Resurrection and Life Everlasting – 1 Corinthians 15:12-52
When we confess, ”I believe in the Resurrection of the Body, and the life everlasting” often we misunderstand it as “I believe I will go to heaven when I die.” But the Christian story is much better than that. The Christian story is that the Creator God has demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection what he intends to do for the whole world.
Summary of the Apostles’ Creed.
The Apostle’s Creed is a summary of the Christian faith that depicts the full story of scripture. The Apostle’s Creed contains one of the most concise summaries of the Christian faith in straightforward scriptural language. It follows the narrative arch of scripture from creation to incarnation, crucifixion to resurrection, and Pentecost to life everlasting.
The Apostle’s Creed reminds us that our story and church are rooted in an ancient faith. There is no singular author by which this creed can be traced, rather it is the work of the Western Catholic Church. Though, it seems to have grown out of Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16. Its origin is as a baptismal confession, those that are laying down their life to join Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:4) confess this as their new reality and guiding story.
The Apostle’s Creed is not simply a routine repetition of doctrine but rather our pledge of allegiance to one God– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not a routine repetition of doctrine. It is a liturgical poem meant to move our heart as a pledge of allegiance to the triune God revealed in the person of Christ.
Our confession today is;
”I believe in the Resurrection of the Body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”
Often, that phrase is mistaken for –
“I believe I will go to heaven when I die.”
These do not mean the same thing.
The Gnostic Heresy.
Gnos·ti·cism /ˈnästəˌsizəm/
is an ancient philosophy that claims the material world is evil and the “spiritual” is good.
When asked what Christianity is about, many would say something about good deeds, going to heaven when you die, and leaving behind the material world. This story is more gnostic than Christian.
Ultimately it misses that God is not interested in taking us to heaven– but bringing heaven to earth.
The Christian story is that the Creator God has demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection what he intends to do for the whole world.
Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians
Paul’s outline of Jesus’ Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
Jesus died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.
He was buried.
He was raised on the third day.
He appeared to many witnesses.
Paul goes on to describe the implications of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12-52)
our resurrection
the transformation of our bodies
our life in the everlasting kingdom.
“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. – 1 Corinthians 15:12-22
Our inheritance from the first humans, Adam and Eve, is sin and death. But in our new inheritance in Christ is resurrection.
Easter morning is not a one-time occurrence but a preview of our own resurrection.
On that day we will be transformed.
Not into disembodied spirits, but into a new form of physicality.
Depending on your translation you may read in verse 44; “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” or in verse 50 “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” These don’t quite do justice to what Paul is conveying.
He is not drawing a distinction between physical forms and nonphysical forms; or flesh and spirit. Rather, he is drawing a distinction between our first form and our second form.
The way we should understand this is that when the human body is glorified– transformed and freed from some of its previous limitations.
“Why will we be given new bodies? According to the early Christians, the purpose of this new body will be to rule wisely over God’s new world. Forget those images about lounging around playing harps. There will be work to do and we shall relish doing it. All the skills and talents which we have put to God’s service in this present life—and perhaps, too, the interests and likings we gave up because they conflicted with our vocation—will be enhanced and ennobled and given back to us to be exercised to his glory” – NT Wright, Surprised by Hope
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. – 1 Corinthians 15:24–25.
And The End will Come.
Not the destruction of the world, but the end of the present order. It is God uniting heaven and earth.
When we read “heaven” in the scriptures we should think of “God’s presence”, not a spiritual location.
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”– Revelation 11:15.
This is to say Jesus is the King of the world, and we’re just waiting for him to make his move.
Our future is an everlasting kingdom, and in it, we will be freed from the touch of death.
“There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. He won’t let up until the last enemy is down—and the very last enemy is death!”– 1 Corinthians 15:21-26 (Message Paraphrase)
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” — 1 Corinthians 15:54-55
Christ has gone first overcoming death, then at the right time, we, his followers will be brought back to life.
As with Christ, so with us.
Spiritual Practice: To Imagine Our Promised Future.
J.R.R. Tolkien has an essay, called “On Fairy-Stories;” and in it, he suggests that there are longings in every human that only fantasy, fairy tales, or science fiction can really speak to. We have this curiosity and fascination with cheating death, escaping time, and friendship with other living things.
Tolkien, the Lord of the Rings author, the world-builder, and Christian believed we long for the infinite because we were not created to die, but to experience life everlasting.
"We are built to live in the kingdom of God. It is our natural habitat." – Dallas Willard
As we head into Advent, the whole season is about cultivating a longing for the arrival of our King.
It is to wait with anticipation and expectation about the new world He is bringing.
My suggestion this week is to imagine the future we’re promised in Christ.
