In the Blink of an Eye

You can open them up to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

After all that food that's sitting in our stomachs,

I think I'm going to have to be extra animated this morning

just to make sure none of you fall asleep.

1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

This will be the last message in our series

talking about the resurrection.

Just to remind you where we've been,

we began this series at the beginning

as Paul is reminding the Corinthian church of the gospel,

of the good news about Jesus that they must hold firmly to

so that they can be saved.

Paul goes on to remind them what the gospel is.

The good news about Jesus is that he died for our sins to be forgiven.

He was buried.

He was raised back to life from the dead on the third day.

And then he appeared to a whole bunch of people.

One of those people was Paul himself who writes this.

Paul went from there to talk about

what some in the Corinthian church had been saying.

There were some in the church who had been saying

that there is no resurrection from the dead.

That resurrection, it's not a thing that God does.

There's no life after death.

They were kind of categorically denying it.

Paul says there's serious implications to that.

If the dead are not raised,

then not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ hasn't been raised,

then this is serious.

You're still on the hook for all your sins.

Everything that we've been teaching and preaching about Jesus is a lie.

And you've been wasting your time believing this and living this.

But that's not the case, said Paul.

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

And not only that, but his resurrection was the first part of a greater resurrection

that God will bring in the future when Jesus returns.

And all who belong to Jesus are also raised from the dead.

And Christ comes to rule in his eternal kingdom.

From there, we went on to look at Paul's teaching about the resurrection itself.

And how Paul said that we will receive new bodies from God as a gift

for this new kingdom life that we're going to live in.

These bodies will be physical bodies,

but they will be radically different than the bodies that we have now.

They will be imperishable, not subject to death.

And we talked a little bit about that.

And now we're going to pick it up in verse 50.

And finish off this section of what Paul is teaching.

He says this,

I declare to you, brothers and sisters,

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,

nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

The kingdom of God is coming.

When Jesus returns,

he is going to bring the kingdom of God in its fullness

and establish it here on earth.

And this is going to be a beautiful and perfect forever kingdom.

But the bodies that we have right now,

this flesh and blood,

is not fit for that kingdom.

We have a problem.

Our bodies as they are right now are subject to decay,

breaking down,

wearing out,

and death.

And so we need a radical transformation of this

in order to inherit

and be part of this kingdom

that Christ is coming to bring.

Now, where did death come from?

I haven't really talked about this in this series,

but I just want to take a moment to go there this morning.

Death is not something that God created us with at the beginning.

I'm going to read what Paul said in his letter to their church at Rome.

He said,

Sin entered the world through one man,

and death through sin.

And in this way,

death came to all people.

Death came into our world.

It wasn't originally part of the way that God created us to live.

It came into our world

as the consequence,

as the punishment,

a just punishment

for Adam's sin

against God.

And unfortunately,

we have all inherited

the problem,

the consequence of death

from Adam,

we are cut from the same cloth as him.

We're descended from him.

He is in us.

We are in him.

And so we also

die.

Our bodies die

because of

the sin of Adam

and because of

our own sin.

Now,

ever since I was a kid,

that little thought in the back of my head

has been there.

That doesn't seem very fair.

Why are we

held guilty

for the sins of one man?

But as one of my mentors

used to say,

it may not seem fair

that we are held guilty

for the sins of one man,

Adam,

but there is a surprising

gift of grace

that comes

along with that.

we can all

be forgiven

and restored

to relationship

with God

through the action

of one man,

Jesus Christ.

There's a balance

to this

inheritance

that we receive

from Adam.

And that's exactly

where Paul goes

in his letter

to the Roman church.

I'm going to read

just a little bit

of it for you

in Romans 5.15.

He says this,

but the gift

is not like

the trespass.

For if the many

died

by the trespass

of the one man,

how much more

did God's grace

and the gift

that came

by the grace

of the one man,

Jesus Christ,

overflow

to the many?

He goes on

down in verse 18,

just as one trespass

resulted in condemnation

for all people,

so also

one righteous act

resulted in justification

and life

for all people.

For just as

through the disobedience

of the one man,

the many were made

sinners,

so also

through the obedience

of the one man,

Jesus,

the many

will be made

righteous.

So,

death was not

originally

part of God's design.

It's not just

a natural part

of the cycle

of life.

It's a disorder.

It's a brokenness

that came

from God

as a punishment

for our sin

against Him.

But the good news

is this.

God didn't leave

us that way.

He sent Jesus

to do something

that would fix

that problem.

in verse 18,

one righteous act

resulted in

justification

and life

for all people.

Justification

for a right

standing with

God again.

Even though we were

guilty,

Christ did

that one thing

that was necessary

to bring that

for all of

His people.

Sins

against God

forgiven.

dealt with.

But there's still

death.

There's still

this problem

of this body

that dies.

What about that?

Notice that

Paul says,

one righteous act

resulted

in justification

and life

for all people.

And life.

life is what

God promises.

Life is what

Jesus offered.

He said

to Martha,

I am the

resurrection

and the life.

If anyone

believes in

me,

he will live

even though

he dies.

If anyone

lives and

believes in

me,

he will never

die,

said Jesus.

And of course

He meant that

in the ultimate

sense.

resurrection.

Life after

death.

Eternal

life.

And so

as we come

back to our

passage in

1 Corinthians,

it's good

news that

Jesus has

dealt with

our need

for forgiveness.

But we need

something more.

We need

a change

to this

because this

is going

to die.

This is

perishable.

It's subject

to breaking

down and

wearing out.

And if we're

going to live

forever,

we need

a change

to our

bodies.

And that's

where Paul

is going

and what he's

going to

describe for

us here.

Let's pick

it up again

in verse 51.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:51

15 verse 51.

Paul says

this,

Listen,

I tell you

a mystery.

We will

not all

sleep,

but we

will all

be changed

in a

flash,

in the

twinkling

of an eye,

at the

last trumpet.

For the

trumpet will

sound,

the dead

will be

raised

imperishable,

and we

will be

changed.

This is

one of the

most precious

verses in

the whole

Bible.

And from

it we

learn about

this certain

hope of

the resurrection

that those

of us who

belong to

Christ are

waiting for

and looking

forward to.

What do we

learn about

the resurrection

here?

One of the

first things

that I

notice is

that the

resurrection

is something

that will

take place

in a

moment.

Paul says

in a

flash,

in the

twinkling

of an

eye,

or as

some have

rendered it

in the

blink of

an eye.

It's not

something that

will happen

as part of

a process.

It's not

like metamorphosis

of a

caterpillar

into a

butterfly,

something that

happens

gradually.

It's

something that

God will

do

instantaneously.

What will

he do?

He says

we will

all be

changed.

The dead

will be

raised

imperishable

and we

will be

changed,

transformed,

our bodies

radically

made new,

ready for

the eternal

kingdom life

that God

has for us

to live.

when will

this take

place?

We've

already heard

from Paul

that this

will take

place when

Jesus returns.

Back in

verse 23.

But Paul

tells us

now that

this will

take place

at the

last

trumpet.

trumpet.

This is

an event

that will

happen in

the future

when Jesus

comes and

all of his

people are

raised to

life from

the dead.

This is an

event that

happens at

the end.

This is the

last trumpet.

Jesus spoke

a little bit

about this

with his

disciples when

he taught

them on the

Mount of

Olives in

the week

leading up to

his crucifixion.

he said

this to

his disciples.

Then will

appear the

sign of the

Son of

Man in

heaven.

And then

all the

peoples of

the earth

will mourn

when they

see the

Son of

Man coming

on the

clouds of

heaven with

power and

great glory.

And he

will send

his angels

with a

loud trumpet

call and

they will

gather his

elect from

the four

winds from

one end of

the heavens

to the

other.

That's the

way Jesus

described it.

Paul actually

talked about

this in his

letter to the

Thessalonians

as well.

He said

this,

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4:16

chapter 4

verse 16,

for the Lord

himself will

come down

from heaven

with a

loud command

with the

voice of

the archangel

and with

the trumpet

call of

God and

the dead

in Christ

will rise

first.

After that,

we who are

still alive

and are left

will be caught

up together

with them

in the

clouds to

meet the

Lord in

the air.

A couple

different

descriptions of

this event,

but in

each case

there's the

mention of

the trumpet

call of

God.

When Jesus

returns,

it will be

something that

is visible

to all.

It says he

will come on

the clouds and

every eye will

see, but it

will also be

something that

is audible

to all.

The trumpet

call of God

will be sounded

and it will

signal,

Jesus has

returned.

the moment

is here

and when

that trumpet

blast

is heard,

all of us

who belong

to Christ

will be

raised from

the dead.

Verse 52,

back in

1 Corinthians,

for the trumpet

will sound,

the dead

will be raised

imperishable

and we

will be

changed.

Let's

continue on

with what

Paul has to

say here

in verse 53.

He says,

for the

perishable

must clothe

itself with

the imperishable

and the

mortal with

immortality.

He uses

the language

of clothing

here.

The bodies

that we

have right

now,

they're like

clothes that

wear out.

They get

holes in

them,

they fade,

don't work

right anymore.

for us

to inherit

this kingdom

that Christ

is bringing,

we need a

change of

clothes,

we need a

new body,

one that's

not going

to wear

out,

one that's

not subject

to breaking

down,

one that's

not going

to die

ever again.

and that's

exactly what

Christ will

give to

all of his

people when

he returns

by his

life-giving

power,

an

imperishable

body,

a

transformation

so that we

will be

not mortal

but immortal,

never to

die again.

Paul goes

on in

verse 54,

he says

when this

has taken

place,

when this

resurrection

moment has

happened,

then what

is written

in the

prophets

will come

true.

Death

has been

swallowed

up in

victory.

Where,

oh death,

is your

victory?

Where,

oh death,

is your

sting?

he borrows

from the

words of

the prophets

and points

back.

Long ago

in God's

word,

God

foretold

of this

time,

a time

when death,

that great

predator which

swallows up

every last

one of us,

will itself

be swallowed

up.

It will

not be

victorious

over God's

people.

God's

people will

emerge

victorious

over it.

Paul goes

on to

borrow from

the words

of Hosea

and taunt

death.

He says,

where,

oh death,

is your

victory?

He's going

back to

the words

of Hosea.

God

said this

through Hosea

long ago.

I will

deliver this

people from

the power

of the

grave.

I will

redeem them

from death.

Where,

oh death,

are your

plagues?

Where,

oh grave,

is your

destruction?

I love

those words.

Death

seems to

have the

last word

in every

last one

of our

lives.

Not so

for God's

people.

God will

not let

death

have the

last word

in the

lives of

his people.

God

himself

will have

the last

word

against

death.

And that

last word

is the

victorious

taunt

of a

champion

who has

beaten

the

unbeatable.

We will

join with

Paul

at the

resurrection

in this

taunt

and say,

where,

oh death,

is your

victory?

Where,

oh death,

is your

deadly

sting

now?

But we

must be

clear,

this is not

a victory

that we

have achieved

for ourselves.

This is not

something that

we earned

by fighting

the battle

from our

own good

behavior,

from our

own

merits.

What does

Paul say?

He says,

in verse

57,

thanks be

to God,

he gives

us the

victory

through our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Our victory

over death

at the

resurrection

for all of

us who

belong to

Jesus is

not something

that we

managed on

our own

because none

of us could

be death

on our

own.

This is

something that

God has

done for

us and

that he

gives us.

Our victory

over death

will be

because the

ultimate

champion

stared death

right in

the face

and won

and that

champion is

Jesus.

The victory

God gives

us is through

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

and it's

a gift.

The song

that we're

going to be

singing on

the day that

we are raised

from the dead,

yes, we'll

join with Paul

in this taunt,

but it won't

be we are

the champions,

my friends.

It'll be he

is the champion,

my friends.

Look at what

he has done

for us.

And so we

should join

with Paul,

verse 57,

and give

thanks to

God.

Paul says,

but thanks

be to

God.

Thank you,

God.

If it

weren't for

this, if it

weren't for

what you

are going

to do,

I'd be

toast.

I'd be

finished.

Death would

be the last

word for

me,

and I'd be

lost.

if it

weren't for

this glorious

promise and

hope of

resurrection,

it'd be

over for

me.

Thank you,

God, for

this new

and glorious

body that

is like

Christ's,

that you're

going to

give to

me.

We should

join with

Paul in

giving thanks

to God.

Finally,

Paul wraps

up this

whole section

in verse

58.

We've

talked a

lot about

the gospel,

about

resurrection,

Christ's

resurrection,

and our

resurrection,

and now

Paul brings

this all

to a

close with

a final

word of

encouragement

in verse

58.

He says

this,

therefore,

my dear

brothers and

sisters,

stand

firm.

Let

nothing

move you.

always

give

yourselves

fully

to the

work of

the Lord

because you

know that

your labor

in the

Lord is

not in

vain.

We come

full circle.

The first

thing that

Paul says

is stand

firm.

This

truth of

the gospel,

of the good

news of

what Jesus

has done

for you

and what

he has

secured

for you,

stand

firm

right here

where you've

planted your

flag and

let nothing

move you

away from

this.

Just like

he said at

the beginning,

it's by

this gospel

that you

are saved

if you

hold firmly

to the

word I

preach to

you.

There will

always be

people who

come and

say this

to you

or say

that to

you or

you should

believe in

this.

You should

believe in

that.

you should

spend your

life going

after this

and chasing

after this

instead of

Christ and

all that

Christianity

and Bible

stuff.

Paul says

no,

you stand

firm on

the good

news of

Jesus where

you've planted

your flag and

let nothing

move you.

It's by

this good

news that

you are

saved.

None of

that other

stuff and

nobody else

can give

you what

Christ is

going to

give you

and what

he has

done for

you.

And so

stay put,

stay with

it here.

His last

word to

them is

this,

always give

yourselves

fully to

the work

of the

Lord

because you

know that

your labor

in the

Lord is

not in

vain.

What is

the work

of the

Lord?

I do

think that

this applies

generally

to simply

doing what

Jesus has

asked us

to do in

every area

of our

lives.

Absolutely,

I think it

applies to

that.

But I

think here

Paul very

specifically

is referring

to the

work of

making

Christ

known for

the salvation

of other

people.

That's the

way he uses

it in his

letter to

Timothy.

And so I

think that's

how we

should take

it mainly

here.

Always

give

yourselves

fully to

the work

of the

Lord,

to making

Christ

known for

the salvation

of other

people.

This is

not just

something that

he says

or prefaces

with pastors

or elders,

teachers,

preachers,

evangelists.

This is

something he

gives to

the brothers

and sisters,

to all of

them in

general.

Give

yourselves

fully to

this work

of making

Christ

known.

Others

need this

gospel too

so that

they can

be saved.

It's

work,

work of

the Lord.

It's not

always easy.

It's not

always comfortable,

but we're

not here

to be

comfortable

and to

have it

easy.

the Lord

has work

for each

one of

us to

do in

making

his

good

news

known.

Always

give

yourselves

fully

to the

work

of

the

Lord.

Why?

Why?

Because

you know

that your

labor

in the

Lord

is not

in vain.

Others

may say

there's no

resurrection.

You're

wasting your

time with

this.

no,

you're

not.

In fact,

this is

what matters

most.

This is

what will

outlast

this

period of

life that

we have

now and

last into

eternity.

Others

need to

know.

Others

need to

hear.

This is

why Paul

endangered

himself

and faced

opposition

and persecution

to make

Christ

known.

he says

always

give

yourselves

fully

to this

work

of the

Lord.

Always.

Not

sometimes,

but

always.

Always

give

yourselves

fully.

Not

give

yourselves

a lot,

but

half-heartedly,

but

fully.

fully.

As we

bring this

series to a

close,

I want

to make

it clear

again

that this

glorious

and certain

hope of

resurrection,

of being

raised from

the dead

when Christ

returns,

is not

for everyone.

It's only

for those

who are in

Christ.

It's only

for those

who belong

to Jesus,

who believe

in him,

who acknowledge

him as

their Lord,

their king.

It's not

for people

who believe

in Jesus

just as

fire insurance,

but then

just live

however they

want to,

regardless of

what the

Lord has

said,

and take

his grace

as a

license,

his forgiveness

as a license

to do all

the wrong

that they

want to

do.

This is

for those

who truly

belong to

Jesus.

As in

Adam,

all die,

so in

Christ,

all will

be made

alive.

Are you

in Christ?

Do you

belong to

Jesus?

If you

have any

doubts or

uncertainty

about that,

if you feel

the Holy

Spirit's

conviction in

your life,

and you

want to

talk to

someone about

that,

I would

encourage you

to have a

conversation

with someone

that you

know,

knows,

and loves

Jesus.

And I,

of course,

would be

happy to

talk to

you about

that any

time as

well.

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven,

thank you

for this

amazing gift

that you

will give

to all of

us who

are your

children.

We can't

wait for

the day

when we

will be

made new

and transformed

and live

forever

with you.

We can't

wait to

see how

you will

bring this

world back

to justice

and righteousness

and order,

goodness and

beauty and

purge all

evil.

We can't

wait.

We long to

be a part of

that, and

we thank you

that all of

this is ours

as a gift

through Christ.

Christ.

It's in

his name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Whew.

Thank you.

Thank you for

the work that

you put in,

and that

sermon series

was really

good.

I got a lot

out of it.

I hope that

you guys got

a lot out of

it too.

I'm going to

sing one more

song if you

guys want to

join us,

join me.

Why don't you

stand?

Why don't you

stand?

Everyone needs

compassion,

a love that's

never failing.

let mercy fall

on me.

Everyone needs

forgiveness,

the kindness

of a Savior,

hope of a

nation.

Oh, Savior,

He can move

He can move

the mountains.

My God,

He's mighty

to save.

He is mighty

to save.

Forever,

author of

salvation,

He rose

and He conquered

the grave.

Jesus conquered

the grave.

take me as you

find me,

all my fears

and failures,

fill my life

again.

I give my life

to follow

everything I

believe in.

Now I

surrender.

Savior,

He can move

the mountains.

Oh, Savior,

He can move

the mountains.

My God,

He's mighty

to save.

He is mighty

to save.

Forever,

author of

salvation,

He rose,

He conquered

the grave.

Jesus conquered

the grave.

Shine your light

and let the

whole world

see us

singing for

the glory

of the risen

King.

Jesus,

shine your light

and let the

whole world

see us

singing for

the glory

of the risen

King.

Savior,

Savior,

He can move

the mountain.

My God,

He's mighty

to save.

He is mighty

to save.

Forever,

author of

salvation,

He rose,

He conquered

the grave.

Jesus conquered

the grave.

forever,

Jesus碘,

God,

save him

to save.

Jesus broke

God,

Jesus Christ,

he viver

in heaven

and let the

also know

anybody

and let the

sea

the

heaven

God,

they're

so

I

love

the

God,

and let the