Promise of the Resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-34)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:05.040 Please remain standing if you're able. And let's turn to First Corinthians, Chapter 2 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:13.240 Fifteen, twelve through thirty four, as we continue preaching through, and I'm 3 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:17.879 preaching, you are listening. As we continue, I'm going through this book 4 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:28.120 of God's Word, First Corinthians Chapter Fifteen. So I'm going to begin in 5 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:33.840 verse twelve and read through thirty four, and then next week we will hear 6 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:44.679 the rest of the chapter. bloved. The grass withers and the foul flower 7 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:51.200 fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever. So let's hear it 8 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:56.920 now. If, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how 9 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:02.039 can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But 10 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.319 if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been 11 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:08.359 raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in 12 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:15.760 vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting 13 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:21.599 God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not 14 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.799 raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised, for if 15 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.200 the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised, and if 16 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:34.959 Christ is not up and raised, your faith is feudal and you are still 17 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.840 in your sins, then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 18 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:45.680 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are, of 19 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:51.599 all people, most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised 20 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:55.439 from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For 21 00:01:55.640 --> 00:02:00.480 as by a man came, death by a man has come also the resurrection 22 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.599 of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ 23 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:08.639 shall all be made alive, but each in his own order. Christ the 24 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:13.800 first fruits. Then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 25 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.319 Then comes the end, when he delivers the Kingdom to God the father, 26 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:23.080 after destroying every rule and every authority and and power, for he must reign 27 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:29.080 until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to 28 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:34.560 be destroyed is death, for God has put all things in subjection under his 29 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:38.680 feet. But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is 30 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:44.319 plain that he is accepted who put all things in subjection under him, when 31 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.280 all things are subjected to him, than the sun himself will also be subjected 32 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:53.000 to him, who put all things in subjection under him, that God may 33 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:58.919 be all in all. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on 34 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.879 behalf of the death. If the dead are not raised at all, why 35 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:07.800 are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? 36 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:13.639 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in 37 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:17.960 Christ Jesus, Our Lord. I die every day. What do I gain 38 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:23.319 if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts of Ephesus? If the dead 39 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:27.919 are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 40 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:32.360 Do not be deceived. Bad Company ruins good morals. Wake up from your 41 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:37.599 drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning, for 42 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:42.080 some of you have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. 43 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:49.000 May God bless us and help us not to be ashamed but to learn 44 00:03:49.039 --> 00:04:10.240 the knowledge of God in Christ may be seated. Last time I emphasized that 45 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:16.639 importance of being reminded of the Gospel, the importance of US knowing what it 46 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:23.959 is, namely that Jesus Christ save sinners from their sins in believing it and 47 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:28.639 holding fast to it and constantly remembering it over and over and over again and 48 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:33.920 living in light of it. That kind of plane speaking and plane preaching is 49 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:39.560 what Paul does here in our letter and I hope to do as well today 50 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:44.920 as I deliver God's word to you. There is a lot of just honesty 51 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:48.879 here, a lot of plane speaking, a lot of clarity about who we 52 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:56.120 are what we're doing. These things are so important to remember. It seems 53 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:01.279 from the passage that the Corinthians were forgetting in some ways. I'm forgetting in 54 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:05.879 such a way that Paul even says you have no knowledge of God, you 55 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:13.920 are being deceived. They seem to have come into bad company and which was 56 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:19.040 ruining them, company which was teaching or impressing upon them this false idea that 57 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:24.920 there was no resurrection of the dead. Now Paul, of course, didn't 58 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:28.560 preach this. He already told them these things. He came and he bill 59 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:32.639 as he as he preached this message, as he proclaimed the gospel. The 60 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:39.199 resurrection was at the core of that, the the work of Jesus Christ and 61 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:45.920 his vindication, his vindication over death, his victory over death. These things 62 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.639 were all plain. But somebody which they were listening to was saying, I 63 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:55.519 don't really think there's a resurrection of the dead, a false doctrine which was 64 00:05:55.879 --> 00:06:01.079 very, very dangerous. Dangerous not just because it's bad to believe the wrong 65 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:06.319 things, but dangerous because it has all of these implications to their moral life. 66 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.839 As he says at the end, bad company ruins good morals, but 67 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:15.680 in so many other ways as well. Let's consider some of those ways this 68 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.240 morning. What is Paul Point our attention to when he says let's think about 69 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:26.040 what this means. Let's take this doctrine, this false doctrine, that there's 70 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:30.879 no resurrection and t's that out. What are the implications of them? So 71 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:38.120 the first thing he says is in verse thirteen. He says if there is 72 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:43.439 no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. So 73 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:46.240 it's just a sort of obvious point. You can't say there's no resurrection from 74 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.920 the dead, people aren't raised, and then say well, Christ is raised, 75 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:56.800 because Christ is human. The Lord came into this world, he took 76 00:06:56.839 --> 00:07:01.040 on flesh and blood just like us, he took human nature on himself and 77 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:08.759 he died. He died and he was buried, his death was confirmed and 78 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:12.120 then he rose from the dead. But if we're going to deny the resurrection, 79 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:15.800 that we have to deny the Christ is raised as well. And that 80 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.000 leads to another implication that he says in verse fourteen. And if Christ has 81 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.959 not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in 82 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:31.199 vain, pointless preaching, feudal faith. That means that everything that we've read 83 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:35.600 about the context, about everything that we've read in the book of First Corinthians, 84 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:42.800 it's just a waste of time, all of the instruction, all of 85 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:45.920 the this is how you should live and this is how you should think about 86 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:48.279 the Lord's supper and this is how you should treat one another and this is 87 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:53.160 what the Ministry of the Gospel is. All of that, all of it 88 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:58.959 is just pointless. It's totally vain, and that's true. Would be true 89 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:07.800 of our lives as well. Living well, obeying the Lord the sacraments, 90 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:13.199 gathering them together, donating our time and our resources, calling each other things 91 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:20.639 like brother and sister, longing to be together, singing together, serving one 92 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:30.720 another, seeking reconciled relationships, prayer, Bible reading, everything doesn't even matter 93 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:37.960 if Jesus hasn't been raised from the dead. Sadly, there are still churches 94 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:43.080 today that don't believe Jesus rose from the dead, and yet they go about 95 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:50.240 all of these outward activities of prayer and of teaching. They call us to 96 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.840 love one another, to be active in the world, to be engaged in 97 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:58.039 all of these ways, but the foundation for it all is gone. They 98 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:05.480 don't believe in the in the core of it, and Paul says that's the 99 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:09.480 point. If you're going to disregard the poor the core of it, then 100 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:13.480 you might as well say let's eat and drink and be married, as he 101 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:18.919 concludes at the end, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die 102 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:30.080 and after that it's all over. It's pointless. So his preaching would be 103 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:35.039 in vain, our faith would be in vain. He teases out another implication 104 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:39.000 of it. If the resurrection didn't happen, if this if Jesus didn't really 105 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.919 rise from the dead and reveal himself to marry and to Peter into the other 106 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:48.159 apostles and the five hundred other witnesses, and on and on and on, 107 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:52.080 then there are more implications. Verse Fifteen. We are even found to be 108 00:09:52.159 --> 00:10:00.679 misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did 109 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.360 not raise. If it is true that the dead are not raised. Another 110 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:07.960 was Paul saying. Not only is my preaching is pointless. All of this 111 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.639 work and this energy, this dying every day that I'm doing is a waste 112 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:16.120 of time. But on top of that, I'm missers it representing God, 113 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:22.759 I'm blaspheming God, I'm taking the Lord's name in vain as the core of 114 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:28.639 my message, like the core activity that Paul is doing, is misrepresenting God. 115 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:33.200 If Jesus is not raised from the dead, everything he says, everything 116 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:39.320 he does is a lie and an offense to God if Jesus has not been 117 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:43.799 raised from the dead, because at the core of his testimony, testimony, 118 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:48.480 is that God raised Jesus from the dead. And if God didn't say that, 119 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:54.200 if God didn't do that, then Paul is a liar and most certainly 120 00:10:54.399 --> 00:11:01.360 under the wrath of the God that he misrepresents. A very serious thing. 121 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:07.840 You can see that Paul takes his calling seriously. Speaking the truth, telling 122 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:11.759 the truth, proclaiming the truth that Jesus did rise from the dead is, 123 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:18.320 of is essential to how he thinks about his work and what he's doing. 124 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.240 He continues on. Not only is he misrepresenting God, but he says if 125 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:28.039 Christ has not been raised from the dead, and he emphasizes again, your 126 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:33.799 faith is futile. And then he says in verse Seventeen, and you are 127 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:39.519 still in your sins. All of this language that we read about in Psalm 128 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:43.799 one, know three about the your sins being separated. You know from you, 129 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.159 as far as the East is from the West, or language, about 130 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:52.039 your sins being blotted out and every transgression that your soul and your state before 131 00:11:52.120 --> 00:12:00.440 God being made pure and spotless and holy. None of it ABS solutely, 132 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:07.240 none of it. Slavery, bondage, misery, shame, guilt, wrath. 133 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:13.840 That's what you have. If Jesus didn't raise from the dead, if 134 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:18.600 our hope is not in Christ, we are still in our sins. That 135 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:24.279 part doesn't go away, because we're all born in Adam, because we're all 136 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:33.320 born under under the UN into this humanity that, into this fallen humanity, 137 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:39.120 as he will go on to say. The hope that we have, the 138 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.559 love that we have, the the reason we get up in the morning, 139 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:48.759 the reason we persevere and press on, all of it's gone. If we 140 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:54.519 don't believe Jesus rose again from the dead, not only all of it gone 141 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:58.600 and our feelings of that and our knowledge of that, but the consequences, 142 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:03.600 of course, of still being in our sins. Will are for us. 143 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:07.799 And you know what the wages of sin is, right? It's death. 144 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:13.159 It's not resurrection, it's not life, it's death and hell, the wrath 145 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:22.600 of God and judgements and justice for our sins. He goes on. There's 146 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:26.480 more. In verse eighteen, he says, then, those who have fallen 147 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:33.960 asleep in Christ have not really fallen asleep in Christ, they have perished. 148 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:41.240 And if you look at Christians, if we have Christ and his hope only 149 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:45.639 for this life, he says, we of all people are most to be 150 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:52.080 pitied. So called Christians that deny the work of Christ on the Cross, 151 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:58.840 people, whether they call themselves Christians or not, who deny the resurrection of 152 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:05.639 the dead and then go on to offer the world some kind of hope that, 153 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:09.720 by Jesus's example, for expert for instance, we can all love each 154 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:16.919 other more or by if we look at Jesus, we find inspiration for our 155 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:24.799 lives. Paul says it's garbage. He says, if that's what we believe, 156 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:31.639 it's all empty and we of all people are most to be pitied. 157 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.440 We, if we believe those things, if we, in other words, 158 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:37.720 if we deny the resurrection, if we deny the work of Christ on the 159 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:41.000 Cross and the forgiveness of our sins, and then we go out into the 160 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:46.200 world and try to be good people. We are not honorable, we are 161 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:52.759 not wise, we are not to be well thought of or or important people 162 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:58.919 in any way. He says, of all people in the world we are 163 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:07.440 to be pitied the most. So, in light of all of that, 164 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:13.440 Paul sort of banging his head against the wall. Well, how can you 165 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:18.000 be thinking this? How can you be saying this? Jesus rose from the 166 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:26.000 dead and it's essential to everything that we are doing, everything that we believe 167 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:33.960 and in fact, Verse Twenty Now, Christ has been raised from the dead. 168 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:39.559 This putting ourselves in these sort of other doctrinal shoes for the moment. 169 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:46.039 Let's take ourselves out of them and come back into reality, the reality. 170 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:50.000 The fact is that Jesus has been raised from the dead. He is, 171 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:56.919 Paul describes him as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. You've 172 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:03.360 heard me use this metaphor a lot, not only because it's it's biblical, 173 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.000 but it's so helpful, I think, at least for me, and I 174 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:08.200 hope it's helpful for you too, as God gives it to us here, 175 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:15.679 the first fruits, right when we have a little pomegranate tree and these beautiful 176 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:19.440 red flowers are starting to come out and it's so exciting when they do in 177 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:25.279 those little flowers, they will turn into pomegranates. I know it's going to 178 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:30.120 happen. It is happening. It's already begun that life of now. Just 179 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:33.679 a little bit ago that pomegrant a tree did not look so hot. There's 180 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:38.840 a bunch of sticks. Basically they were all brown. There were no leaves. 181 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:44.039 All the leaves were on the ground, or maybe not even that anymore. 182 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.600 But now it's beautiful and it's wonderful and it's coming to life and I 183 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:52.519 know that, as I see those blossoms, those first fruits, that the 184 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:57.639 rest will follow. It's happening. Life is now, spring is now, 185 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:03.159 resurrection is now, and that is what has happened. In other words, 186 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:10.559 Paul saying, not only has the resurrection occurred, the The resurrection of the 187 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:14.839 dead. When you consider the thing of this a whole, it's already begun, 188 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:23.240 as Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Another 189 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:27.599 example of this that you can think about if you have a an Easter dinner 190 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:32.519 next week. Is, at least the way in my family that we would 191 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:36.480 do it sometimes is, you know, they're everybody would bring food and there'd 192 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:41.599 be dishes all set out across the counter right, and you're kind of congregating 193 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:45.440 right by the by the counter, you know, taking a chip and getting 194 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:49.880 some dip, and you sort of eating the meal, even though it hasn't 195 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:55.079 officially begun, right, or it hasn't begun in full. You know, 196 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:57.799 not everybody is sitting at the table yet, and yet there you are, 197 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:02.839 you're eating, you're enjoyed going, you're tasting of the things that are already 198 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:07.960 begun and about to happen. The resurrection of Christ is like that. The 199 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:17.759 work has begun and his resurrection is a guarantee of our resurrection. What is 200 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:22.079 the proof of that? Well, here's what Paul says in Verse Twenty One. 201 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:26.279 For by a man, namely Adam, for by a man came death 202 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:32.680 by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in 203 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:38.400 Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. You 204 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:44.000 see his point. As death spread through one, life comes through the other. 205 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.759 And so if Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and our faith is 206 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.599 in him, then we two are raised with him, he goes on to 207 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:57.279 say, but each in his own order, and this helps us to understand 208 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:02.880 why the resurrection hasn't happened already. Why are we still here? Why do 209 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:07.319 Christians still die, or fall asleep, as he puts it, as a 210 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:12.279 way to encourage us to think about death. Death is so much the sting 211 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:18.119 of it taken so much away that for the believers it is though we just 212 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:22.960 fall asleep. Well, why is that still happening? And he has says, 213 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:26.200 because there is an order about these things. Christ the first fruits and 214 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:32.680 then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. This is a 215 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:37.759 reminder of what Jesus teaches on the Old Testament, teaches. The apostles teach 216 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:42.519 that at the return of Jesus Christ, there will be a resurrection of the 217 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:48.799 dead, a great resurrection of the dead, and which those who were who 218 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.839 had previously died, will come to life, and there will be a great 219 00:19:52.960 --> 00:20:02.000 judgment, some to everlasting punishment and torment and some to everlasting blessing and salvation. 220 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:10.640 This resurrection of the dead is what we are looking forward to and it 221 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:18.799 is going to come. Paul also mentions something else that happens in verses twenty 222 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:25.359 four through twenty eight. He talks about the Kingdom of God coming into completion. 223 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:33.599 He says that I then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom, 224 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.720 the Kingdom to God, the father, after destroying every rule, every power 225 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:41.880 or every authority and every power. He must reign until he has put all 226 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.799 his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 227 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:53.119 Here Paul Speaks about Jesus, Christ, the son, as the sun incarnate, 228 00:20:55.480 --> 00:21:00.480 as the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is All will, all 229 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:06.200 authority, all power and always has. Nothing has ever taken away from that, 230 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:10.279 nothing is ever diminished for that. He is one with the father. 231 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.079 He has all the glory, the father has all the honor, the father 232 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:18.960 has all the rule. The scriptures tell us that as God spoke, as 233 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:23.279 God made the world, he made it through the word that is Christ, 234 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:27.480 and so we can say of Jesus that he made the world, he created 235 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:32.039 the world. We can say of Jesus that he rules the world, that 236 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:37.039 he exercises authority and power over the world, and so this is not referring 237 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:41.680 to Jesus as the second person of of the Trinity. This is referring to 238 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:48.039 Jesus as the sun incarnate, not denying his places the second person of the 239 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:55.799 Trinity, but focusing particularly on his work as what the second Adam. What 240 00:21:55.880 --> 00:22:00.759 was Adam supposed to do? Fill the earth, subdue it. What was 241 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:06.440 Adam supposed to do? He was supposed to expand that garden into a great 242 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:12.640 kingdom of God, which God would then glorify in as a response to Adam's 243 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:19.880 obedience. Did Adam do it? No, he did not. Adam instead 244 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:26.839 plunge that world that he had get been given into death, into shame, 245 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:33.599 into great many and great misses. The Lord Jesus, though, he comes 246 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:40.880 as the second Adam not just to bring bring us who have believed in him 247 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:45.519 to life, but to bring everything, all of the world, into this 248 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:52.920 final consummated glory in such a way that Satan will never come into the garden 249 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.599 again, will never come in and say did God really say and have a 250 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:02.839 whole thing repeat over again. No, Jesus is the second Adam, but 251 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:07.720 it's not just a restart, it's a finishing. He does and completes what 252 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:14.400 Adam failed to do and he brings this kingdom into glory and he destroys all 253 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:19.920 of the one all all that would seek to do us harm. The last 254 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:25.039 enemy to be destroyed, of course, he says, is death itself. 255 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:32.400 Death, which came as a curse to Adam and a curse to all mankind, 256 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:37.920 is gone, totally gone, and instead the curse is is destroyed, 257 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:48.119 death is done in and he will reign in life and victory forever. Practically, 258 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:52.079 think about it this way. In Heaven, when Jesus brings all of 259 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:57.119 these things and conquers all of these things and finishes this work that he has 260 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:02.720 begun, when the resurrection comes, we're you're not going to ever need to 261 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:08.400 be on guard against a snake. You're never going to need to think. 262 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:12.079 Wait a second, is that person to like if you were Adam? Is 263 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:18.519 that person telling me the truth right now? or Eve did God really say? 264 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:22.680 I don't know, I really like none of that. You will be 265 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:32.200 able to live forever in perfect safety, not wondering if I disobey, will 266 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:38.039 I really die, because you'll never disobey, because there will never be any 267 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:45.359 threat against you, because death itself has been conquered. Everything will be completed 268 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:52.559 and consummated and the great and Wondrous Glory of God through Christ, the Second 269 00:24:52.680 --> 00:25:02.559 Adam and our king, this son, then, where Adam failed and was 270 00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:11.720 plunged into death, will come into life, giving all obedience to the father, 271 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:18.079 in the way that Adam failed to do, and fully glorified by the 272 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:25.480 father in the way that Adam never was and is. God then unite himself 273 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:30.359 to all of humanity through the God man, through his son. I have 274 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:37.920 trouble finding the words, but here's how Paul puts it. That God may 275 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:45.480 be all in all that, just this great divine unity, not not disregarding 276 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:52.839 or undoing our places creatures, but somehow through the God man, will unite 277 00:25:52.920 --> 00:26:03.240 us all in him in this properfect glory that nothing and no one can undo, 278 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:12.519 a love that will be suffused and throughout everything, every relationship, every 279 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:18.160 thought, every word, every deed, a life that just builds up and 280 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:25.839 a fructifies right like from comes into this fruition that is forever and ever, 281 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:30.960 a praise of God on the lips of men and angels and all creation that 282 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:41.519 just sings for all eternity, never tiring, never losing hope. This glory 283 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:48.720 is what Jesus achieved for us by dying on a cross for our sins, 284 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:59.880 that God may be all in all, that God may be glorified over everything, 285 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:08.000 and that we might participate and enjoy that forever. Well, to continue 286 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:15.839 and finishing this passage, Paul then gives a couple more points. He says 287 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:21.839 in Verse Twenty Nine, otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on 288 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:26.400 behalf of the dead? This is a little bit of a head scratcher because 289 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:30.480 baptism of the dead is not commanded in scripture. In fact, it goes 290 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:37.359 against all of the theology of baptism. What seems to be happening here is 291 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:42.079 that Paul is as he does in other places. He is speaking about a 292 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:48.480 practice that he doesn't necessarily agree with, but he's conceding that. Look at 293 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:52.000 what their actions based on what they are doing. You can see what this 294 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:56.359 is true, as Paul appeals to pagan poets and all kinds of other things. 295 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:00.720 He's saying if these people, and notice how he distances himself. But 296 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:06.160 in saying it that way, if people, these people are being baptized on 297 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:08.920 the dead. If the dead aren't raised, why are they doing it? 298 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.160 So he's sort of conceding that not necessarily that the practice is right, but 299 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:18.440 that that they certainly believe this truth about the resurrection, or else they wouldn't 300 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:25.920 be doing this. Then he makes it personal. He doesn't create any distance 301 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.559 here in the next verse, he he talks about himself. He says, 302 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:33.839 why do we do what we do if the resurrection were not true? He 303 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:38.400 says, in danger every hour. If you read the life of Paul, 304 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:45.720 you'll see not exaggerating too much, if at all. He says, brothers, 305 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:51.880 with pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus, Our Lord, 306 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:56.160 I die every day this life, he says, this life of mine, 307 00:28:56.359 --> 00:29:02.200 is not easy. It's hard and he gives us examples of this in 308 00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:07.200 other places. Constantly being pursued. I'm constantly being threatened his very life, 309 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:12.279 people betraying him. But he sums it up this way. Here he says, 310 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:18.119 if I fought with the beasts at Ephesus, right hand to hand calmbat 311 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:22.039 and was willing to give up my life for the sake of the faith, 312 00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:30.119 if the dead are not raised again, it doesn't matter. And so he 313 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:40.200 concludes with this wake up, wake up from your drunken stupor right he's shaking 314 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:45.480 like a shaking the drunk church right. Wake Up, wake up, wake 315 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:49.720 up, do not go on sinning. Have some knowledge of God. Be 316 00:29:49.799 --> 00:29:57.119 a shame. Look at yourself and put your hope in the resurrection so that 317 00:29:57.160 --> 00:30:03.599 you may be indeed wake up up when the Lord comes, so that you 318 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:11.880 would not be forever under the corruption and wrath signified and experienced and sin, 319 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:18.319 but that you might belong to God, who is all in all and the 320 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:26.160 glory of the resurrected life. And so that's our encouragement. This is Paul's 321 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:30.680 message to us. He impresses us again, on our hearts again, the 322 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:37.720 importance of the Gospel that he delivered, that Jesus Christ died for Sin and 323 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:41.319 his resurrection was the vindication that he did as he said he would do. 324 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:48.119 Let's not deny it, but I put our hope in it. Let's pray. 325 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:53.880 Our heavenly father, we thank you for the resurrection of Christ, as 326 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:57.519 we imagine what it would be like to remain in our sins, to remain 327 00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:03.559 as people that are unforgiven, that have the record of dead and all of 328 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:10.079 its legal demands, not nailed on the cross but read out before us, 329 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:18.079 the public accusation of every every sin in our lives, every thought, every 330 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:29.279 word, every deed counted against us. What a horror, Lord Lord. 331 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:36.519 Instead, you have given us a resurrection and a forgiveness and a hope that 332 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:41.720 will never put us to shame. Indeed, through the work of the God 333 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:49.200 man, Jesus Christ, death itself has been destroyed and the proof of it 334 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:55.480 has already been come, as already come, and the resurrection of Christ and 335 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:59.440 the manifestation of it all will come at the end when we are all raised 336 00:31:59.480 --> 00:32:05.640 from the dead, all who believe in him. We are because of that 337 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:09.200 faith, Lord, we are not most to be pitied, but instead we 338 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:15.480 celebrate and we sing and we rejoice and we hope and we pray and we 339 00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:22.079 persevere and we are not anxious and we struggle and we strive and we are 340 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:28.799 even willing to die for the sake of Christ that we might live forever in 341 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:34.440 him. Lord, teach us these things, press them on to our hearts 342 00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:39.880 that they may never be erased. We confess our doubts, we confess the 343 00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:45.680 times in which we don't believe as we ought to believe, in which we 344 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:50.839 don't hold his first importance, the things that we must hold as first importance. 345 00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:57.839 We confess our sins, which for which Christ died, and we asked 346 00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:05.359 that you would work in these and many other ways and forgive us and heal 347 00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:09.640 us. We give all Thanksgiving to you, all glory and honor to you, 348 00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:14.519 as you have honored us, and we ask that this light that you 349 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:17.480 have put into us, a light that shines in the darkness, would shine 350 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:22.359 to many, that many more might believe and put their hope in him, 351 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:27.119 all to the praise and glory of your name. Amen,