CALVARY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49 APRIL 10, 2016 TEACHING PLAN

BIBLE FELLOWSHIP TEACHING PLANS WHY?: WHY THE RESURRECTION MATTERS YOUR FUTURE IS SECURE APRIL 10, 2016

CALVARY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49 APRIL 10, 2016 TEACHING PLAN PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying 1 Corinthians 15:35-49. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for Pastor Rob, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: The resurrection body will be one adapted to its new spiritual environment. The physical body is weak, dishonorable, and perishable, but it will be raised in Christ as spiritual, glorious, powerful, and imperishable. TEACHING AIM: Your future is secure. Jesus can make all things new. MEMORIZE: And just as we have borne the image of the man made of dust, we will also bear the image of the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15:49 2 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

TEACHING PLAN APRIL 10, 2016 INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. 1 Where is a place that you ve seen only a little bit but would like to see more? 2 What about eternal life do you think you understand a little but would like to know more? As believers, we have a clear and certain hope that one day our bodies will be raised and renewed. All of our friends and loved ones who followed Christ in this life will be reunited with new bodies in the next. We all, like Jesus, will be changed from perishable to imperishable. Yet what Paul shares with us about this is not the whole story; it is not the complete picture, but a crack in the fence. Whatever we see, there s more. Today s study will help us answer some of our questions and give us hope about the things we cannot yet see. This we know: Our future is secure because Jesus will make all things new. UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read 1 Corinthians 15:35-44. What two questions did Paul address in these verses? What analogies did he use to make his point? Why did Paul believe those questions to be the wrong ones to ask? 3 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

TEACHING PLAN APRIL 10, 2016 How does Paul s example of a farmer planting a seed help you understand the resurrection body? What point was Paul making in verses 38-40? What does this teach you about the nature of God? Paul used the farmer and seed and the various types of life God has created to help the Corinthians understand the answers to their questions. In farming, a dead thing (a seed) gives life to a new thing (a plant). Similarly, God will give new life to our perishable bodies. In the same way, God has created many different forms of matter: humans, plants, animals, birds, planets and stars. Each of these is different. It is natural to have questions about how these events will come to pass, but as followers of Christ, we can be assured that God can and will do all that He promises. His power accomplishes it. Our future is secure because Jesus will make all things new. What changes will take place when our mortal bodies become immortal? What was Christ s body like after His resurrection (see Matt. 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-53; John 20:1-21:23; Acts 1:1-9)? Our bodies are weak, but they will be raised with power. Our current bodies cannot withstand the glory and presence of God. Our bodies are suited for earth, yet destined for heaven. There are necessary changes that have to occur to make our bodies new when we are raised from the dead. To illustrate this, Paul compared the first man to the ultimate man. Resurrection For Paul the resurrection was a historical event and a supernatural act of God. The goal of salvation is full possession of the inheritance (a resurrection body) at the resurrection (Eph. 1:14). Christ will descend with all believers who have died, the immaterial will be reunited with the material, and souls will be joined to resurrected, glorified bodies (1 Thess. 4:13-18). The resurrection will provide a resurrection body suitable for life in the consummated kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:35-56). For Paul the resurrection was of such paramount importance that to deny the resurrection of the believer was essentially to deny the resurrection of Christ. Without the resurrection of Christ, believers had no hope, and their faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:12-34). To deny the reality of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15) or to teach that the resurrection had already occurred (2 Tim. 2:17-18) was destructive of the faith. 4 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

TEACHING PLAN APRIL 10, 2016 > Have a volunteer read 1 Corinthians 15:45-49. In this passage, Paul makes five observations about Adam, the first man. What are they? From these five observations, Paul draws five conclusions about Jesus. What are they? First, Paul paraphrased Genesis 2:7, which states that Adam became a living being. Then, turning to the last Adam, Paul asserted that Christ did not merely become a living being. As much as Adam was a wondrous creature, able to create offspring, he does not compare to the wonderful Christ, who gives eternal life to all who trust in Him. Second, Paul noted that the order of the biblical account was important. Historically, the natural body for the human race came before the spiritual body given by Christ. Third, Adam was of the dust of the earth, but Christ is from heaven. Adam was an ordinary human being, but Christ exceeds Adam s glory because Christ came from heaven (John 6:38). Fourth, Paul argued that Scripture indicates that those who are of the earth (i.e., Adam s descendants) are like the earthly man (i.e., Adam). They inherit his natural physical nature. Yet, those who are of heaven (i.e., born from above in regeneration) become like the man from heaven (i.e., Christ). Finally, Paul pointed out that the biblical record teaches that all people bear the likeness of the earthly man. The Old Testament not only teaches that human beings are in the image of God, but also that they are the images of their human ancestors, including Adam (Gen. 5:3). Paul concluded it must be true that Christians bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 5 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

TEACHING PLAN APRIL 10, 2016 Why are these observations and conclusions important for us to grasp? While some of the truths in these verses can be hard to wrap our minds around, they remind us that because of Jesus resurrection, our future is secure. Knowing this truth gives us hope, and it should motivate us to live ready for Jesus return every day. Let s look briefly at a text from another of Paul s letters to help us understand how the hope of our eternal security impacts our lives today. > Have a volunteer read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 5:11. Compare and contrast Paul s comments in 1 Thessalonians with what we have read in 1 Corinthians 15. What similarities and differences do you see? Paul believed in Christ s bodily resurrection and based many truths on this certainty (1 Cor. 15:14). In verse 14, he staked our hope of seeing again the Christian dead on Jesus resurrection. The same God who raised His Son from the dead will also raise those who have placed their trust in Him. In other words, Jesus resurrection guarantees the resurrection of Christians who have died. In these verses, Paul links our bodily resurrection with the return of Christ. What five statements about the return of Christ does Paul make in verses 15-17? Of these, which impacts you the most? Which surprises you the most? In verses 15-17, the apostle made several prophecies that he solemnly affirmed were from the Lord Himself. Whether Jesus had taught these things during His earthly ministry or whether this was later revelation He gave directly to Paul is unknown. But 6 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

TEACHING PLAN APRIL 10, 2016 this we do know: 1) The Christian dead are at no disadvantage to those still alive at the Lord s return. 2) Christ s descent will be accompanied by incredible sounds. 3) The Christian dead will rise. 4) Christians still living at Jesus return will be caught up alive, meet the Lord in the air, and join the resurrected Christian dead. 5) One day all believers will be fully united with each other and with the Lord forever. First Thessalonians 5:1-11 highlights how we are to live now as we await Jesus return and our future resurrection with Him. What stands out to you from these verses about how we are to live now? What are some practical ways we encourage each other (v. 11) to remember our future is secure? Based on what Paul wrote here in 1 Thessalonians, he clearly had no idea about the date of Christ s return. He had no doubt, however, about the fact of His coming. Therefore, we are to live every day in the faith, hope, and love that characterize the Christian life, and we are to encourage one another to do the same. When we understand that Jesus can and will make all things new, it puts everything we go through today into eternal perspective. APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. 1 How has the reality of death affected you? Does the resurrection enable you to overcome the fear of death? Why or why not? 7 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

TEACHING PLAN APRIL 10, 2016 2 Do you look forward to eternity? If not, what does this reflect about your faith? 3 How can your daily actions display your understanding of and faith in Jesus resurrection? What about your actions implications for your future? How might they compel others to believe in the resurrection, too? P R A Y Thank God for the future redemption of our bodies, and pray that as you meditate on these truths from Scripture, it would transform the way you live your life in the present. 8 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

COMMENTARY APRIL 10, 2016 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49. 15:35. The phrase someone may ask indicates that Paul had either heard about this objection or he anticipated that someone might raise it. Paul listed two specific issues: how the dead are raised; and what kind of body the dead will have when they come back to life. Both of these questions presented the same objection in different terms. Paul saw them as cloaked objections arguing for the impossibility of a general resurrection. These objections probably stemmed from Greek dualism, which taught that the soul is good but the body is corrupt. In this view, death allowed the soul to liberate itself from the body. Some interpreters suggest that the Corinthians understood that Christians would be resurrected in the same bodies they possessed before death, but they thought God would not perfect these bodies. For them, the resurrection presented an awful scene of reanimated, unrestored corpses. Paul s opponents apparently thought they had pointed out the odious nature of Paul s position. 15:36. As a result, Paul responded quite harshly, How foolish! Literally, he called his hypothetical opponent a fool. He considered these objections foolish because they disregarded God s incomparable abilities. To demonstrate how foolish his opponents were, Paul appealed to a regular natural occurrence that demonstrated the future resurrection of believers. Responding to the first objection, How are the dead raised? (15:35), Paul answered that a seed that is sown does not come to life unless it dies. Before a seed can grow into a tree or a plant, it must be buried as if it were dead. The ability of a seed to overcome its burial should be reason enough for everyone to believe that human beings may be resurrected by God s supernatural power. 15:37-38a. Second, Paul answered the objection, With what kind of body will they come? (15:35). Again, the apostle used the example of a normal seed. When people plant seeds, they do not plant the body that will be. In 9 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

COMMENTARY APRIL 10, 2016 other words, a seed does not bear the shape and size of the full-grown plant. In fact, a seed does not look anything like the plant into which it grows. Instead, God gives it a body as he has determined. As God causes the dead seed to come to life as a plant, he also shapes it into the appropriate form. In his sovereignty, God chooses what each plant will look like. In the resurrection, Paul said in effect, believers will have the kind of body that God has determined they will have. Resurrected bodies will be different from mortal bodies, just as a seed differs from the plant into which it grows. Though Paul did not answer the immediate question, What kind of body, he did answer the objection that God could not raise the dead. God displays his sovereign ability and desire to raise the dead each time he grows a seed into a plant. 15:38b-41. To prove further that God is capable of giving resurrected bodies to followers of Christ, Paul listed various natural objects by which God shows his ability to create different types of bodies. Paul demonstrated this first by pointing out that each kind of seed receives from God its own body. He pressed the point by noting that all flesh is not the same. The bodies of men, animals, birds, fish, heavenly bodies, earthly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars all differ from one another. God does not have any problem coming up with shapes, sizes, and substances for each item in his universe. For this reason, believers should not worry that the lack of an appropriate body type will prevent the resurrection of believers. God is able to overcome this problem. 15:42-44a. Paul concluded that just as it is with the varieties of bodies that God has made in the universe, so will it be with the resurrection of the dead. He then mentioned four differences that believers may anticipate between their present mortal bodies and those they will receive at the resurrection. First, mortal bodies are perishable, but resurrected bodies will be imperishable. Mortal bodies are subject to illness and death, but resurrected bodies will have no such difficulties. 10 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

COMMENTARY APRIL 10, 2016 Second, mortal bodies carry dishonor, but resurrected bodies carry glory. Since Adam s fall into sin, all human beings have been born into a dishonorable existence wherein sin corrupts even their bodies (cf. Rom. 7:17-25). Resurrected bodies, however, will be glorious and splendid. Third, mortal bodies suffer weakness, but resurrected bodies will be filled with power. Human beings originally received the power and honor of dominion over creation (Gen. 1:26-28). Through sin, however, man and the rest of creation were drawn apart (Rom. 8:20-23). In the resurrection, however, believers will reign with Christ in great power over his creation (2 Tim. 2:12). Fourth, mortal bodies are natural, but resurrected bodies will be spiritual. These terms are difficult to define precisely, but there is no justification for believing that Paul meant to contrast the material and immaterial or the physical and nonphysical. Christ s appearances in his resurrected body demonstrated that he continued to be physical and material, but this physicality had special characteristics. For example, he was able to appear suddenly (Luke 24:36), even in rooms with locked doors (John 20:19, 26), and to vanish just as quickly (Luke 24:31). At the same time, however, he was able to break bread (Luke 24:30), to eat fish (Luke 24:42-43), and to cook and distribute food (John 21:9, 13). Moreover, people were able to touch him (John 20:27). It is best to take the term spiritual not as immaterial, but as a reference to the Holy Spirit. In other words, believers resurrected bodies will be spiritual because they will be renewed by the Holy Spirit. Christ himself was raised by the Spirit (Rom. 8:11), and in the same way the bodies of believers will be resurrected by the power of the Spirit. 15:44b-49. To make his position perfectly clear, Paul stated that the existence of a natural (ordinary) body necessitates the existence of a spiritual (renewed by the Holy Spirit) body. He supported this belief with five observations about Adam written in the Scriptures. From these five observations Paul drew five conclusions about Christ. Assuming 11 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

COMMENTARY APRIL 10, 2016 the truthfulness of his earlier comparison between Adam and Christ, he argued from the lesser to the greater that if something were true of Adam, then something greater must be true of Christ. First, Paul paraphrased Genesis 2:7, which states that Adam became a living being. Then, turning to the last Adam, he asserted that Christ did not merely become a living being. In his resurrection Christ became something much greater than a living being. He became a life-giving spirit. In other words, as much as Adam was a wondrous creature able to transmit life to his offspring, he did not compare to the wonderful Christ, who gives eternal life to all who trust in him. Second, Paul noted that the order of the biblical account was important. Historically, the natural body for the human race came before the spiritual body given by Christ. This supports Paul s earlier argument that God will provide a body renewed by the Spirit in the resurrection of believers. Third, Adam was of the dust of the earth, but Christ is from heaven. Adam was an ordinary human being, but Christ exceeds Adam s glory because Christ came from heaven (John 6:38). Fourth, Paul argued that Scripture indicates that those who are of the earth (i.e., Adam s descendants) are like the earthly man (i.e., Adam). They inherit his natural physical nature. Yet, those who are of heaven (i.e., born from above in regeneration) become like the man from heaven (i.e., Christ). From heaven (epouranios) does not refer to Christ s location of origin, or even to his current location, but to his nature. The regenerate inherit Christ s spiritual nature. Fifth, Paul pointed out that the biblical record teaches that all people bear the likeness of the earthly man. The Old Testament not only teaches that human beings are the image of God, but also that they are the images of their human ancestors, including Adam (Gen. 5:3). So Paul concluded it must be true that Christians bear the likeness of the man from heaven. Elsewhere, Paul described the 12 Your Future Is Secure Calvary

COMMENTARY APRIL 10, 2016 ultimate state of salvation as being conformed to the likeness of [God s] Son (Rom. 8:29). To bear the likeness of Christ is to reach the zenith of human existence. 13 Your Future Is Secure Calvary