IT GETS BETTER!
I Corinthians 15:35-49
S: Death and resurrection
C: New bodies come at death
Pr: GOD GIVES US A NEW BEGINNING.
?: How?
KW: Contrasts
TS: We will find in I Corinthians 15:35-49 three contrasts that show how God gives us a new beginning.
Type: Propositional
The ____ contrast is between…
I. Death and Life (35-41)
II. Present and Future (42-44)
III. Adam and Jesus (45-49)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
Version: ESV
RMBC 01 May 05 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Have your expectations ever been disappointed?
ILL Personal
When I was in elementary school, you did not know what teacher you would have until the first day of school.
You would go to the class room of your particular grade, and if your name was on the door, that was the teacher you were going to have for the next year.
When I was entering the fourth grade, there were two teachers I could have: Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Johnston.
I wanted to have Mrs. Williams.
She always seemed so happy and jolly.
It seemed to me she would be a lot of fun.
I did not want to have Mrs. Johnston.
She seemed so old and so stern and so mean.
So on that first day of school, I rushed to Mrs. Williams’ door to find my name on the list, but it was not there.
I even checked it three times.
Each time my name was not there.
I knew what this meant.
I was going to have Mrs. Johnston.
Dejectedly, I walked toward Mrs. Johnston’s room praying that they had forgotten me and that I was on nobody’s list.
But as I got to the door, there was my name on the list.
This was going to be a nightmare of a year, I thought.
Those were my expectations, of course, and not the reality.
That mean-looking Mrs. Johnston turned out to be one of my favorite teachers.
She really cared about me.
She worried about me when I was sick (which happened a lot that year as I had mono twice).
She was always so kind to me.
She turned out to be not what I expected!
No disappointment there…that’s for sure!
But sometimes disappointment does come.
Like, have you ever been a blind date that was not what you expected?
ILL Expect
A freshman college student asked her roommate, "How was your blind date?"
"Terrible!" the roommate answered. "He showed up in his 1932 Rolls Royce."
"Wow! That’s a very expensive car. What’s so bad about that?"
"He was the original owner."
TRANSITION:
There is an area of life that has many expectations, and we are all destined to experience.
It is death.
Scripture tells us that we all will die once and then judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
So the question is…
1. What can we expect death to be like?
Let us recognize today that death is not comfortable.
Death does jar us.
It wakes us up to what is real.
ILL Death: Woody Allen
My favorite quote about death comes from Woody Allen, who said:
"It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens."
There are all kinds of belief when it comes to death.
If you are a Hindu or a Buddhist, you believe in reincarnation, that is, you believe you die and come back into another life form, over and over again, until you get it right and reach a place of nirvana (of perfection).
If you a Muslim, and if you die as a martyr in a jihad (holy war), you will immediately be carried away into heaven where Allah abides and receive great rewards (men get a harem of beautiful wives).
If you are a Mormon, if you do all the church says you are to do, you will die and become a god in the celestial heaven.
If you are a Jehovah Witness, you just have to plain work hard to earn your way in, otherwise when you die you will be annihilated.
If you are a Roman Catholic, you believe in more than just heaven and hell, you believe there is an intermediary place called purgatory that you have to work off your sin before you get to go to heaven.
Interestingly, though, one thing that all the peoples of the world hold in common is that death is not the end of the story.
2. For the Christian, we can expect the best when we come to the end of earthly life.
You see, our faith is grounded in the resurrection.
The promise of Scripture is that when our earthly life is done, those who have lived a life of faith will be with Him forever.
If you have been here for the previous studies in I Corinthians 15, you may remember that Paul is speaking with an unshakeable conviction.
The resurrection is absolutely foundational to who we are, and spends much of this chapter speaking of the terrible consequences of the faulty belief that is occurring in the church in Corinth.
You see, the good news is that when we are a believer in Jesus Christ, when we die…
3. GOD GIVES US A NEW BEGINNING.
We don’t go to the ground, and that’s it.
We do not become some disembodied spirit that wanders about.
We have a new beginning, with a new body, that is filled with joy for all time.
So, let us continue where…
4. We will find in I Corinthians 15:35-49 three contrasts that show how God gives us a new beginning.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first contrast is between DEATH AND LIFE (35-41).
(35) But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” (36) You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. (37) And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. (38) But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. (39) For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. (40) There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. (41) There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
The beginning of this portion of the text, Paul reveals to us that he has received a skeptical question.
There are some in the church that will not believe in the resurrection.
They do not believe it can happen.
They do not believe it will happen.
Paul’s response is that this is a foolish conclusion.
The person that refuses to acknowledge God’s presence and activity in the natural order of things is foolish.
And Paul proves the point by establishing this principle…
1. Death leads to life.
Death is a necessary part of the process of resurrection.
It is not an obstacle.
It is an essential.
Consider the simple seed.
In its own way, it dies to become something else.
The seed decomposes, it ceases to exist in its original form, as it makes its way for the new plant.
Consider also a caterpillar.
In its own way, it dies.
It goes into a stage of complete stagnation.
And then, in time, the metamorphosis comes, and a new butterfly appears.
In the same way, before Jesus could bear the fruit of our salvation, He had to die.
And it is from this, new life explodes.
When Jesus resurrected, He appeared with a new body.
And we should note this – the body of Jesus was both different and the same.
He could be touched.
He ate food.
He cooked breakfast.
He demonstrated scars from the crucifixion.
And yet, He was different.
He appeared out of nowhere, and then would disappear again.
Many didn’t recognize Him until He revealed Himself to them.
Once He told them, they knew it was Jesus and they could not figure out why they didn’t see it before.
In the same way, when we die, we will be resurrected with new bodies that will be both the same and different.
The continuity will be that we are the same person.
We will continue to have the same personality and unique individuality.
And…
2. We are going to receive bodies that will fit us perfectly.
When we look at a seed, unless we have some previous knowledge, we can’t imagine what the plant is going to look like.
But it does turn into exactly what God has designed it to be.
Paul continues this point by demonstrating that not all bodies are not alike.
Everything is matched to its environment.
Fish swim, birds fly, the sun shines, and the moon reflects.
There is all this variety and diversity.
And there are no mistakes!
In the same way, our bodies will be suited for eternity.
God Himself will clothe us appropriately and perfectly.
ILL Future: *Headlines from 2055*
You may have a hard time believing this, but I have looked into the future, and I see these headlines happening in 2055:
Plague of Spotted Owls Threaten Crops, Livestock
Younger Generation’s Music Provokes Outrage of Elders
50-Year Study: Diet and Exercise Key to Weight Loss
Baby Conceived Naturally. Scientists stumped.
Oprah Winfrey, nearing retirement, buys Illinois.
Well, this leads us to…
II. The second contrast is between PRESENT AND FUTURE (42-44).
(42) So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. (43) It is sown in dishonor; 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
These verses show us that (contrary to those headlines)…
1. The life to come is better than life now.
When we die, it is a new beginning.
It is going to be better.
We may hold tenaciously on to life here, but what is coming is an incomparable improvement.
For…
2. We are going to receive durable bodies.
The perishable will be replaced with the imperishable.
This is going to be great.
For have you noticed?
We human beings are not very durable.
The process of aging, deterioration and eventual death begin to set in way sooner than we want them to.
We are decaying and slowing down.
We are irreversibly mortal.
But this is not the end of the story.
We are going to receive new bodies that will be eternally durable – built and designed to last forever.
And…
3. Our new bodies will be valuable and glorious.
Our potential for pleasing and serving God fell apart at the rebellion and fall of man with Adam.
Since then, sin has been at work in us, including our bodies.
It sags, groans and smells.
But we will be made clean, sweet, fragrant, and eternally fresh.
For our original design was to reflect His glory and perfection, and this ability will be restored to us.
Also…
4. We will no longer be bound to weak bodies.
Have you ever been frustrated by your own limitations – whether they be physical or emotional?
Our bodies are so vulnerable.
One microbe can put us away.
We can die by choking on the smallest of fish bones.
We can be bruised, cut, and infected.
But our weak bodies are not the end of the story.
We will be raised in power.
We will be able to accomplish anything in eternity that God calls us to do.
Please understand this…
Heaven is not about strumming harps and riding the clouds.
If you believe that, you have been watching too many commercials.
You see…
5. Our new body will be suited for heaven.
The natural will be supplanted by the spiritual.
We are going to receive a body that is perfectly suited for our spirit.
We now come to…
III. The third contrast is between ADAM AND JESUS (45-49).
(45) Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (46) But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. (47) The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. (48) As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. (49) Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Each one of us falls into one of two categories.
We either belong to Adam, or to Jesus.
ILL Adam and Eve: out of house and home
After the fall in Garden of Eden, Adam was walking with his sons Cain and Abel.
They passed by the ruins of the Garden of Eden. One of the boys asked, "What’s that?"
Adam replied, "Boys, that’s where your mother ate us out of house and home."
Eve did eat first, but she was deceived.
When Adam ate, it was rebellion.
And…
1. Because of Adam’s rebellion, we are born spiritually dead.
When Adam was created, he was made a living soul.
His body was made from the dust of the earth.
And God’s Spirit breathed breath into him, joining the soul and body.
But when Adam rebelled against God’s law by eating of the fruit of the tree, he passed on to the rest of humanity that same rebellion.
And as a result, we are now born dead in our sin.
But here is the good news…
Jesus is superior to Adam.
Adam was tied to earth, but Jesus was tied to heaven.
Therefore…
2. Jesus regenerates our souls, giving us His life-giving Spirit.
Jesus was a man of the spirit, not a man of the earth.
This means then that He imparts life to us.
He recaptures our mind so that we may truly know Him once more.
APPLICATION:
We all know that we are not getting any younger.
You know, when we are children, we want to be older.
When we become teens, we feel indestructible.
When we enter into our 20s and 30s, we see that our whole life is ahead of us.
But as we enter into our 40s and 50s, we begin to face the fact that life is short and getting shorter.
The good news though is that…
1. God has prepared us for eternity.
Eternity is coming, but it won’t be the same for everyone.
For some, eternity will be an incredible time of blessing.
For others, it will be a time of shame, loss, and suffering.
This is why “now” is the time to prepare.
ILL Preparation: Pittendreigh
Maynard Pittendreigh:
I meet people all the time who fail to make the kind of spiritual preparations they need for life. A lot of people think that spiritual preparations are for the AFTER-life, but we need to make spiritual preparations for this life - the here and now.
I met a woman recently at Jackson Memorial Hospital who had never given any thought to spiritual preparations. Now she suddenly found herself in a crisis and she was without the preparations she needed.
We met in the elevator at the hospital. I was dressed in my clerical collar, so there was no way to avoid letting people know that I was in the ministry. She was dressed in a hospital gown and robe - she was holding onto one of those portable poles with an IV attached to her arm.
The woman noticed I was a minister and said to me, "I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve just found out I have cancer. It’s very aggressive. Apparently I’ve had it for a while and didn’t know it and now there is not much hope left. I’ve never been to church. I’ve never read the Bible. I’ve never prayed a single prayer. But now that I’m facing God and death, I need you to tell me about God. Why would he do this? What does he want from me? What will he do to me? Can I convince God to heal me?"
I invited her to join me on one of the benches outside the main entrance, but she said she didn’t have time. "I’ve got to go back to my room and wait for my doctor to come by and talk to me. I can give you about two minutes, but I need your answers now."
That’s ridiculous.
Even if I told her the answers to her questions, she would not have understood them. This is what I often call "asking the PhD level questions of life, while having nothing more than a preschool education."
So, let me ask you this…
2. Are you a part of the kingdom of heaven?
Are you a part of the kingdom of God?
Are you of heaven?
Are you prepared for the new beginning God desires to give you?
You can leave this place knowing God, and knowing you will have a new beginning – a place in heaven for eternity.
OTHER HELPFUL SCRIPTURE:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Philippians 3:20-21
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…
I Peter 1:3-4
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
I John 3:2
COMMUNION:
John testifies in his gospel:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
When we come to this table, we recognize that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial to the incarnate life and the sacrificial death of Christ.
He was lifted up to the cross where He draws us.
He draws us to Himself.
So as we come to the table, we recognize that he draws us once again.
He draws us to remember that He victoriously accomplished the salvation of those drawn in faith.
Those of us that know Jesus are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of this church to partake, but we do ask that you have a relationship with Jesus.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, you do not trust Him with your life, that is, you have not been changed by the message, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you do have that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by ___________________, let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
__________________ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Rejoice, if you are in Christ, a new beginning is coming your way…it is yours…your future is filled with joy beyond your understanding and comprehension.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
RESOURCES:
Blomberg, Craig, The NIV Application Commentary
MacArthur, John, I Corinthians
Eerdman’s Handbook to the World’s Religions
Bjornstad, James, Counterfeits at Your Door
SermonCentral:
“Our Resurrection Bodies” Doug Goins
“The New Body – What Is It Like?” Ray Stedman
“Another World to Sing In” Rick Stacy
“Dying to Live Again” James May
“New Bodies, New Hope, New Resolve” Bradley Boydston
“What Happens When We Die” Andrew Chan
“What Will We Look Like When We Are Resurrected?” A. Todd Coget
“I Believe…in the Resurrection of the Body” Ewen Huffman
