But someone will say,
"How are the
dead raised up?
And with what body do
they come?"
Foolish one, what you
sow
is not made alive
unless it dies.
And what you sow, you
do not sow
that body that shall
be, but mere grain -- --
perhaps we or some
other grain.
But God gives it a
body as He pleases,
and to each seed it's
all in body.
1 Corinthians 15: 35
-- 38
Some at the
church and Corinth objected to the doctrine of the resurrection of the
dead. The objection is to be found in
the question: "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they
come?" The question is asking: by what means are
the dead raised up, and furthermore how can they be raised? We must not forget that the Jewish people
still held a huge influence among the many new Christian churches. Within the Jewish religion were two major
groups of religious people: 1.
Pharisees. 2. Sadducees.
The Sadducees held to the opinion, and opinion held by the heathen
people in the nation's ad well, especially that of the Greeks, that there was no
resurrection, or as some of the Greek philosophers purported that when a person
dies they go to Hades and only a rare few could ever escape the dungeon of
Hades. For many of these men of this
opinion the resurrection was utterly impossible. You also may have some concern in regards to the resurrection,
whether or not it is truly possible, or will actually happen, or have been
given some sort of various speculations in regards to the resurrection; but may
ask would it be the same body, with the same shape or form, or statute, and have
the same qualities? So, if you hold to
this type of objection your inquiry is one of a curious doubter. The doctrine there in Corinth, that held by
some; those that are curious doubters, was about the future existence in
another world. Remember, the Greeks
spoke and wrote about the existence of Hades as being a place of the dead were
by the dead would be able to experience this existence. This is a contradiction held by the
Sadducees; who did not believe in the resurrection. You can imagine how confusing the various opinions were to the
Corinthian Christians who were exiting from the Greek culture and even from the
Jewish culture. You may also be quite
confused as you leave this secular culture that has been influencing you for
many years into this new culture called the Christian culture that speaks of
the resurrection of the dead as being a place where people are to live with a
new body and in a new world. The Bible
speaks of a future existence of the body, and Paul here now has to give a just
and comprehensive explanation so then it was his job to consider the latter so
that they may understand the former. So
let us consider the subject in regards to whether or not there is a
resurrection, how could it even possibly occur and the first answer is that the
resurrection is to be brought about by Divine power. It is this power which every one observes, that there is a
revival year after year even in such things as corn or grain, that which die is
revived. Paul speaks in verse 37 that those
things which we so that which we so you sow but you do not know what it shall
be: so let me give an example that when we are born we are a baby and we change
and stature, as to our physical appearances, and we grow old and wrinkle and we
die. The body is always changing so we
do not know what it will be in the future.
Albeit we may have some idea especially when we look at pictures of our
predecessors; but we really don't know what we will be like but we do know we
will be changed and that this life has a power that stands outside of itself so
that it can live, and that power is the Divine power of God. A little medical note: our skin changes
every 30 days; and our bones remodeled at least once a year, and that healthy
glowing smooth and fresh skin as it is changing every 30 days and time becomes
dull, wrinkled, and dry. We do not know
what we will become over time in regards to our body in this physical world,
but we do know from the truth of Scripture that regardless of the changes of
our body in this physical world God will raise up from the dead His
children. God is the creator, God is
the power that maintains His creation, and God gives to all things their body
and this according to His will: "All flesh is not the same flesh, but
there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish,
and another of birds. There are also
celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one,
and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory" (1
Corinthians 15: 39 -- 41). All the
works of creation and the providence of God informs us daily that we are to be
humble, and they teach us to admire the Creators wisdom and goodness. Yes, there is great variety among the bodies
of men, and among the plants, and all other living things, as well as among the
celestial bodies; i.e., Sun, Moon, and stars.
There is a variety of glory.
I'm going
to take this from Oswald Chamber’s book; "Conformed to His," The safe
position in Christian thinking is to remember that there are deeper depths then
we can fathom, higher heights then we can know; it keeps its reverent, keeps us
from hardening off into a confined, cabined experience of our own."
Paul in
addressing this doctrine in the Corinthian church recorded for all of those
that come after Paul's writing to give us hope. So that we could be edified, and learn to live in the glorified
nature that has been given to all of God's children through the death,
resurrection, and ascension into heaven, by Jesus Christ our Savior.
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
and He who
formed view from the womb Colin
"I am the LORD, Who makes all the thing,
Who
stretches out the heavens all alone,
Who spreads abroad in the earth by Myself."
Isaiah
44: 24
God has promised to raise up His children
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