It's good to be with you this afternoon. We're going to open back up to 1 Corinthians 15. If you were here Wednesday, we're going to take the second half of that. And, uh, I hope it'll be an encouragement to you. I've received several comments of encouragement after Wednesday night, as we were looking at the resurrection and, uh, trying to look at that, uh, as it's laid out for us here in first Corinthians 15, but also as it prompts us on toward being thankful really from an eternal perspective. Um, so before we look. at the rest of 1 Corinthians 15. If you were not here Wednesday night, I just want to give a quick overview of what we spoke about. As I said earlier, we were looking at Thanksgiving and 1 Corinthians 15, giving thanks from an eternal perspective. tried to center our thoughts around this Wednesday night. We started out in the first section here, 1 Corinthians 15. The first section goes from verses 1 to 11. And really, in that section, Paul declares the gospel to the Corinthians. There had been some folks at Corinth that had decided that they did not believe in an actual resurrection. And what Paul does, really, with this whole chapter, but particularly in the first 11 verses, is he says, listen, this is the gospel that we preach to you, this is the gospel that you believed while we were there, and if you get rid of the resurrection, then you get rid of the gospel as well. Because the gospel and faith in the gospel, while it is a miraculous event that takes place in the life of the believer, when God sends his spirit into our hearts, and he gives us the ability to believe and to trust in the merits of Jesus Christ, Our faith is not based on some invisible realities. In other words, our faith is not based on an event that is not rooted in history. We believe, and 1 Corinthians 15 begins to lay this out, we believe that Jesus Christ actually lived in time, in history as a man. We believe that he was Emmanuel, God with us. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins after living a life of perfection. We believe that he was buried, and then we believe that in time and space history, Jesus Christ actually rose in bodily form from the grave three days after he was buried. Not only do we believe that, but historically, Paul says, there are over 500 witnesses as well as numerous prophecies that pointed to this fact. And he said to the Corinthians, many of these people are still living today. You could go talk and have conversations with these people who were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus Christ. And as he lays this out and as he is strengthening them in the gospel, he says, listen, brothers, those who may be struggling with this idea of the resurrection, He says, whether it was from me or whether it was from somebody else, this is what we preached to you whenever we came to you. Not only that, he says, but this is what you believed whenever we came to you and you came to faith. As he goes on in verses 12 to 19, he lays out the case for the, for, for, uh, the reality that there is no gospel outside of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel, there is no gospel. There's no confirmation that anything actually occurred. And so as he makes his argument or builds his argument, he starts here. He says, if there is no resurrection, well, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then every message you've ever heard has been preached in vain. And everything that you've ever trusted in and everything that you've ever placed your faith in has been in vain. He says, all the apostles are liars. You are still in your sins. All those who have already died are in hell. And if the only hope that we have is limited to this life and there is no resurrection, we of all men are most miserable. But the good news is this, preaching's not in vain. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there never has been a wasted sermon. Now that may be encouraging to you, but that's really encouraging for me. We don't waste our breath up here. We don't just sometimes lay rotten eggs that don't do anything. Based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not based on the powerful way that Louis or Isaac can preach a message, but based on the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our preaching is not in vain. Because we trust in the fact that as Christ was raised from the dead for our justification, that God accepted the sacrifice that he made for us on the cross, and that God is applying the gospel to the hearts of his children through the work of the Holy Spirit, and he'll continue to do that until he comes back. And because of that, whether or not we have a huge display of anything as we preach our messages, our preaching is not in vain. Our preaching is not in vain. God may use the message that I preach this afternoon, and it may not actually come to fruition until years down the road. But the truth of the matter is, because of the resurrected Jesus Christ, the message that I preach to you this afternoon consistent with the Word of God and the Gospel is not wasted. On the flip side of that coin, I also want to tell you that your faith is not in vain. You've never wasted a minute of your time by trusting in the promises of God, and the reason that you can be bold and you can be confident in that is because we believe that Christ was resurrected from the dead. We believe that was an historic event, and our faith is placed in the fact that as he did rise from the dead, again, He was raised for our justification and so the gulf that existed between us and God was brought together so that we now are in a place to where we receive mercy and grace as adopted children of our heavenly father. You see all that hinges on the resurrection. Isn't that something? And so when we think about Thanksgiving in 1 Corinthians 15, what Paul says in that last verse there in verse 19, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If our hope does not extend beyond this life, then we are miserable. You know, a lot of times we talk about the quandary of people who seem like they have it all together. Folks who have all the money they ever needed, and yet they're still miserable. And you kind of wonder about that. Can I tell you, Paul answers the question to that riddle, or he gives the answer to that riddle right here in verse 19. You could have all the material possessions you wanted. You could have everything your heart desires. You could have access to all the resources that you ever thought you needed. And yet if your hope ends the day you die, you are of all men most miserable. The truth of the matter is we are all headed to the grave. That's a reality that no one can deny. That's a reality that technology will not change. We are all headed to the grave. And what Paul says here is that the hope that we possess does not vanish at the grave, it actually comes to light. We actually receive the substance of our hope as we move from this life to the next. And so as we are in this life, as we are in this body, as we are on this side of glory, He says, we hope, but our hopes are not wrapped up in where we are right now. Our hopes are wrapped up in an eternal promise that God has made that one day the work of salvation will be complete in me and in you. And I'm not going to go to Revelation 21, but we spent some time there on Wednesday night, just looking at what it, what it would, what it's going to mean one day as we live in the glory world. But I want to go to the next section and we did not hit this Wednesday night, starting in verse 20. And I just want to start reading there for, for about eight verses. It says, but now Christ is risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that sleep, or that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ at his coming, Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death, for he hath put all things under his feet. But when he sayeth all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted. which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." Now, I know that it's easy as we read this, and particularly if you're just listening to it being read, it's easy to get lost in the words and in the idea of he who's putting all things under his feet And that little phrase is mentioned again and again, but really what Paul is laying out for us here is a real powerful truth. And in verses 20 and 21, particularly, Paul lays out the fact that Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection, which establishes hope for the ultimate reign of God's kingdom. You know, had Christ not been resurrected from the dead, had he not been raised that third day, than all of the prophecies and all of the teachings that had gone on about the kingdom of God that would spread and the kingdom of God that would not be diminished but continually grow and all the hopes that we have that God will, He is, but in a fullness that God will one day reign and that the glory of God will cover the earth as the waters If the predictions and the prophecies that were made about Jesus Christ did not come to pass, we would have no reason to believe that any of the other ones were going to come to pass either. But can I give you the flip side of that coin? Since the prophecies about Jesus Christ came to pass, we can put our firm faith in the fact that all the rest will come to pass as well. And so what he's going to do here is he's going to, number one, kind of give us a pattern, and then number two, he's going to give us an order. So he starts out in the first couple of verses as he speaks about Adam and Christ, and he says this, pretty much, So just as we all receive death in Adam, we shall all, all of God's children, we shall all receive life in Jesus Christ. Just as that curse fell upon us through Adam, then Christ, or in Christ, we shall be made alive, and then in verse 23 he starts this way, but every man in his own order. There's an order to God's plan. There's a way that this is gonna take place. And so number one, in the whole order of things, is the resurrection of Christ. It says he's the first fruits. He goes first, but then it says after that, then man's resurrection will occur when Christ comes back that second time and he calls us out of the grave. And then he says after that, that God will actively exercise his rule over all the earth. It won't just be in a providential way anymore. God will be actively asserting his authority, ruling over all the earth. And then it says that Jesus must reign until the Father places all things under his feet. And then if you have your notes, you see in parentheses I put, with the exception of himself. And the reason I put that there is in verse 27, He says, for he hath put all things under his feet. That is the father has put all things under his feet. But when he sayeth all things are put under him, it is manifest or really that just means it's obvious that he is accepted. That means that he has not put himself there, which did put all things under him. So it means the father has not placed himself under the feet of Christ, but he's placed everything else under the feet of Christ. And Jesus must reign until everything is placed there. But then the next piece of this puzzle, or the next thing that must come about in the order of things is, is that when all things are conquered, Jesus will deliver the kingdom up to the father. And at that point, Christ will also make himself subject to the father. That's in verse 28. So he says, this is the order of things. Christ's resurrection, man's resurrection. God's going to actively exercise his rule over the earth. The father is going to continue to place everything under the feet of Christ. And when that happens, Christ will deliver the kingdom up to the father. And then Christ will make himself subject to the father. Can I tell you, we're not living outside of the order of the, of the way this is going to come to pass. We're in the middle of it right now. Christ has been resurrected, and since Christ has been resurrected, we can expect that one day we will too? And we can expect that the rest of this will occur as well? Now, whenever we look at that, if we just look at that, and we do believe that our preaching is not in vain, we do believe that the apostles were not liars, and we do believe that our faith is not in vain, I just want to say again, we said it Wednesday night, world events don't seem as humongous anymore, do they? Where does ISIS fit in in all this? Nowhere, right? I mean, they may be a terror for a time, and whenever we look at the evils of the world, they may have an effect on us for a time, but whenever you look at the big picture of what God is painting for us, and where our hope really lies, we find that those things aren't even a real blimp on the radar, are they? He goes on in verses 29 through 34. It says, else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. If after the manner of man I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth me? If the dead not rise, let us eat, drink, for tomorrow we die. Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness and sin not. For some have not the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame." Now, when we get here, you may be, particularly in verse 29, hoping I'm going to tell you what it means for these guys to be baptized for the dead, and I'm not. I don't really know what Paul's talking about there. But I do know this. As you take that section as a whole, I do know what Paul's saying. Paul's saying, if we do not look forward to a resurrection one day, what good is it to try to live godly? Paul says, I faced beast in the streets of Ephesus. What good is that if there's no resurrection of the dead? What good is it for me to stand in jeopardy every hour if there's no resurrection of the dead? Just let us eat and drink and tomorrow we die. In other words, just do your own thing. Have fun now while you can have it because one of these days you're going to die and that'll be it. There will be no more. You'll just be in nothingness. But Paul says that's not true. And since that's not true, I want to encourage you. Every ounce of effort that you've ever put into pleasing God with your life is going to pay off one day. It's going to be worth it. It's going to mean something. It's an investment that you will not lose on. Why? Because God makes good on His promises. How do we know that? Because Christ rose from the dead. If there is no resurrection, then the gospel makes no sense. That's what he really says there in verses 29 to 34. And then in verse 35, he starts and he says, but some man will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of man, another flesh of beast, another of fishes, another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption." Let me just stop there for just a second. This is the argument that Paul's making. He says, some of you are going to say, how will the dead How are the dead raised up and with what body do they come? And to that, Paul's answer, as you can see it there, he says, you fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be. This is the point that he makes. Number one, when you think about sowing and reaping, when you put a seed into the ground, that seed must die in order for life to be brought forth. And when you sow a seed, you are not expecting the substance to be the same that you reap as of that which you've sown. In other words, when you go out and you put a seed in the ground and you're hoping for a apple tree, you're not expecting that tree to look like the seed that was planted. It doesn't look the same. And that's the way God in his economy works. And so he says, you don't sow the body that shall be, but bear grain. It may chance of wheat or of some other grain. And then God, I mean, and then Paul goes on in verse 38 down to talk about the fact that it has pleased God to give and to create and to be brought glory out of different types of bodies, different types of things. And so he says, he gives a body as it has pleased him and every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh. There's one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another flesh of fish, another flesh of birds. And all that Paul is trying to point to here is the fact that there is a variety in the way that God has created things. And so the argument may have been, what will happen in the resurrection when folks have been in the ground so long that their bodies have decayed and there's nothing left there? And the response is, you fool. Do you not realize that we are walking around in seed form right now? Do you know that about yourself? You are in seed form. What you shall be does not yet appear. You don't have any idea what you're going to be one of these days. You're just the shell of that. You're just the seed of that. It has not yet been brought to maturity. Then he begins to make a comparison of those things that are celestial and those things that are terrestrial, those things that are spiritual and those things that are earthly. And so in verse 42, he says, so also in the resurrection of the dead, it is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. We're talking about your body. It is sown in dishonor and your person. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness and it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body and it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. This is what Paul says whenever we think about that which is seed form and then that which will be brought to maturity, that which will come out of what God plants. This is what's sown. a body of corruption, a body of dishonor, a body of weakness, and then what Paul just calls just a natural body. Did you know in your very best moments here on this side of the grave, the only thing that you can expect is that you're gonna live in a body that's corrupt, you're gonna live in a nature that's full of dishonor, you're gonna live in a body and in a nature that is so full of weakness, And that's because you possess a natural body right now. Why would we search for a fountain of youth? Why would we want to prolong our existence in a body that's just full of corruption, dishonor, and weakness? We kind of see here why Paul would say we're just miserable if this is the only thing we have to look forward to. Because while I wouldn't categorize myself as a As an old man, I know that the older I get, the only thing I have to look forward to is more aches and pains. I don't know many folks that get less aches and less creaks and looser instead of stiffer and less sicknesses as they get older. Our bodies begin to become more and more weakened, more and more susceptible, more and more worn down. And that's just from a natural standpoint. Then when we think about the corruption and the dishonor that is well and alive in our hearts that we have to wrestle with on a day-to-day basis, really, if we're thinking straight, we say, thank you, God. for not allowing Adam and Eve to live forever. Thank you, God, for putting an end to their lives so that our lives would come to an end as well in a state of corruption and dishonor. You see, the hope of the resurrection is that one of these days, we looked at this on Wednesday night, but it's one of these days we're gonna live in a world, a new Jerusalem where there is no more weeping, no more sorrow, no more sin, no more pain, No defilement. But for the Christian who's got a real glimpse of reality and who he really is, while we do become sick and tired of living in a world that's full of sin, we also become sick and tired of living with a heart that's full of sin, don't we? I'm looking forward to the day to where the impurities of my heart will not corrupt my intentions and wanting to live a life that honors God. I look forward to the day that I can purely praise God for what he's done for me and not become bored when I'm reading the word or listening to a sermon. I look forward to the day that I am free from the corruption, the dishonor, the weakness that we now live in. And what we will have, what will blossom, what will be raised is an existence of incorruption An existence of glory, an existence of power, and a spiritual body. And I have to say the same thing about this that we said about Revelation 21. While we read it and we believe it because it's there, when it comes to thinking about an existence of incorruption, glory, power, and spiritual body, we don't really know what we're talking about. I can't really go on and start to describe to you what exactly that means outside of just barely scratching the surface. but because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, his children will experience that one day. And so in verses 45 through 50, Paul makes the argument that in the resurrection, we will bear the image of the heavenly. It says, and so it is written, the first man, Adam, this is verse 45, was made a living soul. The last man, Adam, was made a quickening spirit. How be it that was not first, which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward, that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." And so this is what he says. While we have, just by our very nature, While we have borne the image of Adam, of the earthy, we have been borne into sin. He says one of these days we will completely bear the image of the heavenly. Completely. That will be all that you reflect one day. There won't be an ounce of incorruption." And he goes on to kind of put teeth into that argument by saying, listen, listen, brethren, in verse 50, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God and neither does corruption inherit incorruption. The argument that he's making here is that one of these days we'll be completely unveiled from the influence of Adam. We'll be completely unveiled. We will cast off, or maybe I should say, Adam's influence, the fallen nature that we live with will be completely destroyed. And he says, if it were not so, you could not inherit the kingdom of God, but since you will inherit the kingdom of God, it is so. And we have confidence in that because Christ rose from the dead. Starting in verse 51, he says, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. That is, we shall not all die, but we all shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall 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 shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is what he says. It says in the resurrection, an immediate transformation is going to take place where we will experience the full weight of salvation. You will be changed immediately. Not just that, but in the resurrection, he says, death will be swallowed up in victory. And then here's his argument that he brings. The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law. So in other words, what he's saying is the reason we experience death, the reason death is such a horrific event and that it even occurs is because of the existence of sin. And the strength of sin, the reason sin has such a strong hold and the reason sin is so manifest and evident to us and the reason we fall under condemnation is the law. You see, were it not for the law, were it not for God's righteous, holy standard, Paul says, I wouldn't even have known anything about sin. But the law made that manifest to me. And so here's what he says. All who live under sin will experience death and corruption, all those, I mean, corruption, all those sorts of things. The reason is because sin is a violation of the holy law of God that no one can escape. And he says, the good news for those who are in Christ is that the law and sin and death no longer have any power over us because the victory that we possess is in the sacrifice and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's a mouthful and it may be a lot to try to connect the dots with, but that is a powerful section that paints again a reality that we know nothing about right now. We believe it by faith, but he says death doesn't have a sting. And he says, sin has no more power. And the reason that these things are true is because Jesus Christ has won the victory over death, sin, and the law that condemns us by fulfilling that, and now his righteousness is our righteousness, and we no longer look at death as if it is the final penalty for our sin, but we are liberated through the reality that one of these days, when we do die, whether it be tomorrow or whether it be years from now, when we do die, death does not have the final say so, but as Christ comes back, we will be resurrected to life. And then in verse 58, he says, therefore, my beloved brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I love this about Paul. I love the fact that Paul lays out such powerful truths and he doesn't lay them out just to lay them out. The whole point of 1 Corinthians 15 in its entirety is not to just spend a chapter talking about the resurrection, but Paul spends 57 verses talking about the resurrection. because he's going somewhere, and this is where he's going. If the gospel's true, if your hope extends beyond this life, if one of these days you believe that Christ will come back and you will be raised incorruptible, if you believe that the nature, the sin nature of Adam that you now possess will be completely eradicated one day, then be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." That's powerful, isn't it? That's powerful. If you believe all these promises are true and they're true concerning you, Paul says, you be steadfast, be unmovable, don't let anyone sway you, don't be thrown off course, but rather be abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that you're not wasting your time in service to God. How is it that we can have confidence That as we seek God's kingdom first, that as we seek to stand immovable, as we seek to be steadfast, as we seek to pour our lives into the kingdom, that it's not all just a waste of time. The miraculous historic fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ says you aren't wasting your time. Because it says God doesn't waste his promises and he doesn't lie. And since he doesn't lie, and since he's faithful, be steadfast. In other words, live in reality. Be unmovable. In other words, live in reality. Knowing that your labor is not in vain. In other words, live in reality as your labor is in the Lord. Why? Because the Lord's faithful. He's faithful. And the reality that we find in the Lord is a reality that is far superior than the shadows that we live in right now. Just remember what he's contrasting this to. The reality that Paul paints is that we are all in seed form living among other people who are in seed form, who at the height of our intellect and the height of what we understand are corruptible, weak, and dishonored. Paul says, live in reality. Live in reality. Be faithful because you're not wasting your time as you do. Thank you for listening to this message. Our prayer is that you've been blessed by the messages and the daily devotional blog on sermon audio from Ripley Primitive Baptist Church. We would love the opportunity to be of greater service to you and your walk with Christ. In other words, we would like to get to know you better. Do you have need of counsel, of a home church, or can we just pray for you? please feel free to contact us by phone at 662-837-8590 or visit our website at www.ripleypbc.com.