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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
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acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Established
November 2008 Published weekly on
Friday
1 Corinthians Lesson 45
Welcome to HBS and
to our study of 1 Corinthians, verse-by-verse, and rightly divided.
In chapter 15 Paul
is responding to a group of Believers that denied the resurrection of the body
(15:12-13). Unless this dissent is curtailed, if not eliminated
altogether, it could destroy the hope of
other Believers in this assembly, and prove to be much more than a
discouragement to the unsaved in their midst who were seeking Truth.
Paul probably wrote
this letter before any of the four gospels were written. Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians is the authoritative
chapter in the New Testament re: the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the first fruits of those who are asleep and
the resurrection of Believers that will follow in stages. There isn’t another one
like in the Bible.
*******
Paul
has a lot more to teach us, so if you’ll please open your Bible at 1
Corinthians 15:30, we’ll start today’s Bible lesson where Paul argues, “Why are we in danger every hour?” Paul, a Jew and a Roman citizen, was not
received affectionately or treated respectfully when he came preaching his gospel in the cities and town he
visited, and the same could be said for his co-workers (Acts 22:20-22).
In
2 Corinthians 11:26-28 Paul explains the meaning of verse 30: I have been on frequent journeys, in
dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship,
through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in
cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily
pressure on me of concern for all the
churches.” (See 2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
This
is Paul’s point. To believe
wholeheartedly that God raises the dead is a tremendous encouragement to endure
suffering, trials, and tribulations now (Romans 8:18). The fact that Paul understood and believed this
enabled him to tolerate those times of great mental and physical pressure, when
as he put it, he “fought wild beasts at
Ephesus” (Acts 18:19, 26). Paul was a Roman citizen and no Roman
citizen could be forced to fight in the arena, so Paul is figuratively saying
while he went about doing the Lord’s work in Ephesus it was like entering the
arena to fight wild beasts. This is a euphemistic statement for
struggling with human passions or
those who stood in opposition to him
and his gospel. If you’ve ever tried to reason or talk
sensibly to someone about Jesus Christ and the Cross and were not able to move
beyond their emotions, “feelings,” or their personal beliefs, whether religious
or philosophical, then you have some idea what Paul is saying here.
If the dead are not
raised, “LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.”
This
was the philosophy of Epicureanism in that day.
In a nutshell, this was an ancient Greek philosophical system taught by
a man named Epicurus. It emphasized the
“goal” of achieving a happy and content life in the here and now, rejecting the
superstitious fear of the gods and any notion of an afterlife.
The
Epicurean philosophy was warmly received in Paul’s day, as it is today. You may be familiar with some of their popular
slogans: “Live it up.” Party like it’s
1999,” “You can have it your way.”
“If you’ve got the time; they’ve got the
beer! “God is dead!” “We are gods;” per Oprah Winfrey, “There are many ways to heaven…,” etc.
In
response to this heretical seed permeating the Corinthian church, Paul
explained that Christ’s resurrection was the key to the gospel that saves and
that in order for Believers to receive their final salvation, their bodies
would have to be resurrected: Just as we have borne the image of the
earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly(v49).
Now
let’s take a good look at verses 33-34.
1 Corinthians 15
33: Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Bad company in the Greek language is Homilia– (pronounced: hom-il-ee’-ah), Noun, Strong’s Greek #3657, meaning
– companionship, association.
34: Become sober-minded as you ought, and
stop sinning; for some have no knowledge
of God. I speak this to your shame.
Paul
said, “Do not be deceived.” The Greek word for deceived is Planao (pronounced: plan-ah’-o), Verb, Strong’s Greek #3657, and
it means – to cause to stray; to lead
astray, to lead away from the truth.
This is the same phrase the Lord used at the beginning of His Olivet
Discourse, in answer to His disciples question, “Tell us, when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign
of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
(Matthew 24, 25 - KJV) In other
words, Jesus said be alert, deception (to be led away from the truth) before I return will be the
norm.
What
is truth? Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). On the last night before His betrayal and His
death, Jesus was preparing His disciples for the “long” and “troubling” days
ahead. For three years they had followed
Him and were learning from His teaching and from His example. They had placed all their hope in Him as the Messiah, yet they
still did not understand how He was going to accomplish Israel’s deliverance
from Roman oppression. At the Last
Supper, Jesus began speaking about His departure which led to questions from
His disciples… (John 13:33).
When
Jesus said He was the truth, He was in effect
saying, “I am the only truth” (Psalm
119:42). In His Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5-7), Jesus reminded His followers of several points of the Law, and
then said, “But I say to you… in effect equating
Himself with the Law of God; the single trustworthy standard of
righteousness. For Jesus said, “I came to fulfill the Law and the prophets… (Matthew
5:17). Jesus, as the incarnate Word of
God (John 1:1), is the source of all truth.
Now,
people have stumbled over Christ and
His statements in John 14:6 since day one. They deny the truth and argue that there
is more than one way to heaven. The Corinthian church certainly falls into
this category. Paul learned through
Chloe’s letter (1 Corinthians 1:11) that some of the Believers in this church were
searching other avenues for truth;
they did not accept Jesus Christ or His apostles as the source of all truth. They looked
to the philosophy of man, i.e. opinion or theory, for answers to the concerns
of life over God’s Son; that way being
“too narrow” for these folks
(Matthew 7:13-14).
As
King Solomon said, “There’s nothing new
under the sun…” The calendar
changes; the years come and go, but the way the majority of people think and
act rarely changes. Today a series of
court decisions prohibit the teaching of Creationism or intelligent design in
public schools, whilst Evolutionism is widely accepted as truth by more than
32% of America’s citizens and even some churches. To teach Creationism is now a crime but it’s acceptable
to teach Evolutionism as fact in schools and colleges across this land, even
though Charles Darwin, himself, said it was only a “theory.” (See excerpt below)
“Even Charles Darwin thought his own theory was
"grievously hypothetical" and gave emotional content to his doubts
when he said, "The eye to this day gives me a cold shudder." To think the eye had evolved by natural
selection, Darwin said, "Seems, I freely confess, absurd in the
highest possible degree." But he
thought of the same about something as simple as a peacock's feather, which, he
said, "makes me sick.” Of course,
anyone who has knowledge of the intricacies of the human eye and other living
structures immediately realizes the problem Darwin sensed. How could an organ of such an intricate
magnificence ever have an originated via random chance?” Oller and Omdahl (CH) Page
274
This
is why Paul quotes Scripture (Proverbs 13:20), reminding them that Bad company corrupts good morals,
drawing wisdom from God’s Word of truth, and commanding them to Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop
sinning; for some have no knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame.
In
effect, Paul is saying, “Come to your senses, and stop sinning.” Obviously,
those Believers who denied the resurrection of the body were also living
godless lives. Paul, in closing this
section of his argument, says to their shame that some of them have no knowledge of God. These folks had no real knowledge of God; they were stumbling around in the dark… This
is a subtle, sarcastic statement from Paul to those Corinthians who thought so
highly of knowledge and yet their
actions and attitudes showed they had no true knowledge of God at
all. For Paul writes, to truly know God
and what kind of God He is: is a
blessing beyond comprehension (Philippians 3:10).
Let’s
take a look at this next section containing verses 35-41.
35: But someone
will say, “How are the dead raised? And
with what kind of body do they come?”
36: You fool! That which you sow does not come to life
unless it dies;
37: and that which
you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of
wheat or of something else.
38: But God gives
it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.
39: All flesh is
not the same flesh, but there is one flesh
of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and
another of fish.
40: There are also
heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and
the glory of the earthly is another.
41: There is one
glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the
stars; for star differs from star in glory.
The
Bible student has to understand verse 35 to appreciate what Paul writes thereafter. The passage, the preceding context, and
Paul’s reply all make it clear that the question raised in verse 35 does not
constitute a sincere inquiry, but an objection, i.e. a challenge by an unbeliever.
The
“man” asking the question here does not merely “ask,” he “rudely says,” How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?
This
question stems from the belief that the dead body goes into the ground, returns
to dust, and the dust may be scattered somewhere down the line; how then can it
be restored? Or, the individual may have
been devoured by wild beasts while on a hunting trip in the forest, the body
may have been consumed in a house fire, it may have been lost in the sands of
the desert, or an individual could be drowned at sea, in every one of these instances
the body no longer exists. How can it be
re-molded into the same human body?
Since
the arguments advanced by those who do not believe in the resurrection of the
dead (15:12) strike a blow at the hope held
dear by every true Believer, and to those who are unsaved but seeking the
Truth, our Apostle Paul proceeds to describe “how” the believing dead are raised and “with what body” they will “come”
or emerge from their state of death.
Let’s
go to verses 36-38.
In
Paul’s retort, he uses an analogy from nature to help get his point
across: You fool! That which you sow
does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not
sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something
else. But God gives it a body just as He
wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.
The
Bible defines a “fool” as someone
who fails to take God into account. Such
a person excludes God from consideration.
One has to remember, since God is God, bodily resurrection is NOT a
problem - for nothing is impossible with
God (Matthew 19:26).
Here
we see Paul, one with intelligent faith,
responding to an unbeliever, one with blind
unbelief. Then, as it were, he says, it’s
obvious you’ve placed your trust in worldly
wisdom, the mental manipulation of man’s knowledge such as biology,
chemistry, philosophy, etc.; those sciences that scream the resurrection of the
dead is impossible at you. Since you
love science, consider this truth: That which you sow does not come to life
unless it dies… (Paul’s remark is
not actually a scientific statement; it’s an agricultural metaphor of new life
from hard, seemingly dead seeds, planted in the earth. Paul’s saying the Believer’s body is like that
“seed” the farmer placed into the ground which grows into a resurrected
body. When you bury the body of a
Believer, you are “sowing” a “seed” that will come out of the earth as a
resurrected “transformed” body.)
Go
ahead and present all your so-called evidence against the resurrection of the
dead, then, look around you; open your eyes and witness for yourself the
overwhelming evidence that the Creator God is constantly bringing the dead to
life. Look and see how foolish your unbelief in God is; the
grasses, the flowers, the plants, the trees, all of them are new, fresh bodies,
in which dead seeds have come to life again and again. How, can the resurrection of the dead be
impossible? Our Lord, referring to the
necessity for His death, made a similar declaration which the Apostle John
recorded for anyone who is interested in knowing the Truth: “Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24 - KJV)
That which you sow
does not come to life unless it dies
One
morning our pastor told us a Believer need not fear death. He said, lightheartedly,
he didn’t fear death; he just didn’t
want to be around when it came, quoting Woody Allen. Everyone born into this world arrives with one appointment already pre-scheduled in their
Day Planner, and that appointment is with death. We’re just not aware of the details. The only exception to this rule is those
folks who will be alive at the
Lord’s coming for His Church, i.e. at the Rapture.
Our
Apostle Paul has been pointing out to the unbeliever and to the doubters as
well that nature itself teaches us two obvious lessons about death and resurrection.
1:
Death is a necessary part of the
process. It’s not an obstacle to resurrection. If something is going to be raised from the
dead, it has to die first. The body,
like the seemingly dead seed, must die before it can be resurrected.
2.
The body that is resurrected is different
from the one that was planted. What does
the farmer sow? Not that body which is to be but a bare grain, not that fresh,
living, golden stalk of corn that waves so freely in the breeze, but a dead,
dry, hard, wrinkled, corn kernel, as dead as the rock lying next to it. But what happens to the dead corn kernel,
folks? The Creator God brings it to life
and gives it a body just as He
wished, living, fresh and golden-crowned!
This isn’t fantasy; this is reality, as nature reveals on a regular
schedule and as God planned.
Let’s
move on to verses 39-40.
All flesh is not
the same flesh, but there is one flesh of
men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of
fish.
Paul
wants the challenger (and every Believer as well) to know this Truth becomes
more substantial when they realize the immensity of God’s creation. Paul expands his argument to include the
creation event in Genesis 1, although these four different types of “flesh”
appear in created order there, they appear in reverse order here.
“Let
the water teem with living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth”
(Genesis 1:20).
“Let
the land produce living creatures…”
(Genesis 1:24).
“Let
us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26).
In
this context, Paul is saying, the “flesh” of men is made for walking, that of
birds for “flying,” and that of fish for “swimming.” In essence, Paul is saying God designs bodies
to fit the environment they will live and thrive in. Therefore, our resurrected bodies will be
perfect for the environment of heaven.
Earthly bodies equip us in every way to live on earth. We breathe earth’s oxygen, drink its water, and
eat its produce. However, these earthly
bodies are not suitable for heaven. Here
Paul is referring to the first and second heaven. The first heaven is the sky above us where
the birds fly. The second heaven
contains the Moon, the stars, the planets, etc.
The third heaven is where God resides.
In order to explore the depths of the ocean you and I have to don special
equipment. If you want to climb a mountain higher than
12,000 ft, you’re going to need oxygen because the air gets thinner the higher
you climb. It goes without saying there
isn’t any oxygen in outer space; that’s why our astronauts wear space
suits. Our bodies are suited for the
earth and nowhere else. To get Believers
ready for heaven their bodies must undergo a change; a transformation.
Paul
continues his argument in 15:40-41 saying:
There are also
heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is
one, and the glory of the
earthly is another. There is one glory
of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for
star differs from star in glory.
In
the verses above, Paul contrasts the differences between the now, our earthly bodies and what will be, our heavenly bodies. Paul’s saying the bodies we have now cannot compare to our heavenly bodies. Our present
body was created to last but a few years.
Although people are living longer lives these days, thanks to the advances
in medical science, and the desire of some people to remain “fit” by exercising
and by eating a healthy diet; the stark reality is a man who reaches the age of
65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 85. But once transformed, our heavenly bodies will equip us for a
much higher level of existence. The
Believer’s body will never wear out.
Let’s
go to verses 42-44.
So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown
in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour, 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. There is a natural body, and there is also
spiritual body. (KJV)
In
this section Paul speaks of the profound and miraculous change that will take
place in the Believer when he or she is raised from the dead. Paul lists four striking contrasts in
the verses above. In each of these verses
he uses the words, “It is sown… it is
raised,” so that this unbeliever understands this transformation process
will be brought about in the same body.
The
“man” who challenged Paul’s belief in the resurrection of the dead had no real knowledge about the subject because he
did not know God. All he understands and
accepts as fact is when you die your body goes into the ground; end of
story. But God says the Believer’s body
is sown and it will be raised again.
For
the sake of time, we’re only going to look at the first two contrasts this
week. We’ll finish this section up next
week when we return.
It is sown in
corruption; it is raised in incorruption – when we die, our bodies return to
dust and disintegrate just as God told our fallen
parents they would: “…By the sweat of your face You will eat
bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you
are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
(Genesis 3:19)
With
man’s fall from Grace all of God’s creation became subject to corruption. The flowers, plants, and trees and everything
man constructs from them fall into decay, for God also said to Adam and
Eve: “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17). But the true Believer rests in this hope:
while we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2
Corinthians 4:18).
So,
Paul is saying while the Believer’s body, like all he or she can see or touch
is decaying, returning to dust, and goes into corruption, this process will
be reversed in the resurrection. It
doesn’t matter if fire consumed the Believer’s body, if wild beasts devoured
it, if he or she was buried at sea, or if they died in the desert and their
remains were scattered to the four winds.
It doesn’t matter where their body parts disappeared to or what state
the remains are in; the same body that
was sown in corruption will be raised in
incorruptibility.
Believers
rest in the fact that - no word from God
will ever fail (Luke 1:37).
It is sown in
dishonour, it is raised in glory – the unbeliever has no idea what Paul is
talking about here, but the Believer knows or should know. Even though we’re saved by believing Paul’s gospel plus nothing else, and nothing
can change that (Romans 8:1), the old man;
our Adamic nature is with us 24/7/365. This body is the vehicle through which the Adamic nature operates. So, the message Paul is conveying with this
phrase is the Believer’s body is sown having
known sorrow and sufferings galore, but the Believer’s utmost desire should not
be to finally be rid of these but to be rid forever of the temptation to sin. And,
thank God, we will be and so much more for this body which is sown in dishonour will be raised in glory.
In
our weakness, we have disappointed God numerous times, if we’re being honest
with Him and ourselves. But God is
faithful; we may be assured on the basis of God’s immutable Word that we will,
by His grace, be arrayed in glory. For whom God justifies He also glorifies (Romans 8:30).
Paul
writes: who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with
the body of His (what) glory,
by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself (Philippians
3:21).
When
the “glory of the Lord shone round the shepherds of old, they
were “terribly frightened” (Luke
2:9). A wise person asks “Why is that,
and why should mankind be terribly
frightened” under the same circumstances?
The answer is because God’s glory
reveals our deepest, darkest, secrets, i.e. sin. Paul
wrote: “Because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). But, here’s the thing, the Lord Jesus Christ was “delivered for our
offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God (Romans 4:25 – 5:2). “Which
hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Hebrews
6:19)
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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