Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our nearest Kinsman, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Text: Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
People of God, this is our last sermon on I Corinthians 15. It is never easy to concentrate too long on one subject, but certain subjects like the Resurrection of Jesus and our future resurrection are worth meditating for a longer period of time. The resurrection is the center of our hope. Without the resurrection we are of all people to be most pitied. Without the resurrection Christian funerals are nothing more than a big joke.
But Paul has labored to make the point not only that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, but that we too shall be raised at the last day with an imperishable body.
Some Corinthians struggled greatly to grasp the reality that their physical bodies would not be destroyed or disposed of at the end of history, but actually transformed into an imperishable, never-aging body. They had bought into some of the myths that many people embrace even in our own day. Many evangelicals believe firmly in this myth that our bodies do not matter to God, and that the only reason we have a flesh is because we are earthly people. But when Jesus returns at his Second Coming we will all be transformed into souls that will float away and enjoy the glories of heaven forever and ever. Continue reading “Sermon: The Empty Threat of Death, Part VIII, I Corinthians 15:58”