"Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit."
If you slow down and really attempt to understand this verse, it is mind blowing! God created Adam. He breathed into him the breath of life. And Adam became a living soul. Some time later, God (in the person of Jesus) took on flesh, the very thing that He Himself had breathed life into so long ago. His motivation for doing this was to give life to those who had squandered it. And the giving of life would come at a high cost. Through His death, Jesus gives life.
I am like the first Adam, a living soul. God has given me life, and I have often turned away from Him in sin. But I will be like the second Adam. Jesus has already given me spiritual life and will complete it in His time by also giving me a spiritual body. “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (44b).
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
1 Corinthians 15:42-44
"So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."
As the seed’s death brings about the life of a new plant, so also the Christian’s physical death brings about a new spiritual life. What are the differences between the seed and the plant (that is our current bodies and Christians’ resurrection bodies)?
Our current bodies will die. All the health care in the world will not extend a person's life into eternity. But our resurrection bodies will never wear out. They will last forever.
Our current bodies will rot away in a manner that most people find revolting and not a subject for polite conversation. But our resurrection bodies will be things of unfading magnificence. We will be glorious in form and in appearance.
Our current bodies are wrought with debilitating illnesses. Cancer, diabetes, the flu, the cold, and infections are just a few of the many things that weaken rich and poor alike. But our resurrection bodies will have a God-given, unshakable, unyielding power. We will no longer be subject to our present ailments. These frightening maladies that occupy our time, attention, and money will all be behind us (perhaps a distant memory).
Our current bodies are limited, and we are not inherently able to understand or even receive spiritual truths. But our resurrection bodies will themselves be spiritual. That plain of existence that now seems so distant and illusive shall be our pleasant and blessed reality.
The fact that we have a physical body should be a constant reminder of the body to come. For Christians who are nearing the end of their lives, this is a clearer reality. But all of us who have a saving relationship with Christ would do well to remember the blessings to come.
As the seed’s death brings about the life of a new plant, so also the Christian’s physical death brings about a new spiritual life. What are the differences between the seed and the plant (that is our current bodies and Christians’ resurrection bodies)?
Our current bodies will die. All the health care in the world will not extend a person's life into eternity. But our resurrection bodies will never wear out. They will last forever.
Our current bodies will rot away in a manner that most people find revolting and not a subject for polite conversation. But our resurrection bodies will be things of unfading magnificence. We will be glorious in form and in appearance.
Our current bodies are wrought with debilitating illnesses. Cancer, diabetes, the flu, the cold, and infections are just a few of the many things that weaken rich and poor alike. But our resurrection bodies will have a God-given, unshakable, unyielding power. We will no longer be subject to our present ailments. These frightening maladies that occupy our time, attention, and money will all be behind us (perhaps a distant memory).
Our current bodies are limited, and we are not inherently able to understand or even receive spiritual truths. But our resurrection bodies will themselves be spiritual. That plain of existence that now seems so distant and illusive shall be our pleasant and blessed reality.
The fact that we have a physical body should be a constant reminder of the body to come. For Christians who are nearing the end of their lives, this is a clearer reality. But all of us who have a saving relationship with Christ would do well to remember the blessings to come.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
1 Corinthians 15:35-41
"But someone will ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?' You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory."
The scoffer makes light of the reality of the resurrection. “How is it possible,” he laughs, “that a body could decay to nothing and then come back to life?” Paul responds by pointing out that the death of a seed brings about the life of a plant. When you place a seed in the ground, you don’t look for that seed again. Its death brings about new life.
Likewise, the Christian’s physical death will bring about new life. He shall be raised. I believe that there will be some kind of connection to our physical bodies, but they will not be what we now know them to be now. It’s not as if our hands, feet, skin pigmentation and follicle distribution are going to be exactly reconstituted at our resurrection after the decay of death does away with them. Our bodies will be raised, but we will not be as we now are. God will use our physical bodies to give us new heavenly bodies.
The scoffer dismisses the truth of the resurrection as unreasonable. But his supposed reasonableness is in fact foolishness. God will bring the dead to life, and He will do it in a way that will likely surprise even the believing recipients.
The scoffer makes light of the reality of the resurrection. “How is it possible,” he laughs, “that a body could decay to nothing and then come back to life?” Paul responds by pointing out that the death of a seed brings about the life of a plant. When you place a seed in the ground, you don’t look for that seed again. Its death brings about new life.
Likewise, the Christian’s physical death will bring about new life. He shall be raised. I believe that there will be some kind of connection to our physical bodies, but they will not be what we now know them to be now. It’s not as if our hands, feet, skin pigmentation and follicle distribution are going to be exactly reconstituted at our resurrection after the decay of death does away with them. Our bodies will be raised, but we will not be as we now are. God will use our physical bodies to give us new heavenly bodies.
The scoffer dismisses the truth of the resurrection as unreasonable. But his supposed reasonableness is in fact foolishness. God will bring the dead to life, and He will do it in a way that will likely surprise even the believing recipients.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)