The Resurrection is God’s solemn Amen to all Christ’s claims Part 2

 Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:29 “What will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?”

Derek Prince says that there is no absolutely guaranteed explanation of this verse, but his understanding of this is a situation in which a person is saved through faith in Jesus but cannot be baptized, as for instance a criminal awaiting execution. The man is led to the Lord in the execution area, but he cannot be baptized so another person can, by proxy, be baptized for him. Prince says that is his theory.

 But Paul says, “If there is no resurrection, why do we bother about this man that has been executed. Just let him be die.”

This verse causes me to think of the practice of the LDS (Mormon) faith who routinely are baptised for countless dead people over many years.

1 Corinthians 15:30 “And why do we stand in danger every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”

The Apostle Paul did not unduly worry about all the many dangers constantly in his life because he was certain that after death he would be resurrected.

1 Corinthians 15:35 “But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’” 36 “Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.”

So, the resurrection is like putting a grain of wheat or other seed into the ground. The body that you bury is not the body that is going to come up. There is a relationship but there is more difference than there is similarity. And when you put that precious form into the earth, you are sowing it, but it is going to come up altogether different, something glorious!

1 Corinthians 15:38 “But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds.”

40 “There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.”

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

v.38 So there are different kinds of flesh. We are buried with one kind of flesh. We are raised with a different kind of body. And Paul says there are different kinds of bodies.

 So, in the resurrection there are going to be many different kinds of stars. Some will be brighter and more glorious than others. The resurrection predicted in Daniel chapter 12:2-3.

So, Paul is referring to that when he says, “As stars different from one another in magnitude and glory and brightness, so will be the resurrection.” Every one of us will have glory, but those who have turned many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.

One thing we need to bear in mind is God is a Rewarder. We do not work for rewards, but there is a reward. We are not working for the sake of what we get but what we get will be in exact proportion to our faithfulness in this life; every one of us including you and me.

The resurrection body shows 5 major changes.

1 Corinthians 15:42 “So also, is the resurrection of the dead.

    1]The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.”

     2] v43 “It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory.”

     3] “It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.”

     4]  v44 “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”

    v53 “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, [we have already seen that]

     5] and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Change 1: Corruption means it is perishable. It decays. The body that is buried is a decaying body. The body that will be resurrected does not decay. It is incapable of decay. It will last for eternity.

Change 2: Really there is nothing honourable about a human corpse. Let us be honest. It is not something we want to think about or dwell on. It is the result of human sin. It is sown in dishonour but praise God it is raised how? in glory! Amen. What a change from dishonour to glory. Change 3: How weak we are. The strongest of us is so weak. And when we pay our last debt to sin, we die, that is the ultimate expression of weakness. There is nothing weaker than a dead body. “It is sown in weakness, but it is raised in power.”

Change 4: There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. Now unfortunately the English translation is misleading. The word that is translated natural is directly derived from the Greek word for soul. It is sown a soulish body; it is raised a spiritual body. Natural does not tell us anything. Soulish is what we need to know. It is sown a soulish body; it is raised a spiritual body.

Change 5: That is a change from mortal which is subject to death to immortal which is not subject to death. When we are resurrected - no more death.

Moving on from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 we now turn to Romans.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

v.3 Jesus Christ naturally speaking was the son of David or the son of Man but after the resurrection the Father calls him the Son of God. God sent his son Jesus Christ into the world born of a woman with a natural family tree of the seed of David and was born under the Law. This Jesus Christ was obedient to Father God through all his short life even unto his sacrificial death on the cross but when God raised him from the dead, he was declared to be the Son of God. v.3+4 show the hypostatic union, Jesus is both man and God. v.4 At the moment of resurrection, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit fully endorsed him as the only begotten Son of the Father giving Jesus Christ a unique status and hence mighty power.

The Resurrection is God’s solemn ‘Amen’ to the tremendous claims which Christ had made (McLaren’s Commentary).

And now moving to 1 Thessalonians

1Thessalonians 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

Paul is reassuring the Thessalonian Christians about what happens to believers who die before the return of Jesus Christ. Unlike the unbelievers, who have no hope of seeing their loved ones again, those who trust in Christ are only temporarily separated (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The hope of life beyond the grave rests firmly upon the belief that Jesus conquered death by rising from the dead.

Amen

Personal Prayer

Materials Consulted

Alexander McLaren’s Commentary

Derek Prince The Resurrection https://www.derekprince.com/sermons/331