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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 46
When I taught in
the classroom I was mindful of the clock because it helped me know where to end
my Bible lesson. That doesn’t work so
well in this setting. I still know where
I want to go in the Bible and I generally know what I want to say as I sit down
to write. But as I put those words to
paper brand new thoughts usually come to mind and because they are pertinent to
our study and they may help you understand what this book is saying I go after them. Back in the day I called this “chasing rabbit
trails.” If you’re familiar with rabbits
in the wild, then you know rabbit trails are plentiful and seemingly endless… pursuing
them can “eat-up” blocks of time rather quickly. This is what happened last week. I try to limit chasing “rabbit trails” in my
lessons, but you can’t eliminate them.
You have to allow the Holy Spirit room to function!
Getting back on “track,”
so to speak, I ended the lesson last week while our Apostle Paul was speaking
of the profound and miraculous change that will take place in the Believer when
he or she is raised from the dead. He’s opted to do this by listing four
remarkable contrasts that contain the phrases “it is sown.., it is raised...” The word “it,” refers to the Believer’s body.
Paul does this so the unbeliever challenging this tenet will no
longer doubt that this great transformation will be brought about in the same body.
********
If
you’ll open your Bible at 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, we’ll begin where we left off
last week and that would be at miraculous change #3.
3) It
is sown in weakness; it is raised in power – The 2016 Summer
Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, which took
place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil recently ended.
It goes without saying every one of those athletes endured many years of
sacrifice and intense training to attain that level of competitiveness. Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter, regarded
as the fastest human ever timed, and a 9-time Olympic gold medalist, is just
one example of the excellence in Olympic sports. But no matter how healthy these men and women
are, no matter how strong they are, at the end of the day each one of them
yields to the body’s demand for mental and physical rest. Even the strongest man on earth gives in to
his body’s needs at the end of the day.
That being said and understood, how many people stop to consider that
one-third of their life is spent in bed; resting? How many people stop to consider that during
this down time, this period of
recuperation, their very lives are in the hands
of the Creator? We don’t own our
next breath or our next heartbeat is what I’m saying.
The ultimate human weakness is death. Everyone attempts to “hold onto life” when
the end approaches, but in the end death
wins the struggle, as the body is forced to concede defeat and yield up its
soul and spirit to God who gave them. Scripture teaches us that “the power
of death” has temporarily been given
to “the devil” (Hebrews 2:14), and that it is our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Nevertheless God can sanctify even this experience for the Believer
(Romans 8:38-39). Paul declared: “For
to die… is GAIN…” (Philippians
1:21).
In his second letter to the Corinthians
Paul wrote: “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the
body and to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthian 5:8). Although Paul desired to be with the Lord, and it is without a
doubt “far better” than anything
we’ll experience here on earth, it is still not “the best” God has in store for those who are in Christ Jesus. For one day this poor body, having been sown in weakness will be raised in power. I thought I would point out the Greek word
for power is Dunamis (pronounced:
doo’-nam-is) Noun, Feminine –Strongs Greek #1411, meaning – physical power, marvelous works, ability. Our English word dynamite is derived from this
word.
4) It
is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body – We
have to understand what this means,
if we are going to appreciate what the coming spiritual body will be. To
do this we need to go back to the beginning, when man and woman were created in
the image of God: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness … (Genesis 1:26). …And
the LORD God formed man of the dust
from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a (what) living soul
(Genesis 2:7 - KJV).
Man and woman are made in the image of God but God doesn’t have a
body He is an invisible Spirit being (John 4:24). So, when the Bible says we’re made in the image of God it is actually saying “we’re made in the likeness of God,” which
means even though you and I think of ourselves as someone you can see and
touch, the real you and me is invisible, and by that I mean to say we are made
up of soul and spirit housed in a physical body.
God is a Trinity made up of God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; and man and woman are a triune being as well made up of body, soul, and spirit. The
Bible says we are created in three parts: spirit,
soul, and body. We pick up this Truth in
Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians where he writes: Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
The threefold nature of man and woman has
been illustrated by Dr. Clarence Larkin using three circles (Rightly Dividing the Word, page 86). The outer circle stands for the human body, the middle circle represents the soul, and the inner circle is the spirit.
Quoting Mr. Larkin, the carnal body (Soma) is shown as touching the material world through the five senses of “sight,” “smell,” “hearing,”
“taste,” and “touch.”
The gates to the soul (Psyche) are
“imagination,” “conscience,” “memory,” “reason,” and the “affections.”
The Spirit
(Pnuema) receives impressions of
outward and material things through the soul.
The spiritual faculties of the Spirit are “faith,” “hope,” “reverence,”
“prayer,” and “worship.”
Again, Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, let us make man in our image,
after our (what) likeness…” The Bible doesn’t mention God having a human likeness. At least not until the Lord stepped out of
time and into our world, taking on human flesh, as Jesus Christ that is. So what this book is talking about is that image in the area of the soul and the spirit and both of these characteristics are invisible!
To give you a better perspective on this,
especially when we refer to ourselves as being made a “triune being,” the Bible is speaking of those characteristics of
ours that are invisible, i.e. the mind,
the will, and the emotions. If you’ve
taken a psychology course, one of the first things you’ll learn is these three things
make up our personality. Wrap them all
together, if you will, and I like to refer to them as the soul. There’s no denying we
all have a mind, a will, and emotions. It’s also a fact
that all three are invisible. If you
didn’t have a will, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. It’s also true that brain surgery is performed. Brain cells can be viewed under a microscope,
but no one can view the mind or
change it in any way except for its owner.
It’s also true we all have emotions. Who hasn’t experienced joy or sadness? These are all definite entities; they make
up the real you and me and they are definitely invisible. The Triune Godhead also has a mind, a will, and emotions and
there are plenty of Scripture references to support this statement, “Jesus wept” being one. So it
is in this aspect that mankind is made in the likeness of God.
This book also says the body is a tent that houses the spirit
and the soul. Our
Apostle Paul illustrates this for us in 2
Corinthians 5:1: For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house
is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens.
Now some would argue the soul and the spirit are one and the same, however, the Bible disagrees with that
opinion. In the book of Hebrews Paul
addresses each one quite clearly: For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of (what)
soul and spirit, and
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews
4:12).
When Paul states that our resurrected
bodies will be spiritual, he’s not
saying we’re going to be invisible spirits, hovering around heaven or sitting
on clouds and playing musical instruments – forget you ever heard that nonsense. When Jesus’ disciples saw Him after His
resurrection, what did they see?
Although they thought they were looking at a ghost, Jesus assured them
they were seeing real flesh and bones,
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as
you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).
Jesus Christ’s resurrected body was the
same as before, not a brand new one.
After He arose, the tomb was empty.
His body was resurrected – the very same
body, but in a glorified
state. The wounds from His crucifixion
were still visible (John 20:27). He
could be touched and handled, which means He was not a ghost (Luke 24:39). He was with His disciples for a long time on
the road to Emmaus, He spoke with them, and they never once questioned His
humanity (Luke 24:13-18). He ate food
with His disciples (Luke 24:42-43).
Jesus could pass through solid walls (John 20:19). He could appear in different forms,
protecting His true identity (Mark 16:12).
He could suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere (Luke 24:36). And we know He ascended directly into the
third heaven, passing through the first and second heaven in bodily form with
no ill effect – He didn’t need an oxygen tank or a space suit in outer space (the
second heaven) (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9).
What Paul is saying is we are dominated by
our sin-natured soul and body now. Even
when we are born again we still have to battle with “Old Adam” or those daily
carnal forces which bombard us (Romans 7; Galatians 5). When we receive our new resurrected bodies, we will no longer be dominated by our soul and body, but our spirit
will be in complete harmony with God and we will be dominated by our spirit.
This is why Paul called it a spiritual
body for we will be like Him (Romans 8:29-30; 1 John 3:2-3).
I
think we covered that well enough. Let’s
move on to verses 45-49.
1 Corinthians 15
45: So also it is
written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam (Jesus Christ) became
a life-giving spirit.
46: However, the spiritual
is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.
47: The first man
is from the earth, earthy; the second man (Jesus Christ) is from heaven.
48: As is the
earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are
those who are heavenly.
49: Just as we have
borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
In
this section Paul continues his argument of the previous paragraph which began
at verse 35. An unbeliever challenged
Paul with the questions, “How are the
dead raised?” “And with what kind of body do they come?” He answers these questions in verses 45-49 using
a contrasting analogy between Adam
and Christ. Paul says, although people are born with a “natural body,” they are raised with a “spiritual body” and then proceeds to
expand on this (v46).
Before
we begin to examine Paul’s analogy it’s a good idea to get a handle on what
Paul means by the terms “natural”
and “spiritual” in verse 46. The Greek word for natural is Psuchikos (pronounced: psoo-khee-kos’), Adjective, Strongs Greek
#5591, and it means: the sensuous nature with its subjection to
appetite and passion. The Greek word
for spiritual is Pneumatikos (pronounced: pnyoo-mat-ik-os’), Adjective, Strongs Greek #
4152, meaning: one who is filled with and governed by the Spirit of God.
These
are the same two adjectives Paul used in 1 Corinthians 2:14 to describe the
basic differences between a Believer and an unbeliever. However, in this case, and as Paul’s analogy
in verses 45-49 will make clear, they do not describe the essential difference
between those who belong to God and those who do not as in 2:14. Rather, they describe the one body in terms
of its essential characteristics as earthy,
on the one hand, and therefore worldly,
and as heavenly, on the other hand,
and therefore belonging to the life of the Spirit
in the age to come. The Believer’s body
in the age to come is “spiritual”
because it will be supernatural, as Paul will explain in short order with the
help of Scripture in verse 45, because the body will have been transformed by
Christ, who became a “life-giving spirit”
through His resurrection.
Paul
begins with a familiar opening remark, “So
also it is written… another way of putting this is – The Word of God says… “The
first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.”
The last Adam (Jesus Christ) became a life-giving spirit.
Let’s
go to the book of Genesis, chapter 5.
Here we’ll find two significant verses which depict for us what man was
like before and after the fall.
Genesis 5:1b: In
the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him.
Genesis 5:3: And
Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness,
after his image; and called his name Seth:
(KJV)
The
first passage above refers to the state of man
before his fall and the latter verse refers to fallen man, for Seth was
begotten in the likeness and after
the image of fallen man, as are all of us. But God, in His matchless grace had a
wonderful plan to rescue fallen mankind.
This divine plan is centered in the Truth stated in Romans 8:3b …God sending His own Son in the (what) likeness of sinful flesh, and for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Please
note Jesus Christ did NOT come into the world as a sinner, but in the likeness of sinful flesh, so
that, dying as a sinner, He might condemn sin and pay its penalty, once, for
all (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:10)! Adam
had been made in the likeness of God,
but he sinned and this rebellious act brought upon himself and all those who
come after him the curse of sin and death.
As a result, Seth (as well as Cain and Abel for that matter) was
begotten in the likeness of Adam,
cursed by sin. Remember the LORD God
telling the man that in the day he
ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die? (Genesis 2:17) When the man
and the woman disobeyed, they didn’t
die then and there did they? They both
lived for several hundred more years, but here’s the thing; they were changed
from immortal to mortal on that
day. Their eventual death became a
certainty and God who is outside of time saw it at the moment they sinned: for you are dust and to dust you shall
return (Genesis 3:19 – ESV; Ecclesiastes 3:20).
Thus,
as an act of infinite grace, God sent His Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, that in the flesh He might condemn sin and judge it. As a result, those people who place their
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s finished work of the Cross will one day be
like Him - Just as we have borne the
image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly (v49).
There’s
a companion passage in Philippians 3:20-21 where Paul expresses the same
message: For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ: Who shall change our vile
body, that it may be (what) fashioned
like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able
even to subdue all things unto Himself. (KJV)
Becoming
born again is the exact opposite of being mortal. We didn’t actually become immortal on that faithful day but our immortality was made certain, and from
that time on God saw us as immortal beings. He inspired Paul to write, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or
she) is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Although we don’t feel or look any different,
to God we became a new creation on
the day we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ’s death as payment for our sins. He now sees us being as righteous as His Son
(2 Corinthians 5:21). This righteousness
comes through faith (alone) in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Paul
has quoted Genesis 2:7, stating Adam was created a living soul, and contrasts that truth with Christ, the last Adam,
who is made a life-giving spirit. This spoke of the post-resurrection Christ,
not Jesus who was born in the stable of Bethlehem with a mortal body. Jesus Christ was made a life-giving spirit through the work of the Cross in the same manner
Hebrews 5 said He was made the
author of eternal salvation through
the things which He suffered.
Just
as Adam was natural in contrast to Christ’s
resurrected state in which His body was spiritual, the body that is sown
is natural, and the body raised is spiritual. As Paul said in 2:14, there is a difference
between a Believer and an unbeliever, but here he’s now saying there’s a
difference in ORDER for the two. As Adam
came before Christ’s resurrection, the mortal state of man’s body must occur
before the immortal state. It’s merely
an issue of time. Even Christ’s mortal
body existed before His spiritual body did.
The Believer’s body is mortal when sown
and when raised it is immortal, but that’s an oversimplification of the
transformation process.
1 Corinthians 15
47: The first man
is from the earth, earthy; the second man (Jesus Christ) is from heaven.
This
verse contrasts the created body of Adam from the resurrected body of
Christ. The Bible says Mary “conceived” (Matthew 1:18-20). Conception requires the egg of the woman to
be fertilized by the male seed. Since
there was no human, male seed involved due to the “virgin birth,” when the
Bible says Mary “conceived” this
means in part that Jesus’ body came from Mary’s body. It also means part of her flesh was involved
in the formation of the human body of Jesus.
This also means Jesus’ body from Mary was as much from the earth as
Adam’s body.
If
you’ll recall, the “seed of the woman”
was spoken of by the LORD God in Genesis 3:15 and God kept it insulated from
the curse of sin. There was no “sin
nature” in the “seed of the woman”
because the father of Jesus was not human but divine. Science shows us the circulatory or blood
system of every fetus born of a woman comes from the male and not the
mother. Therefore, the blood system of
Christ originated with God, who was the Father. But Jesus was human in every way (other than
Adam’s sin-nature) because He was born of the ovum, or the egg, or the “seed of the woman.”
Paul
contrasts Adam and Christ in his analogy because they are
the federal heads of the human race. Adam
represents the unjust and Jesus Christ represents the justified Believers. Paul also contrasted heaven and earth, the
Lord is from heaven and Adam is from
the earth. The next verse contrasts the difference
between earthy (mortal) and heavenly (immortal) bodies.
1 Corinthians 15
48: As is the
earthy, so also are those who are earthy (mortal); and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly (immortal).
When
Paul said, “the earthy” he was
referring to Adam. Adam was made from
the dust of the earth and all those who are descended from him are of the earth
as well, earthy and mortal. But the heavenly,
referring to Jesus Christ’s post-resurrection body and those who are
resurrected in stages after Him, will have bodies just like His (2 Corinthians
5:1-2).
1 Corinthians 15
49: Just as we have
borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
The
Lord Jesus Christ had the body from heaven
according to verses 47-48. And
according to 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 we too will have bodies just like His - from heaven.
Verse 49 makes Paul’s point. If
Christ’s body was immortal, physical, and visible then our body will be just
like His body. Every true Believer’s citizenship
is in heaven; therefore, their vile bodies will be fashioned after the likeness
of Christ’s glorified body.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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