Transcript

Sermon Transcript: Our Resurrection Bodies

6/24/2018 Jeff Schwarzentraub 34 min read

Well, thank you so much for choosing to worship with us today. Would you do me a favor and welcome our Broomfield campus, who's worshiping along with us. So great to have you this morning. And as we've been worshiping and seeking the Lord in prayer, let's just continue that attitude of prayer as we ask the Lord to speak directly to our hearts as we get ready to hear his word. So, Lord, we just come before your throne right now, and as we've been celebrating you, the living and active God of the universe, Lord, we pray that you would speak.

Speak to us now, Lord, that you would quiet our hearts, Lord, that we would confess any known sin, Lord, that we'd be ready to receive and put into practice anything that you would show us this morning, and that we'd see just how glorious you are and how in need of you we are. And, Lord, we give you praise for who you are, for all you've done, for all you're going to do. And we celebrate you this day. So, Lord, in advance, have your way with your word this morning. And we as a people will honor you by doing everything you show us by faith.

And we all pray that in Jesus name, amen. Amen. I want to encourage you. Turn your Bibles this morning to one Corinthians, chapter 15. One Corinthians, chapter 15.

We're going to begin in verse 35 this morning. First Corinthians, chapter 15 and verse 35. Let me bring you up to speed. In case you're just joining us, what Paul has been talking about in chapter 15 is the resurrection of the dead, that Christ has risen. And he said, as foundation, the most important thing that you need to know is that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised from the dead according to the scriptures, and that the resurrection is the most significant important fact to the christian faith.

It's historically provable, it's viable, and it validated the fact that Jesus Christ is God's one and only eternal son. When he came up out of the grave, he's the only one that has ever done that. Paul goes on to explain that if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, preaching is pointless, our faith is useless. We're to be pitied among all people, because if we only believe in Christ for this life, we're not believing in the Christ of the Bible, that Jesus Christ has indeed risen, that there is a life that follows this life, and that's important. And Paul goes on to say, as a result of him preaching this as a result of him preaching that Christ is the resurrected Christ, he's endured all sorts of persecution and difficulty and challenge.

When you begin to explain to people that Jesus Christ is God's one and only son, that there is no other way but Jesus, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that's why he's the only God that's worthy of being served. You deal with tribulation as a result of sharing those truths. There's many people that reject that. And Paul's going to continue on because what he's gonna talk about today is our resurrection bodies. I wanted to let you know, the body that you're in right now is not your ultimate destination.

It's not your ultimate body. There is a resurrection body that is coming, and Paul's gonna explain to us a little bit about what that's like. Now, we don't get a ton of information on that, but enough to know that it's definitely, as a believer in Christ, worth looking forward to. And so Paul's gonna begin this section in verse 35, and he's really gonna be answering a critic, because notice what he says. But someone will say, how are the dead raised?

And with what kind of body do they come? Now notice the start of the next verse, you fool. That seems kind of strange, doesn't it? I mean. Cause I think it's normal to ask questions like, how are the dead gonna be raised, and what kind of body are we gonna have?

And is it okay to ask questions in church? Is it okay to ask questions? Yes, it is. It's always okay to ask questions. God is infinite.

God knows everything. God's not challenged by your questions. He can answer them. So what Paul is not talking to is a person who's genuinely asking, what's it gonna be like? And what kind of resurrection body am I gonna have?

He's been dealing with a group of people in Corinth who still say there is no resurrection from the dead, and Paul is trying to correct them, saying, jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection as he rose from the dead. At his return, all of those who are in Christ will be resurrected with him. Then there's the reign of Christ for a thousand years on the planet, where he will destroy all rule and authority, and he will reign and rule, and then comes the end. Now, the end is for us as christians. It's the beginning of the eternal state forever and ever.

Amen. Okay. And that's what we've been talking about. So Paul is not talking. He's stating an argument here.

He's not talking to someone who's genuinely interested in saying, hey, I want to know about this. He's talking to the person who says, there's no resurrection. How are the dead going to be raised? What kind of body are we going to have? And what's he say?

You fool. Now, fool in the Bible does not mean what we think about in our modern day vernacular. When we think fool, we think idiot, stupid, simpleton, man. They don't have a brain. Some of the most educated people in the world can be fools according to the Bible.

Because fool in the Bible just means hard hearted towards the things of God. That's what a fool is. I mean, there's some other examples in the Bible of fools, okay? And what it comes down to is understanding the gospel. In Matthew, chapter seven, verse 21, Jesus said these words.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom. There's people that will say, Jesus is Lord. Jesus is lord. They won't enter the kingdom because just mouthing something with your lips does not mean that you're believing it in your heart. There'll be many on that day that say, but, Lord, we prophesied in your name.

We cast out demons, saw people healed. And he will say, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you. And then he goes on to talk about two different types of people. People that build their house upon the rock, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. And people that build their house on the sand.

And those who build their house upon the sand are what? They're fools. They're fools. They're stubbornly hard hearted, saying, I want to build my life completely around me. Maybe I'll have Jesus on the side.

Maybe I won't. But at the end of the day, my life still centers around me. That person, the Bible says, is a fool. Psalm 14. One says, the fool in his heart says, there is no God.

Some of the most intelligent people in the world are fools. Doesn't mean they're not smart. Doesn't mean they're not well educated. Doesn't mean they're not good people. But when it comes to the things of God, they are foolish.

Cause they are stubbornly hard hearted and want nothing to do with Jesus. I mean, even you think about Jesus disciples. Judas Iscariot, he was a fool. He was an absolute fool here. He followed Christ around for three years and didn't have a relationship.

Jesus Christ was not Judas Iscariot's lord. He had plans for Jesus that were different than his. Whereas the other eleven, they bowed and worshiped Jesus as Lord. Judas Iscariot was a fool, right, because money became more important to him than a relationship with Jesus Christ. And we see this all throughout the scripture.

And that's why before we get into the section and talk about resurrection bodies, it's really important that you understand the gospel before we talk about resurrection bodies because everybody that comes to church thinks they understand the gospel. And not everybody that comes to church understands the gospel. The gospel is this, that Jesus Christ is God's one and only son. He's eternal, he's always existed. He became incarnate 2000 years ago.

He lived a perfect life. He fulfilled everything that the Bible required of a person. What we could never do, Jesus Christ did. Because we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one good.

No, not one. There is not one here who seeks after God. Not one. So Jesus came on our behalf to restore glory to his father that we had robbed through our sin and to provide a way for those of us who are sinful to have a relationship with a perfect holy God. And what he did was, as animals, were a type of sacrifice and a precursor of what was to come.

Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice once and for all. He stretched out his arms. He died on a cross in your place for the death you deserve to die. The punishment you deserve for your sin. Jesus took was buried.

But three days later, God the Father raised him from the dead. He's as alive as he's ever been. Amen. And those facts are true. They're biblical, they're historical, they're real.

Whether you believe it now, you can believe it later. It's true, I promise you. And Jesus Christ, the resurrected Christ, ascended into heaven and he's coming back and said, you must be ready. And the way that you're ready for him is by confessing him as your personal lord and savior, by admitting in your heart that you're a sinner. By believing that there's no way for you to get to God, but that Jesus came for you.

And believing that he rose from the dead and confessing him then as your Lord and savior, it's not enough to know the facts. Just because you know the facts, you can still be a fool. In Luke, chapter 18, there was a young man that came to visit Jesus and he said, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And he says, well, what's the law? What is written in the law?

And he begins to tell them about all the things you know to honor your father and mother and obey the Lord. And he's like, good. All these things I've done since I was a child. And Jesus said, yeah, but one thing you lack, go sell everything you have, give to the poor, and then come back and follow me. And this man walked away sad.

And while he's walking away sad, I mean, here's a good man who's trying to keep the truth of the Bible, who Jesus knows in his heart has something in between him and full allegiance to him, and he lets him walk away sad, loving him. And then he says these words, how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Truly, truly, I say to you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Now here's why that's so challenging. That's so challenging, because if somebody that's trying their best to keep the Bible, who's coming to Jesus saying, I want what you have, and ends up walking away sad because they refuse to make Jesus Christ Lord, it means that there's one way into heaven.

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. And it's not about your behaviors and being good and what you can do to make Jesus impressed with you. It's you bowing your knee in submission to the lordship of Christ and saying that you are my lord and my God, and I want you to rule me. Right. That's what a Christian is.

Anything shy of that is foolish. That's what the Bible would point out. And so that's what we need to understand. And so I don't assume because you come to brave church that you're a Christian. I don't assume because I preach this every single weekend that you picked up on it, because sometimes we have to hear things over and over and over again.

But the question becomes, when did the gospel become good news to you? When did those truths take ownership in your heart where you're like, yes, that's what I'm banking my entire eternity on. Cause I'll tell you as a pastor, that's what I'm banking my entire eternity on. If Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead, I'm foolish to do what I do. There is no hope.

There is no way. I mean, there's nothing. My whole hope is on the fact that this word is true and that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And that's what he's saying here. And because he did, it means this.

You need to understand this when you die, before we get into this, when you die, your soul immediately goes and departs your body. It will go to one of two places. It will go immediately to heaven to be with Jesus, awaiting your resurrected body that will join with your soul, or it will go to hell immediately. Okay. And will await judgment where you, too will have a resurrected body.

Okay. And we'll talk about that as we go on today. But there are no second chances. There are no made up things like there are in a world like purgatory, where once you go to a place, you can work it off. There is no such thing as reincarnation.

It is appointed unto man to die once. And after that, face judgment, there will be no other opportunity. You have time and space now to give Jesus Christ your whole life or you don't. But when you die, there's no second chance, right? There's no second chance.

Do you understand what I'm saying? It means if you're a believer, it should give you incredible hope. And if you're not, you should be terrified at your soul level, knowing that you're going to face the judgment of God. Here's what will happen for those who are believers. Your body will be rejoined.

Your new spiritual resurrected body will be rejoined with your soul to enjoy God forever and ever. And if you're a nonbeliever, we'll see it later. Your body will be rejoined as a spiritual body to experience eternal torment apart from Christ forever and ever. There's only one of two places you can go. That's why Paul's saying, when these people are like, yeah, whatever, how the dead gonna be raised and what kind of body are they gonna have?

He's saying, you're a fool. You're a fool. You're missing out on what the whole point is. The whole point is that Jesus Christ is Lord, and you got to get that before we can understand resurrection bodies. So that's introduction to what we're talking about today.

And here's what we're going to do. We're going to talk about three things about our resurrection bodies that you need to understand so that you're looking forward to and motivated about what is to come. And the first one is this. When it comes to our resurrection bodies, our current earthly bodies are simply a hint of what is to come. Our current earthly bodies are simply a hint of what is to come.

Notice what he says in verse 36. After he says, you fool, he goes, that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And that which you sow, you do not sow the body, which is to be but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds, a body of his own. So he's using an agricultural analogy to talk about how seeds are a hint of the plant that is to come, much like your earthly bodies are a hint of your glorious resurrected body that is to come.

Now, skeptics or fools can't believe because they don't believe in the reality of the supernatural. God. Like, how could God do that? Well, we're talking about the God that created the entire world in six days, that's held the sun, the moon, and the stars together, that has all sorts of universes out there we're not even aware of. I mean, we're talking about a supernatural God.

He's able to do what he says he can do. And it's really interesting for me, because even when I talk to people who are self proclaimed atheists, deep down they kind of know that there's something more. I mean, even though they try to stuff down, there is no God, deep down, they know that there's something more than just this life. But Paul begins to talk about seeds. So just to give you an example, I put up a couple pictures on the screen this morning.

I mean, take a look at this seed. We'll start really easy. You know what that is? That's corn. Yeah.

So what does corn turn into? It has a stalk, ears of corn. I was raised in Illinois. I mean, farmers were always like, it's got to be knee high by the 4 July to be good. I mean, they know how to water it and do it, and you watch it grow and it becomes something.

But when you plant, if you plant a kernel of corn, it doesn't just become two kernels of corn. It becomes a whole stalk and an ear of corn. Okay, you did really well. Okay, how about this one? Check out this.

What's that seed? Anybody know? Think summer. Think summer. Think picnic.

Watermelon. Yeah, watermelon. Okay, so you plant those seeds. You get that, right? And some of us don't like the seeds.

That's why we can now buy seedless watermelon. But that's a whole other story. But God creates that, and you plant a seed, and it doesn't just become more watermelon seeds, it becomes a watermelon. How about this one? This is a tough one.

Okay, show the picture. This is an apple that doesn't even really look like it. It's apple seeds. Right? Plant an apple seed, get an apple tree.

I mean, you get the idea. I mean, this is what Paul's talking about, that when it comes to a seed that gets planted in the ground, that germinates and becomes what it's supposed to become, it's like what it was, but it's not exactly what it was. There's a continuation to what it was, but it is something that's fundamentally different, and it's just the way that God designed it. God designed seeds to become what they're supposed to be. And in order for that seed to work, it must be buried in the ground, it must die, and then it changes.

And when it comes out, it has distinctive characteristics that are different than the seed, but there's also similar qualities that are a continuation of what it is. And this is exactly what we see in Jesus life. When Jesus Christ came to earth and he lived his life, his final act was to die on the cross. Now, when he rose from the dead, we see distinctivenesses in his resurrected body and similarities in his resurrected body. There were a lot of distinctives, weren't there?

His body was able to ascend and descend on command. It could be in different parts of the planet at different times without travel. He could enter rooms that were locked. He could do all sorts of things that in his earthly body he couldn't do. But in his resurrected body, he could do okay.

It was very distinct and different. Also, it was similar. We see him on the beach and what's he doing? He's eating fish with Peter. He's telling people.

He goes, I'm not a ghost. A ghost does not have flesh. I mean, he was talking that he had a real spiritual body. Another uniqueness to Jesus when he rose from the dead is people didn't always recognize him until he revealed himself. So it means he didn't look exactly the same as he did in his earthly body.

But when he spoke or when he chose to reveal himself, like, to the women or on the road to Emmaus, then people were like, that was the Lord. I know that was the Lord. I know him. When you have your resurrected body, people always wonder, will I know who that is in heaven? Will I know my spouse?

Will I know my kids? Answer is yes. Will we look exactly like we look now? No. There's a glorious resurrected body that will be a continuation of what you are.

Your body is going to be resurrected and put together at that time with your spiritual body. It's not that there's some spiritual body in heaven waiting for you just for your soul. To kind of jump into your body will be resurrected and put together. Now, a lot of people push back and say, well, how can that be? Because I know somebody that died on the battlefield.

They were blown up or somebody drowned in the ocean. Nobody knows where they are, and they decompose, or this person was eaten by a big fish or whatever. God knows. It's not hard for God. He won't even sweat putting all the bodies back into the resurrected state.

That's who we serve. We serve a glorified God. And if we knew what was coming, if we knew our resurrection bodies, if we knew what we were gonna have and what they were gonna be like, we would yearn for the day of the resurrection. I mean, you get this picture in the book of revelation where people are asking the question, how long, O Lord? Martyrs are asking, how long, O Lord?

It's almost like their souls are in heaven saying, when do we get our resurrected bodies? When are they gonna join? When are you gonna rule and reign? We yearn for that. We as Christians should yearn for that, too.

We as Christians should yearn for the resurrection of the dead. It is the goal of our faith. And we see all sorts of examples of this in nature. I mean, you see the caterpillar that goes in the cocoon or chrysalis and comes out as a butterfly, and it's something completely distinct to what the caterpillar was. But you see the continuation.

You can see the middle part of the butterfly. That's the caterpillar that now has sprouted wings. So it's something completely different. But at the time, you know, it's similar. You can still see how it was once a caterpillar.

That's what the resurrection is going to be like. And God doesn't give us a ton of specifics. I think that's one of the joys of being faithful and looking forward to that. God has so much in store in the future for us that if we saw it all, we would be so overwhelmed and blown away by how awesome it is. But I got news for you Christians, those of you who trusted in Christ, a really good day is coming, and you are going to be excited about your resurrection body.

So I was just having fun. I mean, if our body is like a seed, I was thinking about, I mean, what might I look like in the kingdom of heaven? So I was thinking maybe something like this, you know?

But I don't know. That's pure speculation. That's not biblical. My point is, I'm glad you're paying attention. My point is that what we will be is nothing like we are now.

Okay? What we will be is nothing like we are now. And Paul's making the analogy, that's why death is a part of life and the body is good, and the body will be resurrected. It's not like you leave your body in the tomb or grave or get cremated or whatever or get lost, and then there's no more body. Your body is resurrected and put together in your new spiritual resurrection.

Resurrection body. That's what Paul's trying to point out. Second thing he talks about is not only are our current earthly bodies just a hint of what is to come, but notice this, our resurrection bodies will be far superior and uniquely suited to glorify the Lord. Our resurrection bodies far superior to what we have now. It's a new model and uniquely suited to glorify the Lord.

Notice what he says. He said, all flesh is not the same, but there is one flesh of men and another flesh of beasts and another flesh of birds and another flesh of fish. He's talking about. Just look around in nature and see the uniquenesses of the type of creation that God has made and their unique abilities that they have and the way that they're able to bring glory to the Lord because of who they are. There's humans, there's beasts, there's birds, and there's fish.

I mean, think about it like this. I mean, just thinking about beasts and birds and fish. Think about buffaloes and eagles and dolphins, for instance. I mean, they are uniquely suited for their environments with unique abilities to bring God glory in the way in which they were created, just like you as a human being were created like that. But if you flipped what they were designed to do, it wouldn't work very well, would it?

I mean, if you put, you know, tried to put a buffalo up in a tree and get it to fly, you know, or you tried to put a dolphin on a, you know, out in the field, you know, so that it could survive, or if you tried to put an eagle in the middle of the ocean, I mean, it's. They're not designed for that. In the same way, Paul is saying that just the same way that God made different kinds of flesh that glorify him in this world, God's going to make different kinds of things out of us in our resurrected bodies to bring him glory in unique ways in the coming kingdom. And notice what the verse before says at the very, in verse 38, at the very end, he says, but God gives it a body just as he wished. And to each of these seeds, a body of its own.

God does what he wants. I mean, you are the height, weight, shape, size, hair, no hair color, eyes, whatever you have. God designed you the way he designed you. Your resurrection bodies will be designed the way God wants them to be designed, according to what his purpose and plan is. He gets to choose what it looks like.

He gets to choose what it's going to be. That's who our God is. And God's saying in the same way he's done it in nature is the same way he's going to do it in the Resurrection. And then he begins not only to talk about animals, he talks about how they're uniquely suited, but he talks about the way different things in creation bring him glory. Notice what he says in verse 40.

There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. Notice what he says in verse 41. 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. In other words, there's all sorts of different things in creation.

The heavens declare the glory of God. We can see the mountains, and we say, glory to God. We can see our sun, glory to God. We see our moon, glory to God. We can see different stars, and we say, glory to God.

They're all different in the way that they radiate the glory of God. But God's created them all different, just the way that he's chosen, just the way that he wished, so that he can get the most glory out of all of his creation. And PaUl is making the point when it comes to resurrected bodies like this, hey, just as you've seen it in the earth and in animals, and just as you've seen it in the earth, in God's glory, just as you will see it in the resurrection of the body of those who believe in Jesus, it will be glorious in a way that brings God glory uniquely how he's going to design you, and that's what he's talking about. So notice what he goes on to say. So also, here comes the resurrection.

So also is the resurrection from the dead. Notice what he says about it. It is Sown a perishable body. It is raised in imperishable body. 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, then also there is a spiritual body. Now, notice what he says. This body that you have, it will be sown, perishable. Here's what he's saying. News flash.

Every single one of you is going to die. That's what he's saying. All of us, if the rapture doesn't happen during our lifetime, we will all die. It's a fact. Now, most of us don't think about aging until we get about my age or older.

That's old. But the fact of the matter is, you can go to the hospital today and take the healthiest newborn infant, and you can hold that infant in your hands, and you can know this about that infant. That infant's perishing. That infant is dying. That infant is closer to death than that infant has ever been in its entire life.

Right? That's just part of the nature. Because we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have a perishing body. It's terminal.

Doesn't matter what skin creams you use. It doesn't matter if you're gluten and vegan or gluten free and vegan. You're just not going to enjoy this life as much. You may live longer, but if you are, I mean, you're still gonna die. I mean, that's what the Bible's pointing out.

Everybody dies. You can't prevent your own mortality. Every single one of us is going to die. That's what he's, that's what he's saying. It's gonna be so perishable.

Let me tell you how it's gonna be raised. Imperishable. Imperishable. You won't age. You won't get wrinkles, you won't die.

You. You won't. I mean, it's going to be this perfect, spiritual resurrected body. It's so incredible. I mean, you won't even.

I mean, we have no idea even how to describe what is coming. It's so good. It's the opposite of the body that we have, that we have to work at to keep alive. This body, we won't have to work at. This body will always be alive.

I mean, how awesome is that right now? Through Jesus Christ, for those of us who have trusted in him, we have the eternal life of God's son on the inside of our life through his holy spirit. So there's an element of God's eternality in us, okay? His holy spirit in us. But our physical bodies are still going to die.

Our resurrected bodies will not. They're perfect. I mean, how great is that, and we have all sorts of people on this earth that are trying to come up with ways to extend life and, you know, cryogenically freeze yourself. Do whatever you want to do. You're still going to die.

Right? But if you believe in Christ, when you are raised from the dead, you will have a perfect body that is imperishable. Notice what he says. The body is sown in dishonor. Dishonor.

Ever thought about that? It's sown in dishonor. Now, I don't know about you, but I want to please the Lord with my life. It's frustrating to me that I don't do that very well. I mean, it's frustrating to me that even in times I'm like, I'm really going to do that better now.

I don't do it better. I wish I could serve the Lord better than I do. There's nobody that's going to die on this planet that says I did it right every time. Jesus, I was perfect. Nobody says that.

Jesus Christ is the God man. He's the only one who said at the end of his life, I have done what you've sent me to do. I've done it just in the way you've sent me to do. I've done just what you've asked me to do, and I've never, ever wavered from that. Only Jesus will say that all of us, we're going to die with dishonor.

There's going to be things in our life when we die that we wished we would have done different, or if I would have only known that back then, or how come that's our body can't get away from them. But let me tell you how it's going to get raised. It's going to get raised in glory. It's going to get raised in glory. Like, you won't even know how to sin.

Can you imagine that? I mean, you won't even know how to get upset with somebody else because nobody else will know how to get upset with you. I mean, it's utopia that you're looking for. I mean, you'll only be around people that are completely perfected in Christ, living for Christ at all times, that only know how to love Christ and love each other. I mean, what is coming is what we yearn for deep down in our hearts when we ask the question, why can't the world be more like this?

Here's God's answer. It's coming. It's coming. You're going to be a part of it. It's coming.

That's what he says. We'll be raised in glory. Can I just tell you that's one of the reasons Satan hates you so much. Satan knows the glory that you're going to have. That's why he hates you so much.

Even in this book, back in one corinthians, chapter six and verse three, we studied this passage. It says, do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? I mean, can you think about that? I mean, you think about the angelic beings that are created perfect in God's image.

We'll be ruling over them. I mean, even back in psalm, chapter eight, and verse five, it says this. Psalm, chapter eight, and verse five says this. Talking about humanity, you have made him a little lower than God, and you crown him with glory and majesty. You know what makes the devil upset?

The devil was a created being. The devil is a created being. He was created as a beautiful angel, right? And he fell. He sinned against the Lord.

He's a fallen angel, right? What does God do? God takes and says, I'm gonna create for myself humanity. I'm gonna create him out of the dust of the earth, and I'm gonna breathe life into them. And then in their resurrected state, they'll be superior to you.

You think that makes the enemy upset? Totally makes them upset, right? We are the crown of God's creation. Doesn't mean we're gonna be gods in heaven. Let me be crystal clear on that.

You're never gonna be a God. There's only one God. Father, son and holy spirit. That's him. That's it.

There are no other gods. Case is closed. What you will be is be able to reflect the glory of God forever and ever with who you are. Right? You'll be raised in glory.

You'll be able to always glorify Jesus perfectly, every single time. How about that? Never. Like, I'm struggling with this sin. I'm struggling.

You'll never struggle again. Never. Always bringing him glory. Notice what it says about the body. It's sown in weakness.

Now, we don't like to talk about this one very much, but do you know how weak we all are? I mean, none of us are immune. None of us are immune from breaking a bone. None of us are immune from cutting our leg. None of us are immune from pain.

None of us are immune from needing surgery on our vocal cords. None of us are immune from anything. We are weak people. Now, we like to think of ourselves as strong. And nothing can happen to me and I'm independent.

We're not all that. All of us are immune to weakness. But guess what? Here's what God says. You'll be raised in what?

Power. You'll be raised in power. No more weakness. Now, I don't know exactly what the limits of that power are. I don't know exactly how much power that is.

I'm just telling you, it's not going to be like our earthly bodies, where you're going to be susceptible to pain and hurt and physical ailments. You're going to be raised in power. It's going to be unbelievable. If you knew what was coming, you'd say, I'm ready. I'm ready, which is what God wants you to be ready for.

In the meantime, he wants us to honor and serve him and tell more people about him so more people can experience the glorious resurrection of the body in the likeness of Christ. Then he says this. I love this one. He says, the body is sown natural, but it will be raised spiritual. The natural body just means this.

God created our bodies. They're suited for this earth. In Genesis two seven, he created man out of dust, and he breathed into his nostrils and gave him life. We are suited for this earth. Our bodies are not suited.

This earthly body is not suited for what is to come. We need a different body to be able to exist in the new environment that God is going to have for us. And it's going to be raised spiritual. Let me be clear on this. Notice what he says.

It was sown a natural body. It will be raised a spiritual body. For if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Notice this. He's not talking spirits.

He's talking about a spiritual body. You will have a body. He's talking to a group of people that believe, much like new age people believe now, that the. The body's bad flesh is bad spirit, really, really good. No.

God created your body and your spirit and gave you your soul. All are good. Okay? When you are raised, you will have a physical, spiritual body. It doesn't mean you're going to be just floating around.

And I don't know about you, but when I was hearing about resurrection when I was a kid, I was pictured like cupid in a diaper, playing a harp on a cloud or something like that. And I just didn't look forward to heaven. And if that's what it was like, neither should you, right? It's not gonna be like that. You're gonna have a spiritual body, a resurrected body, where your body will be able to do all that your spirit wants the body to do to bring glory to Jesus Christ.

You will have a spiritual body. And here's what it says. If you have a natural body, you'll have a spiritual body, which means this, for those of you who do not believe in Jesus Christ, oh, you'll have a spiritual body, too, because a lot of people read the stories about hell in the Bible, and they'll say stuff like, well, hell is just. You could trash your life. You could make your world a living hell.

And, yeah, that's true. But it's also true that as long as eternity is to experience eternal life, is as long as eternal punishment is to experience eternal death. That's what the Bible points out. And people are like, they push back on that and say, no way. A human body would burn up.

You couldn't be in flames that long. Yeah, your earthly body would, not your spiritual body. There will be a resurrection of the wicked dead. You can read about it in revelation 20, where they all stand before the great white throne. Judgment.

And the books will be opened, and all whose name have not been found in the book of life will be cast out into the lake of fire. That's the final judgment. That's when the wicked dead, that's when they get their spiritual body. And when the wicked dead, those who don't know Jesus, who have been waiting in hell to receive their resurrected body, stand before the glorious Lord Jesus Christ, here's what they're going to hear. Depart from me, all of you, for I never knew you.

And they will be cast into the lake of fire. Now, they'll have a spiritual body at that time, so we'll be able to endure torment forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. But that's where you go. It's tragic. And I got good news.

Jesus Christ came so that not one person on the planet would ever have to experience that. Not one. There's nobody here that God would say, well, I'm mad at you, and I'd want you to experience. Not one. Jesus demonstrated his love for you by dying on the to say, I died so that you would never, ever, ever have to experience that.

I died so you could have a glorified resurrected body with me, because I love you that much. And I want you to experience life, and life the way it was meant to be. And I gave my life so you could have that. Will you please come to me? That's the message of the Bible.

Amen. And that's what Paul is saying. But we will all have spiritual bodies. And if that's true, that our resurrection bodies are superior, they're uniquely fitted for glory in the coming kingdom. Let me tell you this.

Here's the best news of all. Our resurrection bodies will finally resemble the likeness of Christ. Our resurrection bodies will finally resemble the likeness of Christ. Notice verse 45. So also it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul.

That's genesis two seven. The last, Adam, who is Jesus Christ, became a life giving servant. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, what did he offer to people? Life. I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.

That's who our God is. Adam couldn't offer life. Adam was given life. We were given life. The reason that we breathe is because God gives us life like none of us have life, but in our earthly state.

Our earthly state, we're going to die. But through Christ, he resurrects us. He gives us life, not only now, but for all eternity, so that we can enjoy him in every possible way. He goes on to say this, however. The spiritual is not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.

Notice what he says. The first man is from the earth, earthy. The second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy. And as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

He's talking about before the resurrection ever happens, the natural had to occur. The natural man was born. You had a natural body. First Adam came before, on this earth, prior to Jesus Christ offering life, even though Jesus Christ pre existed him. And he was saying that's an order of things, that Adam became a living soul.

Now he's really trying to point out a couple things. One, the natural is good. The only problem with our natural is that we're sinful. But the spiritual that's coming far superior. Far superior.

And the supernatural? The natural was created before the supernatural. Notice what he says also. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Who do we bear the image of?

We bear the image of our first father, Adam. I mean, it's genetic. Sin got passed down from Adam and Eve. That's why we have sin in our DNA. I mean, we see it in an earthly standpoint, right?

I mean, for you kids, I mean, if you think you're gonna be on the COVID of GQ someday, just look at your mom and dad. If they didn't have a chance, chances are you won't either, right? I mean, it's just that's genetics. It gets passed down in the natural. That's part of what happens first, right?

But there's the spiritual. And the spiritual begins to look like the one that ultimately gets who is Jesus. And so ultimately, one day, we are going to reflect, somehow, someway, the likeness of Christ. And I don't have the words to describe what that's going to be like. I have no idea what it looks like for Jeff Schwarzentrab to reflect Christ.

I just know it's going to be glorious. And if we could see as believers what each other's going to look like in glory, we'd be blown away by how glorious God is going to make it. It would blow us away. I mean, because the Bible says in Jude 24, which I quote often, that, that the Son will present us faultless with exceedingly great joy before the father. I mean, how awesome is that?

See, some of us think that when we get to heaven, there's, like, three screens like this, and they begin to play our life and show all the christians that have assembled how bad our life was. Okay, in case you think that I want to tell you that's all wrong, because at the cross of Jesus Christ, it was all paid for. So all you'll have is a blank screen with Jesus Christ saying, glory, presenting you faultless before his father. Amen. But you'll represent the likeness of Christ.

This is why, even when Paul was in prison writing, even when he didn't know if he was gonna live or die, even if they didn't know if he was gonna take his head, he was saying, this is what motivates me. This is what keeps me going. If you write this verse down in Philippians chapter three, verses 20 and 21, this was his heartbeat. Notice what he says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for his savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was a Roman, right?

But Paul's patriotism did not trump his understanding of God's kingdom. He wasn't a Roman. He was a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, eagerly awaiting his savior to come. And here was why. Verse 21, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory?

Wow. He's going to take our bodies that are so humble, weak, broken, perishable, natural, and transform them into his glory. How's he going to do that? By the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself. Why?

Because God can do it. It means we're going to have the likeness of Christ. I mean, in this world, we don't. In this world, we have our identity in Christ. We own what God.

And we live out to the best of our ability who we are in Christ. But one day it's not just going to be my identity in Christ, it's going to be my reality in Christ. I'm going to be like him. I mean, it's amazing. And this is what we have to look forward to.

So the way I wanted to conclude this today is just to ask you, are you ready for that? Because there's a lot of people that come to church week in and week out that say, man, I hope I make it. Man, I hope I'm there. You know, I hope that if today were the day I died, that it would be okay. I hope my good outweighs my bad today.

I'm telling you, that ain't good enough. You better be sure, like right now, in this moment, that if today was the day that you breathed your last, that you're ready. Moreover, the beauty of all this is that if you don't have a relationship with Christ, not only do you get to look forward to it, but you get to experience Christ on the inside. And our spirit bears witness with his spirit that we're children of God and we can look forward to the day that we're going to be resurrected. Amen.

I mean, I look forward to that day. I don't know what it's going to be like, but I know I have nothing on my calendar coming up that's even remotely close to the glory of the day when Jesus Christ comes back with his saints. Not even close. It's going to be unbelievable. And as we talk and see each other in high five and give God all the praise that he so rightly deserves, it is a day in history that is worth meeting.

Celebrate it. And here's my point. As your pastor, I want you to be there. More importantly, Jesus Christ wants you to be there. Most importantly, he loves you with an unconditional love.

So here's the question. Why won't you give him the entirety of your life? Well, I prayed some prayer, Pastor Jeff. I just don't want to be lord of my life. Well, what does that mean?

I mean, if he was standing here, would you tell him that I prayed a prayer? I just didn't want you. No, I mean, how about this, Jesus, I'm ready to give you the entirety of my life right now. I'm ready for when you come. I love you.

I need you. I want that. That's what God would have for you. And so, as we close today, I just want to give you an opportunity to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, because it's the most important thing that you will ever do. And for those of you who have Jesus as the Lord of your life, I want you to think about this.

That in spite of all the pain, all the tribulation, all the things that you deal with in this life, I want to tell you what's on the way. It's glory. Glory is coming. Amen. Glory is coming for those of us who know him, and it is so worth anything we do.

Paul called his troubles even though he had been stoned and beaten and put in prison and left for dead. He called those light and momentary afflictions to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ as his lord. Amen. Amen. Would you stand with me?

As we close today on both campuses, I just like you to examine your own heart. Let the Holy Spirit examine your own heart. And Lord, we just come before you right now as a congregation on two different campuses. And Lord, we just come before you and we celebrate who you are. If Jesus Christ is not the Lord of your life, here's how you could pray right now, right where you are.

Jesus, I admit that I'm a sinner and I've fallen short of your glory. But I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and were raised from the dead. God, I just want to repent of my sins and confess you, Jesus, right now as my lord and savior. God, do a work in all those hearts who are praying that prayer right now. And God, I pray for those of us who do know you.

Lord, give us a picture of your glory.

Lord, thrill our hearts with your word in such a way that we yearn for and look forward to the day that our soul meets our resurrected body in glory forever and ever. Amen. And Lord, we just give you all the praise. And Lord, we know that at this point in time, by trusting in you, that the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead through the Holy Spirit dwells in us. And we give you praise, glory and honor for that in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus.

Amen.