Live Resurrection Ready! - 1 Corinthians 15:20-34

Welcome to the Willington Church podcast. At Willington Church, we exist to follow Jesus Christ personally and carry on his ministry. You're listening to our Sunday sermon podcast. You can watch our full services over on YouTube. What do we do now? Every single person had that thought running through their mind. As soon as the clock struck midnight, you could feel the disappointment of the crisp night sky. Their collective hope had been sucked away like dust in a vacuum. They'd been standing, waiting the entire day. In fact, the anticipation had already been building for weeks and months and even years. Their feet were swollen, but they were willing to sacrifice because they believed in their heart of hearts that today was going to be the day. Between 50 and 100,000 devoted followers gathered in meeting places, meadows and hillsides across the American Midwest to await the event. The event to end all events. Many had sold their properties, abandoned their crops, and given away their possessions, believing they would no longer need them. But he didn't appear. The ancient Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes says that God has placed eternity on every human heart. Whether we admit it or not, us humans need clarity on one important question. Is there eternal life? And if so, what does it look like? Now, I don't know about you, but I've never been to a funeral where the person who died hasn't gone to a better place. Some just say it, but others actually believe it. And our text this morning helps us deal with this question. If there is eternal life, how are we to live in this life? Especially if everything in this life could be preparation for the life to come. We are in the climax of Paul's letter to his beloved church in Corinth. And up to this point, he's addressed spiritual and moral issues like sexual immorality, marriage, divorce, eating food, sacrifice to idols, how do we worship, how do we use our spiritual gifts, etc. And one thing is true is that they've been compromised to a degree that they are beginning to question the very Lord that they proclaim to serve. So in our section, Paul writes to remind them that as followers of the resurrected Christ, there's nothing more essential for them to understand than the resurrection. In our passage this morning, the apostle Paul lays out a three-point argument based on a call to live because of the resurrection's reality, to live under Christ's resurrection reign, and to live resurrection-ready lives. So I'm not going to ask you to stand. It's 15 verses. I'm going to save your feet this morning and your backs. But if you do have your Bible, please open up to 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 20. 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 20. And we'll read all the way to 34. But I'm going to break it up into three chunks for us. So beginning in verse 20. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits 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 first fruits, then at his second coming those who belong to Christ. If you were here last Sunday, you would have heard that many in the Corinthian church did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Now, at best the soul would live on forever, but not the physical body. And here in verse 20, Christ is emphatically saying Christ has raised from the dead. And he's saying if there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ could not have been raised. And if Christ was not raised, then there's no substance to your faith. You see everything about Christianity hinges on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything. Paul begins to flush out his argument and he uses this image of first fruits, which draws from an old testament agricultural practice by which worshipers offered to God the first portion of their crop that was available. Think of things like grain or oil or wine. This practice in fact carried dual significance. Worshipers first brought their first fruits for God's bounty and then to thank Him for that bounty and then trusting Him to deliver the rest of the crop. The offering declared the whole harvest not only came from God, but it belonged to God. To the Israelites, for God causing the first fruits to grow was His pledge that He would bless the remainder of the harvest. It was considered a future promise of what was to come. And the cool thing about first fruits offerings is that those portions that are at the beginning and the end are exactly the same. Imagine going to your favorite local apple orchard and you see a tree with a delicious honey crisp apple and it's the best one that money can buy. And you take a bite of that and for the next weeks you can't stop thinking about how much you want another honey crisp apple. Okay. I'm sure nobody ever does that, but it's an illustration. The thing about first fruits is that you might have eaten that apple in August, but at the end of the harvest in October or early November, you could go back to that same orchard, find that same tree and pluck a similar apple and you know what? It'll taste exactly the same. If Jesus is the first fruits and Paul says that he is, then all who belong to him, dead or alive will one day be exactly like him at the final harvest. Jesus is the first installment of the crop which foreshadows the entire harvest to come. And the Bible says the harvest is plentiful. You see, Christ's resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all believers. Christ's resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all believers. Paul furlors his argument in verse 21 where he uses this Adam Christ's typology. Meaning that death came through a man, Adam, and his sin brought guilt and divine judgment on all humanity. So that's, but through another man, Jesus Christ, came resurrection, life, and divine blessing. Romans 5.19 says this in another way, "For as by one man's disobedience, Adam, the many were made sinners." So by the one man's obedience, Jesus, many will be made righteous. Both figures represent their groups as heads or leaders. Those who are in Adam, this old Testament type, share the identity and destiny with Adam which is death. And those who are in Christ as Christians, this new Testament anti-type, share the identity and destiny with Jesus which is life. Adam leads to death. Jesus leads to life. And verse 22 highlights the universal problem here, "For as in Adam all die every single human being." And many of us know Romans 3.23 which says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And I hate to break it to you. Yes, even your sweet 90-year-old grandmother is a wretched sinner just like the rest of us. Okay? Every single person, nobody gets a pass. By sin, and because of Adam, we earned death, the Bible says, but there is hope. Because by paying for our sins on the cross and then raising from the dead, Jesus has earned for us a resurrection life that is exactly like his own. Just as in Adam all die, in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, there exists the possibility of every single person to live forever. And Scripture is abundantly clear that all who believe in Jesus Christ will live forever. Every single one. And the order seems to be important here to Paul. And he says, "First it's Christ as the first fruits and then us." And I think this is important because in the incarnation when Jesus put on the flesh of a human being, he became like us. And it's going to be our turn to be like him one day. Because Christ goes before us, before he comes back to fully restore us. He goes to where we will be one day, so that he can bring us there because we can't get there on our own. Pastor Brody will talk about this next week, but I was encouraged in my preparation of how Jesus Jesus! Jesus' resurrection body is completely different and unique than any other example in the Old Testament or New Testament of a human being dying and then coming back to life. Think of Lazarus, right? And I don't think we really comprehend how different it's going to be. Listen to Paul's words to the church in Rome in Romans 6. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as in Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like this, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. And our resurrection is not merely about being in proximity to Jesus. He will certainly be where he is, but most importantly, we will be like he is. I don't think we really fully understand that. And Paul says this is going to happen at his coming, which refers to his second coming. You may have the question, when is Jesus going to return Pastor Richard? It's a good question. I don't know. Only God knows. Don't ask me. The Gospel of Mark makes it very clear. And I think we should all heed these words in Mark 1332. It says, "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake for you do not know when the time will come." Many people will try and many people will guess, but don't waste your time. They can waste their time, but don't waste your time. I was watching my kids participate in this Oana activity the other weekend. I want to AWANA, you can Google it, I won't explain it. But basically, they were doing some relay-style races. And what was important was that each child had to wait before the person that went in front of them to run the race, and they could only go when that person finished their lap. And I think this is what Jesus has done for us. He started his race. He's gone before us and completed part of his work, but we are still waiting for him to finish the race. Yes, his work on the cross to make payment for our sins was complete. It was finished, but his working towards the culmination of all things is not. But to understand this more fully, we need to understand what is left for Christ to do. And that takes us to our second point, which is we are to live under Christ's resurrection reign. Read with me verses 24 to 28. Then comes the end. When he delivers the kingdom of God, the Father, the kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and every 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. That is a lot of subjections. Please do not try. I mean, you can try and memorize it. I don't think you will. But, all right. If I asked you to tell me about Willington Church, what would you say? It's a big church, gray building on Willington Avenue in the corner of Deer Lake in Mosscrop. Maybe you would say that we are a large, conservative, Protestant evangelical congregation. Others might say that we are intercultural or intergenerational, multicultural. And all those things would be true, but I don't think that they explain the core of our DNA. One of the most important things about this church that you call home is how we were intentionally planted by the Vancouver MB Church to reach non-German speakers for Christ in a lower mainland. Many of you might not know that. The decision to swap German-only services to focus on reaching God's people from other nations and other languages is what makes us one of the most diverse congregations on the planet. What would we say is the core of the gospel? I think most of us would say that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that would be correct. I think less of us might say that he rose from the dead, which would actually be more accurate and more complete. And I hope I'm wrong, but I would guess that very few of us would say that he ascended to heaven, to sit at the right hand of God the Father to pray for us. Yet this is key to understanding the full gospel message of Jesus Christ. Listen to Ephesians 1 verses 20 to 23, that he, God the Father, worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. And above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. You see, the cross does not merely forgive us. It returns to us what God has designed in the beginning, but that which was lost because of sin and the fall. It returns us to the garden from which we were expelled. How? Well, because Christ's redeeming work did not end at his resurrection. He ascended to heaven and he is working right now to prepare every believer for his kingdom. That's what he's doing right now. And this passage says at the appointed time, "Jesus will deliver the kingdom to God the Father and God's ultimate plan to restore creation will be accomplished." Well, what is the kingdom? The kingdom is not a place per se, but rather that which encompasses Christ's rule and reign forever. Christ's kingdom reign establishes the formation of God's people and the defeat of his enemies under his feet. The kingdom is not simply the resurrection of Christ and his bride, the church, but it includes them. The kingdom is already and not yet. Meaning we get to experience parts of it now, but not in full. One day we will experience the kingdom in full. And for Christians experiencing the kingdom of God is our ultimate hope. It's the restoration of all things. And even to a trained Jew like the Apostle Paul, the kingdom of God and the resurrection were one and the same. Which brought me to think of Jesus' very own teaching in the gospel of John, where he says to Nicodemus, one of the religious leaders, "That you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you are born again." And I think this is undoubtedly pointing towards Christ's first fruits language, that apart from his death and his resurrection and his ascension, we cannot be with Jesus forever. Paul continues in verse 24, "In that Christ must to destroy every rule, every authority and power, and reign until He has put every last one of his enemies under his feet." These authorities and powers are the forces of evil that threaten God's reign or overwhelm God's people. Paul quotes from Psalm 110, "One here in this prophetic language affirming that Christ will reign, the Christ will reign until all enemies are under his feet." But what does that mean for Christians today? I think Ephesians 6 gives us a lot of hope because it tells us as believers that we will wrestle against rulers, authorities, against the cosmic powers of over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, but we will not wrestle alone. As a kid, one of my favorite video games was a James Bond game called Golden Eye for the Nintendo 64 Entertainment System. Now I'm dating myself a little bit here, but amazing game, maybe the best game ever made, but that's just my opinion. But there was this one level in the game that caused me a lot of anxiety. There was two sets of stairs. where the enemies would come down at the same time, and it just overwhelmed me. I couldn't handle what they were throwing at me. And so sometimes I would ask my older brother to actually play the game for me so that I could defeat the enemy and make it to the next level, 'cause I couldn't do it by myself. Would you believe me if I told you that Hebrews 2 talks about Jesus as our older brother, who steps in to fight our enemies that overwhelm us, so that we can escape death? That's good news. In verse 26 and 27, Paul emphasizes this very point by saying that Christ's victory is so comprehensive that the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself. Because the kingdom of God arrives when every enemy is placed under Christ's feet. Yes, Jesus came to destroy Satan's sin and death, but he also came to destroy that which breaks down our relationships. Our selfish need to be right about everything. The endless bad news cycles that we scroll until the midnight past midnight that caused anxiety. The fears that stop us from putting God's glory and gifts on display. Everything in this world that causes us grief or anxiety or stress. The pain behind our addictions that make us feel alone and ashamed, Jesus will put all of that under his feet one day. Why? Because he loves us. He loves you and he will defeat all those things one day. Because heaven will be Christ's reign of love that will last forever. Heaven will be Christ's reign of love that will never end. That's beautiful. In verse 28, Paul reveals to us the power and beauty within the Godhead that makes this possible. By the power of the Spirit, Christ the Son submits to God the Father and perfect love that God may be all in all. Meaning his supreme authority over all things eternally established will never be challenged again. Ever. And we can live under Christ's resurrection reign because he has freed us from the grip of death. He has freed us to live in anticipation of our very own resurrection that is going to be exactly like his. We can live because of the resurrection's reality. We can live under Christ's resurrection reign and we can live resurrection ready lives today. Read with me in verses 29 to 34. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest brothers, my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. What do I gain if humanly speaking? I fought with beasts at Ephesus. If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God and I say this to your shame. Listen, a pointed way to end an argument. I say this to your shame. What is our response to the reality of the resurrection and present reign of Christ? What is our response to be? Well, according to Paul, our response should be that our lives as Christians must reflect our allegiance to the coming kingdom of God. What we think as Christians must be consistent with what we do as Christians. And Paul twice uses this rhetorical argument if the dead are not raised, which is his polite way of saying, the dead are raised so listen up. And he points out two areas of inconsistency within the worldview of these Corinthian Christians. The first is in verse 29. And it was apparent that some in that church were baptizing on behalf of the dead. Now, scholarship's not entirely clear because it's a very obscure practice and there's not a lot written about it. But it seems that some of these Corinthian Christians were practicing what's called the vicarious baptism, meaning a living person was immersed in water on behalf of a dead person. I think you can see the problems here. When I lived in Hong Kong for nine years, I was invited to several funerals and memorial services and this kind of reminds me when some living relatives would burn, joss, paper, money, houses, cars, et cetera, in the hopes that their dead relative would receive these things in the afterlife. Or maybe they would receive as living relatives blessing and protection in the present life. Paul saying, "If you don't believe in a resurrection, this makes zero sense." If they're baptizing dead non-believers so that they can get into heaven, it doesn't make sense because baptism doesn't save. I hope we know that. And if they're baptizing believers who died before they could be baptized, it's completely unnecessary because it's the same argument. Baptism adds nothing to your salvation. There's no point. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, full stop. Not baptism alone. Second, if there's no resurrection, why make significant sacrifices for the sake of the gospel? In verse 30, Paul references the very danger he faced as an apostle and in verse 32, he talks about fighting against beasts at Ephesus. Now there's no mention of Paul literally being put in an arena to defend his life against wild beasts. So we think that these wild beasts are most likely the fanatical silversmith at the Temple of Artemis in the city of Ephesus, who attempted to lynch Paul as described in Acts 19 because his preaching of the true gospel meant that people were buying fewer of their silver idols. It was bad for business. So they were upset with him. And Paul is frustrated with these Corinthian Christians who are his pride, verse 31, and the fruit of his apostolic ministry because instead of focusing on God honoring baptisms and evangelism, he has to spend his time undoing the damage of this wonky resurrection theology. And he's frustrated. They should know better. You know, theological distractions are stopping them from living resurrection ready lives. They're getting distracted. Let me ask you a question. What's distracting you from doing the work that Jesus has called you to do? Not to earn salvation, but he's called you and he saved you for what's distracting you? Is it spending all your time learning from Christian YouTubers but not putting any of it into practice? Is it, do you check your RSPs and TFSAs as much as you check the news or the sports news out of anxiety or fear? Are you so far down the conspiracy, Doomsday Theory rabbit holes that you've forgotten how to have normal conversations with believers and non-believers? All your conversations are just wrapped up in that stuff? What's distracting you? Because some of us in this room are really distracted away from the gospel. All of us are distracted at some level. Satan is the father of distraction. He absolutely loves it when Christians waste their time on things that stop us from sharing about Jesus. Biblical things. Thankfully, Paul is not distracted, quite the opposite, actually. He does everything in expectation of his future resurrection. He's willing to be in danger every hour, to die every day, to fight, peace for the Lord and to do it for his own heavenly reward. There's nothing in him humanly speaking, verse 32, if Christ did not raise from the dead. But because of Christ's resurrection, Paul's efforts and our efforts will not be in vain. As he begins to land the plane, he takes a few more jabs at them. He says, "If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." This saying comes from Isaiah 22-13 describing how the residents of Jerusalem faced the Assyrian siege by pursuing pleasure rather than repenting and seeking God's favor. This was a judgment on them. But if there's no resurrection and there's no desire to be with God, then just all we can do is live for today. Apart from a desire to be in heaven, there's no motivation or desire to behave on earth. If we don't want to be with God, we will have no motivation to pursue godliness. And Paul saying, "This is tied to our views on Jesus' resurrection and our future resurrection." In verse 33, Paul quotes a cliche of his day when he writes, "Bad company ruins good morals." Now this obviously means that we should not be hanging around people who encourage us to sin. But more than that, Paul is telling these Corinthian Christians to avoid those who are denying the resurrection. That's from chapter 15, verse 12. Or anyone who is pulling them away from biblical truth for that matter. Have nothing to do with them. I say that they're asleep at the wheel. Wake up, verse 34, from your drunken stupor as it is right and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. And I say this to your shame. Jewish thinker, Philo of Alexandria, calls this stupor a drunkenness of the soul by which ignorance of things of which we should naturally have acquired knowledge. They should know more. He was accusing these Corinthian believers of having a lack of spiritual awareness and even accusing them of having no knowledge of God. And he's saying they should be at some level ashamed of themselves because they are denying one of the essential core teachings of biblical historical Christianity, which is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church has always believed this. And Paul's willing to call them out because they have the potential to lead others astray from the life-transforming power of the true gospel. The resurrection changes everything. It changes the way we see God. It changes the way we see ourselves. It changes the way we see others. It changes the way we see the world around us. It changes the way we see our future. And the potential future of so many others. Theologian David Garland writes, "Resurrection means endless hope, but no resurrection means a hopeless end. And hopelessness breeds dissipation, meaning that everything falls apart, everything." I was in this eat, drink, and be merry crowd for the most of my 20s. I lived with no real future or hope in sight. I only lived for myself and only for that day. I wasted tens of thousands of dollars on sinful living until I realized one day that not only did Jesus Christ die on the cross to pay for my sins past, present, and future. But he rose again proving that this life is not the end. And that he empowered me to live a life for him and no longer for myself. Romans 8-11 is one of my favorite verses. And it says, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." I talk pretty loud, so maybe not many people are asleep, but if you're sleeping wake up. If you don't hear anything that I say to you this morning, okay, hear one thing, one thing. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in believers to prepare us to live forever and to prepare us to live and to empower us to live resurrection-ready lives today. Get that sink in, believe it, it's true. And while we don't yet have our resurrection bodies, we long for them. I know we do. I know that we long for a new heaven and a new earth that Revelation 21 talks about. We know things are broken. We just have to look outside and look inside. But in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, He's making all things new. In the meantime, we haven't been told when He's coming. So let's not get distracted. But we have been given the power in the Holy Spirit to overcome temptation and sin and start focusing on people and helping them know who Jesus Christ is because He is the only hope that any of us have for eternal life. You may recognize the lyrics of this song, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives. Because Jesus Christ lives right now. And He rules and reigns from heaven right now. We can face cancer, evictions, firings, bankruptcy, addictions, lagging PR applications, lagging relatives, disobedient or unbelieving children, infertility, unanswered prayer, all of it. Because He lives. As Christians, our hope is anchored in the true and full gospel of Jesus Christ, including His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, rule and reign. And His second coming, all of it. And we are to live holy spirit and powered lives on earth, ready to be resurrected at any time. Because we don't know. When Jesus failed to appear to the tens of thousands of millerites on October 22, 1844, there was widespread devastation and disappointment. And it was enough for many of them to abandon their faith altogether. And for some of them, they doubled down on wonky theology and formed related groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses cult and the Seventh-day Adventist movement. That other groups came from that disappointment. But you know what? Their disappointment was inevitable. Because they held unbiblical beliefs about Christ's death, resurrection, and His ascension and His second coming. And many of them still hold unbiblical beliefs about those things today. They believed in human lies over clear biblical truth. But here's what I want us to wrestle with as we leave this morning. If others can respond so fervently for a lie, how can we respond to what is true? If others can respond by giving everything away for a lie, how much more can we respond to what is true? How can we live resurrection-ready lives without abandoning our role as Christ's disciple-makers on earth? How can we live knowing that the resurrection is not about how quickly I can get out of here? It's about sharing God's love for sinners so that as many as possible can join me. Jesus Christ came down from heaven because we couldn't make it up there on our own. And to the degree that every single one of us in this sanctuary, trust in the reality of Christ's resurrection. And we will be comforted and confident in His present and future reign. And to the degree that these truths get into our souls, we will be able to put off sin and share this amazing news with those around us with urgency and love. We have in-person services on Sundays at 8.30am, 10am, and 11.45am. And we'd love to see you in person. If you'd like to learn more about what goes on here, follow us on Instagram at willingden or visit our website at willingden.org.