1 Corinthians 15:35-49

Good morning, church.

It's good to be with you all this morning.

Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians 15, verses 35 through 49.

1 Corinthians 15:35–49

Let me encourage you to turn there with me.

It's page 961 in the Pew Bible.

Now, this is the text we'll be diving into this morning, 1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 49.

Let me pray for us as we go to God's word together.

Lord, indeed, as we have just sung, that you would come and you would bind our wandering

hearts to you.

Lord, we confess that we are prone to wander.

We are prone to distraction.

God, we are prone to seek our life and our happiness and so many lesser things.

And yet, God, we thank you for this moment that we get on this first day of the week to

draw around your word, to come around your word together.

And we trust, Lord, to hear you speaking to us through your spirit by the scriptures.

Lord, we know that it's your word that does a mighty work in our lives and our hearts.

So we pray and we ask that you would come and you would do that this morning.

Bless the reading and the preaching and the hearing of your word.

For Christ's sake, we pray.

Amen.

1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 49.

But someone will ask, how are the dead raised?

With what kind of body do they come?

You foolish person.

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel.

Perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.

But God gives it a body as he has chosen and to each kind of seed its own body.

For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another

for birds, and another for fish.

There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind

and the glory of the earthly is of another.

There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars.

For star differs from star in glory.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead.

What is sown is perishable.

What is raised is imperishable.

It is sown in dishonor.

It is raised in glory.

It is sown in weakness.

It is raised in power.

It is sown a natural body.

It is raised a spiritual body.

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

Thus it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being.

The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural and then the spiritual.

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust.

The second man is from heaven.

As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust.

And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,

we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Well, friends, I wonder what images you have in your mind when it comes to the afterlife.

Yes, we're in church.

We're going to talk about the afterlife.

Maybe you have a fairly positive picture.

Something like bright, fluffy clouds and white, ethereal robes.

Maybe a golden harp or two.

Sort of a giant, disembodied day at the beach.

With constant Muzak just playing in the background.

Sort of an elevator ride that just never ends.

Now, of course, in the ancient world, the world of 1 Corinthians,

people would have had a murkier sort of image.

And on the other hand, maybe you do too.

Maybe you think of a place where our spirits just live in a sort of shadowy,

thinned out version of reality.

Maybe a kind of sad doctor's office waiting room where no one gets called in

and you just sort of sit there reading old magazines

and mulling over your earthly regrets.

Or maybe here and you don't really believe in the afterlife at all.

Maybe the picture you have of the afterlife, if you want to call it that,

is just of your body decomposing, your atoms returning to the earth,

and, you know, if you're lucky, your reputation may be living on for a generation or two.

But no real sense of life after death.

Now, what's funny about all these popular images that we tend to have

is that they all seem to have no place for our physical bodies.

Whether it's our spirit sitting on a shiny cloud or sulking in a murky netherworld,

or even if it's just our reputations living on in the hearts of our friends,

all of these images of the afterlife see our bodies as something that's pretty much just left behind,

gotten rid of, done away with.

And in that way, pretty much all of our thinking about the future,

about the afterlife,

falls woefully short

of the biblical vision.

Because you see,

what Christianity teaches about the future,

about our ultimate hope,

is the resurrection of the body

and the renewal of creation

in all of its material, physical, sensory goodness.

Now, don't get me wrong.

The New Testament is very clear

that when a believer dies in this life,

they are immediately with the Lord.

Jesus says to the thief on the cross,

today you will be with me in paradise.

Do you remember that?

Paul says in his letter to the Philippians

that to depart from this life is to be with Christ.

Believers do, in that sense,

go to heaven when they die.

And you might think,

well, man,

what more do you need?

To be with Christ.

To see him in all of his fullness.

I mean, what more could you ask for?

But being with Christ in heaven

as glorious and as soul satisfying

as that is and will be,

that's not the last chapter

of God's story for us.

As we saw last week

in verses 20 through 28

of 1 Corinthians 15,

as we've been working through this book

of 1 Corinthians sort of section by section,

the day is coming

when Christ will return in glory

to defeat death once and for all.

And on that day,

everyone who belongs to Christ,

living and dead,

will experience what Paul calls

the resurrection of the body.

Not spirits on clouds,

not murky souls lingering in the shadows,

not merely a reputation living on in memory,

but a body raised to life,

never to die again

in a perfectly healed creation.

Now, if we have a hard time

properly imagining the afterlife,

we have an even harder time,

I think, properly imagining

the resurrection of the dead.

If you think about it

for more than 30 seconds,

I think you find yourself

asking the same kind of question

that Paul supposes

we're asking in verse 35.

Look at it again.

How exactly are the dead raised, Paul?

I mean, what sort of body

are we talking about here?

Maybe with a little bit of skepticism,

maybe with a little bit of scorn.

For all of you Walking Dead fans,

October 23rd, season seven, right?

You know what I'm talking about.

Maybe the idea of the dead

coming back to life

sends shivers up your spine.

Something that doesn't cause you

to want to break out into worship,

but go grab your shotgun, right?

The resurrection of the dead

doesn't sound appealing,

it sounds appalling.

I know I've shared this story before,

but I remember walking down Grove Street

with a friend who was visiting town,

and as we went past

Grove Street Cemetery,

as we were walking,

you know, over Grove Street Cemetery,

over the entryway,

what is it?

What does it read?

The dead shall be raised.

And my friend looked up at that,

read the words,

and said,

ew.

Which, of course,

wasn't a very philosophical

or scientific rebuttal

of the doctrine

of the resurrection of the body, right?

She wasn't contemplating

how the molecules and atoms

of saints long deceased

will be miraculously reconfigured

at the return of Christ,

if indeed that's how God

decides to do it,

we just don't know.

But, you know,

her response was an honest one,

and it's one I think

a lot of us maybe share.

You see,

it's not that we can't wrap

our minds around the resurrection.

I mean,

if there is an all-powerful God,

logically speaking,

it shouldn't be too hard

for God to make that happen, right?

It's not that we can't wrap

our minds around the resurrection,

it's that we can't quite seem

to wrap our hearts around it.

We can't picture the reality of it

in a way that makes sense

to our deep longings

for what's true

and beautiful and good.

But in this text

that we've just read,

Paul's helping us

to get there.

What is the resurrection body like?

And why is it actually good news?

That's what this text

is all about.

And it unfolds the nature

of the resurrection body

for us in three steps.

Let's start with step one,

verses 36 through 41.

Here,

Paul gets us thinking

about the resurrection body

by using an analogy

from creation.

An analogy from creation.

Paul,

God,

in his sovereign,

creative power,

Paul reminds us

in verse 38,

has made all sorts of bodies.

Verses 39 through 41

echo Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Humans,

animals,

birds,

fish,

sun,

moon,

stars.

Do you see what Paul's doing there?

He's sort of moving backwards

through the creation account.

Day 6,

humans,

animals.

Day 5,

birds in the air,

fish in the sea.

Day 4,

sun,

moon,

stars.

Paul's rehearsing

the stunning array

of different bodies

that God has made

to fill

and adorn his creation.

Each with their own

particular unique glory,

brilliance,

and beauty.

Even star differs

from star and glory,

he says.

Sort of waxing poetical

at the end

of his paragraph.

And friends,

how much better

do we know

that truth today

as space telescopes

send us images

of planets

and galaxies

and nebula

that we could have

never imagined

all amazing

and all seemingly

amazingly different

in glory

and in beauty.

Do a Google search

of Hubble pictures

when you get home

and just realize

how amazing

the things that God

has made really are.

But the point I think

that Paul wants us

to see here

is that if God

has created

such a stunningly

beautiful diversity

of bodies

in creation

if his creative

majesty

can do that

what might he

have in store

for us

in the new creation?

In the great renewal?

What particular

bodily glory

might it be possible

for God

to yet have in mind

for us

in the resurrection?

It's sort of

as if Paul

wants us

to watch

this opening

chapter of Genesis

a bit like

a movie trailer

like an advanced

clip

of some highly

anticipated blockbuster

and he's saying

that if that

60 second clip

can spark

your imagination

and get your heart

beating

just imagine

what it's going

to be like

when you sit down

and watch

the whole thing

on full display.

But that's not

all we're meant

to get

out of this

analogy

from creation.

Paul directs

our attention

in verse 36

through 37

to a seed.

You plant

a seed

in the ground

and figuratively

speaking right

it's buried

it dies.

And then

from that

seed

comes something

that's both

the same

there's an

unbroken

organic

continuity

between the seed

and the plant

right?

And yet

at the same

time

it's radically

and completely

transformed.

Picture

in your mind

a little acorn

or as my kids

like to call them

the seeds

with the hats

right?

and now

go out

and find

an oak

tree.

And what

could be

more different?

Continuous

yes

but radically

transformed

than an acorn

and an oak

tree.

So you see

right there

in the middle

of our everyday

experience

of the created

world

is an

illustration

of what the

resurrection

will really

be like.

Like a

seed planted

in the

ground

that becomes

not less

itself

but transforms

into its

true self

when all

of its

potential

is unlocked

and set

free

and unfolds

and unfurls

in glory.

Like a tree

rising in strength

from a tiny

seed.

Like a

monarch

butterfly

taking to

flight

when once

its old

caterpillar

self

could only

inch along

nibbling

on leaves.

What will

the

resurrection

body

be like?

Step one

Paul says

take an

analogy

from nature.

Continuity

yes

it will

be you

and yet

there will

be

transformation

so deep

it's as if

the real

you has

finally

come forth.

friend

do you ever

feel

sometimes

like you

just

don't

fit

in your

body

that you

just feel

a little

dislocated

and not

quite

right?

Don't you

see the

truth that

Paul's

pointing us

to here

is explaining

that

that there's

a bodily

existence

for you

to come

that's going

to unfurl

and unlock

your potential

and be right

and fitting

and beautiful

in the ways

that your deep

heart longs

for and aches

for and reaches

for.

That's step one.

Step two

now Paul gives

us a description.

In verses

42 through

44 there are

four contrasts.

Granted

the resurrection

will mean this

massive transformation

but what sort

of transformation?

And we see it

here.

First he says

it's from perishable

to imperishable.

Friends our present

bodies deteriorate

don't they?

When I was 18

I didn't really

think a lot

about that.

Now I'm 35

and I just

keep getting bigger

and I get a little

heavier

and running around

the block

takes a little

more sweat.

Our bodies

deteriorate.

Our joints

get stiff.

Our eyesight

gets worse.

We know that

our bodies

don't last

forever.

Eventually

they perish

but the new

body,

the resurrection

body isn't

going to

deteriorate.

It's not

going to

grow old.

It's not

going to

decay.

And do you

see what that

means?

It means that

all those

fears that we

carry around

that fear of

injury

that fear

of physical

pain and

the loss

of ability

that fear

of losing

our eyesight

maybe even

that fear

of losing

our memory

ultimately

our fear

of dying

all those

fears

will be

gone.

Isaiah 25

talks about

death and

the fear

of death

like a veil

spread over

all the

people

over everyone

in all nations

a dark

drape

covering

and coloring

everything.

And friends

isn't that

true in your

own experience

that every

great meal

you share

every sunny

day you

enjoy

every friendship

you make

isn't all

of it

maybe far

back in

your mind

covered

and colored

in the

background

by that

looming

reality

of our

transience

and that

looming

fear

of death

that our

bodies

are perishable

and yet

in the

resurrection

that curtain

is going to

be thrown

back

cast aside

and that

fear will

be gone

and our

bodies will

be raised

imperishable

Israel

describes

that day

like a

feast

of rich

wine

and rich

food

can you

imagine

what it

will be

like

to eat

that first

meal

without

the looming

lingering

fear

of

deterioration

and decay

and death

second

our

bodies

will undergo

a transformation

from dishonor

to glory

you know

our physical

limitations

and their

deterioration

are only

half the

story

aren't

they

more

bitter

than that

I think

is the

dishonor

in other

words

the shame

that we

feel

in our

bodies

now some

of this

shame

comes from

cultural

standards

sort of

values

and images

that our

society

holds up

and things

that we

don't sort

of measure

up to

we're too

fat

we're too

thin

we're too

tall

we're too

short

our hair

isn't the

right color

the right

length

the right

style

we don't

even have

any hair

and so

on

but you

know

there's also

the shame

that we

carry

not just

from

the cultural

standards

around us

but because

of the

things

that maybe

have been

done

to us

in our

bodies

maybe

someone

hurt us

or took

advantage

of us

and maybe

there's no

visible

mark

or scar

but our

bodies

still carry

the shame

of that

act

of being

wronged

and being

hurt

and it's

like a

stain

has been

marking

us

all of

our

days

and if

there's

the shame

that we

have

from what's

been done

to us

there's

also the

shame

in our

bodies

from what

we've

done

to

others

maybe

even

from what

we've

done

to

ourselves

that

addiction

we

kept

feeding

those

scars

that remind

us

of the

years

we kept

running

from God

and hurting

others

and yet

in the

resurrection

all this

shame

all this

dishonor

will be

released

and we

will be

raised

in

glory

instead

of wanting

to hide

instead

of wanting

to just

disappear

which is

what shame

sort of

forces us

to want

to do

friends

we're going

to be

whole

and we're

going to

be

clean

and others

around us

won't help

but admire

and call

forth our

radiance

and beauty

and honor

and it

will be

celebrated

and the

crazy thing

is that

in that

day

that kind

of celebration

isn't going

to make

you proud

and it's

not going

to go

to your

head

and it's

not going

to make

you look

down on

others

because when

you look

at others

they'll be

glorious

too

and there

won't be

any more

comparisons

or envy

or jealousy

all those

shadows will be

dispelled

because we

will all

embody the

unique

particular

glory

we were

meant to

have

without any

shame

and like

slide

after slide

of the

Hubble

telescope

reveals

one glory

after another

so in the

resurrection

there won't

be favorites

just

breathtaking

glory

upon glory

upon glory

third

in the

resurrection

our bodies

will be

transformed

from weakness

to strength

I was

watching some

of the

men's

gymnastics

yesterday

on the

Olympics

Mike

I've got

an Amazon

fire TV

thing

my brother

sent it

to me

and it's

awesome

you can

watch

any sport

any time

of the day

and my

daughter

was like

dad

I want

to watch

gymnastics

so we're

like alright

we're going

to watch

gymnastics

and I'll

tell you

what

it is

incredible

what these

guys can

do

I can do

a somersault

and I get

sort of

motion sick

and these

guys

they're doing

handstands

with their

arms like

this

and their

heads

aren't

touching

the

ground

that's

insane

and yet

you know

friends

that the

strength

of even

the most

accomplished

athlete

will seem

like

weakness

compared to

what we

will all

be in

the

resurrection

when our

fatigue

will be

swallowed

up

and our

chronic

illnesses

and limitations

will be

no more

and when

even our

most severe

disabilities

will be

healed

do you

remember how

some of the

Christians at

Corinth

we looked at

this a number

of weeks

ago

you remember

how some of

the Christians

at Corinth

were calling

themselves

strong

and looking

down on

members in

the congregation

that they

thought were

weak

we do that

too

don't we

but you

see the

coming

resurrection

if we

let that

reality

sink in

again

it just

cuts out

it just

takes out

our pride

like the

cancer that

it is

no matter

how strong

we think

we are

today

no matter

what

attainments

we think

we've

achieved

physically

intellectually

spiritually

that's

nothing

compared

to what

even the

weakest

Christian

will be

like

in the

resurrection

and so

you see

when you're

doing that

kind of

calculus

this side

of the

resurrection

we're

all

weak

we're

all the

same

none of

us is

really

superior

to

another

we

all

every

Christian

we all

stand

in need

of God's

radical

transforming

grace

on the

last day

to take

us

to where

God

really

wants

us

to be

so we

can't

look down

our noses

at one

another

in pride

we can't

give in

to prejudice

or to

racism

or to

classism

we've

all been

put on

the same

plane

all of

us

and we've

all been

promised

that one

day we'll

be raised

in strength

yes

all are

weak

and all

will be

made

strong

fourth point

Paul describes

the transformation

of our bodies

in the resurrection

as going from

a natural

body

to a

spiritual

body

now this

dichotomy

is by

far

the

trickiest

of the

four

contrasts

to

understand

because

when we

in our

sort of

everyday

language

today

compare

something

that's

natural

and

spiritual

we usually

mean

something

that's

physical

on the

one

hand

and

something

that's

not

physical

on the

other

right

the

natural

is

sort

of

physical

material

the

spiritual

is

sort

of

immaterial

but that's

not

actually

what Paul

means

in this

contrast

for starters

when he

uses the

word

natural

he's

not

using

a

word

that

anyone

would

have

heard

to

mean

material

or

physical

rather

that

word

natural

is

from

the

same

word

that

we

often

translate

as

soul

psuche

where we

get the

language

of

psychology

so

Paul's

not

saying

that

there's

a

material

thing

and

an

immaterial

thing

so

what

is

he

saying

well

you

have

to

see

that

these

adjectives

that

are

the

kind

of

adjectives

that

describe

what

something

is

powered

by

if

after

the

service

I

was

out

in

the

parking

lot

with

you

and

asked

you

hey

do

you

drive

an

electric

car

or

a

gas

car

you

wouldn't

think

that

I

was

asking

whether

your

car

was

made

up

of

a

stream

of

highly

charged

electrons

or

a

puddle

of

smelly

petroleum

right

I'm

not

asking

you

whether

your

car

is

made

of

electric

or

made

of

gas

I'm

asking

you

what

your

car

is

powered

by

what

drives

it

it's

the

same

thing

here

Paul

is

contrasting

our

present

bodies

with

our

resurrection

bodies

both

are

physical

both

are

material

but

the

first

is

powered

by

the

ordinary

human

soul

our

natural

human

capacities

and

personality

but

the

second

the

resurrection

body

will

be

completely

enlivened

and

empowered

and

directed

by

God's

own

spirit

what's

that

going to

be like

I don't

know

but here's

what I came

up with

as I was

thinking

about it

psychologists

and work

productivity

experts

often talk

about something

called

flow

it's

this

state

of

being

where

you're

performing

an

activity

and

you're

totally

engaged

and

you're

totally

focused

and

everything

is

clicking

and

there's

even

this

sort

of

deep

sense

of

enjoyment

about

you

if

you're

an

athlete

you

would

call

it

being

in

the

zone

or

if

you

played

basketball

in

the

early

90s

you

would

say

that

you're

on

fire

my

guess

is

that

we've

all

experienced

maybe

for you

it

is

playing

a

sport

you're

skiing

down

a

mountain

you're

running

around

the

track

and

you

feel

that

effortless

flow

that

focus

that

joy

that

accomplishment

maybe

if

you're

lucky

it

happens

for

you

at

work

you're

writing

that

paper

you're

accomplishing

that

project

you're

swinging

that

hammer

and

you

just

sort

of

lose

yourself

in

the

work

you're

in

the

zone

and

if

you

felt

it

and

you

probably

have

you

know

that

there's

almost

this

effortless

focus

this

absorption

and

effectiveness

in

what

you're

doing

and

it's

joyful

and

you

like

it

but

you

also

know

of

course

that

most

of

our

waking

moments

aren't

like

that

we

struggle

and

we

strive

we

procrastinate

we

get

distracted

and

above

all

we

labor

at

whatever

we're

doing

now

if

you

felt

the

difference

between

those

two

states

between

flow

and

struggle

then

I

think

we've

had

a

small

foretaste

of

the

difference

Paul's

talking

about

here

to

have

God's

spirit

empowering

and

enlivening

our

bodies

through

and

through

with

no

reserve

isn't

just

going to

make

them

imperishable

and

glorious

and

strong

but

it's

going

to

mean

living

and

being

and

acting

without

that

striving

and

struggling

that

we

so

often

experience

as

we

go

about

our

ordinary

lives

empowered

by

our

ordinary

human

selves

in

other

words

friend

there's

coming

a

day

when

we

will

no

longer

be

our

own

worst

enemies

at

last

God's

will

and

our

will

and

God's

desire

and

our

desire

will

be

united

in

effortless

focus

and

in

joy

and

we'll

stop

kicking

against

the

goads

because

we'll

finally

be

wholly

empowered

by

the

spirit

of

the

God

who

made

us

and

who

loves

us

so

this

is

Paul's

description

of

the

resurrection

body

imperishable

glorious

strong

and on

top

of

it

all

empowered

by

God's

spirit

friends

does

that

sound

too

good

to

be

true

and

how

in

the

world

can

Paul

be

so

confident

that

this

is

actually

what

it's

going

to

be

like

I

mean

sure

the

Old

Testament

talks

about

resurrection

Ezekiel

talks

about

resurrection

is sort

of

a

big

metaphor

for

return

and

restoration

from

exile

and

and

then

you

have

Daniel

who

talks

about

personal

individual

resurrection

and he

sort

of

gets a

glimpse

of it

we're

sort

of

shining

like

stars

but

there's

nothing

this

specific

nothing

this

detailed

that

Paul

could

have

been

drawing

from