Last time we concluded with I Corinthians 15:34

which concluded with these thoughts:

 

(1 Cor 15:33) Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits." {34} Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

 

 

There is a resurrection.   There are consequences for the way we live, so “Awake to righteousness.”

 

 

(1 John 2:4 NKJV)  He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 

 

The Resurrection:

 

It is our blessed hope!  

 Paul warns us with these words:

 

(1 Cor 9:24 NKJV)  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”

 

 

(1 Cor 15:35-58 NKJV)  "But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?"

 

 

(1 Cor 15:36) “Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. {37} And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain; perhaps wheat or some other grain. {38} But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.”

 

“Foolish one,”  This is not a compliment.  It may have been a specific person, or it may just be a general term for anyone who questions the resurrection just because he doesn’t understand it.

 

 

(1 Cor 15:39) 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. {40} There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

 

(15:40 NASB)  There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

 

 

1 Cor 15:41 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.

 

Now Paul becomes more specific in dealing with our resurrection as it relates to man and Christians in particular.

He compares our burial with a seed being sown.

 

(1 Cor 15:42) So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. {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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

 

Verse 44 should not be overlooked:

 

It is sown a natural body,

it is raised a spiritual body.

There is a natural body,

and there is a spiritual body.

 

“The accepted by many version” {44} It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spirit. There is a natural body, and there is a spirit. 

(1 Cor 15:45) And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

 

Paul makes a comparison between Adam and Christ.  Here they are called the first Adam and the last Adam.

 

 

(Luke 3:38 NKJV)  the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

 

 

(John 3:16 NKJV)  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

 

(1 Cor 15:46) However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

 

 

 (1 Cor 15:47) The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. {48} As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. {49} And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

 

 

By definition, after His death, Christ had a “Resurrected body.”  What was it like?

He apparently had flesh and bones!

 

After Jesus resurrection, He appeared to two on the Road to Emmaus.  When they finally realized they were talking to Jesus, they decided to return to Jerusalem:

 

(Luke 24:33-35 NKJV)  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, {34} saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" {35} And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

{36}  Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." {37} But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. {38} And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? {39} "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." {40} When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. {41} But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" {42} So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. {43} And He took it and ate in their presence.

 

 

(John 20:26-27 NKJV)  And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" {27} Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

 

Jesus apparently walked through the walls:

“the doors being shut, and stood in the midst,”

 

Yet he obviously had a body: “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.”

 

Let’s review what John had to say: (1 John 3:2 NKJV)  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” Maybe He will be different.

(1 Cor 15:44) It is sown a natural body,

it is raised a spiritual body.

There is a natural body,

and there is a spiritual body.

 

What is “a spiritual body”?

 

I don’t think it is just a spirit.

I don’t think it is a natural body.

 

In my mind, Jesus resurrected body is the nearest thing we know of a spiritual body.  It was a body, but it was different, as we have pointed out

 

(I Cor 15:50) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. {51} Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [that is, die], but we shall all be changed; [our bodies will be different] {52} 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 the trumpet will sound.”  What a trumpet!

(Mat 24:30-31 NKJV)  "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. {31} "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

 

It is the end of this world as we know it!

 

 (1 Cor 15:53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. {54} So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." {55 (KJV) [correct translation]} " O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” {56} The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. {57} But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. {58} Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

 

Welcome to Bible Study   My Sunday Evening Lessons