not true because life is a lot easier if you just join in to
‘eat, drink, be merry’ if there’s nothing afterward”.
In
15:35-49, Paul addresses the nature of the resurrected body – i.e., “But
someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they
come?’” (15:35). “Some” had doubted the resurrection, even questioning what
a human would look like in a resurrected body! Paul answers the first part with
a rebuke – “you foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it
dies” (15:36). It leads to the second answer reminding them that just as the
seed is planted, i.e. is buried, it dies; the eventual outcome of the grain is
like that of a redeemed human. What is true of the seed is true of the flesh – “So
is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is
raised is imperishable” (15:42). Seed, like human flesh (15:39) is changed
in the resurrection from the limitations of the flesh to the “glory” of the
resurrected life. God had proven his ability to create many varied kinds of
“bodies” – human and celestial (15:39-41).
The
difference between the human body and the spiritual body is not comparable. Now
our bodies are wearing down, they show the signs of being “perishable” every
day. Then the body will be gloriously raised as an imperishable creation. In a
remarkable set of contrasts, Paul writes – “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” (15:43-44). Then Paul returns to contrast Jesus
and Adam – the two humanities that also illustrate the difference between the
now, and the not-yet. “So it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living
being’; the last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the
spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man
was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the
man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of
heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of
the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (15:45-49).
The
beauty and joy of those final words cannot be overlooked. Jesus “became a
life-giving Spirit” (45); raised from the dead to reveal our true destiny –
“those who are of heaven” (48). The end is glorious as we “shall bear
the image of the man of heaven” – Jesus Christ. The Resurrection will
change everything. Our earthly humanity is limited in both its fallen corruption
and its decay. “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable” (15:50). The body we live in is perishable – destined to
return to the dust. The body we will receive is imperishable – destined to live
eternally.
We
wonder how will it all occur, and we have the answer – instantly, absolutely,
unconditionally – we move from earthly mortality to heavenly immortality. Paul
describes it as a mystery that will suddenly be revealed – “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” (15:51-54).
There
are numerous questions I have been asked? Will we know one another? Will we
look like we do now? (Some would really like to change that) What will be
there? There are more questions than answers. Yet this I do know – there will
be No Sin, No Sorrow, No Disease, No Death, No Funeral Services, No Suffering,
or Victims, or Abuse, or Marriages destroyed, or Devastating Addictions, and on
and on we can go. Sin is destroyed and therefore Death is swallowed up – it
disappears! Is there anything more to hope for – with certainty – than the day
we enter Eternity? Because of that hope, we end where Paul ends – “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” (15:56-58).
What
can we say but “Hallelujah (Praise to God), Amen”. Yet, I must ask: Are we
ready? Are we living in the hope of Resurrected life? Have we put our faith in
Christ alone to redeem us from our Sin – “the sting of death is sin” –
it is real, painful, and brings sorrow; but, “thanks be to God, he gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. I pray you have that assurance and
I pray you have that joy of knowing how it all will end. Think about how we
live, there are only two ways – “in the Lord”, or “in vain” – which way
captivates you?
Peace
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