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Established
November 2008 Published weekly on
Friday
1
Corinthians Lesson 47
Hello, and welcome
to HBS.
In this last
section of 1 Corinthians 15, our Apostle Paul is about to inform these
Corinthian saints that their bodies must experience a significant change before they can inherit the kingdom of God. Paul has spent considerable time and ink
explaining that it was possible for God to give them bodies different from
which they now possess. Here he affirms
the need for every Believer’s body to undergo a transformation in order for it
to be fashioned like Christ’s body.
********
Please
open your Bible at 1 Corinthians 15:50.
The
Mystery of Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15
50: Now I say this,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable (See 1 Corinthians
6:9).
51: Behold, I tell
you a mystery; we will not all sleep (this is a biblical
euphemism for death), but we will all be
(what) changed,
52: in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable (immortal), and we will be changed.
53: For this
perishable (body)
must put on the imperishable, and
this mortal (body) must put on
immortality.
54: But when this
perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put
on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS
SWALLOWED UP in victory (Isaiah 25:8).
55: “O DEATH, WHERE
IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS
YOUR STING?” (Hosea 13:14)
56: The sting of
death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; (Romans 3:20).
57: but thanks be
to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37).
58: Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain
in the Lord.
Starting
with verse 50, for some reason unbeknownst to me and many others, Paul decided
to reveal the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead to the carnal, infants in Christ in Corinth even though earlier in this same
letter he said all he could give them was spiritual
milk to drink (3:1-3). I rarely offer a biblical opinion, but I will
now and again when Scripture supports it.
Because some of these Corinthians, for whatever reason, did not believe
their bodies would be resurrected (see 1 Corinthians 15:12-13), I think Paul
decided this destructive heresy and the arrogant attitude associated with it
had to be uprooted from this assembly
for the common good. He knew the best way to overcome evil is to
shine the Light of truth upon it (John 1:4-5, 14:6; Titus 1:10-13).
Therefore,
Paul is unwavering in his argument and for good reason. You see, the resurrection of our body from
the dead (just like our Savior’s; the firstfruits)
is the very core of our faith; death is
not the end, but the beginning of eternal
life for a true Believer. Our salvation is
just the beginning of this process, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:1: And
you (insert your name here, if you’re a Believer) hath he quickened, who
were (past tense) dead in trespasses
and sins; (KJV)
Paul
isn’t talking about a time future he’s talking about now, the moment you and I
believed, we went from being dead in
trespasses and sins, i.e. spiritually disconnected from God, to being a new creation, an adopted child of God,
co-heirs with Jesus Christ, and the indwelt Holy Spirit guarantees that we will
receive eternal life in the age to come
(1 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:17).
Paul
wants these Corinthians to understand the heart of all these heavenly promises is the resurrection! Most people have bills they pay regularly, so
permit me to put this in language we can all understand. Salvation comes in installments. You and I we’re saved the very moment we
believed the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), both in body and in spirit, and the eyes of our soul
were opened, praise God. Now we love God
and want to walk in His Light while serving Him and others - instead of just ourselves. We delight in His Word and we communicate
with Him in prayer regularly. But, we do
not yet have salvation in its fullness
– that’s a future event. God sealed “the deal” by filling each
Believer with the Holy Spirit as a down-payment on our inheritance. Paul explained this Truth to the Believers in
Ephesus with these words: Now He who establishes us with you
in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit
in our hearts as a pledge (or down payment) (2 Corinthians 1:21).
There’s
a companion passage in Ephesians 1:12-14:
In Him, you also, after listening
to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed,
you were (what) sealed in Him
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
The
day is coming, (and that day is imminent); when we will receive the fullness of our salvation, i.e. when
our bodies will be raised in power and
we’ll receive our glorified bodies (Romans
6:5; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 3:4).
Let’s
go to verse 51.
51: Behold, I tell
you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be (what) changed,
According
to Merriam-Webster, the second definition for the word mystery is: something not understood or beyond
understanding; an enigma. That’s the
way the majority of people interpret its meaning; they apply the “Penn &
Teller” principle to something they can’t comprehend, deeming it a mystery.
Now, the meaning of the word in ancient time and the way the word is
used in the Bible is altogether different.
The word mystery in the Greek
language is Musterion (pronounced: moos-tay’-ree-on), Noun Neuter, Strongs Greek
#3466, and it means – of God, a hidden thing; a secret.
Thus,
Paul is about to reveal one of ten mysteries (a.k.a. Church Age Doctrines),
a secret, previously kept hidden in the mind of God since the foundations
of the earth. I thought I would put
these down on paper so you can look them up in your Bible this week:
The
Secret of the Gospel of the Grace of God (Romans 16:25-26)
The
Secret of the Blinding of Israel (Romans 11:25-27)
The
Secret of the Rapture or Resurrection of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians
15:51-53)
The
Secret of the One Body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians
1:18, 24,)
The
Secret of Heavenly Citizenship (Ephesians 1:3; 2:4-6; Philippians 3:20-21)
The
Secret of His Will (Ephesians 1:9-10; Colossians 1:19-20)
The
Secret of the Grace of God (Romans 3:28, 6:14, 7:2-6, 8:2-4, 10:4; 1
Corinthians 15:1-4
The
Secret of Identification with Christ (Romans 6:3-9; Galatians 2:20)
The
Secret of Lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12)
The Secret of Faith (1 Timothy 3:8-9)
The
secret things belong to God because He
is Sovereign. They remain secret until He chooses to reveal them
to humanity. The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed
belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this
law (Deuteronomy 29:29).
My
parents “limited my knowledge” or chose to withhold certain information from me
until they decided I was ready
(mature) to receive it and we see this same principle utilized throughout
Scripture. God has every right to
withhold information from His creation until He decides it’s time to reveal it. But once He reveals something to Believers He
expects them to obey or to take Him at His Word– this is called faith.
The
mystery (secret) Paul is about to reveal to the church in Corinth is we will not all sleep (die
physically), but we will all be changed. I mentioned earlier that Paul spent a lot
of time showing these Believers their bodies were going to be raised one day and fashioned after Christ’s resurrected body. It will be like our physical body but
different in that it’s going to be a spiritual
body suitable for heaven.
If
you’re familiar with John’s account, when Jesus Christ suddenly appeared in the
locked room with His disciples His glorified
body still bore the scars of the crucifixion and the wound from the Roman’s
spear was still visible. He showed His wounds
to the disciples so that they wound KNOW it was really Him (John 20:19-31). While growing up in the church I’ve listened
to a few sermons on this subject and no two were alike. One gentleman said we’d have complete
make-overs, which meant my resurrected body would have a full head of hair and I
would be young again. I liked the sound
of that because I’m old and bald today, but I’ve been teaching this book for 20
years and haven’t come across one Bible verse that says we’re going to
experience a “miraculous make-over.” Nowhere in Scripture does it state that at
the resurrection people are going to grow hair where it’s needed, become 6’ 2”
and handsome, blond, petite, and beautiful, shed unnecessary weight, lose our freckles
and warts, have the perfect nose, smaller ears, or exchange our brown eyes for
blue eyes.
The
reason there will be a change, and
not an exchange, is due to the fact that the present body left unchanged cannot
inherit the kingdom of God. Paul talked about bodies throughout this
entire chapter, and this is stressed in verse 35 where he was challenged with
the question: With what body will they come? Paul
has shown these folks (and us) that the same body that was sown into the earth will be a resurrected body made up of flesh and bones yet controlled by the Spirit.
Paul
uses the term all in this verse and
by this he means to say “those living and
those who have died.” Now, Paul only
writes to Believers, and it’s also quite evident from his writings that he
believed the Lord would return in his lifetime. You can see that here as he includes himself
in this verse. To say, “we will not all sleep”
is to say not everyone in the group is going to die. Some will; some won’t (1 Thessalonians
4:13-18). But here’s the thing, whether
dead or alive at the Lord’s coming for His Church “we will all be changed.”
This must occur in order to satisfy the fact that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
I’d
like to point out that Paul, as did his colleagues, expected an imminent return
of the glorified Christ, however, only God the Father knew the exact timing of
this event (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7). From this we learn that Believers should live
every day in light of the fact that our Lord is returning to remove His Church
from the earth before the Tribulation begins.
God has not destined us (the
church, i.e. the Body of Christ) for
wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). After
the Rapture, God closes the door on the Church Age and removes the Holy Spirit
from this planet simultaneously (2 Thessalonians 2:6).
If
you think this planet is on the “Highway to Hell” now, just wait until after
the Church and the Holy Spirit have been removed from it. This knowledge should incite every Believer
to “get busy.” You were once lost but
now you’re saved, which means someone cared enough to share the knowledge of
Jesus and God’s grace with you. Return
the favor by paying that forward. Share Jesus and 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 with at
least one person each day - for the time grows shorter (Romans 1:16).
Paul
goes on to explain when this change in
each Believer will occur: in a moment, in
the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will
be raised imperishable (immortal), and
we will be changed (v52). I need to point out “the last trumpet” of verse 52 has nothing whatsoever to do with the
seven trumpets of the Revelation. This
event isn’t the Second Coming it’s the Rapture of God’s Church, so not one of
the Revelation trumpets will have sounded here.
They will all sound during “the Great Tribulation” (the last 3.5 years
of the Tribulation), but not one of these seven trumpets will sound when the
Lord comes for the Body of Christ? Revelation 11:15 simply says, “Then the seventh angel sounded;” while
the trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52
is called in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “the
trumpet of God.” The term, “the last trumpet,” in 15:52, is a
military expression, denoting the trumpet which is sounded at the last, or the close of this dispensation, i.e. to call all the soldiers to assembly or the
saints to home.
Paul
repeats what he said previously, “we
will be changed (v51).” All, both the living and the dead, will
be changed simultaneously, at the same moment,
when the trumpet sounds. This experience is the resurrection of the
saints; not one group at a time, at different intervals, but all bodies will be changed at the same moment in time. Paul’s saying at the Rapture both the living
and dead will undergo a necessary change
so as to fit them for their new abode in heaven and this transformation will be instantaneous; in the twinkling of an eye. Paul’s talking about a “split-second” in time
folks, in less time than it takes to blink one’s eye every Believer will be
“out of here.”
All at once, we will be changed; glory, incorruptibility, power; a spiritual body, i.e. we all will be like Christ. There’s no possible way for us to fully
comprehend what this means right now on this side of glory – let’s be
real! For this perishable (body) must
put on the imperishable, and this mortal (body) must put on immortality (v53). Paul’s saying the body that had been sown was corruptible and mortal and there’s been no change in the
body of those who are still alive at the Lord’s coming, obviously. But in the twinkling of an eye the perishable
must put on the imperishable, and
this mortal body must put on immortality in order to inherit God’s kingdom. Thinking on this a bit, right now every
Believer, thanks to the indwelt Holy Spirit and God’s good Grace is making
changes, removing bad habits, as they move forward in life, not to earn God’s
favor but to be more like His Son. But
this metamorphosis is so slow. However,
when the Lord comes for us, in the
twinkling of an eye, this change will
be instantaneous – for we will be (instantly)
like Him!
Let’s
go to verses 54-55.
But when this
perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on
immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS
SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” (Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14)
With
feeling, Paul asks and then answers one more two-fold question referencing
Hosea 13:14 specifically, “O DEATH,
WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS
YOUR STING?” Now that’s a profound
question, requiring some thought, but our Apostle Paul comes at it from
Scripture’s perspective and not man’s. How
do we know this? Paul gives the answer
in the next verse:
56: The sting of
death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
It is sin that makes death hurt so much for death is the result of sin.
In Romans 3:20b Paul wrote: for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. In
Romans 5:12 Paul wrote: Therefore, just as through one man (Adam;
and not the woman) sin entered into the
world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men (and women), because all sinned –
In
Romans 6:23 Paul wrote: For the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Indeed, the sting of death is sin!
O DEATH, WHERE IS
YOUR VICTORY? What makes the
grave so victorious in the end? What gives it its power? The power of sin is the law, said Paul (v56). The Law was given “so that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become
accountable to God” (Romans 3:19b). It
always works in favor of the accuser. It
does not, in any way, defend the sinner.
Thus, says Paul, “the Law brings
about wrath…” Without a doubt, “the
strength of sin,” or the power that
convicts us of sin, resides in the Law.
With
the Law, then, pronouncing us guilty, how is it we have victory in death?
Paul answers this question in verses 56-57.
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.
Paul
said the Law brings about wrath. This
book says it’s a curse to us but
(Behold the underlying Truth) Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us – it
is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE” – (Galatians 3:13).
The Closing Practical Application
In
verse 58 Paul applies to these Believers (and us) in a most practical way, the
great truths he has been teaching:
58: Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in
vain in the Lord.
In
summarizing Paul is basically saying the Corinthians should retain their hope, for he wrote earlier that there
is no need to think there is hope only in this life. He encouraged them to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. To be sure doing the Lord’s work here on earth may bring on some degree
of “suffering,” as Paul said he risked
his life daily for the gospel. I
don’t think people are going to be persecuted to that degree here in the
USA. However, you may face ridicule and
rejection by mentioning the gospel to someone.
But remember Paul said your labor for the Lord is not in vain.
This
exhortation implies that the daily pressures
we all experience have a tendency to discourage us and could, at times, make us
feel like “throwing in the towel,” but knowing our glorious future awaits is
the answer to all these daily trials!
Note the absence of a single negative comment in this exhortation. Paul doesn’t say, “Do not be discouraged; don’t give up, don’t quit on the Lord.” Instead he says, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” And the reason for this stirring request
comes next: “knowing that your toil is not in vain
in the Lord.” The best is yet to
come!
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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