"Carl" <saints@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:ftpscs$3cb$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Doug Goins' sermon title makes the topic quite clear: Christ's bodily
> resurrection. Although some deny it, Christ was bodily resurrected as
the
> Bible clearly teaches.
>
> May God bless,
> Carl
> my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
> my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
>
> ---
>
> THE CERTAINTY OF CHRIST'S BODILY RESURRECTION
> by Doug Goins
>
> The passage we're studying begins with a ringing affirmation of
> resurrection life. First Corinthians 15:20: "But now Christ has been
> raised from the dead." Someone has written a great statement of that
> reality:
>
> "The present age is Easter time. It begins with the resurrection of the
> Redeemer, and ends with the resurrection of the redeemed. Between lies
the
> spiritual resurrection of those called into life through Christ. So we
> live between two Easters, and in the power of the first Easter, we go to
> meet the last Easter."
>
> That last Easter is the bodily resurrection of all believers in Christ.
>
> In the last two messages, we've been exploring the resurrection of Jesus
> Christ as the watershed event of human history in 1 Corinthians 15. When
> the man Jesus Christ shattered the barrier of death, he transformed the
> existence of everyone who believes in him, surrenders to him, and
follows
> him in loyalty. In verses 1-11 Paul placed the resurrection at the very
> center of the gospel. Our faith is grounded in the resurrection. Paul
> supported its veracity with eyewitness testimony of some of the people
who
> had seen Jesus after his crucifixion and resurrection. In verses 12-19
he
> surveyed some of the horrible consequences there would be if the
> resurrection of Jesus Christ had not happened.
>
> Now in verses 20-34 Paul continues to reflect on the absolute certainty
of
> Christ's bodily resurrection on that first Easter morning, and he shows
> how the future resurrection of believers is the logical outcome of
> Christ's past resurrection. He also strengthens his case by pointing out
> that both his own lifestyle and the actions of the Corinthian believers
> themselves demonstrated a confident certainty in the resurrection.
>
> This section is organized around three amazing affirmations concerning
the
> resurrection of Jesus Christ. Verses 20-22 affirm the inclusive nature
of
> Christ's resurrection. We have been folded into that resurrection
reality.
> Verses 23-28 affirm the forceful purpose of Christ's resurrection. There
> is a point to it that we can anticipate as ultimate reality. And verses
> 29-34 affirm the motivating power of Christ's resurrection. Because of
the
> resurrection, we make choices as Christians to live our lives
differently.
>
> TWO WAYS OUR RESURRECTION IS TIED TO CHRIST'S
>
> The first affirmation speaks of how closely our own resurrection is tied
> to Christ's. Look at verses 20-22:
>
> But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those
> who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the
> resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all
> shall be made alive.
>
> Paul uses two Old-Testament images to show that our inclusion in this
> tremendous hope of the resurrection is guaranteed. The first image is
that
> of the first fruits in verse 20, and the second that of the analogy of
> Adam and Christ in verses 21-22.
>
> The image of first fruits comes out of Leviticus 23. The law required
that
> every Israelite farmer, before he began to harvest his grain crop every
> year, bring a representative sample to the temple and give it to the
> priest to be offered up to the Lord in anticipation of the full harvest
> offering. Paul is saying that Christ's resurrection was the
representative
> offering of our own resurrection from the dead, the first part of this
> great resurrection harvest offering that we will all be included in.
Jesus
> offered himself up to the heavenly Father in his death and resurrection.
> He was both the offering and the offerer. The first-fruits not only
> preceded the harvest, but they were the first installment of the full
> harvest offering, the guarantee or the down payment of the rest of the
> harvest offering that was going to come. So the fact that Christ is the
> first fruits indicates that we will be resurrected, because Christ's
> resurrection must not exist in isolation from ours. We can count on
that.
>
> Paul goes on to argue the absolute certainty that this will happen by
> comparing the two men Adam and Christ. Just as the one man Adam brought
> death to the entire human race, including each of us, because every one
of
> us is a son (or daughter) of Adam, in the same way, the one man Jesus
> Christ brought resurrection from the dead for those of us who believe in
> him. Both Adam and Christ were instruments of change. Adam disobeyed
God,
> and he brought disaster, death, and destruction into the world. But
> Christ, in contrast, perfectly obeyed the Father, and he brought us
> deliverance, righteousness, and life. So we as mortal human beings are
in
> Adam, and we're going to die; that's reality. But if we belong to Jesus
> Christ, we have the absolute conviction of resurrection life. Every one
of
> us knows, if we're honest, that our physical bodies are deteriorating.
> Nobody is going to get out alive, that's absolutely certain. As you get
> older, you feel it more physically. But the corresponding reality is
that
> we get more and more confident of the hope that we have of the
> resurrection. This is not the end of all things.
>
> Kim Fenech, our Volunteer Coordinator in Discovery Publishing, was
talking
> to me last week. She mentioned two of the volunteers, our dear brothers
> Woody Norman and Ron Thompson. For both of them, the outer man is fading
> because of serious physical problems that face them with their own
> mortality. Woody has terrible heart problems, and it's hard for him to
get
> to church on occasion. Ron Thompson is losing lung capacity. Yet, Kim
was
> saying, both of these men, the closer they come to the reality of their
> mortality, the more vibrant and alive and beautiful they are becoming
> spiritually. The inner man is being renewed; they are anticipating this
> absolute certainty of being forever with the Lord. That confidence is
what
> gives them life and energizes them, even though it's more and more
> difficult to live physically.
>
> RESURRECTION EVENTS LEADING TO GOD'S VICTORY
>
> Let's look at the second affirmation concerning Jesus' resurrection in
> verses 23-28. Here Paul focuses on the eternal purpose of the
> resurrection. Christ's resurrection has, in a sense, set in motion an
> inexorable chain of events that absolutely determines our present
> circumstances and our future, and it's a future full of hope. His
victory
> over death promises the ultimate victory of God in all things. When God
> raised Christ from the dead, he took sides for the truth and against
lies,
> for love and against hate, for life and against death. Verses 23-24
> summarize what Paul calls the order of events leading to the end. Let's
> read verse 22 again as well:
>
> For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But
> each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are
> Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He delivers up the
> kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all
> authority and power.
>
> The expression in verse 23, "each in his own order," stresses the
> different times involved. Christ was made alive three days after his
> death. Those of us who die belonging to him will be made alive in our
> order, which will be when he comes back for us. First Thessalonians
> 4:16-17 says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout,
> with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the
dead
> in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be
> caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
> and thus we shall always be with the Lord." (And we won't have to worry
> about air sickness at all when that resurrection takes place!)
>
> After that resurrection of Christians, Christ will defeat the powers of
> satanic evil in the world, and he will hand over the secured kingdom to
> his Father. That is the end that Paul mentions in verse 24, the ultimate
> purpose that began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That
delivering
> up of the kingdom is the key event in the end times. Sin will no longer
> reign in the world. God will rule supremely. There will be no enemy, no
> challenge to his authority in the world. There are many events detailed
in
> Scripture that are part of this process of final conquest, but
> chronologies are not important to Paul here. What he really wants us to
> catch is the certainty of Christ's final conquest. That is central.
>
> THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST'S FINAL CONQUEST
>
> Paul goes on to amplify that centrality in verses 25-28, where the Son
> delivers the kingdom back to his Father. Look at verses 25-26. It's not
> focused just on the future but on the present; Christ is reigning right
> now, as hard as that may be for us to accept at times.
>
> For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The
> last enemy that will be abolished is death.
>
> Notice that the reign of Christ doesn't begin after his enemies are
> subdued. He is reigning now, and he will continue to reign until all
> demonic opposition is finally defeated. That's absolutely central for us
> to grasp right here and now, because it will counter personal
> discouragement, a sense of defeat, and spiritual oppression. Jesus is in
> control now on the micro level in our personal lives, and on the macro
> level in all the forces swirling around us in the world at large. The
> death and resurrection of Jesus turned the tide of the battle. The final
> outcome is certain. Christ has been declared victorious over sin and
death
> and hell, and that means when we look at the world around us and we see
> Christ's enemies, the evil rule and authority and power ravaging our
> world, we don't have to be afraid. We do need to be prayerfully active
in
> working for the kingdom, of course.
>
> Now, I'm certain there are many things we're afraid of. There's the mess
> that our country is in right now. I have read pundits who have said that
> in the moral vacuum right now, we will lose credibility as a world
leader,
> and we will be marginalized in global affairs. There is concern about
the
> economic forces that might lead us into recession. There is our
president
> and the concern about his life. There is concern about unemployment amid
> much talk about what our valley faces in the near future. Perhaps the
> possibility of bankruptcy or even homelessness concerns you personally.
> There are the tribal allegiances and ethnic battles on this globe and
the
> violence that flows from them. There is the religious fanaticism around
> the world. There are floods of refugees on so many continents on our
> globe. There is violence in Rwanda, Kosovo, Indonesia. Perhaps you are
> fearful of jihad in the Middle East and how that might even affect us in
> terms of terrorism in our own country or our own community. Some are
very
> fearful about the effect of the Y2K crisis on us personally and
culturally
> and socially.
>
> But the point of this passage is that we don't have to be afraid because
> "...He [Jesus] must reign until He has put all His enemies under His
> feet." Although the battle continues, its outcome is absolutely certain:
> Christ is victor. Earlier in this chapter we talked about the fear of
> death that we all live with. At present, nobody can resist the touch of
> death. But death as well will ultimately be robbed of all its power. The
> promise of the resurrection is that in the end, after Christ has finally
> and completely triumphed, death will not be able to touch us.
>
> THE CLIMAX: CHRIST HANDS THE KINGDOM OVER TO THE FATHER
>
> Then Paul broadens the vision in verses 27-28. This is a beautiful
picture
> of the Son, who has been given tremendous authority to reign and rule,
> handing all of the created order and all of redeemed humanity back to
his
> heavenly Father.
>
> For He has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when He
says,
> "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted
who
> put all things in subjection to Him. And when all things are subjected
to
> Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who
subjected
> all things to Him, that God may be all in all.
>
> What Paul is showing us here is how God is ultimately responsible for
this
> whole chain of events that began with Christ's resurrection and that
> culminates in the destruction of death. God the Father has given Christ
> the Son unlimited sovereignty over all creation, and there is therefore
no
> infringement on the Father's own authority.
>
> The climax of this process of putting all things in subjection comes
with
> the Son's being subject to the Father. Paul is not saying that the Son
is
> inferior to the Father in his essential nature. He is speaking of the
work
> that the Son accomplished and will accomplish. Christ has died for men.
He
> has been raised. He will return again. He will continue to subdue all
the
> enemies of God. The climax of his whole work will come when he offers up
> the kingdom to God, who is the source of everything and that includes
us.
> We will be tenderly, gently delivered to the Father by the Son.
> When we step back and look at verses 23-28, they call us to several
> things. They call us to the same submissive spirit that Jesus had. He
was
> willing to serve the Father, and we are called to subjection to our
> heavenly Father and to the Lord Jesus. By nature none of us are
submissive
> people. We don't like surrendering to anybody, yet Jesus is a powerful
> example of submission.
>
> This passage also helps us lift our vision above our own immediate
> personal circumstances, the things that frighten us in our personal
world
> or in the larger world around us. We are part of something cosmic.
History
> is going somewhere. Now, there are things I struggle with. For example,
> we've got three children to put through college over the next eight or
> nine years. I can get very fearful about whether I can follow through on
> that responsibility, whether God is big enough. But whether I put my
kids
> through college or not is in a sense irrelevant. What is relevant is
that
> God is absolutely in control of circumstances in my life and in all of
our
> lives collectively, and we are in a process that he is taking us
through.
> And we can be absolutely convinced that the outcome, when all things
> finally fit together the way they're supposed to, will be good.
>
> MOTIVATED TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS
>
> Those first two affirmations were doctrinal, but the third is very
> personal. Paul lays out how he views life. He says that if we're
convinced
> of the resurrection, it ought to drastically change how we live. Verse
29
> focuses on the issue of evangelism. If we're convinced of the
> resurrection, it ought to be an incentive for us to share the good news
> with other people out of concern for their salvation.
>
> Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead
> are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
>
> Now, what does this verse mean? Let me say up front that I don't
> know-nobody really does. I read that there are forty different
> interpretive approaches to this verse (without even including that of
the
> Mormons, who do practice baptism for the dead). The problem is that
there
> is nothing in the Bible except this one verse about being baptized for
the
> dead. There is also nothing mentioned in first-century extra-Biblical
> history about this practice. Apparently it refers to some kind of proxy
> baptism or vicarious baptism by a living person on behalf of a dead
person
> to secure the supposed benefits of baptism for them.
>
> But look carefully at the personal pronouns in verse 29. Paul doesn't
> include himself in this practice. He also doesn't condone it. He doesn't
> say, "we who are baptized for the dead," or "you who are baptized for
the
> dead." It was a practice that some people were engaging in, and he knew
> the church there would know about it. It was a misguided practice, one
> that was misinformed about the nature of salvation. Those who followed
it
> didn't understand that we are saved by faith alone and nothing else. But
> these people were concerned enough about the salvation of their dead
> family members to do something about it.
>
> Paul is not evaluating this practice of being baptized for the dead; he
> only mentions it in passing. His point is that the hope of the
> resurrection and concern for the salvation of loved ones moved people to
> drastic action. His burden here is for our believing in the resurrection
> to have a profound effect on us, to change our lives, to motivate us to
do
> things we wouldn't otherwise do out of concern for the salvation of
other
> people.
>
> I read a wonderful story in the Mount Hermon Log (1) of a mother who
came
> to Christ because of a letter from her teenage daughter. She found the
> letter on her pillow as she was packing for her first Mount Hermon
weekend
> women's conference. It was a beautiful letter about her daughter's love
> for her and how much she needed to know the love of Christ to forgive
her
> sins. The mother shared at the conference how God broke her heart
through
> that witness of her daughter, and how she came to faith that weekend at
> Mount Hermon. That's the kind of extraordinary effort that ought to be
> normal for us. That's Paul's challenge: What are we willing to do for
the
> sake of the salvation of people we love and care about?
>
> HOPE IN DANGER
>
> Paul goes on in verses 30-32 to argue that it's absurd for him to
undergo
> the dangers that he does for the sake of the gospel if there's no hope
of
> the resurrection.
>
> Why are we also in danger every hour? I protest, brethren, by the
boasting
> in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from
human
> motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If
> the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
>
> Eugene Peterson's paraphrase The Message makes these verses much more
> vivid:
>
> "And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I
> look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do
> this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed
by
> the resurrected Messiah Jesus? Do you think I was just trying to act
> heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn't be
the
> end of me? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always
> resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If
> there's no resurrection, 'We eat, we drink, the next day we die,' and
> that's all there is to it." (2)
>
> Paul has written openly in his letters about persecution for preaching
the
> gospel. We don't really know what events he is referring to here.
Perhaps
> he did fight wild beasts at some point. There is no other mention of it,
> so we don't know if he is speaking metaphorically or if it really
> happened. But the point that Paul is making is that our belief in a God
> who raises the dead is tremendously motivating when we are suffering or
> deprived or in danger, whether we're being affected physically or
> emotionally or spiritually. Whatever Paul went through, even fighting
> beasts in the arena, the hope of the resurrection strengthened him.
>
> About a year ago Craig Duncan and I went to Pakistan with Ron Ritchie to
> do a pastors' conference in Lahore. During the day we were in the safe
> confines of the church meeting with other pastors. But every evening
there
> was an outdoor evangelistic crusade in an amphitheater. Five to eight
> thousand people came each night. The host knew that there would be
Muslims
> there, some of whom were investigating the gospel, but some of whom were
> spying out what the Christians were doing. They told us up front that
> there was an element of danger in the whole thing. We sat on the
platform
> each night. The one who was really in danger was Ron Ritchie, who stood
in
> the center spotlight and preached the gospel each night of that crusade.
> On about the third day, the host got a telephone call, and he told us
that
> they had been threatened with violent disruption of the crusade that
> night. He said, "Brothers, it's your call. Do you want to go through
with
> this or not?"
>
> We prayed with the brothers who were hosting us. We ended up saying in
> essence, "What's the worst thing that could happen? We could get killed.
> But God is in charge of that. And we believe in the resurrection." So
Ron
> stood up that night and preached the gospel. People were saved. Nobody
got
> killed, at least none of us or anybody else that I knew of. But if we
> hadn't had that hope, we would not have had the courage or the
confidence
> to walk into that arena so that Ron could preach the gospel.
>
> MOTIVATION FOR A HOLY LIFESTYLE
>
> In the last two verses Paul makes a strong appeal in a series of
commands.
> In essence he says, "If you believe in the resurrection, then you will
> live a holy life. You will be sold out absolutely to Jesus Christ in all
> your values and priorities."
>
> Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." Become
> sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge
of
> God. I speak this to your shame.
>
> Paul is quoting a line from a comedy in Greek literature. But who is the
> bad company he is concerned about who might corrupt the morals of these
> Corinthian Christians? From whom should they separate themselves? The
> answer is in verse 34: "...Some have no knowledge of God." Back in 15:12
> Paul wrote, "...How do some among you say that there is no resurrection
of
> the dead?" The "some" who were corrupting them were those who questioned
> the resurrection, and their corrupting influence wasn't just about
> doctrine. What you believe about the resurrection, Paul says, controls
how
> you live your life, how you spend your money and use your time, how you
> invest yourself. People who think wrongly invariably behave wrongly. So
> just as hoping in the resurrection is an incentive for obedience and
> holiness, so denying the resurrection is an incentive for disobedience
and
> immorality. As Paul says in verse 32, "We might as well eat and drink,
for
> tomorrow we die. If death is the end, then what difference does it make
> how we live our lives?" We could paraphrase this appeal in verse 34 this
> way: "Those of you who do believe in the resurrection know better, and
you
> should be leading those who do not believe in the resurrection into a
true
> knowledge of God, rather than allowing their heresy and immorality to
> mislead and corrupt you."
>
> I wrestled with this last week in terms of how it challenges us. It's a
> tragedy when we Christians, the people of the resurrection, end up being
> influenced by the nonbelievers around us who have embraced a material
> philosophy that denies resurrection life. Now, few of our materialist
> friends are going to advocate a life of sheer gluttony or drunkenness or
> wantonness. But they tempt us with "the good life"-cultivating the fine
> arts of dining and music and theater, even treasured friendships.
> Ultimately all of that is self-centered, since it isn't concerned with
any
> continuing existence beyond the grave. Self-interest can even express
> itself in humanitarianism, although in the final analysis it produces
> nothing permanently satisfying if this life is all that exists.
>
> As Christians, we must have a radically different mindset. We must
> recognize that a far better life awaits us than anything we can
experience
> here. So we can risk our lives, our well-being, our resources for the
sake
> of the gospel. We can do it in ways that our material friends wouldn't
> even consider. In our ethical framework, physical death cannot be the
> greatest tragedy or the most powerful determinant of correct human
> behavior. Instead, we must always be asking the question, "What is
likely
> to have the greatest spiritual advantage for the most number of people?"
> We want to think like the apostle Paul.
>
> I read a quote this week by Gordon Snyder:
>
> "The resurrection addresses those who insist on protection and security
of
> the individual, of institutions, and of the country. Such persons set up
> mechanisms of defense along economic lines, racial lines, and national
> lines. In sharp contrast, the life of the Spirit with its hope in the
> resurrection does not, indeed cannot, dwell on preservation of the
flesh,
> of personhood or institutions or nations. Rather, the corporate life of
> the Christian becomes one of risk. A Christian can risk his or her life
> because a Christian knows this life is not the end." (3)
>
> If we believe that Christ has now been raised from the dead, we will
stand
> out in the world around us. Are you convinced that because of Christ's
> resurrection, your future is totally secure and you have been included
in
> the hope of the resurrection? Can you live fearlessly in the midst of
all
> the swirling currents and forces at work in the world around you? Are
your
> eyes set on the goal, which is for God to ultimately reign? Finally, and
> practically, is the way you make choices about your budget,
discretionary
> time, resources, and energy driven by passion for the resurrection and
the
> difference it makes?
>
> Notes:
> 1. Mount Hermon Log, Volume 54, Number 3, August, 1998. P. 2.
> 2. Eugene H. Peterson, The Message, © 1993, 1994 by Eugene H. Peterson.
> NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. P. 364.
> 3. Gordon F. Snyder, First Corinthians: A Faith Community Commentary, ©
> 1992 by Mercer, Macon, GA. P. 211.
>
>
> The Scripture quotations in this message are all taken from New American
> Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977,
> 1995 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
>
>
> Copyright © 1998 Discovery Publishing, a ministry of Peninsula Bible
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