Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
What Comes After Death? Understanding Eternal Hope
In a swirling world filled with doubts and distractions, understanding the resurrection becomes crucial in solidifying our faith. In our latest episode, we dive deep into Paul's impactful message in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, examining how the resurrection stands at the core of Christianity. Paul confronts the Corinthian church's confusion and division, reminding them—and us—of the life-changing power of the resurrection.
Throughout the episode, we unpack the significance of acknowledging Christ's victory over death, which brings not only hope for the afterlife but also a transformative outlook for our present lives. Paul passionately invites believers to stand firm, affirming that our labor for the Lord has eternal value, and emphasizing that the resurrection is the ultimate evidence of God's power and love.
Join us as we explore the practical implications of living out a faith that hinges upon this glorious truth. We highlight the urgency of living differently in a world that can feel overwhelmingly chaotic, encouraging listeners to embrace their identity in Christ and engage with the world around them with conviction. Don’t miss this opportunity to strengthen your faith and gain insights that can change your perspective on life’s challenges! Be inspired and encouraged to share this episode and dive into the rich truths waiting for you in God's Word!
So today we're going to find ourselves in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, and there's going to be a whole lot of scripture that I'm going to read at some point. And I've come to the realization, and I think, that I've always known this. But one of the things coming into this year that I've kind of challenged myself to do is to really just focus heavy on text, because the scripture is powerful in and of itself. I recently joined a discipleship training group that meets once a month, and one of the gentlemen in the group and they're kind of going through how to do proper Bible study. And one of the things that he said and it's kind of stuck with me is you know, when it comes to the Word of God, we have all these people who have written commentaries and they have their opinions on what this text means and what that text means. And if you walk in my office, I've got like five bookshelves full of books, right, and it's not necessarily a bad thing, because a lot of times those commentaries can help us engage. But what he said was he said prior to all of their opinions.
Speaker 1:For thousands of years the word of god has been changing lives in and of itself, so there's nothing wrong with other people's opinions, he's like but, but truly at the heart of the believer, what changes their life, is the God-given scriptures that you and I have been given. So to spend time in the text, to let the text speak for itself oftentimes is far more important than my opinion of it. Not only that, but it goes back to the transformation part. A lot of times, what the Word of God says, we stand on as truth. My opinion about it is irrelevant, especially if my opinion doesn't agree with it. And so Paul is talking to this church in Corinth.
Speaker 1:And if you have any history about the church in Corinth, the church in Corinth is messed up. This is not his first letter. He actually writes two, and some scholars think there's actually a third letter that he would eventually write. But the church in Corinth is really kind of confused. They're confused about who they're following. There's a point in the text early on when they're giving, you know, credit to certain apostles or certain teachers that have come along and you know, some follow Paul, some follow Paul, some follow Peter, right. So they're confused and they're saying that one person's better than the other, although the gospel is still being preached the same.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of sin that's kind of run rampant in the church and they're allowing things to happen. There's a conversation Paul has early on. There's actually a dude that's like sleeping with his dad's wife, which we assume is his stepmom, and Paul is like this just cannot be happening. So we see a lot of corruption that's kind of come in, and part of that is because Corinth was like a port city and there was a lot of other gods and other cultures. There's a point in the Scripture where they're like sleeping with temple prostitutes as worship and Paul's like what are you guys doing? And so his letters are really kind of direct and he has some harsh conversations but he also has some really positive things right.
Speaker 1:So 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter and if you've ever been to a wedding you've probably heard it read. Paul talks about what it is to love and the importance of loving, and so when we get to the end of the book near the end of the book chapter 15, paul has addressed kind of all of these concerns and how they're living and the decisions they're making, and he's trying to bring them back to the focal point. In the same way that he wrote in Romans, he's trying to help the church understand that what really matters is their relationship with Jesus and the way that they've chosen to live that out. And so I feel like it's fitting as we get into this final therefore, statement and I'm just going to share this real quick because I think that this is where we're going, this is we're going to land. This ship okay said uh.
Speaker 1:First, corinthians 15, verse 58, paul is writing to them. He says, therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, let nothing move. You always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. So he's writing to this church and he says, therefore, stand firm in what you've been taught, stand firm in the work that you're doing, because you realize that your work for God is not in vain. So, before he gets to this therefore statement, paul's going to take the entirety, almost the entirety, of verse Corinthians 15 to talk about the resurrection of Jesus. And if you are a follower of God, if you are in Christ, the resurrection is what we stake everything on. Jesus coming back from the dead, overcoming death, not only gives us hope for the future, but it establishes and it should that he has the power to overcome sin. It should that he has the power to overcome sin.
Speaker 1:So Paul starts in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1. He said Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you believed in vain. For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and then he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
Speaker 1:After that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are all still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then the apostles and, last of all, he appeared to me also as to one I'm normally born For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the least of the apostles, and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. So, prior to this moment Paul is referring back to when the early church kind of got started. Paul was the one who was persecuting them and killing them, and he actually had a vision in which he saw Jesus and Jesus established him in his ministry. And so Paul's kind of doing a callback to this moment, reminding them that God has also called me an apostle, although in Paul's mind he doesn't deserve it. So verse 10 says but by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. I worked harder than all of them, not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Speaker 1:Whether, then, it is I or they, it is what we preach and this is what you believe. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there's no resurrection of the dead? There's no resurrection of the dead and not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead, but he did not raise him. In fact, if the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins.
Speaker 1:Then also those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost, if only for this life, we have hope in Christ. We are all of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all be made alive, but each in turn Christ, the firstfruits, then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God, the Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power, for he must reign, and so he has put all his enemies under his feet. Now, when it says that everything is put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself. He put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him and put everything under him, so that God may be in all.
Speaker 1:Now, if there's no resurrection, what will those do, who are baptized for the dead. If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every day. Yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus, our Lord. If I fought wild beasts and ephesians with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.
Speaker 1:Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character. Come back to your senses, as you ought, and stop sinning, for there are some who are ignorant of God. I say this to the shame. But some will ask how are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come? How foolish. What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just the seed, perhaps of weed or of something else. But God gives it to a body as he's determined, and each kind of seed he gives to his own body.
Speaker 1:Not all flesh is the same. People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, Birds another and fish another. There 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. The sun is gone as one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another. Stars differ from stars in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable. It is raised imperishable. If it's sown in dishonor, it's raised in glory. If it's sown in weakness, it's raised in power. If it's sown in a natural body, it's raised in a spiritual body. If there's a natural body is raised in a spiritual body. There's a natural body, there's also a spiritual body. So it is written. The first man, adam, became a living being, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural and after that the spiritual. The first man was of dust, of the earth. The second man is of heaven, as was the earthly man, so those who are of the earth, and as is the heavenly man, so those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. So once again, I realize that's a ton of text.
Speaker 1:Paul was a theologian among theologians and he's dealing with a couple arguments here. There was some debate that people weren't. The resurrection of the dead wasn't possible. There was some debate. They were stuck on what's going to happen after you die, what's your body going to look like? And Paul is talking to them and says listen. You are focused on the wrong thing Because he says, listen. You are focused on the wrong thing Because he says if Jesus has not been raised from the dead, then everything you and I do is in vain. But he starts off this chapter by saying but Jesus, when he was resurrected from the dead, appeared to over 500 people and most of them are still living.
Speaker 1:You know one of the things about when you go to the writing of, if you understand a little bit of Jewish culture prior to being able to write everything down, they were storytellers. So their oral history is how they would transfer information from one culture to the next. They're not the only ones, by the way. A lot of cultures were like that before writing became a thing, so they would tell these stories and they would share these events, and they would do it with great accuracy. It's actually kind of fascinating, and part of the reason it was so accurate is because they took it so seriously, right? So if you were growing up in the Jewish culture and someone was telling a story of an event that happened in the past and you were wrong, they would correct you in the moment. They did everything they could to make sure that the story stayed consistent, because to them that's their history it was necessary, right? So then we get to a point in history where things are starting to get written down.
Speaker 1:Now, if you pay attention to any Roman writings around the time, if you've ever read anything about Alexander the Great, there's a strong possibility that most of that is not true. The Roman authors were very good about only including the information they wanted to include and kind of ignoring the rest of history, because they wanted to paint a really good picture of their leaders, right? And? And if you watch a couple of documentaries on the history channel, you can kind of see how this unfolds. So, so in the moment that jesus is resurrected, 500 people see him.
Speaker 1:The gospels so matthew, mark, luke and john were all written within 30 to 40 years after his ascension in heaven, which means that most of the people who had seen the resurrection of Christ were still alive. So as the Gospels are being written, there's an entire population of people who believe in oral history, who see what's being written and if something's wrong they would correct it because their history was that important to them. So the writings we have of Jesus were written and edited by people who had actually witnessed the events that took place. But, interestingly enough, we doubt the Scriptures. But then we have writings about Alexander the Great that took place 100, if not 200 years after his life and we take them as historical fact. You see the problem right? So when Paul is saying listen, this resurrection that you are denying, there was a ton of people that saw it happen. So why would we lie when there were so many witnesses to back up the evidence? Not only that, but Paul says we find ourselves facing death every day because of what we believe and what we're teaching. What man would die for a lie like that?
Speaker 1:I read once and it was an atheist who wrote this and I can't remember the guy's name and I wish I could, but he said that in his opinion the account of the resurrection had to be true and he said and he points to it and he to is like. I can prove that he's like, because the the Watergate scandal that happened was like the 60s 70s. He said the Watergate scandal that happened. Was it Watergate? Yeah, is that the Reagan? Yeah, okay, so the scandal that happened proves that it had to be true. Nixon, nixon, okay, that's not. I'm know my history that well, I know a lot about me proves that it had to be true. Nixon, nixon, okay, I know my history that well, I know a lot about Nixon, sorry, reagan. So he said the Watergate scandal proves that there has to be some truth to the Scripture.
Speaker 1:He's like because that group of men couldn't keep the story straight for 24 hours. He's like the moment pressure hit, it all blew up and unfolded. He's like so you mean to tell me that this group of men, this group of apostles, continue to lie about the resurrection up until the point of death? He's like what person in their right mind would stick to something that's a lie if it was going to cost them their life? They said to me that just shows you how true it is. They were willing to die for this. And so Paul is saying to them listen, the resurrection of Jesus is everything that you stand on. Your entire existence as a church, as followers of Christ, depends and hinges on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Speaker 1:And then he gets into 1 Corinthians 15, verse 50. It says I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. It says listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed, for the perishable must close this self with imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death is your victory, where O death is your sting, the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm, let nothing move. You Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor to the Lord is not in vain. Because you know that your labor to the Lord is not in vain.
Speaker 1:Paul is talking to a church that's lost their way. They've allowed the world to creep in. They've allowed petty arguments to divide them. They've allowed sin to come back in to their midst. And Paul comes to the end of his letter and he says listen, the resurrection of Jesus is everything we stand on. There's proof. There's proof, there's evidence, there's witnesses that saw it happen. We are out here dying for the cause of Christ. It says stand firm in everything that you do, because you know that your work for the Lord is not in vain.
Speaker 1:You know, we live in a world, we live in a culture sometimes, that feels like it's adamantly against us, that it doesn't like the church. It doesn't like the church. It doesn't like when we stand on truth. It doesn't like when we stand on biblical principles. We live in a world that Satan has corrupted things and he distorts it. By the way, our fight is not against people. It's a spiritual battle that we're facing. We live in a world that makes us feel sometimes like we're inferior. Why do we need church? Why should we stand for truth? Why can't I just be and accept everyone? Why can't I just accept all things and listen? That's such an easy road to find ourselves down. But when we look at Scripture and the way that it calls us to live and the transformation that Paul talks about in Romans 12, you and I are supposed to be different. We're set apart. Our goal is to be so set apart, in fact, that we actually help other people become set apart too.
Speaker 1:I had this conversation with someone this morning. I know that I've said this before and you know, when people talk about they don't want to follow jesus, they don't want to give up. You know, name it sex, partying, drugs. You know I, I can't be who I want to be. I've got to give up all this stuff and listen. I've been a follower of Jesus since I was 15, and the gospel, the scriptures, have never, god, has never asked me to give up anything. That wasn't bad for me anyway, like giving my life and trying to be more like Jesus has never made me worse Ever. And so the world gets stuck on. Well, I can't. Well, why would God Listen?
Speaker 1:For whatever reason, the one who made us knows the best way for us to live. Imagine that. Imagine the one who created you can look at you and say, hey, stop living that way, don't allow sin to ruin your life, don't. You'll be transformed by your mind, the way you approach, the way you talk. All of this comes with knowing me, and all of it hinges on the resurrection of Christ, because if there is no resurrection of Jesus, then all of this is futile. You and I are living for nothing.
Speaker 1:And Paul says at his church in Corinth but you, you were not taught that, some of you might have even been witnesses to this moment he says, therefore, stand firm, as you know, the work for the Lord, the work that you've put into all of the effort, all of the energy to be like Christ, is not in vain. Nc Wright says this. He's talking about Paul's letter to the corinthians. He says the present flesh and blood will decay and die, but god intends to create a world and in jesus he has decisively inaugurated the project in which decay and death are accommodated, are not accommodated, but defeated. We shall be transformed. It will happen in a flash, in a great act of new creation, echoing around the cosmos like the blast of a great trumpet.
Speaker 1:When this happens, the ancient story which the Bible told in a thousand different ways will come true the story of creation reaching its intended goal, the story of enemies being defeated, the story of God's victory, the Creator's victory over all the forces of chaos and destruction. Can we not agree? We could all use a little less chaos and destruction. Seriously, this world, there's so many things happening and it feels so overwhelming, but there is coming a moment in time that Jesus is going to return and restore everything exactly how it was supposed to be Perfection. Listen, you and I can't process that. I cannot understand perfect, because I've never experienced perfect as good as things have been in my life. I've never experienced perfection.
Speaker 1:Revelation 21, verses 1 through 7, says this Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying look, god's dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eye. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away. He who is seated on the throne said I am making everything new. Then he said write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without cost From the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all of this and I will be their God and they will be my children. And going back to Paul's letter to the Romans, in Romans 8, it says that in Christ all of this is accomplished.
Speaker 1:For those of us who are in Christ, paul says in Romans 8, chapter 18 through 25, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us, for the creation waits an eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and the glory of children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, through the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption of the Sonship, the redemption of our bodies, for in this hope we are saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently In Christ.
Speaker 1:You and I still live in this world. That's hard, because we still have to deal with the sin and the disease and the sickness that's here in this place. But in Christ we have something that's coming that is going to be perfection. We have something that's coming that is going to be perfection. That is why we do what we do. A place where death has no sting, a place where there's no more mourning, no more crying, no more being hungry, no more cancer, no more sickness, no more children dying. None of it, none of it, none of it will exist in the place that is coming.
Speaker 1:And Paul says to this church in Corinth, and he says it to us. So stand firm in what you are doing, because everything you're doing for the Lord is not in vain. Living for Jesus will never return empty. Giving your life to Christ will never not be worth it. Because even in this life where we struggle, there's something that is coming that's going to change everything a new creation, a new transformation that is coming, that's going to change everything. A new creation, a new transformation. That church is what we stand on, because if Christ is not resurrected, then none of this matters. But if he is, it changes everything. It means that death will someday not be a burden for us. It means that someday we will be back in the presence of God.
Speaker 1:I was thinking about this this week and there's nothing in the text about it. But if you go back to Genesis, when Adam and Eve were walking in the garden and God gives them stipulation, you can have everything you need, but don't touch this. And they did. They ate of the fruit. They were deceived, and then sin entered into the picture. They were kicked out of the garden, toil became hard Work became hard Labor and childbirth pains became common for women. I mean that alone I'd be like that's not right. Right, but I always wondered if there was ever a moment when Adam and Eve were together. Were they ever in a moment of quietness? They're like oh man, I miss what we had. I wonder, if they wrestle with that, if I could just go back and not do what we did because we had no idea what was coming.
Speaker 1:And then you see generation after generation suffers, generation suffers. They lose a child to murder by his own brother, and you see Israel suffer again and again. And all of this comes because of that moment where they decided that they knew better than God. And then you get to the New Testament. Jesus comes in. He's healing people. He's healing people, he's teaching people and ultimately he finds Himself dying on a cross. He dies, he's buried, he's resurrected, and then he offers that resurrection, and that same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Him from the dead is the same power for those who believe and give their life to Him.
Speaker 1:And so I sit here and I wonder in this moment how many people get to the end of their life and they think, man, I just wish I would have followed Jesus. I wish I would have made that decision, I wish I would have given my life to Him, but for whatever reason, I waited. That's the beauty of this is you don't have to wait. You don't have to wait until you're at death's door to give your life to Jesus. The sacrifice, the resurrection, the salvation comes now, today. It's here, it's available, and for those of us who have accepted it and have been baptized into Christ and we've talked about this and Paul talks about this in Romans 6,.
Speaker 1:Paul says that just in the same way that you were baptized into Jesus' death, you experienced Jesus' life, and not only in this world. Not only am I being transformed now and things are changing for me, but I look forward to the day that I die, that when I die and my eyes close for the last time and I open them, it's going to be perfection. For me, and I've said this before the only thing I can take into heaven with me are the people who I love. That's it. Nothing else is going with me. But if I can get them to accept Christ, if I can get them to see just how important he is, if I can get them to understand that His resurrection was real and that he overcame death, then they will get to experience the exact same thing I do when I die. I don't fear death, because I know death is not my end. Church, when Paul is talking to us, he says stand firm in everything that you're doing because the resurrection of Christ has happened and it's in that truth that we do everything on. Therefore, go into all the world, baptizing them in the name of the Father, son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them everything that I have taught you. Therefore, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Therefore, stand firm, because everything we do at the end of this life, you and I win because God already did end of this life. You and I win because God already did.
Speaker 1:Someone asked me one time to give them an abridged version of the book of Revelation. If you've ever studied Revelation, it's complicated. There's a lot of imagery there. Here's how I view Revelation. God's won, so do we. That's what we stand for. There's coming a day when we die, when Jesus comes back. New creation, new heaven, new earth, and all of that is available for those who will put their faith and trust in the one who resurrected from the dead. So why do we do what we do? Because I want heaven to be full, all right.