Death is Swallowed Up In Victory

Q: What does the Bible say about resurrection?

The Bible teaches that Christ's resurrection is foundational to the Christian faith, affirming that believers will also be raised from the dead. The doctrine of resurrection is central to Christian belief as articulated in 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul emphasizes that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:14). The resurrection signifies victory over death, affirming that believers will rise again, following Christ, the 'firstfruits' of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20). This resurrection is not just a future hope, but a present assurance that informs and transforms Christian life.

Q: How do we know Christ's resurrection is true?

Christ's resurrection is supported by a multitude of eyewitness accounts documented in Scripture, making it a historical fact. The truth of Christ's resurrection is reinforced in 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul cites that Christ appeared to more than 500 witnesses after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6). This great number of witnesses, many of whom were still alive to testify at the time of writing, adds credibility to the resurrection account. Furthermore, the drastic transformation of the apostles, who were willing to face persecution and death rather than deny Christ's resurrection, underscores its truth.

Q: Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

The resurrection is crucial because it confirms Jesus' victory over sin and death, and assures believers of their own resurrection. The resurrection is not merely a miraculous event; it is the cornerstone of Christian hope. As stated in 1 Corinthians 15:17, if Christ has not been raised, then believers are still in their sins. The resurrection assures Christians that death has been defeated and guarantees their future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). It reinforces the entire message of the Gospel, signaling that Christ’s sacrificial death was sufficient for salvation and that believers can live in light of eternal hope.

Q: What does it mean that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection?

Christ being the firstfruits means He was the first to rise from the dead in a glorified body, paving the way for all believers' future resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul describes Christ as the 'firstfruits' of those who have died, indicating that His resurrection is a precursor to the resurrection of all believers. This term comes from agricultural practices where the first harvest is dedicated to God, symbolizing the promise of a greater harvest to follow. Thus, Christ's resurrection assures us that just as He was raised, those who belong to Him will also rise in glory, free from the bondage of death (1 Corinthians 15:23).

Now, as Bob mentioned in his
prayer a moment ago, next weekend, Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday, I will have the awesome responsibility
of again preaching to a pretty good crowd of Mexican people,
none of whom speak English. Last March, Brother Payne was
with me. He spoke, I spoke, Brother Jack
Shank spoke. He knows the condition, the situation
that I'll be in next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday up at the
ranch with all those people out there. And let me tell you something.
There are people who have religion. I tell you, religion in Mexico
is that deep. It's Catholicism. Rank, medieval,
middle ages, dark ages, superstitious, Catholicism. You know that. You've seen it. And they're steeped
in it somehow, especially the women. Now they have their idols
and their rosaries and their beads and their statues and they
kiss them and pray to them and believe in them and hope in them. And that's the people to whom
I'll be preaching. They just addle, they don't know
what's going on, you know. They go to church three times,
when they're christened, when they're married, and when they're
buried, most of them. But they'll listen. And I'll
have the added disadvantage, handicap, of preaching through
an interpreter. I can't speak a word of their
language, they can't speak a word of mine. So Milton will stand,
Milton Howard will stand at my right hand here, And I look at
them, and I'll say a few words, and then he'll say it in Spanish,
and I'll say a few words, and that's a handicap, a disadvantage. That's the reason I have so little
respect for these gibberish, tongue-speaking preachers. If
I were going to be permitted by God to speak in tongues, it'd
be this coming weekend. I'd give a dollar and a half
and a cow and a calf to be able to speak in tongues. Not that
junk. Not gibberish. That'll edify
nobody. It's silly. It's children playing
silly games. That's all in the world. But
oh, to stand like the apostles at Pentecost and preach the gospel
and have a man hear it in what? His own tongues. Now that'd be
a refreshing experience. But God gave me Milton, and he'll
translate, and he's a good'un. So y'all pray for us, and we'll
pray for you. I rejoice in a knowledge of the
living God. The living God. God's been pleased
to make known to you and to me his power, his presence, and
his eternal purpose in Christ. Isn't that a blessing, to know
the living God? And secondly, I rejoice to know
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, This is eternal life,
that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent. John wrote about that when he
said, And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given
us an understanding that we may know him that is true, the eternal
God, and that we are in him, in Christ, in him that is true,
even in his Son, Jesus Christ, and this is the true God and
this is eternal life. I am so thrilled, I rejoice. Words cannot express my delight. that God has not left us in pagan
religion, in traditional form, but he has brought us in the
heart. And we do see through, as you
said, through a glass dimly, but we see, thank God. We do
know in part, but thank God for what we know. We do preach in
part, but at least there's enough part to save us. There's enough
part. And I rejoice thirdly to know
that when this life on earth is over, and thank God this is
not all, and when this life is over and we shall die, that we
shall live again. I believe that very, very strongly. Turn to Revelation 21, verse
2. This is what John wrote about it. 21, verse 2, And I, John,
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21, 3,
And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former
things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, You write,
for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me,
it's done. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the
beginning and the end. And I will give unto him that
is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. And
he that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I'll be his God,
and he'll be my son. Let's turn now to 1 Corinthians
15. Now, isn't it a joy? of all joys to know those three
things, at least in part. I know Him, and by His grace
I know the Redeemer, the Substitute, the Intercessor. And I have a
confidence that He that hath begun this good work will finish
it and complete it in the day of Jesus Christ. And we shall
see Him face to face. Now, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15,
devotes the greater part of this chapter to the resurrection of
believers. And I want us to look at it,
and if God will give me some wisdom and understanding, we'll
try to teach on this subject. Death is swallowed up in victory.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel. which I
preached unto you, and which also you have received, and wherein
you stand, by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory
what I preached to you, unless you believed in vain." Now, here's
what Paul is saying there. He's saying, let me remind you,
dear brethren, and it's certainly not tiresome or grievous for
me to keep on preaching to you the same things, especially when
they're so absolutely essential to life. And he said, let me
remind you, dear brethren, of the gospel which I preached unto
you when I first came among you. The gospel I preach now is the
gospel I preached then. Beware of a man who changes his
gospel for any reason. But he said, this is what I preached
unto you. And it's the gospel I preach, it's the gospel you
receive, it's the gospel wherein you stand, it's the gospel you
believe, and it's the gospel by which you are saved. And don't
you ever get shaky on the gospel. Don't ever do it. It's the power
of God unto salvation. And by this gospel and only by
this gospel are men saved. So you keep in memory what I
preached unto you. All right, verse 3 and 4, he
gives a summary of that gospel. Now, Paul says, I don't need
to write a long list of doctrines here. What is your gospel? Well,
it doesn't take me very long to define my gospel. I don't
have to write a long list of doctrines or systematic theology
to define my gospel. My gospel has to do with the
person and work of Jesus Christ. That's my gospel. Look at verse
3 and 4. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I received. I didn't make this up. God taught
it to me. This is the gospel I received
from the Lord. He said the same thing about
the Lord's table. He said, I delivered unto you
that which I received of the Lord. And this gospel I preached
unto you is his gospel. I received it from him. I was
sitting there thinking as I was looking over the chapter again,
waiting to come up here and preach. This chapter says what it says.
The Word of God says what it says. The problem with preachers
is they're trying to manipulate this Word and make it say what
they're saying. They're twisting the Scriptures
and wresting the Scriptures out of context. The Word says what
it says. And Paul said, I deliver unto
you first of all that which I received, how that Christ, the Christ,
died for our sins according to the Scriptures. What are the
scriptures? The Old Testament scriptures.
According to the promises. According to the prophecies.
According to the patterns. According to the Passover. According
to the law laid down that God gave to Moses. That's how he
died for our sins. According to the scriptures.
According to Isaiah's prophecies. According to all the types and
all the patterns set forth. He's a prophet like Moses. a
priest like Melchizedek, a king like David, the seed of Jesse,
root of Jesse, the land of the tribe of Judah. He died for our
sins according to the scriptures. He's the scapegoat, pictured
in the Old Testament. He's the brazen serpent lifted
up. He's the Passover lamb slain. He's the rock smitten. He's all
these things. He died according to the scriptures. Christ said, you search the Scriptures,
in them you think you have life, there they that testify of me.
What are the Scriptures? The Old Testament, the New Testament
wasn't even then given when he spoke those words. It's the Old
Testament. People talk about the Old Bible
and the New Bible, there's no such thing. There's one Bible. Old Covenant and New Covenant,
Old Testament and New Testament, but there's one Bible. It has
one message. The Old Testament said he's coming.
The four Gospels say he's here. And the epistles say, like Mark's
saying, he'd come and die. So he died for our sins according
to the scriptures, watch it, he was buried and rose again
the third day according to the scriptures. According to the
word of God. All right? And then the resurrection
of Christ, you know the Bible says let every word be established
by the mouth of two or three witnesses. And here our Lord
gives us between 500 and 1,000 witnesses of the Lord's resurrection.
He died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was the
sin offering. He was the priest. He was the altar. He was the
mercy seat. He was the one to whom it was offered. It's all
according to God's pattern and plan laid down. And he rose again
according to the scriptures. And he was seen of Cephas. He was seen of the twelve. After
that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of
whom the greater part remained under this present, but some
were fallen asleep. This was written twenty-six years
after Christ arose. And Paul is saying this, he's
saying the resurrection of Christ at one time was witnessed by
five hundred brethren, none of whom broke the faith, none of
whom denied what they saw. And they had nothing to gain
but death. These men said Christ arose and
they had nothing to gain but the wrath of the Pharisees and
Sadducees and death. But they never broke faith. They
said we saw it. John said our hands have handled
and our eyes have seen our risen Lord. Now he says some of them
are dead, some of them have fallen asleep, some of them have been
killed for what they believe. But they never broke faith. These
men died for their testimony. And Paul said, and that he was
seen of James, and then of all the apostles, verse 8, and last
of all, he was seen of me, as one born in a wrong time. Saul of Tarsus saw Christ on
the road to Damascus. He said, I saw him. When he was
blinded by that great light, and he said, who art thou, Lord? And he said, I'm Jesus. of Nazareth,
whom thou persecuted." I saw it. See, there are two requirements
for an apostle. He had to have seen the Lord,
and he had to have received his gospel directly from Christ.
And Paul said, as one born out of due time, I wasn't with the
regular apostles during the days of Revelation. But he said, I
saw it. I saw it. And I didn't get my
gospel from me and I received it from the Lord. Verse 9, for
I am the least of the apostles. I'm the least of the apostles.
I'm not even fit or meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Paul was not the
least, listen to me, in office. You might say in office he was
the chief apostle. He wasn't the least in gifts
by no means. He wasn't the least in labor. He said, I labored more abundantly
than all of you. He wasn't the least in that regard,
but he said, I deserve the least esteem because I didn't stand
in the early days. These men took the brunt and
I didn't stand. I fought Christ and I persecuted
his church and therefore I'm not fit to be an apostle. But
I am, listen to verse 9, But I am what I am by the grace of
God. Do you know what the Lord does? He chooses the weak things
to confound the mighty. I tell you, this is the condition
a man needs to occupy if he's going to be used of God at all.
He isn't worthy, he isn't able, and he doesn't deserve it. Now,
if a fellow can come down there, he just might be used of God,
if he means it. Saying it doesn't mean it, but
if he can mean it, because God takes the weak things, and the
things that are not, and the things that despise. By the grace
of God I am what I am, and I tell you this, his grace wasn't bestowed
upon me in vain. God didn't fail. God didn't fail. I labored more abundantly than
they all, and this quickly, just like that, he says, yet not I. Yet not I. You see, Paul doesn't
deny truth. It's just like this. Fellow,
one time I brought a message several years back to this congregation. I think it was on my 35th anniversary
or 30th anniversary or something. I've been pastor here now almost
39 years and 38 and a half years. But I just went over the things
God had done for this church. And somebody got offended, said,
I was bragging, you know. Well, here the Apostle Paul comes
along, and he said, I am what I am by the grace of God. I don't
deserve it. I'm not worthy of it. I persecuted
the church. I didn't stand when I should
have stood. But I am what I am by the grace of God. And he said,
I labored more abundantly than all these men. But he quickly
says, yet not I, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me. And so I say this, this church is preaching the gospel to more
people than any grace church that's ever existed. And I'm
talking about back on in Spurgeon's day. I'm talking about even back
then. There's no telling how many people
we preach to every Sunday morning at 9.30. Maybe 200,000, maybe
300,000. Who knows? That broadcast covers an area
of 3 million people, from Parkersburg down to Tazewell, Virginia, from
Moorhead, Kentucky clear over to Greenbrier. You know how many
people live in that area? We receive mail from almost 100
a week. I quit counting when it came
to 8,000 homes back years ago. Who knows? We have missionaries,
our books. are in four languages now, French,
Spanish, Portuguese, and English. They're in 25 African countries
now in French. They're in the Philippines. They're
in Brazil. They're all over the world. Our
Sunday morning Sunday school lessons, these tapes, Ronnie
will mail out 200 a week on the average, counting the regular
mailing lists. And they're going all over the
world, to Ireland, to England, to Scotland, to Africa, to Mexico,
to Australia. India. But I tell you, I say what Paul
said here, God has taken a worthless bunch of folks like us, who are
undeserving and unworthy, and it's by His grace we have this
privilege. It's by His grace. And I tell
you this, we're laboring. He's laboring. All these men
are laboring, and ladies, and I am. We're laboring to send
the gospel out. And we're laboring as much or
more than anyone to get the gospel out and giving as much or more
than anyone, but it's not us, it's Christ. Can't you say that?
Can't we tell the truth and say it's not us, it's Christ in me?
You see, not telling the truth is a false humility. If I know
200 tapes are going out of that tape room every week all over
the world, for me to say, oh, we're not doing nothing, That's
phony. That's phony as a three dollar
bill. For me to know that this message is being sent all over
this tri-state, from one end of West Virginia, Kentucky, and
Virginia to the other end, and you're helping to gear up to
do it, for me to say, you know, it's just nothing. It's something.
God's given us something. Great and rich. But it's not
I. It's not us. It's Christ. He could take any old earthen
vessel and do it, but He's been pleased to take us. Aren't you
glad? Don't misinterpret that. Paul says the same thing here.
He said, by the grace of God I am what I am. And I'll tell
you this, His grace wasn't bestowed on me in vain. I'm going to do
something about it. I'm thankful for His grace. I'm
thankful. I'm going to redeem the time.
I'm going to occupy it until He comes. He didn't bestow this
grace on me in vain. I labored more than anybody,
but not me. See what it says. Isn't that
right, John? Christ did it. The rest go on. Therefore, whether
it were I or they, so we preach and so you believe. Who cares
who you hear, just so you hear? Who cares who takes the message,
just so it's taken? Who cares who preaches it? Just
so it's preached. That's what Paul said. It doesn't
matter whether you hear me preach or somebody else. Just so we
preach and just so you believe. Now, Christ be preached. This
is our gospel that he rose from the dead. I'll say some among
you there is no resurrection of the dead. Where'd that get
started, Paul said. And there were some people in
this Corinthian church who were saying that. Some said the resurrection's
already passed. Others said there's no resurrection.
Well, Paul gives them several things, serious implications,
if that be true. Now listen to it, verse 13. If
there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
That's serious, isn't it? And if Christ be not risen, our
preaching is vain and your faith is vain. See the importance of
the resurrection? Yea, and we've lied on God. We've found false witnesses of
God because we testified of God that He raised up Christ, and
if He didn't raise up Christ, then we've lied on God. That's
pretty serious. Whom He raised not up, so be
that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, He
repeats it for emphasis, then Christ is not raised. And I tell
you this, this is serious. Listen, if Christ be not raised
from the dead, your faith is vain and you're still in your
sins. That's serious. And also this, verse 18, and
they also, which have fallen asleep in Christ, those believers,
those loved ones, those friends of ours who have died in the
faith, look over this congregation, Betty Compton, Edgelmore, Jeff
Thornberry, I just keep naming them. They'd gone back to the dust
never to be heard from again if Christ be not raised. Huh?
Why, my soul. And I'll tell you what conclusion
I come to. He said in verse 19, if in this
life only we have hope in our belief, faith in Christ, you
know what you are? You're of all men the most miserable. If this is all, John, if this
is the end, then we're all the most miserable wretches on this
earth. But I'll tell you this right now, Christ is risen from
the dead. And He's become the first fruits
of them that slept. What does that first fruits mean?
Well, the first fruits, when they planted the barley and the
oats and whatever they planted, the first fruits were the fruits
that ripened first. You know, I don't know about
you, but I have a little garden every year, and I just can't
wait for that first tomato, that first head of broccoli. I just
sit and wait on it, go out and pick it, you know, sometimes
too soon. But the firstfruits were the first ripened, first
gathered, and you know who they belonged to? The Lord. Peace
to the firstfruits, isn't that right? Presented to the Lord.
Well, you know what our Lord Jesus is? Christ is the firstfruits
of them that slept. In other words, he arose first
from the dead. You say, well, Lazarus rose from
the dead, he died again. The widow's son, he raised him,
he died again. Christ was the first to rise
and never die. Firstfruits. And he's the firstfruits
of all that sleep in Christ. The firstfruits. What does the
firstfruits mean? There's more to follow. We go
out and pick the first tomato, but there's a thousand to follow. But there's the first. And Christ
is the first fruit for them to sleep. He presented himself to
God as the representative of his people. The others will soon
follow. He's the first to rise. Look
at this. Here's representation of what
I tried to preach this morning. Since by man came death. That's
Adam. Where'd this death business come
from? Well, God told Adam, in the day you eat, you'll die.
And sin bringeth forth death. By one man sin entered the world,
and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for all sin. And
by man came death, by man, by our representative, by our advocate,
by our federal head, came the resurrection. For as in Adam
all die, even so all who are in Christ shall be made alive."
You know who dies? Everybody who came from Adam.
Everybody who is identified with Adam. Everybody who wears his
stamp, all his posterity. You know who's going to live?
All who are in Christ. All who are redeemed by Christ.
See, I told you this morning, He took my place and gave me
His place. And all that are in Him will
have that place. Verse 23, But every man in his
own order, Christ is the first fruit. And afterward, they that
are His. Where did the Lord Jesus get
His people? They that are Christ at his coming, possessive, he
owns them. Where did he get them? The Father
gave them to him. All that my Father giveth me will come to
me, and I raise him at the last day. He purchased them on Calvary,
and the Holy Spirit in time brings them to Christ, calls them out. That's where he got them. And
when he comes again, they're all going to rise. Now watch
this. This is so rich. Then come at
the end. when he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put
down all rule, all authority, and all power. For Jesus Christ
must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet, and the
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Now watch here. He's got to raise all his people
or death will not be destroyed. You see, if he doesn't raise
all of his people, if one remains in the grave, death won the victory.
But death's not going to have the victory over one of them.
When he raises ever one of them, death's going to be destroyed
and all the fruits of death removed, and all the memories of death
removed. Death is not going to have any
claim over anything that belongs to him. For, what's this, he
hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things
are put unto him, it's manifested that he is accepted which did
put all things unto him. Who's that? That's the Father.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, unto Christ,
then shall the Son also himself, the Son, the Mediator, the Redeemer,
shall also himself be subject unto him, God the Father, that
put all things under him, that God may be all in all." You know
what that's saying? I'll tell you. Not counting before
the world began, before the foundation of the world. For Christ is the
Lamb slain for the foundation of the world. He said, glorify
me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
He said we were chosen in Christ, the surety of the covenant, before
the foundation of the world. So before the world began, I'll
give you these verses very simply. The Father, knowing what would
take place, He declared the end from the beginning. Knowing what
He would permit, knowing what He had purposed, knowing that
He'd create a world, He'd create a man, that man would fall. Generations
would follow him in sin, and Almighty God, before the old
earth was made, and the old heaven was made, and the old foundations
made, he decreed a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Almighty God set up a mediatorial
kingdom. He gave to Christ a people. He
made a covenant, an everlasting covenant, and gave the Son of
people and made the Son the surety of all those people. He put all
things in his hands and under his feet. And when the fullness
of time was come, he sent him into this world to accomplish
all that he purposed, all that he planned, all that he decreed.
And Jesus Christ wrought out a perfect righteousness, died
on the cross, and offered an effectual perfect sacrifice,
went back to heaven and sat down and waiting for the Spirit of
God to apply all that he did and all that he purposed and
call out all the people he redeemed. And when the last one's called
out and he raises all of them from the grave, he says he's
going to present that kingdom, full and complete, to the Father. He's going to lay down the mediatorial
kingdom and there won't be one person missing. That's what it
says here. And then the mediator. Now listen
to this. When Christ shall have worked
out all the mediatorial purposes, all that God gave him to do,
all death and everything, the last enemy is destroyed, he will
lay the crown of the mediatorial kingdom at the feet of God. And
the man mediator will be subject to the Father. That's what it's
saying, the man mediator, Christ Jesus. There will be no mediator
any longer. We will be gathered in one in
Christ. And it's the end of the office,
not the person. It's the end of the office, not
the honor. And when that's accomplished,
death shall be no more. That's what that's saying. And
you read it with that in mind. Verse 24, let's watch it again,
it would be worthwhile to do it. Then come at the end when
he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father. Even the
Father, when he shall have put down all rule, all authority,
all power, that's principalities, powers, Satan, all rulers. For
he must reign, Christ reigns, he's always reigned over the
kingdom. till he puts all enemies under
his feet. And the last enemy shall be destroyed
is death. How did he destroy death? He
died. That's how he destroyed death. He arose victorious over
the grave. Thanks be unto God who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. For God the Father
put everything under his feet. When? Well, before he ever made
it. But when he said all things are
put under his feet, the Father is not under his feet. It's accepted. the ones accepted which did put
all things unto him. And when all things are subdued
unto him, all things in heaven, earth, and hell, then shall the
Son also himself, the man mediator, be subject unto God that put
everything unto him, that God may be all in it all." See that? That's the resurrection. That's
when death's finished in Paul said in verse 29. Now watch. What shall they do which are
baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not? Why are they then
baptized for the dead? Now, my friends, this is not
me being baptized for some dead relative. What Paul is saying
here is one of two things. I prefer the latter. But somebody
said this, that these disciples and people who believed God,
when they went into the water to be baptized, they were signing
their death warrant. In other words, they were killed
for what they were doing. But that's not what I believe
he's saying. I believe he's saying here that when a person confesses
Christ, when he's identified, when he says, Christ died for
me, was buried, and rose again. That's what we do in baptism.
I'm dead, I'm buried, I'm rising again. I'm dead to the old life,
the old way, I'm being buried. Now, if there's no resurrection,
that's leading down there. The picture's all messed up.
When you bring him out, you've messed up the picture if there's
no resurrection. But if there is a resurrection,
then bring him up. Because all who died with Christ
or buried with Christ are going to rise with Christ. That's what
baptism says. In verse 30, why stand we in
jeopardy every hour? Paul says there are people who
are fighting and and persecuting the church, why do we keep preaching
this gospel if there's no resurrection? I protest by your rejoicing which
I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. Paul said, I face
death every day. If after the manner of men I
fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage hath it me if
the dead rise not? Well, let's just eat, drink,
and tomorrow we die if there's no resurrection of the dead.
But don't be deceived. Evil communications corrupt good
manners. In other words, don't be deceived
by these false people. Evil companions corrupt good
manners. That's what he said. You get
to listening to these folks who put a question mark on God's
Word, and they'll corrupt you if you're not careful. Awake
to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the knowledge
of God. Some in your midst don't have the knowledge of God. I
speak this to you, Shane. Now watch this, I've got to go
on with this, but some men will say, well, all right, the dead
rise. The dead rise. If I die, buried,
I'm going to rise again. All right, tell me, how are the
dead raised up? And with what body do they come?
My fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.
In other words, when you're planting corn, You've got a grain of corn
in your hand, or a handful of corn. It was last year's corn.
It's all wrinkled and shriveled up and dried up. Well, you stand
there and hold it in your hand, it'll never live. In order for
that corn to live, what have you got to do? You've got to
sow it, plant it. It's got to germinate, it's got
to quicken in the ground, see. And then it comes up. And these
bodies, this is what God said, dust thou art, to dust thou shalt
return. And we've got to be planted.
That's just the place we've got to go. We've got to be planted.
And verse 37, now watch this. And that which thou sowest, now
the question is, with what body do they come? That which thou
sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be. You sow bare grain. It may be wheat or some other
grain. But God giveth it a body as it pleaseth him to every seed
his own body. You take that grain of corn,
that one grain of corn, and plant it in the ground. Well, that's
not what you're going to get. You're going to get corn. But,
oh, infinitely more beautiful, infinitely more tasty, infinitely
more excellent. From that one little ear of corn,
here comes a juicy, big stalk and leaves and ears of corn. You say, man, I didn't plant
this. No, you didn't plant that. But you planted a semblance of
it. You planted the seed of it, and that's what he's saying.
Our glorified bodies, they're going to be flesh and bones.
But our heavenly and new earth bodies of flesh and bones are
going to be as infinitely more beautiful, wholesome, lively
as a stalk of corn compared to a shriveled grain that you planted.
Think of it. That's what he's saying. You
see, thou fool! That which thou sowest is not
quick until it's planted, and what you plant is not what you
get, it's a semblance, it's a faint resemblance of what you planted,
but oh, it's infinitely greater. God giveth it a body that pleases
him. Now what's this? Verse 39, all
flesh is not the same. What's that mean? Well, there's
one kind of flesh of man, another kind of flesh of beast, another
kind of flesh of fish, another kind of flesh of bird. In other
words, even here on earth, flesh is not the same. You see, when
our Lord Jesus arose from the grave, he appeared to his disciples,
and he said, touch me. See those scars? Touch me. A spirit, a ghost doesn't have
flesh and bones. You see me have, give me something
to eat, and he stood there and ate. And that's what we, we're
going to have flesh and bones. We're going to be like our Lord.
But the flesh is going to be infinite. You say, well, flesh
is flesh. No, it's not. That dog's got flesh. But mine's infinitely above here.
That fish you caught's got flesh. The birds have got flesh. But
this flesh, even at 62 years of age, is more glorious than
that bird. And the flesh and bones that
I have in glory are indescribably greater than any flesh I wore
down here. God gives it a body like he wants
to. And it will be raised glorified.
That's right. That's right. All this based
on what Christ did. Now listen, he said in verse
40, there are also celestial bodies, heavenly bodies, sun,
moon, star. There are terrestrial bodies.
But the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the
terrestrial, the earthly body is another. There's one glory
of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the
stars. One star differs from another in glory. I'll tell you,
David stood in his flesh and said, how wonderfully I'm made.
There's a glory. I don't care what you say. I'll take these little babies
that are born. I marvel. I see their little
fingernails, and I see their little eyelashes. You see the
little wrinkles in their necks, you know, and the little dimples
in their hands here, and their eyes and ears. And I said, isn't
it marvelous how wonderfully I'm named. And there's a glory
to that terrestrial body. Oh, let me tell you something.
Wait! Wait till you see me someday. That's what he said. Isn't that
right? Wait. You talk about glory. You talk
about glory. Verse 42, so also is the resurrection
of the dead. It is sown in corruption, and
oh, we know something about that, don't we? It's going to be raised
in incorruption. It's sown in dishonor, and there's
none of us here that have anything but dishonor. And it's going
to be raised in glory. It is planted or buried in the
ground in weakness, and we're getting weaker with every passing
day. It's raised in power. It's sown a natural, fleshly,
earthly body. It'll be raised a spiritual body,
never to die again. Flesh and bones that'll never
die. Actually, this body renews itself
every seven years, doesn't it? God never intended for Adam to
die, you know, as far as he didn't create him to die. Created him
to live. Sin brought death. And the man
God made in flesh would have lived always if he hadn't sinned.
Because he said, get him out of the garden lest you take the
tree of life and live forever in that mess. This body is capable
of living forever. When God takes out of it that
which makes it die. See what I'm saying? And that's
sin. The sting of death is sin. And when God moves that, I'm
going to live forever in flesh and bones. That's right. So it
is written. Verse 45, the first man, Adam,
was made a living soul, the last, Adam, was made a quickening spirit.
It's in Christ. Howbeit that was not first, which
is spiritual, old Adam came along first, for he revealed Christ.
That is in Revelation. Christ was first, but not in
Revelation. Adam was revealed first, and then Christ. Verse
47, the first man is of the earth earthy, the second man is the
Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
that are earthy, as is the heavenly. such are they that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall bear
the image of the heavenly. And that's what I said this morning.
Representation, substitution. All this is mine by His grace,
as His gift, through the sacrifice, substitutionary work of my Lord
Jesus Christ. He's right now at the right hand of God, the
firstfruits of them that slept, entered in our forerunner into
the holiest, and he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
And I'm telling you this, he doesn't make any reference to
what you've done, what you've given, what you've said, or what
you've professed. His whole basis of intercession
is who he is and what he did here on this earth and where
he is now. The only thing he calls up there
in heaven is your name, nothing else. Do what you want to, but
all he calls is your name. He said, I know them by name.
And he bases our acceptance not on anything we are or do, but
on who he is and what he did. And we'll reign with him forever.
All right, I hope that's a blessing. It's good news. Mike, come lead
us in a song, if you will.

Death is Swallowed Up In Victory

What does the Bible say about resurrection?

How do we know Christ's resurrection is true?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does it mean that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection?

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Death is Swallowed Up In Victory

What does the Bible say about resurrection?

How do we know Christ's resurrection is true?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does it mean that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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