The Glory of the Resurrection
The Resurrection Body
1 Corinthians 15:35-49
 
The thought of a resurrection is somewhat foreign to us.  We’ve never experienced one personally and there is only one in recorded history.  That’s not to say people haven’t died and been brought back to life.  Obviously they have. 
 
But a resurrection is different.  Resurrection is that term that refers to dying and being raised back to life never to die again.  And that is exclusive to Jesus.   In fact, that is the focus of Easter and it is the subject of our study in 1 Corinthians 15. 
 
These first-century believers to whom the Apostle Paul is writing were at even more of a disadvantage than are we.  Even though we’ve never experienced a resurrection first-hand, we at least have two thousand years of church history to draw from.  We have a New Testament to read as well. 
 
As Paul is writing to them, they are only a few years removed from the resurrection of Jesus.  And although it was a part of the gospel they believed, the thought that they too could be resurrected was brand new.  No one had ever taught that doctrine before.  So Paul is writing to them to explain how the resurrection of Jesus guarantees their resurrection also. 
 
We’ve covered the first 34 verses of the chapter so far and we’ve heard the resurrection gospel and listened as Paul speculates on what it would be like if there were no resurrection.
He has also explained how the resurrection is designed.  Jesus raised first, then the redeemed will follow.  We’ve also seen some of the practical effects of believing in a future resurrection. 
 
This morning we come to verses 35-49.
 
Text
 
Once you accept the fact of a resurrection, then naturally that raises some questions.  There are two and both are found in verse 35
 
1. How are the dead raised?
2. What kind of body is a resurrected body? 
 
Now it seems to me it is possible for both of those questions to be asked sincerely and sarcastically.  It might be he is answering the skeptics that are left in the crowd as well as those who accept the fact of a resurrection. 
 
Even logically speaking, a resurrection raises some interesting speculation. 
 
How could a decayed, rotted body rise?
What about a body that was drowned at sea in a shipwreck and eaten by sharks?
What about bodies that were dismembered in accidents causing death?
What about bodies that were burned in a fire?
What about those bodies that were maimed or beheaded in war or some kind of criminal act?
 
 
 
One of the local funeral directors was telling me recently that one of the new offerings from some funeral homes is to load you into a shotgun shell and fire you off, complete with your favorite color!
 
So this is a pretty valid question?  Just how does a resurrection take place?  How can a body reassemble itself after it has been buried in the ground or ashes thrown to the wind or scattered on the ocean floor or fired from a shotgun?  How are the dead raised up? And if they are raised up, what kind of body are they given?
 
Let’s see how Paul answers the question.  He approaches it from four different angles. The resurrection of the body can be described as to its manner by looking at it from four perspectives.
 
The first is
 
1. The Analogy
 
verses 36 to 38
 
Here is a very logical, easy to understand analogy.  A seed is put into the ground and it dies. And by the way, that is true of any and every seed, regardless of variety.  Every seed planted in the ground dies.
 
In fact, even before you put it in the ground, it appears to be dead. It is lifeless. It is not growing. And when it goes into the ground, it dies and it rises again and when it rises, it rises in a form, in a body, if you will, that is very, very different than the form of the seed that died.
 
Who would think that you could hold an acorn in your hand, plant it in the ground and 50 years later have a massive oak tree?
 
IN like manner, Paul says, our bodies are buried and disintegrate and dissolve and rise again in a different form. It’s really not so hard to understand is it? 
 
And what comes out of the ground will be of the same nature and substance.  In fact, it will be the same life, the same person, but in a different form.
 
Out of the old grain comes a new plant. Out of the old body, comes a new body.  We will be who we are, it will be the same life, but in a new form.
 
Now if you are still skeptical and that’s hard for you to understand, just take out a picture of yourself when you were 16 and then go look in a mirror.
 
It’s not hard at all to understand that the same person will go through many, many forms and changes. In fact, they say we replace our entire physical form every seven years.
 
And I keep asking the question, “If that is true, why do I always look like I’m older than seven?”  Something isn’t right about that idea. Change happens all the time. That’s not hard to understand.
 
Now how are we to know the form that that body takes? Who designs that? Where does it come from?
 
Verse 38
 
 
If you took a hundred different seeds of plants and held them in your hand, you could look at those seeds and unless you were really involved in horticulture and familiar with them, you would have no idea what those seeds would produce. You wouldn’t know a seed that would produce a tree from a seed that would produce a short-lived flower.
 
Why do some seeds produce trees, and some bushes, and some flowers? Because, verse 38, God designed it to be that way. 
 
And we don’t have a problem with that. We understand that every seed has its own form when it comes to life. And we understand that God designed every single one of those seeds and its subsequent form is designed by God.
 
So, first of all, the analogy.  Then he comes to
 
2. The Form
 
verses 39 to 42a
 
Look at verse 39.  “All flesh is not the same flesh.” This is a simple statement, isn’t it?
 
Here’s the argument:  Look around and you will easily see that everything is different.  Men aren’t like the animals.  Fish are different from birds.  Men have a certain kind of skin. Animals have a uniqueness to themselves.  Fish have scales.  Brids have feathers. 
 
It’s amazing the diversity of the created order.
 
And it’s even more amazing that we can put all kinds of things into ourselves and not turn into that thing.  For instance, some people like pork.  I’m one of them.  I like most any part of the pig.  Bacon, chops, ham, tenderloin, ribs,.  I love to eat pork. 
 
But I very seldom, if ever, oink.  Why don’t I turn into a pig?  Because no matter what you put in, the substance of the life I take in is combined with the substance God has programmed in me to just make more of me. And I will tell you, I can eat enough pork to make a whole lot of me, but it’s still just me.
 
And I know some of you are saying, “Personally that’s very offensive to me, because I’m a vegetarian.” Well, it’s a good thing God designed you to be what you are, or else you’d turn into a vegetable and we’d be fixing you to go along with the ham we’re having for lunch!
 
Now here’s the point:  In Creation we discover God is not restricted to one kind of flesh. Different animals have different kinds of flesh. Different birds have different kinds of flesh. Different fish have different kinds. There’s just no limit.
 
Why then should we be surprised about the possibility there could be another kind of body?
 
And then getting beyond the animal world, notice
 
verses 40-41
 
Terrestrial is talking about things on the earth. There are seashores and oceans and meadows and mountains and deserts and waterfalls. 
 
There are all different kinds of shapes and sizes and textures of things that exist on this planet.
 
And then there are those celestial bodies; the sun, the moon, the stars, and the other planets and they’re basically limitless. The space that we look into is virtually infinite.  It has no outer edge and it is filled with uncountable bodies in motion. And each of them, he says, has a kind of glory.
 
By the way, the word “glory” means manifestation. When God showed His glory, He revealed Himself as light. That’s what He’s saying.
 
For example, the sun has a certain glory. The moon has a certain glory. The stars have a certain glory.  And he’s simply telling us, they look differently. 
 
When you look into the sky, you see the glory of the sun. It’s a blazing ball of fire. You see the glory of the moon; it’s reflected light. You see the stars, sparkling diamond dots. They each have their own body. They each have their own form.
 
And this, Paul says, tells us that God can make any kind of body He wants. Why would you not think He could create a resurrection body?
 
The point is that everybody, every unit of creation, every item floating around in space has a peculiar way of manifesting itself, according to the sphere in which it exists and according to the design by which it was made.
 
Then in verse 42 he makes the connection.
 
That’s not a stretch, is it? He is simply borrowing from nature and astronomy, analogies and illustrations that tell us there are literally countless forms that God has created. Why would we think that He would be restricted from putting together a resurrection body that would bear the same life and yet be distinct?
 
Now the opening statement of verse 42 summarizes everything he said from verse 35 on. It is really incredible to think of the creative power of God.
 
No two people are alike. No two stars are alike. No two flowers are alike. No two blades of grass are alike. So obviously it’s not a problem for God to make something that’s not like anything else.
 
And by the way, I think the essence and the nature of our resurrection bodies will be the same, but we will each be unique. So we not only have to accept the fact that God could make a resurrection body, but that He can make a unique resurrection body for everybody that’s resurrected. As one body differs from another, now among us, so we will each differ in the resurrection. We will be unique. We will be who we are, the persons we are.
 
You say, “Well, will we look the way we look?” No, not entirely because we bear the marks of sin and fallen-ness and a degenerating life principle.
 
We’ll all be perfect, flawless, representations of ourselves.  And yet we will be unique.  In fact, we will be so unique that we’ll know each other in heaven.  We’ll know as we are known.
 
 
So we see the analogy and the form. Then right there in verse 42 he moves to
 
3. The Contrasts
 
verse 44
 
He uses this series of contrasts to describe the resurrection body.  The chief objection to believing in the resurrection was that body’s wear out.  The major obstacle to overcome was getting beyond thinking in physical terms. 
 
If you think of a body in physical terms, then a body is subject to decay and sin, therefore why bring it back once you have escaped from it?  And Paul’s response to that is this new body will not be like the one we have now. This one is perishable, it is sown in dishonor, it is natural, it is weak and the one that we receive in resurrection is imperishable, glorious, powerful and spiritual.
 
Now the first perspective, the physical aspect of the body is not hard for us to understand.  We know all about the perishable part of life.  And the older we get, the more familiar with it we become. 
 
From the day you are born, you start dying and every day you’re one day closer to the inevitable.   And both experience and Scripture will have us to understand that whole life experience of man starts at the cradle and leads to the grave and in the meantime, we pass through this series of corruption.   
 
 
 
Now Paul describes the physical side of life as being sown.  Did you notice that? You see it in every one of the contrasts in verses 43 and 44. 
 
And what he is teaching us is the sowing starts when you are born. You start dying when you’re born. The seed starts to disintegrate. As life comes day by day, hour by hour, year by year, there is this sequence of corruptions until finally we end up in the grave.
 
And we do all we can to mask it. We dress corpses in nice clothes, and put on the makeup and comb the hair, but we all know the reality of what is happening.  And finally, that body which is perishable, dishonorable, weak and natural surrenders itself to death and is planted in the ground.  It is sown. 
 
But notice what else he says.  The natural body is sown, spiritual body is raised.  The body is sown in corruption, but it is raised in incorruption.  It is sown in dishonor, but it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness, but it is raised in power.
 
There is a sowing, but there is also a raising and that which is raised is completely different. The resurrection changes absolutely everything.
 
Now we can kind of get our brain around what it means to be incorruptible.  This spiritual body doesn’t die or decay.  The promise of Heaven is there is no death or sickness. 
 
Maybe we can even understand what it means to be raised in power.  This new body will allow us to travel the new heavens and the new earth and to go and do whatever we are commanded to do.
And we will be delighted to do and we’ll never get tired while we’re doing it.  We can even eat, and not for energy but enjoyment. 
 
We can grasp a little of what it means to be raised in glory.  We’re going to be like the glorified Lord Jesus with a brand new, eternal existence.
 
But what does it mean in verse 44 when it says, “It’s raised a spiritual body?” What is a “spiritual body”?
 
I’m not sure my definition will help all that much, but a spiritual body is a body that can accommodate a spiritual existence. 
 
Right now, we are in a body that can accommodate a physical existence.  We can only be in one place at a time.  We are bound by time and space.  We rely on oxygen and gravity and the physical realm controls what we are able to do and be involved in. 
 
But a spiritual body will be able to accommodate a spiritual existence.  And I don’t know exactly what all that means, but I think it means our capacities will be increased and our limitations lifted so that we are free to worship and serve and love God in a way that we can’t even begin to imagine.
 
And we could hang around there and let our glorified imagination run wild, but there’s one more thing we need to cover in this section. 
 
We’ve talked about the analogy, we’ve talked about the form, we’ve talked about the contrasts and there’s a fourth element to Paul’s answer that we’ll call
 
4.  The Model
 
Verses 45 to 49
 
If you want a model for what you will one day have yourself, Paul provides it in these verses.  He talks about two Adams.  The first one is the first man to ever live on the earth. The second is the Lord Jesus.
 
In this physical world, we all show our likeness to Adam. In the heavenly world, we will be like Christ.
 
Paul, writing to the Philippians said,
 
Philippians 3:20
 
“His glorious body”.  That’s the body He was in when He came out of the grave after His resurrection.
 
Therefore, the model for what we will be like after our resurrection is the glorious body of Jesus.  The body of Jesus was incorruptible, glorious, powerful and spiritual.
 
He was visible. He was recognizable. He was touchable. He could eat and yet He could walk through a door and He could go into heaven like a rocket blast and leave people watching Him as He went out of sight, accompanied by angels.
 
So if you want to know what you’re going to be like one of these days, just spend some time in your Bible reading all the passages about our Lord after His resurrection.  You’re going to be like that. 
That is the model God will use to reproduce the likeness of Christ in every child He has.
You and I won’t be Christ, but upon the authority of the word of God, I can tell you, we’ll be like Him.  You and I are going to have a body like His body with the capacities that He has.
 
1st John 3:2 says, “We will be like Him when we see Him as He is.”
 
Will you rise to receive that body? Only if you are in Christ.  This is the promise of the resurrection: a body fit for the full life and glory of heaven, a body like Jesus that can eat but doesn’t need to, a body that can fly through space and appear here and there and go through walls, a body that has no time limits, no age and no end.
 
What an amazing hope, huh? So limp along, folks, with what you’ve got.  There are much better things to come.
 
Let’s pray