I'll ask you tonight, if you
will, to open your Bibles with me to Acts chapter 2. We are going to begin reading
in part of the message that the Apostle Peter preached on the
day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, and beginning in verse 23. Acts chapter 2, verse 23. Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
beholden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on
my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my
heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad, moreover also my flesh
shall rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to seek
corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life, thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He seeing this
before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This
Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of
the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth
this which you now see and hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. I would like this evening to
continue with the subject of the resurrection. We know that
this is the day that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is especially
spoken of, but I want to speak to us tonight more about the
resurrection of the bodies of all of those who die in the Lord. You see, Peter quotes from the
words of David in Psalm 16, but he makes it clear Peter does. He makes it clear that the words,
though written by David, were the words of Christ. David, as
a prophet, he tells us. Notice in verse 31, David, as
a prophet, spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. But I want to call our attention
especially to his words. These two were the words of Christ,
though spoken by David in prophecy. In verse 26, he said, moreover
also, my flesh shall rest in hope. These were the words of
Christ, his body, that is his flesh, rested in hope. You remember in John chapter
one, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God
and the word was God. And then in verse 14, and the
word was made flesh. These were his words. Moreover,
also my flesh shall rest in hope. His flesh, his body rested in
hope. knowing as he did that God had
promised. God had promised him that he
would not leave him in this condition which exists at death. What is death? Well, we know
there's a spiritual death. When God spoke to Adam and told
him, in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. That tree of the fruit of the
knowledge of good and evil. When you eat of that tree, Adam,
you're going to die. We know he lived for several
hundreds of years on in the body, but that very day, my friends,
he died spiritually. What is death? It's a separation. And his spirit was then separated
from God. He died spiritually that day. And that's the death that you
and I, all of us, all men partake of. And so we come into this
world, as the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2 and verse 1, dead
in trespasses and sins. But then also there's a physical
death. And that's what our Lord experienced
there on the cross. And what is physical death? It
too is separation. Spiritual death is a separation
between the soul of man and God, but physical death is a separation
of the soul, that is the spirit of man, from his body. And that's
what the Lord Jesus Christ experienced that day on the cross. Remember
he told The thief who looked to him in faith and said, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. The Lord Jesus
Christ said to him, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. His body was laid in the tomb. His body was laid in the tomb,
but it was laid in the tomb. He having this promise from the
father, that he would not leave his soul in hell. That doesn't
mean that Christ went into hell, the hell that the Lord Jesus
Christ spoke of in Luke chapter 16, where the rich man went and
was in torments. No, that word hell there sometimes
is translated the grave, and it is that state, that state
when the soul and the body are no longer in union. when physical
death occurs. There's a separation of the soul
and the body, and it is called hell in this place, Hades, or
the grave. And the Lord Jesus Christ knew
he had God's promise that he would not leave him in that state,
but that he would raise him up on the third day. And we know
that's exactly what took place on the third day he came out
of that tomb. God fulfilled his promise. And
Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost. And he also tells
us that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was also the fulfillment
of God's promise to his son in that everlasting covenant of
grace. that if he would be made flesh
and come into this world and work out man's salvation and
yes, die in the place of his people, he would be raised again
and the father would pour out his spirit upon his church. There would be an infusion of
the Holy Spirit in this dispensation like had never been before. The Holy Spirit's been here from
the beginning. The beginning is, of course,
when God created the heavens and the earth, and the Holy Spirit
was there who moved upon the face of the waters. And no one,
and I like to mention this because people can be deceived so easily,
this matter of the Holy Spirit, and teach that you have to receive
the Holy Spirit after you've been saved. No, if you've been
saved, you've received the Holy Spirit. No one's ever been saved
apart from the work of God the Holy Spirit. You know, salvation
is of the Lord. And when we think of the Lord,
we're talking about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. We praise the triune God. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God Almighty. God the Father chose His people
in eternity. God the Son was made flesh and
redeemed His people. And yes, God the Holy Spirit
quickens and brings His people to life, sanctifies His people. Peter says that he and the other
disciples there, we are witnesses that God raised up the Lord Jesus
Christ. His body, now listen, His body,
which died that day on the cross when he dismissed his spirit. Remember, he said, no man taketh
my life from me. I lay it down of myself. He dismissed
his spirit. When everything was finished,
which was written concerning him, he cried out, it is finished. And he died. He gave up the ghost. The soul was separated. The spirit
separated from his body. His body was laid in the tomb. Now when he appeared, when he
first appeared to his disciples, you read about this in the Gospel
of Luke. Luke tells us when the Lord Jesus
Christ first appeared, the risen Christ first appeared to his
disciples, they were gathered there in a room with the doors
locked. And when he appeared, Luke tells
us that his disciples, they were terrified, terrified. And why were they terrified?
They were terrified because they at first thought they saw a spirit. They were terrified. They saw
him, but they thought they saw a spirit. And the Lord Jesus
Christ showed them. showed them his body that had
been laid in the grave was the same body that he now appeared
unto them in. He told them, Behold my hands.
You see, they could look at his hands and they could see that
body that was marked, nailed on the tree, that those marks,
the nail marks were in his body. Behold my hands, same body. Same
body came out of the grave that was laid in the grave. It's a
resurrection, a resurrection. Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself. Handle me, handle me and see. Now listen, for a spirit. Now
that's why they were terrified. They thought they had seen a
spirit, but our Lord tells them a spirit. In other words, if
I were just a spirit now, a ghost coming unto you, a spirit, for
a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. You see that
I have flesh and I have bones and it's the same body that was
laid in the tomb. Glorified body, yes, but the
same body. What I want to do tonight is
to take the words which applied specifically to Christ, my flesh
shall rest in hope. And show, if I may, show how
they apply to every child of God who has died or shall die
before the Lord returns again. Now, of course, we recognize,
of course, the words, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one
to see corruption. Those words apply exclusively
to the Lord Jesus Christ. His body lay in that tomb, but
it did not see corruption. Now, just as soon as our body,
when we die physically, our body begins the work of corruption
or putrefaction. We know that. Those words apply
only to Christ. The bodies of God's people at
death immediately began to suffer corruption. But even still, and
this is a point I want to make, even still, we know this is true
of us. We may rest in hope. In hope
of what? In hope of the resurrection of
the just. We may rest in hope. In 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 and verse 42, the Apostle Paul, that wonderful
great chapter on the resurrection, but in verse 42 he said, so also
in the resurrection of the dead. Now it, and I want you to Pay
attention to that word, it. In other words, this body, it
is sown in corruption, but it, the same body, is raised in corruption. The body that is sown is the
body that is raised, though it has returned to the dust, broken
down into a billion particles. I don't know how many. and ever
so small and separated as far as the wind may blow some of
the dust of the bodies of God's children. I think of William
Tyndall. Remember, he had to flee England
translating the scriptures from Greek into English, the New Testament. He had to flee. He went to the
continent of Europe, and I believe he was in a town, Antrip, I believe. And he died there. They had sent
people to kill him, but I think he died before they could kill
him. So they buried him there. But
sometime later, he was hated so much by the Roman church,
by the officials of the Roman church. He was hated so much.
that they dug up his bones and burned them and took the dust
and threw it in the river, the river Rhine, I believe it was,
and they were carried away. You say, well, certainly, preacher,
you're not saying that his body is going to be raised. Yes, I
am. That's what I'm saying exactly. That's exactly what I'm saying.
You say, well, that's impossible. With man, absolutely. But not
God. Remember, one of the attributes
of God is his omniscience. He knows everything. And right
now, God knows where every one of those particles which made
up the body of that man are in this world. He knows it. And not only his omniscience,
but his omnipotence, his all power. We serve a powerful God,
a living God, yes, and a powerful God. Notice in our text here,
Peter, where I finished reading, he says, therefore let all the
house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same
Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Many of you have heard me comment
on the fact that sometimes people will say, make Christ your Lord.
And I like to always remind us, you can't do that. You can't
do that, my friends. Why? Because God has already
made him both Lord and Christ, that he is God. And yes, when
he comes again at the sound of the trumpet and the voice of
the archangel, And he calls, the scripture says in John chapter
five, when he calls, when he speaks, the bodies of his people,
those who have died in the Lord, are going to come out of the
tombs. Let me ask you this before I
move on. When you pray, child of God, when you pray, you pray
to your father, which is in heaven. That's the way the Lord taught
us to pray. Our father, which art in heaven. But do you remind
yourself of who your father is? I think of this verse in Ephesians
chapter 3 and verse 20 where the apostle Paul made this comment
about our father, the one to whom we pray. He said, now unto
him that is God, unto him that is able to do, not to try to
do, but unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly,"
now listen, above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us. He's able to do, he's able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or even think. Does that just blow your mind
that the God, our God, our Father, the God and Father of the Lord
Jesus Christ, you say, I can ask a whole lot. I know you can,
but you can't ask more than what he's able to give. Well, I can
think some big things. Sure you can. But my friends,
you cannot think more than God is able to do. You just can't
do it. He's omnipotent. He's omniscient. Yes. Every child of God facing
death may also say, my flesh shall rest in hope. Now remember
when I say that, every child of God facing death may also
say, my flesh, my body shall rest in hope. Remember, I'm talking
about the body. I'm talking about the bodies
of believers. As for their souls at death,
they are immediately in the presence of God. The apostle Paul said
it like this, to depart and to be with Christ, which is far
better. I was given a message I brought
several years ago now at a funeral service of a brother who had
passed on. And I try to emphasize that to
depart. And what is it that we depart
from? What is it that a believer departs
from? Well, we depart from our families.
We depart from our place where we've lived. I know all of that.
But we depart, my friends, from that old sinful nature. You see, when God saves a sinner,
There's a new man that's created in righteousness and true holiness. But that old nature is still
with us. And it's going to be with us
until we depart. To depart and to be with Christ,
we will leave that old nature, that old sinful nature. And there's
always that tension, isn't there, in every believer. between the
new man, which is created in righteousness and true holiness,
that would never sin, and that old man who would only sin. There's always that tension.
But at death, we'll depart and be with Christ. There's many
blessings that the believer receives, even at death. Immediately, we're
in the presence of God, and immediately, we're looking into the face of
the one who loved us and gave himself for us. What greater
blessing could we ask? But our bodies, our souls immediately,
the souls of believers, I'm speaking of God's children now, those
who know Christ, those who are accepted in the beloved, immediately
to depart means that we go to be with Christ, which is far
better. You know, Job, the Old Testament
patriarch Job, he knew this. He knew this. Someone asked me
one time this question. They said, how much do you think
the Old Testament believers, how much do you think they knew?
And of course, there's no way that I could answer that. But
I know this, if they were believers, they knew Christ. They knew Christ. They looked to Him. He was only
promised. He was only promised as far as
they were concerned, but by faith they looked to Him. When they
offered a sacrifice, a man who truly believed, who was a believer,
when he offered a sacrifice according to the law of Moses, when he
laid his hands upon the head of that animal that would be
sacrificed as a substitute, he was looking by faith. to the
Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come, who was promised
to come. I'm not sure how much they knew,
but I know this about Job. He knew what I'm talking about
tonight, because this is what he said. You can see this in
Job chapter 19. The hymn was sung this morning.
I know that my Redeemer liveth. This is what Job said. For I
know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin, though
after my skin, worms destroy this body. That's that corruption
that sets in when a person dies. The soul of the believer immediately
goes to be with the Lord. But what I'm saying, the body
can rest in hope. in hope of a better resurrection,
in hope of the resurrection of the just. Even though Job said
worms are going to destroy, they're going to feed upon this body,
and it's going to go back to the dust. God created the body
of man from the dust of the ground, didn't he? And it's going to
return back to the dust. But even so, Job said, I know
that's going to happen, but yet in my flesh, In other words,
this same body, my flesh, I shall see God. I shall see God, my
Savior. You know, Job speaks of his Redeemer
that he should see. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Redeemer of his people, and he redeemed us with his precious
blood. To the believers at Corinth,
The Apostle Paul wrote, you are bought with a price, therefore
glorify God, now listen, in your body and in your spirit, which
are God's. Christ redeemed his people. He redeemed his people, their
bodies as well as their souls. If these bodies, if these bodies
which Christ bought should not be raised from the dead, then
he would lose part of his purchase. Plus, he could not perfectly
see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Let me read
a verse from 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 21. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 21. I'm sorry, verse 30. 1 Corinthians
1 and verse 30. But of him, that is of God, are
you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, redemption. And many believe this redemption
here is the redemption of the body. Yes, the raising of the
body. I want you to look with me now.
I read that verse, but if you will turn with me to John chapter
six. John chapter six and verse 39
and 40. Two very familiar scriptures. John chapter six and verse 39
and 40. And this is the Father's will. Let me begin in verse 38. For
I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the
will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should
lose nothing. But, now notice it, should raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. The all that God gave to Christ,
they were all put into his hands, made his care, his charge. They were given to him as his
portion to be kept, preserved, and saved by him body and soul. If the bodies of those given
to Christ should not be raised, then Christ would fail to discharge
this trust. Yes, at death, every child of
God It may say, my flesh shall rest in hope. Why? Because Jesus
Christ came down to do the Father's will. And what is that, the Father's
will? It is that everyone that seeth
the Son and believeth on him might have everlasting life and
I shall raise him up. Now, the Bible never speaks of
raising souls up at the last day. It's raising him, that is,
the body up. at the last day. This is a great
mystery. One other verse I'd call our
attention to is 1st Corinthians 6 and verse 15. The apostle Paul,
let me just read this, know you not, now listen, know you not
that your bodies, not just your soul, your bodies are members
of Christ. Your bodies are members of Christ. When God chose His people, He
chose them in Christ and gave them to Him, and it was their
whole persons, their body and soul. Both are redeemed by Him,
and both are in union with Him. We are members of His body. Members of his flesh and of his
bones, the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5. Can you imagine
that? We are members of his body. Now
we're not talking about his physical body, we're talking about his
mystical body. That is, the church, all of God's
elect, we are all members of Christ. Even our bodies are members
of Christ, the mystical Christ. No wonder Paul said this is a
great mystery. It is a great mystery, isn't
it? And you know, Paul, when he said this is a great mystery,
what he means by mystery, this could never be known if God had
not revealed it unto us. This is a great mystery. But
yes, even our bodies are members of Christ, of Christ mystical. That is the spiritual body of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks of Christ being the
head and we are all members of his body. My flesh shall rest
in hope. Well, let me close thinking about
this. What kind of body shall believers
have in the resurrection? The apostle tells us that Christ
will change our vile body. He calls this body right now,
this vile body, one translation I believe has it, this body of
our humiliation. He shall change this vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body. Now what does that mean? Fashioned
like unto His glorious body? It means that the believer's
resurrected body shall first of all be incorruptible. This body in which we live, this
corruption, it's going to It's going to corrupt, it is. But
the body with which we will have in the resurrection is a body
that is incorruptible. It is like His glorious body.
He said, a spirit hath not flesh and bones, but it is an incorruptible
body. And it is an immortal body. This
body is mortal, it's going to die. It's going to die. And not only is it incorruptible
and immortal, but it is powerful. This spiritual body is a powerful
body. And yes, thank God, it is a glorious
body, a glorious body. Now I planted some seeds a couple
of weeks ago that came in a small package. And when I opened them
up, I looked inside that package and those seeds were different
colors. They were kind of dry. Well,
they were dry. Not kind of. They were dry. And
they were kind of a brownish, dark color, white. And, you know,
I just put them in the ground. And a couple of weeks later,
that seed came up. But it's the same body, the same
body in the sense that they were flowers, a particular kind of
flower that the seeds were. And now it's changed. It had to fall into the ground
and die, as the apostle tells us. But the body that came up,
it's the same as far as its nature is concerned, but it's in a different
form. Now it's green and it's lovely
and God willing, And a few weeks, there'll be some beautiful flowers
on those plants. That's the way it is, my friends,
with this body. We may rest assured, our bodies
may rest in hope. Yes, they will turn back to the
dust. But when Christ comes again,
and when he calls us out of our graves, my friends, we will have
a glorious body like unto his. a body that is immortal, incorruptible,
powerful, and glorious. And I look forward to the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He may come before you and I,
before we die physically, but we know that when he comes, all
of those who know Christ, their bodies shall be raised and those
who are alive when he comes again in a moment in the twinkling
of the eye shall be changed and we all together shall be caught
up to meet the Lord in the air. Oh, what a glorious, glorious
day that's going to be when Christ comes again and all of his people
saved by the blood of the crucified one shall be with him and be
with him forever and ever. Now Kevin is going to sing. I
asked him, I asked Kevin to sing this hymn again. He sang this
hymn for us last Sunday evening. God be with you till we meet
again. And I had several comments, heard
several comments from some of you about the hymn and so appropriate
as we're not able to meet as we normally do. But this is our
prayer for all of us. God be with you till we meet
again. That's number 82, hymn number
82. And I hope you'll sing along
with Kevin.