The Mystery of the Resurrection

Before our main sermon today, we have a title, The Mystery of the Resurrection. The Mystery of the Resurrection. And if you have your Bibles, I invite you to open them up, and let's turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, we're going to begin in verse 1 with this portion of the letter in which Paul, the Apostle Paul, wrote to the Corinthian church. And I hope you're ready this afternoon, because in coming to these 58 verses, we come to what is the most profound, important doctrines in all the Bible, namely, the resurrection of the dead. Let me state as clearly as I can right here from the beginning, the truth of the coming resurrection of the dead, it is the essential issue of Christianity. In fact, the whole foundation of the gospel stands on this truth and on this doctrine. Now, in stating that, it's also to state that despite its importance, this remains such a mystery to so many. And our hope then lies in having this mystery revealed to us. And it's important to go through this study and to be clear in our thinking. So this is what we want to allow Paul to reveal to us here today regarding this mystery. And he actually refers to it as, a little bit later in this letter, as just that, a mystery. So let's look at this together. 1 Corinthians 15. Let's begin in verse 1. We will read through verses 11, again, to set our foundation here and God willing allow Paul to reveal the truth of this mystery. So here it is. Paul writes, Moreover, brethren, so he's speaking to the Corinthian church, the beloved, those in Christ, moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which you received, and in which you stand. And this gospel is by which you are saved if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, and unless you believed in vain.

Paul says, For I deliver to you first of all that which I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, and that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And when he rose again, he was seen by Cephas. He was seen by the twelve, Paul says. He was seen by over 500, brethren, in fact. The greater part remained to the present, although some have fallen asleep. You know, some have passed away. After that, well, Jesus, the risen Jesus, was seen by James, by all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen by me also, Paul says, as one born out of due time. Quick side note, that simply means that all these other witnesses saw Jesus shortly thereafter His resurrection, but Paul encounters Jesus some three years later on the road to Damascus. So in that way, he was out of due time, or last of all, as he says. We'll continue in verse 9. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I, Paul, persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. Let's stop there.

Remarkable beginning to a remarkable portion of his letter here. And it's pretty interesting to see how Paul begins this whole discussion on the resurrection of the dead here. Right from the beginning, he says, this is the gospel. I received it. I'm preaching it to you. This is the gospel in which you stand and by which you are saved, he says. Why start in that way?

Well, I think it's good technique. You know, he's really setting the minds of the church at that time to have the proper perspective. You know, the Corinthian church, unlike our own, had a lot of chaos happening, had a lot of conflict, disagreements, and various things. And so, with all of that, Paul looks out upon the landscape and he says, hey, this is first of all. This should be first of all. This should set into perspective all those other lesser important things in your life. Don't get distracted by those things, he says. Don't lose sight of what is foremost. And what is foremost? Well, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Verse 3 and 4. This is first of all. Verse 3, again, Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day, all according to the Scriptures. This is the gospel. This is the good news. And oh, is it good news here?

If you would have asked those who were in this body of Christ that Paul was preaching to, if you would have asked them at that time, you know, what is the sum total? What is the foundation of your life? Well, the answer should be Jesus Christ died and rose again. So if anybody asks, what's the foundation of your life? That is the answer. Now, there might be many other answers, but that is the answer, if you will. Remove that, and we have no hope, right? No hope, no future.

True Christian faith is founded upon this truth. Christ died, he rose again, this is the gospel. And so Paul endeavors in these first 11 verses to establish this truth. He says, look, I can't even list all the ones who were witness to this, he says. And he begins in this way again because the whole of the gospel stands or falls on the truth of the resurrection, the resurrection of the dead, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Remove that, and there is dreadful consequences, absolute dreadful consequences. And to those dreadful consequences, Paul now moves to discuss in this letter. So from verse 12 to 19, this is what he takes on, the naysayers. If you look at verse 12, he says, now if Christ is preached, verse 12, that he has been risen from the dead, I'm preaching that, Paul says, how do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? You see? And again, what he does is now, okay, he takes the logical progression, beginning from verse 12 to verse 19, to say, okay, let's go down that road.

If what you are saying, that there is no resurrection of the dead, let's ponder that a little bit. Let's go down that road. What would be the consequences if what you say you deniers, if what you're saying is true? And in this portion of the letter masterfully, Paul gives them seven dreadful consequences if there is no resurrection of the dead. Have you ever thought about the consequences and what that would mean if there was no resurrection of the dead? Well, this is what Paul now endeavors to move the conversation to.

And verse 13 starts off with the first dreadful consequence. If there is no resurrection of the dead, verse 13, but if there is no resurrection of the dead, number one consequence, then Christ is not risen. Okay? That's the number one of seven dreadful consequences. No resurrection of the dead, then no resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That's logical, right? If no one has been raised from the dead, well, Jesus would then fall into that category. And so, if no one is raised, then Jesus Christ would not be raised. You see? So, to deny the resurrection of the dead is to deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dreadful consequence, because we know any and all resurrections are possible only if Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. You see? He makes all other resurrections possible.

So, right out of the gate, this is dreadful to consider. But Paul continues here. That's one consequence. The second consequence that Paul brings forth is found at the beginning of verse 14. The second dreadful consequence, if Christ is not risen, then number two, our preaching is empty. So, number one, if Jesus is not raised, then number two dreadful consequence, our preaching is empty. It's useless. So, Paul says, in a kind of a remarkable, interesting way, if this is true, then everything we talk about is nonsense, right? I have nothing to say, Paul says.

Christianity has nothing to say. The one to whom the Old Testament writers pointed to as coming. Well, that was a futile exercise. He says, this is the second consequence here. Remove the resurrection of the dead. Our preaching is useless. Number three. Number three. Third consequence that comes with no resurrection of the dead. It's at the end of verse 14. Number three, your faith is also useless and empty. Okay, that's the third consequence. No resurrection of the dead. If you deniers are correct, then your faith is empty, irrelevant.

You know, that's logical, of course. You put your faith in a gospel that was a lie. If the deniers are correct, he says, makes sense. It's hopeless. You know, our faith is not based upon, well, these things are possible. Our faith is not based upon, well, I feel optimistic that these things happened, you know. No. True faith is based on reality. Reality. Certainty. So, no resurrection of the dead. Jesus is not alive. Our preaching is futile, and our faith is irrelevant. Fourth consequence. Fourth consequence. I'm going just as fast as Paul is going, so I'm not going, I'm following his lead here.

Fourth consequence is we would all be false witnesses. That's the next logical consequence. Verse 15. Yes, Paul says, okay, let's keep considering this. Yes, and I guess then we would be found false witnesses of God, because we testified of God that he was raised up, Christ whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise.

You see, he's coming along with them in this fourth consequence here. So, we're all false witnesses, Paul says. Peter, when he stood on Pentecost and he said, you know, the tomb is empty, and the reason it's empty is because God the Father raised up Jesus Christ. You know, false witness. Paul says, that was a lie. If there is no resurrection of the dead, so you see what Paul's doing, it's masterful.

Fifth consequence, this is a big one, perhaps, the biggest so far of the seven. The fifth consequence is given to us at the end of verse 17. If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. So, the fifth consequence is, if there is no resurrection of the dead, you're still in your sins. Perish the thought, you know. So, every sinful thought you've ever had, every sinful action you ever had, it is still like a boulder, waiting you down on your shoulders.

And there's no hope of getting it off, right? This would have been a big one. You know, the Corinthian church, they no doubt knew, had a clear understanding of the transformation that happened in their lives. Being in Christ, they knew who they used to be and who they were by the grace of God. They used to have been adulterers, idolaters, fornicators, and alike, but they knew they had been forgiven.

They knew they had been given the power, or so they thought, to change and to turn and to repent. Paul says, well, if no resurrection of the dead, no resurrection of Jesus Christ, and all those sins are still on your back, and frankly, you're dying more and more each day. Six, consequence of seven, without the resurrection of the dead, verse 18, then also those who have fallen asleep, those who have died, in Christ have perished, he says. So, number six is, those who died in Christ are simply perished. That's it.

So, this is the sixth consequence. Every minister from that time who have stood up at funerals and have said, you know, Jesus Christ is the resurrection and of life. He who believes in Jesus Christ, although they may die, they will live again. They will have life. Well, not so if you deny the resurrection of the dead. So, this sixth consequence is, you know, it's not those who have died in Christ are asleep, and they're waiting for the return of Jesus Christ, the coming of Jesus Christ, so their name will be called, and they'll raise to meet Him in the air, be with Him forever. It's not that if there is no resurrection of the dead. In fact, those in Christ, they're just perished, he says.

Last of all, the seventh consequence, without His, the resurrection of the dead, and without the resurrection of Jesus Christ is verse 19. We are to be most pitied as a people. Verse 19, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, well, we are of all men most pitiable. Makes sense. No resurrection of the dead, and we as these people dedicated our whole life to God the Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son, and there is no resurrection of the dead. Wow, we are the most pitiful people there are, Paul says. And that would be a logical consequence, right, if the deniers were correct. So seven consequences brought about if there is no resurrection of the dead, and it's heavy to consider these. Very heavy, and I'm sure it was heavy for those hearers that were hearing this for the first time, and the readers, and reading Paul's letter.

And I think it's supposed to be heavy, right? It's supposed to be heavy. This should weigh us down to where, when we realize then the wonderful and amazing truth, when we have the mystery revealed to us, the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, then it is that that truth then becomes our very breath, our very life again. And we have this weight then lifted from us. Restore the truth of the resurrection of the dead, and it changes everything.

All those seven dreadful consequences, they're all reversed in an instant. And in coming to verse 20, now in the progression of Paul's letter, what does he say? The first part of verse 20, I'm sure he took a pause and says, but now, verse 20, Christ is risen from the dead. And now he's going to turn at this point in his letter to the confirming of the resurrection, to revealing the mystery of the resurrection of the dead. And in doing so, he begins with verse 20 to take his readers into this truth. Again, what is the beautiful, hopeful picture of the resurrection? So, let's shake off at this point all those dreadful consequences. And because we now want to give our full attention onto this beautiful picture that Paul paints for us in what's awaiting us as those men and women in Christ. Look at this. So, beginning in verse 20 through 24, here Paul turns to reveal the mystery. Here it is, verse 20. But now, Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death that's Adam, by man capital M, that's Jesus, also came the resurrection of the dead. For in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ at his coming. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom of God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. Let's stop there. So again, this is the part in which Paul pivots and he says the resurrection of the dead is true and Christ is risen from the dead. Yes, Adam, since Adam, that first sinful act, that first turning from God there in the garden, death has spread to all men and women. Yes, that is true, but also true by another man, a capital M man, Jesus Christ, came the resurrection of the dead.

So again, he's reversing all those consequences here. Verse 22 again, For in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive. That's the truth. If you want the truth of the resurrection of the dead in Christ with Christ, all, all will be made alive. Everyone who's ever lived and died since the beginning, all will be made alive, raised back to life. Christ's death in the ground three days, the Father raises him up to life. That life, that risen life then, had the power to raise all lives. You see, remarkable. So, all will be made alive again. Verse 22, For in Adam all die, that's true, but also in Christ all should be made alive. Now, bring your attention to verse 23, continuing, But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ at his coming. So, we know Christ is the first of the firstfruits, if you will. He died and rose again, and was that perfect sacrifice ascended to the Father. The Father accepted him, that perfect sacrifice. He became the first of the first fruit harvest, if you will.

Christ died and rose again in that way. And because he did then, there is a resurrection for all mankind. Yet, verse 23 says, there is an order in which mankind is raised. First to be raised will be those who are Christ at his coming. And we anticipate his coming again.

And these raised up at his coming are those who are Christ. And they represent a kind of first fruit harvest of mankind. You see, Christ the first of the firstfruits, then those who are Christ at his coming. The first to be harvested by God, if you will, harvested into his family, the first harvest of mankind. And so, if there is a first fruit harvest of mankind, well, first fruit harvest, any farmer knows that there is a second harvest that comes later. And so, when you learn and you grab on to this symbolism that Paul is putting forth, this symbolism from the garden, it's kind of farming imagery. Boy, your mind begins to open and you begin to understand, oh, Paul is using this farming imagery to help me understand the spiritual. And Paul says, one day all will be made alive, but each one in their own order. And first to be made alive, part of the first fruit harvest, will be those who are Christ at his coming. Amazing. God willing brethren, that's you and I.

By grace, through faith, by the mercy of God, we have been called, we respond, we receive that power of his Holy Spirit, and we then go on this journey, put our hand to the plow, using the gardening imagery. Don't look back, and by grace, through faith, we will hear our name at his coming and be raised up as part of that first fruit harvest. But again, comes the question, okay, but what about those who aren't part of this first harvest of mankind?

If God's plan is perfect and beautiful and loving, what about the rest of the dead?

Well, did you know that the Bible answers that? There is a second harvest of mankind, a second resurrection. And so Paul here in 1 Corinthians, he's really tailoring his letter to those in the first fruits, but he does mention here those who are Christ at his coming, and so the logical question, what about the rest of the dead? Well, thankfully, we don't have to wonder. The Apostle John picks up this resurrection of the dead discussion, and he speaks of the first resurrection, but then he also speaks of the second as well. And I just want to show you briefly the truth of the second resurrection, the second harvest of mankind, and it's found over in Revelation 20. So keep your marker here in 1 Corinthians 15. Just turn briefly with me over to Revelation 20. We'll come right back. Our purpose here today is this, as was Paul's, to really focus on the first resurrection, the first fruit harvest. But we do want to mention in this study, what about the rest of the dead? And Revelation 20, beginning in verse 4, John explains to us what happens to the rest of the dead. And what John is going to reveal to us as we work through a little bit Revelation 20 is that there is not only a first resurrection, but a second resurrection. And that second resurrection occurs a thousand years after the first. Okay? The second harvest of mankind, if you will, occurs a thousand years after Christ's coming in the first resurrection. Revelation 20 verse 4, John begins first with more information for the first fruits, the first resurrection. And he says, he's going to speak about them first here, Revelation 20 verse 4, And so these are those in Christ. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Verse 5, listen, But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part of the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Let's stop there for a moment. So the first resurrection here is blessed. It's holy. It occurs when Christ comes and he calls up that first fruit harvest. They reign with Christ a thousand years. But verse 5, But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. But speaking of the first resurrection in verse 6, the second death has no power over them. So they are raised to spirit beings. You see, the second death has no power over them. Incredible. Raised to be part of God's spiritual family, the first harvest, if you will. So, though, what specifically happens to those that aren't Christ at his coming, all those who have ever lived and died, who've never had the opportunity to truly know God the Father through Jesus Christ, well, there is a second resurrection, a second harvest of mankind, if you will. And John picks up that truth here in verse 12 and 13. Allow your eyes to go down to verse 12 and 13. Here is what occurs after those thousand years. John says, and he saw this vision, I saw, verse 12, the dead, small and great. This was a great multitude standing before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which was the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades, meaning the grave, delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Let's stop there. Amazing picture here. The dead, small and great, raised in a second resurrection after the thousand years. Now you'll notice it doesn't say that the second death has no power over them. So they are raised back to physical life, physical life, not given immortality yet. Why? Well, first they need to come to know God. And so the books are open to them.

That the Greek is biblia, meaning the books of the Bible. So here, this great vast multitude, they have the books of the Bible open to them. Now many of these who are raised in this second resurrection, they may have had the books of the Bible open to them in this life, but not truly opened. They hadn't had their minds truly opened, and their eyes opened, with the scales dropping, and their ears opened, to truly, truly have a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. And so many of these may have not known the Bible, but not truly known it. And there's many of these who never even heard the name Jesus Christ. What happens to them? Are they lost? No. They are raised, and all those will give them their fair opportunity to know Jesus Christ, who reveals the Father. So this great white throne judgment period will be a period in which they'll have their opportunity to truly know God the Father and Jesus Christ. They will have the books of the Bible open to them. Scripture seems to indicate that those in that were in the first resurrection will be part of the guiding and the teaching of this later harvest that comes. That'll be one of our responsibilities. Perhaps we're preparing for those thousand years to be teachers, to guide, and to prepare for this second harvest to come during that thousand years. So exciting.

So all those raised in the second harvest of mankind, if you will, will have their opportunity to learn from the books of the Bible. And what is remarkable, and this makes God our loving, gracious God, is that you notice verse 12, they have another book open to them. What is that book?

The book of life. In other words, the book of eternal life. They are going to be given the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life. So although they're raised to physical beings, God's intention for them is to join their family as well, to join the first fruit harvest.

And to learn from the books of the Biblia, and to God willing, and through repentance and faith, and learning and joining this relationship with God the Father, they will then choose life in this book of life, have their name written in this book of life. Why would the book of life be opened to these individuals, men and women, small and great? Why would the book of life be open to them? Scripture teaches us that the book of life now contains the servants, the saints of God, their names. Those who are called as part of the first fruit harvest, they respond, they turn away and turn to God. They overcome in this life, have a part of that first resurrection at Christ's return. So why reopen the book of life?

Well, wonderfully so that new names can be written in it. The vast multitude here in this second harvest of mankind will be raised back to physical life. They will have the books of the Bible open to them and have their opportunity to be written into the book of life. That is amazing, brethren. So with this perfect plan of salvation through the resurrections, every man, woman, and that's ever lived will have their full opportunity to know God truly and have their opportunity to live with them for all of eternity, to receive, to become spirit beings and live in that family.

Amazing. You know, we know for your notes, we won't turn there, but 2 Peter 3, 9, it's God's will that none perish, none perish, but that would all would come to repentance.

2 Peter 3, 9. How could God's will be fulfilled in any other way other than the beautiful doctrine of the resurrection of the dead? The gospel stands or falls on this, the truth of this, and it's the doctrine in which you are saved. This is what Paul was getting across to us here. Now, just to finish with John's discussion here, in the end, after everyone has had their full opportunity to know and to choose God, if there is any that still reject Him, we see that Revelation 20 verse 15 tells us, then anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So it's then and only then that there will be those thrown into the lake of fire and utterly destroyed, only though after the full opportunity to know God the Father through Jesus Christ and to choose Him, choose life and that family. And it is with those that God will mercifully destroy them so they don't have to live in the misery of that decision. But I don't know if it's God's will that none perish. I think after all of the opportunity allotted through these resurrection process, it may be very few. It may be very few. I'll leave that to God's counsel.

I'll pray for His will then, though, that none perish. That could be our prayer. That none perish. That could be our prayer. And that all come to repentance. That's our hope. I hope it's your hope. And so verse 14, John sees the vision, death and the grave are thrown also into the lake of fire. So death, the grave, death will never return to mankind. The last enemy of death is destroyed. The last human being thrown into the lake of fire will take death with them. So through the two great harvest resurrection events, God the Father, through Jesus Christ, will save the vast majority of mankind.

Therefore, fulfill the will of the Father, that none perish and all come to repentance. Well, let's be grateful to John's writings. And let's turn back now to 1 Corinthians 15 as we finish up Paul's letter. That was a little divergence, I think a helpful one.

Because ultimately, brethren, we have an opportunity to the first resurrection, the first harvest. Would you grab onto it? Would you respond to this opportunity to place yourself as part of this first fruit harvest here?

This is what this is who Paul is imploring to here. So verse 22, again, 1 Corinthians 15, in Adam all die, even so in Christ all should be made alive. But I'm sure he looked out to the Corinthian brethren and said, But each one in their own order, brethren, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ at his coming. That's you.

Add a little conjecture there. I'm not sure if Paul said that.

And so, understandably, those receiving this, while it's a wonderful thought of a second harvest, they want to find out about themselves. Well, Paul, let's get back to what this is going to be like. So when Christ comes and we're raised up as part of this first fruit harvest, what will that look like? What bodies will we be raised in? How will we be raised? This is where the next part of Paul's letter turns to. Allow your eyes to go down to verse 35-38. This makes sense. We do care about ourselves, right? We want to know more about this first harvest. So verse 35 begins, Paul says, But some will say, Okay, we're tracking with you, Paul. Christ's coming will be raised. But how are the dead raised up? And with what body will they come? Verse 36, his answer, Foolish one, What you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be. Maybe a mere grain, perhaps a weed or some other grain. But God gives it a body as he pleases, and to each seed its own body. So to each seed, God will give its own body. So these are good questions here that the Corinthian church raised. How are the dead raised? What sort of body will we have when we are raised out of the grave or when we're transformed into that spiritual existence? Paul says, How foolish. That might be an indication of Paul's personality, I'm not sure. But I think a better translation might be, Well, it's obvious. And he goes back to the farming symbolism. So it's obvious how foolish because you can see it revealed in what you have before us in the seed. You know, this is part of your daily existence, he would have said to them.

Oh, Foolish 1, verse 36 again, What you sow, now think of this in resurrection terms, what you bury is not made alive unless it dies, and what you sow, you do not sow or bury the body that shall be.

So just like a seed, you know, any of you farmers out there, I'm a novice for sure. You grab these, they're really living organisms, these seeds, and you bury them.

Why? Well, they go dormant for a time, but in a sense, they actually, the seed dies after it's sown in the ground. And you kind of hope that they do. Why? Well, if they don't die first, there can be no produce from them. It's impossible to have the flower or the fruit without death of that seed first, you see. And so what Paul says, what you sow is very different than what comes forth. What you sow, you don't sow the body that shall be, he says.

So the seed is very different than the beautiful bloom of the flower, right? Therefore, so brethren, after being dying and being buried or after this transformation at Christ's coming, when we are resurrected, we will be different. But just like the seed, the essence of the seed is in the flower, we will still be us. You will still be you, you see. However much different, a much more glorious existence. So it's going to be a family reunion. God is going to preserve all the beautiful character that we put on in this life, all the beautiful personality. He's going to preserve it, but put it in a new body, a new body, a glorious body. And Paul goes on to explain the logic of it, that God created all these things in variety. So logically, of course, he would preserve that variety. Look at verse 39. He says, you know, think of the beautiful variety. All flesh is not the same, verse 39, but there is one kind of flesh for men, another for animals, another for fish, another for birds. Perfectly obvious. God determined the variety. So with those resurrected, you're unique now, you will be unique then. What about another lesson? Let's move away from the farming. Let's go to astronomy. Verse 40 and 41. Verse 40 and 41. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial was one, the glory of the terrestrial is another. There's one glory for the sun, another for the moon, another for the stars. For one star differs from another star in glory.

To our naked eye, they all look the same kind of, you know, but if you put a scope on them, you actually see in the skies the variety, the nighttime skies show the variety of all that's up there as well. God will preserve that variety. So you will be raised up, but you're going to be raised up with all your uniqueness and character preserved. What's the point of all these examples? Verse 42. Verse 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead.

Paul is amazing. He's using so many different techniques here.

It's almost too much to consume in one reading.

So let's begin to move to a conclusion. As Paul begins to summarize, here in verses 42 through 49, Paul sums up the totality. What's in store for the firstfruits when they hear their name called by Jesus Christ at his coming? So also is the resurrection of the dead. Verse 42. Here's the totality of it. The body is sown, buried, in corruption, raised in incorruption, sown in dishonor, raised in glory, sown in weakness, raised in power. It is sown in a natural body, of course. It will be raised in a spiritual body. There is the natural body, and there is the spiritual body. And it's written, For the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, of course, but the natural. And then afterward, the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust. The second man, Jesus Christ, is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also those who are made of dust. And as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have been born in the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. That's our destiny, brethren. That's going to be our existence. How will we be raised? Well, we'll be raised in a body, in an existence, a spiritual body, in the form, just as in the likeness of Jesus Christ here.

He, Jesus Christ, was not of this earth. He was a heavenly man. And the body which he has now is a spiritual body. And his body is the prototype of what his own will obtain at his coming.

So here it is. Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and has become the first of the first fruit harvest of all those placed in him. And as we see him, he is the prototype of what we will be by grace through faith. So Paul says this is the first resurrection of the dead. And this, brethren, is the truth upon which you stand. And this is the truth upon which you will be saved.

Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He is coming again. And when he returns, he will call forth his own first. And as John said, they will reign with him a thousand years. And they will be priests in the kingdom, that millennial period to come. And it's the better resurrection. It's the blessed resurrection. Well, let's finish up verse 51 through 56. I would be remiss if I didn't finish with this part of the letter. Verse 51, behold, he says, here's the climax. I tell you a mystery. We shall all not sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For the corruptible must put on incorruption, the mortal must put on immortality, and when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and when this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. That's the vision John saw, thrown into the lake of fire. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, meaning the grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. This time is coming, brethren. When we'll hear, all those in Christ will hear his voice, and it will be a time in which death, the great enemy of mankind, will be no more. So let's conclude here with Paul's final two verses. But thanks be to God, you know, these final two verses, in a sense, Paul turns to those firstfruits who are still living, and he now wants this impact of the resurrection of the dead to impact them today.

Thanks be to God, he says, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, with everything he says I've just said, my beloved brethren, be steadfast then. Be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain. So let the truth of the resurrection of the dead cause us to be just this. Steadfast, immovable, one day, brethren, if God wills through faith by grace, we will rise at his coming. This is the mystery of the resurrection.