In this Resurrection Day sermon, Pastor Joe Babij discusses from 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 the connection between Jesus’ resurrection and the believer’s resurrection. Specifically, Pastor Babij explains four victorious outcomes the resurrection provides for believers:
1. Comprehensive Change (vv. 50-53)
2. Cataclysmic Permanent Change (vv. 54-56)
3. Certain Victory (v. 57)
4. Continued Perseverance (v. 58)
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amen this Lord’s day we meet together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead whether you realize it or not the resurrection of Jesus Christ does affect every one of us in one way or another and one reason is because our souls are made of Eternal stuff because we have been created in the image of God so then we all have eternal life the difference lies in our Destinies one will be a resurrection of life one will be a resurrection of damnation let’s pray Lord this morning as we come to your word we come with anticipation and excitement because we do have the victory in Jesus Christ but Lord we also come with a sober mind and heart because some have not received the Gospel of Jesus Christ yet and they’re still in their sin so they don’t have Victory yet but I pray Lord today from your word that they would find Christ as Lord and Savior and they would believe in him and repent of their sins and trust in him because he did everything for us on the cross us we have nothing to add to that we can’t help him sa help God save us he has to save us completely and totally and he does thank you Lord for that so as we approach your word today teach us Lord about Christ’s victory in the believer’s resurrection and I pray this in Christ’s name amen it was the Apostle John he writes in his in the fifth chapter truly truly I say to you an hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live and then it goes on to say he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man do not Marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the Tomb will hear his voice and will come forth those who did Good Deeds to Resurrection of life and those who committed evil Deeds to Resurrection of judgment either you will hear and heed the voice of Christ on this side of Eternity or the next or both so our destiny depends on on what a person does with Jesus Christ if they did believe and receive Jesus Christ alone for salvation then the Des their Destiny will be to spend eternity with the father and Christ in heaven if they didn’t receive or believe in and receive Christ alone for salvation their souls then their destiny of his soul will include separation from God and Jesus Christ in an eternal place called the Lake of Fire the Gospel of John sheds light also on this Sober Truth where it says truly truly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life so the point that we are stressing this morning that I am stressing from the word of God on made on this Lord’s Day in verse 20 of of the first uh the 15th chapter of Corinthians is in verse 20 where it says but now Christ has been raised from the dead now the fun Al reason for our believing in life after death are the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the UN unambiguous declarations from scripture that man has been made for eternity and will live forever either in heaven or in hell now in addition to those two things there are also extra biblical evidences that when woven together give us a clear Insight of what people think about when they think about life after death and these analogies are really given to us by some philosophers and some scientists for example the philosopher Plato he gives an an analogy from nature and he explored the question of immorality primarily I mean immortality primarily from the vantage point of analogies from nature he examined the drama of germination found in a dying seed and notice that the seed to bring forth a living plant or a beautiful Blossom or a Delicious Fruit it first had to go through the process of disintegrating and dying likewise he concluded that the human body must ultimately Decay and die before it will emerge in another world and another life is interesting that Plato lived four centuries before Christ and the Apostle Paul and yet he enunciated the same evidence of life after the death which Christ and Paul and scripture affirm so he was dealing honestly with the evidence also Emanuel Kant he takes a different approach and he looked at life after death based on the necessity of Justice he asked what would be necessary for that innate sense of Duty that we all have in ourselves of right and wrong to make sense he answered his own question by reasoning that for the for that sense of Duty to be meaningful there must be Justice for why do you do right if Justice doesn’t Prevail but Kant noticed however that Justice does not always Prevail in the world and too often those who seek to do good suffer and those who do wicked Prosper his practical reasoning concluded by concluding since Justice does not Prevail in this life there must be another time and place where it will in other words he reasoned that Justice demands life beyond the grave now that sounds much like what the Bible describes in Hebrews 927 where it says you it’s appointed once for man to die and then what the Judgment right that’s what scripture says but then Kant carried his logic further to reason that for justice to truly Prevail there must be a perfect judge who must know all things and have all the evidence and have all power to ensure that the verdict that was given for reward and Punishment was properly carried out and balanced thus for Kant practical ethics required life after death and a judge whose description sounds very much like the god of Christianity and then the law of thermo Dynamics the first law of thermodynamics as set forth by Albert Einstein states that energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed they may be transformed from one form to another but they can’t be destroyed this was con uh conclusively demonstrated with the dropping of the adom bomb at uh Hiroshima and once scientist one scientist stated that no single atom in creation can go out of existence it only can change form we cannot burn up anything we simply change it from a solid to a gases State we cannot like changing its temperature we change water from a liquid to a gas or steam or a solid to an ice which is solid so if man body mind and soul at death ceases to exist he the most precious and all of God of God’s creatures will be the only thing in the universe that does see it didn’t make sense again the Bible in 1 Corinthians chap 15 verse 49- 51 describes for us how the Christian’s body will be in fact changed changed in form so that means we there is an eternity we will spend an eternity somewhere now as some believe if the resurrection is not true then as Paul recorded in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 12-9 then our preaching is hollow our faith is vain we are liars we are still lost in sin dead Believers have perished with no hope and we are the most miserable and pathetic of all people but Jesus is Alive and because he rose bodily from the grave so will all who believe in Jesus they will rais in great power and great Victory that’s what the word of God says now that’s that’s an encouraging message and we need something encouraging today in our world don’t we and it’s found in the word of God so for those who are in Christ there are four Victorious outcomes the resurrection provides to Believers the hope of the Christian is expressed also in the epith of Benjamin Franklin he wrote this for himself engraved on his tombstone in the cemetery at Christ Church in Philadelphia the body of Franklin printer like the cover of an old book it can its contents torn out and stripped of its letter lettering and gilding lies here food for worms but the work will not be lost for it will appear once more in a new and more elegant Edition revised and corrected by the author Benjamin Franklin now whether all those people uh any of those people were Christians they did deal with the evidence in a way that was honest so what is the first Victorious outcome that is beneficial for the Christian found in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 50 to 53 and we’ll look up to verse 42 also so found in the Pew Bible if you do not have your own Bible on page 11 1,153 so look at your Bibles this morning and let’s look at what the word of God says the first Victorious outcome is comprehensive change comprehensive change now these old bodies aren’t going to work well in heaven in fact they can’t get into heaven see see heaven will not have our our residence these bodies we now live in they work well enough for this Earth at least for a few years yet they are not suited for heaven as our passage says in verse 50 of 1 Corinthians 55 now I say this Brethren flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perish able inherit the imperishable so the kingdom of God is used here to refer to the Eternal state of Believers the state in which Believers are in the Eternal presence of God right now our bodies are perishable we can’t put on the imperishable so then to go into the kingdom of God our bodies must be changed it must be made different and it look how God will change the Earthly body to a SP a spiritual body the old body is is contrasted with the new body and if you go up to verse 42 the first contrast is made in the area of durability it says so in verse number 42 so also is the resurrection of the Dead it is sown a perishable body so the regular word for the disposal of the body that we would use is to bury it but the word used here is sown not buried and so the term sewn pushes us to think of planting a seed and expecting a harvest it makes us to ponder the Harvest of souls in Resurrection which the believer which is really the believer’s hope the message of the Gospel has changed the act of burial into the act of sewing we will be planted in the ground but only to die to be made alive that’s the point so in the bodies that we have now every nerve every blood vessel tells us that we must die it is subject to deterioration to Decay to eventual death we all are full of sufferings we we ache we have pains especially as you get older which remind us that we really can only remain here a limited amount of time we all know that we all drive past cemeteries sometimes we don’t want to look but cemeteries are filled with bodies who are decayed and are ready for for the resurrection in fact the psalmist said it like this Lord make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days let me know how transient I am behold you have made my days as a hand breath and my lifetime as nothing in your sight surely every man at his best is a mere breath and then job said it like this man who is born of woman is short-lived and full of turmoil like a flower he comes forth and Withers he also fleas like a shadow and does not remain just the the the thought that someday we’re going to die we don’t like to think about that but it is true it’s maybe more true than anything the resurrected body is on the other hand durable it’s subject neither to disease nor Decay nor death the Bible says it is raised in verse 42 imperishable those in Christ will know nothing of growing old or getting tired or needing to go to sleep Believers will have new bodies that maintain a freshness and a Vitality about it with no aches and pains a second contrast is made in verse 43 the second contrast has to do with value or potential where it says in for verse 43 it is sown in dishonor so Brethren time troubles in life the law of gravity and the effects of sins these are not kind to the human body the power of indwelling sin has disgraced the body the body goes to the grave in somewhat a embarrassing condition however in the Resurrection the new body has the potential to have a dignity about it a Brilliance about it unlike the Natural State the Bible says here it is raised in glory free from the power of original sin the power of the the power of sin the presence of sin the will no longer be any temptation to sin Paul wrote in Philippians who will transform the body of our humble estate into Conformity with the body of his glory a new body bright and beautiful in form excelling in every way like the body of the Lord Jesus Christ and then there is a third contrast in verse 43 it says and this has to do with ability it will be sown in weakness so just think for a moment that we’re we’re so fragile each of us we we should have uh labels on our forehead handled with care we’re we’re fragile like a clod which can easily be broken being subject to all the elements and the conditions of a Fallen World how weak we become when we grow older and we near our time to die think of it a person has to be carried by their family and friends to their grave they can’t even lay down their own life at that point they’re helpless they’re but the Bible does say that they’re going to we’re going to be raised in power Believers will have superhuman bodies it will get up and never fall again bodies marked by inherent power no exhaustion or ailments or depression or heart attacks it’s funny if you’re reading through the Ecclesiastes you’ll find there when you come to chapter 12 it actually describes somebody growing old and it kind of has it the context context is metaphorically in a storm coming and it says it like this no need need to turn there but really when one grows old the picture is we grow weak and have less and less control over our over our body and our mind it says here like the Watchmen of it says the Watchmen of the house trembled that has to do with arms and hands tremble in old age with py and feebleness and then it says the Mighty Men stoop referring to the legs the legs are bent in feebleness and the knees totter and then the grinding ones stand idle because they are few what’s that that are that’s our teeth right the teeth lose their ability to mitigate food and our Feud they fall out right we of to go get special surgery to make sure we keep them there and of course the eyes lose their sight the pupils become less dilated and more contracted and then Ecclesiastes uh says this for man goes to his eternal home while MERS go into the the street so in other words here death is in view everyone goes to their Eternal home the grave the raging Storm claims everyone in death no one can escape it and here’s the great weighty admonition in when you’re reading a wisdom book like Ecclesiastes remember your creator before old age debilitate you and death claims you all right you have to do that on this side of Eternity you have to come to know Christ on this side of Eternity because if you die then there’s just the Judgment of God see human life is of Great Value but it is rendered useless as the time of death and then what does uh Solomon conclude in Ecclesiastes he concludes this remember before your silver cord is broken and the Golden Bowl is crushed and what does that mean that means your spinal cord doesn’t work very well and your The Golden Bowl being your brain is is kind of like losing it you don’t remember things anymore and and uh can’t find your keys anymore you know and you’re asking your spouse you know where did I put that you know and then you find something two years later that you put away and you thought you knew where it was and then you find it two years later that’s what happens it’s a scary thing but one thing is sure all those images bring home a very sobering thought that death is Unstoppable it is catastrophic it is irrevocable and how does Ecclesiastes conclude it concludes like this it even says the conclusion when all has been heard is fear God and keep his Commandments because it applies to every person for God will bring Every Act to judgment everything which is hidden whether it is good or evil in other words there will be fair Justice in any case the new resurrected body there will be a constant supply of inward energy that will not need recharging or replacement you won’t have to plug us in so there’s a fourth contrast in 1 Corinthians 15:44 and the contrast has to do with sphere it says it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body if there is a natural body there is also a spiritual body so it’s talking about the solish body that we have it is only suited for this natural world in which we’re just sojourners we’re just pilgrims on our way home and even as the Blue Grass song says it this is a mighty world world we live in but the truth is we’re only passing through someday we will have a spiritual body perfectly suited for the Heavenly realm when you the believer dies your spirit will dwell in heaven for a little while while without a body but afterwards you are to enter into a house not made with hands Eternal in the heavens you and I will be fit for the kingdom of God suited for our new home where God dwells see the man Adam passed his sinful nature to the whole human race but Christ the last Adam in other words he’s the final the finality everything is final in Christ Jesus it even says it in 1 Corinthians 15:45 so it is written the first man Adam became a living soul and the last Adam that’s Christ became a lifegiving spirit so we once resembl the old solish Earthbound man Adam everything will flow though from Christ and we will resemble the Heavenly a body like his body a life like his enjoyed to the fullest as it says in verse 49 just as we have been Bor we have borne the image of the Earthly we will also bear the image of the Heavenly in other words if you have an Earthly body there will be a Heavenly one that’s what it’s m the point it’s making there will be there’s no like discussion about whether there will or will will not be there will be so just as you alive right now you’ll be alive in a resurrected body one for the presence of God or one for separation from the presence of God so if you’re still in your sin you’ll be separated from the presence of God now that brings me to really some facts surrounding the change notice in verse number 50 of 1 Corinthians 15 the need for the change what why do we need to be changed why can’t we just go into heaven just like we are well the Bible says in verse number 50 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit imperishable all right we need to get changed right we need this change of form secondly in verse 51 and 54 the description of the change notice it says our bodies will be changed to an altered state verse 51 behold I tell you a mystery that we will not all sleep but we will be changed I like those definite type of phrases in scripture right Believers bodies who now sleep their bodies will be altered to live in a do in the domain of heaven with no Decay no corruption no sin bodies suited to this world can never pass over to the resurrection world this passage also indicates that at the end of human history not all will experience physical death but all will experience Resurrection those who are still living when Christ comes will be changed and of course that change is affected at the time of the Rapture for believers as it tells us in Thessalonians then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we always be with the Lord that’s the hope that we have also our bodies will be changed quickly if you notice in verse 52 it says in the moment in the twinkling of an eye so the change that will take place will have no need to go through a timely process instead our text says it will be in the atom of time that’s the Greek word adamos or Adam it’s the the smallest uh particle or I can say it like that the smallest measure of time and coupled with the term ripe which means rapid throwing movement or the quick wink of an eye do you know that the human blink has only lasts only a tenth of a second which is which is 100 milliseconds that’s pretty fast to put in it in perspective The Tick of a clock lasts one second making it possible to Blink three times during a single tick of a clock the point being that there’s no reason for delay at this point right it’s all coming together God’s plan is coming together it’s not a year delay or a month delay or a week delay or a day delay or even an hour delay the Bible says it’s less than a second it’s going to be fast let’s get this over with already and it’s going to be at a specific time in verse uh verse 52 and 53 it says for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed the specific time will be at revelation the last trumpet the trumpet’s a musical instrument often used in a military context R is the trumpet sound used to wake up troops to get them out of the racks and ready for the day before them when I was uh stationed on an aircraft carrier I can still hear the bosen’s whistle over the loudspeaker something like that and then the voice that follow re R All Hands he out and tri up that’s burned into my head for 24 months being on a carard that’s burned into my head so at the last trumpet the trumpet will sound the Bible says the last trumpet is not the last in the script in a scriptural sense but the last four Believers it is a time when God’s trumpet will summon all all of God’s chosen chosen all believers will come forth it tells us this again in Thessalonians for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first so what will happen at the last trumpet in verse 52 for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised and perishable and we will be changed our decaying bodies must put on non decaying bodies that will allow us to live with God in heaven you if you didn’t notice in chapter 15 it mentions four last things in verse number eight the last witness is the Apostle Paul he was one Bor not of due season he was the last Apostle to see Jesus and then in verse number 26 The Last Enemy is death in verse 45 the last adom is Christ and of course in verse 52 the last trumpet is God’s trumpet one day an assistant of the famous chemist Michael Faraday accidentally knocked a little silver cup into a beaker of very strong acid it almost in no time the silver object disappeared the great chemist was summoned he quickly put a certain chemical into the jar and in a moment every particle of silver silver came together at the bottom removing the shapeless Mass he sent it to the silver smith who who recreated a cup that Shone bright as ever see what Mark Michael Faraday did in the laboratory is just a small picture of what our Mighty God will do on Resurrection Day for all his Saints he will miraculously re restore the body of all who have died in Christ both living and dead and they will be raised Incorruptible brand spank and new you know if we didn’t have this chapter here in inh 1 Corinthians we we would not even know what’s next this is what’s next this is our hope this is for our encouragement well this bring me to my second Victorious outcome which will not spend a lot of time on all the rest of them is the cataclysmic permanent defeat in verse 54 to 56 here’s the celebration of change it says in verse 54 but when this perishable will put on the imperishable and this Mortal will put on immor immortality then will come about the saying that is written death is swallowed up in Victory so in other words death will become extinct swallow up is used in a a verbal sense that means somebody will drink down death so it will exist no more death is vanquished by a superior power and we know that is the power of God death our greatest enemy will be permanently and successfully rid of forever all its power all its horror all its fear will be gone also in verse 55 the sting of death will be eradicated in verse 15 chapter 15 verse 55 it says oh death it’s it’s uh brought to us in questions oh death where’s your sting oh death where is your Victory The Sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law see we have we have all been stung by sin The Sting represents death as a venomous creature a scorpion or a Hornet which has a deadly stinger and the dangerous Stinger is rendered here by Christ harmless Christ bore the whole death sting in order that we would not have to bear it at all but the sting of death Still Remains for all those who have not believed because they have they’re they’re still in their sin and as long as they remain in that condition the law condemns them and the harm of the sting of death Still Remains upon them so so what what is the problem that causes people to die that we would need a resurrection well the problem is sin to understand Resurrection really there’s two ingredients to we need to understand first is uh sin itself the scriptures make it plain that all of us are sinners born in sin and by our Natures will commit many sins in our life so many we can’t even count them or remember them but God does because he keeps accurate records nothing could be stated more clearly in the Bible or even in Romans where it says there is none righteous not even one there’s no one who who does good not even one person does good Ecclesiastes says indeed there is not a righteous man on Earth who continually does good and who never sins Jeremiah tells us that the heart is desperately sick because of sin if you want to be honest and look at the matter clearly we are we were all on death row condemned already that’s what the scripture says he who believes in Him is not judged but he who does not believe is judged already see you’re condemned to die I’m condemned to die because the wages of sin is death so the problem is Sin Sin makes it very plain where the Epistle of James says for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at one point breaks the law just one time they’re they’re guilty of it all all of it it is amazing to me how many people think that their good works are going to outweigh their bad works that’s what I thought matter of fact that was a driving thing in my life I was I was a good religious boy I thought I kept the Commandments I thought my good works without May weighing my bad works the attitude of many people is that they are really quite good and that they are certainly sufficiently good and better than some people that they know but no person is good enough because you would have to be perfect all the time every day 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year can anybody say I’m that good no you’re not that good because you’re a sinner you break God’s law I broke all God’s law all over the place the whole world is a fallen race of rebels and stand condemned in the sight of God see we have to understand a second ingredient and and the second second ingredient we need to understand besides sin is to understand that sin has a just judge condemning it see it’s it’s God’s justice the Bible teaches us that God is absolutely just and holy he is pure uh of pure eyes than even to look upon iniquity and thus no sin could ever enter into heaven God can’t allow it his character won’t allow it so somebody who thinks they’re good they have all this sin God sees the sin you can’t come in sorry because you compared yourself with someone else and you didn’t compare yourself with me if you compared yourself with me you’ll find out you’re not good so because God is just he must punish every and all sin did you have hear hear anybody brought into the court and charged with murder or larsy or bank robbing whatever it may be and get up and take the witness stand and say well yes your honor I did murder but you understand that I was a boy scout you know I I was on the honor rooll in school I I even have merit badges to prove it I did this and I did that and I did the other thing but but if the judge is just he must uphold the law he must uphold Justice rather the judge must say you are you are here sir to answer the charge of murder nothing else see we would like God to lower the bar to be easy on us but he cannot he cannot violate his own being his own holiness and his own Justice see that’s the character of God that makes sin way worse when you put it in that perspective look at it from that perspective so people have broken the holy law of a holy God and therefore are guilty and condemned we sin every day in thought in word and In Deed we also sin deliberately but we also sin unintentionally we have all broken all the laws of God and therefore we are condemned already under God’s holy justice so where sin has been removed by Christ death can no longer be there death can only interrupt this Earthly life and then Usher us into into heaven as long as a person is unconverted and without Christ The Sting of death remains forever and will Usher in the second death which is eternal death which is the Lake of Fire and those who die in Christ those are the Saved persons the second death has no power the Bible says Saints are no longer guilty because Christ has taken their guilt yes they have sinned like everyone else and were by Nature the children of Wrath but their sins have been lifted from them the Lord Jesus Christ their substitute has carried all their guilt and sin and iniquity and has taken it completely away Jesus has satisfied the just demands of the law Jesus has paid the full price for sin in our place so Christians wear their savior’s righteousness on their account and we have been washed and made clean by the blood of Christ we’re now at peace with God yes those who die in Christ the fiery destruction of the Flames of the Lake of Fire cannot singe their clothing even make them smell like they been near the Flames because they are in Christ nothing can overcome them ever again they’ve died in the Lord and not in their sin so anyone anyone who has believed in and received Christ as part of the Living Harvest of souls waiting for Jesus to gather them them them up to the father’s presence for the believer there is nothing but Victory like our Lord Jesus Christ we will be raised Incorruptible and that brings me to the third Victorious outcome and that’s in verse 57 and it’s certain Victory certain Victory it says but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ again a military military language being used here who gives us the victory to have Victory someone had to win the battle and to say it reverently as I said before Jesus is the greatest special Warfare operator who fought the greatest battle who won the greatest V Victory and why did he do that to just to secure our Salvation so now Believers have a victory that has been given given to them by God and what’s the response to know that we have the victory it says it right here but thanks be to God thank you Lord thank you Jesus that you have fought for me and won you have overcome for overcome for me and won and all that I have for you is gratitude all that I have for you is Thanksgiving all that I have for you is praise all that I can conjure up in my soul is the joy of the Lord because I deserve none of it you deserve none of it and yet Christ accomplished it for us so the Victory Is Ours the amazing work on the cross God’s power in the resurrection Jesus present work as high priest and Advocate right now praying for us at the right hand of the father and keeping us so nobody can mess with us because we’re his property so the only sufficient response to these Majestic truths is to thank God and then there’s one last thing and I’ll close the fourth Victorious outcome is this continued perseverance notice what it says in verse number 58 therefore my beloved Brethren be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord why does he end with that you know why he with that because if you know the doctrine of the resurrection of what Christ Resurrection means and what it means for you the only you thing you can do is persevere in the faith and work for the Lord until he takes you out right until he takes you into his presence in other words all believers have a great motivation to keep on keeping on that’s perseverance of the Saints the day you trust to Christ the day you die yeah you’re going to ups and downs between then and that and the between what happened in the beginning and the end but you will persevere to the end and you will die in Christ not in your sin I like what Paul said it in Philippi in Philippians he says hold fast the word of life so that in the day of Christ I will be I will have reason to Glory because I have not run in vain nor toiled in vain and what does that all mean that means because of the Resurrection our belief in Christ and our labor for Christ is not hopeless is not usess is not worthless and is not Hollow we have the Victory and everything we do for the Lord counts even as it says in scripture giving a cold glass of water to someone who needs it if you do it in the Name of Christ that is not in vain some nobody may see it but God sees it see we have the victory so you know what we need to do now we need to get up and sing because we have the victory amen let’s do that let’s Stand Together