This morning's message comes from the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 20 to 28. And the title for the message this morning is, The Effects of Christ's Resurrection. The Effects of Christ's Resurrection. From 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 20 to 28, and the Word of God says, But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in His own order. Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ, then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under His feet, 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. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him, who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we pray that as we continue to focus on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, your Son, Lord, we pray that you would help us to rightly understand, to comprehend your Word. And we pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would apply it to our lives. And that this truth regarding the resurrection of Christ would not just be some historical fact that we understand is there and exists, but would impact our lives, Lord God. that our faith would be emboldened, that our zeal for Christ and for pursuing holiness would be increased in light of the resurrection of Christ and all that that means for us and for the future. And so we pray now that you would still our minds and our souls and that you would focus our attention heavenward, Lord. And we pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. So when I first moved to Texas, way back in the hoary past in the summer of 1993. What was fresh on everyone's mind at that time was the debacle that took place regarding the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and that it happened in February of that year, February of 1993. And I know some here in this room are too young to actually recall that event, but most of you have probably at least heard of it and read about it. It was a tragic event in which a cult leader, I'll give you a brief summary, by the name of David Koresh had essentially gathered a following of nearly a hundred individuals and they for a time were quietly gathering in Waco but eventually began to stockpile weapons and things of that nature and of course that caught the attention of the federal government and when they attempted to raid the compound, bad went to worse. The frightening thing about much of that, or one of the many frightening things that came out of all of that, is that in the months to follow, as people began to try to understand who was this group and who was their follower, what started out as just a religious leader, by the end he was claiming to be Christ himself, the Son of God, who had returned, and Of course that event at the time I was we were not here again we I was serving in the military stationed at Fort Polk Louisiana and of course we had heard what was going on we all knew that we were preparing to transfer from Fort Polk to what was then Fort Hood Texas and so this was all over the news and I remember having a conversation with a fellow soldier of mine we were talking about that event and his claims, and this fellow soldier said to me, well, what if he was the son of God? I mean, how do you know? Or what if he was Christ returned? And of course, there are a lot of theological arguments I could have given to that, one of which would have been, well, the Bible doesn't say that that's how he's going to come back, first of all. But my immediate answer was simply this, if he walks out of that, flaming rubble three days later alive and unharmed than I'll believe. Because it ended, if you know the story, it ended with an infernal. The entire place caught fire. Something like 97 died. I think 30 of them were children under the age of 12. But of course he didn't walk out. Days later, they pulled his body and every other body from the smoldering rubble of that heap, and they were all buried, and he remains dead to this day. My friend, of course, seemed puzzled by my response, and so then I used that as an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. You know, what do you mean by that if he walks out three days later? My point in sharing that illustration from history is that, you know, over the past two Sundays at least, we've been talking about the resurrection of Christ. And we're going to continue to talk about the resurrection of Christ for several Sundays to come as the resurrection of Christ and how it connects to our resurrection is what dominates the most of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And so, the last few Sundays we've looked at how the resurrection of Christ is definitive proof of who He was, of what He taught, of what He claimed to be, of who He claimed to be, and what He claimed to accomplish. But it's important to understand that the resurrection of Christ is not just proof of what has taken place in the past. It's not just the guarantee of who Jesus claimed to be. It's not just the guarantee of what He claimed to have accomplished. It's not just the guarantee that all of His teachings are true and valid and trustworthy and reliable, but rather the resurrection of Christ is also a guarantee of what is to come. It is the proof. It is the definitive proof. of what the future holds for all believers. And that is what Paul is going to address now in this next section that we're going to be looking at. And so, last week's message was titled, The Necessity for Christ's Resurrection, and we discussed all of the negative consequences that would come about if Christ has not actually risen from the dead. If there is no bodily resurrection of believers, Paul makes the argument, then there's no resurrection of Christ. And if there's no resurrection of Christ, there are a plethora of negative consequences that would result If Christ has not risen from the dead, and of course the worst of those negative consequences, verse 18, then those who have fallen asleep have perished. And if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people the most to be pitied. And so Paul talked about the negative consequences, but now he's gonna discuss what are the positive effects. What are the positive effects, the positive consequences of Christ's resurrection, and specifically he's going to address three. Though this is a long passage, there's really just three major points that he wants us to get from this section. The positive effects of Christ's resurrection, and the first is this, Christ's resurrection guarantees the believer's future bodily resurrection. His bodily resurrection is the guarantee of our future bodily resurrection. And I'm getting that from verses 20 to 23. And he begins that section by saying, or this section by saying, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. And so that's the starting point. in the mind of Paul. In other words, we can theorize all day long about what would be if Christ had not risen from the grave, but those are just theories because, in fact, Christ has risen from the dead. He has come back to life. So, let's not talk about what might be if he didn't rise from the grave. We know that, in fact, he has risen from the grave. So, let's talk about what is and what will be because of the resurrection of Christ. And so, he says in verse 20, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Firstfruits of believers is what he's talking about. And I'm getting that simply from the fact that he uses those who have fallen asleep. In the New Testament, the New Testament uses the phrase fell asleep or fallen asleep 11 times, only 11 times in the entire New Testament, and each time it always without exception, refers to the death of a believer. That's how the Bible talks about believers dying, that he fell asleep or they have fallen asleep. The Bible always, in the New Testament, always uses different language when talking about unbelievers. For example, in Acts chapter 12, we're told that when Herod was giving his speech and everybody says, we hear the voice of a God, The language there, it says that he was struck down and fell dead. He was struck down. We're told also that Ananias and Sapphira, when they had lied to the Holy Spirit, the language that is used there is that they fell down and breathed his last. She fell down and breathed her last. But the New Testament consistently in the Gospels and in the Epistles always uses the language when it talks about believers of having fallen asleep. Because that is what death means for the believer. It's like falling asleep in one place and waking up in someplace better. You close your eyes and then you open them. And oh my word, now I see the full glory of Christ. Death, for the believer, is just a transition into a better world, a better life. So, the Bible uses that language. And, of course, for the believer, it's never goodbye. It's always just see you later, right? When people go to bed at night, we don't say goodbye. We say goodnight and I'll see you in the morning, right? When the believer dies, it's not goodbye, it's I will see you again in a better place, and we will worship at the throne of grace together for all of eternity. And so the point that Paul is making just with the language that he is using is that Jesus is not the first fruit of all who die, but rather Christ is the first fruit of believers. He is the first fruit of believers. He then offers an illustration from Scripture to explain what he means by this. Verses 21 and 22, he says, Adam, all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." So, we have to understand that all is not a reference to all people. It's not that all will be made alive because of the resurrection of Christ, but rather all believers will be made alive. That's what Paul has in mind when he talks about those who have fallen asleep. He is referencing believers. But Paul is setting up a paradigm is what he is doing. In other words, what is true of Adam on one side of this paradigm is also true of Christ on the other side of this paradigm. Just as Adam was the representative of a humanity, And whatever Adam did, all those whom Adam represented, all those who were in union with Adam, in a sense, right, we all share to a degree the same DNA as Adam. He is the Father of all human beings. All those who are in union with Adam, all those who are a part of Adam, all those who come from Adam will bear either the blessings or the consequences of what Adam did. So also, because Christ rose from the dead, Those whom Christ represents, those who are in union with Christ by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit, those who belong to Christ will also rise from the dead. All whom Adam represents die because Adam died. Adam sinned, so all who Adam represents falls into sin. Sin plagues everyone that Adam represents. And all those whom Christ represents, all those who are in union with Christ, will reap the benefits of what Christ did. It's for this reason that Paul will later talk about Christ as the second Adam. In verse 45, he says, Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. He talks about Christ in that way because Christ comes to do what the first man failed to do. Adam was supposed to live in perfect obedience to the law of God and ultimately populate the earth with the people of God who all live in obedience to the God of creation. He failed to do that. Christ comes as the second Adam to begin a new humanity. There is a new humanity that begins from Christ, whereas the physical seed of Adam are born in the likeness of the image of Adam. We see that in Genesis 5, 3. The spiritual seed of Christ, the spiritual seed of Christ are being formed into the image of Christ. It's all about federal headship. And this is the way that God has always operated throughout redemptive history in the Old Testament. Whole families would reap either the blessings or the cursings of whatever it is the head of the family did or did not do. One example that I can cite is from number 16, if you remember Korah's rebellion. Right? Korah and three other men lead a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. You know, who put you in charge? Why do you get to tell everybody what to do? You know, we're just as valuable to God as you are. But of course, it would appear that Korah is the one who leads this rebellion. He's the one who's driving this ship. And at the end of it, God tells Moses to separate Korah and his family from the rest of the nation. and the earth opens up and swallows him, his wife, and all of his children and all of his household goods. God deals with people in terms of federal headship and federal representative. That doesn't change in the New Testament. God still deals with people in regards to whoever their spiritual head is. We see that even in the family level. I mean there's a reason that scripture gives fathers and husbands the responsibility of shepherding their wives and their children. In Ephesians 5 25 and following husbands are told to shepherd their wives to teach them the word of God to wash them with the word of God that they may be sanctified. You get to Ephesians chapter 6 and there we're told that fathers are to instruct their children in in the Word of God, in the instruction of God's Word, and to raise them up in God's Word. You don't see those commands being given to women. Wives, women, are told to submit to their fathers if they are children, to submit to their husbands and to their leadership if they are married. It's interesting that we see that borne out in statistics as well. For example, recently I read some interesting statistic that said that if a father in a family, if a father in a household, so obviously married with children, is a non-practicing individual. He has no religion or maybe claims a religion but doesn't practice it, never goes to church. But the mother, however, is a regular church attender. Survey shows that of children who are raised in that kind of family, two percent of them will grow up to be regular church attenders. Two percent. However, that same study that I read said that if a mother is a non-practicing individual, an atheist, or maybe claims a religion, but doesn't practice it, doesn't go to church, doesn't really care, and yet the father is a regular church attender, we are told that children who grow up in that kind of household, 44% will go on to become regular church attenders. Fathers play a significant role in the future development, spiritual development of their children. And, of course, those percentages grow up go up even higher when both are committed believers and both are committed to attending church and worshiping God on Sunday morning. But it's not just about church attendance. It's about the seriousness of one's faith. The seriousness of a child's faith, by and large, will be determined by the seriousness of their father's faith and not the mother. And so Christ is the federal head of a new humanity. Verse 23, but each in his own order, Christ of firstfruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Those who belong to Christ. When Christ returns, that is when the resurrection of all believers, the final judgment, and the establishing of the new creation takes place. However, while there is a gap of time between Christ's resurrection and ours, right, Christ's resurrection 2,000 years ago, Our bodily resurrection still yet to come. There's clearly a gap of time between Christ's resurrection and our resurrection. In the mind of Paul, these are not two separate events. Christ's resurrection and our future resurrection, in the mind of Paul, are two episodes of one event. They are two episodes of one event. His use of Old Testament terminology is what makes this clear because when Paul talks about Christ as being the first fruits, that's language that comes out of the Old Testament. And that is where in the Old Testament there are various passages that you can read in the Pentateuch primarily, where when they were harvesting a crop, the first 10% of that crop would be given to God. It would be taken to the temple and given to the priest to live on. That's how you gave it to God. You gave it to those who were set aside to minister to the people on behalf of God, those who were set aside to be the representative of God's people. When they took in a harvest, the first 10% would be brought and given to the temple, given to God. And that was done in faith. It was done believing that God is going to be faithful and the rest of the harvest is going to come in. Because very often, particularly if it's a very large farm, many of you know this, it's not all harvested in one day. It can take several days. And this was back in the time before there was Doppler radar. There could be a storm rolling in. Nobody knew it, right? The very next day, there could be, we're gonna spend a week harvesting the crops. There could be a storm rolling in in three days. We have no idea, doesn't matter. God gets the first 10% in faith, believing that the rest is going to be delivered because God is good and God is faithful and God always supplies. But the point is this, that 10% was not a different harvest from the rest. It was all one harvest. It was one crop. The first 10%, these were simply two episodes of the one harvest, two episodes of the one singular event. Thus, Christ's resurrection and our future resurrection are two episodes of the same singular event. One resurrection. This is because we are all the body of Christ. We are all in union with Christ by the Holy Spirit. You know, when Paul talks about us being the body of Christ, we looked at that back in 1 Corinthians 12. We spent a lot of time on that. Paul is not just using poetic or metaphorical language because Christ indwells every single believer. Right? By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ indwells every believer. We all share the same Spirit. We all share the same Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of Christ. All believers are the one body of Christ. Thus, because Christ been raised from the dead, the rest of his body must be raised from the dead. It has to happen. Christ cannot allow his body, the body of Christ, to remain dead. He is the first fruit of what is sure to follow because this is one resurrection one event in the mind of Paul Second Christ resurrection guarantees that he will return to destroy death itself 24 to 26 Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Now, first of all, some think that when it says, then comes the end, right at the very beginning of verse 24. So the end of verse 23 says, then at his coming those who belong to Christ, then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God. There are some who think that that phrase, then comes the end, implies a gap of time between Christ's return and the final judgment. He returns, there's a gap of time, thousand years, and then there is the final judgment of Christ. In part, these individuals believe this because similar language is used in the middle of verse 23, but each in his own order, Christ the first fruit, then at his coming those who belong. So, you see, you have Christ the first fruit and there's 2,000 years between Christ, well at least up until this point there's been 2,000 years, There's clearly a gap of time between Christ's resurrection and our future resurrection. So, because of that use of similar language in the middle of verse 23, some want to argue that there is a gap of time between verses 23 and the beginning of verse 24. However, I disagree with that. I do not think there is a gap of time simply because Paul qualifies the meaning of then in the middle of verse 23. Notice again, but each in his own order, Christ the first fruit, then at his coming. So, he qualifies the meaning of then. Then it is coming. those who belong to Christ. He does not qualify the meaning of then at the beginning of verse 24. Then it is coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end. He does not qualify the then at the beginning of verse 24. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and every power. Thus, it makes sense to take, then comes the end, to follow immediately after the return of Christ and the resurrection of all believers. And I think this view is supported by a multitude of other passages in the New Testament. We don't have time to go to all of them. I will give you just two to contemplate. Matthew chapter 25 verse 31, no one debates that this is Christ returning to sit in judgment, but we see in verse 31, Matthew 25 31, when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Is there a gap of time between Christ coming and Him sitting upon His throne? No. There is no gap of time between Christ coming and sitting upon his throne. When Christ comes, this text is clear, he will sit upon his throne and there will be the great day of judgment. Another text that I think supports this view is 2 Peter 3, verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with the roar. When he comes, then at that moment, and then the heavens will pass away with the roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. It appears from scripture that when Christ returns, There will be the resurrection of all believers. There will be the day of judgment at that moment. There will be the destruction of the heavens and the earth. And then there will be the new creation, which is established in Revelation chapter 20 and 21. All of this happens at one time. When Christ comes back, raptures this church, destroys the earth, raises believers back to life. There is the great day of judgment. And then the new heavens and the new earth begins. And along with that, according to the end of Revelation 20, all unbelievers and Satan and death itself and Hades are cast into the lake. of fire." This is all guaranteed because of Christ's resurrection from the dead. He goes on to say in verse 24, then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and every power. Think Revelation chapter 20. Satan and all of his demons and death and Hades are destroyed and thrown into the lake of fire for he must reign Until he has put his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death So, Christ then hands the kingdom to his father after destroying all his enemies. Now, understand that handing over the kingdom and the temporal language, the temporal language of verse 25, right, for he must reign until, what seemed to be temporal, the temporal language of verse 25 does not mean that when Christ returns and he hands the kingdom over to his father that he ceases to be king. that he ceases to reign upon his throne because we know from other texts that Christ's kingdom is forever and is never-ending. We know that the promise of 2 Samuel chapter 7, for example, the Davidic covenant that is made there, God says to David, I will give you a son who will sit upon your throne forever and of his kingdom there will be no end. The angel says the same thing to Mary in Luke chapter 1, that the power of the Almighty has overshadowed you, and you will give birth to a son, the son of David, who will sit upon the throne of David, and of his kingdom there will be no end. So this handing the kingdom to his father does not mean that Christ ceases to be king. Christ will always be king. Christ as God, Christ is God. But as the second person of the Godhead, yes, he was sent by the father to carry out his will, and he always desires to do the will of God the father, but he is the son who is king. The father is king, the son is king, the son will ever be king, but God the son ever desires to honor his father. He always desires. to bring glory to. That was his whole purpose in coming. You think of passages like John chapter 17 as high priestly prayer. When Jesus has spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. He goes on to say, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true son. And Christ, whom you have sent, I glorify you on earth, having accomplished the work that you have given me. The will of the son is always to glorify God the Father. He comes to do the bidding of his father. And when he has defeated all of the enemies of God's people, he hands the kingdom to his father. But nonetheless, Christ continues to reign as king. He is the son who is king and will ever honor his father who is ultimate king. But He will destroy all of His enemies and the last one to be destroyed is death itself. The greatest enemy of God's people, the greatest enemy of all of humanity. It's the one thing we cannot defeat. With all of our intelligence, with all of our technology, we cannot defeat death. Doesn't matter how advanced anti-aging cream becomes. You're still going to get old and you're still going to die. You know, the old saying is the two things you can't escape are death and taxes, right? Well, you can escape taxes. There is a way to do that. But you cannot escape death. Thirdly, Christ's resurrection guarantees that He will ultimately triumph over all. He will ultimately triumph over everything. Verses 27 and 28. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. 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. In other words, God the Father, right? God the Father is not, ultimately everything will be under subjection under Christ, but not God the Father. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him that God may be all Paul clearly has in mind important passages from Psalm, Psalm 8, for example. Psalm 8, verse 6. You have given him dominion over the works of your hand. You have put all things under his feet. You have put all things under his feet. Of course, the all does not include God the Father. The other important text that very likely Paul has in mind is Psalm 110, verse 1. The Lord said to my Lord, Right? So, this is God the Father talking to God the Son. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. So, at the end of the day, everything is placed under subjection to God the Son except God the Father. Paul understands that Christ is the fulfillment of these two messianic passages, but he quickly explains it all does not include God the Father, for God the Son is eternally subject to God the Father. He always submits himself to the will of God the Father, as does the Holy Spirit. But we need to be careful to understand that we are not talking about an ontological subjugation, but rather we are talking about a functional subjugation. In other words, Christ is always and ever will be equal with God the Father in terms of His deity. He is fully God. He is fully worthy and deserving of all worship and honor and praise and glory and adoration and submission from us. but he functionally submits himself to the will of God the Father within the Godhead, within the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And all this is so that God may be all in all, so that God receives all the glory. Christ's resurrection at the end of the day Christ's resurrection is the guarantee that Christ, whom we follow, whom we place our faith in, whom our hope is in, will ultimately be victorious over everything. He will be victorious over all of our greatest enemies, sin, Satan, and death. If death is our greatest enemy, the one thing that we cannot defeat on any level, and Christ has defeated death and will defeat death, then in a sense, we've latched ourselves onto the right coattails. He does it all. He simply brings us with him. those who have placed faith in Christ and thus are in union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will win this war. Not because of what we do, but because of what Christ does for us and because of our faith and union with Him. This is the incredible joy and hope of every Believer, this is the hope of Christ's resurrection We know there's a future resurrection because of Christ's resurrection We know that Christ will be victorious in the future because he's been victorious over death in the past and we know that we will be victorious over death in the future because we are the body of Christ and It is one resurrection of the body of Christ, simply in two parts, so to speak. And that is the hope and joy of the resurrection of Christ, the hope and joy that it brings to all those who put faith in Him. Let's pray. Gracious God, Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank You. We thank You, we thank You, we praise You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being victorious over death and over the grave. We thank you, Holy Spirit, for bringing us into union with Christ. by faith. And because of that, we know that as the body of Christ, someday our resurrection is a certainty. It is a guarantee because we are the body of Christ who must also be raised to life. And we pray, Lord God, that you would Help us to think on these things as we go through life's trials and tribulations, as we go through life's difficulties, Lord, that we would reflect upon the resurrection of Christ and what that means for us and for our future, and we can look forward to a day when we will worship at Your throne, at Your feet, for all of eternity. And that will begin on the day that Christ returns. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.