And while I'm posting... Sermon: Resurrection - our path to immortality

I've started posting various sermons up, so here's another one - quickly, before my laptop crashes again! Once again, I will include various notes with it. I'll even put a link in to the video I used.

The resurrection – our path to immortality

Now that the myth of no resurrection has been foiled by Paul, he goes on to give some teaching on the subject of the last resurrection by way of answering a question, “What will the resurrection be like?”

He actually mocks those for asking this question as foolish. Why? Not because they do not understand. But because they think they can. Paul never really answers this question to our satisfaction. He gives broad principles of truth, but he can’t answer the questions How or With What exactly.

But that does not prevent him from teaching on the subject. Instead, he answers the right questions. People asking “What will the resurrection body be like?”, what do they really want to know? They want to know will they look the way they did when they died, or will they be the 25 year old they remember? Will they recognize their children? Will their amputated leg regrow? Paul doesn’t answer those questions. In fact, he says that our resurrection body will be so different, it will be unbelievable that it came from our earthly body. But rather than talk about the differences in hair colour and age and other cosmetic differences, he looks at important things.

This body decays, perishes and dies. The resurrection body won’t die – death is conquered by resurrection.

The earthly body is dishonoured – it is part of a broken world of sin. Our physical bodies do play a part in our sinful nature. The resurrection body is raised in glory. The human body is an amazing thing, and its design gives glory to He who made it. How much more a perfect resurrection body!

These bodies are weak, and not just physically. Sure, they break when you hit them hard enough, but that is just the same as perishable. This is a fundamental spiritual weakness inherent in the nature of our earthly body. It represents our inability to make a lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the world around us. We lack power. It’s hard to imagine that, because while we live in these bodies we don’t want to imagine ourselves as powerless. We look around and all the things we can accomplish, and we think, “Look at what we have done! Look at the changes we have made on the world! What mighty creatures we are!” But the truth is that we have no idea what power is. God is power. Is Paul here promising that we will become gods ourselves? No. He promises we will be raised in power. We will truly understand and respect and recognize God’s power. After all, we will have witnessed his victory over death.

Finally, the body that we sow in death is natural, earthy. But the resurrection body is a spiritual body. That doesn’t mean that it is made of spirit. We will not be floating disembodied spirits – we’re talking about resurrection! No, it will be a body that is prepared for spiritual life. A spiritual body. The resurrection body will be prepared for the life of eternity in a way that we simply are not prepared for now.

Big Idea: The resurrection comes only through death

Impact: It is through death that resurrection life comes.
 We should not fear death, because it leads to resurrection.
 While death is something to be grieved, we should not treat it like the end.
 Our lives then should not be shaped by a preoccupation about this life, but about eternal life.

Big Idea: The resurrected body is not like the earthly body – it is different.

Impact: We must accept that there is only so much we can know about eternity.
 We have to learn to accept the truth of something without fully understanding it.
 Again, this focus reveals to us that we should not live for this temporary life alone.
 If we accept eternity, then we must live focused on eternity, as nothing else matters.

Big Idea: Resurrection is God’s plan for the defeat of death.

Impact: With this in mind, we should give ourselves fully to God, because we know there is more to life.
 If we’re not Christian, we should be – because this is God’s plan for us.
 If we are Christian, then our focus should be on resurrection, and therefore on eternity.
 This means that the Christian life will inevitably be different from the non-Christian life.

Sermon 2 words

When something happens for the first time, we think it’s a big deal. Everyone knows the name of the first man on the moon. Who was it? (Neil Armstrong) Can anyone tell me the name of the people to attain the first powered flight? (Wilbur and Orville Wright) Who made the first phone call? (Alexander Graham Bell) These things are important not only because they represent a first for humanity, but also because they are stepping stones which spark huge advances that change the way we live. The simple fact that so many of us have telephones in our houses, and that most of us have probably traveled on an airplane, makes these first-of-many accounts that much more important. One day space travel may become as accessible to the everyday life as air travel is now.

But there is something that has not yet happened that will be even more common to human experience. In fact, it will be pretty much universal – almost every human being will experience this event. It has already been experienced by a famous first person. That person is Jesus, and the event is resurrection, coming back to life from the dead.

For the Christian, the life of Jesus culminates in the Easter events. We know that God, being perfect justice, must punish those who rebel against him. And that’s everyone, and the punishment is an eternity without God, and is marked by death. We know that God came to earth as a man, Jesus, the Christ, and Jesus was able to live the perfect life of submissive obedience that God requires. Furthermore, Jesus died a painful death on a cross, and in doing so took the punishment for the disobedience of all people. To prove he could take this punishment, Jesus was resurrected three days after he was buried – a defeat of the death that marked the punishment.

But it doesn’t end there. Although God is perfect justice, he is also perfect mercy and love. Death, even though it is a punishment for rebellion against God, is nevertheless God’s enemy. He therefore set in place a plan - his plan of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection - in order to defeat his enemy, death. God’s plan for defeating death therefore is to stage a resurrection of all people at the end of time. To prove that it’s going to happen, he made Jesus the famous first – the first resurrectee of what will be a countless number.

The apostle Paul talks about this plan of God in his letter to the Corinthians. The Corinthian church, who Paul is writing to, has some people in it who question this idea of a resurrection of all people at the end of time. So he wrote this section in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians to set them straight on resurrection, and show them its importance. In verse 20 he describes Christ as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (that’s a nice way of saying those who’ve died, but it also shows a link to the idea of resurrection – after all, those who fall asleep wake up again). Firstfruits is an important way of describing Jesus’ “famous first” resurrection. You see, when Israel used to make sacrifices to God, they would offer the firstfruits of their crop to God, because this symbolized God’s ownership of the whole harvest. In the same way, Jesus being the firstfruit of the resurrection shows that the whole resurrection belongs to God. It’s his crop. In fact, Jesus often referred to the kingdom of God as a harvest in his parables!

In verse 24 we are told that the end of this world will come when all dominions, authorities and powers that are set up against God are defeated, and in verse 26 it says that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. That will be done by the resurrection of all people from the dead. If we’re at all unsure about when the kingdom of God is coming, the resurrection of the dead will be a clear mark that it has come.

But as I said, Paul didn’t write this bit about the resurrection just as an afterthought. People in that church were questioning the resurrection. And let’s be honest, it’s not the easiest thing for the average person to accept. People always want to ask questions about the resurrection. “Will people who’ve had limbs cut off get them back in the resurrection? What about people who were cremated, or blown up by a bomb? Will old people be young again in the resurrection? If so, then what about babies that die in childbirth, will they be in their mid twenties and fit? Will dogs and cats be resurrected? Will we recognize each other once we’ve been resurrected?” Even Jesus faced these questions about resurrection – the Sadducees asked him what would happen if a woman had seven husbands - whose wife would she be after the resurrection?

Paul faced similar questions, which he recorded as, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” The problem is that, because we don’t have the right focus, we end up asking the wrong questions! Watch with me, if you will, this short video – it’s an awareness test, to see how aware you are. (show awareness test video). What that video shows us is that if you are focused on one thing, you can miss something that might be important. How important are moonwalking bears? Well, I don’t have time to go into that. But here in the Bible, Paul is saying that because we are so focused on our lives here on this earth, we can easily miss the truths about the resurrection. We become so tied up in this life, that the questions we ask about resurrection become foolish!

So here are the answers that Paul sees are the important ones that people should know. First of all, the resurrection only comes through death. That might seem obvious – how can someone be resurrected (brought back to life from the dead) if they have not first died? But then, as we’ve been shown, sometimes it’s easy to miss the obvious. But this is an important, foundational point. It is through death that the resurrection comes. This can seem confusing. Why would God use death, his avowed enemy, to bring about his will for eternal life? Well, this only serves to further prove God’s power over it. You have to be really powerful to be able to use an evil thing to achieve a good purpose.

What is the impact on us of this truth, that resurrection only comes through death? Well, it’s easy to think of death as the end, as something to be feared. Now the truth is that death is the enemy of life. But God has made a victory over death, using death as the time of planting the seed that grows into the new resurrection life. So let me ask you – do you fear death? Do you fear it as the end of your existence? Christians should have no fear of death, because God has promised to defeat death through resurrection, and then give eternal life. Jesus says, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” As Christians, we should have no fear of death – God overcomes death with eternal life through resurrection.

Perhaps you go in the opposite direction – maybe you are looking forward to death, because you think that you will have lived a full life, and then it will all end in a peaceful oblivion. For you, the warning is much more severe – because for those who are not Christians, God still promises resurrection – but to face judgment, and the punishment of an eternity away from God, called hell. Hell is not a happy place. It is a place of punishment, and it exists eternally.

Paul’s second truth about the resurrection is this: that the resurrected body and the resurrection life will not be like this earthly body – it will be different. Paul says that we have to expect that there will be differences in the resurrected body that we simply can’t guess at from looking at our earth bodies. He compares it to a seed. Here, I have a seed. Does anyone know what kind of seed this is? I want you to guess, from looking at the seed, what kind of plant comes from it. It’s not easy to tell. Will it be a tree, a vine, a bush, a flower? Will it be big, small? What colour will it be? From looking at the seed alone, it’s just not possible to tell what this will grow up to be.

We might think that by looking at Jesus in his resurrected body that it doesn’t look that different – people still recognize him for who he is, he still eats, he walks and talks. Pretty much like how we live now, right? But that is just us getting distracted again and not having the right focus. Why do we look at earthly things like looks, and eating and drinking? Paul sets us on track, and shows us the things we should be looking at. In verse 42 he says, “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.” Now there’s a big difference! Our earthly bodies perish. They break. They age. They decay. They wither and they die. What a difference to hear that when the body is raised, it is raised imperishable! A body that won’t spoil or break. That won’t wither and die, but will stay good no matter how long it goes on for. A body that is suitable for a life in eternity.

He goes on to say, “it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory”. The earthly body is dishonoured – it is part of a broken world of rebellion against God. Even worse, our own physical bodies are an enemy against us in our relationships with God. The physical body plays a part in our disobedient nature. Even as Christians, we struggle to please God while living in these dishonoured bodies. But when we are raised from the dead to new life, we will be raised in a glorious body. Without defects, without dishonour – it will be a body that fulfils its job in allowing us to bring glory to God, in accordance with his plans for us.

“It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power”. These bodies are weak, and not just physically. Sure, they break when you hit them hard enough, but that is just the same as perishable. This weakness is a fundamental spiritual weakness inherent in the nature of our earthly body. It represents our inability to make a lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the world around us. We lack power. It’s hard to imagine that, because while we live in these bodies we don’t want to imagine ourselves as powerless. We look around and all the things we can accomplish, and we think, “Look at what we have done! Look at the changes we have made on the world! What mighty creatures we are!” But the truth is that we have no idea what power is. God is power.

So what does it mean to be raised in power? Is Paul here promising that we will become gods ourselves? No. He promises we will be raised in power. We will truly understand and respect and recognize God’s power. After all, we will have witnessed his victory over death in resurrection.

Finally, the body that we sow in death is natural, earthy. But the resurrection body is a spiritual body. That doesn’t mean that it is made of spirit. We will not be floating disembodied spirits – we’re talking about resurrection! No, it will be a body that is prepared for spiritual life. A spiritual body. The resurrection body will be prepared for the life of eternity in a way that we simply are not prepared for now. No doubt that along with this spiritually prepared body, our minds will be transformed to allow us to more fully understand the intricacies of a spiritual lifestyle.

What do I mean? I mean that the resurrection is something that we simply cannot fully understand on this side of it. Sometimes we have to learn to accept the truth of something without fully understanding it. To be honest, we do this all the time without even thinking about it. How many of us know how the cars we drive work? Or how a microwave or a television or a computer work? How many understand economics, or why one painting is pretty and another one is ordinary, the interaction of sub-atomic particles, or a host of other things? But we accept the truth of them. It is the same with the resurrection. We have to learn to accept the truth of it without being able to fully understand how it works. But if we do accept eternity and resurrection, then this will necessarily change the focus of how we live life.

I say this because real faith is something that cannot help but change the way you live life – everything from the way you think about things to the way you talk, and act, and relate to people and to God. It can be difficult for us to understand this sometimes, because so much of what we are told to believe doesn’t really have much of an impact on how we live our lives. According to the newspapers, the slowdown of China’s economy means that the federal budget will be down $5 billion dollars this year. You hear it to be true, but how will it change your life? It doesn’t really strike close to home. $5 billion dollars is a lot of money. Perhaps it’s too much. Too much for us to think about, to get our minds around. So we think, “Oh, that’s no good.” We might even go so far as to say, “Better tighten our belts and reduce our spending a bit”, although I’d doubt much actual activity would be taken until we see an effect closer to our own homes and wallets.

Perhaps we think that way about the resurrection. No-one wants to think about death. It’s morbid, it’s a downer. It’s hopefully far away. And as for the resurrection - who knows when that will be? In the meantime there’s bills to pay, and a family to look after, and work to do, meals to eat. But it does have an impact now. Our focus should not be on the temporary things that soak up our time and energy like a sponge. We have to remind ourselves that God’s plan is for eternity, not just for now. It may not seem immediately relevant. You may be waiting for it to affect your own home, your own wallet as it were, before you do something about it. But that is an inappropriate response. The equivalent would be hearing a fire alarm while you’re at work in an office near the top of a skyscraper. The alarm tells you, “The building is on fire, time to leave.” But you decide, “No, the fire isn’t affecting me yet. I’ll wait until I can feel the heat coming through the floor, then I’ll leave.” Of course, by the time you can feel the heat, it’s too late to escape. Your belief might have been real, but it wasn’t translated into action, and then it’s too late.

The resurrection and eternal life may be a long way from you – of course, they might not be. You never know what might happen tomorrow. It is important that we translate our belief into action, even if we don’t really have a full understanding of what it means for us.

So Paul has given two answers so far on what he thinks are important understandings to have about the resurrection. First of all, it comes through death – so death is not a thing to be feared. Second of all, the resurrection body won’t be like our earthly body. It will be an imperishable, glorifying, power-acknowledging, spiritually capable body. And even though we might not fully understand the ramifications of that, we should let the truth of it shape our focus on eternity, and shape the way we live our lives now.

Finally, Paul wants us to understand that the resurrection is part of God’s plan for his defeat of death, and his ultimate victory over all things, so as to bring people into his royal family, to live with him for all eternity. He says, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The truth is that death is not a danger to God. God doesn’t fear death. He created death. It may be an enemy to him, but only because it is hostile to his intentions, harmful to his plan. But it is not a powerful thing to God. It is just a bowling pin to be knocked over. The 8 ball, the last ball to be sunk in a game of snooker. No, the truth is that death’s sting is dangerous and fearful for us. It marks our punishment for being disobedient to God. It is the ultimate end over our perishable bodies. It is an enemy for us that we cannot defeat.

But God has a plan for victory. In fact, he has already won. Death has been swallowed up in that victory. Do we still die? Yes. But for the Christian, there is no longer a sting in death – for death has become the door to resurrection and to eternal life in heaven with God! It no longer holds finality – the finality is in eternity with God!

What is the logical conclusion of this? Paul says it in the very last verse of this section. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I said earlier that if we really believe in the resurrection, if we really believe in eternal life, then it should change how we live right now. But how? I think there’s three things that are absolutely vital.

Number one, “Dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.” If you are not a brother or a sister of Jesus, if you are not a member of God’s royal family, then the truths of the resurrection and of eternity say that you should be. Because resurrection and eternity are a reality proved through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday at Easter. Resurrection and eternity are a reality for all people. But only those who have admitted their disobedience to God, their rebellion against him, their inability to live up to the perfect standard he demands; only those people who turn away from a godless life and embrace the offer of adoption into God’s kingdom and family; only those people who surrender the control over their powerless life over to God’s mighty power; only those people will spend eternity with God. For the others – those who deny his existence; who deny his eternal plan; who ignore his claim over their lives or who willfully disobey his commands; eternity still awaits. But it is an eternity without God. An eternity of punishment. For them, the resurrection will be a dreadful day. Make sure that you are standing firm in the family of God, that you have secured your adoption into the family of God. If you’re not sure, then talk to me. Talk to someone from this church. Don’t leave this building without making sure you’re eternal future is secure. You too can be a part of God’s plan for eternity.

Number two, “Let nothing move you.” If you are a Christian, then it is vital that you do not let your focus on eternity be moved. The cares of this world will always try and reach out to drag us down and distract us from what is truly important. But we can’t afford to allow our focus to be moved, whether by comfort, financial security, health, family, work – there is nothing that we can allow to move us from our focus. So let me ask you – are you living your life with a focus on the resurrection? Are you expecting eternity? Are you ensuring that your life is impacting the eternal life of yourself and of others?

“How can I do that?” you may ask. It relies on the third and final point to ensuring the resurrection and eternity change how we live. Paul says, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” A life lived for eternity is a life lived for God. It means devoting yourself to God’s work, and rolling out his plan. That means doing works that have an eternal impact, both on your Christian life and the lives of others. Famous author and certified genius of the 1700s Hugh Blair said this, “People too often separate their beliefs which relate to eternity from the ordinary affairs of the world. They leave them in a high region to which only on great occasions they resort: and, when they descend into common life, consider themselves at liberty to give free scope to their whims and passions. Where, in fact, it is their behaviour in the daily train of society, which fixes and determines their spiritual character; gradually instilling those dispositions, and forming those habits, which affect their everlasting condition.” We must ensure that our personal lives are glorifying to God, and forming habits that will stand us in good stead in eternity. I think sometimes that we forget that God has told us to do this – we rely on the transformation of the resurrection to make us perfect without taking any responsibility for the preparation of our spiritual body.

Not only must we do God’s work in our own lives, but we must ensure that we are a part of God’s team to reach everyone with the message of eternity. As Paul says himself earlier in the letter, “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers.” And again, “Fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” The work of the Lord amongst those who are not yet saved from eternal punishment is so great and varied that there will be a place for you no matter what your skills, gifts or availability. It is not simply reaching people with the message and seeing them “saved” either – it is the continual work that goes on in their lives, just as it does in yours, of transformation in preparation for the resurrection and an eternity with God because of Christ.

Make sure that your life is focused on God’s plan for eternity. Because as Paul says, “You know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” If you have eternity in mind, can you be this sure of the value of anything else you do?