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Jan. 7, 2006 “35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.” (1 Cor. 15: 35-41 NIV Bible Online) Okay Paul, we agree that there will be a resurrection of believers. Your reasoning is solid because of the testimony of Jesus and the witnesses who have come forward to tell their stories and record their eyewitness accounts of the risen Lord. But Paul, what kind of resurrection body will we have? Paul returns to the rule of nature as expressed by God: “You reap what you sow.” But the thing sown is a vessel of corruption and mortal, sin infected flesh. This has to die completely. Just as you cannot have a true Christian unless the individual die completely to sin, you cannot have an immortal body in the resurrection unless you first are physically planted into the ground after death. God determines the body that will come from that which is sown. God will also determine the rewards of each of those resurrected. Not every star has the same type of glow (splendor). Some stars are brighter, some just reflect light because they do not create or retain their own. Some will depend solely on God’s glory and grace for their light. Each heavenly body is different. Each human is different. God does not declare the differences in men but he may highlight these differences upon the Day of Judgment. All men can be saved in belief, but not all men will believe. Christ died for all of mankind, but not all mankind recognizes that or cares about that. Yet, that will be the determining faction in salvation and splendor. Did the soul die in belief, holding the hope of resurrection, or did that soul die; having never found the truth of the light of life? “42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” (1 Cor.15:42-44 NIV Bible Online) Here is the “imperishable”, “glorified”, “powerful” and “spiritual” body of the believer. We will have nothing less than what was given to the Lord Jesus upon his resurrection. His was a physical form that could be handled and spoken to. John wrote that we will know Jesus when he comes back because when he comes back we will be like him. The form we walk in now resembles nothing of the body lost by Adam. The form we will have will be in likeness of the form Jesus gained upon his resurrection. “45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” (1 Cor.15:45-49) If Adam had never sinned he would be alive today. He would have the body given to him originally by the Creator and we would all be sharing in Adam’s relationship with God. But Adam did fall to sin. With that, Adam took the entire future race of men into that pit with him. The first man was made of dust and this is what the physical man returns to upon his physical death. From the time of the fall of Adam all men have been born in the “likeness of earthly man”. Adam had lost that “image of God”. And this is why Jesus had to come. He had to come to reclaim that image lost by the first Adam. The second Adam was a spiritual man. Those who believed took on his form and likeness. Those “born again” were born of the spirit. God could again have fellowship and friendship with men. Paul says we “will bear” the likeness of the man of heaven. John’s testimony was the same. In this physical plane no Christian holds such a likeness. Perhaps if that were possible then the unbeliever might more readily see the advantages of faith. It is enough to know that God’s promises and words are unchangeable and sure. We can claim the full assurance of salvation solely on the promises of God. NEXT: Final declarations from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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