1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Okay. A couple of pieces of business before we get started. First of all, it's hot. Second of all,

there are ways to deal with that. One is if you're not sitting in a fan zone and you need a fan,

get up, move to a place where you can feel the breeze of the fans in the sanctuary.

Secondly, if you are dying of heat, there is cold water in pitchers downstairs as well as a water

fountain in the back with cups. Go avail yourself. Don't feel like I'll be offended. I am telling you

all this because my hope is that you will be able to pay attention and hang in there because we have

a wonderful passage to look at this morning. And so if you need to go downstairs, it is slightly cooler

down there. And there is a speaker down there. Please be respectful of one another who may be

listening to the sermon while you're down there. So those are your options. And as I have an 87 point

outline here for you, we're going to... No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. We're going to look at the

passage. We're going to be looking at 1 Corinthians, continuing our series, and we'll be looking at that

in just a minute. I also want to just say on a personal note, it is good to be back. Thank you

to the church for giving me a leave in the month of July. It was a good break. It was good to be with

my kids and good to step away from some of the daily demands of life and ministry.

It is interesting though because what I experienced during my leave has helped me think about what

we're talking about this morning in 1 Corinthians. As I was on vacation with my family, my mom has

developed some new health issues that are a little more significant than they have been. She's 80 years

old as of January and is the most remarkably vibrant and active 80-year-old you would know. And so facing

this is the first time when we've really had to wrestle through with her, how she's doing. And as

we've had to face in a new way with the family, two of the great unchangeable realities of human

existence, and that is that we are getting older and that one day we will die. It's not a very happy

topic to talk about. In fact, we're not very good at it. One of my readings for this week was a book

called Being Mortal. It is not written by a Christian. It is not from a Christian perspective,

but it is a remarkable book talking about how much our society and our culture does not like to face

or to talk about. And in fact is ill-equipped to face and to talk about the realities of aging and

of death. As a matter of fact, I want to read to you a passage. He is a surgeon. He is the son of two

doctors. And he realized as he entered into his practice how ill-equipped he and the medical system

that had trained him was to actually help people face and walk through some of these issues.

So he says, this is a book about the modern experience of mortality, about what it's like

to be creatures who age and die, how medicine has changed the experience and how it hasn't,

and where our ideas about how to deal with our finitude have got the reality wrong. As I pass a

decade in surgical practice and become middle-aged myself, I find that neither I nor my patients find

our current state tolerable, but I have also found it unclear what the answer should be,

or even whether any adequate ones are possible. He's exposing what's a reality for us in our culture

and often in our own lives, that we don't really know how to face the end of life.

He goes on and talks about how the whole medical system right now is primarily trained to help fix

things and make you better and prolong your life. And that's good and right. That's what they should do.

But in doing so, it hasn't always equipped us as a society to think about how to face the end well.

One more side note before I go on. I'm really thankful that in our congregation, we have some

resources of people who know how to think about these things well. John Dunlop and Lydia Dugdale

are both physicians who in different ways have been thinking through these things,

not only from a human perspective, but especially as well from a Christian perspective.

John's book, Finishing Well to the Glory of God, is worth your read. Whether you are 65 or whether

you are 16, it is worth your read to think about what does it look like to face these things well.

But the challenge is very real. Think about how in our culture things have changed. In 1945,

most people in America died at home. According to the statistics in the book, 17% of people died at

home in 1980. He said there's been a swing back since then a little bit. But think about how much

that changes. How many of you have actually seen a dead body? How many of you have seen someone die,

walked through that? Some of you have. Some of you haven't.

But we live in a culture that wants to ignore it as much as possible.

As probably many of you know, as I walked with my late wife Brandy through the last three and a half

years of her life, we faced these questions. We faced the questions of how do you live knowing your

probably going to die, but not know when? How much do you focus on living for today and making the most of it?

How much do you prepare for what's coming ahead? How do you face the end? How do you navigate the

feelings of hopelessness and of hope that swirl in your heart? How do you walk through those things?

We weren't particularly prepared for that. It wasn't on our plan when we got married to be facing what we did.

We were unaccustomed to the process, unfamiliar with the questions, ignorant of the patterns, and we were unprepared.

Now, I'm sure some of you have walked through this process already with someone you love.

Maybe some of you are facing this process yourself. You're feeling the aging and thinking through,

how do I walk through this well? Some of you may not be there yet. Maybe you haven't walked through it,

but you're starting to see that it's more downhill than uphill from here in your life.

Some of you, my guess is, have never thought about it at all.

That was true of me for many, many years. Until my dad passed away, it didn't even cross my mind.

Even when some of my really good friends had loved ones die, I didn't have any clue.

How do we face aging and dying and death?

What do we do with that?

Well, friends, that's what our passage this morning speaks to, I believe.

And it gives us a mind-blowing picture of what God has done for us

and how we, who know Christ, can respond to these questions.

And so, in light of that, we're going to look at 1 Corinthians 15, verses 50 through 58.

1 Corinthians 15:50–58

If you want to turn there in your pew Bible, what's the page? I forgot.

9.62. Page 9.62.

We're going to read this together, and then I will pray, and then we will continue.

1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 50.

1 Corinthians 15, verse 50.

1 Corinthians 15:50

1 Corinthians 15, verse 50.

1 Corinthians 15:50

4, amen.

4 нал.

3 Corinthians 15, verse 50.

5, zodiac Christians.

5, verse 50.

5, verse 50.

6, verse 51.

6, verse 50.

7, verse 31.

7, verse 51.

8, verse 51.

8, verse 50.

6, verse 51.

5, verse 51.

10, verse 51.

11, verse 51.

11, verse 51.

20, verse 51.

Let's pray together.

Lord what sweet and precious words

These are that speak to our hope

And Lord lay for us

Channel markers

Lord through the dizzying currents

And the bewildering winds of

Death and dying

Lord thank you for these channel markers

These points of reference

That can lead us through well

Lord I pray this morning you would give us

Your grace to hear your word

Lord to know the hope

That you have given us in Christ

Lord I pray for those who are here this morning

Who are exploring Christianity

Lord that they would hear

Lord of the great hope

That is for all

Who are joined with Christ

In resurrection and eternity

Lord I pray

That you would help us in this heat

To sustain and endure

Lord I pray you would give us ears to hear

What you have to speak to us this morning

By your spirit

Through your word

We pray in Jesus name

Amen

As we come to this passage this morning

I want to remind you of the context

Paul has been writing to the Corinthians

And in the church in Corinth

And in chapter 15

He has come back to

After 14 chapters

Of a lot of ethical instruction

This is how you ought to live

This is how you ought to be

He comes back and he reminds them

He says now I want to remind you

Of what is of first importance

This is the very core

Of the Christian message

This is the very core of the gospel

That Jesus Christ

Died for your sins

And was raised from the dead

He wants us to have that central

It is

Christianity is not about

Being a good person

Christianity is not about

About performing well in the world

It's not about improving our society

It's not about all of those things

In fact it's not about us

First and foremost at all

It's about what God has done

For us in Jesus Christ

That he has come

And by his death

And by his resurrection

He has wrought a work

In the world

A work of redemption

That changes everything

He then goes on

In verses 12 through 34

To address a question

That seemed to be swirling

In the Corinthian context

Which is

But I don't think

That the resurrection

That doesn't make any sense to me

And maybe you understand that

Because in our scientific world

People who die are dead

That's very sort of

Tautological right?

People who die are dead

That's all they do

And this idea of resurrection

Seems very odd to us

And so he attacks this idea

And he says

No, we who are Christians

Must believe

That there is a resurrection

From the dead

Because Christ

Has been raised from the dead

And there is good evidence

Historically

To know that that is true

There is good effect

To remember that

That resurrection

Changes everything

Then he goes on

In verses 35

Through the end of the chapter

Which is the last

We're reading the last part today

And he shifts from the question

Of can there be a resurrection

Or not

To what kind of resurrection body

Would it

Is it going to look like?

What does that really look like?

We're unfamiliar with this idea

Of a resurrected person

So what does it really look like

To be raised from the dead?

And let me just say

My brothers who have preached

On this for the last four weeks

Have done a wonderful job

And if you have missed out

On the last four weeks

Please

Go to our website

Sign up for the podcast

Download the messages

Listen to them

There is much

That I will not get to say

About Jesus Christ

And his resurrection today

Because they've already said it

With much more eloquence

Than I can summarize

So go back and read those

Or listen to those

And be blessed by them

But at the core of it

This section

How Paul responds to that is

Oh what will the resurrection body

Look like?

Well

It will look like

Something more glorious

More fitting

More right

More heavenly

More ideal

Than you could ever imagine

Nick used the analogy

Last week of

If you look at an acorn

And think of what

A beautiful oak tree is like

We in our mortal bodies

Right now

Are that ugly little acorn

And what is coming to us

Is this picture

Of abundant beauty

And glory

Beyond what we could imagine

And that leads us

To our passage this morning

And in our passage this morning

Paul gives us two more

Key perspectives

About the resurrection

And what it means

For us today

How Christ's resurrection

And his victory over death

Means that we too

Can face death

And live life

With certainty

And with hope

So we're going to break it down

We're going to look at three sections

The first one is

The hope of a coming transformation

The second one is

The present reality

Of Christ's victory

And the third is

The exhortation

To draw on that strength

To live lives now

In light of the future resurrection

So that's what we're going to look at

This morning

First one

Verses 50 through 53

Excuse me

He starts out by saying this

I tell you this brothers

Flesh and blood cannot inherit

The kingdom of God

Nor does the perishable

Inherit the imperishable

The Corinthians

It seems like we're thinking

This

This flesh

This ugliness

With all of its warts

And

And

And

And extra pounds

And

And all the other things

That I have

And

And the

The ugly elbows

And my misshaped nose

This thing

This mortal body

This thing that's decaying

How can this

Be a part of eternity

How can this

Be a part of God

And his kingdom

How is it possible

That that is true

Imagining that is like saying

A two year old

Is able to fly

An F-16

Or a cricket

Should be able to pull

The queen's carriage

Through the streets of London

It just doesn't make sense

It doesn't fit

This mortal body

Isn't fit

For the future

That is to come

And Paul says

Oh no

Oh no friends

Your imagination

Is too small

This mortal body

You were right

This mortal body

Cannot inherit

Those things

But this mortal body

Isn't going to inherit

Those things

Because God

Is going to do something

In us

In the resurrection

That is wonderful

Look with me

Verses 52-53

Or 51-52

Behold I tell you

A mystery

And a mystery

Isn't some esoteric thing

It's simply something

That wasn't known before

But now

In light of the resurrection

Of Christ

Is now known

And revealed to us

I tell you a mystery

We will not all sleep

Which is a metaphor

For dying

But we will all

Be changed

In a moment

In a twinkling

Of an eye

At the last trumpet

For the trumpet

Will sound

And the dead

Will be raised

Imperishable

And we shall

Be changed

This is the great hope

That he's pointing us to

Yes of course

This mortal body

Won't go to heaven

But what God

Has done for us

In Christ

Means that

For all who are in him

Who are joined

With Christ in faith

There is a day

That is coming

In the future

Where this will be

Transformed

Where this flesh

In blood

Will be transformed

Not into a spirit

That doesn't have

A body

And not into a zombie

Or a walking dead

Or some other

Modern conception

Of what it might be

To come back

From the dead

Friends

The greatest sense

We have

Of what that

Imperishable

And immortal

Body

Might look like

Is from the

Accounts in the

Gospels

Where we see

Jesus

Risen from the

Dead

And he's real

And he's physical

And he eats bread

And he touches people

And they can touch him

And he speaks

And yet

There are things

In the gospel

Account

That don't make sense

He seems to be able

To go through walls

He seems to be able

To suddenly appear

And disappear

And you know what

Friends

I have no idea

How to put all that

Together

I'll be honest

With you

I don't know

What this body

Is going to look like

But it will be

Imperishable

And it will be

Immortal

And all the things

That we think

About our bodies

Now

We don't realize

How deeply

We have

Presumed on that

It will all be

Changed

And we will be

Fit

For heaven

And it's not

A process

It's not an

Organic

Or developmental

Thing where we

Suddenly move

Slowly from this

Mortality

To an immortality

Did you see

How Paul describes it

It's going to happen

In a moment

In a twinkling

Of an eye

At the last trumpet

And the trumpet

Is picturing

Christ's triumphant

Return

Where he comes

Back to the earth

To establish

His reign fully

And it is not

Going to be

A process

It will be

Instantaneous

He will come

And we will

Be transformed

Into something

That we've never

Seen before

And can only

Begin to

Imagine

Friends

This is better

Than prolonging

This life

This is better

Than simply

Seeking to get

The most

We can

Out of this

Mortal body

And then

Dying

Like the

Existentialists

Say

This is better

Than fluffy

Clouds

And cherubim

On hearts

What we have

Waiting for us

In this

Immortal

And imperishable

Body

Is going to be

An existence

That will be

More glorious

Than you could

Ever

Imagine

We will be

Fit

For God's

Kingdom

We will be

Fit

For His

Presence

There will be

No shame

There will be

No guilt

There will be

No weakness

There will be

No getting

Old

And no getting

Tired

But we will

Live

With Him

Forever

In the

Richness

Of His

Presence

And His

Glory

And we

Will be

Fit for

That

Because of

The resurrection

From the

Dead

You know

It's

Helpful

To think

About this

I don't know

If you've

Thought about

This

And I've

Shared this

I think

Before

But you

Know

One of

Things

That's

Reality

Is

That

Good

Theology

Is really

Helpful

And in

This

Light

Good

Theology

Has been

Particularly

Really

Helpful

For my

Kids

After

Brandy

Died

I brought

Them

Out to

The hospice

To see

Her

Because I

Wanted them

To see

The body

That was

Left behind

I wanted

Them to

See that

Her spirit

Was no

Longer

There

I wanted

Them to

See

Death

But I

Wanted them

To see

That in

Light of

All the

Things that

We had

Talked

About

With

Them

Over

The

Years

Leading

Up

To

That

How

We

Talked

With

Them

About

Heaven

How

We

Talked

With

Them

About

This

Hope

And

This

Passage

That

That

That body

Though

It

Failed

Will

Be

Raised

One

Day

And

It

Will

Be

Glorious

That

Brandy

That

Brandy

Will

Immortality

And

Imperish

Ability

That

She

Will

Be

Transformed

And

You

Know

What

It's

Helped

My

Kids

A

Lot

To

Know

That

That's

True

They

Don't

Fear

Death

They

Don't

Fear

Talking

About

Her

They

Don't

Wonder

What

Happened

To

Her

At

Least

They

Never

Told

Me

That

They

Do

Our

Good

Theology

Is

Helpful

As

We

Navigate

These

Things

Paul

Goes

On

And

He

Says

Not

Only

Is

It

True

That

As

We

Are

Caught

Up

With

Christ

In

This

Resurrection

We

Will

Be

Changed

But

He

Also

Then

Goes

On

To

Say

In

54

Through

57

He

Says

That

When

This

Happens

We

Will

Connect

To

A

Victory

Over

The

Greatest

Enemies

Of

Humanity

Paul

Back

In

Verse

26

Of

Chapter

15

Has

Said

Death

Is

The

Last

Enemy

I

Don't

Know

If

You

Have

Thought

About

It

But

How

Much

Of

Our

Life

Is

Driven

By

The

Fact

That

We

Are

Only

Here

For

A

Little

Period

Of

Time

How

Much

Of

Our

Life

Is

Shaped

By

The

Fact

That

We

We're

Going

To

Put

On

These

Things

And

He

Says

But

When

We

Put

Them

On

Then

It

Shall

Come

To

Pass

What

Was

Said

Death

Is

Swallowed

Up

In

Victory

And

He's

Quoting

From

Isaiah

25

And

It's

A

And

So

And

He's

Saying

Of

And

And

And

So

Being

Swallowed

Up

Like

A

Little

Shadow

Is

Swallowed

Up

By

The

Brilliance

Of

A

Bright

Sun

As

It

Breaks

Over

The

Horizon

So

Too

Death

Will

Be

Swallowed

Up

By

The

resurrection of Christ on that day. In fact, Paul is so confident and so joyful about this

that in the next verse, he actually turns to a taunt. This is how we ought to read verse 55.

Death, where is your victory? Come on, I don't see it. Where is it? Jesus rose from the dead.

I don't see it. He's taunting death. It's fascinating. What he does actually is,

he's quoting from Hosea 13, and in Hosea 13, it's actually a summons. It's in the context of a

judgment against one of the nations that's been oppressing God's people, and it's a call for death

to come and exert its sting and exert its power on those people because they have been disobedient

to the Lord. And so Paul is acknowledging that humanity has always seen that death has had a

sting and has had a power over humanity. But he now, rather than quoting that and inviting that,

he is now taunting that power. He's saying, death, we thought you had that, but you don't.

You don't have that power anymore. The sting of death is gone

because death has been swallowed up in victory.

And then in typical Pauline writing in verse 56, he takes a little excursus into his great theology of

salvation, right? Because as we understand from the scriptures, death has come from sin. Sin entered

the world, and because of sin. Death. The first man, Adam, sinned, and so we all inherited that sin,

and because of that sin, we all experience death, and there is no escaping that

until Jesus rose from the dead and death was defeated. And it talks about how Jesus defeated that.

This, he talks about how the power of sin is the law, because what the law does, that is the regulations

about how we ought to live in light of God. Simply demonstrate for us that we can't do it. That's

what the law does for all of humanity. It says, you will never be good enough to make it to God on your

own. You will never be able to put on imperishability by being a better person in this world. You will

never be able to put on immortality by trying harder or doing great things in this world.

The hope that you have is that there is one who has done these things for you. Jesus Christ came, and

he lived a perfect life that fulfilled the law in every way. And then he offered himself up, not needing

to die for his own sins. He offered himself in our place, taking the penalty of sin, which is death,

upon himself, and therefore satisfying the requirements of the law. And so suddenly we see

that Jesus has swallowed up death in victory when he rose from the grave.

Friends, join with Paul and with me in verse 37. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God who gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the great hope, not just that Jesus has risen from the

dead, but for all who have put their faith in him, who are trusting in him for their salvation.

We gain that victory too. We will be with him. We will be raised up with him to this newness of life

and this eternal life that will be greater than all.

Some of you are familiar with John Dunn's great poem, Death Be Not Proud.

I almost brought it to quote to you, but it's a little tricky to work through. And I thought I'd save us some of the

400-year-old English. But I did find

an updated version where someone, a contemporary songwriter, has turned it into

a song that I think, and the lyrics capture what John Dunn is saying, but with a little more modern English.

So let me read her version of it to you. This is the taunt, this is the attitude of those who get the victory

in Christ. Death be not proud, though the whole world fear you. Mighty and dreadful you may seem,

but death be not proud, for your pride has failed you. You will not kill me,

though you may dwell in plague and poison. You're a slave to fate and desperate men.

So death, if your sleep be the gates to heaven, why your confidence?

Friends, it is so hard for us to wrap our mind around this truth that death will one day no longer

shape our lives. Death will one day no longer be the end point which defines everything that we do.

But when we are raised with Christ, who has won the victory over death,

friends, there is nothing left but praise to God and taunting that old enemy that we were so afraid of

once, but not anymore. Finally, having put forth to us that we will be transformed as we are caught up

with him. He who has won the victory so that we no longer need to fear death but can be filled with

thanksgiving. Paul then says, therefore, how do we live? Therefore, be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

He says, because we know these things about death, we can face it honestly. And how do we live in the

meantime? How do we live in light of that? Two things. One, be like the rock of Gibraltar. Don't

be like a beach ball on the edge of the shore that is pushed by every wave of fear about death. Don't allow

yourself to be pushed around by our culture that tries to ignore death, by our culture that tries

to minimize death, by our culture that tries to give platitudes to make us feel better without

actually addressing it. But recognize that in the gospel, in the resurrected Christ, you can be a rock of

Gibraltar where the waves of death. Be steadfast and immovable in light of death. Don't let it rule you

and don't let it fear you. But instead, do what? Always abound in the work of the Lord. Rather than

the prospect of death causing you to go into your shell and simply shrivel up and succumb to it.

He says, no. Face the reality of your death and then go and abound in the work of the Lord. What does

he mean by the work of the Lord? I think it could be many things. It could be simply what he started the

chapter with, which is his own ministry of proclaiming the very core of the gospel. Certainly, this is a

work of the Lord that we would share this hope with others. That we would not have to be confused and

without hope in the face of death, but that we would have these anchor points that can help us navigate

even the greatest questions of life. But you know, I also think that Paul wrote this at the end of his

book, this letter to this church, to say, this is what's going to fuel all the other things.

When I told you to embrace humility and weakness and brokenness in your leaders and not pride and

arrogance and a dismissive and self-exalting attitude. When I told you to think about how you

control your bodies, in the way you live out your sex life for the glory of God, how you manage yourself

and your relationships with one another in the church, how you navigate your culture and the questions

of idolatry and your freedoms, and how you are called to love one another well, how you worship, and how you

exercise your spiritual gifts. These are all, in Paul's mind, the abundance of doing works for the Lord.

As we follow his instructions and all that we've been teaching on in 1 Corinthians,

Paul says, abound in these things

because there is a future and there is a hope that we have.

I don't need to exalt myself and be self-promoting and self-exalting

because one day I will be changed into imperishability and I will be in glory with him.

I don't need to do that now because he will do that for me.

I don't want to use my body to live in patterns of sin that lead to death

when I have been saved for a life that will be eternal and more satisfying and more glorious

than the greatest of physical pleasure in this world.

I don't want to use my freedom to try to give my life meaning in this era, in this age,

but I want to lay it down as a servant for others because I know that one day I will have the

greatest freedom of all, freedom from sin and freedom from death. All this because Christ has won

the victory. And he finished it saying, abound in these things because you know that your labor in

the Lord is not in vain. Friends, recognize that the resurrection of Christ is the most important

thing that has ever happened in the world. It is the turning point of all history. It is the centerpiece

of all Christian theology. It is the thing that gives us hope and makes our life not vain,

not empty, not fruitless. We may or may not see the fruit of our labor. We may or may not see the

good results of our attempts to follow God's instructions on how we ought to live.

But friends, we will not live in vain in Christ because we will not die, but we will be raised with

him imperishable and immortal. And what a great hope this is. You know, last week as I was sitting in

the pew listening to Nick preach on this glorious hope of what our bodies will look like, I actually

had a picture in my mind. I had a picture of Brandy, how she might be sipping the best cup of tea that

she's ever had. How her body and her life are renewed. And like a seed that turns into the lushness of a

garden. All, all of the beautiful things that she was in this world and all the best of who she was

to us, to us, and all the weakness and all the suffering and all the pain that she endured,

those things are like a little seed that have now burst in glory for her.

And I think, I want to hold on to that hope for her because it means I don't despair for her.

For me. Because it means I don't want to give up. And for you. Because I pray that you too will pray

that God will help you to see what God has prepared beforehand for you. No eye has seen,

no ear has heard, and no mind has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him

are called according to his purpose. What a great hope we have in Christ. Let's pray.

Lord, thank you for this hope. Thank you that Jesus is risen from the dead.

Lord, we pray that you would help us to come awake.

And Lord, to live in light of this great hope.

Lord, we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. We're going to close our time together by singing a great hymn. I don't know if you've noticed,

but all of our songs this morning have touched on and brought forth the centrality of the resurrection

of the dead and the hope that it brings. So, we will sing. You'll hear the echoes.

Thank you.