The Resurrection of the Dead

If a man die, shall he live again? Job said there's hope of a tree. He cut down a tree that it may
sprout again. though the root thereof wax old
in the earth, and the stalk thereof die in the ground. Yet, through
the scent of water and the sunshine, that old tree may live again,
but may it die, decay it, wasteth away, goes back to the dust,
gives up the ghost, Where is he? If a man dies, shall he live
again? Shall he actually live again? Well, if you turn to 1 Corinthians
15, evidently some of the people down in Corinth, some of the
preachers and teachers and some of the people, were questioning
this resurrection. of the dead. And Paul spends
the entire 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians establishing the truth, the glorious
truth of the resurrection. Actually, if you look at verse
16 and 17, he says the resurrection of the dead is fundamental to
the gospel. Without the resurrection of the
dead, we don't have any gospel. No gospel. Look at verse 16.
If the dead rise not, Christ is not raised. He's still in
the tomb, and he's an imposter. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is in vain, and you're yet in your sins. That's how
important this resurrection business is. Christ is an imposter, your
faith is vain, and no matter how you believe or what you believe,
you're yet in your sins if the dead rise not. And much of the persecution which
the early apostles suffered was because they preached the resurrection
of the dead. You'll find that was a major
point of their message. For example, look at verse 1.
He says, Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached
to you, which also you have received. You've received this gospel that
I preached unto you, and wherein you stand. This is what you believe. And this gospel I preached unto
you is the gospel by which also you're saved, if you hold fast,
keep in memory what I preached unto you, and that is unless
you believed in vain. Now here it is, I delivered unto
you, first of all, that which I received. This gospel didn't
originate with me. I received it from Christ. I
deliver to you that which I received from Christ." When Paul talked
to church about the Lord's table, he said, I deliver unto you that
which I received of the Lord. How that the same night in which
he was betrayed, he took bread and blessed it and said, this
is my body. Blessed the wine and said, this is my blood. And
he said, this gospel I'm preaching is not my gospel. It's his gospel. It's the gospel of God. I delivered
unto you what I received of the Lord. He said, I wasn't taught
this gospel by men. I was taught this gospel by God.
And this gospel is how that Christ Jesus died for our sins. He died in our stead. He died
in our room. He died in our place. He took
our sins in his body on the tree and died for them. Christ's life
on earth was lived as a representative. When he went to the cross, he
went to the cross as a surety, as a representative, as a substitute. And at the right hand of God,
he's our intercessor. This is what I delivered unto
you, how he died for our sins according to the scriptures.
Now listen. What are the scriptures? Well,
it's not the New Testament. That's what he's writing here
now. You see, he's penning the epistles, now he's writing the
New Testament, holy men of God spake or wrote as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit. The scriptures are God-breathed,
they're God-inspired, and here he's writing this epistle to
the Corinthian church, which is under divine inspiration,
or by divine inspiration. And he's saying Christ died.
Christ was born of Mary, lived on the earth and died, was buried
and rose again according to the scriptures. Not according to
what I'm writing here, according to what's been written. What
was written by Moses? What was written by David? What
was written by Isaiah? That's the scriptures, that's
the Old Testament scriptures. The Bible is one book of two
testaments, two covenants. The Old Testament is Christ in
picture. pattern, prophecy, promise. The New Testament is Christ in
person. The Old Testament says someone's
coming. The New Testament says he has
come. And Paul says he died for our sins according to the scriptures,
like the Passover lamb died, like Abel's sacrifice, like the
ram that took Isaac's place. like the priest, like Moses lifted
up the brazen serpent, like Moses smote the rock, he died for our
sins according to the scriptures. Now watch it. And that he was
buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures,
according to the promises of God's word. Job summed it up
here in Job 19. Would you hold your place there
in 1 Corinthians 15? Turn to Job 19. Job summed it
up. Job is supposed to be the first
book of the Bible, the oldest book in the Bible, the first
one written. It's supposed to be the book of Job. Now listen
to what Job says here in Job 19, verse 25. I know that my Redeemer My righteousness,
my substitute, my mediator, my Lord, I know that my Redeemer,
that comes from kinsman-redeemer. Are you familiar with that? Back
when the Jewish people sold whatever their inheritance and were deeply
in debt at the end of six or seven years, a kinsman who was
willing and able could buy back their inheritance, called a kinsman-redeemer. And Christ is our kinsman-redeemer. He's related to us. He's not
ashamed to call us brethren. He took our flesh and blood and
bones. He took our faith, took our place.
And he's able to redeem, and he's willing to redeem. And my
redeemer, Job said, the one who restores my soul, the one who
redeemed me from the pit, who redeemed my lost inheritance,
lost in Adam, I know he lived it. But to be my redeemer, he
had to die. But I know he lives. He died
and he lives. And that he shall stand at the
latter day on this earth. And though after my skin, worms
destroy this body." And Job knew he was going to die. He saw his
children die. He buried his mother and father.
He buried his friends. He knew that the flesh decayed
and rotted and went back to the dust from which it came, and
worms, they destroy us not from without, but from within. Did
you know that? Go ahead and seal yourself up
in a steel casket. Pay $10,000 for a steel casket. Put yourself in a five-inch box. a concrete vault, and put tar
around it, and put it out here in one of these mausoleums, and
you'll still be dust next time we open that thing. Because you'll
be rotted from within. See, that's where sin is, it's
within. And our problem's not without,
it's within. And you're going to go back to
the dust, and worms are going to destroy this body from within.
Yet, Job said, in my flesh I'm going to see God. In my what? In my flesh. Yeah, but you just
said he's going back to dust. Well, it's going to be a change.
And he says, it's not going to be another, whom I shall see
for myself, mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins
be consumed within me. So you see, Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures. Isaiah looked for the resurrection.
David said, I'll be satisfied when I awake with his likeness.
Christ was raised according to the scripture. Now look at verse
5. There is a resurrection, and
he was seen of Peter, he appeared to Peter, then of the twelve,
Judas being dead, but they went by the name Twelve. After that
he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once. Our Lord arose
from the grave, and five hundred brethren at once saw him, of
whom the greater part remain to this present day. But some
are dead, some are fallen asleep. And after that he was seen of
James, and then of all the apostles. And last of all, I saw him,"
Paul said. He was seen of me as one born
out of the ordinary, an abortive birth, it says, one born at the
wrong time. He says, I wasn't with the disciples
when the Lord called them out. I wasn't with the apostles. You
see, an apostle had to have seen the Lord, and an apostle had
to have received his message directly from the Lord. That's
two requirements of an apostle. He had to have seen the Lord
and to have his gospel taught him directly by the Lord. There
are no apostles today. There haven't been any since
Paul. He was the last apostle. And he said, I wasn't with them,
but I saw the Lord. Christ appeared to him on the
road to Damascus and spoke to him and taught him the gospel
in Arabia. He said, I learned the gospel
from the Lord. I saw him. When did Paul see
Christ? After he arose from the dead. But he said, verse 9, I am the
least of the apostles. I'm not meet or sufficient or
worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church.
When these other men were standing with Christ and for Christ, I
persecuted the church. I'm not worthy to be called an
apostle. But verse 10, by the grace of God, I am what I am.
I am what I am. And the grace of God which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly
than all of the apostles, yet it was in our eyes the grace
of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it were I
or they, so we preach and so you believe." What? What do you
believe? What do we preach? We preach
the gospel of Christ. The gospel of Christ. Who he
is, what he did. Why did he do it? Where is he
now? The gospel of Christ. And this gospel of Christ is
the gospel of God, it's the ancient gospel, it's no new gospel, it's
the gospel of how that Christ came as our substitute, our righteousness,
our sin offering, our scapegoat, our risen justifier, our ascended
reigning king. He arose from the dead. And I'll tell you this in the
next few verses, he shows us, now listen to this, This is our
gospel, this is the gospel of God, and he shows us in the next
few verses the consequences of doubting or questioning the resurrection
of the dead. Here are seven serious consequences. Listen to verse 12. Now, if Christ
be preached that he rose from the dead, I'll say some among
you there is no resurrection of the dead. You see this question
that entered into the church. Now watch. Number one, if there
is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. Christ
is not risen. Secondly, and if Christ be not
risen, our preaching is vain and your faith is vain. This
is all a pack of foolishness. All depending on if Christ arose.
Yea, and here's a serious charge, we've lied on God, we're false
witnesses of God, we've misrepresented God Almighty, if Christ be not
risen. We've misrepresented God, I've
told a lie on God, that's serious. Because we testified of God that
he raised up Christ, whom he raised not if the dead rise not.
Now in the fifth place, Or fourth place, if Christ rise not, if
the dead rise not, then Christ is not raised, and he's in the
tomb, and he's an imposter. And in the fifth place, if Christ
be not raised, your faith is vain, and you're yet in your
sins. And next of all, listen, then they also which are fallen
asleep, those are your friends who have died. I look over this
congregation. Lots of people have died since
I've been here. And we've taken them out and
buried them. They believed on Christ, they looked to Christ,
they rested in Christ. You know what? If the dead rise
not, they're perished. They're without God and without
hope. They're dead, dead, eternally dead. There's no hope, if Christ
be not raised. And then in the next place, I'll
tell you this. If all that be true, If in this
life only we have hope in religion, or hope in Jesus, or hope in
the church, or hope in anything else, we're of all men the most
miserable creatures on this earth, if this is it. So there is a resurrection. You
see that? It's the very fundamental fact
of the gospel. Christ lived and died and rose
again according to the scriptures. And he was seen of above 500
brethren at once, and then he gives us those seven consequences
if he be not raised. Now then, Christ arose as our
representative. Here's the second part of this
chapter now, beginning with verse 20. Now listen close. This is
fundamental gospel truth. Listen carefully. Verse 20. But now is Christ risen from
the dead. Christ died. And he rose again. Now, here's what you've got to
remember. Jesus Christ represents us. He's considered with us. He's the head, we're the body.
What he is, we are. Where he is, we are. What he
did, we did. What he has, we have. You understand
that? Christ and his people are one. He said, Father, I pray
that they may be one as we are one. I in them and thou in me.
That they may be one. So what we consider here about
Christ is true of us, and this is what he's saying. Now listen.
Christ is risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of
them that slept. What is the firstfruits? All
right, turn to Deuteronomy chapter 26. Here's the firstfruits. Deuteronomy chapter 26. Christ is risen. and become the
first fruits of them that slept. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1. Now, the first fruits was the
first corn, wheat, barley, or grain that sprang out of the
earth. I've got a little garden over in the backyard. I can hardly
wait for that first tomato. That first tomato. That first
zucchini. The first one is so good. That's
the first fruit, the first corn it springs up, the first barley.
It belongs to the Lord. Deuteronomy 26, listen, And it
shall be, when thou art come into the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesses it, and dwelleth
therein, thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the
earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land, that the Lord thy
God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket. and shall go
unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place
his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest,
and there shalt be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this
day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto this country,
which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us." You
see, that's the first fruits. That was back in Israel. Christ
is our first fruit. Everything is fulfilled in him.
But here are the firstfruits that came forth. The farmer cut
it, put it in a basket, took it, and offered it to the Lord.
Now watch this, verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 15. But Christ is risen from
the dead and become the firstfruits of all believers that slept.
all who have died, who are dying, and who will die. He's the first
one resurrected. You say, but people arose before
Christ. Lazarus rose. Yeah, but Lazarus died again.
You say, the widow's son rose. He died again. At his crucifixion,
some rose, but they died again. He's the first one to rise to
immortality. He's the first fruits of them
that slept. He's the first begotten of the
dead. He's the first one to rise with an immortal, glorified body
that shall never, ever, ever change. And he's just the first
fruits of more to come. That's what this is saying. He's
the first fruits of them that slept. That's right. Look at the next verse. For since
by man came death, this thing of death, where'd it come from,
the first? God didn't create man to die. When God made Adam
of the dust of the earth, God breathed into Adam the breath
of life, and he became a what? A living soul. God never made
death. God never made man to die. Sin
came in. By Adam, we died. By Adam, sin
came. By one man's disobedience, we
were made sinners. By one man's sin, death entered
the world, and death by sin. started this thing. You see,
he died, and he produced a son who was dead in sin and would
die physically, and he produced a son that was dead in sin and
would die. And you see, from Adam comes death. And everything
that we produce out of this flesh, that which is born of the flesh
is flesh. All right, read on. By man came death, by a man came
resurrection. of the dead. Who is the second
man? It's Christ. Adam is our representative in
the flesh, and Christ is our representative in the spirit.
All right, read on. For as in Adam, all who are in
Adam, all who are identified with him, all who are associated
with him, all who came from his loins, and who's that? That's
all people. Eve and Eve came out of Adam.
God put Adam to sleep and made a woman out of him. God never
created one man, it was Adam. Everything that is human in this
earth came from that one fountain, and he had a dead one. That's
right, from Adam. That's what's there. In Adam,
all who are in Adam, all who are identified with him, are
dead. Even so, in Christ shall all
be made alive. Who's that all? That's all who
are in Christ, all who are in his body. all who are in him,
all who are given him by the Father. All that my Father giveth
me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me out
of no wise cast out, I came down from heaven, not to do my will,
but the will of him that sent me. And this is the will of him
that sent me, that of all he hath given me I lose nothing,
but I raise him up at the last day in Christ." You see, when
Adam stood on this earth, we stood. When he sinned, we sinned.
When he died, we died. And the consequences of his death
and rebellion is passed to all men. In Adam we die. All die. Now, when Christ came
down to this earth, the second man is the Lord from heaven.
He's the representative. He's the federal head. He's the
surety of the covenant. He's the shepherd of the sheep.
His blood is the blood of the covenant. When he stood on this
earth, we stood in him. And when he obeyed God and loved
God and minded God and submitted to God, we did it. And when he
died, we died. And when he was buried, we were
buried. And when he arose, we arose. And we're seated with
him in the heaven, as that's what the scripture says. One
with Christ. One with Christ. Verse 23, but
every man in his own order, Christ is the first fruits. Christ is
the first born. Christ is the first begotten.
Christ is the first elect, God said, then chose his people in
their head. Christ is number one. He's the
heir. We're joint heirs. He's the bridegroom,
we're the bride. He's the son. Every man in his own order, take
your time, wait your turn in Christ. That's where it's coming
now. Isn't that right, Charlie? It's going to come through him,
in him, because of him, by, for him. A man that doesn't have
Christ doesn't have anything. Without me, he said, you can
do nothing. Without me, your branch is severed from the vine,
fit for the burning, withered and dead. I'm the vine, you're
the branch. Christ the firstfruits, afterward,
they that are Christ's, they that are his. See that possessive? He says, they that are Christ's,
they that are his, when? At his coming, when he comes
again. And then will come the end, when
he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father, to God,
even the Father. When he shall have put down all
rule, all authority, and all power, for he must reign, Christ
reigns, he's sovereign, sovereign, till he puts all enemies under
his feet, and the last enemy he'll put under his feet and
destroy is death, when he come. There'll be no more death. Fire,
now when you see a fire, see what it's there for, it's talking
about what's just been said. And what's just been said is
that the Son has a kingdom, a mediatorial kingdom. He's going to deliver
up that kingdom to the Father. When did he get that kingdom?
Before the world began. When God put it in his hand?
Before the world began. When did he give him those people?
Before the world began. He was the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. We were chosen in Christ. God
gave him a work. He said, I finished the work
you gave me to do. God gave him the kingdom, and
he came, his coming into this world, all the promises and types
and pictures of Christ coming, and Christ coming and fulfilling,
and Christ interceding on it. He sat down at the right hand
of God, expecting, what's expecting? Waiting, triumphantly, until
his enemies become his footstool. It's a sure thing. And the Father delivered him
a kingdom, and he says he's going to deliver that kingdom up to
the Father. When all things are finished
and over and done, he's going to deliver it up to the Father.
It's not finished yet. Verse 27, For he hath put all
things under his feet. Who's he? The Father. Who's he? Christ. Under his feet. You know
when something's under a fella's feet, he reigns over it. It's
subdued, it's in subjection to him. When it's under his feet,
not under his wings or under his arms, under his feet, he
reigns. The Father's put everything under
his feet, but when he saith all things are put under him, well
it's manifested, God is accepted, the Father is not put under him,
because the Father put all things under him. You see that, sir,
that right there? And when all things shall be subdued unto
Christ, not the church, Christ. Not the law, Christ. Everything
is going to bow, every knee is going to bow, every tongue is
going to confess that he is Lord, in heaven, earth, and under the
earth. God has decreed that he shall have the preeminence. That's
what this book says. And when all things shall be
subdued, subjected, unto Christ, then shall the Son also himself
be subject unto him, unto the Father, that put all things under
him, that God may be all and in all. One God. One God. One eternal living God. You see
that? And then verse 29, else, here's
another proof of the resurrection. Else, what shall they do which
are baptized for the dead? if the dead rise not at all.
Now what is baptism? Well, number one, it's a picture
of what Christ did. Christ died, Christ buried, Christ
rose again. What is baptism? It shows the
death of Christ, the burial of Christ, and that he be not risen.
It doesn't show anything. Y'all just leave the people under.
When a person is baptized, they're baptized as one who died, and
you bring them back up. You bring them up in what? In
hope of the resurrection. You see that? So baptism is a
picture of his death, burial, and resurrection. And baptism
is a picture of our death, burial, and resurrection. And if we don't
rise, why do we baptize? Why do we baptize? We baptize
for those who died with Christ, buried with Christ, and shall
someday rise again. That's what baptism shows. And
then another question he says, why stand we in jeopardy every
hour? Why do we suffer persecution
for preaching this gospel if the dead rise not? Why are we
meeting here if the dead rise not? I protest, verse 31, by
your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die
daily. If after the manner of men I
fought with beasts at Ephesus, that's not bears or lions, that's
people, religious enemies. What advantage it may if the
dead rise not? If the dead rise not, let's eat
and drink, tomorrow we die, tomorrow we decay, tomorrow we go into
nothing. Be not deceived. Evil communications
corrupt good manners. What does that mean, preacher?
That means you hang around false teachers and you'll get like
them. That's exactly what it says. You hang around people
that lie on God, you'll start lying on God. Evil companions corrupt good
principles. That's what he said. Don't hang
around these people that deny the word of God. Don't hang around
these people that deny the truth of God. Just don't. If you do
hang around them, you're going to be like them. They'll corrupt
your good principles, convictions, and manners. So awake! Awake
to righteousness. And don't sin in this respect,
doubting God's word. For some have not the knowledge
of God. I speak this to your shame. All
right. Here's the next part now. How are the dead raised? How
are dead bodies raised from the earth? There's no use me going
into all of this with you. You know what happens when somebody
dies. They're so long underground and they've undergone thousands
of changes. You bury somebody in the ground
and their bodies have gone back to the dust. Well, how are they
raised? How do they come forth? All right,
listen to Paul. Now he's not speaking angrily
here, he's just saying, no use being foolish about this thing.
No use being foolish. God's the author of life. If
God can create a man, Adam, out of the dust, he can sure raise
one out of the dust. If God can create a world and
universe and a sun and a moon and stars out of nothing, he
can sure raise somebody that's been dead a few years. But here
he uses the farmer, thou fool, that which thou sowest is not
quickened except it die. Now what's he saying? Well, you
take a seed, a seed of corn or oats or barley, it's just one
grain from a whole ear of corn, and lay it here on this pulpit.
It'll never live. It'll never bear fruit. It'll
never grow. It's got to go in the ground
and germinate. It's got to die. It's got to
rot. It's got to rot. It'll never produce anything
till it rots. Is that correct? It's never quick and never grow
till you plant it or read on. And that which thou sowest, you
sow not the body that shall be. Now, you don't go out here and
get a whole stalk of corn that's got the thing of tassels at the
top and the silk out, you know. You don't get a whole stalk of
corn with about five ears on it and dig a trench and lay that,
you don't plant what you expect to get. You don't plant what's
going to be. When you ladies plant flowers,
you don't dig a hole and plant that old flower in the ground,
you just plant a seed. And that which you sow, you sow
not the body that shall be, you just sow a little grain, a bare
grain. It may be wheat, it may be some
other grain. And God gives it a body as it pleases him to every
seed his own body. You take a little old withered
seed of corn or something and put
it in the ground. And it, it, rain falls on it
and moisture and sun and it rots. And after a while, out of that
seed comes a little, a little life. And it grows up, and that
just keeps that going. You got a beautiful stalk of
corn with a bunch of ears with hundreds of grains on each one.
And it came from that grain that you planted, but it sure looks
different. You planted that dry, hard, swivel,
Old grain. Look what you got. Look at the
juice in that and the life and the and the beauty You see what
I'm saying? Well, that's the way God raises
the dead That's the way God raises the dead and God does it God
does it. You know, I planted some okra
this year and it didn't come up Some friends down south sent
me some. I love okra and a plant. This
is a tough place to raise okra But it didn't come up. And I
planned it again. And you know what a dry spell
we had. Well, I watered it, but it didn't come up. I planned
it 1st of June. This is the middle of July. Do
you know that okra came up the other day? Been in the ground
for weeks and weeks and weeks. Russell, that stuff came up.
It's about that high. I'd given up. Just that old shrivel
and okra seed is nothing. Just a little grain of stuff,
and it's the prettiest, healthiest plants. And that's the way Paul
said the dead are raised. Now, what's this? All flesh is
not the same flesh. You say, are we going to be raised
with this kind of flesh? Well, all flesh is not the same
flesh. This flesh got some brown spots.
What's that mean? That's sweet spots like Walter
said bananas are old spots. But all flesh is not the same
flesh. You see what I'm saying? All flesh matter. He said there's
flesh of men, and flesh of beasts, and flesh of birds, and flesh
of fish. Different kinds of flesh, isn't
it? Well, when our bodies come out of the grave, we're going
to be flesh, but not this flesh. Not the same kind. You see what
I'm saying is, I have flesh and that dog has flesh. But my flesh
is far above his. I have flesh, and that fish has
flesh. But mine is far superior, and
that flesh with which I'm coming out of the grave is far superior
to this. It's going to be of the same
kind. See, there are different kinds of flesh. See that, Tom? Different kinds, but it's still
flesh. And the flesh with which I'm going to be raised in the
likeness of my Lord from the dead is immortal flesh, incorruptible
flesh, undecaying flesh that's not going to have any spots or
blemishes or decay, but still be flesh. What Paul is saying
here, he's saying, we're going to be flesh, but he says it's
different kinds of flesh. And then he says in verse 40,
there are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. And
the glory of the heaven is one, the glory of the earth is another.
And then there's the glory of the sun, and there's the glory
of the moon, and there's the glory of the stars, and then
there's different glory. See the progression? The sun's
greater glory than the moon. The moon's greater glory than
the stars. And the stars are different glory. So also is the
resurrection of the dead. We're going to sow this flesh
in corruption, in sin and weakness. Oh, I get so tired, don't you?
I hurt, and I get pains, and you have to keep, you ladies
have to keep putting that oil on your skin to keep it from
drying out, and that's flesh. But someday you're going to have
flesh that'll never dry out, that'll never wrinkle. Wouldn't
that be something? No wrinkles. I'm telling the truth, because
he says there's a difference in flesh. There are different
kinds of flesh, and though we're going to be flesh, He said, we're
sown in corruption, we're going to be raised in incorruption.
We're sown in dishonor, verse 43, we're going to be raised
in glory. No past to remember, no sins. It's sown in weakness. Oh, the weakness of it's raised
in power. It's sown a natural body to be
raised a spiritual body. There's a natural body and a
spiritual body. And you know something? Our Lord was raised
from the dead. He appeared to his disciples
and he said, touch me. Touch me. And do you know what
he did, Jerry? He ate. He took fish and ate
it. And drank. And he had flesh. Glorified flesh. Immortal. Incorruptible. Perfect flesh. Powerful flesh. Now watch verse 45. So it is
written. Here's that representation again.
Now listen. The first man Adam was made a
living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening
spirit. You with me? first Adam in whom
we were born, in whom we live, and in whom we die. The second
Adam is the Lord. Howbeit that was not first which
is spiritual, but that which is natural, afterward that which
is spiritual. In other words, Adam came along
and then born of woman was a man, Christ Jesus. He came second. He was first, but he appeared,
he was revealed second. He was before Adam, but he was
revealed second. The first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. Now, you're going to have to
learn this representation or you're not going to learn the
gospel. In Adam we die, in Christ we're made alive. In Adam we
sin, in Christ we're made holy. In Adam we're unrighteous, in
Christ we're sanctified. In Adam we die, in Christ we
live. After you've got to learn that, it's representation, imputation. As, verse 48, is the earthy,
such are they that are earthy. That's us like we are now. And
as is the heavenly, high is he, such are they that are heavenly.
As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall bear the
image of the heavenly. That's what I'm talking about.
You study how Christ was when he arose. Study how he was. And that's where flesh, but not
this flesh, of greater flesh, incorruptible flesh, immortal
flesh, sinless flesh. Now I say, brethren, flesh and
blood, this flesh and this blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God. Can't do it. And corruption is not going to
inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep. One day Christ is coming back.
I don't know when. I don't know when, it's not given
to you to know the times, the angels don't know when, but he's
coming back. And when he comes, somebody's still going to be
living. But they're not going to be taken to heaven in these
natural bodies. They're going to be changed from
incorruptible, from corruptible incorruptible. We're going to
be changed. Verse 52, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, At
the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we who are living shall be changed
incorruptible. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption. And I hasten to say this, where
is it found? In Christ. You can't put on incorruption
in that pool. You can't put on incorruption
down here praying through. You can't put on incorruption,
shaking a preacher, saying, that incorruption is found in Christ.
We found our corruption in Adam, we'll find our incorruption in
Christ. And because he lives, we live. I am come, he said, that they
might have life and have it more abundantly. We have life such
as it is, physical, but I want abundant life. You see what I'm
saying? So, verse 54, when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality. Then, then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written, Death is swatted up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory?
The sting of death is sin. And I tell you, the grave is
going to have victory over everybody that is not in Christ. Death, the sting of death is
sin. You know when a wasp or a bee
comes around and stings you? Plants its sting or he loses
it. He can't sting you again, they tell me. Well, Christ has
taken the sting out of death at Calvary. And there is no more
death. Read on. Thanks be to God, verse
57, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's our victory. He's our resurrection. He said
to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth
on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Did that help?
The dead shall be raised. Verse 58. Therefore, brethren,
be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord. The motive of preachers must
be measured and examined. I want you to believe the word.
Believe God. I want you to take part in this
glorious resurrection. I want to win Christ and be found
in him. I want to attain the resurrection
of the dead. We must lose our interest in building monuments
and building followings and seek followers after themselves. Forget
it! Forget it, forget these monuments and followings and organizations
and all this sort of thing. And let's look to Christ, personally
and individually. Rest in Him. We'll help one another
and cooperate with one another and encourage one another and
exhort one another so much more as we see the day approaching.
But my business is with the King, because all things are in Him.

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The Resurrection of the Dead

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