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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 15:45-50 (04/04/12) 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) E. Natural Argument (15:35-49) F. Spiritual Argument (15:45-58) 1. The Relative Contrast of Adam and Christ
(45-50) a) Christ Became a Life-giving Spirit (45) (1) In this same vein of thought on the
resurrection of the natural body to a spiritual body, Paul contrasts Adam and
Christ. (2) “Adam” became a living soul and
represented the natural body reigning under the power of death. “Christ”
on the other hand, the One who gives man eternal life and a resurrected body,
is contrasted as a life-giving spirit. (a) A “living soul” (psuchê
zōsan) speaks of a perpetual (in the original design) bodily
existence of a being made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27), having
intellect, emotions, and volition along with the ability to worship God. This
was marred by Adam’s sin which brought bodily and spiritual death to man (Rom
6:23). (b) However, Christ became a “life-giving
spirit” (pnuema zōpoioun - lit. “life making” spirit, i.e. made
them spiritually alive) in that He redeemed man by His death and
resurrection, giving spiritual life to those who believe, which includes a
relationship with God and an eternal resurrection body. b) The First Adam was Natural, the Second
Spiritual (46) (1) God is a God of purpose and order. Adam,
the natural, was created “first” (prōtos, Eng. prototype).
Christ, the spiritual Son of God, came afterwards and took the human likeness
of Adam, but not his sin nature. (2) “Natural” (psuchiko,s - life form in the realm of the natural
world) refers to man’s
human form created to exist in the natural realm of the created world, which
specifically included the bodily aspect.. (3) “Spiritual” (pneumatiko,s - life in the spiritual realm) refers to life that that lives in
harmony with God in His realm. (4) Similar to the process of germination (1Co
15: 36-38), the spiritual resurrected body comes after the death of the
natural body. c) The First was from Earth, the Second from
Heaven (47-49) (1) The contrast of the origin (47). (a) Adam was solely made from the dust of the “earth”
(gê, - Gen 2:7). (b) Christ, the eternal Son, came from “heaven”
(ourano,s) and was made in the likeness of men
(Phil 2:7). (2) The contrast of substance (48). (a) All those from Adam are substantively
fashioned after the “earthy” (choiko,s - substance of earth) in a body. (b) All those in Christ have both an earthy
body from Adam and will receive a “heavenly” (epoura,nios - bodies fitted for heaven)
resurrected body from Christ. (3) The contrast of image (49-50). (a) Those from Adam’s race have “borne”
(phore,ō - to bear (carry) or wear, aor. act.
ind.) Adam’s image,
including the sin nature. (b) “Image” (eikō,n - stamp or representation in substance,
form, or appearance) is
what make the human race all alike in body, soul, and spirit. (c) Believers, at the resurrection, “will
bear” (phore,ō - same word, fut. act. ind.) Christ’s image in perfected souls and
perfected resurrected bodies. (d) No one may enter heaven without a redeemed,
perfected, glorified, and resurrected body that has been made new and not
overhauled (50). 2. The Comparison of Christ’s Resurrected
Body with the Believer’s a) Christ’s
resurrection body was a material body. (1) Christ's
resurrected body, though a new type, is a physical body that is gloriously
transformed. (2) Christ's resurrected body was not merely a
spiritual or immaterial body, but flesh and bones (Luk 24:39-40). b) Christ’s
resurrection body was of heavenly substance. (1) Christ's
resurrected body was able to enter rooms without opening doors (Joh 20:19;
Luk 24:36). (2) This would explain why Christ's resurrected
body was not in the tomb when the stone was rolled away (Mat 28:5-6). c) Christ’s
resurrection body resembled the earthly body. (1) Christ
demonstrated that he was not an apparition by the fact that he could eat,
though without the need (Luk 24:41-43). (2) One would assume that Christ's resurrected
body would not be limited by other earthly needs such as sleep etc. d) Christ’s
resurrection body was recognizable. (1) Christ's
resurrected body was visibly recognizable (Joh 20:20). (2) However, there were times when the Lord
specifically prevented his disciples from recognizing him immediately (Luk
24:16, 31). e) Christ’s
resurrection body is marked. (1) Christ’s
resurrected body retained the wounds inflicted by crucifixion as a proof to
His identity (Joh 20:25-27; Rev 5:6). (2) Jesus will be the only one in heaven with
marks on his body, an eternal reminder of the grace of God on our behalf (1Co
15:40; Phil 3:21; 1Jo 3:2). In Rev 19:13, Christ’s robe alone is dipped in
blood (cp. believers - Rev 3:4-5; 4:4; 7:9, 13-14; 19:8, 14). (3) The age of believers is not stated in
Scripture, but the idea of perfection could imply that all will be in the
prime of life no matter when they died. Perhaps the age of 33 as Christ is a
fair speculation. f) Christ’s
resurrection body is glorified. (1) At
times, Christ appears in all His glory. The "face" of Christ, like
the brilliant sun, portrays his divine glory, preeminence, and victory (Mat
17:2; Rev 21:23 cp. Mat 13:43). (2) The
"eyes" blazing like fire parallels Daniel's vision (Dan 10:6) as
piercing judgment under the scrutiny of the all-seeing One (Rev 19:12). (3) The sword (romphaia - javelin type)
out of his "mouth" depicts the Written Word and Living Word (Rev
19:13, 15; Heb 4:12). (4) He wears a diadem as the, “King of Kings
and Lord of Lords” (Rev 19:12, 16; 22:14 cp. believers - Rev 4:4). (5) The
believer’s glorified body means that it is fitted for heaven and for Christ’s
glory that we will share (Rom 8:17 “co-heirs”- sunklêrono,mos, “co-sufferers”- sumpa,schō, “co-glorified”- sundoxa,zō; Rom 8:18, 30). g) The
comparison of the believer’s resurrected body will be like Christ’s. To what
degree and capacity is left up to fair assumption and speculation by looking. II. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. God allowed the first Adam so God could
reveal the Second. In Him is embodied the love and salvation for believers
which includes a resurrected body. B. We bear not only the image of our first
father Adam, but we bear his sin nature. At the resurrection we will not only
bear a similar glorified body to our Lord, but also His image without sin. C. 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). D. The resurrection of Christ gives believers
the right and responsibility to teach others about the gospel (Rom 10:14; 1Pe
3:15). E. The resurrection of Christ gives the
believer understanding of the necessity of losing our life that we might gain
life in Christ (Joh 12:23-26). |
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