1 Corinthians 15 - Our Risen Lord
All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.
Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
1 Corinthians 15 explores the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to read the entire chapter daily, then to focus more closely on the selected text
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?” 36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow—you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41 There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. 42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; 43 sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; 44 sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.
47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.
Through the Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 10-11, John 14, Psalm 73:1–3, Proverbs15:1–2
If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings.
Devotional: A Destiny Beyond Understanding
You fool!
That is harsh way to address someone who is inquiring about what things will be like in heaven, but that was the word Paul chose in verse 36 responding to the questions asked in verse 35. How are the dead raised? What kind of body do they have? It seems a little extreme to call them fools, but that is exactly what Paul does.
I don't think he was intending to insult them, only to make the point that speculation about heavy is vain, pointless. It is so far outside of our experience that we cannot even understand it. I can grasp, to a small, horrific extent, the concept of eternal suffering in hell. I have endured physical pain and I know sin and guilt, so hell is within the general realm of my experience. I do not like to think about it and it is horrible to consider, but it is something I can gain at least a small grasp on if I try. Not so with heaven. A place without sin, with neverending glory and ceaseless praise of God? This does not compute.
Paul uses the illustration of a seed and a plant. I just put my tomatoes in the ground last week. I cheated. I bought plants that someone else had grown and replanted them. In the past, I've tried the seedling thing and been remarkably unsuccessful. Imagine, though, a tomato seed - small, white, roundish thing. Looking at that, can you imagine that is will spring up into a large green bush with tasty red fruit? It seems unlikely, but that is exactly what happens - hopefully!
My body today is the seed. One of these days, sooner or later, my life will be over and my body will be planted as a seed. What is going to grow from that seed will be as different as a tomato seed is from a tomato plant. I will still, I believe, be Dave, with an identity, but my existence will be so different from what I am now that speculation about it is, well, foolish.
We have kind of a running joke in my Bible study groups. They ask me questions and I often give them the same definitive answer. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. There is so much that we do not know from God's word. He tells us much that we can learn from and grow in Christ - everything we need for life, for salvation, for godliness. But the things of eternity are beyond our grasp.
What I know is this, and being in a house with two parents who are days or weeks from the end of their race, it is a great comfort. One day, this life will end and our bodies will be planted. Jesus Christ will receive to himself the souls of those who trust in him. The grave will hold our bodies until the appointed time then Jesus will raise us from the dead and we will have new bodies, glorified bodies, perfect bodies, sinless bodies.
How will God accomplish this? I'm no fool - I'm not going to try to explain that. What will our resurrection bodies be like? I'm no fool (at least I try not to be). Don't ask me. But they will be immortal, untouched by sin, and fit for eternal glory. Praise God. That's good enough for me.
Father, I thank you for the glorious future you have awaiting me, even if it is one I do not and cannot comprehend.
Think and Pray:
Consider the glorious future awaiting you and thank God for it.
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