Author: Bible Community Church

How to Experience the Resurrection Life Everyday – John 5:25

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25

When Thomas the disciple witnessed Jesus’s death on the cross, his hope in Christ was buried as Jesus was sealed in the tomb for three days. Thomas- the zealous disciple who was willing to die with Christ- surely thought Jesus was no more. But after Jesus appeared to Thomas after rising again from the dead, Thomas believed, confessing Jesus as his Lord and his God. (Jn 20:28)

The reality of Jesus’s resurrection means that He is actively living, able to show Himself to us. But in our actual lives, shadows of doubt often weaken our convictions of the presence of the risen Lord. What then is the solution to bring the reality of Jesus’s resurrection into our ordinary lives? How can the resurrection remain central during hardships and suffering? We can experience the resurrection life as we understand and recollect the biblical description of salvation, as it is laid out in John 5:25.

You must recollect who Jesus is. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is…

What Jesus is about to say to the crowd is a truthful statement, its importance emphasized by Jesus repeating “Truly, truly…” In order to live a life centered on the resurrection, we must first know who Jesus Christ really is. Jesus is the divine Savior, who was sent by God the Father, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) Jesus proclaims now is the time for salvation. He is God, the Lord of all, who came to redeem sinners. The way of salvation is narrowed down to one name- Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12) We must first know the biblical, historical Jesus in order to live in the reality of HIs resurrection.

You must know who you are. …when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God…

Many fail to deeply understand who they were before they were saved. They may have emotionally experienced hitting rock bottom, sensing their need for God, but this mere self-conviction can be easily placated with morality and religion. Jesus says everyone is spirituallydead. You can not be saved unless the Holy Spirit convicts you of being dead in spirit. Man’s sinful nature becomes apparent when his sin is pointed out. Sinners hate talking about their sin. They feel no burden of sin; they have no guilt. They reject the gospel, because it points to their unbelief, which is the most damning sin of all. (Jn 3:19; 2Thess 1:8) In God’s mercy, He will often strip them away of everything before their conversion, because without this understanding of being dead in spirit, none can be holy.

We must always recollect how we were dead in spirit before God made us alive in Christ. We fail to be driven by the resurrection when we fail to repent. Being ignorant of your sin leads only to pride. As we know and remember our true state before our conversion, we will be humbled, knowing our need for a Savior. (Lk 5:8) Deeper repentance leads to deeper love for Christ. To know you’re a sinner is to know you are nothing without Jesus.

We must recollect our faith. …and those who hear will live.

To hear means to obey, trust, and believe. When we heard the gospel, we felt in our hearts that Christ is our only hope, and we believed in Him. Just as how the dead girl rose from the dead when she heard the voice of Christ, so we heard God’s call at the time of our salvation. (Lk 8:54-55; Rom 10:17) The voice of Jesus is in the gospel- it is truly the good news, the pearl of greatest price. There is nothing good we have done before God, but in His love He offers us salvation through Jesus Christ. Salvation begins with a change of mind as we hear and believe, and consequently, our actions change by faith.

Those who hear Jesus will live with an unrivaled love for Jesus. (1Pet 1:8-9) As we love Christ, we will live by faith, praying to Him through suffering, praising and Him through the cheerful times. (James 5:13) We will serve the lost souls around us, knowing that Jesus has called us to make disciples of all the nations. (Matt 28:18-20). Recollecting how God saves will keep Jesus’s resurrection central to our lives, leading us to depend on the living Lord to empower us to live by true faith.

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Be Steadfast! – 1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1Cor 15:58

Paul’s concluding exhortation to the Corinthians describes the faithfulness of those who believe in Jesus’s resurrection. It logically follows the marvelous truth that was expanded in the previous verses and summed up in v. 57: God has given us the victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus’s resurrection is the essential foundation to living by faith. Without it, all works are built on sand, unable to stand through the testing of faith and God’s judgment. But those who live with a deep conviction of Jesus’s resurrection live in the reality of Jesus’s lordship. They are the “beloved brethren,” loved by God the Father. Therefore, they are faithful, with a living hope that comes from Christ alone. (Phil 2:9-11)

If we are grounded on Jesus’s resurrection, how then should we demonstrate our faith?

Be steadfast.

You must be firm in our faith. Whereas immovability has to do with action and movement, steadfastness speaks more to what is inside- your heart. To be steadfast is to have peace in your heart, no matter what is happening around you. You have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, trust in the Lord. He is the living God, who is always faithful. (Rom 5:1)

We often lose our peace when we can’t understand what is happening around us and why. We can remain steadfast through prayer. The Bible says-

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

We pray because our God is the living God. He is our Lord, who can change all things, including our will to conform to His Will. As we have a biblical perception of God, our problems will pale before His sovereignty, power, and love. He will give us peace.

Be immovable.

We must stand strong and stay put in faith. Apostle Paul demonstrates it in 2 Cor 4:8-9-

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…

Christians will constantly be attacked by the world, Satan, and demons, who will always challenge us to go back to our old lives of sin and death. How can we stay immovable? It is only by remembering and seeing Jesus’s resurrection clearly in all circumstances. As we trust in Scripture, we will not be moved by the world’s philosophies and false gospels- though we may find ourselves standing alone in our confession that Jesus is the only way to be saved, we stand firm because the risen Lord is with us.

Always abound in the work of the Lord.

Every believer has their own duty from the Lord to practice and obey. Christians are laborers- we are alive to be sent and to do the work of God. We must not be lazy, seeking a life of leisure and worldly pleasures, which is a form of self-worship. Rather, we must be diligent in the work of the Lord.

What exactly is the work of the Lord? The work of God is to believe in Jesus Christ. (Jn 6:29) It is to grow in faith. As Jesus occupies your heart, our desire is to be more like Him and to tell others about Him. He is the object of our faith.

Evangelism and missions are also the work of the Lord. (Matt 28:18-20) Our readiness to go is not by our knowledge, it is by the power that Jesus gives. There is no greater news than the gospel. It has an everlasting effect of eternal joy and salvation. As we truly appreciate the gospel, we will not be able to remain quiet and idle. The news we have is overwhelmingly good- by it we have been saved.

You must know you will be rewarded.

Toil refers to labor that is marked with suffering, weariness, and utter exhaustion. To toil for the Lord is to risk your life because of Jesus’s resurrection. It is the test of true, saving faith. Toiling is a matter of life and death, but there is no cowardice in Christians because of the living Lord. Christians are able to face persecution and toil to the end because their toil is not in vain. When Jesus returns He will reward us based on what we have done. Only those who truly believe in Jesus’s resurrection will toil. They will be hated in this world because of their faith, but it will all be worth it when they will be rewarded in the Lord.

These are the four sign of faithfulness in those who trust and believe in Jesus’s resurrection. Let us examine yourselves and be assured that we are building our lives on Christ and His Word alone.

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Death Becomes Subdued – 1 Corinthians 15:50-53

Everybody faces death, which is why people avoid thinking of death or even despise death. Whether we are young or old, we realize this inevitable truth that death has power over us and there is no escape. Death is the cause of such great sorrow and consuming fear. However, in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a believer no longer needs to fear death because death has been defeated by Christ.

Man’s attempts at defeating death
There are three ways people try to confront death but fail.

  • Pretend death is not real or ignore the reality of death.
  • Try to circumvent death through science or technology (example: cryogenics)
  • Try to prolong life and health by reducing the effects of aging.

The Bible explains the reason why all human attempts cannot overcome death is because death is the result of sin (Rom. 6:23). Though, Christians will also die, their death is not defeat but it is victory in Christ. Instead of death being loss, to die is to gain (Romans 8:18, Phil 1:21-22). By the death and resurrection of Jesus, sin and death have been defeated.

Death has been defeated by the death of Christ. (v. 50)
Death is necessary because the flesh cannot inherit the heavenly. Christ also came and died in the flesh in order to defeat death (Heb 2:14). The death of our earthly bodies is necessary because we cannot enter heaven in our current flesh. While alive, we cannot be with Jesus in His heavenly kingdom. Therefore, our death in Christ is not to be avoided, but desired as the means to enter heaven.

Do you identify with Christ and His death (1 Cor 15:3-4)? Only by dying with Christ, can death be defeated (Gal 2:20).

Death has been been defeated by the resurrection of Christ (v51-52)
Before Christ’s death and resurrection, what happened after death was a mystery. No one knew what came after death except for the unavoidable decomposing of the body. Just as everyone dies, everyone decomposes. Contrastingly, in Christ’s resurrection, the fate of the believer is not decomposition but glorious transformation.

The absolute power of Christ’s resurrection over death is demonstrated by how quickly this transformation will take place. Death is not able to resist or delay it’s defeat but Christ’s victory in instantaneous (smallest amount of time).

This change is also at God’s appointed time, at the last trumpet. God has complete authority over death and it’s timing. Death is completely obedient to God’s will. (1 Thess 4:16-17)

Conclusion (v53)
Death has already been defeated by the work of Jesus, and the promise of the gospel is the future resurrection. To defeat death, we must put on Christ. Jesus Himself is the means and the prize for the defeat of death. He is the clothing of the resurrection. Therefore, we are to live by faith, and not by sight.

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A Glimpse of the Believer’s Glorious Body, Part 2 – 1 Corinthians 15:44-49

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 1Cor15:44-49

Observing the Resurrection of Christ and pondering on our own resurrection are a refreshing endeavors for us, the believers. It excites the hope in the hearts of the believers for the heaven to come in the same way that the light at the end of a tunnel propels travelers onward. It is a joyous and glorious vision of the future that ignites passion for the Lord even in the midst of life’s circumstances.

As we observe this portion of Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 15 in which Paul outlines the resurrection that is to come for the Corinthians, we are reminded of Christ’s conflict with the Saducees, who, like some in Corinth, did not believe in the resurrection.

The Saducees were a powerful political party of Israel at the time of Jesus, and equaled the Pharisees in political power and influence. While the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the Saducees did not. Accordingly, the Saducee’s challenge against Christ was against the resurrection.

In their challenge to Jesus, the Saducees described the application of the Jewish law that calls on a man to marry his brother’s wife in the event of his death. One woman was married five times as a result of four deaths among five brothers. Using this premise, they ask their question – in the resurrection, who is the husband of the wife? This question challenged Jesus’ authority and wisdom by creating a scenario in which the active obedience of the wife through remarriages resulted in a sin, namely, polygamy, because of the resurrection.

Jesus address this question by stating that there are no marriages in heaven. Marriage is a blessing, to be sure, but it is primarily the way God brings two imperfect beings together in a complementary relationship. The implication of Jesus’ response is that the resurrected believer will be perfect in Christlikeness in His resurrected body.

Back in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul harkens back further to the Creation account in the beginning chapters of Genesis. From verse 44 to 49, Paul refers to Adam, the first man, and Jesus, the second Adam as he contrasts the two federal figures upon mankind. He denotes the earthly body as the natural man’s body and the heavenly body as that which is gained in the resurrection. In Adam, then, all human beings have a living soul (Gen 2:7), a body made of dust (Gen 3:19), an earthly disposition (v.48), and are ultimately the full expression of earthly sin nature (v.49). In Jesus, all believers are given new life (1 Cor 5:17), a new body, a heavenly disposition (Col 3:1-2), a new identity as the children of God (Rom 8:15). Although Adam passed on life through his seed, the life that he passed on was of sin and death. Jesus, with the life-giving Spirit, gives eternal life to his believers.

What are we to do with this hope given to us by Christ? We are to bear the image of Christ, the heavenly Lord and Savior, through a life of active repentance and submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the living Head. In this, we honor and glorify Christ.

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A Glimpse of the Believer’s Glorious Body – 1 Corinthians 15:39-44

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. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body, 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. 1Cor 15:39-44

How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come? These are the two questions Apostle Paul presumes will be raised by the Corinthians who deny the fact of the bodily resurrection. To answer the first question, Paul uses an analogy, comparing the nature of seeds to the resurrection- both are mysterious, and both are radical. In response to the second, Paul gives us a glimpse of the what the resurrected body will be like through a series of qualitative contrasts.

Paul begins his defense by stating, All flesh is not the same. Unlike animals, man was created in God’s image. (Gen 1:27) He has a spirit, and is able to know God and worship Him. (Ecc 12:7) He is able to analyze numbers and literature, create art, and build meaningful relationships with other fellow men. Why was man uniquely made? God created man with the resurrection end in mind. Just as the celestial bodies all differ in glory, the resurrection body is unique in kind, in level, and in character.

It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body…

Though every one of us will one day perish, the bodily resurrection will raise us to life immortal. The resurrected body has nothing to do with death. (Lk 24:5) It is raised an imperishable body because of the divine nature in our hearts- though we are not yet perfect, we have been made partakers of God’s divine nature through His Holy Spirit dwelling in us. (2Pet 1:4) Salvation is a gift- it can never be purchased by wealth or good works, so we rejoice and are full of hope because of God’s amazing grace.

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory…

Man is depraved because the Fall affected the whole person of man. Because of our sinful nature, we dishonor God even though we desire to honor Him. How does man dishonor God? Man dishonors God by suppressing the truth. (Rom 1:18-20) Even though all the evidence to believe in God is here, he doesn’t want to believe, and therefore suppress the truth. Man dishonor God by not fearing Him- having no thanksgiving, acknowledgement, or praise for everything God has given to them. (Acts 12:21-23) Lastly, man dishonors God by denying Jesus as the Lord and Savior. The resurrected body will be raised in glory- it will be complete, able to honor and glorify God. By putting on the perfect righteousness that Christ provides us in our glorified state, whatever we do, God will be honored perfectly. (Is 35:8-9)

It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power…

Man is fragile and weak. We are dependent on something or someone every moment of our lives. The Bible describes our lives as a vapor, and warns us to not presume tomorrow will come. (James 4:14) But the at the resurrection we will become supernatural, unrecognizable from the broken conditions we’re in now. (Jn 21:4) We will be perpetually filled with the Holy Spirit, always bearing fruit, unceasingly glorifying our God.

It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…

In our natural state, we are weak, dishonoring, and perishable. Our flesh is suitable to leave on earth. The natural man does not believe in the resurrection- he does not trust Jesus’s word. The resurrected body is a spiritual body, but that does not mean it is immaterial- the spiritual body includes the physical body. (Lk 24:39) As Paul states logically, if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

At the resurrection, our perishable, weak, natural, dishonoring bodies will be laid to the dust, and through Christ we will be raised an imperishable, spiritual body in power and glory. This is the grace of God. Looking forward to Jesus’s coming brings hope and joy to the present- it dispels fear and strengthens faith to lay down our fleeting lives for the One who died and was raised for our eternal sake.

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Are You Really Saved?

…Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed…Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money…But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!  You have no part or portion in this [f]matter, for your heart is not right before God…” Acts 8:9-24

John Newton, the man who penned the beloved hymn, Amazing Grace, once said that one of the wonders he expects to find in heaven is to miss some he had expected to see there. To consider the possibility of not truly being saved is a sobering thought to everyone who has heard and believed the gospel for salvation. There are instances in the Bible of those who have tasted the goodness of the word of God, yet have fallen away as false converts, proving they were never saved from the beginning. In Acts 8, Luke introduces us to a man called Simon. He practiced magic, amazing crowds in Samaria as one who supposedly had divine power. (v. 9-10) But when Philip came and preached the gospel, the people- including Simon- believed and were baptized. At first, there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of Simon’s conversion- he followed Philip, witnessed great works of God, and fully agreed with the gospel message- but in due time, Simon’s true nature was revealed to prove his false conversion. (v.13)

When the apostles heard that the Samaritans believed in the gospel, Peter and John came to lay their hands on them so they could receive the Holy Spirit.* As Simon saw the authority and mighty works of the apostles, his old nature resurfaced with thoughts and desires for his own glory. He remembered the attention he received from practicing magic, and he wanted to use the works of God to leverage himself again. Simon’s god was still the world, and he desired it more than anything else. When he offered Peter and John money to likewise receive their divine abilities, Peter sharply commanded Simon to repent, revealing his state of condemnation, and his need for salvation. (v.18-23)

Simon had never repented. Repentance is not merely a reflection on sin- it is a turning away from sin, and turning unto God for salvation. Have you truly repented? We might find ourselves trying to repent of all the individual sins we commit- sexual immorality, evil desire, worldliness, hatred- but even with continual repentance, we fall into the same sins. We find it impossible to repent of every sin, because we sin relentlessly beyond the scope of memory, consciousness, and time. Like the Pharisees, many turn to behavior modification in an attempt to establish one’s own righteousness, but this only earns Jesus’s condemnation. How then must we repent to see the fruit of genuine repentance? God’s first commandment is, You shall have no other gods before me. Every sin against God reveals an allegiance to anything other than God. It shows that we are still owned and controlled by something else- self, Satan, and the world. True repentance is a change in ownership. As Jesus becomes your Lord, King, and Master, He enables you to bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

True repentance begets an appreciation for forgiveness. There was nothing we could have done to earn God’s forgiveness, but He saved us by His grace, making Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2Cor 5:21) Because we have been forgiven, we no longer have fear of God, but we call Him Abba, Father, approaching His throne of grace at every time of need. (Matt 11:28) We trust in Jesus more than anyone or anything else, and we put our lives under His lordship. His Spirit dwells within us, empowering us towards sanctification through loving obedience. In His mercy, we confess our sins daily, knowing we have been forgiven once and for all, and we pray without ceasing, because our God hears and answers every prayer. (Jn 13:7-11, 1Thess 5:17) There is no blessing that can ever compare to this gift of salvation.

According to church history, Simon the apostate eventually became one of the founders of heretic gnosticism. He failed to repent, and therefore showed no fruit of genuine repentance. Repentance is a gift of God. Of the aforementioned surprises in heaven, John Newton claimed the greatest wonder of all would be to find himself there. Every one who repents and turns to Christ will experience the same sentiment, as they are welcomed by God to forever rejoice and praise Him for this amazing grace.

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Rational Doubt and Biblical Answers on the Bodily Resurrection, Part 3 – 1 Corinthians 15:35-38

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 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 [k]something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 1Cor 15:35-38

To deny the bodily resurrection is more than a mere matter of misinformation- those who practice unbelief have no knowledge of God, having rejected the living Christ, who is the only way, truth, and life. (Jn 14:6) To the unbelieving Corinthians who doubt the possibility of a bodily resurrection, Apostle Paul speaks on two attributes of God that are manifested as He raises the dead to life.

The power of God. God’s power is incomprehensible. He is able to bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” (Dan 4:34-35) From Genesis to Revelation, God’s power is on display for us to see. We can not have a right understanding of God unless we know of His infinite power. He who has no rivals in heaven or on earth created the heavens and the earth, instantaneously and perfectly. (Gen 1:3-4) His power is over us, and everything is up to His Will. Everything we have in our lives is not from our intellect or abilities- it is all from God. By His power Jesus was born of a virgin, and by that same power, seeds are germinated, and the dead are raised to life. Nothing will be impossible with God. (Lk 1:39)

The sovereignty of God. God’s sovereignty is absolute- no one can resist God’s Will. He planned all things before the foundation of the world, and He will bring it to pass by His power. Our salvation is wholly tied to His sovereignty, because God sovereignly elects some people for salvation. (Rom 8:29-30) Many hold the doctrine of election in contempt, but frankly, if salvation were up to us, nonewould be saved, because no one would even desire to be saved from God’s wrath. Those who are elected by God confess Jesus as Lord and God when God calls them through the gospel. (Jn 20:28) Believers have a living hope, because of the seed of Jesus’s resurrection in them. Our hope in salvation is sure, knowing that God will do what He wills. Let us therefore seek and set our minds on the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Col 3:1-2) By God’s power and sovereignty, the dead will be raised to rejoice and glory in Christ’s complete work of our everlasting salvation.

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Rational Doubt and Biblical Answers on the Bodily Resurrection, Part 2 – 1 Corinthians 15:35-37

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 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. 1Cor 15:35-37

In this apologetic discourse to the Corinthians, Apostle Paul pointedly confronts the sin of unbelief behind the philosophical and scientific doubt of one who denies the bodily resurrection. “You fool!” Paul calls him, alluding to the corrupt man in Psalm 53 who says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Ps 53:1) To clarify and illustrate the nature of the resurrection, Paul likens it to the science of seeds- both are shrouded in mystery, and in both cases, there must first be a death for there to be life. There is another profound truth revealed in Paul’s extended metaphor. As the sown seed transforms altogether to become a completely different body, so the resurrection of a man will lead to a completely new life.

Apart from Christianity, every religion under the sun aims to add to what you already are. Men strive for self-improvement, to become more moral and good. But what man needs is not improvement, but forgiveness from God. A flower is not sown into the ground to grow into a flower; rather, its seed is sown to sprout and grow into a flower. Likewise, the resurrection can not be obtained in our flesh, because nothing can change our sin nature. Only those who are forgiven can be resurrected like Christ- those who are sown as a seed of wheat.

Paul’s reference to wheat points to the many instances in the Bible where God refers to His elect as wheat. (Jn 12:23-25, Matt 13:24-25,30) It contrasts to unbelievers being called the seed (or sons) of Satan. (Jn 8:44) How do you know you are of the wheat? God graciously reveals this to us in His parable of the seeds sown in the soils.

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places…when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matt 13:20) Those who are of the seed of wheat have no fear. They are forgiven, and by their conviction of true forgiveness, they know the risen Jesus is always with them. They live before the sight of God, and therefore have no fear of man. (Acts 4:19-20)

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns…and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (v.22) Those who are of the seed of wheat have no idols. The gospel will never operate on the person who clings to the world. He tries to serve two gods, because he is not truly forgiven and therefore still loves the world. (Matt 6:24) Only God can convict you of forgiveness, causing you to love Him and seek His will. Forgiveness causes man to die to sin, and live to God. (Matt 6:33)

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. (v.23) Those who are of the seed of wheat bears fruit. The good soil is the man who conforms to Jesus’s death, and confesses Christ as Lord and God. Jesus is the Lord- He is absolutely sovereign, and therefore entitled to our absolute submission. He is God- He is of absolute deity, and deserves all our worship.

Thomas confessed Jesus as his Lord and his God when he believed in the resurrected Jesus. (Jn 20:27-28) Does this confession direct your entire life? We are controlled by what we worship. The one who is forgiven by God yields to Christ, leading to spiritual fruit. God provides the means of grace- worship, prayer, and the Word- to help us bear fruit as our faith in Christ is strengthened. Blessed is the one whose fruitful life shows the evidence of a forgiven life that has been sown as the seed of wheat.

 

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Rational Doubt and Biblical Answers on the Bodily Resurrection – 1 Corinthians 15:35-38

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 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 [a]something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 1Cor 15:35-38

Understanding Jesus’s bodily resurrection is beyond the bounds of man’s philosophy and science. It can not be proved or disproved by the scientific method, nor can it be comprehended by human logic or wisdom. When false doctrine began to infiltrate the Corinthian church, those who got deceived fell away and rejected the bodily resurrection- thereby rejecting the whole gospel- because it didn’t line up to their agnostic beliefs. In these verses, Paul responds to their doubts by showing the similarities between the nature of seeds that are sown and the bodily resurrection.

Both are mysteries. Exactly how a seed gets planted and grows to bear fruit is a mystery. Botanists observe the process, and can scientifically explain what is happening, but no one knows exactly how seeds are able to do what they do. In the same way, Jesus’s resurrection is a mystery. Men have witnessed and testify to it, but no man knows how Jesus died and rose from the dead. It is a mystery of God.

There will be a consummation. Seeds don’t look like much, but they are able to sprout and grow into majestic trees, bearing much fruit. This is a picture of the Christian life. Our lives now may be full of suffering and weakness, but the end will be glorious because of Jesus’s resurrection. (Phil 2:8-11)

There will be a differentiation. As a flower is more beautiful and glorious than its seed, so in heaven, everything will be wholly different from our current condition. The imperfect will be perfected, and everything will be made new. Differentiation is our hope in this broken world and sinful flesh. (Jn 12:24-26)

There will be a cessation. Just as a seed must cease to be a seed in order to grow, so man must cease being in his old self in order to be converted to Christ. Spiritual life is marked by death- I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Jesus died in the flesh to rise again glorified; I, too, will one day cease to be in the flesh to receive a resurrected body. (Gal 2:20)

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