Old Testament Reading – Daniel 12:1-13
New Testament Reading – John 11:1-27
In Search of the Old Paths
“I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body”
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
There are two questions that every human being should ask themselves every day.
- What do I believe about death?
- What is my hope of everlasting life?
Every secular worldview and every denomination of man’s religion chokes at this point, for neither offers an answer for death.
- However, Christianity not only offers the believer the hope of everlasting life but it promises it to those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
- In fact, the Bible says that faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is what separates a believer from an unbeliever. In Romans 10:9, the Apostle Paul said, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Because Jesus was resurrected from the grave, so will all those who have died to themselves and surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
In Romans 6:4-5, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
- In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul said the primary proof of our future physical resurrection is the Lord’s physical resurrection. He was the “first-fruits.”
- Every human being will be resurrected from their graves: Some to eternal life, and others to eternal death.
- But, on that resurrection day, the physical bodies of those who received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, from Pentecost to the Rapture, will be transformed into the physical body God originally designed for us before the curse of sin.
- Our resurrected body will be a glorious body, perfected in every way, imperishable, incorruptible, and holy; free from the shame and the stain and the pains of sin, for while it will be a visible body, it will be a spiritual body; not be a body of flesh and blood.
1. The Great Transformation – Vs. 50 – “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.”
- Our human bodies were designed for life on this earth. But, in 1 Corinthians 15:49, the Apostle Paul said, on the day of the rapture and resurrection, our new glorious bodies will look like that of the resurrected Lord. “As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
- Philippians 3:20-21 – “The Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.”
- This will be our eternal state; the final goal of human history, for God’s plan of redemption will be complete, as those He ransomed and redeemed through His Son are united with Him forever.
- 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 – “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, and puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 – “Behold, I tell you a [m]mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be change.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 – “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.”
- This was the PROMISE Jesus made to His disciples in the Upper Room. In John 14:2-3, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
- The reason 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4, and John 14 refer to the Rapture of the Church, is that there is no judgment here. When Jesus returns, He will pour out His judgment upon those who refused to believe in Him.
2. The Great Triumph – Vs. 54 – “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.”
- This is the day of the greatest triumph in the history of mankind; This is the day we have all been waiting for: the day the last enemy is defeated, and that enemy is death.
- When this perishable will put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, death itself will be swallowed up in victory, for in heaven, there will be no more death.
- 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 – “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- The language here for the church tells us that at the rapture and the resurrection, death will be completely obliterated.
- So, as a former enemy, death itself can be taunted fearlessly. Death, where’s your victory? Death, where’s your sting?
- Death itself was harmless, unless we faced it with unforgiven sin.
- So, if our sins have been forgiven through our confession and repentance, death has no sting for the Christian.
- Christians do not fear death as those who have no hope of everlasting life, and that includes those who have placed their faith in any of the man-made religions.
3. The Great Thanksgiving – Vs. 57- “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- When Jesus died, He paid the penalty for every law that we had broken. The wages of sin is death, and Jesus died to pay the wages for our sin. Jesus paid everything the law demanded, and having removed the sting of death, a true, born-again believer should have no fear of death.
- Even the Apostle Paul said it was far better to depart this life and to be with Christ, and, apart from the Rapture of the church, we will all come to that point in life, when we can say, “Thanks be to God, who has given us the victory over our inevitable date with death, through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
4. The Great Therefore – Vs. 58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
- Therefore:
- Because Christ fulfilled the law for us,
- Because God holds no sin against us,
- Because, whether we are alive or dead when Jesus calls us, we know the resurrection of our body is a reality,
- Because we are assured of our resurrection by the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, and
- Because we have no fear of death or hell,
- We ought to be:
- Steadfast & Immovable: A call to stand firm in our faith and resist being shaken by doubt, hardship, or cultural pressures.
- Always Abounding: A call to be intentional and passionate about doing what the Lord calls us to do, and to do it with an attitude of gratitude unto God for what He has done for us.
- Aware that our Work is not in Vain: A profound promise that because Christ conquered death, our earthly efforts and sacrifices have eternal meaning and are never wasted.
- Whatever God has called us to do, we are to do it all for His glory, even if we must suffer in doing it, because, when that day of resurrection comes, there will be a reward for those who are found faithful, and therefore, your labor will not be in vain.
- Revelation 22:12: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done.” Hold your ground! Hold to your convictions on the resurrection, work hard, for there’s a day of reward coming.”
