1Crinthians 15E It s time fr Paul t wrap up his teaching n resurrectin He s rebuked thse in Crinth wh wuld suggest resurrectin isn t pssible He s explained it s imprtance t the Gspel He s reminded them f Christ s wn resurrectin He s explained the centrality f resurrectin t Jesus missin f reversing Adam s mistake And he s shwn the church that their cherished Christian rituals pint t the reality f resurrectin S all that s left is fr Paul t explain t the church the manner f their cming resurrectin Because at the heart f the church s dubts was a lack f appreciatin fr hw the Lrd can accmplish smething s incredible Hw can it be pssible fr a dead bdy that s been decmpsing in the grave fr centuries t return t a living vessel? The seeming impssibility f it all was prbably the main reasn the church succumbed t this false teaching Let s see hw Paul answers these bjectins 1Cr. 15:35 But smene will say, Hw are the dead raised? And with what kind f bdy d they cme? 1Cr. 15:36 Yu fl! That which yu sw des nt cme t life unless it dies; 1Cr. 15:37 and that which yu sw, yu d nt sw the bdy which is t be, but a bare grain, perhaps f wheat r f smething else. 1Cr. 15:38 But Gd gives it a bdy just as He wished, and t each f the seeds a bdy f its wn. In v.35 Paul refers t a persn asking hw the dead will be raised and what kind f bdy they will have? It s imprtant t understand the tne f the questin as Paul repeats it 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 2 f 13 This was a questins begin asked by thse in Crinth wh didn t believe in resurrectin The questin itself was intended t mck the very idea f resurrectin Put anther way, the questiner was asking, Hw culd it even be pssible fr Gd t raise a dead bdy? Imagine the cnditin f such a bdy! The questin pinted t the decaying prcess f dead bdies and t the destructive nature f death itself t discredit the idea f resurrectin Hw can a bdy that s decmpsed be brught t life? Or what if that bdy is ttally burned up? Or what if the bdy is crushed by a rck r eaten by an animal? Can yu imagine the cnditin f such a resurrected bdy? Therefre, resurrectin must be a ridiculus idea Paul repeats the questin here s he can answer this bjectin Ntice his respnse begins with a strng statement: he calls thse wh harbr such thinking fls At first glance we might wnder if it was prper fr Paul t issue such a strng rebuke Elsewhere Jesus said that the ne wh calls anther a fl has sinned Matt. 5:22 But I say t yu that everyne wh is angry with his brther shall be guilty befre the curt; and whever says t his brther, Yu gd-fr-nthing, shall be guilty befre the supreme curt; and whever says, Yu fl, shall be guilty enugh t g int the fiery hell. But the cntext in this case makes clear Paul was nt sinning in his use f this strng rebuke The meaning f the wrd fl in scripture is a persn t discunts r excludes the pwer f Gd As Psalms says: 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 3 f 13 Psa. 53:1 The fl has said in his heart, There is n Gd, They are crrupt, and have cmmitted abminable injustice; There is n ne wh des gd. In Matthew 5:22 Jesus gave an example f smene wh uses the term fl in hateful manner t slander a brther But here Paul is using the term in it s technical sense, as a descriptin f this persn s sinful mindset Truly, the Crinthian church was discunting and ignring the pwer f Gd when they claimed resurrectin was impssible They argued a believer wuldn t receive a new bdy, and in the prcess they were dismissing Gd s ability t d things beynd what we can imagine S Paul wasn t uttering a hateful insult, as Jesus described He was crrectly labeling the mistaken thinking f the Crinthians Then in the secnd half f v.36, Paul mves t answering this flish bjectin by reminding them f Gd s pwer t d the very thing they have been denying Paul draws a cmparisn t anther kind f resurrectin invlving seeds and plants It s tempting t call this example metaphric, but it s far mre than metaphr Paul s example f seeds yielding new life is a type f resurrectin that transcends mere illustratin Paul is pinting ut the miraculus pwer f Gd t turn ne physical frm int anther, smething that s evident in the everyday cycle f life n earth Lking at Paul s example, Gd designed the reprductin f plants t depend n the implanting f seeds int the earth Paul picks up n that pattern t teach that nthing new cmes t life until it is first buried in the grund But Paul says take nte that the thing that we bury bears n resemblance physically t the plant that appears later 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 4 f 13 In fact, yu can t predict the appearance f a plant by lking at it s seed Gd has chsen t assign a certain bdy r physical appearance t each plant as He wished And that bdy riginates frm an earlier bdy - a seed - that is cmpletely unlike itself Gd makes this transfrmatin happen arund us everyday, and we take it fr granted withut giving it a secnd thught Yet the critics f resurrectin verlked this daily miraculus transfrmatin even as they claimed Gd can t grant us knew bdies after ur present bdy is buried Furthermre, nce the new plant arrives, the seed that prduced it is gne It s nt as thugh the ld seed remains in the grund The seed is literally transfrmed int the new bdy f the plant And that new plant bdy is nt nly different frm the seed in appearance, but it s much larger Which means the material fr the plant cmes frm smewhere beynd the materials present in the riginal seed All these elements in Paul s example demnstrate Gd can use ne thing t create smething whlly new and different withut being dependent n the structure, appearance r cnditin f the riginal material Next Paul bradens his examples beynd seeds and plants t address the vastness f Gd s creative pwers 1Cr. 15:39 All flesh is nt the same flesh, but there is ne flesh f men, and anther flesh f beasts, and anther flesh f birds, and anther f fish. 1Cr. 15:40 There are als heavenly bdies and earthly bdies, but the glry f the heavenly is ne, and the glry f the earthly is anther. 1Cr. 15:41 There is ne glry f the sun, and anther glry f the mn, and anther glry f the stars; fr star differs frm star in glry.!paul reminds us that Gd s palette fr creating physical bdies is vast and limitless 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 5 f 13 Cnsider the universe f bdies we can bserve t exist The bdies f men are different than that f animals, birds, fish, etc. The celestial bdies f the universe vary tremendusly in physical cnstructin frm the sun t the mn and rest f the stars in the sky They differ in size, brightness, etc. If Gd can make a universe s diverse in appearance, why wuld we have reasn t dubt His ability t cnstruct a new bdy fr us? Therefre, when the time cmes fr the Lrd t assign each f us ur resurrected bdy, He wn t be cnstrained by the cnditin r appearance f ur first bdy He isn t required t reassemble ur new bdy frm the same mlecules in ur riginal bdy Instead, Paul says Gd will cnstruct a bdy suitable fr eternal life in a heavenly realm, which requires He use all new material Just as ur first bdy was suited fr physical birth and a physical life n earth, s ur eternal bdies must be designed t share an eternal life with Christ Since ur earth has been cursed because f sin, ur new bdies cannt share any material in cmmn with the present wrld We must be created all new, in the likeness f Christ, if we are t live eternally Therefre, we will enter int ur new bdies by the pwer f Gd rather than by a physical birth While ur first bdy was made frm the material f ur parent s bdies, ur new bdy must be made in the likeness f Christ s bdy Just as ur new spirit was brn again in the likeness f Christ s Spirit The material fr ur new bdy will have a new, eternal surce Smething beynd the present cursed creatin 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 6 f 13 Because ur new bdy has a new purpse, it will have a new cnstructin 1Cr. 15:42 S als is the resurrectin f the dead. It is swn a perishable bdy, it is raised an imperishable bdy; 1Cr. 15:43 it is swn in dishnr, it is raised in glry; it is swn in weakness, it is raised in pwer; 1Cr. 15:44 it is swn a natural bdy, it is raised a spiritual bdy. If there is a natural bdy, there is als a spiritual bdy. 1Cr. 15:45 S als it is written, The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1Cr. 15:46 Hwever, the spiritual is nt first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 1Cr. 15:47 The first man is frm the earth, earthy; the secnd man is frm heaven. 1Cr. 15:48 As is the earthy, s als are thse wh are earthy; and as is the heavenly, s als are thse wh are heavenly. 1Cr. 15:49 Just as we have brne the image f the earthy, we will als bear the image f the heavenly. In ur new existence, Paul says we will be imperishable The Greek wrd fr perishable means crrupt r killed Our first bdy was cnstructed frm materials that were already crrupted Adam s sin placed all mankind in a state f crruptin, f sin His bdy and spirit became damaged gds, and therefre ur first bdy was damaged gds t But the new bdy we will receive at the resurrectin will find it s surce in Christ, s that He will cnstruct fr us a new, perfect bdy And it will be an imperishable bdy The wrd imperishable means incrruptible It cannt be crrupted We will be held in a state f sinlessness by the pwer f Christ Paul reiterates the example f the seed t emphasize the cntrast between ld and new The first bdy is swn (buried) in dishnr 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 7 f 13 The dishnr f ur present bdy it ur weakness in sin Our present bdies are crrupt and ur physical death is prf f that crruptin But after that death and planting in the grund, we cme t ur state f glry We can see the death prcess as a prcess f bringing new life, a life f glry Likewise, a seed is small and weak cmpared t the strength f the plant that emerges S will ur new bdy be strng in the face f temptatin t sin We will never again experience the weakness f sin We will enjy Christ s pwer in us t bey in perfectin While ur riginal bdy was natural, living accrding t the desires f the flesh Our new bdy will be spiritual, driven t serve and please the living Gd Our thughts and desires will be accrding t His nature, rather than accrding t a sinful nature And if we have experiences an earthly, sinful existence, then we can be sure we will als experience the heavenly, eternal life that fllws Just as the seed experienced an existence f ne kind, s will that seed knw a new existence as a plant living a new life Seeing Paul s example fit s perfectly in describing resurrectin shuld give us pause t wnder if Gd prepared the seed in Creatin just t supprt this illustratin Did the Lrd give us seeds leading t plants s that we might better grasp His pwer t resurrect ur dead bdies? It seems s Which reminds us hw much care Gd has given t ensuring His children are well-prepared fr ur cming resurrectin Tday we bear the image f the earth 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 8 f 13 We are made f dirt, as was Adam We are sinful as the Adam And ur bdies are cursed t die, as is the entire earth But by ur faith in Jesus Christ, we have reasn t lk frward t a new resurrected and heavenly life We will be made f an eternal material We will be perfect as Christ is perfect And we will have escape the curse f death as Christ Himself cnquered death And nw Paul reveals ne f the mst pwerful mysteries f the New Testament age: the manner f ur resurrectin 1Cr. 15:50 Nw I say this, brethren, that flesh and bld cannt inherit the kingdm f Gd; nr des the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1Cr. 15:51 Behld, I tell yu a mystery; we will nt all sleep, but we will all be changed, 1Cr. 15:52 in a mment, in the twinkling f an eye, at the last trumpet; fr the trumpet will sund, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1Cr. 15:53 Fr this perishable must put n the imperishable, and this mrtal must put n immrtality. First, Paul repeats that the bdies f this wrld are simple unable t enter int a heavenly realm Our sinful natures bar us frm entry int heaven S that even thugh we have been saved by grace, ur salvatin cannt undue the sinful nature f ur present bdies Our bdies must be replaced s that we are prepared fr the eternal life And then in v.51 Paul begins t explain the manner f that replacement, unveiling a mystery t the church The wrd mystery in the New Testament has a very specific meaning The wrd desn t mean smething mysterius r cnfunding 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 9 f 13 It means a truth cncerning Gd s plan which was hidden frm ur understanding until an appinted time it is t be revealed Paul was given the hnr f revealing a ttal f 8 mysteries t the church Here we see him revealing ne f thse 8 hidden truths: the manner f the resurrectin T begin, Paul says we will nt all sleep, but we will all be changed (ften a phrase psted n church nursery walls) Sleep is Paul s euphemism fr physical death The physical death f the bdy has lng been described in plite, kind terms Tday, we speak f passing away, expiring, ging hme, etc. In Paul s day, the ppular euphemism was t sleep because the death f a bdy resembles smene sleeping Paul says we will nt all die The we is a reference t the church saints (the believers in the church) Nt all church saints will experience a physical death Mst will bviusly, and s far everyne has But Paul tells us that Gd plans t allw sme Christians t escape the death experience Nevertheless, we all must be changed, Paul says The Greek wrd fr changed can als carry the meaning f being exchanged We must all give up ur current bdy fr the eternal bdy, as Paul has explained already Fr mst Christians, that change invlves first the death f the bdy fllwed by a receiving f a new bdy at sme later pint But fr sme Christians, the new bdy will cme by way f an exchange withut the death f the first bdy This exchange happens incredibly fast, virtually instantaneusly 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 10 f 13 In v.52 Paul says this exchange will cme in a mment The Greek wrd fr mment is atms It means an indivisible mment f time We tk ur English wrd atm frm this Greek wrd t describe an indivisible particle Paul adds that it will be in the twinkling f an eye, which is that brief flash f light reflected by a persn s eye S the mment we exchange ur ld bdy fr ur new bdy invlves practically n time passing...it s instantaneus Next, Paul says it happens at the last trumpet The reference t a last trumpet is a statement that any practicing Jew in Israel wuld immediately recgnize It s a reference t the Jewish feast f Trumpets r Rsh Hashanah It is the first f the Fall feast n the Jewish calendar The feast begins with a series f trumpet blasts and ends with ne lng, great blast called the tekiah gedlah Paul s reference t this trumpet indicates that the Feast f Trumpets is fulfilled by the resurrectin f the Church Sme have cncluded that the trumpet mentined here is a reference t the trumpet judgments in the first half f tribulatin, but this pssibility is precluded by the timing f the bks f the cann When Paul wrte this letter, the bk f Revelatin had yet t be written S the Crinthian church (and likely Paul himself) had n knwledge f the cming trumpet judgments f tribulatin Yet Paul says the trumpet as if he expected his audience in Crinth t knw abut this specific trumpet The nly trumpet knwn t Paul and the church in his day wuld have been the last trumpet blwn at Rsh Hashanah As the trumpet assciated with Rsh Hashanah blws, the resurrectin will begin 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 11 f 13 First, Paul says thse Christians wh have already died by the time this mment arrives will be the first t receive their new eternal bdies Until this mment, these Christians have been withut a physical bdy since the day their bdies died They have existed as spirits nly, present in the heavenly realm with the Lrd waiting fr this day At the cmmencement f the resurrectin, the Lrd rewards their waiting by assigning them new bdies befre anyne else They are raised, that is resurrected, int imperishable bdies, just as Paul has described earlier Next, thse wh are alive will underg the exchange f ld bdies fr new bdies This prcess is explained in a little mre detail in anther f Paul s letters written years later t a church in Asia Minr 1Th. 4:13 But we d nt want yu t be uninfrmed, brethren, abut thse wh are asleep, s that yu will nt grieve as d the rest wh have n hpe. 1Th. 4:14 Fr if we believe that Jesus died and rse again, even s Gd will bring with Him thse wh have fallen asleep in Jesus. 1Th. 4:15 Fr this we say t yu by the wrd f the Lrd, that we wh are alive and remain until the cming f the Lrd, will nt precede thse wh have fallen asleep. 1Th. 4:16 Fr the Lrd Himself will descend frm heaven with a shut, with the vice f the archangel and with the trumpet f Gd, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 1Th. 4:17 Then we wh are alive and remain will be caught up tgether with them in the cluds t meet the Lrd in the air, and s we shall always be with the Lrd. 1Th. 4:18 Therefre cmfrt ne anther with these wrds. Once again, Paul reassures the church that thse wh have already died in faith will nt be left ut f the resurrectin In fact, they will be the first t be raised, meeting the Lrd in the air And then we wh remain (alive) are then caught up t meet Christ in the air t jin the thers in ur new incrruptible bdies Why des the Lrd rchestrate the manner f ur resurrectin in such a unique prcess, ne that permits sme believes t bypass physical death? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 12 f 13 There are tw reasns as I see it...first, it s abut numbers Paul says that the church is a temprary fixture intended t bring Israel t jealusy We get what Israel culd have had, and we exist fr a time t illustrate the Lrd s kindness t a stubbrn and disbedient Israel But then Paul says nce the Gentile church reaches it s appinted number, the church has met it s purpse and must end Rm. 11:25 Fr I d nt want yu, brethren, t be uninfrmed f this mystery s that yu will nt be wise in yur wn estimatin that a partial hardening has happened t Israel until the fullness f the Gentiles has cme in; When the fullness (r cmplete number) f Gentiles has been reached, the church will be remved frm the scene The sudden resurrectin f the church is designed t bring that cnclusin precisely at an appinted number The Lrd desn t wait fr the last Christian t die naturally He simple brings the end in a mment accrding t His timing Which is the secnd reasn fr a sudden departure f the church It creates a sense f urgency and unpredictability t the event If Gd waited until all Christians had died, then we wuld have n reasn t be watching fr the Lrd s return much less t be ready fr that mment We wuld all simply just be waiting fr ur deaths, which drives far less urgency than it shuld Instead, the Lrd warned us that His return fr the Church is a everpresent pssibility, ne we must be ready fr at any time Matt. 24:42 Therefre be n the alert, fr yu d nt knw which day yur Lrd is cming. Matt. 24:43 But be sure f this, that if the head f the huse had knwn at what time f the night the thief was cming, he wuld have been n the alert and wuld nt have allwed his huse t be brken int. Matt. 24:44 Fr this reasn yu als must be ready; fr the Sn f Man is cming at an hur when yu d nt think He will. 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 15E 13 f 13 Our remval will be a surprise s that we have gd reasn t be attentive t the Lrd s cmmands while we wait Take nthing fr granted; use everyday t please Him Finally, Paul wraps up his lessn n resurrectin with a praise t the Lrd fr His plan t put an end t ur mrtality 1Cr. 15:54 But when this perishable will have put n the imperishable, and this mrtal will have put n immrtality, then will cme abut the saying that is written, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victry. 1Cr. 15:55 O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? 1Cr. 15:56 The sting f death is sin, and the pwer f sin is the law; 1Cr. 15:57 but thanks be t Gd, wh gives us the victry thrugh ur Lrd Jesus Christ. Gd s plan f redemptin in Christ prmises that His death and resurrectin has wn the victry ver ur enemy Death But that victry wn t be evident t us persnally until ur wn death has been cnquered And the resurrectin is the mment when death is swallwed up frever Imagine death frever remved frm yur thinking Imagine a day when yur mrtality and the mrtality f thers arund yu is cmpletely remved frm yur mind and yur experience, never t truble yu again Paul says the sting f death is sin The Greek fr sting means a stinger, the sharp pint f attack S the instrument f death s attack is ur sin Our sin is the stinger that set death int ur flesh And the pwer f that stinger cmes because f Gd s Law The pwer f the Law is in it s ability t cndemn men fr their sin But the Lrd granted us victry by meeting the requirement f the Law and als paying the penalty it required fr sin...he wn ur victry ver death Thanks be t Gd fr winning this victry fr us! 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.