“We Believe in the Resurrection of the Body”: Reflections on 1 Corinthians 15, Part 3

 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

–1 Corinthians 15.20-28 (NIV)

As we saw yesterday, Paul painted for us some “what if” scenarios if Jesus’ resurrection weren’t an historical fact. We would be without real hope and left to the whims of this sometimes cruel and fickle world. But in today’s passage, Paul resoundingly refutes this hopelessness. Here he begins to paint for us a picture of real and future hope that Jesus’ resurrection has made possible for us.

In today’s passage, Paul is setting out how God is going about putting the world to rights, a world created good but gone terribly wrong because of human sin and folly. First and foremost, Paul is reminding us that God is using humans to put to rights his fallen creation and creatures. God had called Israel to do that but Israel had failed to live up to her calling. So God fulfilled his promise to bring his blessings to his fallen world through his people Israel by means of his Messiah Jesus. But as Paul reminds us here, Jesus was more than just God’s Messiah. Jesus is God’s Son, the very embodiment of God himself.

And there is more. Paul is telling us that the risen Jesus is Lord, and by implication Caesar (and the forces of evil behind Caesar) is not. This means that God has revealed a two-part plan to put his broken world and its people to rights. Part 1 involves raising Jesus from the dead and making him Lord over all creation. We need to keep this in mind because it applies to us right now. If we believe this, we had better start acting like Jesus is Lord and no other is. We do that by living in the power of the Spirit and becoming the truly human beings God created us to be, the kind of folks that imitate the only truly human being ever to live–Jesus. That inevitably will involve our self-denial and suffering and it means we follow Jesus’ call to us, not our favorite political party. This is powerfully illustrated in an article that appeared tonight about Christians being sentenced for apostasy in Iran. Yeah, we aren’t Iran. But the principle doesn’t change. You can’t have two Lords. That’s what has gotten Christians in trouble with various governments from the very beginning

[From the article and speaking about the imprisoned Christians, Jason DeMars said] “There are a lot of people who are disgruntled with the government and many for comfort and peace in their lives are turning to Christianity. That’s a threat to the regime,” DeMars said.  “The more people who turn from Islam, the fewer people the regime has on its side.”

Despite the cross we are sometimes asked to bear, we do so with confidence because Paul is reminding us that Jesus’ resurrection is a preview of coming attractions, Part 2 in God’s rescue plan for us. One day Jesus will reappear in great power and glory and complete the work he started in his life, death, and resurrection. At that time the dead will be raised and death conquered finally and fully. Paul is pointing us toward God’s promised new creation, not an eternity in heaven. Until the final resurrection of the dead comes, death still reigns. Our bodies will die and those who die in the Lord will go to rest with him. That’s all good but we are still dead.

But that’s not the end game as Paul reminds us. Life and full restoration of all that is broken is the end game and we can have hope and confidence in that because we believe that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead. Here, Paul is telling us, is real hope for any and every circumstance in this sad old world. Yes, we will have to suffer all that can go wrong in our lives, but we know a better day is coming–and a better life, a life with a new body that is impervious to suffering and death, and a life in God’s healed new creation.

This hope is so mind-blowing that many have a hard time believing it. “It’s too good to be true!” they say. Indeed. Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ!