1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-582005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2004.

Turn now, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, as we continue on talking about this subject of the resurrection. We've discussed it several times at this point. Chapter 15 is all about this idea of the resurrection. Now, in the first part of chapter 15, we learned that the resurrection was an important part of the gospel message. In fact, in verses 12 through 19, we found that if you take the resurrection out of the gospel message, the resurrection is an important part of the gospel message.

there's really no gospel message at all. There's no power. There's no Savior. You're still in your sin. Without resurrection, Jesus Christ is still in the grave. He's not alive. And so resurrection is really an important point, an important part of the gospel message. And so Paul here, as he's talking about the resurrection, refuting those who are saying that there is no resurrection, begins to talk now and to answer some questions that people might have. Last week, if you were here...

we looked and answered the question, when is the resurrection? He answered it by saying that it was after Jesus' resurrection because he was the first fruit, he's the first one, he has been resurrected, and it's before the end. So anytime between now and then is the resurrection of the believers. The resurrection for unbelievers, unfortunately, is at Revelation chapter 20 when they stand before God at the white throne judgment and

And whoever's name is not written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. That's Revelation 20, 15. So the resurrection then, we know that it is an important part of the gospel message. We know that Jesus Christ was resurrected. We know when it takes place. Now, this week...

Paul will answer the question, well, how are the dead raised up? With what body do they come back? With what body does the resurrection take place or how does that take place and what body do they have? And so he'll answer that question now as we read together, starting in verse 35, it says this.

Verse 1.

Verse 40. Verse 40.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.

It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown in a natural body. It is raised in a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. Verse 45. And so it is written, the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural and afterward the spiritual.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust. And as is the heavenly man, so also those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we also shall bear the image of the heavenly man. Verse 50.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a 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 changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.

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. 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.

Paul here, as he continues his discourse on the resurrection, anticipates some questions, some disputes, some skeptics that are going to say, well,

How can you believe in this resurrection? Because when a person dies and they're buried, their body decomposes, as the Bible says, from dust to dust. As man is made of dust, he dies, his body then turns back into dust. And so the skeptic will say, the questioner will say...

Well, how are the dead raised then? Because their bodies are decomposed and then the worms eat the body and then the birds eat the worm and then the cat eats the bird and so on and so forth. And so now it's spread out all over the place. How on earth, how is it possible for the dead to be raised, for the body to be resurrected in this way? That's why Paul says, some will say, how are the dead raised up? With what body do they come? It doesn't make sense.

to the natural mind. It doesn't make sense to our natural thinking. Now, Paul expects this question because many people had it at that time and many people have this question today. In fact, maybe even Paul himself asked this very question. How are the dead raised? How or what body do they come with? How can God resurrect a decomposed body? What if the body is cremated? How does that work? How does God do that? What kind of body will it be and will it be recognizable?

Well, Paul answers by starting out in verse 36 and he says, foolish one.

foolish one. He says it's a foolish question. Not that we shouldn't ask the question, but most people who ask this question, Paul says, if you're arguing this point, you're not worried about this point. You're just looking for something to dispute, something to find a reason to say, hey, I don't have to believe in Jesus Christ. I don't want to believe in this because I can't bring into my mind the conviction or the acceptance of this idea of resurrection.

So Paul says, you just want to dispute. You want to find anything so that you don't have to believe what the Bible says about God and about sin. That's what Paul says. It's foolish to dispute this matter. It's foolish to dispute or to be hung up on this idea of resurrection and what kind of body the resurrected person will have.

He says, if you have a genuine question, then this passage will answer it for you. He gives some illustrations and some examples that will get an idea and understanding of what Paul is saying. But we won't truly know what it'll be like until it actually happens. We won't truly know what the resurrected body is like until we have one. Because it's only then that we'll be able to know, even as we are fully known, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13.

But he says, foolish, foolish one. What you sow is not made alive unless it dies in verse 36. What

What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. He begins by using the illustration of a seed. And it's a great illustration because it's something we're all familiar with. If you want to plant a tree or a bush or some type of herb or something, you take a seed and you plant it, you water it, and with sunlight and time, it begins to grow.

It's not something you have to do or something you have to worry about or analyze or put too much strategy into. It's a very simple process that God has made for a plant to grow. So he says, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. Talking about the seed. Now, the seed that you plant is not very much at all to look at. It's not very useful and productive by itself. But once you plant it,

Because you bury it and it dies and it breaks open and allows something else, something greater to come forth. It's not productive. It's not made alive until it is died, until it is buried, until it is broken open. And then God begins to do the work that he does and the plant begins to grow. He gives us this illustration so you and I can understand why.

there's something far greater that goes on than we can imagine. Because he says foolish one, it's a foolish question to hang on to this, to hold on to this and say, well, I'm not going to believe in God because I can't understand the resurrection. Because it's something that happens that we cannot understand, we cannot see. In fact, the moment that we understand all of this, then our God is too small.

Because we have this kind of finite mind right here. But God is infinite. And so we are never going to understand how he's going to do this. We're never going to understand the way that he's going to accomplish all the things that he says he will accomplish.

But what we can do is accept what he says, take the illustrations and believe him at his word that this is what is going to take place. And so he says, foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. He's giving us this illustration so we can understand that our bodies are

Being a picture of the seed need to die so that it can be made alive. In verse 37, he says, and what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but mere grain, perhaps wheat or some other grain. So he says, look, when you're going to sow some seeds, when you're going to plant something, you don't plant the tree, you plant the seed.

You don't plant the bush, you plant the seed. You don't plant what will be, but you plant the seed, and then it will grow into what it will become. He says, you don't sow the body that shall be, but just the kernel, just the grain, just the seed. Now, it's important, because Paul's giving us two points here about this illustration that we can understand. Number one, which we've looked at in verse 36, what is sown must die.

It must die. It must be buried. It must die and crack open in order for what is to come to be able to come. But the second thing is you don't sow what shall be. You sow something inferior. You sow a little seed. And what Paul is saying as he's giving us this, he's saying our bodies are the same way. Our resurrected body, yeah, it's not what's sown, which would be our physical body that we have now, but it's something completely different.

We know apple trees, right? If you sow an apple seed, you get an apple tree. You don't put...

an apple seed in the ground and bury it and water it and wait for a bigger seed. You wait for the apple tree. You wait for something completely different. A transformation takes place. This seed becomes the apple tree. Now, the body of seed is transformed just like our body, which must be sown, will be transformed. There's that transformation that needs to take place because in verse 53, Paul says that this corruptible, talking about our body, must put on incorruption.

So he gives us this example of a seed and a plant, a seed and a tree, so that we can understand, okay, I'm not going to understand this process completely. I'm not going to understand how the body is going to be resurrected. But what I do know is, as a seed is planted and something completely different, a transformation takes place and new growth comes from that. And it's very productive and very useful. So likewise, myself, my body, as it is sown, as it is planted,

will reap, the resurrection will be something completely different. A transformation will take place that I cannot yet understand. In verse 38, he goes on to say, but God gives it a body as he pleases, talking about the seed, and to each seed its own body. So,

He says the seeds, they give the body or they get the body that God gave them. Back when God created the universe, when God created the earth, Genesis 1.1, he set forth certain principles. An apple seed turns into apple trees, so on and so forth. I couldn't think of any other seeds. Man, what's wrong with me?

But you understand, you plant the seed and out comes the corresponding fruit or vegetable or plant or bush or whatever it is that you plant. Well, he also put in place another principle. You plant this seed, this body, this thing, and according to God, there's something different that comes out of it. There's something different that God does. It's God who determines what body those seeds will have. And it's God who determines the body that we will have.

In verse 39, he explains a little bit more. He says, all flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. So he gives us these four types of flesh or these four types of bodies that we can see and we can look at and understand. We have the flesh of men, the bodies of men, the bodies of animals, the bodies of fish,

and the bodies of birds. Now, he's using this again to prove another point, to show us an illustration that we can understand a little bit more about resurrected bodies. Because all of these creatures have different bodies, they're distinct, they're completely different, but their body is appropriate for their purpose and for their environment. It's by design.

God did not give fish a bird's body because a bird's body for a fish would not be very productive because they can't breathe underwater. They can't swim. They can't do many things unless they're a penguin. Then, you know, God did special things for them. But God gave fish.

specific animals, specific birds, specific fish, their body because of their environment. If you take the polar bear, for example, they have the fur to keep them warm. They have the special skin and all the things that keep them so that they can swim and be warm and live in the environment that they live in without being harmed by it. Take a grizzly bear in that same situation. It's going to be much more difficult for them to withstand the cold and withstand the environment. So God designed each body

men, animals, fish and birds specifically for their environment and for their purpose. Now right now you and I, we have these physical bodies. It's how we glorify God. These physical bodies are appropriate for the environment that he's given us. It's appropriate for the purpose that he's given us to walk with him, to glorify his name and to share the love of Christ with those around us. In verse 40 says,

He explains further and he says there are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. So as he's explaining about these bodies, he goes on to further explain for you and I that there's celestial bodies and terrestrial.

Terrestrial bodies. Now, some will look at this and some say that he's talking about celestial bodies being, you know, the sky and the stars and all the things within space and the universe and things like that. And then the terrestrial, terrestrial meaning like of the earth, being like the mountains and this ocean and things like that, those kind of bodies that he could be referring to. And that is a possibility. I personally don't think that that's what he's saying because he's talking about us,

and our body being a natural body, but then being raised a spiritual body, as we'll see throughout the portion here. This word for celestial that he uses is the word it's most likely, or not most likely, but usually it's translated heavenly or of heaven. In fact, in verse 47, when it says, Notice, that's the terrestrial.

The second man is the Lord from heaven. And it's the same word there that's used for heaven. And so he's given the contrast there of the heavenly versus the earthly, the celestial, the celestial versus the terrestrial. It's hard to say those two words together.

Their bodies are, there are bodies, he says, that are celestial, that are made for heaven, that are spiritual bodies. And there are bodies that are made for earth, that are physical bodies like you and I have today. Each one is important, each one is unique, and each one has its place. And that's what Paul is illustrating to us.

He goes on to say the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. Both bodies serve their purpose, much like there's the men and animals and fish and birds. And each one has their body for a specific purpose, for a specific reason, for a perfect environment or a specific environment.

If we had the celestial body now, then we would be completely different. We would not be able to choose God or worship God like we can today or like we're able to today. We would be more like the angels because we would already have our perfect body. There would be no walking in faith. There would be no trust or loving relationship with him like we know of today because we would already have our spiritual bodies and we wouldn't get to experience the life or the relationship with God that we experience now.

In verse 41, he goes on to say, So he gives us again, first the illustration of the seed. The seed that must be sown...

so that it can die, so that it can be transformed into something useful, productive, to something better. Now he gives us the example of the sun, the moon, and stars, all similar in that they're light, they're bright, they shine, but they're all very different from each other and very different in purpose. He gives us the sun, the sun.

whose purpose is to shine during the day, to give warmth to the earth and all of the things that the sun does in causing growth and working on this earth. The sun has a very specific purpose, a very specific use for this planet, for his purposes. The moon has...

similar qualities. It shines. It reflects the light of the sun. It does something a little bit different. Sun gives light during the day. The moon gives light during the night and enables us to be able to see at night because of the light that it gives off. To shine during the night is its purpose as well as the stars. The stars as well shine during the night and we are able to see them.

But he notices or he points out that one star differs from another star. So even though there are these stars, there's the sun, there's the moon, and they're very similar in some respects, they're very different in their purpose and their environment and what they're for. No two stars are the same. Neither will we be the same as each other in heaven. Isn't that awesome? Praise the Lord. We don't have to have Cisco's body. All of us in heaven, we all look the same and have Cisco's glorified body. No.

We get to have different bodies. We get to be ourselves. We'll still be unique just as there's no two stars that are the same. We're all different. So as Paul is talking about the resurrection, and just to kind of recap and make sure we're on the same page, number one, he says, the seed must be sown. This body must die so that the new body can be given, the illustration of the seed.

Not only that, but the new body will be transformed. It will fit the heavenly environment, and it will be unique. And he gave us the illustration of the sun and the moon and the stars. So we must die. This body must be put to death. The seed must be sown because then as a result of that, there's a transformation that takes place that you and I could be fit for eternity, that we could be transformed again.

Uniquely, not all exactly the same, but to spend eternity with God. In verses 42 through 44, he does some compare and contrast of that which is sown versus that which is raised. And it says this,

I'm in the wrong chapter. Here we go. Verse 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. Verse 44. It is sown in a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. He gives these signs.

four things, comparing and contrasting to show, look, one is sown this way, but it's raised completely different. The resurrection body is completely different than the body that is sown, infinitely better than the body that is sown. What is sown? Well, number one, he says, the body of corruption. What is the body of corruption? Well, that's the body that you and I have today. It's the body that just breaks down, that

aches and groans and moans and it's the body of corruption that decays, that breaks down and falls apart. Now you guys, I see a lot more of you who know that much more than I do, but I'll get to know that as I continue to age and continue to go on. I just said that because my parents are here, okay?

It's the body that's sown in corruption, but it's raised in incorruption. It cannot break down. It cannot fall apart. It's perfect in that sense. It will not corrupt or be corrupted. It's sown in dishonor, but it's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness, but it's raised in power. It's sown in baldness, but it's raised with hair. Praise the Lord, huh? It's sown in a natural body, but it's raised a spiritual body.

There's this difference. Infinitely better is the new body. Infinitely better is the resurrected body. There's no corruption. There's no dishonor, weakness. It's not a natural body, but instead it's an incorruptible body. It's a body that's raised in glory, in power. It's a spiritual body that will live eternally without breaking down.

Now, when you think about it in that light, this body stinks, man. It's the piss. The new body is going to be awesome. It's like having the new model, right? The 06 of the Mustang or whatever, right? It's going to be awesome. It's going to be incredible as we look forward to knowing that there's a resurrected body that's way better. The thing that's sown, it's just like a seed in comparison. And what's produced is a great tree, which you can eat from for a long time, which is very productive and beautiful.

In verse 45, he goes on to say, And so it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. He quotes now from Genesis 2, verse 7, where it says, The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

He says, the first man, Adam, he became a living being. How? Well, God mounted up some dirt and formed it up and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. He became a living being. But the last Adam, which is a reference to Jesus Christ, and if you want to look into that, you can check out Romans chapter 5, where it tells us that Adam was a picture or a type of Christ.

But the last Adam, Jesus, became not just a living being, but a life-giving spirit. A life-giving spirit. And that is why in John chapter 11, verses 25 and 26, Jesus told Martha, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will never die. Jesus became not just a living being. Yes, he did become that. He became man for you and I. But he became a life-giving spirit. Resurrection and life are found in him. It's the only way that we can attain the resurrection to eternity with him. Resurrection and life are found through Jesus Christ.

In verse 46, he explains though, however, the spiritual is not first, but the natural and afterward the spiritual. So the first man, he was a natural man. He was a living being. But the second man was a spiritual man. He was a life giving spirit. But he points out the spiritual is not first. It wasn't the spiritual man who came first. Jesus didn't come first, but Adam came first. The natural man came first. And then afterward, the spiritual man came.

And why is that important? Well, he goes on to say, the first man was of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord of heaven. Explaining the same thing. The first man was Adam. He was made of dust. We just read that in Genesis 2.7. The natural man is first. And then the spiritual man came who was not from...

formed from the dust, but came from heaven. Jesus himself claimed this and accepted this in John chapter 3 verse 13 when he said, the Son of Man, which he was referring to himself, well, he said, no one has ascended up into heaven except for the Son of Man who has descended or come down from heaven. And he was sent. That's why John 3 verse 16, for God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, he gave his only begotten Son.

that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He became a life-giving spirit because He was sent from heaven. He wasn't born or formed from this dust or from this earth. He became man for you and I, but He didn't inherit our corruptible body that we have.

Now, Jesus, well, no, Paul actually continues on explaining. So there's the natural man and then there's the spiritual man. There's the natural man who was Adam and from him,

We are all born naturally. As I look around, we all have here sons and daughters of Adam. We're all of Adam's descendants. We're all from Adam. And so, all of us born naturally from Adam, we're natural. Naturally, because we're born naturally from Adam. Right? But, he goes on to say, not everyone...

like the Son of Man, is natural. He was sent from heaven. So in order for us to spend eternity with Him, Paul is explaining, we need to have something more than what's natural. Because what's natural came first, but was replaced by something better. And that is what was spiritual.

In verse 49, he says, And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. We've been born in the image of Adam, but we shall be born, we shall have the image, we shall bear the image of Adam.

of the heavenly man. That is why Jesus said in John chapter 3, you must be born again. If you want to inherit the kingdom of God, if you want to spend eternity with him, he says, you must be born again. You cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and he'll say that in the next verse, with this flesh and blood. The natural man does not inherit the kingdom of God. This body will not see heaven. This body will be sown.

and then resurrected. And the resurrected body will be what enters into heaven. The resurrected body will be the body that we spend the rest of eternity with. And so, he gives Adam as the forerunner for us, as being the natural man, being the picture to us, understanding that we came from Adam, but then along came Jesus Christ, who was a spiritual man, who was sent from heaven,

He was of dust, Adam was, but he was of heaven. And that is why we need to be like him. If we want to spend eternity with him, we have to become like him. And we can only do that by being born again. In 1 John 3, verse 2, John says, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

When he is revealed, John says, for those who are in Christ Jesus...

We shall be like Him. We shall see Him as He is. We will receive, as we talked about last week, the same type of body, resurrected body, that Jesus Christ had and has. We will get to spend eternity with Him, having the same type of resurrected body. In verse 50, He says, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

He says, flesh and blood, which is this body, which is you and I, this thing that you're sitting in right now, that does not inherit the kingdom of God. That is not enough to get you to heaven. And it doesn't matter how many facelifts you have and how many tummy tucks you have and all the other stuff you can do. It doesn't matter. This body is not good enough. You can't read your Bible enough. You can't go to church enough. You can't do all the good deeds that you want to do or enough good deeds to do anything about this body. Flesh and blood, it's a rule, it's a principle,

Corruption, he says, does not inherit incorruption. This body that's corruptible, that falls apart, that decays, does not inherit that which is incorruptible, which is eternity with God, which is heaven.

So there is a change that needs to take place in order for us to go to heaven, in order for us to spend time in eternity with Jesus Christ, with God.

There's a change that needs to take place. Because this body, this flesh, flesh and blood, does not inherit the kingdom of God, does not enter into the kingdom of God. There's a change that needs to take place. And he goes on to explain now, in verses 51 through the rest of the chapter, what about those who, their body is not sown, those who are alive at the Lord's coming.

What's going to happen to them? Now, before we get into that, if you'd like to look up on your own, you can look up 2 Corinthians 5, verses 1-8. And what that is, is it talks about Paul's again teaching about the subject of the resurrected body and what it's going to be like. He gives a little bit more information about what is the resurrected body going to be like. But,

In that portion of scripture, he says this body groans right now. This body groans and moans and wails because it desires to be clothed with that which is from heaven, with immortality, so that we are not mortal any longer. And that's what this body does. That's why people are looking for the fountain of youth. And that's why they do all the different things that they do. Because we desire to live on and to continue on. But this body is corruptible. This body is breaking down.

And that does not inherit the kingdom of God. This body does not. So there is a change that needs to take place. And that's why Jesus said, you must be born again. Because there's a change that needs to take place. More than the outward form or physical, but there's a spiritual birth that needs to happen.

In verse 51, he goes on now to say, Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. There's a change that needs to take place. Paul says, Behold, pay attention now, look up. I tell you a mystery, which that means it's something that was hidden or was unknown in the past, but has been revealed now. Paul says, Here's the mystery. Here's the revelation. We shall not all sleep,

but we will all be changed. So we know for those who fall asleep, as Paul puts it, or who die in Christ, their body is sown to be resurrected at his coming. But what about those who are alive when Jesus comes back? Paul says, hey, we won't all sleep.

expect Jesus Christ to come back at any moment because he's coming back and there's going to be those who have not fallen asleep yet. But we will all be changed. There will have a change that takes place even for those who are alive and who are caught up or raptured together to be with the Lord. He goes on in verse 52. He says it's going to happen 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 changed. He says it again. But he says, and he points out, it's going to happen very quickly. Very, very, very, very quickly as a matter of fact. He says in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. How fast is the twinkling of an eye? Well, it's very fast. How do you measure the twinkling of an eye? Well, it's faster than a blink. How's that? How many times can you blink in a second? A lot. There's...

A twinkling of an eye, a moment, an instant. It's a Hebrew way of saying an instant. At any second, at any moment, it's going to happen. It's going to take place.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the trumpet will sound, he says, and the dead in Christ will rise first. We talked about that last week as we looked at verses 20 through 34 and also at 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The dead in Christ will rise first at the trumpet's call of God. And then we who are alive and remain, Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4, will be caught up together with him.

Paul says here, we will be changed. There's a moment that takes place that will be changed. That change will take place for those who are alive. But it's going to happen very quick. And so some have said, you know, hey, well, I'll wait till I hear the trumpet sound and then I'll just quickly repent from whatever I'm doing and I can walk with God and be raptured. Well, it's not going to happen like that. You're not going to be able to do that. Sorry. Because it's going to happen very quick. In an instant.

It could happen this instant. It could happen the next instant. It could happen tomorrow. We don't know, but we do know that it is coming. Now he says the trumpet will sound.

Don't confuse this with the trumpets that are mentioned in the book of Revelation. Because those are the trumpets of the angels. Those are the trumpet of the first angel and the second angel, so on and so forth. But this is the trumpet of God. And it's referenced as well in 1 Thessalonians 4.16. Where it says, the Lord himself will descend with a shout with the voice of an archangel. And the trumpet of God will sound. The dead in Christ will rise first. And then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them.

So we shall be changed. Now, the order of events then is the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will be raised, and then the rapture will take place. Those who are alive and remain, who are in Christ Jesus, will be caught up together. They'll be changed on the way. They won't have to sow their body, they won't have to sow like the seed, but God will instantly change them to the resurrected body or the body that they will have for the rest of eternity.

So he says in verse 53, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. It's the way that God has designed it. Just as he designed the seed to be planted, to die, to break open, so that it could transform into something different. God has designed our body to be buried, to be sown, so that he could do something completely different. He could transform it into a spiritual body.

The seed must be sown or we'll be raptured. But Paul says, I guarantee you, we'll all be changed. We won't inherit the kingdom of God with this body.

In verse 54, he says pretty much in light of this then, so when this corruptible is put on incorruption and this mortal is put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass a saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. In verse 55, O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? He quotes here from Isaiah 25 and also Hosea chapter 13. And he says, look, after this takes place,

Corruption is put on incorruption. Mortal is put on immortality. Then, as it is written, people are going to say, well, death, where is your sting? Where was the pain? Where was the worry and the sorrow and all the trouble that preceded death? What was it all for? There's nothing to fear of in death. Because in death, Paul says, our body is sown.

And then we're resurrected to something far superior, far greater. He says, death is swallowed up in victory. We don't need to be afraid of death. Now...

There's a story that Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa shares about something that happened to him while he was involved in ministry. He was at his home and a guy pulled up to his house and came and knocked on the door and said, you know, Pastor Chuck, I'd like to talk with you for a few minutes. Would you mind just coming out and sitting with me in my car? And

So Pastor Chuck said, I don't usually do things like that, but okay, I'll just go ahead. And he walked down with the guy and he sat with him in the car and they were talking for a few minutes. And Pastor Chuck was praying for him in his mind and saying, okay, what's this guy all about? And then the guy pulls out a gun and holds it.

to Pastor Chuck's head. And Pastor Chuck, you know, his mind's just kind of going, what's going on here? And he's trying to remain calm and just share the love of Christ and find out what's going on. And he's talking with the guy and they talk back and forth. And it turns out,

Pastor Chuck had been teaching on Luke chapter 12, verse 4, where it says, And I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more than they can do. And Pastor Chuck was sharing that, Hey, you don't have to be afraid of death. I'm not afraid of death, he would say. And so the guy said, I just wanted to test you. I've been going to church for a long time. I've been a believer for 10 years. But I just wanted to test you to see how you would respond to a gun to your head, to see if you really were ready, as ready as you said.

Kind of crazy. So don't anybody... You guys don't have guns. But there's no sting and death any longer. Because for a Christian, for a believer, what's to worry?

Yes, your body might be sown. You might go to the grave. But you're raised incorruptible. You're raised to eternity with Jesus Christ. You're raised to something that's so far superior, we can't even imagine it in this life, in this mind, in this brain. We can't even figure out what it's going to be like. And so, what is the fear? Oh, death, he says, where's your sting? Where was the sting? What was so painful? What was so hard about that?

Because it produced a result, like a seed. A transformation took place that had to take place in order for us to inherit the kingdom of God. In verse 56, he says that the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law.

The sting of death is sin. Now, last week we saw that as we looked at verses 20 through 34. We saw that sin brought death. Adam, because of his sin, brought death into this world and into this life. And so the sting of sin is death. It brings death. That's what the result of sin is. And sin is very strong and strong.

He says that the strength of sin is found in the law. In what law? Well, in God's law. In the law that he's implanted on your heart and my heart. It's found in that law as we violate that, as we break that. Man, sin is very, very strong. Without Jesus Christ, we're lost. We're captive. We're in bondage to sin. We're in bondage to death. But Paul in verse 57 says, But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But thanks be to God. Now, this deserves an amen from all of us. Can you guys say amen? Thanks be to God who's delivered us from this, from this sting of death, from this bondage to sin, from these horrible results, the corruptible body that we have. We don't have to live in it any longer. We don't have to worry about it anymore. There's no fear of death. We don't have to be bound to sin and involved in things that do not help us but in fact hurt us. We've been freed from the law of sin and death. And that's what Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8 tells us.

We've been free. We've been set free by the blood of Jesus Christ. He's saved us. He offers to us salvation, victory from these things. And all we have to do is receive it. He concludes it in verse 58. And he says, therefore. Therefore. He's concluding all that he's been talking about with the resurrection. He says, therefore. Look, since this body will be sown, but then raised up to a perfected spiritual body.

Since Christ gives us eternal life as we're resurrected with him, since death is swallowed up and its sting is taken away, and lastly, since it could happen at any moment, there's two things, Paul says, this is what you want to do. Be steadfast and immovable, and then number two, always abound in the work of the Lord.

We know the resurrection now. We understand it a little bit. Obviously, we won't understand it fully until it happens. But Paul gives us these examples, these illustrations, so we can understand. Okay, it's like a seed that's sown.

The seed dies, but then what's produced, the result of it, is far greater than the beginning. And so we know that our body, yes, it must be sown, it must die, it must perish, but what's the result of it will be far greater as we spend eternity with God. Not only that, but we know that it'll be different, it'll be fit for heaven, it'll be fit for heaven's environment, useful for whatever it is that God wants to use us for, for displaying His glory, as Ephesians tells us, for the rest of eternity.

So, yes, we know about the resurrection. But since we know that there is a resurrection, since we know that this body will be sown and raised in glory, since we know that Christ gives us eternal life, since we know that we don't have to worry about death anymore, since we know that the rapture could happen at any moment, then we should do these two things, and that is be steadfast and movable and always abound in the work of the Lord. There is great pressure on the Christian.

There's great pressure to walk away, to move away from the things of God. Our hearts within us, they constantly wander away from the Lord. They constantly desire things that are not of God. The world around us wants to deceive us and pull us away from the things of God and say, no, your attention should be here, your focus should be here. The world wants to release our grasp on the things of God. And the enemy, Satan, deceives us.

to push us away from God. To push us away from the things of God. To push us away from the work of God. There's pressure in us, around us, and through us, and all over us. It's all around us. There's great pressure for us not to walk with God. There's great pressure for us not to do the things that are right. So Paul says, look...

The rapture could happen at any moment. There is a resurrection. You're investing in eternity here. So don't live for right now. Don't worry about this life, this world. Don't move. Stay close to Jesus Christ. Don't compromise. Don't be involved in those things. Don't let the world push you around or the enemy push you around. Don't wander away from the truth. Be steadfast. Be immovable. Do not move. Plant your feet here in the Lord and don't move from those things. Don't move from those principles.

Like Jesus said in John chapter 15, abide in Christ. Why abide in Christ? Well, he said, abide in me because then you know that you have life. If you abide in me, you can be sure, you can be confident that you have eternal life. There's great pressures around us to not be involved in the things of God, to compromise our positions, our convictions, and to go against the things that God says. But Paul says, no, there's a resurrection. You're going to face eternity forever.

with the consequences of your actions. So don't move. Be steadfast. Be immovable. Stand up for the Lord now. Don't compromise.

If you're a Christian here this morning, are you discouraged? Are you feeling pressured to compromise, to give in to certain things or contemplating certain situations in your mind? Paul says, don't do it. Be steadfast. Be immovable. Don't move. You're not going to be here forever. It doesn't matter if it's a little painful now or a little uncomfortable now, if there's persecution now or heartache now. You do what's right because God

Eternity is right around the corner. Eternity is waiting for you. So press on. This body, this mortal, this corruptible thing is going to put on incorruption. So press on. Hold on just a little bit longer. Do what's right and stand up. No matter what the cost. Do what God is asking you to do. Stay close to Him.

If it means losing your business, hey, stay close to Jesus Christ. If it means losing your family, you stay close to Jesus Christ. If it means moving to Africa, hey, you stay close to Jesus Christ. If it means staying at the job where you're at, stay close to Jesus Christ. Do what God is calling you to do. Do what God wants you to do. Be immovable in that. Do not let the world's pressures tear you away from the things that God has called you to do. And most importantly...

Don't let the pressures around you tear you away from a relationship with Jesus Christ. The pride, wondering what those around you think, wondering what those are going to say. No, be immovable, be steadfast, knowing that the solid foundation is the Lord. He is the rock and eternity is an instant away and a moment in the twinkling of an eye. So Paul says, be steadfast, hold on, press on, don't give in, don't lose ground.

The second thing he tells us is to always abound in the work of the Lord. That word abound means to overflow. Overflow, he says, in the work of the Lord. Our lives are so full of many things. In fact, if you keep your date book open or up to date, then I'm sure if we looked, there would be just swamps full of things. Mine is, yours is, we all know how it is. We all have busy schedules. It's the Southern California curse, right?

we're just swamped. Our lives abound with many things. But Paul says, look, when we understand the resurrection, when we understand the importance, as we talked about two weeks ago, of investing in eternity as opposed to investing in this life and this world which will not last, then we need to reanalyze and look at our schedules and say, am I abounding in the work of the Lord or am I abounding in the work of this life of things that will not last?

We will remember, if we keep our perspective on the resurrection, the importance of doing His work, of doing what's right in His sight. Invest in eternity. This life is so short, so we need to do the things and focus on the things that will last forever.

The things that last forever. Those things are not in vain. Now, he says, the last part, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. He says, abound, fill your life, let your life overflow with the work of the Lord. Because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. But he adds that last phrase right there, in the Lord. And that's an important phrase. Because outside of that phrase, your labor very potentially could be or is in vain.

We could spend our whole lives laboring and toiling in pursuit of things, but in the end, it's vain. It's worthless. It's empty because it's not in the Lord. The only thing that's worthwhile is Jesus Christ. It's the only thing worth pursuing. He's the only one worth living. He's the only one that we should give our hearts and our lives to. Paul says, Be steadfast and immovable.

and abound in the work of the Lord. Everywhere we go, there is the work of the Lord to be done. What is the work of the Lord? Well, it's not in buildings. It's not in tasks. It's not in projects. It's in people. God is concerned about the people around us. Like we talked about last week, making sure that there's no one around us who is ignorant of the things of God, ignorant of God, who does not know God or who God is and how much God loves them.

We should be abounding, Paul says, in the work of the Lord, which is ministering and sharing the love of Christ with those around us. When we go to the grocery store, guess what? There's an abounding work of the Lord to be done there. When we go to our neighbor, when we go to our friends, when we go to our family or to our work.

That our focus is not on this life and just getting the groceries or getting the job done, but our focus is on the resurrection. It could happen at any moment and I want this person next to me to go, so I need to abound in the work of the Lord and I need to share the love of Christ with them. It doesn't mean I constantly am in their face and telling them things and shoving the gospel down their throat, but I'm loving them as best that I can.

This is what we should do. Paul says, look, you know the resurrection now, you understand it, so this should be the result. Be immovable. Be steadfast in your convictions.

and abound. Fill your life with the works of the Lord, the things of the Lord. Fill your life with Bible studies. Fill your life with discipleship. Let it be overflowing with fellowship, with brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let it be overflowing with works of evangelism.

Let it be overflowing with attempts to reach others with the love of Christ. That's what our lives are for. That's the purpose of it. As we have the resurrection in view, knowing it could happen at any moment, we look forward to that. We press forward in that. We hold fast and we are bound in the work of the Lord. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I lift up this body to you this morning, God, that you would help us

Lord, not to be focused on the things of this life and this world, but God, you would help us to have the right perspective as we look towards the resurrection. Lord, as we understand, Lord, that this body must pass away, that this body must be sown so that you can resurrect us, Lord, to a greater, far more infinite body than we can understand, that we could spend eternity with you. So Jesus, we ask in light of that, that you would help us to be steadfast, to be immovable. God, where we've strayed in our hearts from you,

I ask right now that you would show us and bring us back. Lord, help us to repent of those things that are wayward in our own hearts. God, where the world's pressures have been able to pull us away from you, Lord, I ask that you would speak to us now and show us those things. God, that we would let go of the world, let go of this life, and hold on to you once more. And Lord, where the enemy has pushed us away and beaten us and bruised us, Lord, Lord, may we remember the cross, that you died on the cross for our sins. Lord, that we can come

at any time to the cross because you paid the price that we could have a relationship with you. So Lord, I ask that you would help us to grasp onto you, to embrace you. If you're here this morning and you've never accepted Jesus Christ, you can do that right now. You can embrace Christ. You can receive his forgiveness. You can receive all that he has in store for you. You can receive the guarantee that you will be resurrected and spend eternity with him simply by praying in your heart, Lord, forgive me. I know I'm a sinner.

And I need your work on the cross. Thank you, Jesus. You can pray that prayer in your heart right now. You can pray that prayer in your heart later. But do it now. Because in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the church could be gone. The Christians could be raptured. And you could be here by yourself, left alone. You don't want that. So pray that prayer in your heart. Realize, understand, eternity is at stake. Eternity is what the cost of this life is.

the perishable, the corruptible must put on incorruption. And all of us will live for eternity. But the question is, where do we want to live? With God or without God? So Lord, right now I pray for those who have never received you, that you would speak to their heart and that you would draw them close to you. God, I ask that you would help us as believers in you to fill our lives, to abound in your work. Not to fill our lives with this world, but to fill our lives with the things of you.

Jesus Christ, be the center of our lives. Help us to share your love with those around us. It's in your name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.