1 Corinthians 15:35-41 says...
Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 15:35-41, which read,
v.35 - But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"
Chapter 15 is all about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead as taught by Him and also displayed by His very life. Some in the church were teaching that this was not going to happen. Paul has been methodically going through the facts about resurrection and now he gets this question. "How will this happen and what will we look like?" Let's listen to Paul's response.
v.36-38 - "You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own."
Paul takes another lesson from nature for the Christians in the church in Corinth to consider. When you have a seed, it is bare and you put it in the ground to die but out of its death, from the inside of it, comes a plant that is much different than the seed itself. The plant is just as God has planned it to be.
So our lives are like seeds on this earth. Each seed or person will die and will be buried but that is not the end of the story. A resurrection will happen that brings forth new life and God not only has planned it this way but designed how each one will look like. The questions here are in God's hands to know in entirety and ours to accept because He is God. Nature shows us a picture of the resurrection process and maybe that is why we so love spring after a long winter and the crocuses pop through the soil even through the snow.
v.39-41 - "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is 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."
I have never seen this before but the Apostle Paul gives credit to the creation account given to us in the book of Genesis. Many in our day have tried to discredit what is in chapters 1 and 2 in the book of Genesis but here is Paul listing out all the things and beings that God has created for His glory.
The point he is making is that God had a plan for all that He created and God has a plan for our heavenly bodies. God has displayed that plan before us as we observe the variety of nature for not only its purpose but also for His glory. Paul does give us that the earthly version of our bodies and the heavenly version of our bodies will be different. He also distinguishes the difference between the stars and the sun and the moon. The sun is singular and the moon is singular but the stars are plural and each is unique. So our heavenly bodies will be different than our earthly bodies but also unique, like the stars, to each other. Again, this is another lesson from nature as we look around at each other and see how we have common parts but there is a uniqueness about each individual.
Tomorrow he will continue to speak about the differences between the earthly body and the heavenly body but for today lets be thankful for what we have and also for the rest of creation that God has given us to enjoy. God has a plan and God is able so lets rest in the fact that all these questions that we have are in His capable hands.
"Lord, sometimes we have so many questions that we don't rest in the fact of what we see already around us. You created a world of wonder and yet we wonder if the next will be wonderful enough. Thank You for Your glimpses of the next world in the world that we live in and may we be in anticipation for what is to come. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.35 - But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"
Chapter 15 is all about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead as taught by Him and also displayed by His very life. Some in the church were teaching that this was not going to happen. Paul has been methodically going through the facts about resurrection and now he gets this question. "How will this happen and what will we look like?" Let's listen to Paul's response.
v.36-38 - "You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own."
Paul takes another lesson from nature for the Christians in the church in Corinth to consider. When you have a seed, it is bare and you put it in the ground to die but out of its death, from the inside of it, comes a plant that is much different than the seed itself. The plant is just as God has planned it to be.
So our lives are like seeds on this earth. Each seed or person will die and will be buried but that is not the end of the story. A resurrection will happen that brings forth new life and God not only has planned it this way but designed how each one will look like. The questions here are in God's hands to know in entirety and ours to accept because He is God. Nature shows us a picture of the resurrection process and maybe that is why we so love spring after a long winter and the crocuses pop through the soil even through the snow.
v.39-41 - "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is 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."
I have never seen this before but the Apostle Paul gives credit to the creation account given to us in the book of Genesis. Many in our day have tried to discredit what is in chapters 1 and 2 in the book of Genesis but here is Paul listing out all the things and beings that God has created for His glory.
The point he is making is that God had a plan for all that He created and God has a plan for our heavenly bodies. God has displayed that plan before us as we observe the variety of nature for not only its purpose but also for His glory. Paul does give us that the earthly version of our bodies and the heavenly version of our bodies will be different. He also distinguishes the difference between the stars and the sun and the moon. The sun is singular and the moon is singular but the stars are plural and each is unique. So our heavenly bodies will be different than our earthly bodies but also unique, like the stars, to each other. Again, this is another lesson from nature as we look around at each other and see how we have common parts but there is a uniqueness about each individual.
Tomorrow he will continue to speak about the differences between the earthly body and the heavenly body but for today lets be thankful for what we have and also for the rest of creation that God has given us to enjoy. God has a plan and God is able so lets rest in the fact that all these questions that we have are in His capable hands.
"Lord, sometimes we have so many questions that we don't rest in the fact of what we see already around us. You created a world of wonder and yet we wonder if the next will be wonderful enough. Thank You for Your glimpses of the next world in the world that we live in and may we be in anticipation for what is to come. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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