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Mar.22.05: Light for the Day - "Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life"

-- John 11:25-27
21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother (Lazarus) would not have died.
22 But even now I know that God will give You whatever you ask."
23 Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 "Yes," Martha said, "when everyone else rises, on resurrection day."
25 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.
26 They are given eternal life for believing in Me and will never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?"
27 "Yes, Lord," she told Him. "I have always believed You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who has come into the world from God."

-- John 5:21 
"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son will even raise from the dead anyone He wants to."

-- John 6:40 
"For it is my Father’s will that all who see His Son and believe in Him should have eternal life—that I should raise them at the last day."

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Physics and the Resurrection

For two centuries we have watched the battle of Christianity versus science, and Christianity seemed to be losing. Things are changing, partly because science is constantly updating itself, finding new data. The field of physics is making intelligent people more and more open to the possibility of miracles—including the resurrection of the human body. Our flesh feels solid enough, but physics is now pretty certain that flesh consists of innumerable electrical particles, held together by an energy we have yet to understand fully. Some scientists say that Jesus’ resurrection may have had something to do with nuclear disintegration and reintegration. Jesus promised His followers that they would be raised as He had been—into what Paul called the “spiritual body.” Thanks to our new understanding of physics, “spirit” and “body” may not be so different as we once thought. Author Russell Kirk wrote that “it is now more rationally possible to believe in the Resurrection than it was in St. Paul’s time.”

Physical Bodies  >>  Resurrection Bodies:
1- Perishable >> Imperishable
2- Sown in dishonor >> Raised in glory
3- Sown in weakness >> Raised in power
4- Natural >> Spiritual
5- From the dust >> From heaven

We all have a body—each looks different; each has different strengths and weaknesses. But as physical, earthly bodies, they are all alike. All believers are promised life after death and a body like Christ's (1 Cor 15:49), a resurrection body.

-- 1 Corinthians 15:49
"Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the Man from heaven."

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4
1 Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, {Greek: the brothers} of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message.
2 And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.
4 He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.
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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:5-8
5 He was seen by Peter {Greek: Cephas} and then by the twelve apostles.
6 After that, He was seen by more than five hundred of His followers {Greek: the brothers.} at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now.
7 Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles.
8 Last of all, I saw Him, too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time. (Acts 9:3-9)

--- L.A.B. ---
There will always be people who say that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. Paul assures us that many people saw Jesus after His resurrection: Peter; the disciples (the Twelve); more than 500 Christian believers (most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote this, although some had died); James (Jesus’ half brother); all the apostles; and finally Paul himself. The Resurrection is a historical fact. Don’t be discouraged by doubters who deny the Resurrection. Be filled with hope because of the knowledge that one day you, and they, will see the living proof when Christ returns. 

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?

--- L.A.B. ---
Most Greeks did not believe that people’s bodies would be resurrected after death. They saw the afterlife as something that happened only to the soul. According to Greek philosophers, the soul was the real person, imprisoned in a physical body, and at death the soul was released. There was no immortality for the body, but the soul entered an eternal state. Christianity, by contrast, affirms that the body and soul will be united after resurrection. The church at Corinth was in the heart of Greek culture. Thus, many believers had a difficult time believing in a bodily resurrection. Paul wrote this part of his letter to clear up this confusion about the resurrection.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:13-18
13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.
14 And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless.
15 And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.
16 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins.
18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished!

--- L.A.B. ---
The resurrection of Christ is the center of the gospel message. 
Because Christ rose from the dead as He promised, we know that what He said is true—He is God. 
Because He rose, we have certainty that our sins are forgiven. 
Because He rose, He lives and represents us to God. 
Because He rose and defeated death, we know we will also be raised.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:19
19 And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.

--- L.A.B. ---
Why does Paul say believers would be miserable if there were only earthly value to Christianity? In Paul’s day, Christianity often brought a person persecution, ostracism from family, and, in many cases, poverty. There were few tangible benefits from being a Christian in that society. It was certainly not a step up the social or career ladder. More important is the fact that if Christ had not been resurrected from the dead, Christians would not be forgiven of their sins or have any hope of eternal life.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:20
20 But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.

--- L.A.B. ---
Just as the first part of the harvest was brought to the Temple as an offering (Leviticus 23:10) so Christ was the first to rise from the dead and never die again. He is our forerunner, the guarantee of our eventual resurrection to eternal life.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:21
21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another Man, Christ.

--- L.A.B. ---
Death came into the world as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin. In Romans 5:12-21, Paul explained why Adam’s sin brought sin to all people, how death and sin spread to all humans because of this first sin, and the parallel between Adam’s death and Christ’s death.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:22-24
22 Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other Man, will be given new life.
23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all His people will be raised.
24 After that the end will come, when He will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. {Greek: every ruler and every authority and power.}
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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:25-28
25 For Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. (see Rev. 20:14)
26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For the Scriptures say, "God has given Him authority over all things." {Ps 8:6.} (Of course, when it says "authority over all things," it does not include God Himself, who gave Christ His authority.)
28 Then, when He has conquered all things, the Son will present Himself to God, so that God, who gave His Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

--- L.A.B. ---
Although God the Father and God the Son are equal, each has a special work to do and an area of sovereign control (15:28).  Christ is not inferior to the Father, but His work is to defeat all evil on earth. First, He defeated sin and death on the cross, and in the end He will defeat Satan and all evil (see Rev. 20:14).      
World events may seem out of control, and justice may seem to have vanished. But God is in control, allowing evil to remain for a time until He sends Jesus to earth again. Then He will present to God a perfect new world.

-- Revelation 20:14 
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:29
29 If the dead will not be raised, then what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

--- L.A.B. ---
Some believers were baptized on behalf of others who had died unbaptized. Nothing more is known about this practice, but it obviously affirms a belief in the resurrection.  The "dead" certainly referred to those who had come to the faith, not unbelievers who had died, or Paul would have condemned the practice.  Paul is not promoting baptism for the dead; he is illustrating his argument that the resurrection is a reality.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:30-34
30 And why should we ourselves be continually risking our lives, facing death hour by hour?
31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done in you.
32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those men of Ephesus {Greek: fighting wild beasts in Ephesus.}—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? If there is no resurrection, "Let’s feast and get drunk, for tomorrow we die!" {Isa. 22:13.}
33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character."
34 Come to your senses and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t even know God.

--- L.A.B. ---
15:30-34 -- If death ended it all, enjoying the moment would be all that mattered. But Christians know that there is life beyond the grave and that our life on earth is only a preparation for our life that will never end. What you do today matters for eternity. 
In light of eternity, sin is a foolish gamble.

15:31, 32 -- “I face death daily” refers to the dangers Paul encountered daily. The “wild beasts” in Ephesus referred to the savage opposition he had faced there.

15:33 -- Keeping company with those who deny the resurrection can corrupt good Christian character. Don’t let your relationships with "bad companies" lead you away from Christ or cause your faith to waver.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35
35 But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?"

--- L.A.B. ---
Paul launches into a discussion about what our resurrected bodies will be like. If you could select your own body, what kind would you choose—strong, athletic, beautiful? Paul explains that we will be recognizable in our resurrected body, yet it will be better than we can imagine, for it will be made to live forever. We will still have our own personality and individuality, but these will be perfected through Christ’s work. The Bible does not reveal everything that our resurrected body will be able to do, but we know it will be perfect, without any infirmities (see Philippians 3:21).

-- Philippians 3:21
21 He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same mighty power that He will use to conquer everything, everywhere.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:36-41
36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.
37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting.
38 Then God gives it a new body—just the kind He wants it to have. A different kind of plant grows from each kind of seed.
39 And just as there are different kinds of seeds and plants, so also there are different kinds of flesh—whether of humans, animals, birds, or fish.
40 There are bodies in the heavens, and there are bodies on earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the beauty of the earthly bodies.
41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their beauty and brightness.

--- L.A.B. ---
Paul compares the resurrection with the growth of a seed in a garden. Seeds placed in the ground don’t grow unless they “die” first. The plant that grows looks very different from the seed because God gives it a new “body.” There are different kinds of bodies—people, animals, fish, birds. Even the angels in heaven have bodies that are different in beauty and glory. Our resurrected body will be very different from our earthly body. It will be a spiritual body full of glory.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:42-44
42 It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die.
43 Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power.
44 They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies.

--- L.A.B. ---
Our present body is perishable and prone to decay. Our resurrection body will be transformed. These spiritual body will not be limited by the laws of nature. This does not necessarily mean we’ll be super people, but our body will be different from and more capable than our present earthly body. Our spiritual body will not be weak, will never get sick, and will never die.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:45
45 The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." {Ge 2:7.} But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.

--- L.A.B. ---
Because Christ rose from the dead, He is a life-giving spirit. This means that He entered into a new form of existence. He is the source of the spiritual life that will result in our resurrection. Christ’s new glorified human body now suits His new glorified life—just as Adam’s human body was suitable to His natural life. When we are resurrected, God will give us a transformed, eternal body suited to our new eternal life.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:46-49
46 What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.
47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second Man, came from heaven.
48 Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam’s, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ’s.
49 Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the Man from heaven.
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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-53
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, {Greek: the brothers} is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever.
51 But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed.
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died {Greek: the dead.} will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die.
53 For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.

--- L.A.B. ---
15:50-53 -- We all face limitations. Some may have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Some may be blind, but they can see a new way to live. Some may be deaf, but they can hear God’s Good News. Some may be lame, but they can walk in God’s love. In addition, they have the encouragement that those disabilities are only temporary. Paul tells us that we all will be given new bodies when Christ returns and that these bodies will be without disabilities, never to die or become sick. This can give us hope in our suffering.

15:51, 52 -- Christians alive at that day will not have to die but will be transformed immediately. A trumpet blast will usher in the new heaven and earth. The Jews would understand the significance of this because trumpets were always blown to signal the start of great festivals and other extraordinary events (Numbers 10:10).

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:54-56
54 When this happens—when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true: "Death is swallowed up in victory. {Isa. 25:8.}
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" {Ho. 13:14.}
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

--- L.A.B. ---
Satan seemed to be victorious in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and at the cross of Jesus. But God turned Satan’s apparent victory into defeat when Jesus Christ rose from the dead (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14, 15). Thus, death is no longer a source of dread or fear. Christ overcame it, and one day we will also. The law will no longer make sinners out of us who cannot keep it. Death has been defeated, and we have hope beyond the grave.

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-- 1 CORINTHIANS 15:58
57 How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, {Greek: the brothers} be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

--- L.A.B. ---
Paul says that because of the resurrection, nothing we do is useless. Sometimes we become apathetic about serving the Lord because we don’t see any results. Knowing that Christ has won the ultimate victory should affect the way we live right now. Don’t let discouragement over an apparent lack of results keep you from doing the work of the Lord enthusiastically as you have opportunity.

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-- Colossians 2:8-23
8 Don’t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, {Or from the basic principles of this world; also in Col 2:20.} and not from Christ.
9 For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, {Greek: in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.}
10 and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.
11 When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure—the cutting away of your sinful nature.
12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.
14 He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross.
15 In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross of Christ.
16  So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new-moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.
17 For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ Himself.
18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And don’t let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud.
19 But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in His body by His strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.
20 You have died with Christ, and He has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as,
21 "Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch."
22 Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them.
23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires.

-- Matthew 28:19,20  (the Great Commission)
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in {see Acts 8:16; 19:5; Romans 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13; 10:2 and Gal. 3:27.} the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."