This sermon is available for free download from www.graceunlimited.co.za That's www.graceunlimited.co.za There you will also find many other sermons speakers, blogs, events, pictures, links, web store, e-documents and contact details. Simply follow the links to Grace Unlimited on Sermon Audio. Alright, that's good news, amen? So thankful to be here with you and it's Easter and obviously I'm excited today about talking a little about the resurrection of the dead. I was thinking sometimes on Sundays as we come to God's word, I might even give you a sentence or two to try to memorize so that you can make sure you understand the significance of the message. And a good sentence that you might memorize this week to really understand the significance of what we're going to say today would be, Jesus rose from the dead and so will I. So maybe you can say that with me. rose from the dead, and so will I. So I think that's pretty exciting. We better say it one more time, because you know how I am. If I can't hear you, then I feel like you don't believe it. So Jesus rose from the dead, and so will I. Yeah, and we're going to see that as we look specifically at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 20 through 28. Now, one of the funny things about being a pastor is that you get to say things here and have people act as if what you're saying is totally normal and kind of expected. When, if you said that same thing anywhere else, besides a gathering of the church, they would look at you as if you were absolutely crazy. Like, for example, the fact that I want us to talk about the resurrection of the dead. That's an interesting subject. In other words, I want us to talk about this day in the future when dead people come back to life. You understand what we're talking about, right? People coming up out of the grave, dead bodies. And obviously in the world that is something people would think is kind of shocking, right? They would probably laugh at me. You know, even for bringing it up. I mean, this day, this epic day in the future, when bodies that have been buried somehow break through their coffins and are transformed into living resurrected bodies. That is surprising in the world. When, as believers, however, our reaction here is a little different, honestly. Because for us, this is one of those doctrines that is not out there. It's not kind of on the fringe of Christianity. It's not something that only the really strange Christians believe. It's actually very basic. I mean, so basic that if you were going to make a list of truths that are absolutely core to the entire gospel message, if you were going to sit down and write out on a sheet of paper the kind of truths that you cannot leave out if you're going to understand the message of the Bible, the resurrection of the dead would be one of them. And yet, you know, I wonder if you've ever thought about why. Why? I mean, why do we believe that dead people are coming back to life again? And I guess more specifically, why is that belief so important for us? In fact, let me just kind of put a problem before you to help you get a feel for this. Say, just say there was this group of people who claimed to be Christians and maybe they had gathered together as a church and they believed the basic facts about Jesus. Like they believed that he rose from the dead. And yet somehow they didn't really believe they were going to rise again themselves. Could they continue on in that belief without being willing to be corrected and be Christians? Or if you're going to make it a little easier, be effective Christians. And you know, maybe I should make this a little more specific because I'm talking about the resurrection of their bodies actually. That's what I'm saying they were having a hard time believing. And this is important because it's not like they're denying eternal life altogether. That's not the problem. It's just that instead of believing the body is going to rise from the grave, they only believe the soul continues on and on. And so for them, it's like after we die, for our bodies, they're done. They just decay. Where our souls, though, They're released to go and be with God, and then that's how it is forever. Souls living in God's presence forever. And I guess I'm wondering, what do you think? Like, how big a problem is that for them, really? In other words, to make it simple, if I believe in the resurrection of Jesus, but I don't believe in the resurrection of the dead, how much am I missing, really, in terms of the gospel and the whole Christian thing? Now, you know what I like about a question like that is that we actually don't have to wonder about the answer, because this is one of those questions that the Bible does answer very clearly in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the chapter we're studying now. Because Paul's writing the Corinthian church. That's why it's called 1 Corinthians. And he's writing the Corinthian church because he's concerned. And one of the reasons that he is concerned for them is because it seems like they had been influenced by their culture, in that Corinth was in Greece. They were Greek, the Corinthians. And apparently, many Greeks at the time had this idea that the body was evil. So they thought of the physical body as being bad and the soul as being good, and the soul to them was what really mattered, which meant they obviously had a hard time thinking about a physical body going on forever as a good thing, because the death of the body in their minds was like a release for the spirit. And so they were tempted, the church, the church was tempted to mix Christianity with culture, which is always the problem for the church, in that in Corinth they weren't going to deny the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. They knew too much to do that. they were beginning to question whether their bodies would rise from the dead, which is why Paul writes this particular chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, actually, because this doctrine is such a big deal to him. It is a non-negotiable. And we get a sense how non-negotiable it is to Paul in verses 12 through 19, where he says, essentially, that if there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, there is no such thing as Christianity. Should I say that again? For Paul, if there is no such thing as a future resurrection from the dead, there is no such thing as Christianity. It's that significant. In his words, verse 12, now, If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? And Paul's just building on a truth here that he knew, they knew was essential to the gospel, that Christ had been raised from the dead. And that's actually verses one through 11. That's the whole theme. And he's saying, if you do agree with me about that, and I know you do, then you have to think about the implications of Jesus's resurrection for you. Because, verse 13, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then even Christ has not been raised. In other words, they're tied together in Paul's mind. The resurrection of our bodies and the resurrection of Jesus's body are tied together. And to show that, Paul goes on and says, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are found to be misrepresenting God because we testify about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised. And obviously he's just working through some of the consequences of trying to take the resurrection of the dead out from the gospel. For if the dead are not raised, even Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile or empty, and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. And you see how big a deal the resurrection of the dead is to Paul. In his mind, if you somehow took it out of Christianity, you do not have Christianity left. It's that essential a truth. It's like a foundational one. The whole house of Christianity comes falling down if there is no resurrection of the dead. And the thing is, Paul wants us to know why. This is 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 20 through 28, the section of this chapter we're going to look at today. And it's like we're in the middle of a Pauline argument, and this is the next step. If the gospel tells us first that Jesus rose from the dead, that's verses 1 through 11, that means then if you take the resurrection of the dead out, you have no gospel, verses 12 through 19, because Verses 20 through 28, the two are inextricably connected in God's whole great plan for the entire universe. And this passage really is actually epic. It is huge. Because Paul is helping us understand why the resurrection is so significant. And the way he explains why, ultimately, is by telling the story of the entire universe, pretty much from the beginning to the end. And the key to understanding where everything in the universe is headed begins with understanding first that Jesus's resurrection and yours are tied together. That's number one. And to help you understand that, Paul starts off with an illustration. that gives us insight into the nature of the resurrection in verses 20 through 22. He writes, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. And it's like, OK, for Paul, let's just be done with the games, because we don't have to pretend that Christ wasn't raised from the dead and all that that would mean for us now, since we all know that he was raised from the dead. So let's just move on as a church and think through the implications of that fact for us. And here's a picture to help you do that, because Jesus's resurrection was, quoting Paul, look at it, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. And obviously, Paul knows it helps to have a picture to understand the truth. And the truth is Christ's resurrection and ours go together. And that's pretty much everything he's been saying in verses 1 through 19. And that's why the resurrection of the dead is so important. And yet he knows maybe that's hard for us to feel. And so he says here, you should think of Christ's resurrection from the dead as being, from God's perspective, a little like a farmer with his harvest. And that's a metaphor that he wants us to have in our minds. Now, obviously, when a person farmed, he would plant seeds. And then he would wait until a certain time when he would begin to see those seeds produce a harvest. And the initial crop at the beginning of the harvest, you might call what? This isn't too difficult. The initial crop at the beginning of the harvest, look down at verse 20 so that I can know you're with me. The initial crop at the beginning of the harvest, you might call the, hint hint, verse 20, the end, the first fruits. Tony, good job, I'm going to seminary. Good to see it, awesome. It's not like this is actually a very complicated illustration. For the Israelites, this part of the crop, the very first part of the crop, was supposed to be dedicated to God. They were to take their firstfruits to God at the temple and offer them up to the priest as a way of giving thanks to God for providing that harvest for them. And the reason they could take those firstfruits to God and know that they weren't going to starve the rest of the year was because they understood. that those first fruits were a proof, an assurance, really, of the harvest that was still to come. In other words, this wasn't something that was difficult for them when they had to do this. They weren't shaking when they had to offer the first fruits to the priest. This wasn't something that was scary for them. It was something exciting instead, because they knew it wasn't the whole harvest, the first fruits. It was just the start. That's the point. And obviously, Paul wants us to understand that's always been God's plan with Jesus and his resurrection as well, which is why he couldn't imagine a Christianity without a future resurrection of the dead. That's like going to a graveyard, as I often say, and seeing a head come up out of the ground and think, well, that's nice. and not expect anything else to come up out of the ground later. I mean, if the head comes up, the rest of the body is coming up at some point as well. And so as we're looking at all these people who have fallen asleep, they've gone into the ground, their bodies, you know, their soul is still alive, but their bodies are in the ground. And it's not God's intention. And it's never been to leave their bodies there. because that would be like a farmer sowing seeds for no reason, not expecting or wanting a harvest. Or maybe better, that would be like a farmer sowing all these seeds and then just being content with the first fruits. No, the harvest is not done. When we see the first fruits, the whole point of the first fruits, the reason the first fruits are exciting is the fact that those first fruits are proofs that the rest of the harvest is coming like Jesus's resurrection as well. His death was kind of like one of those seeds going into the ground and his resurrection was like the first plant coming up, marking the beginning of God's great harvest. In other words, this Easter, as we think about the resurrection, it wasn't something random. It wasn't. a freak occurrence that happened in history, where somehow a farmer was walking along and a seed fell out of his pocket and up grew a tree. Instead, Jesus's resurrection is part of God's whole great plan for the universe. That's why we're shouting this Easter. Now, actually, Paul's going to build on this illustration. And this is where the passage goes about Jesus as he's going to explain further What he means about Jesus's resurrection being like the first fruits in in verses 23 and following, because you can see how he says, but each in his own order, Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. And that metaphor he's going to use to help us understand where the universe is headed and and how the resurrection fits in. But it's like first he knows before he goes there, he has to prove that the illustration even works. And so he takes us back to where death came from in verse 21. And he says, for as by a man came death. And I guess it's like another illustration because Paul knows it. It might seem weird for us to think about one's man's resurrection, meaning necessarily that everyone else is going to rise from the dead. It's hard for our minds to go that direction. And so Paul's like, well, let me help you. by reminding you that's exactly what happened going the opposite direction. In other words, if we go back to creation, the death of the body was not part of how God originally created the world. In fact, his design was for bodies to live forever. That's the kind of bodies we had. Death only came into the world as a result of one man's rebellion against God, which is why By the way, later you see in verse 26, Paul calls death an enemy, which is another word picture. Actually, death is like an enemy. And we normally think of death as our enemy. And of course it is. But if you see at the end of verse 25, it talks about his enemies, Jesus's enemies, God's enemies, really, because death is not just an enemy to us. It's also an enemy to God, in that death opposes God's great plan for the universe, because God's great plan was to rule the world that we're living in right now through chosen human representatives. If you want to see that, go back to Genesis 1 and 2, and you'll see that God gave Adam the task of representing him by ruling the entire earth successfully, bringing it under his authority. I believe, to expand the borders of Eden until the whole earth experienced the presence of God. But of course, we know that Adam turned his back on God's task through his rebellion. And in a sense, his rebellion opened up the door for all kinds of enemies of God to come in, like sin, and like Satan, and like death, which impacted not just Adam, but all of us so significantly that we couldn't fulfill God's plan for us as human beings. I mean, there's no way we can rule this universe and bring it into submission to God's great plan, making heaven on earth, because we all keep sinning and we all keep dying. We're all experiencing the consequences of Adam's rebellion in our lives right now. And we know that obviously, and it's tragic and it's really sad. And yet at the same time, it helps us understand what God's doing through Jesus, because Paul explains, look at verse 21. For as by a man came death, you might say, in a similar way, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. In other words, Jesus's resurrection makes sense. It's not just something that happened one time in history, this unusual moment. The resurrection is something that happened as part of God's plan to accomplish something in this universe where he begins reversing, really, the consequences of the decision Adam made. And this is important. It's part of why Jesus became man. Because God's got a goal to finish what he started. God's got a goal to finish what he started. And that's what the apostle Peter preached in Acts 2, actually, as he proclaimed the gospel. He said, repent. Therefore, in turn again, and he was speaking to Israel, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive. Now listen to this until the time for the restoring of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. And that phrase, the restoring of all things, is talking about all the problems we face in this universe because of Adam. Body, soul, supernatural, political, all of those problems. And the death and resurrection of Jesus is part of God's great plan to bring that restoration about. It's like God's using a man to repair the damage man caused. And that's how Jesus's resurrection works. And Paul goes on to give a theological category to fit the resurrection into in verse 22, when he says, essentially, we need to think of Jesus as a second Adam. He says, for as in Adam, all die. In other words, way back at the beginning, Adam was acting as a kind of representative for the rest of us as human beings. And so because of Adam's choice, we all die. And God could have left it at that, of course. But obviously, he didn't. So he sent Jesus to be a second Adam, meaning to serve as a representative of all those who would put their faith in him. And so just like Adam's decision brought death to all who are connected to him, Jesus's resurrection brings life to all those who are connected to him. In Paul's words, for as in Adam all die, So also in Christ shall all be made alive. And that's how Paul can say so confidently and so passionately that Jesus's resurrection is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Because I mean, it's happened already. We've already seen how that concept works with Adam and his death. His death was like a first fruits in a negative way of everyone else who died after him. And Jesus is a second Adam. He functions in God's great redemptive plan in a similar way, which is what makes for Paul denying the resurrection of the dead so ridiculous. Because it would be like denying that people die. Really, we all know people die. It's just a fact because Adam sinned. Of course, they're going to die. And we all know people rise again because Jesus rose from the dead. That's what his resurrection meant. Are you following? Now, of course, the problem for most of us, the problem is that we don't see that happening. And this is where we get confused. It's easier with Adam and his death because we see people dying. It's harder with Jesus and the resurrection because we don't see people coming back to life again. Which is why Paul explains in verses 23 and following. And he takes this illustration that he's given us of how we're supposed to think about the resurrection as the first fruits of this whole big coming harvest of resurrected bodies. And he fits it into God's whole big plan for the entire universe, which helps us understand why it's not surprising to Paul. that we don't see dead people rising from their graves right now the way Jesus did because he writes, look down at it, verse 23, but each in his own order. And obviously Paul's making it clear there that God has a plan. There is an order. And this for me is where the passage really gets exciting because we look at death and we look at all these consequences of the choice that Adam made and and how it seems from our perspective to have ruined God's original plan to bring the world into submission the way he wants, to rule it through a chosen human mediator. And if there's any confusion about that, we just read the Old Testament and we see how there's this entire nation, Israel, who were given all these spiritual privileges, and yet they couldn't bring this earth into submission. And then, you know, we look at Jesus. And we see him coming in the gospels and we see him beginning to deal with the root of the problem that Adam created. Like last week, we saw he's defeating demons. And Good Friday, we talked about how he's defeating sin. And today we're reminded of the way that he even personally defeated death. And all of that's wonderful, of course. And yet, as we look at the world and we look at the Bible, there's just so much that still doesn't seem to fit in with God's whole goal for us right now. the way the Bible describes. And that's because Paul tells us here in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection of Jesus was just the beginning. He's the first fruits. And that means that God still has a plan to complete what he started. And we'll see absolutely accomplished through Jesus what Adam didn't. And we're so privileged because he's even revealed that there's an order to it, actually. First, Verse 23, Christ rises from the dead. And then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. And of course, this is where our hearts start beating a little faster because he's talking about us. He's talking about when we as Christians will be resurrected. We will be resurrected from the dead when Jesus comes back. And later on in this chapter, Paul's going to describe what kind of bodies we'll have even at that moment. using this idea of a seed being planted. If you look down at verse 42, he says, what is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. This is the harvest. It is sown in dishonor. He's talking about your body. It is raised in glory. He's talking about your future body. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. He's talking about our resurrected bodies. We're not just going to come back to life. Is anybody else thinking this is awesome? We are going to be given transformed bodies that do not die. And Paul even tells us the moment this will happen in verse 51, 1 Corinthians 15 51. He says, 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 imperishable and we shall all be changed. And I think he's honestly he's talking about that moment that he's talking about is something we call the rapture. And now we're kind of getting into eschatology, the doctrine of last things, how everything is going to end. And I know that's intimidating for us sometimes because there's all these different ideas out there. But I mean, at least you can see There's an order to this, back in verse 23 and 24, because Paul says, first Christ rises from the dead, and then, he says, second. And you know, it's been thousands of years, so this then is taking a while. But first Christ, and then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ, at least 2,000 years later now. And then, he says, next comes the end. And you see, Paul's describing three separate stages in God's great plan. And here, the next great event that triggers the end, according to Paul, is the coming of Christ. Referring, I think, to what we call the rapture, which if you're not familiar with, we don't have a lot of time to talk about now, but is described at least in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 15 and following, where Paul writes, and you might look at this, I can hear at least a little bit of flipping of pages. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, or like fingers moving on their phones. That's harder to hear, but just make the flipping of pages sound like as you go to First Thessalonians, Chapter four, where Paul writes. Listen to this. For this, we declare to you by a word from the Lord. That we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord will not proceed, those who have fallen asleep, meaning died for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with the cry of command, with the voice of an archangel. and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Which is obviously awesome. I mean, we're looking back and we're used to looking back to the resurrection of Jesus as big. But you need to see the reason the resurrection of Jesus is big is because it triggers this whole great salvation process that God's got planned, which involved Jesus's return and our instantaneous resurrection and transformation. which is this moment in history when all these bodies of believers come flying out of the ground somehow and are changed into the perfected bodies we've been longing for. And that's so incredible that we might even be tempted to think that's the end, you know, because what more is there after our resurrection? Except that if we look back again at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 24, it doesn't even seem like our resurrection is the end. Because you remember, Paul says, after we've been raised, verse 24, what? Let me hear it. What? Verse 24, how does it begin? This is my way of knowing that you're still looking at your Bibles. Verse 24 begins. Shoosh, I'm going to have to get a hearing aid for this church. Then, then, then. comes the end. And that's a sequential word, just like the first then was. And I think actually, just like there was some time between Christ's resurrection and our resurrection, there is some time between our resurrection as believers and the end that Paul is describing. Because if you look down, there's some things that have to take place first, specifically. And we know from other passages of scripture, there's going to be a great time of testing here on Earth. that we call the tribulation period. And you can read about that in Revelation 5 to 19. And then there's going to be a millennial kingdom, which is a big word, but refers to this time where Jesus returns with his resurrected saints and rules here on earth for a period of a thousand years, where he reconfigures and renovates the earth making it pretty much the opposite of what it is today, with everything functioning exactly the way it should, which is this coming time in history that we've been calling the Kingdom of God, as we've been studying the Gospel of Luke, and is promised all throughout the Old Testament, and which I think is talked about here as well. Because you notice that Paul says, then comes the end. Now look at this, so you're following me. When he delivers the Kingdom of God, he delivers, excuse me, the kingdom to God, the father, after, you see that right? After, when does he deliver the kingdom to God, the father? After. Thank you, Rudy. Awesome. You're on the front. I can hear you. Delivers the kingdom to God, the father, after destroying every rule and every authority and every power. And that word after is key. Because obviously the bringing to an end of all rule and all authority and all power comes before the delivering of the kingdom to God the Father. And I guess I hope you're seeing the flow, because really, if there's one thing I've been wanting you to see this afternoon, it's that the resurrection is not random. God becoming man is not random. Jesus ruling and subduing this universe as God's chosen king is part of this amazing plan that began way back at the beginning of the world, when God created man and he gave man the task of ruling this world as his chosen human representative, only to have that chosen human representative turn his back on God and sin and rebel and open the door to all kinds of enemies coming in and waging war here on this planet against God and against his purposes and against his people. And yet, obviously, God wasn't surprised and God didn't give up on that plan. Instead, he's given his own son a mission. And that is to become man, to serve as a kind of second Adam and to come into this world and do what humans were supposed to do, but better. By defeating all the enemies that oppose God and ruling this earth the way that man should. And of course, we know, as we've said, he laid the groundwork for the realization of that great victory in his first coming. But the thing is, obviously, we still haven't seen him rule here on Earth the way that God originally intended man to do in Genesis and even promised all throughout the Old Testament. I mean, if you read the Old Testament, the Old Testament is filled with promises about this descendant of David coming and ruling perfectly. 2 Samuel chapter 7, check it out, the Davidic covenant. It's huge. It's the covenant that rules them all. I mean, it is such a pivotal covenant for understanding the whole Old Testament. God promised David, one of your descendants will rule as king here. And the prophets fill what that rule is going to look at. Because if you read the prophets, they're constantly coming back to this idea of this great and powerful Davidic king. Think about Isaiah. The government shall be upon his shoulders. He's talking about a Davidic king who's going to rule here on earth, which is part of why Jesus had to raise from the dead himself, actually, because he couldn't have a man ruling the way those prophets described in the kind of human body we have now. And that's also why he has to return, actually, as well. Quoting Paul, if you look back at 1 Corinthians 15, verse 25, for he must reign. until he's put all his enemies under his feet. And Paul's actually quoting here as well. That's kind of what's fun. We're quoting Paul, but Paul himself is quoting the psalmist back in Psalm 110. The Bible just fits together so beautifully when you realize it's not just all about you. It's about something bigger. It's about this great plan that God's accomplishing. And Paul's saying the psalmist talked about this in Psalm 110 when he talked about the Messiah. And Psalm 110 is quoted. all over the New Testament. But one of the other places it's quoted, besides 1 Corinthians 15, is actually Hebrews 10. And I don't want to give you too many scriptures, but the writer of Hebrews is looking at the same psalm that Paul's quoting in verse 25, and he's filling it out. And he says, listen, but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies shall be made a footstool for his feet. And that's the same psalm that Paul's quoting here. And the key word that the writer of Hebrews gives us to help us understand how it all works out is the word waiting. Jesus is waiting for this time in heaven right now. And so this psalm, and even Paul, what he's describing in 1 Corinthians 15 is something future. That's the thing. Obviously, looking back, there's all kinds of wonderful things that Jesus has done. And looking forward, there are still more wonderful things for Jesus to do. Specifically, there's a coming rule of Jesus that we look forward to as believers. After Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven. He sits at the right hand of God until God the Father sends him back and visibly installs his son as king. after which Jesus will set about restoring all things. By doing what? Paul tells us, destroying every rule and every authority and power. The last enemy, verse 26, being what? Death. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. And the word destroyed essentially means nullified, which means brought to nothing, unable to do the damage it normally does. And that, Paul's saying, is where the universe is headed, which is part of what makes the gospel so, so good. It's part of what makes this gospel message such good news. It's not that we're just forgiven and die, and it goes on and on and on the way it always does, maybe with our souls playing a harp up in heaven. The gospel tells us God has this great plan to actually deal with all the problems that we're seeing that man has created in this universe, especially the problem we're all facing and that we all hate. And that is the problem of death. So anybody else think this is amazing? Yeah, I know you do. This is incredible. In Second Timothy one, verse nine, Paul puts it like this. He says. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, he says, God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, which is huge. He says, somehow we're wrapped up in this eternal plan of God. And this plan, Paul goes on to say, has now been revealed. The plan that God made from before the beginning of the world has now been revealed through the appearing of our savior, Christ Jesus, who, listen to this, abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And this is part of why Jesus is such a great savior, because he's defeated this enemy death. And he's not defeated it just for himself, but for us forever. And yet, of course, as we've been saying, that's hard for us to feel because we still see death everywhere. Which is why Paul saying, no, no, no, no. The reason I can speak like that is because I understand how Jesus's resurrection fits into God's great plan. It's like a thread, you know, you just see the tip of the thread and you think it's nothing, but you pull on the thread and you find it's attached to something else. Or maybe better, I don't know if you've ever played chess. But chess is a game that I'm terrible at, and yet it's a game that many people play. And sometimes when people are playing chess, they are able to make a move that ends the game, essentially. I mean, they're very good, and they can see ahead. And they make this move that you can't beat. And so someone watching the game that you're playing with this other person, they could look at that move that person makes in chess, and they could say, well, The game's over, even though technically it's not. They might actually have to make a bunch of moves still before they see the end of the game. But they can say the game is over because that one move determined the outcome. And you know, honestly, for a lot of people who don't know chess, if they're looking on like me, they might be watching the game, and they might not even realize the significance of that one move. And so they have no idea what happened. And they think the game's still going on, the way it always was going on. But the person who really knows chess, who's watching, he would know it's not, it's done. And that's part of why we're so privileged as believers. Because as we look back at Jesus's death and resurrection, we know that Jesus's death and resurrection means the game's done. It's not something that just happened by itself. It's a pivotal part of this great plan God's accomplishing through Jesus. It's like the move that ends the game. And part of what makes the way God did this so stunning is that he actually revealed how he was gonna make this move before he even made it in the scriptures. In fact, that's what's so cool about what Paul's doing here in 1 Corinthians 15, because it's like he's taking his Bible out and he's saying, Let's look at the significance of the resurrection. And he's just kind of tracing the plan as it's happening. Verse 25, he quoted Psalm 110 and now verse 27, he quotes Psalm 8. He says, for God has put all things in subjection under his feet. And you can see maybe if you look very carefully in your Bibles, there's like quotes before God and after feet. And that's like a little hint to you that Paul himself is quoting, and he's quoting Psalm 8. And I hope I'm not overdoing this, but Psalm 8, if you look back at Psalm 8, by the way, a little aside, when you read the scripture, if a New Testament writer quotes the Old Testament, you have to look back at the Old Testament. Or else you won't understand what the New Testament writer is trying to say, because his mind is thinking and expositing that text. And so Paul here quotes Psalm 8. And what is Psalm 8? Psalm 8 is a reflection on the creation. When you read Psalm 8, it's like the psalmist is looking at the creation account in Genesis 1. And he's thinking, look, this is significant. Because originally, God, read Psalm 8, he says, originally, what the creation account means is that God enthroned Adam as king of the universe. He's put all things in subjection under his feet. And yet, of course, like we've been saying, we don't see man acting that way right now. We don't see all things in subjection to man's feet. And that's not me actually saying that. That's actually the writers of scripture who say that. Hebrews 2, Hebrews again, quotes the same psalm. They had their favorites, the writers of scripture. And Psalm 8 was another one of their favorites. And the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 2 says, look, talking about Jesus, You've made him for a little while lower than the angels. You've crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now, the writer of Hebrews goes on, in putting everything in subjection, he left nothing outside of his control. Now listen to this, because this is so important. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him, but we will. That's the point. That's what's so amazing about this. And that's part of what makes Jesus such a hero. Because for thousands of years now, we've been seeing men try. There are all these men who have been struggling to fulfill Genesis 1 and 2 and bring the world into subjection to themselves. And yet, no matter how far people advance, we can't do it. We can't bring this world into subjection the way God originally intended. We just can't. We can make life a little more comfortable for ourselves, but we can't deal with the most significant problems like sin and like death. And we just keep failing over and over and over again for thousands of years. And we see millions and billions of individuals try with everything they have to deal with these problems. And they throw all the resources they can into fixing these problems, and they can't. And yet Jesus, you know, Jesus, the glory of what God's doing through Jesus is that we're going to see he's the one man who can. And he will. And we know he can. And we know he will, because he's already done what the scriptures said he would. And the same scriptures that told us he would do what he did reveal what he's still going to do, which is rule over this planet. destroying his enemies, and defeating death once and for all. And then, Paul says, comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, which, looking back at verse 24, is maybe confusing to some of us. Delivers the kingdom to God the Father. But Paul's bringing us back to the final goal of all things. After Jesus has ruled the way man was supposed to rule here on Earth, and after this great battle in which he defeats all who oppose God and God's purposes once and for all, you can read about that in Revelation 19, the beginning of Revelation 20, I believe, Jesus then will take that kingdom, which God the Father has given him, quoting verse 27, for God, meaning the Father, has put all things in subjection under his feet, after which the son will then give that kingdom back to God the Father as a beautiful expression, you might say, of divine love between the different members of the Trinity. I mean, this is beyond our comprehension, really, at least mine. We're right at our limits. But God the Father planned redemptive history to gather a bride for his son. a kingdom for his son. And when the son receives that kingdom, which is a gift of the father's love, in a similar act of love, he will hand the kingdom back to the father. Like, I've done what you've designed man to do. I've accomplished what you wanted to accomplish. And he'll do this in Paul's words, verse 28, so that God might be all in all. so that God might be supreme and God might be glorified. In other words, and listen, I know our minds are spinning if we're looking at these verses and trying to figure out how this happens. How does God, the son, deliver the kingdom to God, the father? Our minds should be spinning and Paul tries to help, actually explaining further how all this works in verses 27 and 28, though his explanation for me really adds to the challenge, actually. Because he writes, look at it. But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is accepted who put all things in subjection under him. Meaning, of course, that when we see Jesus ruling here on earth as the God-man, that rule that he's exercising is not somehow over God the Father himself. Instead, he's ruling as a representative of God the Father. Even his rule here on earth is an act of submission to God the Father's plan. which is verse 28, that when all things are subjected to him, God the father, then the son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him. And this is really, really deep. And I'm not sure I fully understand it because obviously God, the son as God is equal to God, the father. But the way I can understand it, I think, is to realize Paul's talking specifically here about Jesus as the God-man and the role that he chose to play in this universe, which was to take on the form of a servant. And he's saying that, ultimately, God's final goal is not simply to rule over this universe through Jesus as the perfect human mediator, but somehow, after Jesus has fulfilled man's destiny, he's going to transfer the kingdom to God the Father And then God himself will rule directly over his people forever. Jesus as man, subject to God the Father, and Jesus as God the Son, equal, ruling with God the Father, which obviously blows my mind if you see smoke coming out up here. But we get a picture of it in Revelation 21, Revelation 21, where The Apostle John, looking to the end, says, Behold, actually, it's not John who says this. Verse three, Revelation 21, three. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying. Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be as people and God himself will be with them as their God. And the thing is, that's our future as believers. This Easter, as we're looking back at Jesus's resurrection, if we really understand what's going on when Jesus rose from the dead, it means that future is as good as done. Because the resurrection of Jesus is not a solitary random event. It's part of God's great eternal plan. to create a perfect universe where he himself will dwell with perfected people forever. And if you're a believer, that's your future. And your future, knowing that plan, has to change everything about the way you think about life right now. We are people who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that means we believe in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus rose from the dead. And so will I. And so will you. And knowing that you will rise from the dead and experience this perfect universe that God has in store for those who are his people has to change the way you think about your life, And it has to change the way you think about your death. I was reading just this morning, in fact, about a pastor in Egypt. I don't know if you heard what happened in Egypt last Palm Sunday. But there was a pastor in Egypt. His church had been bombed by Muslims, I believe. I don't know the exact specifics. But many people died. And so he stood up before his congregation this week. The title of his message was, what shall we say to those who kill us? What shall we say to those who kill us? And he said, first, we want to say thank you. He said, I know you won't believe what I'm saying, but we want to say thank you. Why could a Christian ever say thank you for a death like that? He said, because you took us where we wanted to go more quickly. If you're on a trip and you want to get somewhere, you're always looking at your watch. When will we get there? Imagine if someone put you in a rocket ship and took you right where you wanted to go. And he said, that's what the Christian's death is for him, because we believe in the resurrection of the dead. First, we want to say thank you. And then he says, we want to say, secondly, we love you. We love you. He said, if you don't. believe that we're saying thank you with a sincere heart, you certainly won't understand the fact that we say we love you. But Christians, we don't have enemies. People make enemies with us, but we don't have enemies because Jesus told us to love our enemy. And how can we love our enemies when they kill us? It's because of the resurrection of the dead. This plan that God's revealed for us, it's not just something for us to come once a year and say, hmm, Isn't that fascinating? I believe in the resurrection of the dead. No, this is a shocking, awesome reality. God has revealed the entire history of the universe in his word. And he's given you a glimpse of the future. You say, I see the future of the universe in the Bible, but I want, I want some proof that future is coming. And God says, that's what the resurrection is. Jesus rose from the dead. And if you're a believer, so will you. And if you're not listen, if you're here today and you're not a believer, I've tried as best as I can to share the future of the world with you today. So you know where things are headed. And yet there's only one way for you to experience this glorious future the way I've described. There's a resurrection of the dead for unbelievers as well. But it's not so glorious. God will glorify himself by punishing unbelievers forever. And unbelievers will be given resurrected bodies so that they can experience and endure the wrath of God for all eternity. And that's a serious and significant message. And yet you don't have to. experience that eternal future with God pouring out his wrath upon you, you can experience this glorious future. I've described enjoying the reign of God forever in a resurrected body. And you know how you can you know how you can experience this future, enter this kingdom. It's not by being good. It's not by it's not by coming to church all the time. It's not by trying harder. It's not by performing some little ritual that some important, powerful person told you to do. It's by being united to Christ. Right now, if you're an unbeliever, you are in Adam. You hang on his belt. He's the one who's representing you before God. And if you are in Adam, you will get what Adam got. And worse, but if you can somehow get in Christ, His destiny will become yours. And how does that happen? How do you move from being in Adam to being in Christ? God moves you. And only God can move you. But he moves you as you make a deliberate decision to turn from living for yourself and putting all your hope and trust and faith in Jesus and what he's done. Let's pray. Lord, you're the work you're accomplishing in this world is too great, too awesome, too heavy, too significant for someone like me to be able to adequately describe. But I thank you for your word, which helps us. And I thank you for the Holy Spirit, which takes this word and opens our eyes to understand what we couldn't understand before about what you're accomplishing in this world through Jesus. And I thank you, Lord, for what you've done for us as believers. When we see that empty tomb, we know that's our empty tomb. And Lord, I pray for those who don't know you. God, that this might be the Easter that changes everything for them. And we pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen.