Today Paul wraps up his response to the Corinthian Christians' question: “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have”? (1 Cor.15:35) That is, “What happens when we die?” Paul sums up what we can expect by declaring: “We will all be changed...!” (1 Corinthians 15:51)
That may be a bit unsettling to some. After all, the idea of change that we are not in control of is a scary concept. It brings to mind a college classmate of mine reading from his psychology text book: “Says here that handling change is a four-step process. 1. Denial; 2. Anger; 3. Adjustment; and 4. Acceptance. So, Don, what stage would you say you're in right now?” (pull bag over my head)
We will all be changed? What if we don't want to be? I think of the boss who told the new guy: 'I want you to find a bold, innovative way to do this exactly the same way it's been done for 25 years.
And here's a panic button. It'll go off every time someone suggests you need to change!
Some of you may be thinking, “I need one of those!” On the other hand, for those of us who's bodies seem to be breaking down, hearing that we'll one day receive new bodies is welcome news!
Paul concludes chapter 15 with four final points about the resurrection of the body. First, is simply this: To enter heaven, we must be changed. Jesus' death on the cross made possible our being changed into the children of God. Our faith in Jesus makes possible God embracing us on the same terms as he did Jesus – as his own flesh and blood. But in order to exist in God's presence we not only need a new heart we need a new body. To enter the kingdom of heaven, this.... must change.
Paul opens with that very point: “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 15:50)
Consider a basket of apples. If you place a moldy apple into a basket of good apples, guess what happens? The whole basket goes bad. That's basically what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve's selfish, rebellious act introduced the first bad apple into God's perfect place and plan. As a result, they were banished, and from that point on, creation has been plagued with decay and death.
After all, Paul reminds: The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. (1 Cor 15:56) “For we all have sinned. We all fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
I have a slight allergy to bee stings. Once when visiting my brother's family, I stepped on a bee. Soon thereafter I froze up frigid like a statue. My brother later said that I was always the life of the party! Or was it death at the party. The doctor later tried to isolate the poison before it spread.
Sin is the spiritual venom that spreads. Decay and death are the result and they too spread. It cannot be so in the kingdom of heaven. So it is that “The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality.” (1 Cor 15:53) If we entered heaven unchanged, we'd poison heaven just like what we've done here! So, To enter heaven, we must be changed.
That brings us to Paul's second point. It's what this entire chapter is all about. It's the good news that Jesus' resurrection brings to life: “One day we will be changed!”
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One cartoonist tried to capture that with a picture of a husband caterpillar talking to his newly changed butterfly wife: “Oh, wait, now I know! You changed your hair!” Not quite!
So, what happens when we die? Good news! Life's great mystery has been solved! “Listen! I'm telling you a mystery!” Paul writes. “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we'll be changed!” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
What a moment that will be! And when can we expect that to happen? What is this trumpet call we can expect? In biblical times, a trumpet was blown as a signal for three reasons. As God instructs Moses: “To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets...; (Also), when you go into battle against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. And also, at times of rejoicing, at festival times, you are to sound the trumpets....” (Numbers 10:7-10)
Paul combines all three. The trumpet blast that Paul's referring to occurs upon Jesus’ return, when he'll gather the assembly of believers, both those who have long since fallen asleep as well as those still alive at the time. It also signals his conquest against the enemy who has long oppressed God's people; and it will signal a time of rejoicing and jubilation like never before.
On that great day, when the trumpet of heaven at last is blown, we will all be changed. It's like the cartoon featuring two cracked eggs talking to each other. One is reading from a magazine: “It says here that 'change may seem disruptive and debilitating, but in reality, change makes you stronger.'”
Her friend ponders for a moment, and then replies: “Wow! If that's really true, and things keep going the way have been around here..., I'm going to sign up to be Superman.”
Close, but not quite. We will all be changed, and we will be more, than ever before, to be sure! And Paul's third point? Jesus' resurrection from the dead insures that ultimately, death will die!
For some, that can be a difficult concept to absorb. After all, movies and media are constantly telling us that death is a natural part of life. Of course, there is some truth to that, but scripture tells us that death is an enemy and intruder. It's why Paul has repeatedly referenced to what happened in the Garden throughout this chapter and concludes that “The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the Law.” (1 Corinthians 15:56). His point? Death was not part of God's original plan for us or for creation. It was an unnatural result of sin, which the Old Testament Law made clear.
Jesus' emotional reaction to the death of his dear friend, Lazarus, points to this truth as well. “When Jesus saw Mary weeping and the others wailing in grief with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.... Jesus was still angry when he arrived at the tomb...” John 11:33, 38)
Why was he so angry? He certainly wasn't angry with Mary and Martha, or their family and friends. He was there to comfort them and transform their grief into joy. He was angry because this was not at all what God had in mind when he put us here. Death was an intruder, devised by God's enemy, to bring pain and doubt and if possible, separation from God. So, God intervened. He sent help!
As Isaiah prophesied, hundreds of years before: “On this mountain (calvary) God will destroy the shroud that enfolds all nations; He'll swallow up death forever. In doing so, God will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth.” (Isaiah 25:7-8)
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Or as Paul so eloquently puts it, borrowing from the prophets Isaiah and Hosea: “Death has been swallowed up in victory! Where, O death, is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory (over death) through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
(1 Corinthians 15:54-55,57)
So one, To enter heaven, we must be changed. Two, one day we will be changed! Three, one day death itself will forever die! And four? This should have a profound impact on how we live now!
Everything Paul has written in this amazing chapter hangs on a single word: 'therefore'. It has been said that whenever Paul uses that word, he's asking his readers to stop and see what it's there for! And what is that? It signals Paul's main point! Would you care to hear it again......? Here it is:
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that what you do for him is never useless!
(1 Corinthians 15:58)
In short, Jesus' resurrection and the hope it offers those who follow him, that we'll also one day rise from the dead, should impact our lives in two primary ways. First, it should help us to stand firm, to let nothing move you from the place of confidence you have in trusting in Jesus & the resurrection.
This deep assurance that comes from what Jesus did for you on the cross and then rising from the dead speaks volumes about how much you matter to Him. When you truly grasp that, then there is nothing this world can throw at you that can change that or diminish you. So it was for Crystal.
Crystal had long struggled with God and with her own identity. Her life-long struggle with shame was the result of repeated sexual abuse she'd endured from the babysitters her mom employed and the boyfriends she brought home. As she told John Burke: “The shame, dirtiness and brokenness that I felt became my identity. It clung to me like wet, smelly clothes until I turned 33 and died.”
Taken to the hospital with pancreatitis, Crystal coded. During a nine-minute span, she left her body and went to heaven where she found herself in the presence of God. “The first thing I remember becoming aware of, was that I was still me, but unlike on earth, where I was plagued by doubts and fears, in heaven there was nothing but absolute certainty about who I was. All the baggage and abuses that had muddied my identity on earth instantly evaporated, revealing, for the first time, my true essential self. God knew me and profoundly loved me. I absolutely mattered.” (Imagine Heaven)
Jesus' death and resurrection speaks volumes about who you are, and who you are is not based on what you've done or not done, or what's been done to you, but on who you are to God! Stand firm!
Anchor yourself in the reality of the resurrection! You have a future because you absolutely matter!
Second, “give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that what you do for him is never useless!” (1 Corinthians 15:58) Be sure of this – nothing you do to let others know that they too matter to God is ever wasted. It's why you are here! Don't let the enemy discourage you. Even though you don't see it, God will bless it!
During his life review, Dr. George Ritchie, recalls being asked: what did you do with your life?
“This Heavenly Man's brightness seemed to vibrate and shimmer with a kind of holy laughter at my attempts to justify myself – not at me and my silliness, not a mocking laughter, but a mirth that seemed to say that in spite of all error and tragedy, joy was more lasting still. 'But George, what have you done with your life? How have you had a positive impact on those I've entrusted to you...?'
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I realized that in my first frantic efforts to come up with an impressive answer, I had missed the point altogether. He was not asking about accomplishments and awards, acquisitions or achievements. The question, like everything else proceeding from Him, had to do with love. 'How much have you loved as I'm loving you? Totally? Unconditionally? Are you all in or just in it for you?'”
(from John Burke's book, Imagine Heaven)
How about you? Are you all in? That's what Paul is urging from those who come to believe in the resurrection of the dead. His point?
One, to enter heaven, you must be changed. Two, one day you will be changed! Three, that day death itself will forever die! Four: This should have a profound impact on how you live your life!
Stand firm in this resurrection reality – you matter! So, give him your all, because nothing you do in service to our risen king is ever wasted! God's love is wondrously everlasting!