Let's turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 15.
The Corinthian church was a real mess.
A lot of carnality that led to divisions,
a lot of party spirit, a real misunderstanding
of the spiritual gifts, a lot of weird
concepts.
There were some in Corinth who declared that
there was no resurrection from the dead, sort
of a Sadducean background perhaps.
Paul, having corrected the other problems that they
wrote to him about, now finally tackles the
final problem of those people who were declaring
there is no resurrection of the dead.
So, Paul, first of all, declares that this
is the heart of the Gospel.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel
which I preached unto you, which also you
have received and wherein you stand, by which
also ye are saved, if you'll keep in
memory what I preached unto you, unless you
have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all
that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins, according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried, and that He
rose again the third day, according to the
Scriptures.
So the first proof that Paul gives of
the resurrection is the Gospel that was preached
and of the changed lives that were wrought
through the Gospel.
He said, by which you are saved if
you keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless you have believed in vain.
Now, in a little while, Paul is going
to tell us that if there is no
resurrection from the dead, your faith is vain.
You really have nothing to believe in, nothing
to hope for, if there is no resurrection
from the dead.
The Gospel that Paul preached, he preached the
Gospel that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures.
The Scriptures that he would have to be
referring to would be the Old Testament Scriptures
because the New Testament was not yet written.
So where in the Old Testament does it
speak of the death of Jesus Christ?
Many places.
Psalm 22, a description of death by crucifixion.
Isaiah 52, beginning with verse 12, and chapter
53, that He was buried and rose again
according to the Scriptures on the third day.
Now this presents a little more difficult problem.
Where in the Scriptures does it speak about
Jesus rising again the third day?
When they asked Jesus for a sign, He
said, A wicked and an adulterous generation seeks
after a sign, but no sign will be
given to it except the sign of the
prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three
nights in the belly of the whale, so
shall the Son of Man be three days
and three nights in the heart of the
earth.
And so the third day and rising again,
Son Jonah perhaps, as sort of an example,
and yet it's really hard to tie that
in a very definite way.
But if we go back to the book
of Genesis, we hear God saying to Abraham,
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,
and offer him for a sacrifice on the
mount that I will show you.
Now when God said to Abraham, Take now
thy son, thine only son, we have an
equivalent to that in John 3.16, For
God so loved the world, He gave His
only begotten Son.
And you remember that Abraham gathered his servants
and Isaac and they began to journey from
the area of Hebron towards Jerusalem.
And they had journeyed for three days when
they came into view of the mount that
the Lord showed unto Abraham, Mount Moriah, which
is in Jerusalem.
During that three-day journey, and Isaac is
an interesting type of Christ in the Old
Testament.
During that three-day journey in the mind
of Abraham, Isaac was as dead.
We read in Hebrews 11 that by faith
Abraham offered Isaac, believing or knowing that God
would if necessary raise him from the dead.
For God had said through Isaac, shall thy
seed be called.
And Isaac at this point did not have
any children.
And so Abraham had such confidence in the
promise of God that through Isaac shall thy
seed be called that he was willing to
obey the Lord if necessary to offer Him
as a sacrifice, knowing that God would raise
him from the dead.
So it was Abraham's faith in the resurrection
that caused him to be willing to obey
this command of God.
As they left the servants and journeyed together,
father and son, toward Mount Moriah, Isaac said,
Dad, we're missing something.
We've got the fire and the wood for
the sacrifice, but we don't have any sacrifice.
Where is the sacrifice, Dad?
And Abraham said, Son, the Lord will provide
Himself a sacrifice.
What an interesting phraseology.
He didn't say the Lord will provide a
sacrifice for Himself, but the Lord will provide
Himself a sacrifice in the Mount of the
Lord it shall be seen.
And so they journeyed together and Abraham built
the altar and he placed Isaac thereon.
And as he raised the knife, the Lord
said, Okay, Abraham, far enough.
Now I know that you will not withhold
from Me.
Behold, there's a ram caught in the thicket.
Go ahead and offer the ram as a
sacrifice.
Now the interesting thing is Abraham left the
servants.
He said to the servants, You wait here
and I and the lad will go and
will sacrifice and will come again.
Abraham told the servants, We're coming back.
I and the lad are going.
We're going to sacrifice and we're going to
come again.
Faith in the promise of God.
Through Isaac shall thy seed be called.
He knew that somehow, someway, if necessary, God
would even raise him from the dead.
And thus the belief in the resurrection after
three days dead in his mind in that
he had to sacrifice him according to the
commandment of the Lord.
And Abraham offered the ram as a sacrifice
and he declared, Jehovah-Jireh.
He called the name of the place Jehovah
-Jireh, for the Lord will provide.
And then again he prophesied, for in the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
Interesting.
Not it was seen.
I saw it.
I've seen it.
But future, it shall be seen.
Very interesting that 2,000 years later, on
the top of Mount Moriah, the very same
mount where Abraham offered Isaac, God provided Himself
a sacrifice.
And God's only begotten Son was crucified on
Mount Moriah in the spot where Abraham offered
Isaac as a sacrifice.
And so Abraham was only in a play
-act drama.
Play-acting what God would do in the
future.
And prophesied of that day in the future
when God would provide Himself the sacrifice in
the mount of the Lord it shall be
seen.
And it was.
So, according to the Scriptures, the Gospel I
preached, Christ died, He was buried, He rose
again the third day.
After His resurrection He was seen, first of
all, by Cephas or Peter.
Then He was seen by the twelve.
And after that He was seen by more
than 500 brethren at once, of whom the
greater part are still alive in the present
time.
Some have already fallen asleep.
Now after that He was seen of James.
Then of all of the apostles.
And last of all, He was seen by
me as one that was born out of
due time.
For I am the least of the apostles.
And I'm not really worthy to be called
an apostle because I persecuted the church of
God.
But by the grace of God I am
what I am.
Can't we all say that tonight?
Hey, I'm not worthy what God has done
for me.
I'm not worthy what God has called me
to do.
I heard Tony Campola talking to a group
and he said, if you knew what a
sinner I was, you wouldn't be sitting here
listening to me.
And he said, if I knew what a
sinner you were, I wouldn't be talking to
you.
By the grace of God I am what
I am.
Oh, thank God for His grace tonight.
And so Jesus' appearances after His death and
resurrection, showing Himself alive, the Scripture said, by
many infallible proofs.
Being seen by Peter.
Then by the disciples.
Then by 500 at one time.
Then by all of the apostles.
Then by James, probably his brother, rather than
the fact that he is mentioned separately.
James, the brother of Jesus, rather than the
brother of John.
James, his brother.
Jude, Simon.
They did not really believe in Him.
In fact, Mark's Gospel chapter 3 tells us
that they came to rescue Him at one
time.
They figured He was crazy.
He's beside Himself.
But after His resurrection and His appearance unto
James, He became one of the pillars of
the first church.
Finally, Paul said, Me, like I was born
out of due season, I am the least
of the apostles.
I'm not worthy to be called one because
of my persecution of the church.
Paul bore in his heart, really, that grief
of having been a persecutor of those who
believed in Jesus Christ.
He stood when Stephen was stoned, consenting he
voted for his death, and then he held
the coats of the fellows that were stoning
him.
The Bible said he wreaked havoc with the
church in Jerusalem and then went down to
Damascus to imprison those who called upon the
Lord as he was breathing out murders and
threatenings against them.
And as Paul probably was guilty of trying
to dissuade many from their faith in Christ,
even by force, now it troubled him later
on when he became a believer in Jesus
Christ, the fact that he had persecuted the
church.
I'm not really worthy to be an apostle,
but I am what I am by the
grace of God.
Love it, love it.
And His grace which was bestowed upon me
was not in vain, but I labored more
abundantly than they all, yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me.
Therefore, whether it were I or they, so
we preach and so you believe.
Now, notice the place of grace in Paul's
life, but also the place of works.
Now, there are those who talk of the
grace of God totally excluding works.
There are those that even look on works
as almost something wrong.
It is wrong to look upon works if
you are looking to your works for a
righteous standing before God, because your works cannot
bring you to a righteous standing before God.
But, having received the grace of God, then
my response to that grace is my desire
to do for God whatever I can.
To work tirelessly for Him.
Not to earn my salvation.
Not to even earn righteousness, but just to
show my love and appreciation to God for
that grace that I have received.
Works have their place in the believer's life.
A vital, important place in the believer's life.
They can do nothing towards your salvation or
righteousness, but they do much to show your
love and appreciation for the grace that you
have received from God.
Our problem is that we reverse things so
often.
We seek by our works many times to
get God to respond to us.
If I fast, then surely God will respond
to me.
If I fast and pray, the Lord will
respond.
If I give to God, He'll respond to
me.
If I praise God, He'll respond to me.
And we are doing these oftentimes to get
God to respond to us.
To obligate God to us.
But this is the wrong order.
God is the initiator.
Man is the responder.
The works that I do are not to
get God to respond to me.
Lord, now, I'll do this and this and
this for You if You'll do this for
me.
And it isn't to obligate God to have
to respond to me.
The works that I do are in response
to what God has done for me.
Paul, having been the recipient of this grace,
responding to that grace, labored more abundantly than
all of the rest of the apostles.
As Jesus said, He who has forgiven much,
loves much.
Now, if Christ be preached that He rose
from the dead, how is it that some
of you are saying there is no resurrection
of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then Christ is not risen.
And the disastrous consequences of such a thing
would be that if Christ is not risen,
our preaching is vain, your faith is vain.
We are found to be false witnesses of
God because we have testified of God that
He raised up Christ, who He did not
raise up if the dead do not rise.
For if the dead rise not, then is
Christ not risen.
And if Christ is not risen, your faith
is vain.
You are still in your sins.
Our loved ones who have fallen asleep in
Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable.
Our hope is in that eternal life that
is ours in Jesus Christ.
And if Christ is not risen, then the
whole thing is down the tubes.
Faith is vain.
Preaching is vain.
Hope is vain.
Paul then affirms, but now is Christ risen
from the dead and He's become the firstfruits
of those who die.
For since by man came death, by man
came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order, Christ
the firstfruits, and afterward they that are Christ
at His coming.
And then comes the end when He shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even
the Father, when He shall have put down
all of the rule and the authority and
the power.
For He must reign till He hath put
all enemies under His feet.
So Paul here talks about Adam introducing death
to the human family by his sin.
In Romans chapter 5, for by one man
sin entered into the world and death by
sin, so that death is passed unto all
men for all sin.
Adam brought death to the human family, but
Jesus has brought life.
Even as one man brought death, so by
one man are many made righteous and have
that eternal life and that hope of a
life through Him.
Christ is the firstfruits of those that rise
from the dead.
The word firstfruit, firstborn, often indicates not
just a first necessarily in a sequential order,
but the most important.
But here, of course, it's a reference to
the sequential order.
Christ the firstfruit.
The first one to rise from the dead.
Now, prior to this, those saints of the
Old Testament, when they died, were in sort
of a holding tank in Hades.
In the 16th chapter of the Gospel of
Luke, Jesus tells us that there was a
certain rich man who fared sumptuously every day.
And there was a poor man that was
daily brought to his gates, hoping for crumbs
that might fall from the rich man's table.
This poor man was covered with sores, and
the dogs would lick his sores.
And so, Jesus painted a very pitiful sight.
And the poor man died and was carried
by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
Moreover, the rich man also died, and in
Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in
torment, and seeing Lazarus, the poor man, afar
off, or Abraham afar off, and Lazarus being
comforted there by Abraham, he said, Father Abraham,
have mercy on me and send Lazarus unto
me that he might take and dip his
finger in water and touch my tongue, for
I am tormented in this heat.
And Abraham said unto him, Son, remember that
in your lifetime you had the good things
and Lazarus the evil.
Now he is comforted while you are tormented.
Moreover, between us there is a fixed gulf,
and it's impossible for Lazarus to go over
there or for you to come over here.
He said, Then I pray that you'll send
Lazarus back that he might warm my brothers,
lest they also come to this horrible place.
Abraham said, They have the law and the
prophets.
If they will not believe the law and
the prophets, neither would they believe if one
should come back from the dead.
Now, the teaching of Jesus is showing us
that prior to his death, Hades was divided
into the two compartments.
Those who were waiting for the promise of
God to be fulfilled.
Those who were waiting the final day of
judgment.
When in Revelation chapter 20, death and Hades
will give up the dead which are in
them.
Now, those who were waiting for God's promise
to be fulfilled, those faithful patriarchs of the
Old Testament.
Hebrews chapter 11 tells us concerning them that
they all died in faith, not having received
the promise.
But seeing it afar off, they embraced it.
They claimed that they were only strangers and
pilgrims here.
Hey man, I'm looking for a city which
has foundation, whose maker and builder is God.
This world is not my home.
I'm just passing through.
I'm looking for the city of God, the
kingdom of God.
And so, they died in faith not having
received the promise.
God having reserved a better thing for us
that they, apart from us, couldn't come into
the perfected state.
They could not come into the perfected state
until the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
It is not possible that the blood of
bulls and goats could actually put away a
man's sin.
All they could do was cover the sin
and look forward by faith to the better
sacrifice that would be offered when Jesus, as
God's only begotten Son, and as the Lamb
of God, died for the sins of the
world and put away our sins.
Now, Peter tells us in Acts chapter 2
that he descended into Hades when he died.
But it was not possible that he could
be held in Hades because God had given
to him the promise, Thou wilt not leave
my soul in Hades, neither will you allow
the Holy One to see corruption.
So, Peter affirmed to those in chapter 2
of the book of Acts, this same Jesus,
half God raised from the dead.
Now, Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 4
that when Jesus descended into the lower parts
of the earth, and you remember, he had
said to those Pharisees seeking a sign, as
Jonah was three days and three nights in
the belly of the whale, so shall the
Son of Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth.
As He was the three days and the
three nights in the heart of the earth,
according to Ephesians 4, He was preaching to
those souls that were there in prison.
And when He ascended, He led those captives,
Abraham and Lazarus and all of those that
were waiting there for God's promise to be
fulfilled.
He led the captives from their captivity.
Now, if you go back to the prophecy
of the Messiah in Isaiah 61, the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me because He
has anointed me to preach the gospel to
the poor, to open the prison doors to
those that are bound.
He's talking about the prison doors of death.
Christ the firstfruits of those who rise from
the dead.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27, tells us, and the
graves of many of the saints were opened
and they were seen walking through the streets
of Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus from
the dead.
He led the captives from their captivity.
He opened the prison doors to those that
were bound.
So Christ, the Old Testament saints, at His
resurrection, the firstfruits of those who rise from
the dead.
This company will be completed when the
day of the Lord comes and Jesus is
ready to return to the earth with His
saints to establish the Kingdom of God.
Right now, the first resurrection is a process
over a period of time.
It began with Jesus Christ.
He is the firstfruits.
And it continues as each child of God
living and believing in Jesus Christ.
As they fall asleep in Christ, the first
resurrection continues.
It will be completed when all of the
martyred saints from the tribulation period have been
fulfilled and enter the heavenly realm.
That will complete the first resurrection.
The second resurrection of the unrighteous dead will
not take place until the end of the
thousand year millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
The great white throne judgment of God, Revelation
chapter 20.
As John saw the throne of God, the
books were opened.
Death and hell gave up the dead which
were in them.
And they all stood before God and they
were judged according to the things written in
the books.
This is the second resurrection.
So, Paul gives the order here.
Every man in his own order.
Christ the firstfruits.
And afterwards, they that are Christ, that is
coming.
That is the full complement will be completed
at the time that Jesus comes again.
And then will come the end when He
delivers the kingdom up to the Father.
When He will have put down all rule
and authority and power.
Now this will not take place until He
has reigned on the earth for a thousand
years.
When Jesus begins His thousand year millennial reign
upon the earth, Satan will be bound and
placed in the abyssal.
But towards the end of the thousand year
reign of Christ, Satan will be released out
of the abyssal and will gather together the
nations to war against Jesus.
And at that point, Michael the archangel will
stand up.
Satan will be defeated and will be cast
into Gehenna.
The judgment of God, the unrighteous cast into
Gehenna.
And now all creation in obedience under the
authority of Jesus Christ.
He has now vanquished every rebel against God.
You see in the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth.
There was only one government in the universe.
The government of God.
A government of light and life.
And all of the created beings within the
universe were subject to that government.
But one day, a brilliant, beautiful creature of
God with the name Son of the Morning,
Lucifer, who was perfect in beauty and perfect
in wisdom and perfect in all of His
ways until iniquity was found in Him, said
in His heart, I'm going to exalt my
throne above the stars of God.
I'm going to ascend into the mount, into
the congregation, the sides of the north.
I'm going to be like the Most High.
And Satan, Lucifer, rebelled against the authority of
God and formed in the universe a second
kingdom.
A kingdom that was opposed to the first
kingdom in rebellion against the first kingdom.
A kingdom of death and darkness.
One day, God is going to put an
end or Jesus Christ will put an end
to Satan's rebellion completely.
And when every anti-God fool is brought
into judgment and disposed, then Jesus will present
this perfect kingdom to the Father.
So, God has delivered or then will come
the end when He shall deliver up the
kingdom to God, even to the Father, when
He will have put down all of the
rule and all of the authorities and the
powers that had rebelled against the authority of
God.
And so in the beginning, God.
One government.
In the end, God.
And the one government of God again throughout
the whole universe.
All of the creatures in the universe once
again in obedience and harmony to the one
government of God.
Ages without end.
And then God through the endless ages to
come will be revealing unto you what is
the exceeding richness of His love and grace
towards you through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Beautiful future.
Providing the dead rise.
If the dead rise not, then, you see,
we're miserable.
All we've got is this rotten world.
For He must reign until He has put
all enemies under His feet.
And the last enemy that shall be destroyed
is death.
And death and hell will be cast into
Gehenna.
He will have destroyed it.
For He hath put all things under His
feet, but when He said all things are
put under Him, it is manifest that He
is accepted, which did put all things under
Him.
Now this is the work of the Father.
You remember God said to Jesus in Psalm
110, Sit thou on My right hand until
I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Wherefore, God has given Him a name that
is above all names, that at the name
of Jesus every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the
Lord to the glory of God the Father.
God will put all things in subjection unto
Him.
But of course, we understand all things except
God, who has put the things under the
authority of Jesus.
God is accepted in here in that He
is the one that has put things under
the authority of Jesus.
He Himself does not come under the authority
of Jesus.
And so, it is manifest that He is
accepted, which did put all things under Him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto
Him, then shall the Son also Himself be
subject unto Him that put all things under
Him that God may be all and in
all.
One government, the government of God, the government
of life and life, and all things now
in subjection to Him.
Now, Jesus put Himself in subjection to the
Father when He took upon Himself the form
of a human being.
The Bible tells us that He was with
God.
He thought it not robbery to be equal
with God.
And yet, He humbled Himself and took on
the form of a man and came as
a servant and was obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.
And that is why God highly exalted Him
and gave Him this name that is above
all names.
So Jesus, while He was here on the
earth, declared, I came not to do My
will, but the will of Him who sent
Me.
And He said, I do always those things
that please the Father.
And in the garden, He said, if it
is possible that this cup pass from Me,
nevertheless, not My will, but Thine will be
done.
And so, He submitted Himself to the Father,
becoming a little Lord in the angels that
He might suffer death for all men.
And now God has highly exalted Him.
He said, Father, glorify Me with the glory
that I had with You before the worlds
ever existed.
And the Father responded, I have glorified Thee
and I shall.
And now He sits there at the right
hand of the Father in glory, waiting until
His enemies be made His footstool, until the
Father puts all things into subjection unto Him.
But finally, when the final rebellion is put
down at the end of His reign, then
He will bring to the Father and present
to Him that world that has been perfected
through the grace and the love and the
sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
Making it possible that we should be a
part of God's eternal kingdom.
And at that point, according to Paul's teaching
here, He Himself will also once more subject
Himself to the Father that God might be
all in all.
Now, else what shall they do which are
baptized for the dead if the dead rise
not at all?
Why are they then baptized for the dead?
This is the only place in Scripture where
baptism for the dead is mentioned.
It is mentioned in an argument against the
argument that there was no resurrection from the
dead.
Now, the people in Corinth, as I said,
were a mess.
They had all kinds of problems.
Carnality and divisions.
They had all kinds of mixed up beliefs
and doctrines.
And this epistle is known as a corrective
epistle in that He was correcting all of
the problems that existed in Corinth.
Evidently, in Corinth, there were those in the
church who were being baptized for the dead.
Now, there is no condemnation of the practice
here, nor is there any commendation for the
practice.
It's only brought up that they were doing
it, but Paul is pointing out that it
was totally inconsistent.
Can't you see, you dummies?
If there is no resurrection from the dead,
then this practice that you have of baptizing
for the dead, why do you do that
if the dead don't rise?
If there is no resurrection of the dead.
And he is just showing to them that
their inconsistent practices were inconsistent with their beliefs.
Now, to take this and to make it
then a ritual within the church would be
totally wrong.
In the law of scriptural interpretation or in
the laws that have been set out for
scriptural interpretation called theologically the laws of hermeneutics,
what do we accept for common church practice
today?
The law of hermeneutics declares that if it
was taught by Jesus Christ, if it was
practiced in the book of Acts and taught
in the epistles, then we accept it for
general church practice today.
For instance, the Lord's Supper was taught by
Jesus Christ.
The Lord's Supper was practiced in the book
of Acts as they would gather together, breaking
bread from house to house.
And there is teaching on the Lord's Supper
here in the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians.
Thus, taught by Christ, practiced in the early
church in the book of Acts, taught in
the epistles, we accept it for general church
practice today and so we gather at the
Lord's table and we partake together of the
Lord's Supper.
Water baptism taught by Jesus Christ practiced in
the book of Acts and taught in Romans
6.
Thus, we accept water baptism as a legitimate
ritual within the church today.
Foot washing taught by Jesus Christ.
We do not find any practice in the
book of Acts of the church gathering and
washing each other's feet, except that Dorcas was
commended because she washed the disciples' feet.
But there is no teaching of it in
a doctrinal way in the epistles.
Foot washing is practiced by some groups today,
but from the general church practice, it has
been dropped because it doesn't pass the full
criteria.
There are groups here and there who have
foot washing services.
Now, I suppose if you lived out in
the woods in Oregon or something, it might
be very appropriate to have foot washing services.
We almost had them here at Calvary during
the hippie period, only for a different reason.
We were trying to protect our carpets.
We actually did consider foot washing services during
the hippie period when everybody was going barefooted.
It would have been appropriate at that time,
but now that we've all become formal again,
no need for it.
So, following this same criteria, here is a
mention of it.
It isn't taught as a doctrine.
It isn't commended.
It isn't taught as something that should be
done.
It is just an offhanded argument here showing
that their practice was not consistent with their
belief.
And yet, the Mormons have made a very
big thing over baptizing for the dead, and
that is why they have the archives of
the genealogies that you can go and find
out all of your relatives that have died,
and you can go in and be baptized
for them.
And of course, if you're baptized for your
dead relatives, then you can save them out
of hell and they can be saved if
you'll be baptized for them.
And thus, it's very important that you baptize
for your dead relatives to save them from
the destruction.
Well, I could blow your mind, but I
won't.
There are many Mormons who actually seek to
contact then their relatives to ask them for
permission to be baptized for them.
And so they do get into Spiritism in
seeking then to contact the dead.
This is not common knowledge.
It isn't done by all of the Mormons,
but it is done by many of the
Mormons.
And this practice of baptizing for the dead,
the next step is getting their permission to
be baptized for them.
But it's sort of far out, and I
didn't want to mention it.
And, hey, why do we put our life
in jeopardy every day if there is no
resurrection?
Sort of dumb that I've gone through all
of the persecution and everything I've gone through.
Why would I do that if there's no
resurrection?
Why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
I protest by your rejoicing, which I have
in Christ Jesus our Lord, because I'm facing
death every day.
If after the manner of men, I fought
with the beast at Ephesus.
But what advantage is it to me if
the dead do not rise?
Then let us follow the Epicurean philosophy, the
humanist concept, let's eat, drink, for tomorrow we
die.
Don't be deceived.
Evil communications corrupt good manners.
Therefore, awake to righteousness and sin not, for
some have not the knowledge of God, and
I speak this to your shame."
So, some of you really don't have this
knowledge, and I'm speaking to your shame.
No.
Some man will say, how are the dead
raised up and with what body do they
come?
Now, the Bible does teach that when Jesus
comes for His church, those that are asleep
in Christ, will He bring with Him at
His coming.
So when the Lord comes to get His
church, those, our loved ones, who have already
gone before, will be coming with the Lord
to meet us.
The Lord will bring with them with His
coming.
So, what body will they have when He
comes?
When the Lord comes for us and those,
our loved ones, who have died, what kind
of a body will they have?
Will we recognize them?
Will we know them?
And Paul said, and he said this because
they were saying it in sort of a
mocking way.
Oh, how are the dead raised?
What kind of a body will they have
when they come?
And Paul said, Don't you realize that what
you plant doesn't come to life until it
first of all dies?
I mean, you want to make fun of
the idea of resurrection from the dead?
You want to mock at the idea?
He's addressing these people who were saying there
was no resurrection of the dead.
Those that were affirming that it doesn't happen.
And now He's saying, You fools!
Nature teaches you the resurrection from the dead.
That which you plant in the ground does
not come forth into new life until it
first of all dies.
And that which you sow, you do not
sow the body that is going to be,
but all you sow is bare grain.
And it may by chance be wheat or
some other grain.
But God gives it a body as pleases
Him and to every seed its own body.
You say you can't believe in the resurrection
of the dead.
Foolish!
Nature demonstrates it.
Plant life.
You take a seed.
You put it in the ground.
It germinates.
It dies.
You don't plant the body that's going to
be.
All you plant is just a bare seed.
And now God gives it a body that
pleases Him.
I might hold before you an old, ugly
-looking bulb.
And I ask you, What in the world
is that ugly, scaly-looking thing?
And you say, Well, Chuck, that's a gladiola.
That's a gladiola.
You've got to be kidding.
No, it's a gladiola.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
So I take that old, ugly, scaly bulb.
I put it in the ground.
I cover it with earth.
And what happens to it?
It dies.
Germinates.
But as it dies, it splits in two.
And from that cleft, there comes a little
white shoot.
Roots go down.
The little white shoot comes up.
As soon as it hits the air, it
turns green.
It grows up into a stalk.
Buds come out on it.
And then they begin to open into the
most beautiful colored blossoms.
Purple.
White.
Variegated red and white.
Red.
Pink.
I say to you, what is that beautiful
white flower with the beautiful variegated red in
it?
And you say, Chuck, that's a gladiola.
Oh, come on.
What do you take me for?
What do you mean that's a gladiola?
You told me that ugly, scaly old thing
was a gladiola.
Now you're trying to tell me this beautiful
flower is a gladiola?
You've got to be kidding.
You see, you plant the bare seed.
God gives it a body that pleases Him.
You didn't plant the beautiful blossom.
You didn't take the beautiful flower and blossom
and put it in the ground and cover
it with earth.
All you planted was a bare bulb that
died, but has now come forth in a
new body given to it by God, a
body that pleases God.
So you didn't plant the body that was
going to be.
All you planted was a bare grain.
God has now given it a new body
that pleases Him.
And Paul said, so is the resurrection from
the dead.
So one day, when you see that gorgeous
creature with a lot of curly hair, and
someone asks you, who's that?
Someone says, oh, that's Chuck.
Oh, come on.
You're putting me on, you know.
Hey, just blossomed out, man.
Now, all flesh is not the same flesh.
There's a flesh of men, a flesh of
beasts, another of fish, and another of birds.
We all have different kind of meat.
There are also celestial bodies or heavenly bodies,
and there are terrestrial or earthly bodies.
And the glory of the celestial is one,
and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, and
another glory of the moon.
You see, the stars and the planets are
different.
The one has its own energy and life
-giving force going forth from it.
The other is just a planet, depending on
the energy that's coming.
But different bodies, different forms in the heavens,
different celestial bodies.
And one star differs from another star in
glory.
Now, so also is the resurrection of the
dead.
The seed, or we are planted, actually this
old body he's talking about now, is sown
in corruption, but it's going to be raised
in incorruption.
It is sown in dishonor, it will be
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, and there is a
natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
I am living now in a natural body.
The real me is not this body.
The real me is spirit.
But the body is an instrument that God
has given to me by which I might
express me.
So what I am, what I feel, what
I think, I can relate to you because
of my body, and you in turn can
relate to me what you are and what
you feel through the medium of your body.
And so through the medium of our bodies
we come into relationships with each other.
I get to know you.
I get to understand you.
I come to appreciate you.
I come to admire you.
I come to love you.
That's what God intended.
That we come into meaningful, loving relationships by
the medium of our bodies.
But the body isn't me.
Just the medium by which I express myself.
And one day this old corruptible body is
going to be planted in the ground.
This weak body is going to be planted
in the ground.
This dishonorable body is going to be planted
in the ground.
That I'm going to be raised in glory,
in incorruption, and in honor.
For there is a natural body.
It will be planted in the ground, but
there is also a spiritual body.
And I have a new body waiting for
me.
Now as we, in a couple of weeks,
we'll be getting to 2 Corinthians 5.
Paul goes on with this very same lesson.
And he said, We know that when this
earthly tent, the body in which we presently
live, is dissolved, that we then have a
building of God that is not made with
hands, that is eternal in the heavens.
He's talking about the new body that I
have.
God has prepared a new body for me.
A building of God, not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
So then, we who are in this body
do groan, earnestly desiring to move out of
them.
Not that I would be an unembodied spirit,
but I want to move into that new
building, that new body.
I want to be clothed upon with that
new body which is from heaven.
For I know that as long as I'm
living in this body, as long as Chuck
is living in his old body, I am
absent from the Lord, but I would choose
rather to be absent from this body and
to be present with the Lord in that
new body.
Jesus said, In my Father's house are many
mansions.
I'm going to prepare one for you.
He's talking about that new body that He's
gone to prepare for you.
Glorious new mansion my spirit's going to move
into.
Now, I am always interested in the capacities
of this body.
I've sought to find the limits of the
capacities of this body.
And it's always interesting to find out just
how high this body can jump.
How fast it can run.
And things of that nature as you test
your body to its limits.
It'll be very interesting to discover the limits
of our new bodies, which I'm sure are
vastly superior to these.
Now, there's the natural body.
There's the spiritual body.
And so it is written, verse 45, The
first man Adam was made a living soul,
but the last Adam, Jesus Christ, was made
a quickening spirit.
And the Greek there is hard to translate.
Is made a making alive spirit.
A spirit that makes alive.
How be it?
That was not first, which is spiritual.
The first was Adam, the fleshly.
And then, afterwards, that which is spiritual.
So the first man is of the earth.
Earthy.
The second man, Jesus, is the Lord from
Heaven.
So I received a body from Adam.
One of these days I'm going to receive
a new body from Jesus.
Fashioned into His image.
Into His likeness.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
It doesn't yet appear what we're going to
be, but we know when He appears, we're
going to be like Him.
The second is from the Lord.
The spiritual.
The heavenly.
And as is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy.
And as the heavenly, such are they also
that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of
the earthy, so shall we also bear the
image of the heavenly.
But flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom
of Heaven, so I've got to have a
new body.
A new body that will be fashioned like
to the body of Jesus Christ.
His spiritual, heavenly body.
That's what my new body will be like.
Now, when God made the body in which
you presently live, He made it out of
the earth.
Dost thou art to dust thou shalt return
was spoken of the body of man.
It came out of the earth and the
same 17 elements that make up the dirt
outside are the same 17 elements that make
up your body.
One little kid when his mom told him
that, you know, we were made out of
dust, came running into the kitchen all excited
a few days later and he says, Mama,
mama, come quick.
I just looked under the bed and someone's
coming or going.
But that was spoken of the body, not
of you.
Not of the Spirit.
This body was not only made out of
the earth, but it was made for the
earth.
Of the earth, earthy.
So God designed your body to exist in
the environmental conditions of the planet earth.
Your body is designed to withstand 14 pounds
of pressure per square inch.
Your body is designed to take the oxygen
out of this 78-29 nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere
in which we live, 1% neon-freon
and some other gases.
Designed for the earth.
The body wasn't designed for space.
It wasn't designed for the stratosphere.
It wasn't designed for the moon or Mars
or Venus or Jupiter.
It was designed only for the earth.
Now, to take your body out of the
earth, you've got to take artificial environment with
you or you can't survive.
Those men who went to the moon had
to take artificial environment with them.
You saw the pressure suits, the space suits,
to maintain the 14 pounds of pressure per
square inch.
You saw the tanks of nitrogen and oxygen
on their backs so that they could have
that same balance of atmosphere.
They had to take all of the artificial
environment to recreate the earth's environment in order
to survive on the moon because the body
wasn't made for the moon.
Your body wasn't made for heaven.
Flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of
heaven.
Your body was made for the earth.
So, God wants to bring you into His
glorious presence in the heavens.
In order to do that, rather than outfit
you with a space suit and give you
nitrogen and oxygen tanks, heavy shoes to clomp
around in, He's just made a new body
for you that is designed for the environmental
conditions of heaven.
So, for the child of God, death is
called sleep because all you do is move
out of the old body, the tent, into
the new house that God has prepared for
you.
Just that simple.
Notice again, the body that comes out of
the ground is not the body that you
planted.
All you planted was a bare grain.
God gives it a body that pleases Him.
I will have a new body.
I don't know if it will look anything
at all like this body and I really
don't care.
It's going to please God and I know
it will please me.
I expect improvements.
Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
That is, this corruptible body cannot inherit the
incorruption.
Now behold, I show you a mystery.
We're not going to all sleep or we're
not going to all die, but we're all
going to be changed in a moment, in
a twinkling of an eye at the last
trumpet.
For the trumpet shall sound and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be
changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption and
this mortal must put on immortality.
So Paul here is now bringing them a
new revelation, a mystery, something that hasn't been
revealed by the Lord up to this point,
and that is that there's going to be
one day a glorious transformation of the children
of God.
We're not going to all sleep or die,
but we're all going to be changed in
a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.
This is the event called the rapture when
all of us will be changed and this
corruption will put on its incorruption.
This mortal will put on its immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written, death is swallowed up
in victory.
O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
For the sting of death is sin and
the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who has given
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We will be changed.
We will receive a new body adapted for
the heavenly environment.
One more illustration and then we must move
on.
A caterpillar has an interesting little body that
is designed to crawl on the earth.
And that little caterpillar crawls through the fields
and I've watched them as they cross the
highways on hot summer days.
And I've walked across the road on hot
summer days and that black asphalt can get
awfully hot and I can imagine a little
caterpillar with all of those feet walking across
the highway having crossed through the fields could
probably be saying, Oh, I am so tired
of hot, dirty feet.
I wish I could fly.
And that little caterpillar might try to fly.
It might climb up a tree and out
on the twig and jump and wiggle as
fast as it can.
But the body is not designed aerodynamically.
It is designed only to crawl on the
ground or up the side of the wall.
And so the body falls.
But one day that little caterpillar crawls up
the wall of your house and exudes a
little glue and sticks itself under your window
sill and spins a chrysalis around itself.
And if after a period of time you
watch that chrysalis hanging there, you'll see it
begin to jerk.
Convulsive kind of jerks.
If you continue to watch it, soon you
will see it burst open and beautiful gold
and black wings will unfurl.
And it will perch there for a moment
on the chrysalis.
And then that tiger swallowtail butterfly will begin
flying around the yard, over the fence, in
a way.
What's happened?
A metamorphosis.
A change of body that has allowed it
to exist in a totally new environment.
No more hot, dirty feet.
It can now fly.
As I look around this world in which
we live and I see the mess, I
sometimes say, God, I'm so tired of hot,
dirty feet.
I wish I could fly.
I show you a mystery.
We're not going to all sleep, but we're
all going to be changed in a moment
in a twinkling of an eye at the
last drop.
And this corruption will put on incorruption and
this mortal will put on immortality and I'm
going to soar through the skies to forever
be with my Lord.
When He comes back to reign on the
earth, I'll come back, but I'll have my
new body then.
The new capacities and who knows what it
is going to be.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord for
as much as you know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord.
One glorious thing about what you do for
the Lord, it's never in vain.
You know, I've put time and energy and
all into projects and worked hard only to
see them just when you think, ah, we've
got it made, and then just watch the
whole thing crumble.
All of that energy, all of that time
down the tubes.
And you think, wow, what a waste of
time and energy.
You can never say that about anything you
do for the Lord.
Your labor for the Lord is never in
vain.
Never in vain.
You say, but they didn't believe or they
didn't receive.
That's alright.
God doesn't pay commissions.
Only salaries.
He pays you for that labor that you
did not for the results of the labor,
just for the fact that you labored for
Him.
Therefore, abound in the work of the Lord
because it's never in vain.
Now Paul writes to them.
He wants to go to Jerusalem and he
wants to take money with him from the
Gentile churches as a gesture of goodwill because
the saints in Jerusalem have gone through some
real heavy times.
And there's a real financial need in the
church in Jerusalem.
And they have sort of a standoffish thing
with the Gentiles.
So Paul is hoping that this will break
down that attitude that they have when he
can come with a very generous offering from
the Gentile churches to show the Jews there
that hey, they are brothers.
They love you because we're all a part
of the body of Christ.
And so he is writing to them now
about taking up a collection for the saints
that are in Jerusalem as he had asked
also the churches in the area of Galatia.
Now he said on the first day of
the week, which would seem to indicate that
they did gather together on Sunday, let every
one of you lay by him in store
as God has prospered him that you don't
take any collections when I come.
Paul didn't want them taking offerings while he
was there.
He wanted them to do this in advance
before he got there.
And when I come, whoever you shall approve
by your letters, I will send them to
bring your liberality to Jerusalem.
And if it is necessary that I go
also, I will take them with me.
Now I will come unto you when I
will pass through Macedonia, for I am going
to pass through Macedonia.
And it may be that I will abide
with you.
In fact, even spend the winter with you
that you may bring me on my journey
whithersoever I go.
For I will not see you now by
the way, but I trust to tarry a
while with you if the Lord permit."
Now Paul's plans here are all loose.
Hanging loose.
Whatever the Lord permits.
Now this is what I'm hoping to do.
This is what I plan to do.
I'm going to pass through Macedonia, Upper Greece,
and I'm going to come on down there
to Corinth.
So I want you to have this offering
all set.
And I plan to spend maybe the winter
there with you if the Lord permits.
You know, it's always good when you're walking
with the Lord to just hang loose.
Whatever the Lord has in mind.
I think that we make a mistake sometimes
in getting so set in routines that we're
not available for God to change our plans.
You know, a good way never to be
disturbed is to always expect to be disturbed.
If I'm always expecting God to disturb me
at any time, then I'm never disturbed when
He does.
But if I try to so order my
life down to every last little facet, then
I'm really disturbed when I am disturbed.
But if I'm expecting to be disturbed, then
I'm never disturbed.
Because I'm expecting.
So, James said, go to now you who
say, hey, tomorrow we're going to do this
and this and this.
He said, you should rather say, if the
Lord wills tomorrow, we will do this and
this because you don't know what tomorrow holds.
Life is but a vapor.
It just appears for a moment and is
gone.
So you really don't know what tomorrow is.
So, better to say, well, if the Lord
wills.
And so, Paul here, if the Lord permits,
this is what I am planning to do,
providing the Lord permits and the Lord wills.
But he's leaving the options open for God
to guide him.
And this is what I am intending, this
is what I'm hoping, this is what I'm
planning, if the Lord permits.
But I'm going to tarry here at Ephesus
until Pentecost.
That would be until June.
Then hoping to come on over to Macedonia,
passing on down, and spend the winter.
Corinth is a great place to spend the
winter.
And so spend the winter there in Corinth
before I take off for Jerusalem.
Desiring, of course, to be back in Jerusalem
for the feast of the Passover.
I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost for
a great door, an effectual door is open
unto me, and there are many adversaries.
I love that.
I'm going to stick around here because there's
a lot of problems.
A lot of enemies.
A lot of adversaries.
So, hey, this is rich.
I'm going to stick here for a while.
You know, where we face adversaries, time to
run, you know.
A lot of adversaries around.
Let's get out of here.
But it was a challenge to Paul.
Oh, that we would be challenged more for
the work of the Lord.
There's an effectual door, but there are a
lot of adversaries.
But oh, the opportunities are so great.
I'm going to stick around here for a
while.
Things are really cooking, you know.
Opportunities are great.
A lot of adversaries, but the opportunities are
great.
Now, if Timothy comes, see that he might
be with you without fear.
Don't intimidate him.
He's a young man.
For he works the work of the Lord
as I also do.
Let no man therefore despise him.
Now, you remember when Paul wrote to Timothy,
he said, let no man despise your youth,
but be thou an example unto the believer
in your godliness and in your walk and
all.
And now he is writing to the church
and saying, now don't despise.
He's just a young man.
But he is laboring for the Lord even
as I do.
And Paul wrote of Luke in another epistle,
I really don't have anyone who has the
same burden and mind that I do than
Luke.
I mean, Luke was just really a pattern
of Paul.
He had caught the same vision of Paul.
And Paul said there's really no one that
sees things quite as much like me as
does Timothy.
So he is writing to them.
Receive Timothy.
He's serving the Lord just like I do.
Don't despise him.
But conduct him forth in peace that he
may come unto me, for I look for
him with the brethren.
So help him along in his way because
I'm waiting for him and looking for him.
As touching our brother Apollos.
Now you remember in the beginning of the
epistle, Paul spoke about Apollos and some were
saying I'm of Cephas, I'm of Peter, I'm
of Apollos, I'm of Paul.
And he said one plants, one waters, God
gives the increase.
I planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase.
He who plants is nothing, he who waters
is nothing.
It is God who gives the increase.
Now, Paul is writing to them concerning Apollos.
Now touching our brother Apollos.
I greatly desired him to come unto you
with the brethren, but his will was not
at all to come at this time.
But he will come when he shall have
a more convenient time.
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, be
ready like men, be strong.
Stand up like men actually.
Let all your things be done with love.
So even as Paul closes so many of
his epistles, you remember Romans 13, he got
into these short little exhortations.
The last of Thessalonians, he gets in the
short little exhortations.
So here, short little exhortations now.
Watch.
Stand fast in the faith.
Be strong like men or stand like men.
Be strong.
Do everything with love.
And I beseech you, brethren, you know the
house of Stephanas, that it is the first
fruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted
themselves to the ministry of...
I love that.
What a great addiction.
They've addicted themselves to the ministry of the
saints.
That you submit yourselves unto such and to
everyone that helps with us and labors.
I am glad for the coming of Stephanas
and Fortunatus and of Achaicus, for that which
was lacking on your part, they have supplied.
So I appreciate these fellows coming with the
supplies that they brought.
For they have refreshed my spirit and yours.
Therefore, acknowledge ye them that are such.
Now the churches of Asia, Paul was at
Ephesus, you remember, they salute you.
Aquila and Priscilla salute you.
Paul first met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth.
They were converts of Paul there in Corinth,
it would appear.
He first met them there.
Then they went on to Ephesus and worked
with Paul in Ephesus.
Aquila and Priscilla salute you in the Lord
with the church that is in their house.
Churches don't have to meet in buildings.
They can meet under trees.
They can meet in houses where two or
three are gathered together in His name.
You've got a church.
The Lord is there gathering to worship Him.
And so the church that is in their
house greets you.
All the brethren greet you and greet one
another with a holy kiss.
The salutation of me, Paul, with my own
hands.
So Paul had dictated the letter up to
this point and now he takes the pen
out of the hand of the secretary there
who he's been dictating the letter to and
squinting bad eyes, he says, I'm going to
write this in my own hand.
And so the big scribbly letters because he
can't see very well and so they really
recognize, yeah, this is Paul.
Look at that.
So the salutation of Paul is with my
own hand.
If any man love not the Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be anathema maranatha.
Let him be anathema.
Anathema is a curse.
Any man who doesn't love the Lord Jesus
Christ is really a curse.
Don't maranatha the Lord cometh.
This is the mental attitude that we are
to have at all times.
The mental attitude with which we live in
this materialistic society.
The mental attitude as we face the materialism
of the world.
The Lord cometh.
We are in the world.
We are not to be of the world.
We are to have our every contact with
the world as light as possible, realizing that
the Lord is coming.
Don't get too involved in the temporal material
things.
Get more involved in the eternal spiritual things.
As we get into 2 Corinthians, Paul will
tell us, for we look not at the
things which are seen, they are temporal, but
the things which are not seen, they are
eternal.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you.
My love be with all of you in
Christ Jesus.
So be it.
Glorious, 1 Corinthians.
And next week, or following week, we begin
2 Corinthians, first couple chapters.
And you'll find that it will also be
a very fascinating epistle.
You know, it's always exciting to realize that
our next meeting could very possibly be in
the air for maranatha.
The Lord is coming.
And so may the Lord be with you
and bless you this week.
May the Word of God just dwell in
your hearts richly through faith.
And may you begin to comprehend with the
saints just how much God really does love
you.
And may you begin to experience more and
more God's touch of love and power in
your life as you seek to walk with
Him in a way that is pleasing unto
Him.
God bless you.
Fill you with His love.
In Jesus' name.