Glorious Transformation

do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

He's saying to deny the resurrection is to be like the Sadducees when Jesus said to them,

you are greatly mistaken for you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

It's rank unbelief and ignorance of the power of God that leads to this heresy. So the resurrection of believers is essential Christian belief. That's what he said so far. But what will our resurrected bodies be like? And if the coming kingdom is something imperishable, incorruptible, and spiritual, well then what kind of body are we going to need to inherit it? Well, that's what Paul's gonna explain in our passage today. And the main thing I want you to see here in this passage is this. Our bodies won't just be revived. but gloriously transformed so that we can be like Christ and fit for his kingdom. Our bodies won't just be revived, but gloriously transformed so that we can be like Christ and fit for his kingdom. And we're gonna unpack this in three points. And the first is this, our bodies will be gloriously transformed. This is verses 35 through 44a. Our bodies will be gloriously transformed. Picking up in verse 35, Paul writes,

but someone will ask, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? You foolish person. What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there's one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of 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 it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. 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.

So Paul begins here by anticipating a question.

But someone will ask, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?

And while on the surface these may seem like fair questions, they're really more like unbelieving objections. Because Paul immediately responds with, you foolish person. This is a continuation of those from verse 34 who have no knowledge of God. And the root objection seems to be this, that physical bodies are unsuitable for eternal life with God. To the Corinthians, it just seems unimaginable that the eternal spiritual state would include a physical body. That's what they mean when they say, with what kind of body do they come? It's like if you came up to me and said that you're training to bench press 10,000 pounds. I'd be like, with what kind of training do you expect to get that kind of result? They're saying, this just seems impossible. Well, Paul says, how foolish. How foolish to think that this is not possible. And then he points to two examples from nature as if to say, the answer is right before your eyes. If you would just look around at the world that's all around you, you would see God's power not only to raise the dead, but to give them a body that's perfectly suited for glory. So first he points to the example of a seed. And he says in verse 36,

what you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

Okay, so if you want to see a little microcosm of resurrection, well look at a seed. When it's sown, it dies, it germinates and the shell or the seed pod falls away, but then this new life bursts forth. And then what comes from this new life is not just another seed, but a plant. God gives it a body as he has chosen. Right? So there's continuity. It's one thing. It's the same DNA. But there's this radical transformation, this death that then brings forth this radically new kind of life. And Paul's point is that that's what the resurrection of the dead is like. It's not that this present physical body is just revived. No, like a seed growing into a plant, it's transformed. And then Paul transitions into a second example, which is the vast diversity of different kinds of bodies that God has made. So not only does God give to each kind of seed its own body, but Paul says there's also all different kinds of fleshly bodies, human bodies, animal bodies, the bodies of birds and fish, each one perfectly adapted to its environment. And then in addition to these earthly bodies, there's heavenly bodies. Bodies that have a whole different kind of glory. There's one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory. So it's a different kind of glory from the earthly bodies, and it's different measures of glories between these heavenly bodies. And the point is to show that creation displays God's ability to make all different kinds of bodies, each perfectly adapted and suited for its environment, and each displaying whatever kind and measure of glory that God chooses to give it. And therefore, how foolish it would be to think that the God who simply spoke and brought all of this into existence, can't also raise the dead and give them whatever kind of body they need for eternity. And that's why this section really crescendos into verses 42 through 44 where Paul says,

so it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown in natural body. It is raised a spiritual body.

Just like a seed that's sown in the ground and dies, but then bursts forth into the glorious blossom of a flower. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. And our bodies won't just be revived to what they once were. in our perishable, mortal, weak, natural state. But they will be gloriously transformed into something radically new. Imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual. so far removed from any possibility of death or decay, and so wonderfully displaying the image of God that, as C.S. Lewis put it,

if you could somehow see your future self right now, you would be tempted to fall down and worship.

You see, the Corinthians are right that our present physical bodies are unsuitable for the kingdom, but they're foolish to limit God's power to transform us. into what we need to be. Now this brings us to two points of application. The first is this, are there any ways that you, like the Corinthians, are limiting God? Any ways that you are doubting God's power? Especially if you're not a Christian, maybe the notion of resurrection itself just seems far-fetched to you. Your motto is, I believe in what I can see, and experience tells me that resurrections don't happen. Well, as you're leaving today, I want you to just stop and take a look at the big oak tree. It's right there on the path as you're going out. And then see if you can find an acorn on the ground. And just stop and think about the fact that that tree came from a single acorn. And that's something that all the best scientists, that all of our modern technology still cannot replicate. And yet somehow contained in that little acorn is everything needed to sprout life. And year after year to take in nutrients from the soil and water and sunlight and produce a tree. Is it really far-fetched to believe that the God who created acorns, who created you and me, who created this whole world, to believe that he can raise the dead? I mean, how foolish it is for us to think he can't. Think that he is limited by our experience. God is able. But for others of us, maybe there's another way you limit God. Maybe you don't have a hard time believing that God can and will raise the dead, but maybe right now you're doubting God's ability to use a certain trial in your life for good. You just can't reconcile this kind of evil that you've experienced or this level of tragedy with the plan of a good and loving God. You don't think God is able to use it for good. Or maybe there's some sort of pain or hurt in your heart that is so deep that you don't think that even God could possibly understand, that even God could possibly heal. Or maybe you've sinned and your heart has been exposed to you in such a way that you're feeling like, how could God possibly love a sinner like me? Maybe you've continued to struggle in sin in such a way that you're thinking, how could God possibly fix a sinner like me? Well, friends, whatever it is, this passage should remind us how foolish it is to doubt the power of God. I mean, he can and will resurrect our bodies and turn these physical bodies into something glorious and imperishable and immortal and powerful. And it also shows us that oftentimes, you know, the answer, when we doubt God's power, well, the answer's right before us. Not a technical explanation of exactly how God does what he does. But if we just look at the world around us, if we just look at God's word and what he's done for us in Christ, it shows us that God is a God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. God is able. God is powerful. We should trust him. Now, a second application is this, how much are you looking forward to the resurrection of your body? I mean, is this just a theological acknowledgement, a doctrinal checkmark, or is it a source of hope and joy in your life? You know, we live in a culture that often idolizes the physical body, and I think that tends to affect us in one of two ways. On one hand, it can draw us in. We see the magazine covers, we watch the movies, we get caught up in the latest health fads. We can begin to obsess over clothing and appearance. And we try to do everything we can to slow aging. Just like the culture, we wanna hold on so tightly to our present physical body and strive to do whatever we can as if we could perfect it. One of the best antidotes to that is to think more about your resurrection body to come. It's so much easier to let go of worldly aspirations for your body when you know that in the end you will receive a glorious body that transcends them all. So don't let the culture draw you in, but think about and look forward to the resurrection of your body. But then on the other hand, I think the influence of our culture can also repel us. You know, in reaction to seeing those in the world idolize the body, we think, well, I'm going to focus on the spiritual. And I want to focus on character. I want to focus on the heart. I want to focus on the salvation of souls. And that's good. I think that's a right emphasis. But the danger is if we start to create this divide in our thinking between the spiritual and the physical. And we start to think the physical is like opposed to true spirituality or at best a distraction from true spirituality. That's really what the Corinthians were doing. And what results is this truncated view of spirituality that often misses the goodness and the glory of God in the physical realm. And we can start to underappreciate physical things. Almost like it's sub-spiritual to want to be healthy. Or like it's sub-spiritual to even care about being physically attractive or physically fit. As if we shouldn't be grieved by aging and the fact that our bodies can't always do the things we used to be able to. But when you keep in mind that God is going to raise your physical body, it reminds us that God is for our bodies. That He created us to be embodied creatures and to enjoy the fullness of His goodness in physical bodies. So we can and should look forward to physical bodies that don't age, that don't get sick, that don't get hurt, that are imperishable, that are beautiful, strong, and glorious. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 4,

For while we are still in this tent,

that is our physical earthly body,

we groan, being burdened. Not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

You know, for me as a pastor, one of the saddest things has been watching some of our older saints decline. It's amazing, after so many years of hardly changing at all, we come to the end of the line and it's like our bodies just begin to fall apart. And it's sad to see. And especially when at times there are people who can't even remember the people they once knew and loved. Just a hollow shell of their former self. And that's why in this tent we groan. But our hope is not just that our bodies will be revived to what they once were, but that we would be gloriously transformed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. And that brings us to our second point, which is that our bodies not only will be gloriously transformed, but our bodies will be made like Christ's body. Our bodies will be made like Christ's body. This is verse 44b through verse 49. And as we read this, notice that right after saying that our natural bodies will be raised a spiritual body, Paul double clicks on this idea of a spiritual body. He says

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being. The last, Adam, became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, the man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Now, as I said, Paul double clicks on this mention of a spiritual body. And he does that because he knows that this is a bone of contention with the Corinthians. To them, the notion of a spiritual body is an oxymoron, or perhaps better, an outright contradiction. Because to them, spiritual means non-physical, and the very idea of a body seems earthly, natural, corruptible, and weak. But Paul's saying, no, there's a spiritual body. It's a body, so it's physical, but it's a spiritual body, so it's heavenly, incorruptible, and meant for eternal life with God. And to prove this, Paul points to Christ himself. And basically what he's saying is that there are two representative humans, two archetypal heads of humanity. There's Adam, the man of dust, who's from the earth, and Christ, the man of heaven, who's the last Adam. And he says in verse 45,

thus it is written, the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Now, in the first part of this verse, he's quoting Genesis 2-7, and that's where it says that God formed Adam from the dust of the earth and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living being. And what Paul is picking up on here is that the word translated being is actually the same as the word translated natural. Okay, so although this would be very clunky in English, Paul's argument would make more sense if you translated it like this. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body, thus it is written, the first man Adam became a living natural, or nature. The last Adam became a life-giving spiritual, or spirit. The idea is not at all that Adam was given a physical body, but Jesus became an immaterial spirit. That's like the opposite of the point Paul's trying to make. The idea is that Adam is the archetypal natural man, who therefore had a natural body and a mortal life. Because as God would later say,

for dust you are and to dust you shall return.

But Jesus is the archetypal spiritual man. who was resurrected with a perfect spiritual life, not just receiving life, but possessing it. He became a life-giving spirit or spiritual man. And the point is, if Jesus is the perfect spiritual man, then what kind of body do you think the resurrected Christ has? I mean, if he is the very epitome of human spirituality, and he has a resurrection body, which Paul has already argued at length earlier in this chapter, then what could it be but a spiritual body? And if Genesis 2, verse 7 calls Adam's body natural, as the man of dust who returned to dust, then what can we call Jesus' immortal, life-giving, resurrected body but spiritual, right? So if there's a natural body, then there's also a spiritual body. And further, because Adam and Christ are the two representatives, the two covenant heads, therefore just as assuredly as we have borne Adam's image, by having natural bodies from the dust, we shall just as assuredly bear Christ's image, by having spiritual bodies fit for heaven. It's just a matter of time. That's why Paul continues in verse 46,

but it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, the man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust.

That's all humanity. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. That's those who have been born from above.

Just as we have born the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven,

right? So there's an order and a timing, but there is no less certainty that we who have borne Adam's image will bear Christ as well. And as Philippians chapter three, verse 20 says,

our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Right, so we are not only being conformed progressively to the image of Christ now as Romans 8 talks about in our sanctification, but we will be conformed to the image of Christ finally and fully when we are given a body like his body. And we will bear the image of the risen Christ. Now, this is an unfathomable thought. I mean, this is treading on holy ground. I mean, just think, the one who sits on heaven's throne, the one before whom all of the angels, all of the heavenly hosts will bow in worship, he will be sitting there and reigning there with a body like us. And not because he has condescended to be like us, but because he will exalt us to be like him because he in assuming human flesh has glorified and dignified and made us in our humanity glorious like him. Oh friends, what can we say but the words of our call to worship?

What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you consider him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth?

Oh friends, our God in his mercy has not only chosen to reach down and save us from death and hell, but to exalt us, to crown us with glory and honor together with Christ, to give us bodies that are fit for glory, bodies that are just like our elder brother and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as incredible as that thought is, as impossible as it seems, especially when we see ourselves right now wasting away, sick, aging, and nearing death, The reality is that just as surely as those things point to the present reality that we are bearing the image of the man of dust, the resurrected Jesus testifies to the reality that we shall bear the image of the man of heaven. And while there are so many specifics that we don't know, that we don't fully understand about just what that will be like, We know this,

beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

So let us hope in Jesus. knowing that in the end our bodies will not just be revived, but gloriously transformed to be like his. And this brings us to our third and final point, which is that our bodies will fit us for the kingdom. Our bodies will fit us for the kingdom. This is verses 50 through 58. Paul continues in verse 50,

I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Now notice the language of must and cannot here. He says

this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom.

Paul's speaking here of necessity. He's making a point about what is necessary in order for us to inherit the kingdom of God. And the point is actually not that resurrection is required per se, but change, transformation. Paul tells us a mystery, which is an explanation of what's gonna happen to believers who are still alive when Jesus comes back. And he says that if we're alive when the trumpet sounds and Christ returns, we won't sleep. That is, we won't die, but we will be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling or the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet, we will be transformed. Right, so believers who have already died, they will be resurrected, and believers who are still alive will be transformed But we shall all be changed because we must all put on imperishability and immortality to be fit for the kingdom. Now, a natural question is, well, why is this change necessary? Why can't flesh and blood inherit the kingdom? What exactly does Paul mean by that anyway? Well, given that verse 50 pairs flesh and blood with perishability, And then verses 53 and 54 both pair perishability with mortality. I think flesh and blood is probably a way of referring to our present physical bodies in their mortal state. Now, I'm not sure what kind of material or substance our future bodies will be made of. I think verse 50 may suggest that it will be something very different than flesh and blood as we know it. For example, if you fall in heaven, I don't think you're gonna skin your knee and start bleeding. But whatever the case, Paul's point is that our present mortal, frail, perishable bodies cannot inherit the kingdom. In other words, it's not just our sin that makes us unfit for the kingdom. It's our present physical state as well. It's kind of like when you go to a wedding, you've got to dress for the occasion. Well, Paul's saying that to inherit Christ's kingdom, you've got to dress with the clothes of immortality and imperishability. Our perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. And he says that's because it's an imperishable kingdom. And I think that means not only that it's a kingdom in which there is no sin, but it's a kingdom in which there is nothing that could ever be corrupted, that could ever wear out, that could ever grow old. There will not even be the slightest vestige of sin's effects. So there can be no illness, there can be no infirmity, no decay, no death. In fact, I don't think it would even be good enough to have a body like Adam did before the fall. Because even though he had no sin, and even though that body wouldn't have died, he wasn't glorified. He didn't have a truly imperishable or immortal body. He was still susceptible to falling, and he did fall. And that body returned to dust. But to fit us for his kingdom, Christ will give us bodies that are glorified. With no more possibility of sin, no more possibility of corruption, no more possibility of death. Everything in that kingdom will be fit for the glory of the king. and testify to Jesus's absolute dominion and victory over sin and death. I mean, in light of that, do you see how ridiculous the Corinthians idea is that there could be no resurrection of the dead? That disembodied spirits would be there in God's eternal kingdom. I mean, that would be like having a perpetual reminder of Christ's failure to fully save. Right? That the effects of sin and death remain. Well, friends, God forbid. Christ's kingdom will testify in every way to his lordship and victory. A victory that he has won for us. And that's why Paul continues in verse 54. He says,

when the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God promised all the way back in Isaiah 25 and Isaiah 13 that a day would come when death itself will die. A day when death, which has swallowed up all the living and is never full, a day when death itself will be swallowed up, and on that day, We who were once death's prey will begin to taunt it, saying,

where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

Death is being personified here as this venomous monster, and its stinger by which it subdues and overpowers its prey is sin, because sin is the poison that leads to death. Sin is how death seizes hold of us and claims us for itself. And the power of sin is the law. Because as Romans 5.13 says,

sin is not counted where there is no law.

It's the law that raises sin to the level of transgression. And it's the law that enables sin to render us guilty and condemned before God. But Paul says,

thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God who through Christ has saved us from the law, sin, and death. And Jesus does so chiefly by bearing the penalty of the law in our place. As Galatians 3 says,

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

You see, by bearing the curse of the law, the sentence of the law, he took away the law's power to condemn us. That means if you're in Christ, the law has no claim on you. No matter how much you sin, no matter how much you have broken the law, the law can no longer condemn you. Because Christ bore the curse. And you are therefore redeemed. You are justified. And if the law is the power of sin, but the demands of the law have been satisfied, well then sin itself has been neutralized. It can't sting you anymore, it can't hurt you. It's as if death has lost its sting, its stinger has been cut off. And therefore death can no longer hold its prey. And that is why we rise with Christ. Because Christ won the victory on the cross and therefore he rose victorious over death and sin. And therefore we will rise with him and we can say, taunting death,

where, oh death, is your sting? Where, oh death, is your victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ has done it all. And therefore, it's only a matter of time until we rise with him. As Paul said earlier in this chapter, back in verses 22 through 26, he said,

for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ, then comes the end. when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet, the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

And Christ destroys that last and final enemy by raising us, not just with revived bodies, The bodies that are gloriously transformed. Bodies that are made like his body. Bodies that are imperishable and immortal and fit for his imperishable kingdom. Now if you're here this morning and you are not a believer, I wanna know what hope you have. What are you trusting in to deliver you from death and its sting? What do you think can make you fit for the kingdom of God? Friend, there is only one hope. So turn from your sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the victory that can be yours in him. And then for those of us who do believe, look at the application that Paul gives us in verse 58.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

You see, the glorious hope of the gospel, the knowledge that we will rise with Christ, that should fuel steadfastness, immovability, and faithful service in the present. So what is it that threatens your Christian stability? You know, what is it right now in your life that would shake you or move you or sway you? What is it that's making you feel like giving up or like your labor is in vain? What's preventing you from abounding in the Lord's work? Is it fruitlessness in ministry? Maybe a child rejecting the faith? Is it just a gradually rising boredom with studying the Bible and a draw toward other things? Is it a trial that you're facing that's begun to dominate all your thoughts, that's pulling you away from faithfulness to the Lord? Is it just a laziness, a lack of focus? Is it some sin that you won't let go of? that you have been refusing to deal with in your life. Well, friend, what this passage this morning is telling us is that we need to set our mind on Christ, on His victory, and on the fullness of the eternal life that He is going to give us. The fact that these mortal bodies will be raised up And if you are really thinking about that, it should make you steadfast. It should make you confident that though the things in this present world can seem to be going so far astray, that though you see death and corruption and decay all around you, that though this present life is full of trial and hardship, that there is glorious victory in Christ. There is an unshakable hope that we have through the gospel. And therefore we should be steadfast and immovable, holding firm to this gospel, and we should be striving with all our might to abound in the work of the Lord. Knowing that on that final day, after we are resurrected to stand before him, knowing that our labor will not be in vain, Because if we are faithful now, we will hear,

well done, good and faithful servant.

And Jesus says that everyone who even gives a cup of cold water to one of his people will not lose his reward. So brothers and sisters, take heart this morning. Knowing that on the last day, God will not just revive our bodies, but gloriously transform them. so that we can be like Christ and fit for his kingdom. And let us be steadfast and immovable and always abounding in the Lord's work now as we look forward to that day. Amen. Let's pray. Oh, Father, how we praise you and thank you this morning that you have given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, of God help us to treasure that victory, to hold fast to it, and to live lives now in light of it. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. And as we prepare to sing our song of response, I just want you to notice the last three stanzas. It says,

lives again our glorious king. Where, O death, is now thy sting? Dying once, he all doth save. Where thy victory, O grave? Love's redeeming work is done. Fought the fight, the battle won. Death in vain forbids him rise. Christ hath opened paradise. Soar we now where Christ has led, following our exalted head. Made like him, like him we rise. Ours the cross, the grave the skies.

Let us now stand and sing.