TUESDAY 14th
1 Corinthians 15:35-58
We continue where we left off yesterday and go straight into the next point.
3.The Imperishable future of the believer verses 35, 42 – 54
I just love these verses. They speak so clearly and powerfully of the resurrection of the body. At the point of believing / coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the spirit which was spiritually dead because of sin is made alive, but the body still undergoes the effects of sin upon the human-race. Believers and unbelievers alike perish outwardly. In various degrees we all know sickness, we all know suffering, we all know pain, and we will all know death and decay. But the wonder of this gospel that Paul preached is that there is going to be a wonderful glorious resurrection of the body, reunited with the spirit / soul in the presence of Jesus.
It doesn’t matter how the human remains have been disposed of, nor how long the body has been decaying for, or where the ashes may have been scattered. Our God is all powerful and just as he formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed the breathe of life in him at creation so on the day of the resurrection this same power will raise the mortal remains and give life to our mortal bodies. In Romans 8:11 we read: ‘If the same Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.’ And what a transformation, as seen here in these verses in 1 Cor 15:42-44, 51-55 and summed up in Revelation 21, ‘He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’
We have all seen how much pain many have suffered even perhaps ourselves here in our mortal bodies, but thanks be to God the day is coming when all suffering will be over, one day when the trumpet sounds our bodies will be raised imperishable, raised in glory, raised in power, raised a spiritual, glorious body, and we will be rejoicing, pain free in the presence of our Saviour.
I love the confidence that Job had when he expressed ‘For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.’ Job 19:25-27 He is so overwhelmed with this wonderful truth that he continues ‘My heart faints within me!’ Its as if he is saying what we would say today, ‘this is so amazing that I’ve got butterflies in my tummy, because I’m so excited about it!’
4.The Incomparable hope of the Christian faith verses 55 – 58
Why was Paul so passionate about this gospel he talks about in this chapter? Why did he want to write to the believers and remind them about its importance? Well, whatever answers we could give, one of them is this: Because this gospel is INCOMPARABLE. There is nothing else like it.
The world is full of faiths, religions, isms, cults, spiritual experiences but NOT ONE OF THEM offers to the lost sinful human soul the hope that he needs and the hope that the Christian gospel gives.
Jesus is our hope.
It is only within the Christian gospel that someone has willingly died to bring salvation, It is only within the Christian gospel that the one who died also rose again, It is only within the Christian gospel that our eternal destiny can be guaranteed, It is only within the Christian gospel that a man, woman, boy or girl can be truly reconciled to God the creator and judge of all. It is only through the Christian gospel, or the provision of that gospel in the Lord Jesus Christ that death is swallowed up in victory, notice what verse 56 says: ‘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.’
If you want to have eternal hope, then it can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. AND I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR SAYING THIS. Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, NO ONE comes to the father
except through me.’ In their preaching in Jerusalem after the healing of the lame man the disciples made this clear; Acts 4:12 ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’
The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Saviour of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse upon Him
One final breath He gave
As heaven looked away
The son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken
The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting?
Our resurrected King
Has rendered you defeated
Forever He is glorified
Forever He is lifted high
Forever He is risen
He is alive, He is alive!
Kari Jobe CCLI 788682