1 CORINTHIANS 15
It has been claimed that if the Resurrection of Christ could be disproved then Christianity would be finished as a faith. I completely agree – and so did the apostle Paul! His very gospel – outlined very briefly in 1 Corinthians 15 – is resting on this one historical fact: that Christ rose from the dead in fulfilment of the scriptures. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:17-19).
Paul begins the chapter by saying that belief in the gospel is the requirement for people to be saved; but equally importantly, that the gospel is based firmly upon historical fact, verifiable by witnesses. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day was raised; he proved this by appearing to more than five hundred different people on many different occasions, over a period of more than a month. Paul testifies that he had seen the Risen Christ too.
After dealing with the false philosophical objections to the Resurrection, Paul continues to explain what it now means for us. Adam was the first to sin and he was the first to experience spiritual death – separation from God. He then experienced physical death – separation of the soul from the body. Christ brings to us the resurrection of the body, as we trust in him. First, we are raised spiritually, and then – on the last day – we are raised physically with new ‘Resurrection’ bodies. Just as Adam preceded mankind into death, so Christ precedes us into eternal life. One day, that old enemy, ‘Death’, will itself be finally destroyed and – for those who have chosen to trust in Christ – there will be no more separation at all: the soul and the new body will be joined forever, the disciple will be joined to Christ forever, and we will be with our loved ones forever! Are you getting the pattern here?!
The new ‘Resurrection Body’ that we will inherit will not be of the type that we have at present; our earthly bodies are starting to decay almost as soon as we are born, since they are physically part of a fallen world, subject to decay and (as the scientists would say) entropy. Our new bodies will be perfectly equipped to live forever on a more intensely physical Earth and in intimate contact with Heaven. For us to obtain this ‘heavenly body’, our ‘earthly body’ must die and be stripped away – in a similar change to the way a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Therefore, let us not mourn physical death too intensely, since it is a crucial part of our full adoption as God’s sons: the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Your current ‘old’ body will not live forever, nor could it. But your new one will. One day, you will look like that man from heaven: Jesus himself. It will happen this way: whether we have already ‘fallen asleep’ or are still ‘awake’, we will be changed in an instant on the day the Christ returns to earth. If you are already ‘asleep’ then you get raised with a new body; if you are still ‘awake’, your body changes in an instant to become the new one. Simple! And it’s ‘goodbye Death’! For Jesus has won the victory already!
If you wish to get an idea of what the Resurrection body is like, look at the descriptions of Jesus between his own resurrection and ascension. The final chapters of Luke and John, and the first chapter of Acts give some interesting insights. One thing is clear: we will ultimately inhabit a more solid universe, which includes a renewed Earth permeated by a new Heaven – the two will be one. We will see Him, and all who belong to Him, face to face. We will live fulfilling and wonderful lives forever in his presence, working fruitfully and worshiping freely. All our old enemies of sin, suffering, death, and despair will have been removed to an infinite distance. Heaven on Earth! It’s the reason we were born!
“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain”. He will gather up every bit of goodness from everything that we do and will not let anything be wasted. This is an encouragement to step up the pace and to make a difference now, whilst we can!
2 CHRONICLES 17
Asa died, and his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king. He was a faithful and obedient man who loved the Lord and was determined to preach the Word of God far and wide throughout the land – which he did. One of the first things he did was to strengthen his army and military fortifications against Northern Israel just in case they had in mind to invade again! The following verses sum up the man:
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. 5 The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honour. 6 His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
One action, in particular, was key to Jehoshaphat’s success:
7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. 8 With them were certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. This was unique amongst the kings of Judah, and it demonstrates the effectiveness and power of the word of God.
The result was that God established a strong and peaceful kingdom around him, the fear of the Lord fell on those nations around Judah, and they did not go to war against them. Huge wealth poured into the land and gifts came to Jehoshaphat from far and wide. This is what happens when a man – and particularly a ruler – commits himself fully to the Lord and relies on him totally. We will see more of his success later on.
The Big Picture 