I got to hear one of my favorite
songs this morning, one of my favorite songs tonight. Those
specials were such a blessing. Congregational singing was a
blessing too. I just enjoyed hearing everybody lifting up
their voices to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15. I've entitled this message, How
are the dead raised up? Let's begin reading in verse
35, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. But some man will say, how are
the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou
sowest not that body that shall be. but bare grain, it may chance
of wheat or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it
hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh
is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men and
another flesh of beasts, another of fishes and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies or heavenly bodies and bodies
terrestrial or on the earth. But the glory of the celestial
is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There's one glory
of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory
of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory. So
also is the resurrection of the dead. It's sown in corruption,
but it comes out something different. It's raised in incorruption.
It's sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It's sown
in weakness. It's raised in power. It's sown
a natural body. It's raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there
is a spiritual body. And so it's written, the first
man Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening
spirit. How be it? That was not first,
which is spiritual, but that which is natural. and afterward
that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Right now, there are highly successful
people, and there are failures, as we would call it. There are
wealthy people, and there are people living in poverty. There's the upper class, there's
the middle class, there's the lower class, and there's the
no class. There are people who are happy, very joyous. And there are people who are
very sad and depressed in spirits. There are people who are very
sick of body and going through terrible trials. There are people who are healthy. There are people who live in
the past. You know people like that. There are people who live
in the moment for the here and now, and there are people who
seem to live for the future. There are people who have power
and prestige, and there are people who have no influence at all.
There are popular people, and there are unknown people. There
are people who are positive and optimistic, and there are people
who are negative and pessimistic. People are different, aren't
they? Different stations, different states. There are great differences
in people and how they live in this life, but when you die,
what does it really matter? All those different things that
I talked about, What does it matter if you're one state or
the other? What is your life? Whether you're
a president or a pauper, James says it's even a vapor that appeareth
for a little while and then vanisheth away. And after that, eternity. eternity in heaven, in the praise
of Christ, in the presence of Christ, or eternity in hell,
suffering the wrath of a holy God in His righteous indignation
against sin. That's why the Savior said, what
should it profit a man if he should gain the whole world? and lose his soul. What if every dream that you
had came true? What difference would it make
in eternity? However we live, we're all going to die and we're
all going to stand before God either on our own or in the Lord
Jesus Christ There will be a resurrection of these bodies. Death is not
the end. In reality, death is the beginning. That's when life begins. This
is so temporary. Y'all believe this? Temporary. You'll remember the error in
this church at Corinth. In verse 12, Paul said, Now,
if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some
among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? Now, Paul had established
the fact of the resurrection in the following verses, and
he now deals with the manner of the resurrection. How is it
that one is raised up? I mean, you think about it. What
happens to a man when he dies? He turns into dirt. Worms eat
his body. He decays, how is it that the
dead are raised up? And verse 35, but some man will
say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they
come? Now, Paul knew that underneath
this question was an objection. You can see that by the way he
answered it, fool. This is a very foolish question. You see, he knew their objection
was, how can there be a resurrection? They were questioning the fact
of the resurrection. They couldn't see how there could
be a resurrection. And I thought of what Paul said
to Agrippa in Acts chapter 26 verse 8, why should it be thought
a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? You
see, is anything too hard for God? This question in reality was
an objection. How can it happen? If you turn
into dirt, if you turn into decay, how in the world can you be raised
up? Once again, it seems impossible.
With God, nothing shall be impossible. With him, all things are possible. And that's why Paul speaks so
strongly in response to this when they say, well, some man
will say, well, how are the dead raised up and with what body
did they come, thou fool? that which thou sowest does not
quicken, except it die." Now, he says, you fool. What this
fellow was doing was questioning the power of God. How can it
happen? I can't see how it could happen. And he's saying, you're
foolish. You're moronic for even thinking
something like that. It's wickedly stupid. It's unbelief
concerning the power and the character of God. And that's
why he answers this question so strongly. You fool. Why would
you ask something like this? And then he says, in everyday
life, thou fool, that which thou sowest does not quicken, except
it die. God has given us an illustration
of this in life. You sow a seed in the ground.
What happens? It rots, it decays, and it dies
underground. And what happens after that?
Something living comes up. It's a miracle, isn't it? It's
a miracle, a miracle even now. If I plant something and I see
it come up, I'm amazed. That's the mighty power of God. It's a miracle that we see every
day. It goes under the ground, it dies, it rots, it decays,
and life comes from that. And it says in verse 37, And
that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall
be, But bare grain, it may chance of wheat or some other grain,
you just plant a seed. I don't plant a flower in the
ground, do I? I plant a seed in the ground.
But something different comes out, that beautiful flower. That beautiful flower didn't
go into the ground, it was just a seed, but out comes this beautiful
plant, verse 38, But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased
him, and to every seed his own body. Out comes this beautiful
plant according to the good pleasure of God. Now, every seed has something
different that comes out after it was planted, and that's the
way the resurrection works. You die, but something altogether
different comes out. Now, he says in verse 39, all flesh is not the same flesh. There's one kind of flesh of
men. There's another flesh of beasts, there's another flesh
of fishes, and there's another of birds. They're different,
aren't they? Different fleshes. Verse 40, there are also celestial
bodies. That's talking about heavenly
bodies, stars, planets, comets, and so on. There are celestial
bodies and there's bodies terrestrial. That's stuff that's on earth.
There's mountains and there's lakes and there's deserts and
there's all kinds of different things on the earth. There are
terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one and the
glory of the terrestrial is another. There's nothing on earth that
shines like the sun, is there? They're different. Verse 41,
there's one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon
and another glory of the stars. For one star differeth from another
star in glory. Even in these heavenly bodies,
there's a difference. There's a difference between
the moon and the sun and even among the stars. And we're going
to come out different. What he's talking about is a
difference. Now, this is an amazing thought to think about. I don't know how to say this.
I hate myself. I really do. I hate myself. I
hate the way I am. But I like myself. I do. I mean, somebody says, maybe
you ought not be that way. Well, maybe not. But I do. I
do. I am who I am. I am what I am. And I'm OK with
that. And you know, when I die and come out, I'm still going
to be me. I'm still going to have my personality. I'm still
going to be Todd Neibert. But I'm going to be different.
Thank God, I'm going to be different. I'm not going to be sinful Todd
Nybert. I'm going to be Christ-like Todd Nybert. I'm going to go
in, but I'm going to come out different. Now this ought to
make us all anxiously look forward to death. Now, remember this,
and every believer has every right to look forward to death
with anticipation. Is the righteousness of Christ
enough to make you perfect before God? Do you believe that? Do
you really believe salvation is by grace? then you have absolutely
nothing to fear. The reason for fear has been
taken away. Your sin's taken away. As a matter of fact, the
only thing that would make a man afraid of death is sin. That's
it. But if my sin's taken care of, if my sin really has been
washed away, I have nothing to fear, only to look forward to
this with anxious anticipation. I'm going to come out something
different. I'm still going to be taught. I'm still going to
have my personality. I'm still going to have my views.
You're still going to be who you are. And I'm thankful for
that. I'm thankful for that. But you're going to be glorified.
You're going to come out different. Let's go on reading. Verse 42.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. He talks about these
differences and so on. So also is the resurrection of
the dead. It's sown in corruption. Decay. It's raised up something
altogether different. It's raised up in incorruption.
It's talking about a glorified body. It's sown, he says in verse
43, dishonor. You know why you're going to
die? Sin. That's the only reason for
death. Even when a baby dies, why does
a baby die? That baby dies because it's a
sinner. That's why it dies. If there
were no sin, there would be no death. Everybody that dies, it
says this about them. They're sinful human beings. It's sown in dishonor. But how's
it raised? It's raised totally different.
It's raised in glory. A glorified body. And I don't
much understand what this glorified body is, of course, but our Lord
Jesus Christ had one when He was raised from the dead, didn't
He? And you know the disciples couldn't even recognize Him.
I don't know what all that means, but they couldn't tell who He
was. They didn't know who He was. He had a glorified body
and somehow He was different from what He was before His resurrection. It's raised in weakness, or it's
sown in weakness. Verse 43, you think about how
weak, how much strength do you have to stand before death? What
can you do to keep from dying? People have said, I'm never going
to die. I'm never going to die. Yes, you are. You don't have
the strength to stop that. You're going to die. It's sown
in weakness. It's the ultimate statement of
our weakness, our death. How weak is a dead person? Yet
it's raised in power. It's sown in ignominy, but we're
going to be raised just like the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to
1 John 3 for a moment. Verse 2. Let's read verse 1. Behold, what manner of love The
Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the
sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth
us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. Right this very moment, I'm a
child of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, I have no idea what it's going to be like to be without
sin. I can't even fathom it. I can't imagine what it's going
to be like to be just like the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe
I will be. I know I will be. But it doesn't appear. We lack
the ability to understand what that means. Can you imagine being
without sin? Can you imagine having a mind
that was totally pure and totally holy and no vanity, no sin? I just can't imagine it. It doesn't
appear what we shall be, but he says, we know that when he
shall appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. Now we're going to be raised, No more sin, no more sickness,
no more tears, no more sorrows, no more problems, perfect physical
well-being. Now, I know something about sickness.
Lord's given me my share of sickness, and I look forward to being in
a glorified body. Some of you are suffering physical
infirmities right now. Isn't it going to be wonderful
to be without that? Perfect physical well-being.
Perfect emotional well-being. You know, a lot of the Lord's
people are basket cases. Isn't that so? A lot of them
are. A lot of them got emotional problems.
I'm sure I've got ones. I'm going to try to keep them
hit as well as I can. You know, I don't want you to know anything
about them. But just being in the flesh, emotional problems. You know you're going to have
perfect emotional health. No, no, no problem. Best of all,
just like the Lord Jesus Christ, without sin, perfectly conformed
to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that's that's what
every believer has weight on. Raised in power now. We have
every reason to be looking forward to death. I'm thankful for life.
I really do. I enjoy it. I enjoy life. I enjoy my family.
I enjoy the things God has given me. I enjoy you. I enjoy life. Thankful for that. It's not like
I'm saying, oh, I just want to get out of here. Now, when I get
depressed, boy, then I really want to die. Or when things aren't going my
way, I really want to die. Get me out of here, you know.
But by and large, I'm a happy, content person. I'm thankful
for life. But all that being said, I'm
still so much looking forward to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. And when I see Him, oh, I long
to see His face. I long to be in His presence.
I long to be without sin. And when I see Him, that's heaven. beholding the Lord Jesus Christ.
I love that song we sing. But just a smile from my Savior
I know, will through the ages be glory for me. Can you imagine
Him smiling at you? Can you imagine Him looking your
way and you don't have to look down in shame, you could look
face to face at Him and feel no shame? That's what every believer has
awaiting in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. How I can
always be in his presence when there's going to be millions
of people in heaven and yet I'm always in his presence just like
it's just me and him. I don't know how that is but he's able
to make it that way. He is God and we're going to be worshiping
him. We're not going to be thinking about the former things have
passed away. Believer, you know, it kills
me when people say, well, they're down here looking down, you know,
somebody up in heaven, they're down here looking down on us.
No, they're not. No, they're not. They don't care about what's
going on here. They're in the very presence of the Lord Jesus
Christ. They're worshiping him. They see his glory. And they
bow at his feet. And then, well, they're thinking
about me. No, they're not. I assure you they're not. Now, they'll
think about you when they see you in his presence. But right
now, no, they're worshiping him. And that's what every believer
has awaiting. Isn't that wonderful? He says
in verse 44 of our text for back to first Corinthians 15. It's
so. This is talking about the death
of the believer, it's sown a natural body. We have a natural body
made of whatever it is we're made of, but it's raised a spiritual
body. There is a natural body and there
is a spiritual body. And the only understanding of
that we have is the body of Christ after his resurrection. We'll
no longer be dependent upon fleshly things, but we'll still enjoy
them. We're going to be eating in heaven, but it's not going
to be because we're hungry. It's not going to be because we'll
starve to death if we don't. We're going to enjoy that in a spiritual
way. Look in Luke chapter 24 with
me for a moment. beginning in verse 36. And as
they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and
said unto them, this is after his resurrection, peace be unto
you. But they were terrified and defried
and supposed that they'd seen a spirit. Why didn't they just
believe what he said? He said, I'm going to be raised
from the dead three days later. They should have been there waiting,
but they weren't. Why didn't they believe? Same reason you
don't. Same reason. If you want to understand why
the apostles were the way they were, look within your own heart,
you'll know the answer. You know, we're all cut out of
the same mold, aren't we? They were terrified. They were
afraid. They supposed they'd seen a spirit.
And he said unto them in verse 38, why are you troubled? And
why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my
feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. And when he had
thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while
they yet believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them,
have you any meat? And they gave him a piece of
broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before
them." Now that is that spiritual body. doesn't have the same needs
that the natural body has. If I don't eat, I'm going to
die. But that spiritual body has no need of those things. I know this much about a spiritual
body. There's no sin. And that is what I'm looking
for. I'm so much looking forward to being without sin Now we die
with these natural sinful bodies, we'll be raised with bodies without
sin, and we shall see Him as He is. We won't have our sin
and our unbelief blocking the view. We won't have our ignorance
blocking the view. We'll look upon Him face to face.
Now look at verse 45. And so it is written, the first
man Adam, our first parent, was made a living soul, the last
Adam. was made a quickening spirit.
Now Adam was made a living soul. The Lord God formed him from
the dust of the ground and he breathed on him the breath of
life. There he was in all of his form
and I don't know what all that means but God breathed on him
and all of a sudden he was alive. God made him a living soul. Only God can create life, and
He created him a living soul. But the last Adam, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is called a life-giving spirit. He's not dependent upon
things to sustain his life. He's God, and He has life in
Himself. He's utterly independent. He needs nothing. He has life
in himself. He doesn't need anything to sustain
his life and to keep him going. And that's the life he gives
to his people. As the father raises the dead
and quickens them, even so the son quickens or gives life to
whom he will. Do you want life? Only He can
give it. I love that passage of scripture
in John chapter 4 where the Lord said to that poor woman at the
well, if you knew the gift of God and who it was that saith
to thee give me to drink, you know what you'd do? You'd ask
of Him. And He would have given you this
living water, water that makes one live Forever. You drink of this water and you'll
live forever in the presence of Christ. Verse 46. The first
man, or verse, how be it? Verse 46, how be it? That was
not first, which is spiritual, but that which is natural and
afterward that which is spiritual. We're natural before we're spiritual.
The first man is of the earth. Verse 47, earthy. The second
man is the Lord from heaven. You know, they're really only
two men. God only deals with two men. Now, understand this,
and you'll find joy in this, you'll find peace in this, you'll
find assurance in this. God only deals with two men,
Adam and Christ. Adam and those in him, Christ
and those in him. I'm gonna be dealt with in one
of those two men. There are only two men. Look
back in verse 22 of 1 Corinthians 15. For as in Adam, all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Now look back at
our text at verse 48. And as is the earthy, such are
they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. Now Adam and his descendants
are all alike. He fell and we fell in him. And
you know what lost men act like? Lost men. That's what they act
like. Why does he act that way? Well,
I understand why he acts that way. He's lost. He's an unbeliever.
He doesn't know the Lord. He doesn't believe on Christ.
He doesn't see any beauty in Christ. He acts the way it's
natural for him to act. As the one that's from the earth,
Adam, such are they that are just like him. As is the earthy,
such are they also that are earthy, and as is the heavenly. Such
also are they that are heavenly. As is the heavenly, so are the
ones in him. That means whatever Christ is,
I am too. Now, believe this, beloved. Believe
this. As Christ is, so are you. 1 John 4, 17 says, as he is. So are we in this world. As Christ is altogether lovely,
I'm altogether lovely. As Christ is in the presence
of God, I'm in the presence of God. As Christ is perfectly accepted,
I'm perfectly accepted. As Christ is without sin, I'm
without sin. As Christ is loved by God, I'm
loved by God. I'm one with the Lord Jesus Christ
as is the heavenly. So does everybody he represents.
And this is our confidence. My confidence is not that I feel
like I'm doing better. My confidence doesn't have anything
to do with anything within me. My confidence is that all God
requires of me is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm united to Him
and I can come boldly into His presence with confidence. I'm
not afraid to come into the presence of God. I'm welcome. I'm just
as welcome as the Lord Jesus Christ is. Right now, I'm welcome. What a wonderful Savior He is,
as is the heavenly. So are they who are heavenly. He says in verse 49, and as we
have borne the image of the earthy, you know what that means, don't
you? I've borne the image of my first father, Adam, My sin is ever before me. I've borne the image of the earthy. I know what Paul meant when he
said, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. I just know that so. I don't
have any problem with that. Paul said, we have this treasure
in earthen vessels. Now, we have this treasure, but
it's in earthen vessels. And I know I've borne the image
of the earthly. Now, there's never an excuse
for sin in any form. I am to not sin. That's the truth. God gave me
grace to be obedient in all things. That being said, I understand
something about, I understand why I am the way I am. Because
I've borne the image of the earthy. I know that, it's with me right
now. But, verse 49, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly. Turn with me back to Romans chapter
eight. we shall bear the image of the
heavenly. This is the heritage of every
child of God. Now, let's begin reading verse
28, a very familiar passage of Scripture. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are thee
called according to His purpose, for whom He did foreknow He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
He did predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called,
them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He
also will glorify." Doesn't say that, does it? Already glorified. I've heard people say, I'm sure
for heaven is if I'm already there. And the way they say it's
cocky and arrogant. I don't like the way they say
it. Let me, let me go better than that. I'm already there
in the person of my redeemer. I am all ready there. And he says in verse 31, what
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. I love
that. Who can condemn me? Christ died.
What else needs to be said? There is not another thing that
needs to be said. If Christ died for me, who can
condemn me? Yea, rather that it is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? A tribulation or distress or
persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted
sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, and just in case I've left anything out, nor any other
creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Aren't those blessed words of
assurance? We shall bear the image of the heavenly. One last
scripture, 1 Corinthians 13. Verse 12, for now we see through a glass
darkly. It's where we get the word enigma
from, darkly. It's an enigma to me. Well, I'm
an enigma to me. I am. I see through a glass darkly.
It's difficult to see as I would desire to see. I believe what
I believe, but I sure don't much see it. I see through a glass
darkly. But then, face to face, now I
know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. Now with such hope, Why would
we even want this world? Doesn't the world seem like a
vain, empty thing to you right now? Compared with knowing the Lord
Jesus Christ, what does this world have to offer? I want to leave you with this
scripture. I want to quote it. I beseech you, brethren, by the
mercies of God. You think of the mercies of God
toward you. that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And
be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your minds that you may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God. Until that time when I'm in the
very presence of Christ, may He give me grace to always present
my body a living sacrifice. Let's pray.