WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.819 Thank you, Kim. And would you open the scriptures, 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:13.980 please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15? In Fort 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:16.679 Myers, Florida, the school board voted recently 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.800 to institute a high school course that teaches 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.320 the Bible as history. It has caused quite a flap. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.399 Perhaps you have heard about it on the news this 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:34.140 week. The report that I heard said that they 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:38.619 were actually going to teach that Jesus rose 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:43.700 from the dead. It was a shock that the news reporter 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:46.979 reported that. They're actually going to teach 00:00:46.979 --> 00:00:50.520 that there was a Jonah, that there was a Noah, 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:52.579 that there was such a thing as a flood, and they're 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:56.560 going to teach, they said, that Jesus rose from 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:01.549 the dead. Amazing, isn't it? that there would 00:01:01.549 --> 00:01:04.310 be people in this enlightened band which we let 00:01:04.310 --> 00:01:08.769 go and still cling to myths like that was the 00:01:08.769 --> 00:01:13.790 implication of the news reporter. In prescriptives 00:01:13.790 --> 00:01:17.769 chapter 15 we learned that in fact the resurrection 00:01:17.769 --> 00:01:23.349 of Jesus Christ is as historical as anything 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:27.590 that has ever happened and that it is the very 00:01:27.590 --> 00:01:31.750 foundation of the Christian faith. Sometimes 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:33.890 this is called the great resurrection chapter 00:01:33.890 --> 00:01:37.489 of the Bible because of its strong declaration 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:41.390 of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. 00:01:43.549 --> 00:01:48.569 Let's remind ourselves yet again of this old, 00:01:48.569 --> 00:01:53.769 old story, simple would be, that it is that gospel 00:01:53.769 --> 00:01:56.829 of Christ's death for our sins according to the 00:01:56.829 --> 00:01:59.870 scriptures. his burial and his resurrection, 00:02:00.230 --> 00:02:03.810 according to the scriptures, that offers hope, 00:02:04.090 --> 00:02:08.710 the only hope, for a person's life. It is that 00:02:08.710 --> 00:02:12.150 message that mediates the saving grace of God. 00:02:12.490 --> 00:02:16.409 There is no other message that does. And Paul 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:20.129 himself had experienced it as he records in his 00:02:20.129 --> 00:02:24.300 early verses in chapter 15. It was this message 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:27.159 of the resurrection that he had proclaimed faithfully 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:33.080 at once, but now there were some within the confines 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:37.639 of the church who were denying an essential aspect 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:42.460 of this message, namely the resurrection of dead 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:48.520 believers. And so what the Apostle says in this 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:54.039 chapter is this, that every person will one day 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:58.319 be raised from the dead. Every person will one 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:03.000 day be raised from the dead. A family had lost 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.460 three children many years ago to diphtheria. 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:11.379 They lost them in the same week. There was only 00:03:11.379 --> 00:03:14.699 one three -year -old girl who escaped the disease. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.639 On the following Easter Sunday morning, the father, 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:21.259 the mother, and their remaining child attended 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:25.520 church. Because the father was the Sunday school 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.460 superintendent, he led the session where all 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:31.039 the classes meet together. We call that, of course, 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:35.300 the opening, what? Opening exercise is a great 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:40.879 biblical concept. As he read from the scriptures 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:43.659 and the opening exercises, he read the Easter 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:49.599 message of the resurrection. Of course, The people 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:51.680 in the church were quite aware of what had happened 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:54.740 in his family only months before it. There were 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:57.819 many who were weeping, but he himself did not 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:02.539 weep, nor did his wife. When Sunday school was 00:04:02.539 --> 00:04:04.919 over, there was a 15 -year -old boy who was walking 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:09.419 home with his father. He said the superintendent 00:04:09.419 --> 00:04:12.639 and his wife must really believe the Easter story. 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:19.240 His father said, well, all Christians do. the 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:26.699 young man replied that not the way they do. We 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:29.920 are very familiar with the facts of the Easter 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:34.920 story, but I wonder sometimes if we really believe 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:40.819 it. This message of the resurrection is one that 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:44.850 is of great significance. Not only is it the 00:04:44.850 --> 00:04:47.430 resurrection of Jesus Christ that we confess, 00:04:47.649 --> 00:04:51.209 but it is the resurrection of every person eventually. 00:04:52.930 --> 00:04:55.930 Now you need to understand what kind of a unique 00:04:55.930 --> 00:05:00.709 message that is in our day. It is a denial of 00:05:00.709 --> 00:05:06.730 Eastern mysticism and its reincarnation. The 00:05:06.730 --> 00:05:10.649 message of the resurrection is a denial of naturalism. 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.180 It is a denial of materialism which say that 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:18.540 the only reality is the physical and the here 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:22.839 and the now. The message of the resurrection 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:29.319 is a witness that there is a supernatural, that 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:33.800 it is more powerful than we are, and that ultimately 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:38.600 we humans must give account of our lives to someone 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:43.350 greater than we. The message of the resurrection 00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:47.170 of Jesus Christ, I would dare say, is a counter 00:05:47.170 --> 00:05:52.529 -cultural message. It goes right against the 00:05:52.529 --> 00:05:56.670 stream of all that our culture thinks it believes. 00:05:59.009 --> 00:06:01.930 Paul uses three arguments in the verses we're 00:06:01.930 --> 00:06:05.550 going to look at to attack the false teaching 00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:11.720 which denies a future resurrection. His first 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:14.160 argument is a negative argument, and we see this 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:18.699 laid out for us in verses 12 through 19. Basically 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:22.560 what Paul says in this paragraph is this, if 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:25.660 it is true, as some of you say, that there is 00:06:25.660 --> 00:06:31.079 no resurrection, then Jesus Christ himself was 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:34.939 not raised from the dead. Notice how he puts 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:38.339 this in verse 12 with the question that he asks. 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:41.649 By the way, someone sent me some questions this 00:06:41.649 --> 00:06:45.589 week. They got off the internet. Profound questions 00:06:45.589 --> 00:06:49.550 that will cause the philosophers among us to 00:06:49.550 --> 00:06:51.769 stay awake this Sunday afternoon. That makes 00:06:51.769 --> 00:06:56.750 a lot, doesn't it? Questions like, do vegetarians 00:06:56.750 --> 00:07:00.589 eat vegetables? What do the humanitarians eat? 00:07:03.269 --> 00:07:08.129 Have you ever thought about that? Why do people 00:07:08.129 --> 00:07:11.459 who know know it the least, know it the loudest. 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:15.819 Have you ever wondered that? This question, too, 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:19.180 for you vegetarians, should vegetarians eat animal 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:26.860 crackers? But then there is this one that will 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:30.379 really grasp some of you. It says, for those 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:32.959 of you who are deer hunter widows this morning, 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:39.379 it says, if a man speaks in the forest, And there 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:46.879 is no woman to hear Him. Is He still wrong? Now, 00:07:47.019 --> 00:07:54.079 now think about that. Now, Paul has a question 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.360 for us too. However, it is a much more truly 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.519 profound question. When he says, now if Christ 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:04.759 is preached, that He has been raised from the 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.420 dead, how do some among you say that there is 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:12.779 no resurrection of the dead. You see, Paul puts 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:15.800 a close association between the resurrection 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:19.579 of Jesus and the resurrection of the human race. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.300 He goes on then to list six consequences if Christ 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:28.160 is not raised. And notice he's saying if there's 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.980 no resurrection of the human race in the future, 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:34.600 then Christ has not been raised. And he says 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:38.360 if Christ has not been raised, Here are the consequences. 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:42.340 Number one, all preaching of the gospel is in 00:08:42.340 --> 00:08:45.379 vain. Verse 14, the first part of the verse, 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:50.440 Christ has not been raised in our preaching is 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:55.019 vain. That is, it's hollow. It's empty. It's 00:08:55.019 --> 00:08:58.820 robbed of its life and its uniqueness. Secondly, 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:01.360 he says in the last part of that verse, and again 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.860 in verse 17, that the Christian's faith is in 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:09.470 vain. if Christ has not been raised. That is, 00:09:09.909 --> 00:09:14.190 our faith is void of any meaning. It leads nowhere. 00:09:15.629 --> 00:09:18.470 It has no value. It will not produce what we 00:09:18.470 --> 00:09:21.789 hope it will produce. In terms of forgiveness 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:25.190 in heaven and the promises of God, our faith 00:09:25.190 --> 00:09:29.129 is in vain. If Christ may not raise from the 00:09:29.129 --> 00:09:32.509 dead, then in verse 15 he says that he himself 00:09:32.509 --> 00:09:36.320 and His associates, the apostles, were all liars. 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:40.200 Because, he says, we have testified that Christ 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.159 has been raised from the dead. If that's not 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.740 true, then we're false witnesses. Worthily, he 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:49.179 says, if Christ be not raised, we have stoned 00:09:49.179 --> 00:09:55.600 our sins. We are in our sins, verse 17. Christ 00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:59.580 is no more powerful then than Buddha or Muhammad 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:02.700 or... the founder of any other human sect or 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:06.100 religion, if he not be not raised from the dead. 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:10.179 Fifthly, he says in verse 18 that Christ be not 00:10:10.179 --> 00:10:13.179 raised and the dead in Christ have perished. 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:18.240 For God, for God forever. There's no hope of 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:22.120 future reunion with them. Every word that has 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:25.759 ever been spoken at a funeral of comfort was 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:31.200 wrong, was mistaken. Defining verse 18, he says, 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:34.080 if Christ be not raised, then we who are questioned 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:39.820 are to be pitied above all. What is that? Well, 00:10:39.820 --> 00:10:44.679 because we face hardship and reproaches and sufferings 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:49.100 for the sake of Christ. Because our faith demands 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:53.460 that we sacrifice the here and the now and believe 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:58.000 in the reward of God in heaven. But he says, 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:01.120 if Christ be not raised, then we're to be pitied, 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:04.860 for we are deceived. Now that's not a very comforting 00:11:04.860 --> 00:11:09.320 list, is it? So the apostle says, if the false 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:13.240 teachers want the other parts of the gospel truth, 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:17.120 they can't deny this one, of the resurrection 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.039 of all people at the end because of the resurrection 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.029 of Jesus Christ. His resurrection, and the future 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:29.970 resurrection hold together, they stand together, 00:11:30.610 --> 00:11:33.990 or they fall together. You can't separate them. 00:11:34.470 --> 00:11:36.970 You see, they were saying, Jesus' resurrection 00:11:36.970 --> 00:11:40.889 we believe in, but we don't believe that the 00:11:40.889 --> 00:11:44.570 dead will be raised. Oh, says you can't have 00:11:44.570 --> 00:11:50.009 it that way. That's nonsensical. They are tied 00:11:50.009 --> 00:11:55.919 together. to the second argument, which is why 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:59.100 I term the collective argument in verses 20 through 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:04.220 22. Paul says, if Christ has not been raised 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:06.399 from the dead, these are the consequences. But 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:11.259 then notice verse 20, where he says, but now 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:16.320 Christ has been raised from the dead. There's 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.159 a pivot here on these words. He swings his ship 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:23.830 of argument. in the opposite direction with a 00:12:23.830 --> 00:12:27.429 positive affirmation of Christ's resurrection. 00:12:28.990 --> 00:12:33.049 And he says when Jesus rose from the dead, he 00:12:33.049 --> 00:12:38.370 represented others. When he rose from the dead, 00:12:39.690 --> 00:12:43.169 he represented others. It is a collective kind 00:12:43.169 --> 00:12:48.049 of argument. And he names Jesus here by two terms 00:12:48.049 --> 00:12:53.269 that are significant. First, he calls Jesus the 00:12:53.269 --> 00:12:56.789 first fruits. Notice, he's been raised from the 00:12:56.789 --> 00:13:01.990 dead the first fruits of those who are asleep. 00:13:04.750 --> 00:13:07.889 The first fruits. This harkens back, of course, 00:13:07.950 --> 00:13:11.370 to the Old Testament and to the Jewish observance 00:13:11.370 --> 00:13:14.789 of what was called the Feast of First Fruits. 00:13:15.269 --> 00:13:19.509 It was observed right after the Passover Sabbath. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:26.299 It was the first day of the week, and it is historically 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:32.480 the day that Jesus rose from the dead. On the 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.840 day of first fruits, the Jewish people would 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:40.620 bring to the tabernacle or to the temple a presentation 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:46.360 of a sheaf of grain, the first fruits from the 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:51.580 harvest that was about to be taken. and they 00:13:51.580 --> 00:13:55.600 would bring this sheaf, dedicating it to God, 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:58.620 and signifying by that that all of the harvest 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:04.480 that was to come belonged to God. It was representative. 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:10.019 The Lord Jesus Christ fulfills the picture or 00:14:10.019 --> 00:14:13.259 the type, we sometimes call it, that is found 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:19.000 in the first fruits feast. He is the first fruits 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:23.580 he represented in his resurrection, the harvest 00:14:23.580 --> 00:14:29.259 of resurrection that is coming. Christ rules 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:33.399 in fulfillment of this Old Testament type as 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:39.559 a pledge that there were more yet to come from 00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:44.639 their grave. Okay? So this is the collective 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:49.500 argument that Paul asserts. He says, Jesus Christ 00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:52.799 rose from the dead, and when he did, he guaranteed, 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:58.100 he put his signature on the line, as it were, 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:02.399 that another resurrection is coming involving 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:06.059 those who are in their graves, all of those who 00:15:06.059 --> 00:15:11.000 are in their graves. But then there is a second 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:14.940 idea that Paul introduces here, when he says, 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:22.279 Since by a man came death, by a man also came 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:27.620 the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:31.919 all died, Adam of course is the one by whom came 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:38.240 death. As in Adam all died, so also in Christ 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:46.059 all shall be made alive. all shall be made alive. 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:51.799 Now in verse 45, Paul uses a term of Jesus that 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.600 I want to pull back to this context because that's 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:57.179 really what he's talking about. He calls him 00:15:57.179 --> 00:16:02.200 the last Adam. The last Adam. Notice that in 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:08.059 verse 45. Paul is saying two things here in the 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:09.899 collective argument. He is saying, first of all, 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:14.950 Jesus is the first fruits. And when He rose from 00:16:14.950 --> 00:16:18.009 the dead, He represented everyone in their graves 00:16:18.009 --> 00:16:21.309 that one day they too will be raised from the 00:16:21.309 --> 00:16:28.769 dead. He says that Jesus is also the last Adam. 00:16:28.889 --> 00:16:34.590 He says in the first Adam, the one that God created 00:16:34.590 --> 00:16:37.990 and put into the garden, the one that God made 00:16:37.990 --> 00:16:40.889 out of dust and into whose nostrils He breathed 00:16:40.889 --> 00:16:46.110 life. that Adam brought death to the human race 00:16:46.110 --> 00:16:51.470 because of his disobedience to God. But he says 00:16:51.470 --> 00:16:56.350 Jesus is the last Adam. He stands in contrast 00:16:56.350 --> 00:17:02.210 to the first Adam. And what the first Adam lost 00:17:02.210 --> 00:17:06.549 for the human race, the last Adam has recovered 00:17:06.549 --> 00:17:11.720 for us. And what the first Adam to the human 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:17.079 race, that is death. The last Adam has reversed 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:23.079 on our behalf. So he is the last Adam, the life 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:28.460 -giving spirit, and in him he says all will be 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.160 made alive. Now there are some who believe that 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:35.500 that means that as all who are related to Adam 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:39.539 die, so all who are related to Christ will live. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:43.740 That is all believers, and certainly that is 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:46.859 true, but I believe personally that the context 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:49.599 here argues for a broader statement than that. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.720 That he is saying that in Adam, all human beings 00:17:54.720 --> 00:18:00.700 die. In Jesus Christ, all human beings will be 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:05.039 made alive. That's not a universal salvation 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:07.440 he's talking about. He's talking about physical 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.630 resurrection. That's the context. physical resurrection. 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:16.269 And he is saying that by the power of Jesus Christ, 00:18:16.390 --> 00:18:22.569 one day, every person who has ever lived will 00:18:22.569 --> 00:18:30.190 stand again in his body. Dr. G. Coleman Luck, 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:33.769 who was a professor at Moody Bible Institute 00:18:33.769 --> 00:18:38.269 the time I went there, says this in his book 00:18:38.269 --> 00:18:41.829 on Corinthians. By man, Adam, came death. By 00:18:41.829 --> 00:18:45.329 another man, Christ, comes the resurrection of 00:18:45.329 --> 00:18:49.329 the dead. All related to Adam die. This includes 00:18:49.329 --> 00:18:53.509 the whole human race. The statement that in Christ 00:18:53.509 --> 00:18:57.029 all shall be made alive again refers to the whole 00:18:57.029 --> 00:19:00.970 human race, not just the same. Christ's mighty 00:19:00.970 --> 00:19:05.069 power will someday call forth all from the grave. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:11.059 Their relation to Him will determine their future 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:17.140 destiny. Jesus Himself said that one day that 00:19:17.140 --> 00:19:19.839 all would hear His voice and be raised from the 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:24.220 grave. And that's what Paul is saying. That all 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:27.240 will be raised from the dead. And then at that 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:30.859 moment it is their relationship to Him that will 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:35.140 determine where they go. That is their eternal 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:40.920 destiny. And so Paul presents to us powerfully 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.420 a collective argument. He says you cannot separate 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:49.180 Jesus Christ from the human race. He was born 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:53.720 a man. He identified with us. He was as fully 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:59.240 man as any of us. And what he did affected every 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:04.440 person. He is the first fruits of those who sleep. 00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:07.930 And he is the last Adam. who by His power one 00:20:07.930 --> 00:20:10.930 day will bring again to life every person who 00:20:10.930 --> 00:20:16.190 has ever lived." The collective argument. But 00:20:16.190 --> 00:20:18.950 then we proceed to the prophetic argument verses 00:20:18.950 --> 00:20:24.250 23 through 28. What Paul says in these verses 00:20:24.250 --> 00:20:27.430 is this, that Christ's resurrection initiated 00:20:27.430 --> 00:20:33.190 an inevitable sequence of events that include 00:20:33.190 --> 00:20:36.680 the resurrection of all the human race. And there's 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.519 an order to it. There are some people who have 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:42.839 an idea that there was a general resurrection 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:46.359 some day. I remember as a kid that there was 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:49.660 a song that became popular. It was kind of a 00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:52.279 line that on that great resurrection morning, 00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:54.519 that great getting up morning, remember that? 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.680 On that great getting up morning, fairly well, 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:02.480 fairly well. And they have the idea that on one 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.130 morning, Everyone's going to be raised. That 00:21:05.130 --> 00:21:08.730 is not the case. There's an order to it. There's 00:21:08.730 --> 00:21:12.190 a sequence to it. And Paul talks about that. 00:21:12.329 --> 00:21:15.170 He says, but, he says, all will remain alive, 00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:18.849 but each in his own order. The word order here 00:21:18.849 --> 00:21:23.150 means his own rank. Or we might say his own sequence. 00:21:23.829 --> 00:21:28.210 But then, he says, Christ, the first fruit. That's 00:21:28.210 --> 00:21:32.660 number one. Christ has been raised. Approximately 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:37.839 30 A .D. He was raised on the first Easter morning, 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:42.180 Christ the first, since that one's done. It guarantees 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:47.079 what's coming next. He says, after that, those 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:52.940 who are Christ's, those who are Christ's, that 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:57.319 is, all that we need, those that we raised according 00:21:57.319 --> 00:22:05.279 to John 5 .29. in the resurrection of life. Those 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.599 who are Christ, I believe that embraces several 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.680 groups of people. And again, it's not going to 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:14.819 happen in one event. You say, well, it says of 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:19.099 His coming. You see, Christ's coming has a couple 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:24.440 of phases to it, doesn't it? His coming involves, 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:30.319 first, a coming for the church, in the rapture. 00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:34.519 And then later, the second phase of that, the 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:37.059 culmination of it, when he comes back to the 00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:42.500 earth in his return. Now there are three groups 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:45.920 that are going to participate in this second 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:50.880 sequence, so to speak, of the resurrection. Those 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:53.200 groups are, first, the New Testament saints, 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:56.480 the church in this age of the rapture. Paul talks 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:01.250 about this later in this chapter. More length 00:23:01.250 --> 00:23:04.990 in 1st Thessalonians 4, where he talks about 00:23:04.990 --> 00:23:09.190 those who are asleep. God will bring with Him. 00:23:09.750 --> 00:23:12.150 The trumpet will sound as the voice like that 00:23:12.150 --> 00:23:15.190 of an archangel. The authority of it will be 00:23:15.190 --> 00:23:18.730 so great. And the day in Christ will rise first. 00:23:19.289 --> 00:23:22.490 And we who are alive and remain shall be caught 00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:25.309 up together with them in the clouds, he says, 00:23:25.470 --> 00:23:30.599 the rapture. So that is the first group. those 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:34.900 who have been saved in this age of the Church, 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:39.259 which begins on the day of Pentecost and ends 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:43.619 on that day when we hear His voice in our hallway. 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:47.500 But then what about the Old Testament saints? 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:51.339 What about Abraham? We sang this morning that 00:23:51.339 --> 00:23:56.269 marvelous hymn, the God of Abraham prays. but 00:23:56.269 --> 00:23:58.789 not Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but those who 00:23:58.789 --> 00:24:05.950 died in the Old Testament. And what about those 00:24:05.950 --> 00:24:09.390 in the tribulation after the church is taken 00:24:09.390 --> 00:24:13.789 out who die? When will they be raised? When will 00:24:13.789 --> 00:24:17.769 Noah be raised? When will Adam be raised? The 00:24:17.769 --> 00:24:20.470 answer to that is that they will be raised just 00:24:20.470 --> 00:24:24.849 before Jesus Christ begins his millennial reign. 00:24:25.769 --> 00:24:31.230 at the time that he returns to the earth to establish 00:24:31.230 --> 00:24:35.970 that kingdom, there is that resurrection of the 00:24:35.970 --> 00:24:41.230 righteous. And included in that would be the 00:24:41.230 --> 00:24:45.670 Old Testament saints and the murdered tribulation 00:24:45.670 --> 00:24:51.630 saints. So that at that point, all of those who 00:24:51.630 --> 00:24:54.829 belong to Jesus Christ will have been raised. 00:24:56.430 --> 00:25:00.170 So he says, each is on order first, Jesus Christ, 00:25:00.369 --> 00:25:05.470 then those who are Christ at His coming. And 00:25:05.470 --> 00:25:10.490 then he says, then comes the end. Then comes 00:25:10.490 --> 00:25:15.470 the completion, then comes the culmination. What 00:25:15.470 --> 00:25:18.089 is he talking about here? It seems to me that 00:25:18.089 --> 00:25:22.480 here he is talking about the end of time after 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:25.539 this thousand year reign of Jesus Christ that 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:29.839 we call the Millennium. After the final rebellion 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:33.200 has been dealt with, at the end of time we have 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:38.599 the end. I think it's essentially synonymous 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.240 with the great white throne judgment that is 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:45.140 described in Revelation chapter 20. Here's how 00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:49.019 Jesus calls again in John chapter 5. verse 29, 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:54.700 the resurrection unto condemnation. It is when 00:25:54.700 --> 00:26:00.059 the lost, the unredeemed, the unsaved of all 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:06.799 time are called forth from their graves to stand 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:12.079 before Jesus Christ at the final judgment. That 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:17.250 is the final part of the resurrection. So the 00:26:17.250 --> 00:26:22.289 sequence is Jesus Christ. Then those who belong 00:26:22.289 --> 00:26:26.210 to Him that will occur in a couple of phases. 00:26:27.509 --> 00:26:31.730 And finally, all of the lost at the end time. 00:26:33.630 --> 00:26:35.690 At that time there will be victory over death. 00:26:35.829 --> 00:26:40.210 Notice what Paul goes on to say. Then comes the 00:26:40.210 --> 00:26:42.890 end when he delivers up the kingdom to God the 00:26:42.890 --> 00:26:46.819 Father. When he has abolished all rule and all 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:52.079 authority and power, talking there probably about 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:56.640 the powers of darkness, the authorities, the 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:59.799 rulers, the powers of darkness, he will have 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:05.119 abolished all of their kingdom. For he must reign, 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:09.079 Paul now explains this, he must reign until he 00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:12.259 has put all enemies under his feet. The last 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:18.019 enemy that will be abolished is death. And after 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:21.000 the dead stand before the Lord and are judged, 00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:24.380 then death and Hades, death and hell itself, 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:29.059 are cast into the eternal lake of fire. He says 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:32.559 in verse 27, He has put all things in subjection 00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:38.140 under His feet. That is, God has put all things 00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:40.460 in subjection to the feet of the Lord Jesus. 00:27:41.579 --> 00:27:44.880 But when he says that all things are put in subjection, 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:48.680 it's evident that he is accepted who put all 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:51.539 things in subjection to him, that is, the Father 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:55.440 is the exception to that. And when all things 00:27:55.440 --> 00:28:00.000 are subjected to him, then the Son himself will 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:03.059 be subjected to the one who subjected all things 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:08.740 to him. Are you confused yet? He's saying that 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:12.140 when everything is subjected to the Lord Jesus 00:28:12.140 --> 00:28:16.079 Christ, and the last thing that will be subjected 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:20.420 to him is death, he will deal with death. He 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:23.960 is confident now, but he hasn't dealt with it 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:27.400 finally. He will cast it into the lake of fire. 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:30.420 He's personified. He's cast into the lake of 00:28:30.420 --> 00:28:34.559 fire. And when everything has been subjected 00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:40.000 to him... And it says that He will subject Himself 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.740 to the Father. And the reason for this is that 00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:48.779 God may be all in all. And there we have what 00:28:48.779 --> 00:28:52.220 I think is the initiation of the eternal state 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:56.579 again, the new heavens and the new earth that 00:28:56.579 --> 00:29:00.180 is prophesied at the end of the book of Revelation. 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:04.940 The resurrection is woven into the whole of what 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:08.259 God has planned for the future is the point here. 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:12.019 The point is that none of this stuff that I just 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:16.500 talked about can happen if there is no resurrection 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:21.059 of the dead. There's going to be no kingdom. 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:25.579 There's going to be no subjection to the Father 00:29:25.579 --> 00:29:32.150 of everything. God cannot be all in all. if there 00:29:32.150 --> 00:29:34.630 is no resurrection of the dead, because they 00:29:34.630 --> 00:29:38.769 all come together, and so we have the prophetic 00:29:38.769 --> 00:29:42.150 argument. So make no mistake about it, every 00:29:42.150 --> 00:29:45.009 person will one day be raised from the dead, 00:29:45.650 --> 00:29:51.809 the righteous and the unrighteous. I took my 00:29:51.809 --> 00:29:56.009 suit this week to be cleaned at a cleaner's locally 00:29:56.009 --> 00:30:01.529 that's called So What, XEW. And you may say to 00:30:01.529 --> 00:30:06.869 yourself, well, so what, S -O -W -A -J -T? That 00:30:06.869 --> 00:30:09.170 everyone's going to be raised from the dead. 00:30:09.509 --> 00:30:12.849 Well, let me give to you some personal significance 00:30:12.849 --> 00:30:17.690 to this truth. That everyone is going to be raised 00:30:17.690 --> 00:30:21.569 from the dead. First of all, it means that believers 00:30:21.569 --> 00:30:27.470 possess a secure hope. The grave may claim the 00:30:27.470 --> 00:30:31.990 body for a while. but it cannot have the body 00:30:31.990 --> 00:30:37.789 forever. That is said at the funeral of a Christian 00:30:37.789 --> 00:30:44.089 regarding his resurrection is true. We have a 00:30:44.089 --> 00:30:48.349 secure hope in Jesus Christ. The cartoon character 00:30:48.349 --> 00:30:53.410 Pogo made the statement, I hate death. In fact, 00:30:53.410 --> 00:30:58.109 I could live forever without it. Well, the fact 00:30:58.109 --> 00:31:04.160 is that By the grace of God, we will. That is 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:08.980 our secure hope. But Socrates, the great philosopher, 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:12.059 was dying. His friends asked him the question, 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:18.700 Shall we live again? And all Socrates could say 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:26.920 was, I hope so. When the great Christian Sir 00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:31.549 Walter Raleigh was about be beheaded. The night 00:31:31.549 --> 00:31:34.630 before his execution in his Bible he wrote these 00:31:34.630 --> 00:31:41.309 words, from this earth, this grave, this dust, 00:31:42.190 --> 00:31:49.390 my God shall raise me up. My friend, there's 00:31:49.390 --> 00:31:52.049 an eternity of difference between the response 00:31:52.049 --> 00:31:56.549 to death of Socrates and Sir Walter Raleigh. 00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:02.980 The believer in Jesus Christ possesses a secure 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:07.660 hope. It is anchored in the resurrection of Jesus 00:32:07.660 --> 00:32:13.660 Christ. Secondly, those asleep in Christ are 00:32:13.660 --> 00:32:18.099 safely abreast. Death, in fact, may take them 00:32:18.099 --> 00:32:23.180 away. But death cannot prevent their reunion 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:28.700 with us one day in the rapture. Death may clean 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:33.740 them now, but it cannot have them, because though 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:36.400 the body be laid in the grave, their spirit is 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:40.559 going to be of Christ. They are asleep only in 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:43.099 the sense of the body. This is a body chapter. 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:45.539 This is a resurrection chapter. That's what he 00:32:45.539 --> 00:32:50.240 talks about, make the sleep. When someone dies, 00:32:50.380 --> 00:32:54.980 their body is, as it were, asleep, not the soul, 00:32:55.440 --> 00:33:00.650 but the body. the person himself or herself are 00:33:00.650 --> 00:33:04.390 taken at that moment to be with Christ. And Paul 00:33:04.390 --> 00:33:07.430 says in 1 Thessalonians, God will bring them 00:33:07.430 --> 00:33:12.670 with him back from heaven to the earth for that 00:33:12.670 --> 00:33:19.529 moment of the resurrection. The third personal 00:33:19.529 --> 00:33:22.509 significance of the resurrection is this, that 00:33:22.509 --> 00:33:26.839 the actions of this life matter. Every person 00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:29.660 will stand in the presence of Jesus Christ someday 00:33:29.660 --> 00:33:32.819 to give account of himself. That includes you 00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:36.980 and me. That includes every person in the world. 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:39.640 Whether people acknowledge Christ or have ever 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:43.440 even heard of him. The fact is that someday every 00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:47.400 person will stand before Christ to give account 00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:52.299 for this life. And so what happens in this life 00:33:52.299 --> 00:33:57.000 matters. The actions of this life. count. You 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:01.759 know, our nation's morals used to be based upon 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:05.900 this concept. That is not true anymore. And people 00:34:05.900 --> 00:34:08.440 think that they can't act with impunity. It makes 00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:12.940 no difference what they do. They are deceived 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:16.179 by a false teaching that has overtaken our culture, 00:34:16.300 --> 00:34:21.940 the false teaching of naturalism. The Bible says 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:25.559 that One day, every person is going to stand 00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:27.679 before God to give an account. Do you think that 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:30.579 would make a difference how children act in a 00:34:30.579 --> 00:34:34.659 school room? Or how people act on the streets? 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:37.940 If they really believe that one day they're going 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:41.059 to give an account to an Almighty God, it would 00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:45.699 make a world of difference. And it's true. The 00:34:45.699 --> 00:34:50.679 actions of this life matter. Number four. God 00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:54.980 has a plan. And He's working it. And you and 00:34:54.980 --> 00:34:57.460 I are part of that plan. That's what gives us 00:34:57.460 --> 00:35:01.059 significance. We're not significant in ourselves. 00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:05.579 We are just briefly here in the world. Our lives 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:09.099 are like vapors, but God has a plan and you and 00:35:09.099 --> 00:35:13.239 I by His grace are a part of it. Remember that 00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:15.880 this week in the midst of your battles and your 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:20.360 doubts and your disappointments. And you're on 00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:25.010 a track. God is working His plan in your life. 00:35:26.090 --> 00:35:30.269 He's not going to let you fall. He's going to 00:35:30.269 --> 00:35:36.730 keep you. Walk with Him. Experience the joy of 00:35:36.730 --> 00:35:40.610 this assurance. It's possible for us to go through 00:35:40.610 --> 00:35:46.510 life anxious and worried and stressed out. We 00:35:46.510 --> 00:35:50.860 need not do that. Our God has a plan. And we 00:35:50.860 --> 00:35:53.880 see a way down here to eternity, when God will 00:35:53.880 --> 00:35:58.519 be all in all. You fit into that plan. Your life 00:35:58.519 --> 00:36:02.239 is woven into it. Our thread is woven into this 00:36:02.239 --> 00:36:08.340 suit. Rejoice in that. Rest your life upon it 00:36:08.340 --> 00:36:12.559 this week. But one final significance that I 00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:14.800 get out of this part of the chapter is this. 00:36:15.699 --> 00:36:19.880 That believers, we believers, already live. in 00:36:19.880 --> 00:36:26.920 the kingdom of resurrection power. We already 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:31.199 live in the kingdom of resurrection power. Isn't 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:34.500 that wonderful? To resurrection one, they will 00:36:34.500 --> 00:36:38.260 affect our physical bodies, but already we have 00:36:38.260 --> 00:36:42.860 experienced resurrection, if we're saved. We 00:36:42.860 --> 00:36:46.619 have been raised to walk in newness of life. 00:36:47.309 --> 00:36:52.190 The Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Life 00:36:52.190 --> 00:36:57.349 dwells in us, and we have that Spirit to draw 00:36:57.349 --> 00:37:02.929 upon. We have His power, the power of the resurrection, 00:37:03.429 --> 00:37:06.730 of which to stand for Christ in this world, and 00:37:06.730 --> 00:37:09.769 share our faith, and live through the trials 00:37:09.769 --> 00:37:13.090 of our lives. The power of His resurrection, 00:37:14.190 --> 00:37:18.920 the power of His Kingdom. about His great resurrection 00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:24.699 that our spirits have already experienced, walked 00:37:24.699 --> 00:37:28.460 in the power of His resurrection. Dwight Moody, 00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:31.639 many years ago, of course, related this experience 00:37:31.639 --> 00:37:36.000 of being down in Texas. He says, and he picked 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:39.559 up a newspaper, and he says, Bill, they called 00:37:39.559 --> 00:37:44.900 me Old Moody, Old Moody. He says, honestly, I 00:37:44.900 --> 00:37:47.360 never got as much shock from any paper in my 00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:51.960 life. I had never been called old before. I went 00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:55.300 to my hotel and looked in the mirror. I cannot 00:37:55.300 --> 00:37:58.539 conceive of getting older. I have a life that 00:37:58.539 --> 00:38:01.599 is never going to end. Death may change my position, 00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:05.400 but not my condition, not my standing with Jesus 00:38:05.400 --> 00:38:09.039 Christ. If you meet me 10 million years from 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:12.610 now, then I will be young. Don't call me old. 00:38:12.610 --> 00:38:16.889 I'm only 62. I've only begun to live. Friend, 00:38:16.909 --> 00:38:20.010 that's a great way to look at life. If you're 00:38:20.010 --> 00:38:22.789 a believer in Jesus Christ, it's true about you. 00:38:23.170 --> 00:38:27.030 You've only begun to live and to experience what 00:38:27.030 --> 00:38:30.650 God has for you. Be encouraged by that this week 00:38:30.650 --> 00:38:34.269 and draw upon the resurrection power of Christ 00:38:34.269 --> 00:38:44.099 in your life. Walk in victory. My friend, because 00:38:44.099 --> 00:38:47.659 Jesus lives, you too shall live. That is His 00:38:47.659 --> 00:38:54.340 promise. Because Jesus lives, your loved ones 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:59.659 who've died in Christ will see you again and 00:38:59.659 --> 00:39:03.280 you will be with them and with the Lord forever. 00:39:04.659 --> 00:39:08.239 Because Jesus lives, you can be sure that God's 00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:13.070 plan for your life and for all things is going 00:39:13.070 --> 00:39:18.510 to come out exactly where God wants it to, because 00:39:18.510 --> 00:39:24.349 Jesus lives. Rejoice today in this. Father, we 00:39:24.349 --> 00:39:27.110 give thanks to you for the truth of the resurrection. 00:39:29.329 --> 00:39:33.809 It is a message that is uncommon in our culture, 00:39:34.010 --> 00:39:37.130 but Lord, we thank you that you have revealed 00:39:37.130 --> 00:39:41.070 it to us from your Word so that our faith rests 00:39:41.070 --> 00:39:44.719 upon it. Our lives are changed and empowered 00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:48.659 by it. Our future is secured by it. We bless 00:39:48.659 --> 00:39:53.900 you. God help us to live in light of this reality 00:39:53.900 --> 00:39:59.300 this week. May it make a difference in the way 00:39:59.300 --> 00:40:09.199 that we live. May we really believe it. Amen. 00:40:10.300 --> 00:40:16.500 Let's stand together, please. Sing with me because 00:40:16.500 --> 00:40:29.739 he lives I can face tomorrow Because he lives 00:40:29.739 --> 00:40:55.449 All fear is gone is worth the living life just 00:40:55.449 --> 00:40:55.809 because.