As was the man of
dust, so also
are those who are made of dust;
and as is the heavenly Man,
so also are those who are heavenly.
And as we have born
the image
of the man of dust, we shall also bear
the image of the
heavenly Man.
Now this I say,
brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the
kingdom of God;
nor does corruption
inherent incorruption.
1 Corinthians 15: 48
-- 50
Before I
move forward in this blog I want to remind everyone that the italicized word are
italicized because the Greek language used here demands that we supply words
indicated by the Greek language in order to have some sense in our English
language. I don't want you to be stumbled
over the need for translators to translate in a way that we can understand
without doing damage to the Greek language.
Paul in the previous verses has clarified for us that the dead will be
resurrected and that there are varieties in the various bodies and works of
creation. Also that God will give to
His children glory, true glory, as He has done for the natural He will do for
that which is spiritual. Our bodies now
fit for the world in which we live, and our resurrected bodies will fit the
celestial realm. God who created all
things out of nothing has the power to do that which He has revealed to us in regard
to life after death. In this present
life our bodies are sown and are corruptible, that is, when we die our bodies
return to that which we were created from; the dust. For some who do not desire to believe in the
Word of God, or even that there is a God, only see death as annihilation. They have no hope for any future life, and
this is a very fatalistic viewpoint, a worldview that makes cause for them to
attempt to live in whatever way they so desire for they fear no
recompense. The question for us is: Do
you believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, word of God? The answer to this question determines your
worldview, and your worldview determines your theology. And if your theology is not in line, that
is, in harmony with the Word of God, and your belief is in the sure word of God who reveals to us
what He desires us to know and believe, then we will do and say things that fit
our desires rather than that of God.
God inspired Paul to address this problem in regards to the
resurrection, and apparently in the Corinthian church there were some who had
fallen prey to the belief that there will be no resurrection. This demeans God for it also says that the
person does not believe that God created from nothing and that He does not have
the power to do so in the beginning and does not have the power in the
present. If all we do is look upon our
diseases, and the death by which those diseases cause, we will miss that which
God has revealed to us about our future. The
evidence of our human weakness and the state of the body, so that when it is
laid in the grave, shows to us how little our power is and our abilities. God is showing us His power for the believer
will be embued with a power that we have no conception about for our bodies
are fitted in the present for our low condition and the enjoyment of his life; but
believers shall at the resurrection have a body that is purified and fit to
perpetually live and made perfect. When
one studies the Bible especially the promises of God what is to be found is that all of
the promises of God are fulfilled exactly as they are promised and only those
promises that are yet in the future will also be fulfilled
exactly as He has revealed. Our hope is
assured and our assurance has its foundation on the true word of God. The almighty power of God is able to raise
His children incorruptible, glorious, lively, spiritual bodies out of the ruin,
even in death. Now we have in the present,
corruptible, lifeless, bodies. The first was made out of nothing and
then was made from that nothing by means of matter and produced a variety
of beings both in heaven and earth we are assured that to God all things are
possible. Cannot that God who made from
nothing all things raise our bodies suited for the state in which He intended
for them? Yes! Paul has taken time by means of his
illustration and comparison that we have natural bodies from the first Adam,
and we expect our spiritual body from the second Adam who is Jesus Christ: "Jesus said to her, "I am a
resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And who ever lived is and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this"" (John 11: 25 -- 26)? John wrote earlier the words of Jesus and
those words should add to our hope and our assurance in our resurrection: "For the Father loves the Son, and
shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works
than these, that you may marvel. For as
the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life
to whom He will" (John 5:20 -- 21).
We are born in sin and bear the image of Adam who sin, and when we are
born again the image we have from our first Adam is now change to the image of
the second Adam. That which is
corruptible shall be changed to that which is incorruptible. All of God's children will rise again and
the change. This presents human body
with all of its infirmities and wants cannot enter into the kingdom of God for
flesh and blood cannot enter into heaven.
We then must not allow ourselves to so those things that are fleshly
provide that we can only read corruption.
We must sow to what we have become by means of our conversion to Jesus
Christ, and that is we are now legally in heaven awaiting the day, the last
date by which all of God's children will rise with Jesus Christ and live
eternally with him in heaven, incorruptible, immortal. So, let us not squander this time for this
time is the time when we as a child of God, His ambassador, have one duty of
most importance and that is to spread the gospel.
Through the LORD’S mercies
we are not
consumed,
because His compassion fail not.
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3: 22 -- 23
Let us consider our God
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