People of God, we are persevering through this dynamic and theologically astute response of the Apostle Paul to the skeptical Corinthians. This is Pau’s third and final response to their inquiries. He treats them with a profound conviction that they are in error, but also with a fatherly desire to see that they abandon these false interpretations of the Resurrection. For Paul, thinking and doing go hand in hand. If they think incorrectly about the resurrection they are going to act unethically.
This is why this study is so crucial for all of us. In fact, when we conclude these 58 verses you will most likely have a better understanding of the resurrection than the majority of evangelicals in the world. This is no exaggeration. I interacted with a dear man who is 86 years old, rapidly dying of cancer, and has been a believer for at least 40 years. In the context of our conversation he expressed how much he looked forward to receiving wings as angels, and flying without a body for all eternity. I attempted to offer him a new way of looking at eternity, but in his mind his body was already so scarred by cancer that he could not grasp the idea of God giving him a new body. Another example of a faulty understanding of a future resurrection is often heard at funerals, when people—well-intentioned—talk about how the dead are now in their glorified bodies in heaven. But as Paul says, we will only receive a new body at the end of human history when God completes his work on earth. He will re-unite our bodies and souls, and make us into living bodies filled with life for all eternity. Continue reading “Sermon: The Empty Threat of Death, Part VI, I Corinthians 15:42-49”