Paul's Epistles - 1 Corinthians Part 30 – THE RESURRECTION BODY

Paul's Epistles - 1 Corinthians

Part 30 – THE RESURRECTION BODY

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

INTRODUCTION

Paul, having received word in the form of a letter from the church in Corinth, is responding to that letter, as well as to information he has received from trusted sources about the condition of the Corinthian church. Adultery, members suing each other, married couples abstaining from physical relations in order to gain a more "spiritual" relationship with God, as well as the misuse, or abuse in the realm of Spiritual Gifts.

Paul addresses these issues in his letter to the Corinthian church and urges them not to go beyond what is written.

He warns them about their sexual immorality, as well as not becoming a stumbling block to those who are weaker in faith. He explains for those who think some foods are not permissible, or that they are not allowed to drink wine, or one day is holier than another, if they believe this for God's sake, then let it go, do not fight amongst yourselves. 

Paul tells them to be self-disciplined, and warns that when the Israelites sinned against God and did not repent, they did not receive forgiveness, and never made it to the Promised Land. Look at them as examples. There MUST be repentance if there is to be forgiveness. Paul then warned the church that communion was to be taken together as a body, not for eating and getting drunk. The congregation must be one, looking out for each other.

The last few weeks we have been looking at Paul explain certain Spiritual Gifts. This points to the notion, since only a few are mentioned, that these may have been the gifts which they were abusing, or exploiting.

Paul explains that all parts are important, no matter the size or number of gifts. He explains that it is OK to desire and even pray for certain gifts, but there was a way greater than the gifts for bringing people to Christ, rather than use the gifts like parlor tricks, Paul says use I Corinthians 13. Love is the greater way. Then in Chapter 14, Paul explains prophecy, tongues and the importance of intelligible words being greater than tongues.

Over the last couple weeks we have looked at the Resurrection of Christ and of the dead, and today, the resurrection body.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE I Corinthians 15:35-44

                  But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶ How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.³⁷ When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹ Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 

    I.      THE SEED

a.      Some were teaching false doctrine mocking resurrection

                                                                         i.      Either brought into the church by Sadducees or Gnostics

1.      Sadducees did not believe in any resurrection

2.      Gnostics did not believe Jesus died on the cross

                                                                      ii.      These false teachings were in the Corinthian Church

                                                                   iii.      So some mocked the idea that Christ rose from the dead, or that we would also be resurrected.

b.     Paul corrected them

                                                                         i.      I Corinthians 15:1-34

                                                                      ii.      Christ was the "Firstfruit of the dead"

c.      Scoffers sarcastically ask, "How are they raised and with what body?"

                                                                         i.      They did not understand the power of God to raise the dead.

                                                                      ii.      They saw with their own eyes how the body decays when one dies, they did not understand that this body had to perish so that we could receive our new body.

                                                                   iii.      Paul would teach this lesson to them once more.

II.      SOWN

a.      The seed that is sown is not what grows

                                                                         i.      Paul using real-world examples to help them understand difficult spiritual truths.

                                                                      ii.      When you plant apple seeds, it does not grow apple seeds.

                                                                   iii.      The fruit that grows has a splendor and character different than the seed.

b.     Paul explains the different splendors we can observe

                                                                         i.      I Corinthians 15:37-38 "When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body."

c.      Different seeds bring forth different fruits, determined by God

                                                                         i.      God decides which seed will bring forth which fruit

                                                                      ii.      Remember Paul explained this once before when he was explaining the Spiritual Gifts to the Corinthians.

1.      Each is given by the Holy Spirit a Spiritual Gift, and we do not all receive the same Gift, but as determined by the Holy Spirit of God.

III.      RESURRECTION

a.      So it will be with the resurrection of the dead

                                                                         i.      I Corinthians 15:39-41 "Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor."

b.     Our perishable bodies are sown in the ground like seed

                                                                         i.      Raised by God into something splendorous

                                                                      ii.      Just as Christ was raised by God from the dead, the firstfruit, with His resurrected body.

c.      Just as seed is sown

                                                                         i.      The body is sown into the ground perishable, but raised imperishable (we die but are raised to never die again)

                                                                      ii.      We are sown in dishonor (Died because of sin), but raised in Glory (Resurrected because of Christ)

                                                                   iii.      Sown in weakness (our flesh is unredeemed), but raised in power (Our resurrected bodies are sinless!)

                                                                     iv.      Sown in the natural, raised in the Spiritual

CONCLUSION

I Corinthians 15:44b-49

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”^[f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.⁴⁶ The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we^[g] bear the image of the heavenly man.

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