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Ask God: If you believe life is difficult, hang around for the tribulation. A better option is to accept Christ and go to be with Him. Believers will not endure the tribulation for they will be with Christ with a glorified body.

Good Evening Reader,

This lesson completes our study of First Corinthians. Paul ends his letter with the good news of the resurrection.

May God bless you and keep you in His love.

All Glory to God.

Elvin

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God Has a Plan

Physical and Spiritual Bodies

Text: First Corinthians 15:35-58

Our study of First Corinthians has taken us through many of the challenges Paul addressed to the church at Corinth. Throughout the book, Paul addressed problems in the church. As he nears the end of his letter in chapter 15, Paul turns their attention to the future; God’s plan for every believer.

The Corinthians asked an important question: “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” (verse 35). Many struggled to imagine the resurrection thinking only of their weak, physical bodies. To them the ideas of a glorified body seemed impossible.

Many argued that the resurrection of the body was not possible.

Paul reminds them—and us—that it is hard for the human mind, fixed on earthly things, to grasp spiritual realities. We spend our whole lives focused on the physical, yet God has something greater in store.

Paul uses the picture of a seed: it must be buried before it can rise into something far more glorious. In the same way, our earthly bodies, weak and perishable, will be transformed into powerful, imperishable bodies.

Paul is saying that there is more to life than what you see now. God is Spirit, and one day, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed. The body we are given will be fit for eternal life with Christ.

Paul helps believers to understand by drawing on the analogy of a seed planted in the ground. Just as a seed must die to produce a new plant, so too the natural body must be sown in weakness in order to be raised in glory. The body that is buried is perishable, and weak, but what is raised is imperishable, and powerful.

The First Adam and the Last Adam

He contrasts the first Adam with the last Adam which is Christ. Adam, formed from the dust, passed on mortality to all humanity. Christ, risen in glory, gives believers a share in His life-giving Spirit. This transformation is not merely an improvement of the old but the creation of something new, fashioned in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection body.

Sin separates individuals from God. When Adam deliberately sinned by disobeying God, he was separated from God and was removed from the Garden of Eden. God and sin do not mix. So Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden. Adam was born immortal but now separated from God he became mortal and passed mortality and sin to his children. The fallen man has been the condition of the world since Adam. Christ died on the cross to conquer sin and death.

The big question for mankind is how do we get out of this mess? God gave us the answer by sending His son to die on the cross for all sinners. Christ is God’s gift to all who will accept Him.

Paul Reveals a Mystery

So, what is next? Paul addresses what is next in the 15^th chapter of First Corinthians.

Paul revealed the mystery in his letter to Corinth: not all believers will experience physical death, but all will be changed. At the last trumpet, in a moment, the perishable will put on imperishable bodies, and mortality will be clothed with immortality. Death itself will be swallowed up in victory; The final victory.

Paul ends the book with a triumphant message: because of Christ’s resurrection, believers no longer need to fear death. Paul exhorts the church to remain steadfast, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing their labor is never in vain.

God’s plan is marvelous and fascinating. It excites all Christians who understand it. A time is ahead in which we will never suffer any more pain; no toothaches, no cancer, and no death!

Consider this question: How would your life change if there were no evil forces to tempt you? During the millennium, the devil will be bound and removed. He will have no influence over you. After a period of adjustment, you would begin to look at life differently. Our thoughts would turn to the glory of God. Our relationships with neighbors would improve as we soon forget old hurts and become open to loving our neighbors. Life would be blessed, happy and less stressful.

Paul makes Three Important Points:

“From Seed to Glory” or The Mystery of Resurrection Bodies

Paul writes in verses 42 through 44, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (verses 42-44).

To explain the mystery of the resurrected body, Paul uses a visual by comparing our earthly bodies to seeds. A seed must die before new life springs forth. In the same way, our bodies are sown in weakness and corruption but they will be raised in glory.

He wants believers to understand that the resurrection does not produce a reanimated corpse but a transformed, Spirit-empowered body fit for eternity.

“From Adam to Christ” or The Source of Our Transformation

In verses 45 through 49 he says, “And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

^“However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man”.

Adam brought sin and death into the world. Like a bad virus, it was passed down generation to generation. All who came through Adam share in his weakness and mortality. But Christ, the last Adam, gives life and glory to all who belong to Him. Just as we have borne Adam’s image, we will one day bear the image of Christ. Our hope rests not in human strength but in Christ’s victory.

“From Death to Victory” or The Final Triumph of Believers

Paul writes in verses 51 through 54: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory”.

At the last trumpet, in the twinkling of an eye, all believers will be changed—mortality will put on immortality. Death, once feared as humanity’s greatest enemy, will be swallowed up in victory. Paul bursts into praise: “O death, where is your sting?” This truth gives believers courage to live boldly for Christ, knowing our labor in the Lord is never wasted.

Summary

Life is a challenge, but Paul gives us hope as he lays out God’s plan.

In 1 Corinthians 15:35–58, Paul reveals the victory believers have in Christ. Our earthly bodies will be transformed into glorious, immortal bodies. Death is swallowed up in triumph through Jesus’ resurrection. This unshakable hope assures us that labor in the Lord is never wasted, for eternal life with Christ is certain and glorious.

Elvin

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Christian faith

Reader,

Hosea said his people were destroyed for lack of knowledge. Knowledge give believers and non-believers a choice. When a person does not know, they cannot choose.

Feel free to forward this lesson to your friends and family.

Grow in the knowledge of God.

Elvin

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