Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas

NT Framework - Humans are not fancy animals

• Jeremy Thomas • Season 6 • Episode 172

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Our body as humans are different than other mammals, different than reptiles or birds or fish; and this leads to understanding our resurrection body which is distinct and different than the body we currently inhabit.

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01:

Here is more about the nature of the resurrection body. Someone will say, now that's by the way, that phrase, but someone will say, when you see that in in the text of the Bible, and you see it here, you see it in James 2, and you see it in the controversial James 2, where you see it, and also in Romans 9, I believe, someone will say, This is this is to introduce a debate opponent in the ancient world. It's a hypothetical debate opponent. So Paul is saying, okay, but someone's going to come along to me, a debate opponent, and they're going to say this. Yeah, well, how are the dead raised, Paul? Answer that one. That's the mode of what's happening here. And so that will help, actually, if you're studying, you go to James 2, and James says, but someone will say, and there's a section there in the controversial section of James 2, and you know now that whatever is said, it's in 2.18, whatever is said after that is the words of a debate opponent. It's somebody that's against James, disagrees with James. It's the same passage that says, uh, even the spirits believe that God is one, even the demons believe that God is one. That phrase comes out of the mouth of somebody who disagrees with the truth of the Bible. So can you use that to prove your theology? If you do, you're using the truth that's anti-biblical. And a lot of people use that section to try to say that faith is not enough. Because even the demons have faith. But that those words come right out the mouth of someone who disagrees with James. So whatever he means, it can't be true. It's false. So I don't think you can use that to say it's not faith alone. In fact, it's proving exactly the opposite of that would be true. That faith is enough. But there isn't a plan of salvation for demons. And believing that God is one doesn't get one to heaven anyway. One must believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose again. So the content that someone has to believe to be saved isn't that God exists. That's not enough, is it? But someone will say, an opponent, how are the dead raised? Answer that one, Paul. With what kind of a body do they come? And they think it's they think it's foolish that Paul and the Corinthians would believe in resurrection, of course. But Paul says, hey, you're the one that's a fool, right? You fool. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. Now he's using agriculture metaphor. We're right in the spring, so this is the time you're planting, right? You're planting, and and and maybe you, let's say you started with seeds. Now, that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. You sowed a seed, right? The seed is the result of the plant or tree, whatever, and it released a seed, and you took the seed and you put it in the ground. Now you didn't put the whole tree in the ground, did you? You didn't put the whole plant in the ground. You just took a seed, and that's what he says next. That which you sow, you do not sow the body, which is to be. In other words, you don't take the whole tree and bury it. Right? You don't do that. But you just take a bare grain, he says, perhaps wheat or something else. That's all you need, right? And he's saying, from agriculture, you should know that there's a resurrection. Right? Just from agriculture, just from the fact that we sow seeds and it grows into a body, we take the seed, put it in the ground, it grows into a body, we should know that when our bodies die and they're put in the ground, guess what? They're gonna grow up in another body. So, do you see that there's a similarity between the seed, that's our mortal body now, and the plant that grows from it, the resurrection body. Just as there's a relationship between an oak, you know, uh acorn, you know, what's in the ground, and the tree that comes from it. What's the relationship? Well, it's directly tied to the previous generation of tree. And so your resurrection body is related to our current body. Just as Christ was put in the grave and then rose again, so your body, presuming we won't get raptured, you will go in the ground and then, you know, it will be raised. So there's a relationship, but also, of course, a difference between the grain itself, the seed itself, and the tree that or plant that grows from it. Verse 38, but God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. In other words, you know, there's different types of plants, different seeds, and these seeds they make a certain type of plant. They don't make any kind of plant, they make a specific type of plant. Now, verse 39, all flesh is not the same flesh. Now, this is what it said. Jesus' flesh was different than our mortal flesh, wasn't it? And this verse says that. All flesh is not the same flesh. And then he explores this idea further. He says, But there's one flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another flesh of birds, another flesh of fish. There are heavenly bodies, earthly bodies. Glory of heavenly is one, glory of earthly is another, one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars, for stars differ from stars and glory, so also in the resurrection of the dead. He's just drawing a parallel, right? He's drawing a parallel. So let's look at these. In verse 39, verse 39 was one of the key verses that convinced me that evolution wasn't true. Because I was a Christian who was a crevolutionist. Okay? I was a this is what uh I I explained this to someone and I said, Oh, I was a theistic evolutionist. And they said, Oh, you mean like a crevolutionist? You know, creation, evolution. You know, you kind of try to put the two together. And I was like, Yeah, can I use that? And they said, Yes. So I'm using that by permission. Um, I was a crevolutionist, but part of the journey was discovering what the Bible might indicate relative to evolution. And this is one of the key verses, this was the key verse that convinced me, it was like the clincher, that it's not possible to transgress uh certain barriers between in science they call it species, right? There's certain barriers that cannot be breached. Uh because, see, there's all flesh, he says, is not the same flesh. There's one flesh of men and another flesh of beasts. Well, in evolution, we are beasts, we come from animals, we're just the most highly evolved form of animal. But you're an animal, I'm an animal, we're all just animals, see, in evolution. But this text says no, it's not the same. Not the same. So we don't derive from previously existing animals. We do derive from previously existing animals all the way back to the single cell that first uh came into existence, purportedly. Another flesh of birds. Uh there's another one. See, uh now they've got you know, dinosaurs and birds are somehow related, we're told in science, right? So you see uh in the older drawings of dinosaurs, you know, in you know, say thirty, forty, fifty years ago, there's scaly reptilian type things. Now they've got feathers on these modern day dinosaurs. You've probably seen these pictures, right? Why why are they thinking that? Well, they think these are related evolutionary wise. By the way, the evolution of a of a of a feather and uh related to a scale is very complicated. It's called pictures that you draw. That's that's what happened. They draw pictures. Where do we see this? In the books. Uh no, no, no, I mean out there. No, no, no, it's it's just like the picture. They're just pictures. Somebody drew it. What's the evidence? Well, we read in our science science textbook. Oh my goodness, are you serious? That's where we are. That's that's where the world is. Um so no, no evolution. These are different kinds. It's the same thing used in in Genesis, right? The concept of different kinds, right? And that's what Paul's primarily exploring here. And he says, This is the same thing when it comes to resurrection. The resurrection body is a different kind of body.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spoke and Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.