In his sermon, David Green discusses the resurrection of the dead as described in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49. Paul addresses the questions about how the dead are raised and what kind of bodies they will have. The sermon is divided into four parts: the answer from nature, the description of resurrection bodies, the transformation of bodies from corruptible to incorruptible, and the prototype resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul uses the analogy of seeds sowing and growing to explain that what is sown is not the body that will be, but a new form given by God. Resurrection bodies are compared to different types of flesh and celestial bodies, each suited for its environment. Jesus' resurrection body, while recognizable, had new abilities, illustrating the transformation believers will also experience. The sermon highlights the contrast between Adam's natural body and Christ's spiritual body, emphasizing how believers will bear the image of the heavenly in the resurrection.

1st Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and today we'll read for our text verses 35 through 49. First Corinthians Verse 49. Verse 35, but someone will say, How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?

You fool. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. That which you sow you do not sow the body which it is to be but a bare grain perhaps of wheat or something else But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies.

The glory of the heavenly is one, the Glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a corruptible body. It is raised an incorruptible body.

It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown in natural body, it is raised in spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, the first man Adam became a living soul, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth earthly, 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. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. This is the Word of God, our text for today. My subject is our resurrected bodies, our resurrected bodies.

We see here in our text that as we've been seeing that Paul is addressing the question of the resurrection of the dead. In this text, there's a question being asked in verse 35. Someone will say, how are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come? And that begins our section because in verses 36 on down is his answer to those questions.

And it's divided into four parts. Divided into four parts. First, there's the answer from nature. The answer from nature. That's in verses 36 through 38.

So the question, how are the dead raised and with what kind of body do they come? These are the questions. These are the questions that have been coming from the Church of Corinth or from people who were influencing the Church of Corinth however way they were coming. These are the questions Paul is writing to the Church of Corinth and putting ink to papyrus. And now he's answering them.

Verses 36-38, it's the illustration from nature. You fool. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. That which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own." Something that we gather from this is that these questions were coming not from someone who wanted to know, but were the mocking taunts of those who thought they knew the answers already.

People who were like the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, who were around Jesus. You remember when we were going through the Gospel of Mark and we read about them, they were trying to set traps for our Lord and they were asking questions so as to try to trap Jesus. They weren't asking to learn, they were asking because they thought to trick or to trap Jesus. These are the types of questions that it would seem were being asked because Paul is answering them not as a patient teacher but rather as someone who recognized that these were people who were trying to trap, deceive, and trick. Because he starts this whole section off with, you fool.

Off with you fool. It's one thing to ask questions to learn. It's one thing to ask or to answer questions from people who are wanting to learn. We have great patience with those types of people. I appreciate questions from people who want to learn.

But after a while you begin to understand that there are people in this world who aren't asking questions to learn. They're asking questions to us to argue and divide and to trick and to try to discredit and that sort of thing. They're all over the internet these days, social media and that sort of thing, and they'll come into churches and try to fracture churches and that sort of thing. Right now, within the political movement, there are news commentators and podcasters who say, well, I'm just asking questions, but their questions are meant to try to discredit people. So I'm not accusing anybody of anything, I'm just asking questions.

And before you know it, their questions, they may not ever say anything so as to accuse a certain widow of murdering a famous person who was assassinated a few months ago, but they're meant to lead on so that masses of people who listen to the podcasters begin to think that. You see. And so, and so those sorts of things happen in churches and that sort of thing. Well, these questions are coming and Paul is answering to say, you fool. It wasn't from doubt or ignorance is what I'm trying to say here.

But I'm glad, I'm thankful that These questions were being asked regardless of the reason behind them, because what we have is, by the power of the Holy Spirit, this text, the 1st Corinthians chapter 15, because there are indeed countless men and women, boys and girls, who do want to know the answer to this question. The answer to these questions in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 35, how are the dead raised and with what kind of body do they come? There are people who are concerned about their loved ones, who want to know genuinely. They're not trying to ask these types of questions because they're jerks for Jesus. They're not trying to ask these kind of questions so as to fracture churches or to cause doubts in the minds of other believers.

They really want to know because grandma and grandpa are dead. Now what's going to happen to their bodies? They want to know because someday they're going to end up in the grave and they want to know what's going to happen. They do want to know Because as the old poem used to say, the worms go in, the worms go out, the worms play pentecost on my snout. When that body gets put in the grave, and now the preacher's telling me that someday that's coming out of the grave?

Well, I don't want that. What's that even mean? I don't want that. Death and decay. So how's that all going to work?

Right? And so the mind begins to wonder about these things. Well, grandpa, great grandpa, great great grandpa, great great great great grandpa's been dead a long time. And we know there ain't nothing left but maybe some bones. Is that what he's going to look like when he comes out of the grave?

Is it going to be like Pirates of the Caribbean or something like that? Where they were living in a ghost story? No, not at all. And so these questions are answered in a way that the church at Corinth would understand, but also it translates to something that you and I wouldn't understand. And so the answer is given, point number one, 36 through 38 from this Illustration from nature.

A common illustration. The resurrection is similar to the planting and growing of crops. You take a seed and put it in the ground. This is true whether you have a great big farm or just a little plot of land or whether you just have maybe just a few flowers in a pot on your patio. If you've never garden before in your life, you can take some beans and put them in a bag and put some water and see how it works.

The original form is dissolved. And the original and final forms are different. Just as God gives a new body to the plant that rises from that dead seed, so He gives a resurrection body to a man who dies. And it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing to see.

It's a beautiful thing to see a seed, once you put it in the ground and see what comes up. It's a wonderful thing. I never get get tired of it. I get excited about that sort of thing. To think about the illustration that's given here in verses 36 through 38.

But Secondly, we see a description given in verses 39 through 42. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, Another flesh of beasts, another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There's one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory.

And then in verse 42a he says, so also is the resurrection of the dead. And so in this section he gives the description of resurrection bodies. They're vastly different bodies and forms in God's created universe. Everyone who has a seeing eye and a thinking brain and any kind of observational skills can see it and consider these things. They're vastly different bodies in God's created universe and they're suited for all kinds of existence.

So the fish is suited for life in the water but not life outside of the water. We have our bodies which are suited for life, and then animals' bodies which are suited for life, and On and on we go. There's the glory of the sun, but it's not the same as the glory of the moon. And the stars. There's differences in the stars.

There's differences in the stars. God can design a body perfect for resurrection life, is the point that He's making here. When Jesus, remember He's the first fruit of the resurrection, When Jesus was raised from the dead, His glorified body was different from the one which died. That which came out of the grave was different was different than that which was placed in the grave. He was still Jesus.

But no longer was he limited by, I'm talking about in the body now. In the body, no longer limited by time, space, material substance. During his post resurrection appearances, Remember we looked at the evidences of Christ's resurrection in the first part of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. But understand something about that. There were differences of his body in those times.

For instance, Jesus went from one place to another without traveling in any physical way in the body. I'm talking about as God, he could do those sorts of things, but in the body, he was limited before His resurrection, but post resurrection, He could do things like appear and disappear at will, in a room without opening a door. But don't take my word for it. Let's look at a couple places in the Word of God. So go with me to Luke chapter 24.

Luke chapter 24 and verse 15. It's on the road to Emmaus. And verse 15, it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself approached and was going with them. Okay, so skip on down to verses 30. Well, Hold on just one second here.

Verse 16, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him and he said to them What are these words that you are discussing with one another as you are walking? They stood still looking Sad And one of them named Cleophas answered and said to him, are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days? And he said to them, what things? And they said to him, the things about Jesus of the Nazarene, who is a mighty prophet, indeed in word, in the sight of God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him, but we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel.

Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us astounded us When they were at the tomb early in the morning and not finding his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, said he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also said, but him they did not see. And he said to them, O foolish ones, it is slow of heart to believe, in all the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?

Then began with Moses and with all the prophets he interpreted to them the things concerning himself, all the scriptures. And they approached the village, verse 20 it says, and they approached the village where they were going and he acted as though he were going further, but they urged him strongly saying, stay with us for this toward evening. The day is now nearly over. So we went in to stay with him and it happened when he reclined at the table with them. He took the bread and blessed it.

After bringing it, he was giving it to them. Then their eyes were open Then their eyes were opened they recognized him and he vanished from their sight And They said one to another were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road while He was opening the scriptures to us. So we see He appeared on the road to Emmaus and then He vanished from their sight. Over in John, John chapter 20, John chapter 20 verses 19 and 20. So while it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and while the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

And when he had said this, he showed them both his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord." And so the detail being the door being shut and Jesus appearing. The detail being in Luke that Jesus had vanished from their sight. In fact, I didn't keep reading on down in Luke but in verses 36 and 37 there in Luke 24 it says, now when they were telling these things he himself stood in their midst and said to them peace to you but being startled and frightened they were thinking that they were seeing a spirit. The way that he was able to move around and to be places, they thought that he might've been a spirit.

However, He was able to eat, he was able to drink, he was able to move around. And he said to them in the Luke 24 text, he said, Why do doubts arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet. That it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.

And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet and he sat down and he ate with them he ate fish and So we see that there were similarities to his body of what he was before. They could still tell that he had been crucified so on and so forth. However, there were things that he could do with his body that he could not do before, such as appearing and disappearing, such as going in and out of rooms without going through the door like a normal person, things like that. He still ain't. And things of that nature.

In fact, In fact, back into our text, we see that this is kind of the point that that Paul is making. You know, more we can glean from the scriptures is, well I'm turning there and getting back to our text, is that the resurrection changed Jesus' body in some marvelous and radical ways. And at his return, all resurrection bodies will be changed as well. And that brings us to our third point here in our text, verses 42b going down to verse 44. And so the last part of 42 says, it is sown a corruptible body.

It is raised an incorruptible body. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power.

It is sown in natural body, it is raised in spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. And so, there's these contrasts going on that's happening here. We're familiar with this natural body. We all live with this corruptible body, this dishonor, this natural body.

But someday, someday all that's going to be gone we read here of an incorruptible body, but someday Someday that's coming No more sickness No more death You see we're not familiar with it yet, but one of these days our faith will become sight. Here in this life where sickness and death is all around us. I have this problem and I suppose if we all laid our aches and pains and troubles and trials out on the table, we'd all realize that we have some sort of a perpetual problem all the time. Some body aches, some problem. Mine is, and it's just, I've had it for many, many years, but it's just gotten worse ever since COVID, but I've got this problem with sinuses all the time.

It seems like I've got something going on in my sinuses. And it's worse this time of the year, but year-round. And I thought it was allergies when I was younger. It doesn't matter whether I'm in Ohio or New Mexico or Georgia. Something's always got me always messed up.

My doctor did a cat skin on me. You know, he thought that maybe surgery might do the do the trick. Talking about some roto-router thing up my nose and sounded pretty terrible. But he decided that, you know, for now, just medication and nose sprays and all that. But nothing totally relieves it.

Then as you get older, you get this constant pain different places and all. What I'm trying to say is, never in this life will you ever be free from sickness and pain and trouble and trial and death. Death is all around. Somebody's either dead or dying, close by or you know in one day it'll be us that'll be dead but we're dying every day. One of these days that'll all be gone.

We read here of a body sown in dishonor but raised in glory. Gone will be the trouble, the shame, the trial, that all of sin will be gone. The struggles of it, gone. The presence of sin. I can't imagine.

I can't imagine. I can't imagine. But one of these days will be gone from the from the presence of sin. Sown in weakness raised in power. No more frailty in temptations.

These bodies are weak, but not in the resurrection. So own a natural body, but raise the spiritual body. No more limits of time or space. You know it's kind of interesting what you think about when you're young and what you think about when you're old, more mature. When I first was saved, I was 10, 11 years old.

I first heard about this sort of thing, I thought, man, that's going to be cool. Walk from one room to another without opening doors. Go from one place to another without without being limited by time or space. I thought that was the neatest thing ever. Just pop in one place and another.

That is going to be neat. Now the older I get, the more I'm looking forward to being free from pain and sickness and death, and being free from the presence of sin. The more I long to be in the presence of Jesus Christ. Of Jesus Christ. It's all going to be so wonderful.

And that's what we read here of the resurrection of the dead in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I'm so thankful for this chapter. And in the answer to these questions that were given, the fourth, The fourth and final part to this is the reminder of the prototype resurrection of Jesus Christ. We live because He lives. We live because He lives.

Look at it in verses 45 through 49. So also it is written, the first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. 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?

As is the heavenly so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Paul begins this section with a quote from Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 and he adds two words and you'll notice it in your LSB very clearly. I remember the translators chose to put in all capital letters quotes from the Old Testament And so if you look there at verse 45 in your text, you'll notice as it is written, that's a key that he's quoting from somewhere, But you'll notice the words, the first is not capitalized and Adam is not capitalized because He's inserted that there into the text. He's making a point.

Adam was the first man. Adam was the first man. Paul believed and accepted Genesis as literal. Genesis as literal. And he ties it in with Jesus.

Notice what he says here. The first man Adam became a living soul. Living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Adam was created with a natural body.

Now, Adam's body was not glorified. Understand that. It was not a resurrected body, But it was perfect and good in every way. Remember, we read it before in our studies there in Genesis, in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was not just good, it was very good.

There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. So when God looked down upon his creation and he saw everything, including Adam, including Eve. He declared it to be very good. But then sin entered into the world. The last came and became a life-giving spirit.

The last atom is Jesus Christ. And so, when we consider what Paul is doing here, and of course this is God's word, to to deny the literalness of Genesis, to deny the account of Genesis 1, Genesis 2, to deny What the Bible has to say about Adam and Eve there in the beginning may not in and of itself be a gospel issue, but it is to put yourself on a very slippery slope. Because here Paul ties the two together. In a great way. Notice this is not the only place that he does this in Romans chapter 5.

Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. Verse 12. Therefore just as though just as through one man sin entered into the world Death through sin and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Skipping on down to verse 15. But the gracious gift is not like the transgression, for if by the transgression of the one the many will be appointed righteous.

Now the law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Here's the point. The point is that through Adam, we inherited sin, we inherited our natural bodies. In the context of all this, through Christ, we will inherit spiritual bodies in the resurrection. All the descendants of Adam have natural bodies.

That's you, that's me, that's everybody. On the whole world, all of us have natural bodies. But only the descendants of Christ have spiritual bodies. Christ's resurrection therefore was the prototype of all subsequent resurrection. He's the first fruits of the resurrection.

Only those who follow him will be resurrected in this great resurrection that we're talking about. Adam, the first man, he's the father of the natural race. He originated on the earth. In fact, the Bible says he was created directly from the earth. Remember in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 we studied it several weeks ago.

Then Yahweh God formed a man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And so the man became a living being. That's how earthy he was. In every way he was earthy. But not Christ.

Christ is called the second man because he has produced a spiritual race. Race. Someone might say, well, yes, but Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Wasn't he as much of a man as anybody else? No.

He was more than a man. Jesus existed long before he was born in Bethlehem. He lived on earth in a natural body. But he came from heaven. He existed long before he was ever born.

Adam was tied to the earth. From dust he came, But Christ, Christ was tied to heaven, you see. And because of our natural descent from Adam, become part of those who are heavenly. And one day, our natural bodies, which we have from Adam, will be changed into our heavenly bodies from Christ. The image of those from our ancestors in Adam.

We shall also bear the image of the heavenly. That's how the resurrection works. We will exchange Adam's natural body for Christ's spiritual body. We'll exchange Adam's image for Christ's. From Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, We get some idea of what our own resurrection bodies will be like.

As we saw earlier, Jesus appeared and disappeared at will, reappearing again at other places far distance. He could go through walls or closed doors and yet could eat, drink, sit, talk, and be seen by others who wanted to see him. He was remarkably the same and unrecognizable, yet even more remarkably different. To bring this to a close, I want you to go with me to Acts chapter 1. Acts 1 and again verse 9.

Verses 9, 10, and 11. After he, after Jesus had said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight. As they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going. Behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven?

This Jesus has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven the into heaven. The body the disciples saw after Jesus' resurrection is the exact the exact same body that we'll see when Jesus comes again. He is not here. He has risen. He is alive.

So I ask you today, are you in Adam Or are you in Christ? Death is coming. And then the judgment. But there is a blessed resurrection that I've spoken of Only for those who are in Christ will you be among the living. Christ is our hope in life and death.

And I invite you to him today. Let's dismiss in prayer.