Seeds of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50)
Tammy struggled watching her dad descend into the depths of Alzheimer’s Disease; trapped in the body of a man she knew and loved was the mind of someone she didn’t know at all. For a good while, Bob knew us, but then it became obvious he had no clue who anyone in his family was. Through all of that, Tam grieved and grieved hard.
Then came the call that we were expecting—Bob’s body was failing and failing fast. I drove all the way to Kentucky, and I’ll admit that I’m thankful we didn’t encounter any police, because I and the speed limit only had a passing acquaintance. But I got Tammy home while her dad was still living.
The morning after we got to Kentucky Tam’s dad died while Tammy’s mom, brother, sister-in-law, Tammy herself, and I were around his bed. There were tears, but there was also a great deal of joy; Tammy was in much better shape after her father died than before. And you understand why—she did not grieve as others do who have no hope. We knew without a single doubt that as we buried Bob, we buried his body in the confident assurance of a resurrection to life.
You’ve certainly had comparable experiences. How many of you have sat beside the bed of a dying loved one and prayed for his suffering to be over? How many of you have stood at the casket of a loved one so thankful that she was finally at peace? How many of you have walked out of a doctor’s office—either by yourself or with a family member—thankful that God raises the dead? How many of you long for the day when your body will no longer ache, hurt, and wear out?
You look forward to the day when you will be in heaven with the Lord and all his saints. The Corinthians did, too, but they had multiple questions about the resurrection. In this morning’s passage, the Corinthians were particularly concerned with what kind of body they would have in the resurrection. Paul told them: “Your resurrected body will be fit for heaven.”
Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50)
verses 35-38:
In Paul’s day, philosophers commonly argued with a fictious opponent as the apostle did here. However, some in Corinth were apparently saying, “What kind of body will there be in the resurrection?”
You see, opponents of the resurrection often questioned what would happen if someone died without an intact body. What if, in other words, a Christian was fed to wild beasts in the colosseum or he was lost at sea?
Such questions were foolish, because a seed of wheat or of any other grain is planted looking one way and raised looking another. For example, when you plant a corn seed, what comes from the ground is still corn, but it’s a stalk that grows ears of corn. Dead bodies are planted—buried—looking one way, and those same bodies will be raised looking another way.
verses 42-44:
That’s precisely how it is with the resurrection of the dead. Four times in these verses Paul contrasted what is sown with what is raised. He wanted to emphasize that the resurrected body will be different from the body placed in the ground.
This physical body—natural body—requires that there will also be a spiritual body.
verses 45-46:
When God breathed into Adam’s nostrils, he became a “living being.” The last Adam—Jesus—brings true life. Yet, the physical body comes before the spiritual body.
verses 47-49:
Adam was of this earth, but Jesus came from heaven. We are subject to sin, temptation, sickness, death, and decay because we have descended from Adam. However, if we belong to “the man of heaven,” we will be like him and have eternal life.
verse 50:
“Flesh and blood” was a common idiom for mortals. That which is of this earth cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
Application
“Your resurrected body will be fit for heaven.” The Corinthians had many questions about what type of body they would have in the resurrection,. To be honest, I have a lot of questions about the resurrected body, too—to be honest, I want to know what that body is going to look like. What’s important, however, is that the resurrected body will be ready for heaven.
Paul, in this text, described the kind of resurrected body which will be fit for heaven.
One: The Resurrected Body is a Chosen Body.
Your resurrected body will be what God has Chosen: “God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body” (1 Cor 15:38). God hasn’t revealed precisely what our resurrected bodies will be like; however, understand two truths about God’s choosing your resurrected body.
God has infinite wisdom.
In his infinite wisdom, God knows precisely what kind of body to give you when he calls you out of your grave: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33).
God has built heaven.
God built heaven: Abraham “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). Because God himself is the “designer and builder” of heaven, he knows precisely what kind of body you need for heaven.
Two: The Resurrected Body is a Celestial Body.
Your resurrected body will be a Celestial body, for it will be a spiritual body that is ready for the heavenly realm: “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:44).
Your physical body cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Why would you want you physical body to enter heaven? Why would you want all the aches and the pains and the sorrow and the tears of this life for all eternity? You see, God will make everything new in heaven; as John saw the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, a loud voice from the throne declared: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:3-4).
Because the “former things have passed away,” you will need a Celestial body, a body fit for the kingdom of heaven. In Christ, you will have that Celestial body.
Three: The Resurrected Body is a Christ-like Body.
Your resurrected body will be a Christ-like body, for your new body will be like his new body: “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. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor 15:48-49).
I have many questions about the resurrected body; however, the most comforting truth of all is that my resurrected body will be like Jesus’s resurrected body: “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” (1 Jn 3:2). What a comforting thought! When Jesus burst through the skies—whether you’re being raised from the dead or alive—you will be changed to be like him, for you shall see him as he is.
Is that your hope this morning? If Jesus were to burst through the skies this very moment, would you be ready to meet him and to be changed?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.