So, we're going to begin by singing in Psalm 105, Psalm 105, verses 1 to 8. That's on page 374.
Give thanks to God, call on His name, to men His deeds make known. Sing ye to Him, sing Psalms,
proclaim His wondrous works each one. See that ye in His holy name to glory do accord,
and let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the Lord. We're invited to seek the Lord,
to do so with rejoicing hearts, hearts that rejoice in Him and in His salvation, and to come
and seek in verse 4 the Lord Almighty and His strength to seek that as well, and to think
on the works that He has done which breed admiration. So, verses 1 to 8, the tune is Denfield,
Give thanks to God.
Give thanks to God, call on His name, to men His deeds make known.
Sing ye to Him, sing Psalms, proclaim His wondrous works each one.
See that He in His holy name to glory do accord, and let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the Lord.
The Lord Almighty and His strength with steadfast heart seek He.
His blessed and His grace, His blessed and His gracious face, seek ye continually.
Think on the works that He hath done which admiration bleed.
His wonders and His grace, His wonders and the judgment's all, which from His path rose ye.
O ye that God of Abram's grace, His servant will abound, and ye that Jacob's children are,
the Lord Almighty and His glory are, whom He chose for His throne.
Because He and He only is, the mighty God, the Lord.
And His most righteous judgments are, in all the earth, the Lord.
His covenant He remembered hath, that it may ever stand.
Two thousand generations, the word He did command.
Amen.
Well, let's once again call on the Lord in prayer.
Let's join together in prayer.
O Lord, our gracious God, it is so good for us to be taught by Your Word even as we sing.
For You have given us in these words that we have sung so much to think upon, so much to admire, so much to take in and take stock of,
concerning the Lord Himself and His works.
We thank You, O Lord, at the beginning of our service this evening, that we have such great reminders extended to us in Your Word,
and that every time we turn to Your Word, we are taught something of importance.
And we pray that we may regard Your Word even this evening as that source of light and truth for us, that will bring to us these foundational truths that You have been pleased to reveal to us.
We give thanks, Lord, for all that makes You worthy of our praise, for the beauty that pertains to You, for that perfection of beauty that belongs to You,
when all Your attributes combine so completely and perfectly, so that they form that holy God whom we come to worship once again.
And we give thanks that that continues, Lord, without any change, without any prospect of change.
For not only is Your Word set before us the way in which these attributes belong to You, but also the way that You are unchangeably the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And You are the God, therefore, whom we need as our foundation, one in whom we find our security, for it is in Your own perfection, in Your own unchangeable beauty and perfection, that we find the ground of our confidence.
O Lord, help us to come before You tonight exercising that faith that believes that You are God and that You are the rewarder of those who diligently seek You.
O Lord, we thank You that these words we have sung remind us of the importance of seeking You.
O Lord, while we sometimes refer the seeking of our souls for God to that time in our experience, before we come to saving faith, we thank You that Your Word reminds us that the seeking of the Lord is an aspect of the faith of Your people,
and that it is something that goes on through the whole course of life.
O Lord, we seek You that we seek You, O Lord, this evening to come to bless us.
O Lord, we seek You in Your power.
O Lord, we seek You through Your grace to come to speak to us once again.
O Lord, we seek You that we may know that we have met with You here, that we have had such a profitable time together as has come to know more of the wondrous truths of God.
O Lord, we thank You, O Lord, that we have met with us.
O Lord, we thank You, O Lord, for all that You continue to be for us.
O Lord, however far back we look in history, You have been a faithful God to Your people.
However far forward we may look in the promises of Your word, we thank You that You continue and will be a faithful God to Your people.
O Lord, we pray, O Lord, for that sense of security for us even this evening that would come to You once again and deposit our lives into Your hand and come to trust in You and draw from You all that we require for our life ahead.
O Lord, we thank You that You are the God who forgives sin.
And as we come with our confession of sin, as we always must, O Lord, we thank You we come to a God who has demonstrated His willingness to pardon,
who has come to reveal Himself as the forgiver of sins in the history and experience of all who have come to know You as their God and Savior.
O Lord, we confess tonight our sins.
We confess that we find it at times so frustrating that we sin against You even in ways that we have sinned against You before.
O Lord, we pray that as we contemplate these things, not only may we appreciate and give thanks for Your pardon,
but also may we, O Lord, further our interest and further also our longing to be found at last in heaven where there is no sin,
where we will be complete people, set in the image of God perfectly.
O Lord God, help us as we turn our mind again this evening for a short time to the wonder, the glory, the prospect of resurrection life.
O Lord, help us, we pray, to see ourselves in the light of it and to see the hope of Your people set in it, rooted in that resurrection of Jesus Christ,
so that we may look forward to the resurrection of Your people.
O Lord, we ask, O Lord, that You would give us, each of us here together tonight, that we may ourselves glory in Your resurrection
and find ourselves amongst those whose prospect it is to share in resurrection life at last.
May we be, O Lord, like the Apostle Paul long ago, whose desire it was to go on to know Christ and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means He might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Bless us then, we pray each one.
Bless all that took place already here today in our morning service, and our morning services indeed in Gallic as well.
We thank You for the continuation of all our services, Lord, by Your grace.
We pray especially for our young people who heard today of the love of God and the various aspects of that love as was brought before them.
We thank You for them.
We thank You for the way that they sat and listened, for the way in which they obviously showed an interest in filling their worksheets
and coming to know more of that truth of the gospel.
We, Lord, pray for them.
We pray for them in this age in which they are confronted with so much that would seek to harm them physically, morally, spiritually.
Protect them, Lord, we pray, from the clutches of the evil one, and bless all who seek to instruct them and teach them and guide them in the right way, in the way of Your truth.
May it be so, Lord, within our families, our homes, our schools, and all the ways in which we find groups within the congregation and throughout the church,
seeking to have the well-being of our young people catered for the church, seeking to have the well-being of our young people catered for.
And, Lord, we pray that in our own case here in the congregation, these activities may flourish more and more.
We thank You for the many young folks who come to the worship services as well.
We pray that their participation in the worship services of Your church may prove to be of benefit to themselves, not only in the meantime, but as their life develops.
And so we commend ourselves, Lord, to You now.
And we pray as so much as taking place in our community in these days in memory of the Metagama and the Marloch and other ways by which people had to leave the island.
We pray as we cast our minds back and as we are informed through the meetings that take place of the difficulties of those days.
Lord, our God, make us thankful, we pray, for the relative plenty that You've given us to enjoy.
But remind us too, O Lord, how dependent we are on Yourself.
And as we think back on those who faced poverty and lack of work and lack of resources and lack of housing
and had to leave this island and other places of our nation to go abroad.
Lord, gracious Lord, make us thankful for the privileges we have.
And bless our young people.
And bless us, we pray, with employment and work for them as well.
So that we may see our communities further built up.
And that we may see further inroads into Your church as well by people who live around us and who presently don't come to the Gospel.
Be merciful to them, we pray.
Bless those who are in authority over us to that end as they wrestle with difficulties imposed by the conditions of our day, economic and otherwise.
Give them wisdom, we pray.
Grant Your blessing to those tonight we know who are struggling in these times financially.
Lord, we ask that You would help us to take note of them, to seek to help them, to do whatever we can to alleviate them, to counsel them, to give them the help they need.
We ask, O Lord, too, for those who tonight have other difficulties in life.
We pray for those who are ill.
We ask for those receiving treatment.
Bless them and keep them through that anxious time.
Bless those anticipating surgery.
We pray that You would maintain them, Lord, to look to Yourself until that takes place.
Remember, Lord, too, those who are seriously ill, any in hospice or hospital who are grievously low at this time.
We pray again for Willie Graham, and we thank You for the measure of improvement in his condition.
And we pray now that he is home in hospital here, that You would grant him, Lord, further progress in his health.
We ask, too, that You would bless Mawrak and the family.
Surround them with Your love, we pray, and continue to strengthen them all and grant to them as they would seek further improvement in Willie's condition,
that they may look to Yourself and that they may come trustingly to draw their strength from You.
Remember us now, then, we pray, and continue with us here with all that we seek in the pardon of our sin.
For Jesus' sake, amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise this time.
It's in Psalm 54, 54, and the Sing Psalms version on page 70.
And singing verses 1 to 7, the whole of that psalm.
The tune is Evan.
Save me, O God, by Your great name, with power deliver me.
Hear, O my God, the words I speak, and listen to my plea.
For strangers are attacking me, the ruthless seek my life.
For they have no regard for God, and always stir up strife.
Words which remind us of our need to bring all our circumstances to God,
and assures us that God gives an ear to our cry as we come believingly to Him to seek His help.
So, Psalm 54, save me, O God, by Your great name.
Save me, O God, by Your great name, with power deliver me.
Hear, O my God, the words I speak, and listen to my plea.
For strangers shall attack me, the ruthless seek my life.
For they have no regard for God, and always stir up strife.
Consider this God is my help, the Lord upholds my way.
In faithfulness destroy my foes, their slander, glory pay.
I'll bring a sacrifice to you, a free will ofening.
Because your name, O Lord, is good.
Your praises I will sing.
For you, O Lord, have rescued me from my disgrace and woe.
My eyes are blue in victory upon my cruel foe.
O Lord, have rescued me from my life.
Readings from God's Word this evening.
There are two readings, firstly from the Gospel of John, chapter 5,
and then we're coming back to read from 1 Corinthians 15.
First of all, John, chapter 5, and reading from verse 19 to 29.
So Jesus said to them,
Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
but only what he sees the Father doing.
For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.
And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here,
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man.
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out,
those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
And we turn also to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
We read a short passage there from verse 35 to verse 45.
So 1 Corinthians 15 at verse 35.
But 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 seed, 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 of 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.
May God bless to us these two portions of his word this evening.
Before we turn back to 1 Corinthians 15, let's sing once again to God's praise in Psalm 71 on page 91.
Psalm 71, the tune is Bunili.
We're singing verses 14 to 21.
But as for me, my hope is steadfast, and more and more your name I'll bless.
I'll show your measureless salvation, and all day long your righteousness.
I will proclaim your acts, O Lord God, and your righteousness, yes, yours alone.
For since my youth, O God, you've taught me, and still your wonders I make known.
Through to verse 21, from verse 14 to the tune Bunili to God's praise.
God bless us, O Lord God.
I will proclaim Your Son.
But as for me, my hope is steadfast,
I'll show you
your salvation
and all day long
your righteousness.
I will proclaim
your acts, O Lord God,
your righteousness,
yes, yours alone.
For since my youth,
O God, you've taught me
and still your wonders
I may gloom.
And now, my God,
do not forsake me
when old and great
I have become
till I declare
your might and power
to generations yet to come.
Your justice reaches
to the heavens.
Who is like you,
O God, in strength?
Though you have shown me
many troubles,
you will restore
my soul at land.
From the deep places
of air's darkness,
you will bring up
my life once more.
You will increase
your servant's honour.
My comfort once
again restore.
Let's turn together
this evening again
to 1 Corinthians 15.
Let's continue with
our studies through
this chapter.
Tonight we're looking
at this passage
that we read,
especially the early part
of it,
and particularly
these words
from verse 42
to 44.
So it is,
with the resurrection
of the dead,
what is sown
is perishable,
what is raised
is imperishable.
It is sown
in dishonour.
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.
What a difference
it makes
when you're looking
forward to something
exciting.
What a difference
it makes
if you're,
let's say,
going to a place
on holiday
that you've never
been to before.
You've read
up about it.
You see all
the different
aspects of it
that take your
notice,
whether it's
into history
you are,
or whatever
aspects of
the world
you're interested
in.
You obviously
would have to
try and investigate
these.
Places you go
to usually
are favourites
for those sort
of reasons
that you want
to see various
aspects of things
you're interested
in.
And as you're
thinking forward
with excitement
to the eventuality,
to the occurrence
of happening,
the event
that you're
looking forward
to,
it inevitably
affects your
thinking right
now.
Of course,
you would never
actually book
for yourself
a holiday
in a place
where you're
going to see
a lot of
places,
a lot of
things that
really take
your interest
without meantime
making some
preparation for it,
without meantime
studying up some
more about these
things so that
when you get
there,
you're in a
better position
to actually
do that.
So,
the prospect
of what you're
going to have
in the future
as you've
made your
plans and
as you've
made your
bookings,
that is
obviously
affecting the
present way
of thinking
that you have
in a positive
way.
Of course,
it could easily
be the other
way about,
that things
in the future
are things
which give us
concern,
but let's
keep it to the
positive.
That's what
the passage
is about,
that positively
affects the
present.
And of course,
that's supremely
the case with
the Christian
life,
because all the
way through
this chapter
we've been
looking at
Paul's treatment
of the
resurrection,
the resurrection
of God's
people,
as that's
united to
the resurrection
of Jesus
himself from
the dead.
Now,
you could go
to a place
that you had
really longed
to see,
you'd made
all your
preparations,
and your
thoughts of
it as you
made your
preparations,
were building
up all the
time,
and then
you actually
get to it,
and it's
disappointing.
It's not
really what
you expected.
It's,
you've got a
feeling of
just being
let down,
and of course
maybe some
of the glossy
magazines or
adverts are
really overdone,
and what you
end up
experiencing is
just less
than really you
were hoping
for or
less than
was presented
to you.
Well,
of course,
it's never
going to be
that way
with your
Christian hope.
It's never
going to be
that way.
In fact,
it's going
to be the
opposite,
because as
we're looking
forward to
the resurrection,
as God's
people look
forward to
that,
and everything
that's on the
other side
of the
resurrection,
in the
beauties and
the glories
and the
bliss of
heaven,
the Bible
tells you
all the way
through that
it's going
to be far
better than
you can
even imagine
here.
And that's
why we're
saying the
prospect of
resurrection life,
following the
resurrection from
the dead,
is something
that fills you
here and ought
to fill us,
and in many
ways I find
myself saying,
maybe you do
too,
it's surprising
how little
excitement I
sometimes feel
at the prospect
of the
resurrection that
is unto life
everlasting on
the other side
of death and
resurrection from
the dead.
Now, Paul was
excited about
thinking of
resurrection.
You'll see that
throughout his
writings, that he
wasn't just
excited about the
prospect of leaving
this world and
going to be with
Christ, which he
says is far
better, as he
wrote to the
Philippians, but
it's particularly
resurrection that
he's got his
mind set upon.
That's the
terminus.
That's the
conclusion of
the whole
thing.
That's the
thing that God
himself has in
store.
That's what the
coming of Christ
was all about.
That's what his
death and his
resurrection and
his exaltation were
designed to
actually bring about
and lead to.
And I hope we've
got something of,
even though some of
these passages are
difficult, in 1
Corinthians 15.
I hope at least one
of the outcomes is
that it's brought
us in our mind to
think of the
wonders that await
the Lord's people on
the other side of
being raised from the
dead, and of how
there is no prospect
of the kind of
limitations and
experiences of pain
and loss that we
experience in this
life.
As we turn to
this passage, we've
already seen the
hopelessness of the
person who discounts
resurrection, who
denies such a thing
as the resurrection.
Where is our hope if
we don't believe in the
resurrection of Jesus
and if we don't
believe in the
resurrection of God's
people united to
Jesus?
There is no hope.
There is no ground
of hope.
hope.
It's just gloom, the
darkness of the
grave and nothing
beyond.
And this life in
this world, as we've
seen already in this
chapter in 1
Corinthians 15, if in
this life only we
have hope in Christ,
we are of all people
most to be pitied.
Because if this world
and the borders of
this world is really
all there is to it,
what is the purpose
of human life?
Yes, we can say we
can do so much to
help each other, and
that's good.
We can do so much to
help others and make
the world a better
place.
What then?
What is the outcome
of reaching the end
stage of your life in
this world if there's
nothing beyond?
Well, the Bible, of
course, discounts that
idea and brings us
this wonderful positive
emphasis that for all
who trust in Christ,
this world is not just
that it's not the end
of things, but it's the
end of the limitations
of things that we
experience in this life.
So, tonight we're
looking at the
transformation involved
in resurrection from the
dead for the Lord's
people.
And what a
transformation it is.
Even the Apostle Paul
is struggling to find
words adequate to
describe what the
resurrection body, and
that's what he's dealing
with mainly, the
resurrection body, what
our body will be like in
the resurrection.
We know what it's like
here.
We know what we feel in
terms of bodily pains and
bodily limitations.
We know what it's like
that aspects of our
physical makeup actually
themselves are so united
to our sinfulness and to
our being sinful people and
practicing sin.
And the Apostle is
excited at the prospect
that the body that will
be raised from the dead
is done with sin, and
it's done with these
limitations, and it's
done with the kind of
things you have here in
humiliation and in these
frustrations of not being
able to glorify God a
hundred percent as you'd
like to.
Let's look at what he's
saying.
First of all, I want to
take what really is a key
phrase from the passage,
and that's what you find
in verses 38 to 41.
And the key phrase
especially is where he
talks here about God
gives it a body in verse
38, but God gives it a
body as he has chosen.
These are really
significant words at the
heart of the passage.
Indeed, some are of the
view that that's really the
heart of the chapter.
God gives it a body.
It's not just that there's
such a thing as a
resurrection and a body
that comes out of the
grave as a resurrected
body, as the risen body
that's united then to the
soul.
In the case of the saved,
Paul is saying, God gives
it a body.
It is he who is in charge of
what comes up from the
dead.
And it's interesting how he
illustrates this because,
well, he begins by actually
picking up a couple of
skeptical objections, it
seems, if you might call it
that, in verses 35 and 36.
But someone will ask, how
are the dead raised?
With what kind of body do
they come?
And you can tell that Paul is
somewhat annoyed with that
because he answers that,
first of all, by saying, you
foolish person.
And he goes on to explain why
he is so vehement in such
language, you foolish
person.
It's as if he's dealt with
all that the chapter has
contained so far.
There were some in Corinth
who didn't believe in the
resurrection of the dead.
And we've seen how Paul has
dealt with that.
But there may well have been
some people who still, as
far as Paul was concerned,
were still skeptical, still
really not taking this in,
that there is such a thing
awaiting God's people as
the resurrection from the
dead.
So he's saying, someone will
ask, well, how are the dead
raised then?
As if he's saying, well, if
you believe in the
resurrection, tell me how
they are raised.
Or what kind of body will
they have when they are
raised?
And Paul's reaction is,
you foolish person.
That's very strong language
because what Paul is
concerned for is that they
haven't really exercised their
minds to follow what he's
saying even so far.
So he's now adding to it.
And he uses an analogy.
He uses the illustration of
what happens to a seed when
you place it in the ground
and the contrast between the
seed that you place in the
ground, whatever it might be,
and the plant that grows from
that when it reaches its
fullness.
That's the contrast that he's
drawing and he's using that to
illustrate why these people that
are raising these questions
really are foolish.
They're not really thinking
things through properly.
And of course, one of the
great important things for you
as a Christian, for us as
Christians, is to use your
mind.
Use the mind, as Paul says so
often, to consider God's truth.
Apply your mind to it.
And this is what he's saying.
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 seed,
perhaps of wheat or of some other
grain.
Now, you see what he's saying?
That you actually place the seed in
the ground, wheat, whatever it
might be.
And then what comes up from it, in a
sense, of course it's still attached
to the seed, but it's not exactly the
seed that you planted in the ground,
although it is in essence the same
plant.
And what he's really concerned for is
that the Corinthians will understand
that there's a process that needs to
be gone through.
Because the final plant requires the
death of the seed before it actually
comes to its full fruition.
The seed dies.
You look at a potato.
Some of you might have planted
potatoes already.
If you plant potatoes, and you know
very well when you come to find the
potato plant growing, yes, it produces
all these other potatoes underneath,
you hope.
The plant grows.
The leaves are there.
Everything comes out of the ground.
You go to the original potato.
You can't use it again.
It's rotten.
It's disintegrated.
It's given its life to the plant that
grew from it.
And it's that principle that Paul is
applying here when he says,
that which dies is placed in the
ground, and out of it grows the plant
from that seed.
And the process is death first, then
comes life from that.
Now, Jesus used this very interestingly,
used the same principle, same
illustration in John chapter 12.
If you turn to that for a moment
with me, please, there's a few
verses there we can see are important.
John 12, verse 24.
This is Jesus applying this principle
to himself.
I'm not going to spend much time on this,
but just to illustrate how Jesus himself
used this same principle as well.
Here are, from verse 20, people who are
coming up and seeking to see Jesus.
Philip and Andrew are involved.
And this is Jesus answering.
He says,
The hour has come for the Son of Man,
that's himself, to be glorified.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the
earth and dies, it remains alone.
But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
He's talking there of himself, firstly.
And as far as I'm aware,
it's true that in the tombs of Egypt,
grains were found that were buried
with some of the kings or important people
that were buried in these large tombs
or found in clay vessels,
still intact,
but still just as seed
as they had been placed
in the earthenware jar or whatever.
But I believe it's true that when
some of them were placed
in the earth,
they actually grew.
They still had life in them.
The point is this.
Unless the seed dies,
it remains, Jesus is saying,
on its own.
And he is saying that
about his own death.
Unless he dies,
there is no fruit
from him,
from his life,
without him first dying
and then rising from the dead.
But he doesn't leave it at that.
He says then
that whoever loves his life
loses it,
and whoever hates his life
in this world
will keep it for eternal life.
If anyone serves me,
he must follow me,
and where I am,
there will my servant be also.
If anyone serves me,
the Father will honor him.
Now, see what he's saying there.
He's saying about himself,
it must be the case
that there will be death
in my experience,
in my case,
for there to be life
as the outcome.
The Son of Man
must die
just as the seed
goes into the ground.
But he applies that then
to our lives
as human beings.
There must be
a dying
or a death
in our life.
And this is not just
in terms of
when our body
is laid into the tomb.
That's not what he's
dealing with there.
It's a matter of you
dying to yourself,
dying to your self-righteousness,
dying to your own
preferences,
as it were,
dying to everything
that's a contrast to
or an opposition
to placing your life
in the hands of God.
Whoever
keeps his life
shall lose it.
You hang on to it.
It's like the seed
that's never been planted.
It doesn't grow.
It doesn't produce the fruit.
But if it dies,
if you die to yourself,
remember that's what
you're doing,
when you give your life
over to Christ,
when you come to trust
in Him by God's grace,
what you're doing
is really handing over
your life
for Him to look after it,
for Him to keep it
in security,
for Him to bring
ultimately
that fruit of righteousness
into your life.
There has to be
a dying to self,
and he said that elsewhere,
didn't he,
in the other gospel,
speaking about
what it is
to be his disciple.
If any man would follow me,
let him take up his cross,
deny himself,
and follow me.
He always mentioned this,
deny himself,
die to yourself,
and die to the life
of sin's dominance.
So important,
isn't it?
We can't expect
to live spiritually
without dying to self.
I said I wasn't going to spend
too much time on it,
but it is an important point.
I want you to take that
with you
and just ponder it.
Have you died to self?
Have you given your life
over to Christ?
You see,
your life is either
in the hands of Christ
or it's in your own hands.
Your life is either
being looked after by Him
or you're trying
to manage it yourself.
And when you come to die,
you're either going to die
in the hands of Christ
or you're going to die,
sadly,
trying still to look after it
without any prospect
of resurrection unto life.
And so,
coming back to
1 Corinthians 15,
here is what he's saying
regarding the same principle.
What you sow
does not come to life
unless it dies.
And what you sow
is not the body
that is to be,
but God gives it a body
as He has chosen.
Now,
He extends that
to really pretty much
to the whole creation.
He talks about animals,
birds,
fish,
and what He's really
demonstrating is that
God gives them
their own body.
God gives them,
each of them,
the body
that He has designed
for them.
And He goes through
to say,
in the creation,
there are heavenly bodies
and there are earthly bodies.
There's the sun
and the moon
and the stars.
They all have
their own different bodies,
their own shape,
their own properties,
and their own glory.
And so it is,
He says,
with the resurrection
of the dead.
He's answering these objections,
these questions.
But the point is this,
if God,
as He is,
is giving their own body
to these objects,
to these planets,
to these stars,
to these creatures
in His creation,
if God is giving them
a body as He has designed,
He is the one
who is going to give
His people the body
in the resurrection.
If God has done
what He's done already,
Paul is really saying,
you can put it into words
like this or similar,
if you think of God
having done this already,
why should you doubt
that God will give
a body
to those
who died
and His bodies
initially were laid
into the dust
and death
because He will give it
a body
in the resurrection.
And that brings us
to the second part.
What kind
of body
will they be?
Well,
it's from
the natural,
He says,
to the spiritual.
Let's read from
verse 42.
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.
So,
in a sense,
you have the same
as you have
with the seed.
There's discontinuity.
It's not the seed
that rises.
And yet,
there's continuity
because what rises
is from the seed
that was planted.
Let me read to you
what Confession of Faith,
the Westminster
Confession of Faith,
and how it puts it
in chapter 32,
paragraph 2.
This is dealing
with the resurrection.
At the last day,
such as are found alive
shall not die,
but be changed.
He's talking here
about Christians,
the people of God.
Such as are found alive
shall not die,
but be changed.
And all the dead
shall be raised up
with the self-same bodies.
Now,
isn't that interesting?
With the self-same bodies,
the bodies that were laid
into the grave,
into the tomb.
In other words,
it will be your body
and my body
that comes out
in the resurrection.
It won't be a body
different in essence
to the body
that you had.
Let's continue
with the confession.
With the self-same bodies
and none other,
although with different qualities.
Although with different qualities.
And that's what he says here,
Paul is saying,
in verses 42 to 44.
The same body
as was placed in the grave,
it is sown a natural body.
It is raised a spiritual body.
The same body in that sense.
But what is sown
is perishable.
What is raised
is imperishable.
Your body,
my body,
that's what comes forth
from the grave,
but it comes forth
imperishable
and in power
and honor
and glory.
And if we look
at these briefly,
we can follow through
in what he's saying there.
So they're different.
Not the same in substance,
but they're different.
It's very difficult
for us to find
adequate words.
I mean,
I can't possibly
find adequate words.
The apostle was struggling,
so who am I
to try and put them
into English?
But this is what he's saying.
Let me see
if I can put it this way.
He deals with
four contrasts
to set out
this indescribably
great change
that comes about,
a change
from what was
put in the ground
to what you see
coming forth.
Same body
in substance,
but very different
in qualities.
That's how the
confession puts it.
And he gives it that here.
He's putting that here.
Paul is saying,
it is,
what is sown
is perishable,
what is raised
is imperishable.
Perishable,
of course,
means subject
to decay,
subject to
dissolution.
Our bodies return
to the dust.
We have to
contemplate that.
That's something
that has come about
by,
in God's response,
if you like,
to our sin
against him.
As he said to Adam,
from dust
you were made,
and to dust
you shall return.
It was part of
what God
brought upon
human life
as his response
to our sin
against him.
Never mind,
this is what he's saying.
It is sown,
what is sown
is perishable,
what is raised
is imperishable.
Now again,
I'm not going to spend
time with each of those.
Let's take them together.
Perishable,
subject to decay.
That's what
your body is
when it goes back.
When it's buried
in the grave,
it's subject to decay.
It's a very solemn point.
Something that we find
difficult to comprehend,
even to accept,
that that's what's
going to happen to us.
But that's what it is.
But it's raised
imperishable.
What is raised
is imperishable.
And it's not just
the opposite
of what is perishable,
it's the actual
reverse of what's
perishable.
because what's perishable
was always leading
towards that end.
All the way through
from the time
you were born,
you were going through
the process of dying.
But what is raised
is imperishable.
There is no such process
with regard to
the resurrection body.
It remains
imperishable.
Never again
will there be something
to enter into it
as a process of decay,
a process of decomposition.
It will in fact,
in other words,
have fullness
of life
associated with it.
We're going to be raised
to a fullness of life.
A life,
we may say,
with which your present body
just couldn't cope
because the body
presently
is still affected by sin,
even the body
of the saved people
of God.
And when you see
in the Bible
briefly,
dimly,
how coming into
the presence of God
or into the glory
of Christ,
such as Paul saw
on the way to Damascus,
his body couldn't cope
with it.
He immediately fell
to the ground.
He was struck
with blindness.
And what Paul is saying
is,
God will give us
a body,
all God's people
will be given a body
that we'll be able
to cope with,
we'll be able
to manage,
we'll be able
to actually
have this
everlasting life
without it having
a destructive effect
on you.
It's the reversal
of death.
It's fullness
of life.
There's these beautiful
words in the psalm,
isn't there,
in Psalm 16,
words that were
applied to Jesus
himself,
of course,
that he would not
see corruption.
In your presence
there is
fullness
of joy.
Fullness
of joy.
Raised up to
fullness
of life.
So it's
imperishable.
It is sown
in dishonor,
it is raised
in glory.
Because
what is
presently
the case
even with
our Christian
life,
with our
Christian
bodies,
they're still
attached to sin
and our sinning,
aren't they?
When you put
our bodies
in a coffin
and they're
then laid
into the
dust,
you still
associate that
body with
dishonor,
in the sense
that it's
humiliation
for us even
to come
to be
returning
to dust.
It's
something that
really,
again,
brings to us
the fact,
the reality
of sin,
the reality
of death
as the
wages of
sin.
It is
sown
in dishonor.
Sinful
desires
right up to
the very
moment,
perhaps,
when we die,
are still
attached to
this bodily
existence.
But it
is raised
in glory.
It is
raised
in glory.
There will
be no
sinful
thoughts,
no incapacity
as far as
glorifying God
is concerned.
Do you
not long
for that?
Do you
not long
to have
a body
where your
eyes,
where what
you see,
what you
hear,
where your
mouth,
where your
tongue,
where your
speech is
not so
attached to
sin and
dishonoring God
as it
presently is?
Do you
not long
to have
a body
that's no
longer a
body of
humiliation
or a
body that's
got dishonorableness
attached to
it due to
sin?
Do you
not long
to have
that body
where all
your physical
dimensions and
your physical
abilities and
capabilities are
all perfectly
aligned with
the glory
of God,
with the
praise of
God?
That's what
Paul is
saying.
It is
sown in
dishonor,
it is
raised in
glory.
It is
raised in
such a
way that
no longer
is there
any further
attachment in
any way to
sin.
And it is
sown in
weakness,
it is
raised in
power.
The
incapacity
and lack
of capability
that we find
now is
gone.
You know,
it is
exciting when
you think
of the
body with
which Jesus
was raised
from the
dead,
or the
body of
Jesus raised
from the
dead.
That is
the pattern
for the
body of
Christians raised
from the
dead.
And you
can see in
the Gospels
what that
was capable
of.
Jesus
actually
traveled
through
solid
walls.
He
manifested
himself
in the
middle
of
his
group
of
disciples
and the
doors
were
locked.
Why does
it say
the doors
were
locked?
Well,
so that we
can actually
conclude that
Jesus'
entrance must
have been by
some other
way.
And it
wasn't just
a spiritual
entrance as
if they were
seeing a
ghost.
He was
there bodily.
He invited
people to
touch Him.
How did
He come
bodily into
the presence
of that
gathered group
of disciples?
Well,
we can't
say absolutely
for sure
the spiritual
mechanics of
it, if you
like, but
His body
had properties
different to
or above
the properties
He had before
His death.
He came in
His resurrected
body.
That's the
pattern for
our own.
It's sown
in weakness.
It's raised
in power.
Can you
put a
measure
on what
our resurrected
bodies will
be capable
of?
I can't.
But it's
exciting to
think of
how our
physical,
the physical
aspect of
our bodies,
how the
physical aspect
of our being
will no longer
be as limited
as it is.
It will not
be divine.
It will not
be all
powerful,
but it will
be capable
of so,
so much
more,
perhaps even
in terms of
travel,
who knows?
But it's
certainly going
to be way
above our
capacity in
this life,
in our bodily
existence now.
It is sown
in weakness.
it is raised
in power.
You know,
when you
place a
coffin into
the grave.
Let me
say it's
something that's
important to
see.
I know some
people find
it difficult
to be there
at a graveside.
Of course,
it was the
practice that
women didn't
go to the
graveside long
ago or in
more recent
times.
But now
that's, I
think, a
good thing
that is no
longer the
case.
Everybody's
got their
own personal
opinion and
not interfering
with that.
But seeing a
coffin going
into the
grave, coming
to just show
the very last
respects by
scattering sand
or earth into
it, and the
grave being
filled in,
that has its
own point to
make.
That has its
own solemnity.
That has its
own level of
teaching.
And indeed,
that has its
own level of
finality as
well for this
life as we
say goodbye to
those we
love.
It is
sown in
weakness.
But as you
put that
coffin into
the dust,
as the
grave is
filled in,
one thing
you're absolutely
sure of when
you leave that
spot, that
coffin and
that body
inside is
not going
to move
until God
raises it
from the
dead.
It is
sown in
weakness.
But it is
raised in
power.
And it is
raised in
power in
such a way
that we
find it
difficult even
now even to
estimate what
it would be
like.
But that's
what we're
told.
The opposite
of what's put
in the
ground is
what comes
out in the
resurrection.
And it
is sown a
natural body.
It is
raised a
spiritual body.
Now, it
doesn't mean
by that that
the body
that's raised,
the resurrection
body of
God's people,
has no
physical dimensions,
that it will
no longer have
flesh and
bones and
the substance
of our bodies
as we now
know it.
That's not
what's meant
by having a
spiritual body.
He says there
is a natural
body, there
is a spiritual
body.
It is sown a
natural body,
raised a
spiritual body.
What he means
by that, I
think, is it
is sown as
the body that
belongs to
this life,
the body that
belongs to
our existence
now, this
side of the
grave.
It is raised
a spiritual
body.
In other
words, Paul's
use of the
word spiritual
usually means,
and I think
means the
same here,
it is raised
in the energy
of and in the
dynamic of
the Holy
Spirit.
Because these
will be
bodies that
will be able,
through the
power of God,
the power that
God gives
them, will
be able to
have the
Holy Spirit's
residence to
the fullness
that God
will himself
bring about.
So you see,
it all comes
together,
imperishable,
glory,
power,
spiritual,
lived fully in
the dynamic of
the Holy Spirit,
which is not
what we are
capable of here
now in our
existence.
presence.
And of course,
we need to
retain this in
our mind too,
that Paul is
dealing here with
the resurrection
body, but you
mustn't think that
eternal life is
just a body
with some
spiritual life to
it.
What he's talking
of here is
God's saved
people,
coming as they
now exist in
heaven, in their
souls, coming to
be reunited with
their bodies as
they are raised,
the bodies are
raised from the
ground to meet
the soul and to
be combined with
the soul.
The whole entire
person is
redeemed and the
redemption of the
body that Paul
finds so important
is concluded at
the resurrection
from the dead.
Well, what
changes?
What prospects
we have?
What encouragement
we have?
What an incentive
really to be, as
Paul put it, as
he wrote to the
Philippians in his
great testimony in
Philippians 3.
Our encouragement,
our incentive,
our prospects.
How did he put it?
Well, he says,
I have suffered
the loss of all
things.
I count everything
as loss because
of the surpassing
worth of knowing
Christ Jesus my
Lord.
And for his sake,
I have suffered
the loss of all
things and count
them but rubbish
in order that I
may gain Christ
and be found in
him, not having
a righteousness of
my own that comes
from the law,
but that which
comes through the
faith of Christ,
the righteousness
of God that
depends on faith,
that I may know.
Why is he saying
I've put everything
that I once used
to trust in behind
me?
Why do I think
that now is
worthless, he's
saying, as far as
my relationship
with God is
concerned?
Because, he says,
I want to know
him.
God has delivered
me from myself
so that I may
know him.
And the power
of his resurrection
and the fellowship
of his sufferings,
becoming like him
in his death,
that by any means
possible, I may
attain the
resurrection from
the dead.
Well, what a
prospect.
Is that what
you're living for?
Is that your
prospect?
Is that your
hope?
When you come to
die, will it be in
the expectancy of
being raised
imperishable, in
glory, in power,
in the energy of the
Holy Spirit?
Or will it be, as
Jesus said, as we read
in John's Gospel,
raised to condemnation,
to the darkness of
hell forever?
Because that's the
alternative of all
that we've looked at
this evening.
Everybody is going to
be raised, but not
everybody is going to
be raised to eternal
life.
But let's finish on the
positive.
Make sure that you're
found in Christ.
Make sure that being
found in Christ, your
hope, is the hope of
the Gospel, the hope of
eternal life, the hope of
resurrection, imperishable,
powerful, glorious life in
heaven.
Let's pray.
Lord, our God, we
thank you that, although
we find it so difficult to
handle these aspects of
your Word that take us so
deeply into your truth, we
thank you, O Lord, for the
clarity of that prospect
that you have given to your
people that is revealed to
us in these words.
And we give thanks tonight,
Lord, for the way that that
prospect is contained in the
hope that you give to your
people, the hope of eternal
life, the hope that's
anchored in the resurrection
of our Lord himself.
Oh, bless to us, we pray,
this word this evening.
Bless us in the life that we
presently live so that those
prospects may be those of
glory with you.
Help us, we pray, to
approach life every day in the
spirit of the psalmist who
could say that God would
guide him by his counsel and
afterwards receive him into
glory.
Hear us, we pray, for Jesus'
sake.
Amen.
Our final psalm this evening is
Psalm 84.
Psalm 84, again, it's in the
Scottish Psalter.
Verses 8 to 12, the tune is
Wetherby.
Lord God of hosts, my prayer
here, O Jacob's God, give
ear.
See God our shield, look on the
face of thine anointed dear.
Prospect of God the Lord in
verse 11, who is a sun and
shield, heal grace and glory
give.
So these verses 8 to 12, Lord
God of hosts, my prayer here.
Lord God of hosts, my prayer
hear, O Jacob's God, give
ear.
Lord God of hosts, my prayer here.
For in thy core, one may excel, hath
a thousand嘉
is the tenical
My God's will I keep adorn,
Thine dwell in tents of sin.
For God the Lord has sound and shield,
In grace and glory give,
And will behold the good of them,
That are right to live.
O thou that art the Lord of whose
That man is truly blessed,
Who by the adjured of the end,
On thee alone the best.
Amen.
I'll go to the main door again after the benediction.
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God the Father,
And the communion of the Holy Spirit,
Be with you now and evermore.
Amen.