Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 (5) - But In Fact Christ Has Been Raised

We begin our worship of God this evening, and our first singing is Psalm 9.

Psalm number 9 in the Sing Psalms version, that's page 9.

The tune is Glasgow, and singing verses 7 to 12.

The Lord forever reigns on high, His throne for judgment stands.

He'll judge the world in righteousness, with justice rule the lands.

Psalm 9a, page number 9, from verse 7.

If you're able to stand, please stand, and we'll sing these verses.

Amen.

The Lord will be a hiding place for those who are in the land.

With justice rule the lands.

The Lord will be a hiding place for those who are in the land.

And he will be a strong defense for those who are in the land.

All those who know your name, O Lord, they knew their gospel place.

For you do not have found the close, who sing your gracious ways.

Sing praises to the Lord who says,

And Zion on his throne.

Among the nations of the world proclaim what he has done.

For he, the Lord, he has done.

For he, the angel of the land's blood, remembers evermore.

The cry of the Lord, the cry of the Lord, he never will be more.

Let's call upon the Lord now in prayer.

Let's join our minds together in prayer.

Our gracious and eternal God,

we give thanks for this time again that we're able to gather around your word,

that we're able to call upon your name and sing your praises,

and to give our mind to the teaching of your word.

And we thank you, Lord, for every opportunity we do have to worship you,

and to worship you to the notice of the world around us,

so that we may keep before the mind of the world

the fact that we believe in you as our God,

that we believe in your worthiness to be worshipped,

and that we ourselves would prove as we hope to be the conscience of the world.

And, Lord, we ask to that end that you would enable us in reaching out to the world,

in different ways apart from our gathering together,

that we may rely upon your own power and your own blessing.

Lord, we ask again that you would guide us into your word of truth this evening.

We thank you for these great words that we have already been singing,

of the way in which you remember your people,

and for the way in which your remembrance contains so much blessing for us.

We thank you that your people are ever in your thoughts.

There is never a moment in our passing of time when your people are out of your mind.

And we bless you, Lord, for the peace that that brings to us.

For we know how much we ourselves, Lord, are prone to forget,

how much we are prone to wander from your ways,

and need to be recovered.

And we pray that you would grant us tonight, O Lord,

that your word will speak to us,

and that we will know, Lord, that our lives have once again been affected by it.

Shape our minds and our thoughts, we pray,

through the truth of your word.

And give to us that we may be all the more burdened

to convey the teaching of your word to the world around us too.

We ask, Lord, that you remember every gathering of your people this evening.

We pray that wherever they gather,

and wherever your people gather and have gathered throughout the world,

we ask that your blessing that we seek for ourselves will be with them.

We pray that your Holy Spirit will be active amongst them.

We pray that they may know your guidance and your counsel,

and your strengthening of them to continue to live as your people.

We pray, Lord, at this time that you would be pleased to bless us as a people,

as a congregation of your people.

Bless us in all the activities we engage in.

Thank you for the privilege of being able to serve you

in the different ways in which we as individuals do so

in this congregation and in our community.

And, Lord, we ask that all our efforts may prove to be blessed by you

and pleasing to you.

For we seek, Lord, that they will be so.

That they will be used by you as means and as channels of blessing to others.

And we ask that you would grant your blessing, therefore,

to all age groups in the congregation

in all their activities through each week.

We thank you for your protective care of us.

We pray that that will continue.

And enable us, O Lord, at all our age groups to walk in your ways.

And as we teach our children your ways, we ask that you would establish them in these ways.

And that you would give to them, O Lord, to take up the work of the gospel in their own time.

We pray that they may be faithful testimony to you and to your grace.

As they would come by your blessing to be incorporated into the number of your confessing people.

And we ask, O God, that you would grant blessing to those tonight who cannot be with us.

Remember those who are confined to their homes.

Those who are watching online.

We ask, Lord, that you'd bless those in care homes.

Those, Lord, in hospital.

We pray that you'd grant your blessing to all such who belong to us.

And bless us in our families and strengthen us.

And the ties that bind us together as families.

The ties that bind us together as a people in the congregation.

We pray tonight that you'd bless those who are facing difficulties and struggles in life.

We ask again that you'd bless those we know and those who belong to us.

Who may be struggling financially.

Who may have many anxieties, O Lord.

Lord, in these days over different issues.

We pray that those who are struggling also with health.

Whether mental health or physical health.

That they too may know your blessing.

We pray for those who are preparing for surgery or for treatment in days to come.

We commend them, Lord, to your care.

And ask that your blessing will reach them too.

We pray that you would prepare us all for eventualities that lie ahead of us in your providence.

We pray that we may know the strength of your grace.

So that whatever we need to confront, Lord, we may do so.

In the confidence that the strength and grace of Christ brings to us.

Remember those who are seriously ill.

And who in likelihood are approaching the borders of death.

We pray that you would grant them your blessing and strengthening too.

And Lord, we ask that you would give them the faith that trusts in you.

So that they may know that safe way and conduct of them into heaven itself.

And we pray your blessing too, O Lord, for all who help us in our times of need in our community.

And we give thanks for them.

We pray for all the medical staff.

For all who look after those in care homes and in the hospice.

And we commit this to you and ask your blessing for each and all of them.

And all the residents and all the patients.

We pray for the Corlea, for those, Lord, who are counselors of the various districts of this ward.

And we pray, gracious one, that you would grant your blessing to them and all other wards likewise.

We pray for those who are officers of the council.

We pray that you would bless them from day to day.

And give them, Lord, in difficult and testing times.

And we pray for those who are counselors of the people, both financially and otherwise.

That they may come to depend upon yourself and provide for them, we pray.

And for us as a people.

We pray, Lord, in the wider sense for the people of our nation.

And ask that you would bless us.

We confess, Lord, to our shame that we have so departed from your ways so badly.

That we have come to love the works of darkness in such a large measure.

And we pray that you would deliver us, Lord, from that.

We pray that the power and the grace of the gospel, the power and the grace of Christ may come to work among us through your Spirit.

And we pray, gracious one, in your mercy that you would turn to us and turn us to you.

That you would restore the many years the locusts have eaten, as your word describes it.

Many years of wastage.

Many years when we have looked to other means of sufficiency that cannot possibly be in your place.

And we pray, gracious one, that you would return us to yourself and to your ways and to your gospel and to your truth.

Remember your faithful people, Lord, throughout our land.

As they cry to you for blessing.

As they pray to you.

Remember them each one and all of them alike.

Remember our young people.

Be with them.

Those in preschool and those in primary and those in secondary.

And as they too face so many challenges in life.

Lord, we pray for them and ask that you would keep them and maintain them.

And help them, Lord, to walk in ways of truth and righteousness and wholesomeness.

We pray for our teachers, for all who teach our young people in school and children in primary.

Oh, Lord, we pray for them too.

And ask that you would be with them in the challenges that they face too.

And bless especially our governments at this time.

We pray for those who are in authority over us.

And we ask, gracious one, that you'd be pleased to bless them with light from on high.

With the wisdom that you alone are able to give.

And with that which would enable them to rule wisely.

To govern justly and in righteousness and in truth.

We ask that you would bless our king.

That you'd bless him towards his coronation shortly.

Lord, we ask that you would keep him also.

And grant to him that he may be faithful to the truth of the scriptures.

That he may know, Lord, of your own guidance of him through that truth.

We pray for those who help in other ways in our community.

We pray for our street pastors.

We commend them to you, Lord.

Especially those of them newly inducted to the office of street pastor in recent days.

And we pray that your blessing will be with them.

And to that end we commend them to you.

And we pray too, O Lord, that your blessing will be with those in Tolstah.

And with Donald himself.

As he prepares to be married spiritually to that congregation.

We thank you for the way that you have brought this about.

And we pray for himself.

And we pray for the congregation.

We pray for him too in his personal life.

That you will bless himself and Emma as they anticipate marriage.

O Lord, we commend them to you as a couple.

And pray that your blessing will rest upon them in these new chapters in their lives.

And we commend them to you and to your grace.

Remember too, Eoin and Don.

You have recently become engaged.

We thank you for them.

And for the happy news of their engagement.

And Lord, we ask that your blessing will be with them.

As they come to anticipate married life together.

We thank you for them and for their testimony.

To your grace and to your goodness.

And we pray that you would keep them and help them, Lord.

As they together now show their love for each other to the world.

Maintain them, we pray, in walking in your ways.

Grant these blessings to us now, we pray.

Pardoning our many sins for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Let's continue to praise God.

This time we're singing in Psalm 63.

Psalm 63.

Again, this is the Scottish Psalms.

The Sing Psalms.

That's on page number 80.

Verses 1 to 8.

The tune this time is Rockingham.

O God, you are my God alone.

I seek your face with eagerness.

My soul and body thirst for you in this dry, weary wilderness.

Psalm 63.

To the tune Rockingham.

Verses 1 to 8.

Amen.

O God, you are my God alone.

I seek your face with eagerness.

My soul and body thirst for you in this dry, weary wilderness.

I've seen you live in your holy place.

Your power and glory held my gaze.

Our day the midst you're loved and mine, and so my lips will sing your praise.

I'll bless you, Lord, throughout my life, and praise my love to you in prayer.

My joyfulness will sing your praise.

My soul is fed with riches dear.

Upon my bed I lie awake, and in my thoughts remember you.

I meditate throughout the night, and keep your constant love in view.

Because you are my help alone, in shadow of your wings I sing.

You hold me up with your right hand.

To you, O Lord, I so will bring.

Let's turn to read God's Word.

The reading this evening is in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28.

And reading through the whole chapter, we're going to turn again this evening to 1 Corinthians 15,

to that great chapter about the resurrection.

So in Matthew 28 we read about the resurrection of Jesus himself from the dead.

Now after the Sabbath towards the dawn of the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

And behold, there was a great earthquake,

for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,

and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning,

and his clothing white as snow.

And for fear of him the guards trembled,

and became like dead men.

But the angel said to the woman,

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here, for he has risen.

As he said, come, see,

he has risen, as he said,

and come, see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples

that he has risen from the dead.

And behold, he is going before you to Galilee,

there you will see him.

See, I have told you.

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy,

and ran to tell his disciples.

And behold, Jesus met them and said,

Greetings.

And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him.

And Jesus said to them,

Do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee,

and there they will see me.

While they were going,

behold, some of the guard went into the city

and told the chief priests all that had taken place.

And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel,

they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said,

Tell people his disciples came by night

and stole him away while we were asleep.

And if this comes to the governor's ears,

we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.

So they took the money and did as they were directed.

And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

And when they saw him,

they worshipped him,

but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

Again, we pray that God will bless to us that reading of his word.

Once more, let's sing before we come to 1 Corinthians 15.

And this time it's in Psalm 68.

Psalm 68 on page 303 of the psalm books.

And the tune is Sheffield.

Singing verses 18 to 20.

Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious, ascended up on high,

and in triumph victorious led captive captivity.

Thou hast received gifts for men for such as did rebel,

yea, even for them that God the Lord in midst of them might dwell.

Psalm 68, the verses marked 18 to 20 to God's praise.

The Lord in the midst of the psalm books.

The Lord in the midst of the psalm books.

Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious,

ascended upon high,

and in triumph victorious led captive captive captive captive captive captive.

Thou hast received gifts for men for such as did rebel.

Thou hast received gifts for men for such as did rebel.

And yet he for them that God the Lord in midst of them might dwell.

The land's deep, the Lord who is to us,

all our salvation, all.

Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious, ascended upon high,

and in triumph of the Lord in the midst of the Lord's name.

Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious, as did rebel.

He of salvation is the God, who is our God, O song.

And that to God, the Lord from death, the issues to belong.

Well, let's turn now to 1 Corinthians 15 and reading at verse 20.

1 Corinthians chapter 15 and at verse 20.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order.

Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father,

after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Now we're going to confine our thoughts this evening to verses 20 to 22.

Because there's enough in these three verses to keep our minds occupied for some time this evening.

Now you see in verses, remember,

previously we've looked at the early part of the chapter up to verse 20 here.

And verses 1 to 19, we've seen the consequences in different ways.

Described the consequences.

If there were no such thing as resurrection,

Paul has been dealing with some of the consequences,

both with regard to Jesus himself.

He must not,

if there's no resurrection,

then he could not have been raised from the dead.

And also there is no such thing as resurrection for us to anticipate either.

So all the way through,

he's been dealing with these if-then sort of statements.

If this is the case,

then this is what follows.

And you get the impression that he was longing,

and I'm sure he was longing in many ways,

to get to verse 20 here,

where he says,

but in fact,

is this really what he wants to get to now?

And for the following verses in the chapter,

he wants to really get to this point

where he can demonstrate assuredly

that Jesus has, in fact,

been raised from the dead.

That there has been such a thing as resurrection

in the case of Jesus himself.

And therefore, that things follow on from that also.

So in a sense,

he's reversing the argument.

Previously, he said,

if there's no resurrection,

then Christ is not raised,

then we are still in our sins,

then there's no hope for us for eternity.

Now he's turning that round and saying,

but now that Christ has been raised from the dead,

then this is what follows now

by virtue of that.

But in fact,

Christ has been raised from the dead.

And the first thing we want to look at

is how he says that in such an assured way,

but also describes it in terms of Jesus being

the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

And then we'll come secondly

to look at something Paul speaks of elsewhere,

as we'll see in Romans chapter 5 especially,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

where he brings out the relationship

between Jesus and Adam,

the first man created by God.

And now there's a particular relationship there

in terms of those that they represent,

Adam being the head of the whole human race,

apart from Jesus and his humanity,

and Jesus being the head

of all his redeemed people.

And now that's important for the apostle

as far as resurrection is concerned,

and the resurrection in the future too,

of God's people,

how that also is taken account of

in what he's saying.

So we're going to confine ourselves

to those particular aspects of the passage.

Christ, the first fruits,

and then Christ, the last Adam,

as called elsewhere in Romans.

So here is what he's saying,

but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.

Now this is really a burst of triumphant positivity,

you might call it,

in light of following all that he's been saying before.

He now comes to this where he's saying,

but in fact,

and the language is really stronger

than is easy to convey in any translation of it.

It's really Paul just bursting out positively

and triumphantly in what he's saying,

so that he's now saying,

no longer if this is the case,

then this is also the case,

but he's now saying,

this is in fact the case.

This is the certainty of the matter.

And all the arguments that follow on from that

are actually based upon the reality

of this being true,

of this being factually true,

of Christ having indeed been raised from the dead.

Now we mentioned earlier

in going through the earlier verses

that this is important for us

in terms of what our present life consists of

and what sort of outlook we have in the present life

and how we view things not only for our present life,

but on into eternity itself.

Because to deny the reality of this resurrection of Jesus

and therefore to deny the reality of resurrection at all

is really to extract the element of hope from human life.

Now we often say this,

that hope in the biblical sense,

in the New Testament sense,

and Old Testament too,

hope in the biblical sense

is much more than the kind of hoping for the best

that we have in the ordinary sense in the course of life.

We could hope for the best tomorrow.

We could hope that something would really happen

and that this would be a great thing

if we could actually participate in something.

We can hope that that would be the case,

but we can't have any guarantee that it will.

But this hope that the Bible speaks about,

the hope that's connected inseparably with the resurrection of Christ,

it's a certain hope.

It's what Peter in his first epistle calls a living hope.

It's a hope that will never be disappointed

because it will always result in what God has promised of eternal life.

And if you take away the resurrection of Jesus,

you're leaving human life without this hope.

There is no other place where you can find hope.

And friends,

when you look at the world in which we live,

when you look at its grayness,

when you look at its darkness,

when you look at its hopelessness,

when you look at the elements of despair

and near despair in people's lives,

we have to actually realize

that that is because they don't have this hope.

However positive people might be in their lives,

it's a very different matter to have

the positivity that Paul is speaking of here,

the positivity of forward-looking

in hope for the resurrection and to eternal life.

A life that's not based on Jesus

and on the resurrection of Jesus,

on the risen Jesus,

is a very sad life.

It's a very hopeless life.

Indeed, the Bible talks about it as a very dark life.

We'll read Ephesians,

a bit from Ephesians 2 later,

but you remember how Ephesians 2 begins,

you who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Because when a human life is not connected

vitally to Christ,

there is no life spiritually in that life,

in that person.

And friends, tonight,

as we look out over the world,

this is surely the message

the world needs to hear,

the message the world needs to accept

by the blessing of God,

the message of hope,

the message of the risen Christ,

Christ risen from the dead,

death being vanquished,

death overcome,

death defeated,

death put beneath his feet.

That's why we have a Bible.

That's why we need the Bible.

That's why we need the Bible

not just preached to us,

but witnessed to us

in our lives in the world.

That's why our testimony in the gospel

is crucial to the world in which we live.

That's why evangelism is so important.

Because this is really holding out

the message of life,

the message of hope.

And it's no accident

that we find

the three sessions

that we look forward to

in the congregation,

where they,

in turn,

these three evenings

are going to be dealing

with the issue of hope.

The resurrection of the life of Jesus,

the resurrection of Jesus,

the death of Jesus,

the resurrection of Jesus,

where you find that as hope.

In one word,

it's hope that describes

all of that

and the result of that

for us as a people.

And that's what the world needs.

And that's why we would like to see

you bringing others

to these meetings as well,

to hear about this hope,

to learn about this Jesus,

to learn about his life,

his death on the cross,

and his resurrection from the dead,

the very basis of the hope

that the Bible speaks about.

But in fact, he says,

Christ has been raised.

He wants the Corinthians

who have certain disputes

or uncertainties about resurrection.

As he says in verse 12,

how can some of you say

there is no resurrection of the dead

if Christ is proclaimed

as raised from the dead?

Why are you saying,

he's saying to them,

why are you saying,

why are you thinking

there's no such thing as resurrection?

Because if and then

Christ has been raised.

But now he's saying

Christ has been raised.

He wants them to take

this tremendous truth,

this great fact,

into their consideration

more and more

and to live it out

in their lives

so that the risen Christ

will be seen through them.

And isn't that why we live?

Isn't that what his church is about?

Isn't that what

bearing testimony to Jesus is about?

Isn't that why

he's made you a Christian?

Isn't that why

he's given you this hope?

Not so that you'll keep it to yourself,

but that you'll say

to this world

that's so devoid

largely of hope,

look, I can tell you

where hope is found.

I can speak of a hope

that I've been given,

that I haven't created,

but that can be yours as well.

Say that to the world.

Bring that to the world.

That's what

the message of the gospel

and the testimony

of God's people is about.

And he goes on to speak there

about Jesus

as the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep.

What does he mean here

by the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep?

Well, we saw earlier

in the chapter in verse 18,

those who have fallen asleep,

those who have fallen asleep

in Christ have perished

if there's no such thing

as resurrection.

We saw that that describes

those who have passed on

from this life,

who've died,

but whose bodies

have been laid out

in sleep, as it were.

They themselves continue

to live in their souls

in eternity,

but they are asleep

as far as their bodies

are concerned.

They are awaiting

the resurrection

when Jesus comes.

And what he's saying here,

he has been raised

the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep.

Now, you need to go back

to the Old Testament for this,

to get an insight

into the meaning

of the words first fruits

or this description

of Jesus

as the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep.

I need to go especially

to the likes of Leviticus

Leviticus 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23

and verse 10.

And that short passage

talks about

when the harvest

was brought in

by the people of Israel

having settled in Canaan,

having come to enjoy

the fruits,

the harvest of the land.

When the harvest

was being taken in,

they would take

a sheaf of the harvest

and bring it to the priests

and that priest

would wave it

before the people.

It was the first fruits

of the harvest.

And it was important

as the first fruits

of the harvest.

Why did God

actually

command that this

be done?

What was this instruction

about?

Well, the first fruits,

this first sheaf

of the harvest

is really

the representation

of the whole harvest

and it's saying

a number of things

to the people of Israel.

It's saying,

first of all,

that whole harvest

actually belongs

to God.

But apart from this sheaf,

He's given it to you

to enjoy.

And it was also saying

to them,

not only is that the case,

but this first sheaf

of the harvest

is expressive

of its quality

because Canaan

was a place

of abundant produce,

abundant growth.

And when they were

bringing in this

first sheaf of the harvest

and showing its quality,

then the Lord

was saying to them,

this is the quality

of the harvest.

This is the first installment,

but it tells you

what the rest is like.

And the third thing

it said was that

because this is

the first fruits,

now you're seeing

with your own eyes

in this sheaf

what represents

the whole harvest,

the rest is then

guaranteed to you.

it's here

in this sheaf

the rest

is going to follow

in due time.

And what Jesus is

is the first fruits

of those who have

fallen asleep

because Christ's

own resurrection

from the dead

is itself

the first fruits

in the sense

that all of God's

redeemed people

are bound up

in His resurrection.

He is the first fruits,

really the first

pledge of the whole harvest

if you like.

He is the first one

risen from the dead.

The rest are then

going to follow.

And because He has come

to be raised

from the dead,

there's an assurance

given by Him

being the first fruits

that the rest

inevitably will follow.

There is not

a single person

for whom Christ died

that will be left out

at the resurrection

unto life.

Why?

Because they are in Christ.

Because when He rose

from the dead

as the first fruits,

God was saying,

this is the first

of my harvest

of salvation.

My own Son

risen from the dead

is a pledge

that the remainder

will in fact

be taken in

in due time.

He is the first one.

He has established

that the rest

will follow.

But there's this too.

just as it was

with the ordinary harvest,

so it is

with the resurrection

of Christ.

And this is dealt

with later on

in the chapter.

We're just anticipating

it very briefly.

The quality

of Christ's resurrection,

if we can put it

that way,

is the guarantee

of the quality

of the resurrection

of His people.

In other words,

Christ has been raised

to the other side

of death completely.

Death is behind Him.

Nothing of that

will ever enter

into His experience again.

He's at the right hand

of God.

He's in heaven.

And as the first fruits

of His own saved people,

He is guaranteeing,

look at my resurrection.

Look at what's through

about my resurrection

from the dead.

Look at what's through

of my risen body.

And that guarantees

the quality of your own.

There will be no more death.

No more crying.

No more sorrow.

No more tears.

No more temptations.

Nothing of what we associated

living bodily in this life.

He is the first fruits.

And He's the guarantee

that the whole harvest

is certainly going to follow.

This is why Paul

was so anxious

to get to this point,

this positive point

in his exposition.

In fact,

Christ has been raised

from the dead,

the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep.

You can tell in 1 Thessalonians 4

that he deals with that as well.

There were some in Thessalonica

that were asking the question,

well, what's happened

to those believers

that were with us

and are no longer in this world?

What's going to happen to them

when Jesus returns?

Will they be left out of

that resurrection

that will take place

at His coming?

And Paul is saying

that of course they will.

No, they certainly will not

because they will participate

through resurrection

from the dead.

They will participate

as Christ returns

in the overall resurrection

of His own people

who are asleep

and who will be joined

with those who are left

living in the world

to celebrate His return,

to participate in His return,

to be glorified at His return.

Christ is indeed, He says,

in fact,

He has been raised

from the dead,

the first fruits of those

who have fallen asleep.

And then He comes to speak

about Christ and Adam.

For as by a man came death,

by a man has come also

the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die,

so also in Christ

shall all be made alive.

We'll confine it to that

for the remainder

of our study this evening.

As by a man came death,

well, obviously,

that's Adam.

The moment Adam sinned

against God,

he brought death

not only on himself

but on his posterity.

As our catechism reminds us,

on all his posterity

who descended from him.

There's a wonderful way

in which the catechism

describes this

in Shorter Catechism 16.

Did all mankind fall

in Adam's first transgression?

Then it says,

the covenant being made

with Adam,

not only for himself

but also for his posterity,

all mankind descending from him

by ordinary generation,

that leaves out

the humanity of Christ,

by ordinary generation,

sinned in him

and fell with him

in his first transgression.

And that's from Romans 5.

Romans 5 verse 12

Romans 5:12

says as follows.

I'm going to flick through

a number of passages

from Paul's letters

for the next few minutes.

Romans 5 verse 12.

Romans 5:12

Therefore just as sin

came into the world

through one man

and death through sin

and so death spread

to all men

because all sinned.

See what that's saying?

It's not all have come

to sin since Adam

but all actually sinned

in Adam.

Because you see,

Adam was set by God

as the representative head

of the human race

so that whatever he did

as he represented

the whole human race

would pass on

to the human race.

Either he would stand

the test

in the Garden of Eden

and the whole human race

would then come

to be saved.

Although,

that of course

isn't what happened

and there are mysteries

of course associated

with this.

But we know what happened

was he disobeyed God

and therefore

when he fell

and when he brought

death on himself

all those he represented

he brought death

upon as well.

All sinned

in Adam.

You and I are taken

as having sinned

in him.

And I know

that's difficult

for us

both to understand

and to accept

but that's

how the Bible

teaches us

our relation

to Adam.

That by a man

came death.

by a man

also has come

the resurrection

of the dead

he's saying.

So in other words

when you find

Adam

driven out

of the Garden of Eden

and he was

driven out

it wasn't a kind

invitation

or a gentle invitation

that God said to him

now look

you've done something

really drastic

so I invite you

now to leave

and I'm going to

close the gate

behind you.

He drove him out.

The seriousness

of what he had done

we cannot appreciate

we cannot estimate

because we're now

sinners

and our mind

is blinded

to an extent

to the seriousness

of sin

to the seriousness

of rebellion

against God

to the seriousness

of unrighteousness

and of living

contrary to the

will of God.

And so God

drove him out

of the Garden

along with Eve

and he put a barrier

there

so that he could not

return

to the Garden

of Eden.

Well there you see

is the human race

there is adamantous

posterity in him

and they're outside

of the Garden

of Eden now

they're no longer

within the confines

of life

they are now

in death

they're embroiled

in death

they're encased

in death

you know that

famous passage

in John 11

when Jesus came

to the tomb

of Lazarus

he groaned

within himself

because he knew

that that body

of Lazarus

in the tomb

was itself

emblematic

of what mankind

had done

to themselves

in Adam

all sinned

in Adam

and the result

of that

the wages of sin

is death

and when Jesus

came groaning

to the sepulcher

of Lazarus

he wasn't just

showing a sympathy

with Mary and Martha

because their brother

had died

there was certainly

that

but he was thinking

at the time

was death

and Lazarus

encased in death

he was

as it were

if we can

put it in such words

he was saying

within himself

I created

human beings

to live forever

and this is what

they've come to

this is where

they are

they're encased

in death

by one man

death came

into the world

all sinned

in Adam

but then he goes on

positively to say

that because

there's no way back

in Adam

or for ourselves

so also

by a man

has come

also

the resurrection

of the dead

now there's

quite a bit

of serious theology

involved in all

of this

when you think

of us being

in Adam

and the whole

human race

apart from Jesus

we said

the whole human

race coming

to be constituted

sinners

and in death

because of what Adam

did as a representative

head

now he's saying

all who are

in Christ

will also

participate

in his

resurrection

as all

humankind

participated

in Adam's

fall

Adam's sin

Adam's

condemnation

so all

who are

in Christ

not all

the human

race

but all

who are

in Christ

will participate

in Christ's

resurrection

in resurrection

where Christ

is foundational

to it

in his

own

resurrection

in other words

we're talking

about union

what the Bible

calls union

with Christ

just as we have

a union

with Adam

which led

to death

so we have

a union

all God's

people have

a union

with Jesus

with Christ

which leads

to life

through his

resurrection

as by man

came death

by a man

has come

also the

resurrection

of the dead

for as in Adam

all die

so also

all in Christ

shall be made

alive

I think is how

we have to

understand it

not all who

died in Adam

will come

to live

not all who

died in Adam

will come

to be in heaven

Bible makes

that clear

but all who

are in Christ

and this is a

great wide

subject

our union

with Christ

because way

back to our

being chosen

in Christ

in eternity

as Ephesians

1 puts it

being joined

to him

as he comes

into the world

being in him

being in him

spiritually that is

as he dies

the death

of the cross

being in him

as he rose

from the dead

and there are

passages in Romans

and in Ephesians

that teach this

great fact

for us

Ephesians 2

for example

I know the time

is passing

but just let me

read this one

for you

Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:4–6

verses 4 to 6

having begun

by you being

dead in trespasses

and sins

but then he goes

on to say

but God

being rich

in mercy

because of

the great

love with

which he

loved us

even when

we were

dead in

our trespasses

he made

us alive

together

in union

with Christ

and raised

us up

with him

and seated

us with him

in the heavenly

places

in Christ

Jesus

now what is he

saying there

he's talking

and writing

to Ephesian

Christians

who are still

in this world

why is he saying

they've been

raised up

together with

Christ

in his

resurrection

why is he

saying they

have been

seated with

him in the

heavenly places

in Christ

because what

he's saying

is because

they are in

Christ to

begin with

spiritually in

Christ

spiritually in

Christ as

their

representative

therefore

whenever Christ

died

not only did

he die for

them

but there's a

sense in which

they are accounted

as having

died

the death

which he

died

the atoning

death for

sin

which he

died

and his

resurrection

from the

dead

because they

are in

him

they are

accounted

as if

they

had risen

from the

dead by

their own

strength

you see

that's

what the

Bible

teaches

with regard

to

substitution

you can't

keep

substitution

out of

the

picture

let me

just finish

the point

by saying

this

when you

think of

Jesus

on the

cross

and then

Jesus

being

raised

from the

dead

following

that

and think

of his

people

in him

well this

is how

it works

the

sin

of his

people

the sins

of his

people

having been

taken

by

Jesus

they are

accounted

as if

they were

his

from the

beginning

as if

he had

done

these

sins

himself

that is

why God

visited

him

with

his

wrath

he took

our

sins

he took

the sins

of his

people

God

viewed

him

as the

substitute

of his

people

as if

all of

these

sins

had been

committed

by

himself

but on

the other

side

of it

when he

rose

from the

dead

so that

resurrection

God

because his

people are

in him

they are

raised with

him

spiritually

they are

looked upon

by God

as if

they had

risen from

the dead

themselves

and there's

a wonderful

transaction

there

the sins

of his

people

are laid

upon

Jesus

they become

his own

he never

sinned

he never

could

but these

sins are

looked upon

as his

federally

representatively

substitutionary

and on the

other hand

the righteousness

that he has

accomplished

the righteousness

in fact

that he

is

by his

death and

resurrection

that is

accounted

the righteousness

of his

people

as if they

had created

it themselves

that's at the

heart of the

gospel

that's what

makes Jesus

such an

immense

figure

and why

union with

Jesus is so

important

why faith

in Christ

is so

crucial

so let's

ask

what use

is this

to us

now

surely this

is just

something

looking ahead

to the

resurrection

well it

is

it is the

resurrection

of the

body

that Paul

has in

mind

here in

1 Corinthians

15

especially

this resurrection

of the dead

anchored in the

resurrection of

Christ

a certainty

of that

bodily

resurrection

of Christ

is making

certain

the resurrection

of all God's

people

ultimately

but let me

just take you

back to Romans

briefly

Romans 6

and verses

11 to 14

because here

is what Paul

is saying

with regard

to

again

to

with regard

to Christ

and his

people

Romans 6

and verses

11 to 14

well let's

go from

verse 10

for the

death he

died

Jesus died

he died

to sin

once for

all

but the

life he

lives

he lives

to God

so you

also

must

consider

yourselves

dead to

sin

and alive

to God

in Christ

Jesus

he's talking

about them

presently

as they are

there and

then

not just

as they were

simply

in Christ

when he rose

from the dead

but as they

are now

as believers

in Christ

having accepted

this Christ

having received

this Christ

so what's

the outcome

of that

what are

the implications

of that

what are

the requirements

that follow

on from that

being in Christ

having Christ

as our Savior

now

being joined

to him

him in his

resurrection

well he says

let not sin

therefore

reign in your

mortal bodies

to make you

obey their

passions

do not

present

your members

to sin

as instruments

for unrighteousness

but present

yourselves to

God

as those

who have been

brought from

death to life

and your members

to God

as instruments

for righteousness

for sin

will have

no dominion

over you

for you

are not

under the

law

but under

grace

not going to

look it up

but you can

follow

Colossians chapter

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

3

as pretty much

the same

emphasis

if you read

that through

for yourselves

later

but what is it

saying

it's saying

that the

dynamic

of the

Christian

life

the dynamic

the energy

that enables

us through

the Holy

Spirit

to live

a God

pleasing

life

to live

a life

that in

this world

as itself

the life

that God

requires of

us

to live

that life

is by virtue

of the power

of Christ's

resurrection

that is what's

operating

through the

Holy Spirit

in every

Christian

in every

saved person

you see

that's why

you need to

know your

theology

there's a lot

of this

that I

know

is deep

a lot

of this

that really

passes my

own

understanding

and yet

I need to

preach from

these passages

as you know

but the

dynamic of

this Christian

life is

from your

union with

Christ

in his

death and

resurrection

and that

dynamic

that energy

that's in

your life

is exactly

the energy

that raised

Christ

from the

dead

and you

see that

in Paul's

own experience

when he

gave his

testimony

in

Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

why did

he count

all things

but loss

why was he

pleased to

count everything

but loss

for the sake

of Christ

well he

says so

that I

might know

him

and the

power of

his resurrection

and fellowship

with his

sufferings

that if by

any means

I might

attain

unto the

resurrection

of the

dead

see isn't

it wonderful

Paul is

saying I

can count

all things

now but

loss

everything I

once saw

as gain

in my

life

I'm more

than happy

to just

let them

drop and

fall away

they're no

use to me

anymore for

righteousness

I have

Christ

that's all

I need

to be

right with

God

so that

I might

have

his

righteousness

that comes

by faith

in him

but so

that I

might

ultimately

attain

to the

resurrection

of the

dead

he's got

the power

of his

resurrection

working in

him now

he is being

brought by

that towards

the resurrection

from the

dead

that awaits

him when

that resurrection

takes place

and it's

all to do

with Jesus

if you are

joined to

Christ tonight

by faith

you are

joined to

his

resurrection

what a

blessing it

is to be

united to

Christ

what a

blessing it

is to

know the

power of

Christ's

resurrection

making you

first of

all into

what you

are as

alive in

Christ

having

brought you

from

spiritual

death

raised you

spiritually to

be joined

to Christ

what a

blessing you

have

now that's

what's true

of your

life

what

incalculable

loss

God

if it

should be

otherwise

with you

because

unless you're

joined

vitally to

Jesus

it doesn't

matter how

much you

know in

your head

of theology

it doesn't

matter what

standards of

attainment you

may have

academically or

otherwise

in this

life

you are

dead in

your

trespasses

and sins

that's the

reality

that God

tells us

about

but focus

on Christ

himself

as by a

man came

death

we all know

about that

that's where we

all are

coming into

the world

so also

by a