1 Corinthians 15:45
Elbert Hubbard said, “Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” But he was wrong.
How Christ Conquered Death
Why is Jesus King? Because when He walked out of that grave, He destroyed death.
1 Corinthians 15:22,45
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive….And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
The last Adam is Jesus Christ. In the first Adam, we all fell. In the second Adam, we are all redeemed.
How Do We Know that Jesus Rose from the Dead?
What motivation could the apostles have had for telling a lie? (See 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.) Martyrs and hypocrites are not made of the same stuff.
1 Corinthians 15:13-14,20
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty…. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” [Emphasis added].
The Mystery of the Rapture
Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, and we are the harvest. (See 1 Corinthians 15:20-21.)
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
A biblical mystery is a truth revealed by divine revelation. This sacred secret is that one day, the living saints will be changed, and the dead saints will be raised from the grave in their resurrection body.
The Resurrection of the Saints
Paul said to King Agrippa, “ Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8).
1 Corinthians 15:35-38
“But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.”
A seed goes into the ground and rots, but out of it comes life more glorious than the seed that went in.
When Will the Last Days Be?
The “last days” began at Pentecost. (See 1 John 2:18.) The Second Coming of Jesus is always imminent. (See James 5:8.)
“From the time Christ ascended, people have remembered the angels’ message: ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:11).
What Does the Resurrection of Jesus Mean for Us?
1 Corinthians 15:54
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’”
But Paul is not trying to make better theologians out of us; he is trying to make us better Christians.
1 Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Christ fulfilled the law for us; therefore, death holds no terrors for us. You are to have stability. Don’t get blown around.
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).
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