Well, brothers and sisters, it is Easter, and so we are going to deviate slightly this morning from our exposition through the Book of Romans, and we're actually going to focus on a little portion of Scripture from 1 Corinthians 15. So if you haven't already, please turn in your copy of God's Word to 1 Corinthians 15, and as you are doing so, would you stand once more for the reading of God's Word? 1 Corinthians 15, and I'm going to begin reading in your hearing verse 35 all the way through verse 49. Once more, 1 Corinthians 15, 35 through 49. Let us give our attention now to what the Lord Jesus would say to the churches. Someone will ask, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? You foolish person. What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body, as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being. The last Adam became a life giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. And thus ends this reading of God's holy, inspired, and inerrant word. Please find your seats, brothers and sisters. What will heaven be like? This, of course, is a question that I think every Christian at one time or another contemplates. What will glory be like? What will it look like? What will it feel like? Perhaps you've pondered, will we be able to recognize loved ones? How old will we look? Will our resurrected bodies be young or old or somewhere in the middle? Speaking of resurrection bodies, we will be resurrected. What is that going to be like? These questions and many more, dear church, are often asked by God's people. And I simply want to suggest to you that that is good and true and beautiful and right. God's people should often think upon heaven and glory and resurrection. And not only should we often think upon these things, but we ought to think upon these things today. especially today, this Easter Sunday. Now normally, and I would assume this isn't a big shock to you, Normally, when the church comes upon the Easter season, we reflect upon Jesus's resurrection, his empty tomb. And we've done that here at redeeming grace for years and years. This morning, though, I want to sort of shift gears a little bit on you, and I want us to take up the doctrine of resurrection from a slightly different angle. I want us to reflect upon this morning. our resurrection. Now, hold on. I don't want you to think I'm trying to pull a fast one on you. You might respond, but Pastor, it's Easter. How are you on Easter going to preach a sermon about our resurrection? My answer is this. because our resurrection from the dead is intimately connected to Jesus' own resurrection from the dead. In other words, if you step back and you look at how the New Testament speaks, Jesus Christ's empty tomb on Easter morning guarantees that one day your tomb will also be empty. Another way to say it would be that Jesus' victory over the grave assures you, Christian, that you too will be victorious over the grave. This is why, if you back up to 1 Corinthians 15.20, Paul can speak of Jesus' resurrection as the first fruits. It's in verse 20. What's his point? Well, in ancient Israel, the first initial harvest of early spring, right? So what about the first sight of anything out in the field that is green, that is beginning to bud? Well, that was offered to God. It was your first fruits. And it was offered to God in anticipation of a greater, more full harvest. This is again why the sacrifice was called the first fruits. Well, likewise, Christ's resurrection from the dead is just the beginning of a massive resurrection harvest at the end of the age, one that will include each and every one of us. Think of it like this, if you were to set up a bunch of dominoes and then you were to flip over that head domino, what would happen? Well, of course, they would all in sync begin to fall, wouldn't they? Well, if we can use that idea, Jesus's resurrection was the first domino to fall. And according to the scriptures, That first domino to fall guarantees that on the last day, every single other domino will fall with it. So to be clear, this Easter morning, we are going to reflect not upon Jesus' past resurrection, but our future resurrection, or to state it plainly, Easter is really good news for each and every one of us. Now, with that being said, this whole idea of our resurrection does raise at least a question or two, doesn't it? We might scratch our heads and think to ourselves, well, how does this happen? How will it work? What will it look like? Sure, Christ defeated death for us and He promises us resurrection. That is, after all, the hope of the gospel. But I think we can still ask a couple of questions and go, but what will this resurrection of ours look like? Really, that's what Paul is doing here this morning. In verse 35, there are two questions that he's answering. The first is, how are the dead raised? And the second is, with what kind of body do they come? And so to answer these two questions, Paul, and perhaps strangely enough to us, in answering these questions, he turns initially to the natural world. That is to say, he looks out his window and he turns to creation itself and he argues that creation itself hints at resurrection and transformation and yes, glory. More specifically, Paul appeals here in our passage to the agricultural world. the animal world, and the astronomical world. Let's look at each briefly. When it comes to the agricultural world, Paul says, verse 36, what you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow, verse 37 now, is not the body that it is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as He has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body." What's Paul's point? Well, Paul's point is that, yes, something goes into the ground, but something else comes out of the ground, right? Consider a seed. In a very real sense, you sow a seed in the ground and it dies, doesn't it? It decays, it dissolves, it disintegrates. But over a period of time, out of the death of that seed comes new life. For example, when you plant an apple seed, What do you get? You don't get a bunch of seeds, do you? You put an apple seed in the ground and you get a tree. And so Paul's observation is running along these lines. What goes into the ground is not exactly the same thing that comes up out of that ground. What goes in must first die and then in and through that death, eventually new life springs forth. or reflect for a moment upon the animal world. Paul writes this time in verse 39, for not all flesh is the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. Paul once more is saying something like, go outside, tell me what you see. And what do you see? Well, some critters outside have feathers, others have fur, and still others have scales. They are all very different from one another, and each in its peculiar differences is altogether wonderful in its own right. More than that, each one, each skin of each of these critters is suited for its particular purpose, right? There's a reason the bear has fur. It's to keep it warm. And there's a reason that the bird has feathers. It's to help it fly. And Paul is saying, well, that's how God made them. God made all of them a little bit different and God made them all a little bit different so they can do what they're designed to do. Which brings us to the astronomical world. Whether we are talking about the sun or the moon or the stars, each celestial object above has its own peculiar, verse 40, glory. On top of that, each one of these celestial objects in the sky is different from the other, right? A few of us, I trust, mistake the sun for the moon. They are different. Each has their own glory, Paul says, and in their own unique glory, each differs from the other. So here's the point. From the agricultural world to the animal world to the astronomical world, Paul wants us to see that creation itself is hinting at resurrection and transformation and glory. How so? Well, dead seeds go into the ground and life springs forth from them. We understand that. Likewise, you and I will go into the ground and die, but eventually new life will spring forth. Or just as all of God's creatures are unique and differ one from another, So each and every one of us in the resurrection will be unique and distinctive, each and every one of us suited for the heavenly and eternal purposes of God. And in the same way that the lights in the heavens above all possess a peculiar glory Well, so will we in the resurrection. Our resurrection bodies will be altogether glorious. And we know this is Paul's point because he closes the loop in verse 42, doesn't he? So it is with the resurrection of the dead. In other words, Jesus got up from the dead, and Christian, you will too. And all of nature itself testifies to this resurrection reality, this glorious gospel promise, one that is birthed from the womb of God's grace. and demonstrated climactically for us in the empty tomb of Jesus Christ on Easter morning. Now, with that in your mind, notice how the apostle Paul dispenses with his analogies. And instead, he begins to zero in, he begins to focus in on the nature of our future resurrection bodies. What will our resurrection glory be like, really? Well, if we could capture it in just a single word, the word would be transformation. Our current earthly bodies, the one where your rear end is sitting in a chair right now, they will be transformed into heavenly bodies. And that's the key. Resurrection means transformation. And to highlight this, Paul lists four contrasts. To begin with, perishable is contrasted with imperishable. Verse 42, what is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. Spoiler alert, our bodies are perishable, aren't they? They wear out. At the risk of being morbid, each and every one of us will die. Every single breath that we take is one breath closer to our last breath. And that's just the nature, Paul says, of these bodies. They're perishable. But not our future resurrection body. The heavenly body Jesus won for us in the gospel is imperishable, Paul says. It'll never need new batteries. It'll never need to be charged. Instead, it will last forever. Children, think with me for a moment. What would happen if this afternoon you went home and you peeled the banana and you just left it sitting out on the driveway? What would that banana do? It wouldn't take long before it got mushy, brown, Gross. Why? Well, because it is perishable. Well, the promise of the gospel, brothers and sisters, is that our future resurrection bodies will not be like a banana. They will be imperishable. Next, Paul contrasts dishonor Verse 43, this time, it is sown in, that is it the body, it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. I know that you know this, but right now we possess, we inhabit, we exist in a body that is radically corrupted by sin, by the fall. If you want to use the language of the Apostle Paul in another place, namely Philippians 3, our sin-ravaged body is lowly. But on the last day, we will receive a new body, one that is altogether glorious. Remember 1 Corinthians 2-3 where Paul erupts saying, Brothers and sisters, that certainly includes our resurrection body. We can scarcely imagine the glory that awaits God's people. After that, Paul speaks of weakness versus power. Middle of verse 43, this time, the body is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. Now, I just spoke to you kids a moment ago because I am an equal opportunity offender. Let me talk to you retired guys for a moment. How are your knees? You older people, I'm 42, so that's all of you obviously over that age. How's your back doing? Let's be honest. Our bodies are weak, aren't they? Whether we're talking from injury to illness, or whether we're talking from plain exhaustion to eventually our expiration, our bodies are just getting weaker and weaker and weaker. And it's true, you can do all that you can to stave off the inevitable, but it is inevitable. In the grand scheme of things, all of your eating right and all of your exercises ultimately and eventually will prove futile. You will die. And when you do, a mortician can go to great lengths, all in an effort to preserve that wonderful specimen that is your body. You can be pumped full with gallons of embalming fluid. You can be stuffed in the finest casket money could buy, and you can then be sealed off in a vault. You do all of that, but eventually, your body will completely and totally decay. Why? Because in both life and death, these bodies are weak. But redeeming grace in the new heaven and the new earth, we will possess bodies of glory, bodies of strength, bodies of power. Think about this, particularly some of you older guys and gals whose knees are hurting you. No matter how long you walk on those streets paved of gold, you'll never need a Tylenol ever again. Praise God. Praise God. The fourth and final contrast Paul presents is between a natural body and a spiritual one. He says in verse 44, again, the body is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. And here, I think the other three contrasts were perhaps a bit more easily discerned. This one requires a quick clarification. And that's because I think in our culture, when many of us hear the word spiritual, we might immediately think non-physical, non-material. We hear spiritual, at least I do, I hear spiritual and I hear ghostly. I hear, you know, something kind of floating around out there that you can't see or touch or anything like that. But that is not, I repeat, not what Paul intends here. Spiritual here means not non-physical, but actually supernatural. This is spirit empowered. What Paul is getting at is this, the resurrection body, the one one for us in the gospel of Jesus Christ is renewed by the spirit. It is empowered by the spirit. It is characterized by the spirit. It is animated by the spirit. The contrast here is not between physical and non-physical, it is a contrast rather between natural and supernatural. Now, given all that we have seen thus far about how Paul describes these resurrection bodies, at least two implications follow. Here are two promises, two principles that we need to understand and lean into, ones that flow from Easter morning. First, this is resurrection, not resuscitation. Here's what I mean. While on earth, Jesus healed many people, did He not? Some even from death. Let me just give you one example. Take Lazarus as an example, and here is the question, and before you answer, it's a trick question. Was Lazarus resurrected, or was he resuscitated? Don't cheat, Greg. The answer's yes, and the answer's no. Here's my point, Lazarus was resurrected in the sense that yes, he was dead. We all agree? Some of you are old enough to remember the King James at this point. By this time he stinketh. So I don't want to be misunderstood. Lazarus was good and dead before Jesus arrived. And when Jesus did arrive and Lazarus was called forth from the grave, mind you, simply by Jesus's word, he really did come forth from the grave. Lazarus was dead, but, and this is very important, Lazarus was not resurrected in the way that Paul is talking about here. Why? Well, because Lazarus ended up what? I heard it whispered. He died again. In fact, if you remember right, the religious leader's answer to the whole problem was what? Let's re-kill Lazarus. We'll solve this problem that way. The point is that a full-orbed, hundred-proof resurrection, the kind that is promised us in the gospel and previewed for us in Jesus' own personal resurrection, it is one of new, eternal, eschatological life. It is not merely coming back to life, resuscitation. It is resurrection in the sense that yes, we die, but then we are raised to new life just like Jesus to never die again. That's the first grace that flows from Easter morning's empty tomb. Resurrection, not resuscitation. The second is this. When we reflect upon resurrection, we should see quality not quantity. Quality, not quantity. What do I mean? I mean that in the resurrection, we get a new and better body, but we do not get a brand new body. Let me explain. We only have, like, From conception, to death, to glorification, to what's the bunion line? 10,000 years from now, like forever. That's bunion, right? Thank you. It's the same body. We only have one, and it's the one that you're in right now. And in the resurrection, assuming that we have all died by then, in the resurrection, our body, the one that has been lying in the grave for God knows how long, on that day it will be reunited with our soul, which was in heaven with God. But, and again, this is the key, the body that comes up from the grave will be better than when it went into the grave. but it will still be the same body. It's just upgraded like massively, right? Think of Jesus's resurrection for a second. And this, unlike my last question, is not a trick question. On Easter morning, was the tomb empty? Yes or no? It was empty. Yes, you better believe it. Completely empty. So, the body that died, the body that went into the tomb, is the same body that came forth from that tomb. But of course, with our Lord Jesus as well, that body that came forth from the tomb, that body in resurrection glory, while it was the same one-to-one, it was categorically different, better, upgraded, right? The same is true for you and I. When it comes to quantity, it's the same. We only get one body, y'all. But quality, this is resurrection glory. And again, we can bank on all of this because of Jesus. Jesus' resurrection is the pattern for our resurrection. And I want to suggest to you that Paul more than alludes to this towards the end of our passage. Contrasting the old Adam. And the last Adam, that's Christ. Paul notes in verse 47, put your eyes on verse 47. The first man, the first man here in the context is speaking of Adam. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. But the second man, Christ here, is from where? Heaven. So what's the significance? Verse 48 answers for us. As was the man of dust, so also are all those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Let me indulge in admittedly perhaps a cheesy illustration. Think of two teams. Both teams have a captain, don't they? Adam is the captain of the one team, and Christ is the captain of the other. And if you are on Adam's team, then by definition, you are wearing his jersey, right? That's how you know you're on his team. And if you are on Christ's team, then you are wearing his matching jersey. Paul's point in this? Adam came from the dust, and so do all who are on his team, right? Adam had a body fit for the earth, fit for this life. He came from the dirt, from the dust. God took a bunch of dirt, piled it together, breathed life into it. That is where we came from. That ought to keep us humble in its own right. So Adam came from dirt, Christ came from where? From heaven. And in his resurrection, he received a body fit for glory, fit for eternity, again, fit for heaven. And Paul's point is this, so do all who are on his team. If you are on Adam, you have an earthly body made for the dust and that is where it ends. If you are on Christ's team, if you are a Christian, if you have come to embrace Jesus as He has offered to you in the gospel by grace alone through faith alone, then you are on His team and you will take off this jersey of dirt and put on the jersey of heaven. Another way to consider this dynamic would be to reflect upon Romans 5. And how Paul shows that all of humanity, each and every one of us, each and every person who has ever lived or who will ever live, all of us are wrapped up in either Adam or Christ. And in Romans 5, Paul makes the connection. Those in Adam are guilty and condemned because owing to Adam's sin, Adam was guilty and condemned. Perhaps you remember this, we looked at Romans 5 a couple of months ago. If you belong to Adam, his death is your death. His actions determine your destiny. But then in Romans 5, Paul also speaks of Christ. Those who are in Christ are justified and righteous, right? Owing to Christ's obedience. So, if you belong to Christ, His righteousness is your righteousness. Again, it's the same principle, His actions determine your destiny. That's simply Romans 5. Here in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is simply taking the argument just one step further. To be in Adam. is to be guilty, Romans 5. To be in Adam, 1 Corinthians 15, is to be fit for the dust, for earth. But to be in Christ is to receive justification, Romans 5. To be in Christ is to receive 1 Corinthians 15, resurrection glory, to be fit for heaven. You see, that's what Easter is preaching to us. When Christ walked out of that tomb, beloved, He did not walk out alone. He walked out holding our hands, carrying us with Him. And He carries us out of death, out of destruction, out of decay, all the way up into heaven, all the way up into glory, all the way up into resurrection. It's no wonder then that John Knox, that fiery Scottish reformer, said that the resurrection of Christ is the chief article of our faith. I don't think he's overselling it. And I would remind you, redeeming grace, that all of these promises, and really it's one big promise, isn't it? It is all based upon the gospel itself. Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead is an historical, objective reality. That is to say, it happened whether you feel it or not, whether you believe it or not, whether you were born or not, it does not change the reality that Jesus of Nazareth died and got up from the dead. Well, just as Jesus's Resurrection was an historical and objective reality. Paul is saying, so yours will be as well. And this is because Jesus himself possesses not just a resurrection body, but even more impressive, Jesus himself possesses the power to resurrect. Consider what Paul writes this time in verse 45. You'll notice that he's quoting from Genesis 2.7, thus it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being. Okay? But then watch what Paul does. It's subtle, but it is significant. He says, the first man, Adam, became a living being. The last Adam, that's Jesus, became a life-giving spirit. See what Paul is doing here? He's saying, Adam was alive, he lived, right? That much is obvious. But Paul's point is that while Adam merely lived, Jesus gives life. Paul is saying something like, Adam passively received life, remember, dust, dirt, The church is not doing anything, right? Something is happening to it. Adam merely passively receives life, but Christ, the second Adam, the last Adam, by virtue of his resurrection, he actively gives life. And he gives life to us. This is why Andrew Murray, another Scottish minister, actually, once remarked so memorably, a dead Christ, I must do everything for. But a living Christ does everything for me. You see, it's not just that Jesus's resurrection occurs in a vacuum. No. Jesus's resurrection has eternal implications for each and every one of us. The son of God who has a life bubbling up in himself, he bursts forth from the grave and he does so conquering death and then he graciously bestows upon you and I new life. new life, spiritual life, eternal life, and one day, brothers and sisters, resurrection life. The big takeaway then is simply this. Easter morning is promise, pattern, and perfection for us. Let me say that again. Our Savior's empty tomb and his resurrection from the dead, it is for us, for you, for me, it is promise, pattern, and perfection. Let me briefly explain, and then I'll sit down. It is promise in this sense. Jesus promises that you too will rise from the dead. Let's be honest. Death is scary. The prospect of death is scary. But we are reminded on Easter morning that death will not win. Death does not have the last word. Resurrection will triumph. Resurrection will conquer. Resurrection will, if I can put it this way, win. And that is because Jesus himself has triumphed and conquered and won. And he promises to his people that we will follow in his footsteps. This, beloved, is the promise of Easter morning. This is really the promise of the gospel. This is why the Apostles' Creed has that great line, we believe in the resurrection of the dead. This life, this world, as important as we tend to think it is, pales in comparison to eternity. Next, Jesus' resurrection is also pattern. Here's what I mean. The seed must first go into the ground before new life sprouts. Another way to say it, the way that older Christians used to speak, the crown of thorns always precedes the crown of glory. Paradoxically enough, to live, we must first die. And this is the pattern, is it not, of our Lord and Savior Himself. Throughout His life, He trusted His Father, committing Himself and His Spirit into His Father's hand, and God, as always, was faithful to keep Him, to preserve Him, and ultimately, to resurrect Him. The same is true for us. The pattern of Jesus' glory will be ours. Suffering and struggle. Trials and tribulation, pain and persecution. That is our lot here and now in this life. Do not forget, even though you have a fancy iPhone and a microwave, we live east of Eden. We live in a cursed and broken world. But mark my words. One day, God's people will come home, as it were. We will return to Eden. And when we do, we will experience life, we will experience resurrection, we will experience glory, we will experience God Himself. As it's been said, Friday is rough, but Sunday is a coming. Finally, Jesus's resurrection also means perfection for us. Return just for a moment to those rich descriptions found in verses 42, 43, and 44. Our resurrection bodies will be imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual. Sign me up. We will be fit for heaven. We will be fit for perfect fellowship with our creator and our sustainer and our redeemer, not for an afternoon, not for a Sabbath, not for a weekend, for eternity. Or as Paul says in verse 49, just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, so also shall we bear the image of the man of heaven. That's our future. That's our destiny. And it is one of paradise. It is one of perfection. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, come. I mean, no disrespect when I say this, but I think sometimes us Christians, and I mean like us, like the guy I see in the mirror and the people that I rub shoulders with, I think we tend to have a very short-sighted view of the gospel. In our circles, for example, we might be tempted to reduce the gospel down to merely the forgiveness of sins. Some of the more sophisticated in our midst might go up one level and reduce the gospel to justification. And while such truths are exceedingly wonderful, we would do well to remind ourselves that those truths are only one side of the light hitting one carat of the diamond that is all that Jesus has done for us. The truth is the crown jewel of our salvation and of the gospel is that we will live with God forever. And that we will do so in a new heaven and a new earth, and that we will do so with new resurrection bodies. Where we will be fully satisfied forever in the triune God for all of eternity. where we will delight in him and serve him and love him and worship him and glorify him. And again, after 10,000 years, it will have felt like a blink. You see, that's what Easter promises us. Jesus conquered sin and hell and Satan and death, and as we cling to Him by faith, we too will conquer sin and hell and Satan and death. This is the Christian hope. The Christian hope is found in a bloody cross and in an empty tomb. Now, I know that questions remain. You can feel free after service this morning to badger me with all sorts of questions about heaven and resurrection and what it will all be like. Just know this, I don't really have any more answers than I've already said. And to be honest, I don't really think scripture does either. God makes no promises that He's gonna answer every question that we have in this life in His Word. Instead, I would just encourage you to content yourselves with what God has revealed to us. To that end, let me read in your hearing just a little portion of Scripture from 1 John 3, and then I'll lead us in prayer. Listen to the apostle. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now. And what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know. that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Maybe some of you are old enough to remember that old phrase, so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good. I've yet to meet a Christian that is so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good. Father in heaven, we thank you for this morning, what this morning means, not just for our lives and for this church and for our community, but really what this morning represents for the world, and not just the world today, but for the world in eternity. Christ has triumphed over the grave. He has made promises to us, and those promises are as sure and secure and certain as is the vacant sign residing over that tomb. May you press these truths into our hearts. May you renew our minds. May you stir our affections. And may you cause us to abound more and more in love. Love one for another and love for you. We ask all of this in Jesus's life-giving name. And God's people said, amen.