Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us today. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles with today's message, I'm going to be preaching from
1 Corinthians chapter 15, beginning at verse 19. 1 Corinthians 15,
19. This is the Apostle Paul's first
epistle, first letter to the church at Corinth. And in this
chapter, he's been dealing with the death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ. Now the title of this message
may seem a little strange to you, but I want you to hear me
out on this and you'll understand where I'm going. But the title
is a question. And the question is simply this,
who is all? who is all, A-L-L, that's what
I mean. Now, why did I get that title? Well, let's look at this. The
Apostle Paul has been talking about the resurrection of the
dead. In the last day, when Christ
returns, when he comes back the second time, all the dead in
Christ will arise, the scripture says, will be caught up to meet
with Him in the clouds and will be changed in the twinkling of
an eye." Paul deals with that all through 1 Corinthians 15.
In fact, when we talk about the glorified realm or state of salvation,
most of what we know is taken from 1 Corinthians 15. There
are other passages. But what we do know about that
state, that eternal glorified state, a lot of it comes from
1 Corinthians 15. But Paul is saying here, what
happened was false preachers had begun to challenge the truth
of the resurrection of the dead. And Paul writes in 1 Corinthians
15 verse 19, listen, he says, if in this life only we have
hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Most miserable. And verse 20 says, but now is
Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them
that slept? And what he's teaching there
is this. If Christ arose from the dead,
which he did, he was resurrected the third day. And I talked about
that last week, the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ. Christianity hinges on the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ. What he accomplished in all of
that. If you claim to believe the Bible, if you claim to be
a Christian, but you don't believe in the resurrection of the dead,
then you don't believe in the resurrection of Christ. Because
the resurrection of the dead, and the dead that he's talking
about there are the people for whom Christ died. the people
for whom Christ was buried, the people for whom Christ resurrected,
those whom he stood for as a surety, a substitute, a redeemer, and
now as intercessor. If you don't believe that they
who died in Christ, who are in Christ, will be risen from the
dead, then you don't believe in the resurrection of Christ
because the two are vitally connected. If Christ arose from the dead,
and He did, He did so, as we read there in verse 20, as the
firstfruits of them that slept. Slept there refers to the saints,
sinners saved by grace who've already died. Christ is the firstfruits. Now you know the law of the first
fruits under the old covenant back in the days of Israel, under
that covenant, it said, it went something like this. If the first
fruits, when they went out and they planted, and then the crops
grew, and then when it came time in the fall to reap those crops,
to bring them in, gather them in, if the first fruits were
good, then the whole crop was good. Well, Christ is the first
fruits of His people. He arose from the dead. And because
He arose from the dead, they'll be risen too. And so He proves
it by this. Now look at verse 21. He says,
for since by man came death, now who is that man? That's Adam.
Adam was the instrument by which sin came into the world and death. You remember Adam was under the
covenant of works with God. God told him he could eat of
every tree of the garden except one, the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. And he said, in the day that
you eat thereof, Adam, you shall die. You shall surely die. Dying
thou shalt die. Adam ate, he fell. And Adam was
a representative now of the whole human race. He brought the whole
human race into sin and death. And we'll see that in just a
moment. So since by man Adam came death, by man came also
the resurrection of the dead. Now that second man there is
Christ, the God-man. Now he is man. This is not a
denigration of his person to call him man. The Bible says
that there's one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man, Christ Jesus. He is a man. I heard a message
years ago that brought this out. There's a man in glory. Now,
he's more than man. And how do we know that? Because
of the other passages of Scripture that we read. We interpret the
Bible with itself. The Bible is its best own interpreter. And this man, by whom comes the
resurrection of the dead, is God manifest in the flesh. He's the God-man. So this is
Christ. So as Adam, through his disobedience,
brought sin and death into the world, Christ, by his obedience
unto death, even the death of the cross, brought life, spiritual,
eternal life. And so you see, there's only
one way of salvation. Christ said, I'm the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And so look at verse 21. He says, but now, or verse
21, yeah. For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Now look at verse
22. Now here's where I get the title from. Who is all? For as
in Adam, all die. Now who is the all there? Wanna see. All right. Even so
in Christ shall all be made alive. Now, who is the all there? Now,
many times in the scriptures, and people make a grave mistake
here, any time in the scriptures that you see words like all or
everyone, everybody, even the word world, most people, because
they have been taught so wrongly today, They automatically assume
that means everybody without exception. Every man, woman,
child who's ever lived on this earth from Adam all the way up
to the last person who will live and die. But that's not true. It's simply not true. Who is
the all here? Whenever the Bible talks about
the world, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world. Does that
mean God loved everybody without exception? Well, according to
the Bible, no. The Bible says that God hates
all workers of iniquity. The Bible says that God loved
Jacob and hated Esau. And I know preachers will tell
you, well, that means he loved Esau less. That is not what it
means. The reason people have a hard
time considering a God who hates anybody is because they feel
self-righteously that none of us deserve hatred. But the fact
is, we all deserve His hatred. None of us deserve His love.
Read the life of Jacob, whom God loved. Jacob didn't deserve
or earn God's love. And read the life of Esau, it's
a pretty good life. He was the all-American boy,
we would say today. But he said, if you read that
in Romans chapter nine, it was because of the purpose of God's
election might stand, His grace. God said, I'll be merciful to
whom I'll be merciful. I'll be gracious to whom I'll
be gracious. That's His glory. Now you might not like that.
That might not sit well with you, but you'll have to take
that up with God. So whenever the Bible says, for
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that
whosoever believeth in him should have everlasting life, should
not perish, but have everlasting life, what he's talking about
there is the world of his elect, the world of believers, those
who come to faith in Christ. I can show you a verse right
away that that will show you what I'm talking about, about
context, that tells us the very meaning of the word world, or
the word all, or the word every. But if you look in 1 John chapter
five, in verse 19, it says this, and we know that we are of God. Now who is the ones he's speaking
here who are of God? Believers. If you're a believer,
you've been chosen by God. You've been justified before
God, not based on your works or your worthiness, but based
upon the righteousness of Christ imputed. If you're of God, you've
been redeemed by the blood of Christ, bought and paid for.
He died for your sins. He was buried. He arose again
the third day. and you have eternal life, if
you are of God, you've been born again by the Spirit. If you are
of God, you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you've repented
of your dead works, your efforts to save yourself. So he says
in verse 19 of 1 John 5, and we know that we are of God, and
the whole world lieth in wickedness, or literally in the wicked one.
So he says the whole world lies in Satan, under the power of
Satan, under the darkness. Well, is that talking about every
individual without exception? The answer's no. It's talking
about unbelievers, the world of unbelievers, Jew, Gentile. And then sometimes, like in John
3, 16, it's talking about the world of believers, Jew and Gentile. So when we come to passages like
this, go back to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 22. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. But look at verse 23,
he says, but every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits,
afterward they that are Christ, that belong to Christ at his
coming. So who are the all, as in Adam
all die? Well, look back at Romans chapter
five. And look at verse 12. Romans 5.12 says this, wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, that's Adam, and death
by sin. Sin was the penalty. How did
sin and death get here? We're all subject to sin and
death. We're born naturally. We fell
in Adam, ruined by the fall, and we're born dead spiritually. in sin and trespasses and sins,
the scripture says. We don't have spiritual life.
That's why we must be born again. We must be given spiritual life.
So he says, wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned, or all sinned, literally. Now how
do I know that Adam represented me in that garden? that I was
ruined in the fall. Because I'm born dead, spiritually
dead in trespasses and sin, and I'm a sinner. The Bible says,
for all have sinned, Romans 3, 23. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Now, that's me by nature. The Bible says that even believers
were by nature children of wrath, even as others. In other words,
we're never under the wrath of God, but by nature, as we were
naturally born, there's no difference between me and a child of wrath,
one who lives in unbelief and perishes. By nature. And that's why I have to be given
a new heart, new life, a new spirit, born again, see? So,
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. What does
that mean? It means we all fall short. We never measure up. There's a lot of different kinds
of people on this world. There's nice people and there's
mean people. There's sincere people, there's
insincere, hypocrites. There are generous people and
then there are old Ebeneezer Scrooges. There's all kinds of
people in this world. But here's what the Bible says.
Because we fell in Adam into a state of sin and death, none
of us, not even the nice, sincere, generous people, measure up to
the glory of God. Now, what is that? That's the
perfection of righteousness that can only be found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You say, well, I try to love
everybody. Oh, okay, well, that's all right. You go on trying,
but here's what I'm gonna tell you. Your love will never equal
Christ's love for His own, His people. You won't measure up. You say, well, I'm gonna try
to be the most moral, generous, nice person I can be. Well, you
go on doing that. That's right. But even at your
best moments, you will not measure up. We've all sinned and come
short of the glory of God. What does that tell me? It tells
me I need a righteousness that I cannot produce in order to
be saved, in order to be justified. in order to be made right with
God. That's why, for by grace are you saved through faith,
that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. That's why grace reigns through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Somebody told me, said, well,
God requires perfection. Nobody can do that. That's right.
That's why salvation is by grace and not by works. You understand? And when sinners attempt to be
saved by their works, what are they doing? They're showing their
connection with Adam. Fallen. into sin and death, coming
short of the glory of God. Now, who is the all? In verse 22 here, for as in Adam,
all who fell in Adam, all whom Adam represented, and how do
you know who they are? They're born into this world
naturally in a state of sin and death. Nobody is born saved. And getting baptized as a baby
will not save you. It will not wash away original
sin or any sin. It takes the blood of Christ
to wash away my sins. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood. The baptismal waters will not
wash away my sins. Nothing but the blood of Christ.
And if Christ washed my sins away, then how will I know that? Well, look at verse 22 again.
even so in Christ. So you remember what he said,
by man came death, by man comes also the resurrection of the
dead. Well, who is the man to whom the resurrection of the
dead comes? Even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Now,
who is the all there? Now, you say, well, that means
everybody without exception. No, it doesn't. If it does, then
rest assured, that every human being without exception will
be made alive. And that doesn't mean physical
life. If you think that means physical
life, and I heard a preacher preach that one time. He's talking
about, well, that means physical life. No, it doesn't. He's talking
about the resurrection of the dead here. That's the context.
He's talking about eternal life. And so, in Christ shall all,
who is the all there? All whom God chose before the
foundation of the world and gave to Christ. Remember he said,
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. This is the will of
Him which hath given me all them. He said that of all that He hath
given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. Who is the all here? All whom
God justifies based on Christ's righteousness imputed, charged,
accounted to them. All whom He has forgiven of all
their sins. by the blood of Christ. God cannot
and will not charge them or impute sins to them. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
can condemn me? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
is risen again, seated at the right hand of the Father, ever
living, to make intercession for us. Who can separate us from
the love of God in Christ? No one and no thing can do it. Even so, in Christ shall all
be made alive. That's all whom Christ redeemed
by the blood of the cross. If he died for you, he's gonna
give you life. He said that. He said, my sheep,
I die for the good shepherd, giveth his life for the sheep.
His sheep hear his voice, they follow him. He said, I give unto
them eternal life and they shall never perish. You see the hat? It's all whom Christ redeemed
by the blood of the cross. It's all whom the Holy Spirit
calls under the preaching of the gospel. That's how you know.
That's when the Holy Spirit, that's when Christ by the Holy
Spirit applies this life to us personally in the new birth.
You must be born again. And when you're born again, you
see the glory of Christ. You see your sinfulness and your
depravity. and how if God were to judge
you based on your best efforts to keep the law, you'd be damned
forever, connected with Adam in death. You see that your only
hope of salvation, of forgiveness, of righteousness, is the glory,
the worthiness, the blood, the righteousness of Christ. For
Christ is the end, the fulfillment, the perfection of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth. And when he brings
you to see that, you're made alive. You have eternal life
and you rest in him. You've been made alive. You've
been given spiritual life. You've been given eternal life.
This is life eternal, Christ said, that they might know thee,
the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Over in
2 Corinthians 5, In verse 14, listen to this. It says, for
the love of Christ constraineth us. Now he's talking about Christ's
love for his sheep, his people. Hearing his love, not that we
loved him, but that he loved us and gave his son to be the
propitiation, the sin-bearing sacrifice that brings satisfaction
for our sins. So the love of Christ constrains
us, controls us, because we thus judge. that if one died for all,
then we're all dead, or literally, then all have died. Now, who
is the all here? Not all without exception. Christ
is the one who died for all his people, and when he died, they
died. Not personally, but he died as
their substitute, our substitute. He died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. Over in Romans chapter 6, it
says in verse 3, know ye not that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? That's not talking
about the ordinance of water baptism, the confession. That's
talking about being united with Christ. If Christ is my Savior,
if Christ is my Redeemer, if Christ is my representative,
my surety, my substitute, my Lord, He represented me. He was my surety. My sins were
imputed to Him. His righteousness is imputed
to me. He's my substitute. He took my place on that cross.
He's my Redeemer. He paid the debt. And so when
He died, I died with Him. Not me personally, but in the
person of Christ. In verse four he says, therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. You see that? So who
is all? Back here in verse 22. Look at
it again. First Corinthians 15. And anytime
you see those words all or every, or world, but context determines
who he's talking about. And here, all who are in Adam
die. I had a connection with Adam
in my natural state. In the Bible, it's called the
old man, my connection with Adam. But my old man was crucified
with Christ. He represented me. And everything
that connected me with Adam was put to death on the cross with
Christ. Now I still retain the flesh. That part of my connection with
Adam that struggles within me, that causes me to struggle. The Spirit indwells me and there's
a warfare within me. But I cannot be condemned. That's
what it means when it says the old man has died by the death
of Christ. I cannot, I'm still a sinner. But my sins are not imputed to
me. They're not charged to me. They cannot condemn me. Because
I'm in Christ. I've been made alive. And that's
who the all are there. In Christ shall all be made alive.
Who's the all? All who are made alive. How do
you know if you've been made alive? You've been born again
by the Spirit under the preaching of the gospel. You believe that
gospel. You believe unto righteousness.
You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You rest in Christ. You plead Him, not your works,
not your efforts, not even what God has enabled you to do. You
plead Christ and His righteousness as your only ground of salvation,
as the only source and power of eternal life and glory. That's
what you do. You repent of dead works and
idolatry. You repent of ever thinking and
believing that salvation was conditioned on you. You see now
that salvation has always been conditioned on Christ. And by
His death on the cross, He fulfilled all those conditions and ensured
my salvation. You look to Him as the author
and the finisher of your faith. Faith in Christ is the first
evidence of being made alive. And you see that your salvation
in its beginning, in its continuation, and in its culmination in glory
is all the work of God in Christ. It's not conditioned on you or
me. If it were, it would fail. And that would be death. And
that's why I say, I emphasize this on this program all the
time, look, I can never boast in anything I do or am enabled
to do. God forbid that I should glory,
boast, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me. The unbelieving world is cursed,
and I'm crucified to the world. They look upon me as being cursed.
The Apostle Paul had to deal with that, didn't he? He struggled
with his enemies. They called him a heretic. And
he told them this one time, he said, after the way which they
called heresy, that's the way I worship God. They don't know
God. And my friend, if you don't know
concerning the glorious person and finished work of Christ and
how he makes all for whom he lived, died, was buried and rose
again alive, you don't know the gospel. I hope you'll join us
next week for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. 317-07. Contact us by
phone at 229-432-6969 or email us through our website at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.