New Body 1 Corinthians 15 Sept 21
Hollywood tries to preserve the body and its beauty by facelifts…tummy tucks….sewed in hair…filled in lips…taking out veins….putting teeth in…reconstructing everything but, in the end….the results is all the same from the rich and famous …to white house to the poor house…..this body is going to die and deteriorate.
Illustration: A woman bought a new line of expensive cosmetics guaranteed to make her look years younger. She sat in front of the mirror for hours applying the "miracle" products.
Finally, when she was done, she turned to her husband and said, "Honey, honestly now, what age would you say I am?"
He nodded his head and carefully said, "Well, judging from your skin, twenty. Your hair, eighteen. Your figure, twenty-five."
"Oh, you're so sweet!"
"Well, hang on, I'm not done adding it up yet."
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*But, for the ones who belong to Jesus …God promised us a new body….and calls it glorified.
One that will always keep its beauty and strength and last forever.
Jesus was the first example and demonstration of what lies ahead for those who put their trust in Him.
When we accept Jesus as our Saviour …we inherit more than an abundant life in the flesh…we inherit an eternal life with God… never to be separated from Him….our protector…our Creator…our Saviour.
Because He lives ..we can face tomorrow…because He lives …all fear is gone …as the song says…..because of Jesus we can face the fear of dying with assurance that He holds our future and our eternal life…..Jesus ..there IS something about that name…He’s everything to those who believe.
Turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and began reading in verse 12…
12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
**Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians chapter 15 to straighten out the hearsays and the perverted gospel that was being spread in the city of Corinth.
Corinth was the sin center of the Roman Empire in Paul’s day.
***Kind of like our Hollywood or Los Angeles but, it was even worse if you could imagine that.
Some in Corinth ....mostly Greeks were teaching there was no resurrection ....but, Paul says ...if there is no resurrection then our faith is in vain and we are still in our sins.
Everything depends on Jesus resurrection…..Jesus death on the cross is important to pay for our sins. His burial is important to show the death of this body of flesh and sin but, Paul said in verse 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
If it wasn’t for the resurrection...we would have no reason to be here today ….Paul said our faith would be in vain…..preaching would be in vain…
But, there was a resurrection and there is going to be a resurrection of our body just as it was with Jesus. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
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Because He lives…we can face tomorrow…we can face death without fear….we can look forward to a new body without sickness….never ages….and best of all…..stand in the presents of God and praise Him forever with all those who put their trust in Jesus.
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We are sad and broken hearted when a love one dies because we will miss them when they are gone…but, we can also rejoice because we will see them again one day if they trusted Christ as their Saviour.
*Think about this ......if we had Apostle Paul, John and maybe Apostle Peter were here today and ask each one to stand and give a personal account of what happen and how they felt during those 3 days of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord....I believe their stories would be different than what you might think...
..I believe each one would give account of how it felt to lose a close friend and someone they loved
**They watched as they nailed Him to a Roman cross....watched as people spit upon Him....laughed at Him....hung a sign around His neck saying The King Of The Jews....they were watching as He drew His last breath and then a soldier stuck a sword in His side and they watched as blood and water ran out of His lifeless body …. but, in 3 days they find out He was alive again.
***We have an account in John chapter 20 when John and Peter ran to the tomb on the third day to see if it was really was true that their friend was alive again….they ran because they were excited to see Him again…..Why?
Just two days before they watched their friend and teacher being nailed to a cross.
They witnessed His pain and heard Him as He cried out, "I thirst!" and "My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me?"
*But, don’t you think that Jesus was even more excited to see them …and see the expression on their face when they find out for themselves it was true….
That’s our Lord.....that’s our King ....our friend...our Shepherd….our Saviour.
**Don’t you think also that our love ones who have gone ahead of us are waiting with anticipation and eagerness to see our face when we see them again in Heaven?
****All we heard was true…all we heard about the resurrection becomes a reality…..we can rejoice….we will have joy in our hearts and fell safe and secure ….our journey will be over…..our trials will be finished…because we will be home…..death has been defeated by our Saviour who showed us the way…..who demonstrated just what will happen to those who put their trust in Him.
*Let look at verse 42 of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
**A Sunday school teacher ask a group of children...how do you get to heaven.....one little boy said...”you have to be dead”….You know....he was right.
The Natural body must die……Paul explains it like a seed being sown.
But he says…its sown in dishonor…Bible says that all have sinned and come short of His glory…but what happens when God raises it?....it is raised in glory.
Illustration: Several years ago my wife planted some Marigolds in the yard. I guess she dropped a seed or two on the pavement close to the garage door.
Because one of those Marigolds came up in between the cement of the garage and the pavement.
It was at least 6 feet from any dirt. I let it grow for a week or so because we never park our vehicle in the garage anyway. It was actually the prettiest one in the yard.
One Saturday morning I was going to mow and when I came out the basement door I reached down to pull up that flower because it looked so out of place.
God spoke to me…”Sown in dishonor…raised in glory” There was no way I could have pulled that flower up because …God reminded me that I was in a place just like that….you see that Marigold couldn’t live without the Sun and neither could I…I needed Jesus and He shined in the darkness and lead me out.
I could have perished in my sins because I was sown in dishonor but now I will be raised in glory.
I was sown in weakness but, now I will be raised in power.
I was sown in weakness because I was sown a natural body but, I will be raise a spiritual body because of what Jesus did and so will you if you if you put your trust in Him.
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Paul says in 1Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The last Adam is of course Christ......He has made a way back from the grave for those who believe in Him ....never to die again because we will have a glorified body.
***Illustration:
I have heard that possums are smart animals.
You wouldn’t think so because you hardly ever see one except when it’s dead on the road.
There’s a joke that goes, “why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!”
But possums, as it turns out, are smart.
They won’t enter a hole if there’s just one set of tracks going in.
They know there’s something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks. The possum will enter and not be afraid.
The message is that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to fear death because there are tracks leading out of the tomb.
Paul said in verse 55..O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Our Lord Jesus has defeated death for us.....giving us a way to spend eternity with Him....never to die again.
I had a license tag made a few years ago for our pickup that has 1CO:15:57....
That stands for 1 Corithians 15:57 that says But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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There is more evidence that Christ rose from the grave than any other fact in history.
Today followers of the Islamic faith can visit the tomb of their leader Mohammed.
Today followers of the Buddhist religion can go to the grave of their founder, Buddha.
You can visit the graves of past presidents and kings, you can visit the graves of past loved ones but, the grave didn’t hold our Saviour…. because He defeated death and won a victory for those who would believe upon his name.
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If you don’t know Him you can have that same victory today.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In closing……Bible says in Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Death of the body means the first step into eternity with the Lord for those who trust Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:50
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Is it because we are smart and clever and have overcome?
No, the victory belongs to our Lord Jesus.
Thank Him and give Him praise honor and glory.
Love in Christ Jesus, Ronnie Miller www.themillersbiblestudy.com
