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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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DOCTRINAL ISSUES IN THE CHURCH (CH. 15) COUNSEL CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION 1Co 15:33-44 (3/28/12) Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE CERTAINTY OF BODILY RESURRECTION
(15:1-34) A. Historical Argument (15:1-11) B. Logical Argument (15:12-20) C. Theological Argument (15:20-28) D. Experiential Argument (15:29-34) 1. Why Practice the Baptism for the Dead?
(29) 2. Why are the
Apostles Persecuted? (30-31) 3. Why not Live Without Restraints (32) 4. Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals (33) a) Paul deemed it necessary to warn them
about the influential deception of the teaching and morals of the false
teachers (cp. 2Pe 2:1). b) Evidently some were keeping “company” (homili,a - intermingling,
associating, Eng. Homily - in religious terms, a sermon converses the
Scriptures) with false teachers and as a result the corrupt “morals” (ethos
- habit or lifestyle, root of ethikos, Eng. “ethic”)
of the false teachers were having an influence. c) Without the resurrection, what is the
point in sanctification or service? But with the promise of the resurrection,
it should give the believer an added incentive to be sanctified and to serve
the Lord. 5. Become Sober Minded (34) a) The remedy was for the Corinthians to be
sober-minded (eknêphō - regain
control of ones thinking, often used with inebriation but also figuratively
express sound thinking) about the ramifications of their associations.
They were indeed being led into false beliefs and sinful behavior (cp. 2Co
11:3) to which they were commanded to “stop” (present active imperative - hamarta,nō sin, miss the
mark, lit. “You must not continue to sin”). b) Furthermore, some within the scope of
influence of the Corinthians had not been carefully taught about Christ’s
death and resurrection. Paul considered this shameful (entpopê, -
caused by a sense of failure, cp. 1Co 6:5). E. Natural Argument (15:35-49) 1. How are the Dead
Raised? (35) a) Paul turns to the topic of questions that
the Corinthians had on the resurrection. These were not theological as much
as they were operational. b) The Corinthians had questions on how were
the dead raised and what kind of bodies would they possess. Their questions
were in fact due to Gnostic teaching prevalent in that culture. 2. Illustration from the Principle of
Germination (36-38) a) Death Comes Before Life (36) (1) Whether rebuking (“you fool” - aphron - a= negative, phron =
mind, one who is not using their head) the Corinthians or a Gnostic
teacher who may have asked the question (35) in a derogatory manner, Paul
does so based on their lack of knowledge. He explained the simplicity of
God’s universal principle that life is preceded by death (apothnêskō
- i.e. natural death, cp. Joh 12:23-24). (2) He will illustrate this with the principles
of germination. Germination is the process of feeding and protecting the
embryo so that it may grow. Essentially it will sacrifice itself to give life
to a living sprout. b) New Life comes from the Seed (37) (1) The grain or seed is not the body or
sprout. The body comes from the embryo which is enabled to grow through the
process of germination. (2) This is the process of all seeds no matter
what kind or how it is dispersed. c) God gives New Life to the Seed (38) (1) To be sure this process is a miracle, but
one that comes from the hand of God. (2) All of the bodies of growth are according
to God’s design in creation, which gives them a new body after their own kind
(cp. Gen 1:11, this process contradicts the theory of evolution). 3. Illustration from Living Bodies (39) a) This was God’s design not only for
vegetation, but all forms of life. Though the process may vary in species,
they all have their own unique form of bodies. b) Paul mentions the various bodies created
after their own kind; “flesh of men,” “flesh of animals (Gen 1:24),” “flesh
of birds (Gen 1:21),” or “flesh of fish (Gen 1:21).” God created all kinds of
varieties of species, therefore they are not evil (Gnosticism), and therefore
He has the power to re-create resurrected human bodies. 4. Illustration from Heavenly and Earthly
Bodies (40-41) a) This also includes God’s design for the
heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Though some do not need the germination
process, they all have different bodies as God designed them. b) The sun, moon, stars have their own
differences and glory. Even the stars are different from one another. Each
has their own creative distinctiveness of glory and each glorifies the
creativity of God. 5. The Comparable Principle of the
Resurrection (42-44) a) The Perishable Body will Become an
Imperishable Body (42) (1) It is the same principle for mankind and
applies to the resurrection. (2) It is born or sown perishable (Ecc 3:20; Psa 103:14-16) but it is raised imperishable
and eternal (1Pe 1:3-4). b) The Weakness of Body will be raised in
Power (43) (1) The body was which God created was dishonored
by sin in mind, spirit, and body. Yet for those who believe it will become a
glorious resurrection body. (2) Sinful man’s body is in a state of weakness
resulting in death (Heb 9:27), but it will resurrected by God’s power. c) The Natural Body will become a Spiritual
Body (44) (1) The believer’s natural body will become a
spiritual body at the resurrection. (2) It will be identifiable as a human body,
though glorified and fit for eternity in heaven (Phil 3:21). II. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. The resurrection of Christ gives believers
the hope and responsibility to cultivate godly relationships with other
believers for mutual edification (2Co 6:14-18; Rom 1:12). B. The resurrection of Christ gives believers
the right and responsibility to teach others about the gospel (Rom 10:14; 1Pe
3:15). C. The resurrection of Christ gives believers
understanding of the necessity of losing our life that we might gain life in
Christ (Joh 12:23-26). |
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