STAND FIRM

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Key Verse 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The title for today's message is "Stand Firm." It comes from verse 58. At the beginning of this chapter, Paul said that he wanted to remind them of the gospel he preached to them, which they received, and on which they had taken their stand. His conclusion now is to stand "firm" and "let nothing move you” so that they could give themselves fully to the work of the Lord. The hope of the resurrection is very real. And in this passage Paul describes how glorious and wonderful it will be when we receive the resurrected body. We need to be sure of this glorious hope and stand firm so that we might receive it. This is what we are laboring for in the Lord. 

We need to know what we’re working for. And we have to know that what we are working for is going to last. Not knowing if your labor is in vain or not is a great agony. When we don’t know what we are working for--that is, if we are not sure that it is meaningful, we will give up sooner than later. Probably, like many, the Corinthians believed with eagerness and joy. They welcomed the resurrection. But as time went on and they tried to live in this world and serve the Lord’s ministry day after day their initial joy wore off and they began to loosen their stand on the gospel message and even some bad teachings and practices made their way into the church fellowship, and they compromised with their sin. Especially, the worst thing was that they stopped giving themselves fully to the work of the Lord for they weren’t sure if it was worthy to spend their lives in this way. 

Today's passage tells us the glory of the resurrection that we may be convinced of its coming and stand firm, giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Let’s look at this passage to see what the glory of the resurrection will be like.

First, we will be made like Jesus (35-49)

Jesus is the most glorious. He is the Creator from whom all things were made. He is the author of life and all powerful. Yet his humility, sacrificial love, faith, obedience and gentleness are unmatched. Amazingly, we will be made like him.

Look at verses 35-36. 35 But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 

Some questioned how the dead are raised and with what kind of body they will come, but Paul quickly dismisses this kind of question as being “foolish”. At first it sounds like an interesting question: how are the dead raised? with what kind of body will they come? Unless you died just a few days before the resurrection occurs, what will happen since that person will not have much of a body left except for some bones. And what about those who were cremated or who are in the ocean somewhere? The reason this question is foolish is because it shows that they were still holding on to their present life. They were assuming or thinking that the resurrection restores a person back to his normal life here. So they got confused as if some may look like zombies. 

Look again at verse 36. “How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” 

Many troubles come from the desire to hold on to our lives here. Jesus taught his disciples, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35). We must not try to hold on to our lives here. It is foolish! It is wise to give our lives to Jesus and the gospel fully so that we can receive eternal life from him. Here, the Apostle Paul calls this sowing and illustrates this truth by comparing our lives now to the natural world. 

Look at verse 37. 

37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 

When we plant a seed, something different comes out of the ground. And we look forward to what will come out. If we loved and held on to the apple seed and didn’t sow, we wouldn’t get the tall and fruitful apple tree which can supply us with juicy apples to make apple juice, apple pie, apple turnover, etc. We don’t think much about the seed when we think about the tree to come out. Have your heard of anyone drinking apple seed juice? Or having apple seed pie? No. Paul teaches that we must view our own lives in this way because of the resurrection. What will come out will be different and much better than what was put in. We have to have the same mentality about our lives and the resurrection to come.

Look at verses 38-41.

38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

We see that God has given everything a body that is appropriate to its purpose and environment. And even then each creation has its own kind of splendor. The stars have such a splendor that they’ve been given shapes and names as constellations. Some people look to the stars for their future and made a business out of horoscopes. But stars are God’s creation meant to serve not be served. Remember that it was a star that rose in the east that led the magi to the place where Jesus born so that they could worship Jesus the new born king, not worship a star.

This means then too that God will give a resurrection body that is perfectly suitable for the purpose and place he has determined for that seed, that life. 

Look at verses 42-44a.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

These verses describe what kind of body God will give us at the resurrection. As we can see, it is very different from this present body. Think about the difference between what is sown and what is raised:

SOWN => RAISED

perishable -> imperishable

dishonor -> glory

weakness -> power

natural -> spiritual

They are polar opposites! We work really hard to improve our body and image. And yet our bodies are still so weak. We never know what may happen. Especially, we feel our weakness to sin in our bodies. And this bothers us the most as it leads to dishonor and perishing. But consider each of these again in view of Jesus: 

1. imperishable: by definition, it cannot and will not perish. Jesus died once and rose again. He will not die again. His body is not susceptible to the cold or sickness or disease. He is truly living eternal life and we will be raised in the same way.

2. glory: there are lots of “glories” in this world. Worldly glories are fame, wealth, and love. And we seek those glories to try to give meaning to our lives. But they all perish and someone else takes that glory away. This “glory” here refers to the glory of God. It is the glory of the righteousness and holiness of God. All our dishonorable things and sin will be completely gone.

3. power and spiritual: it means we operate fully by the Spirit of God and not according to our flesh, such as, this body bothering me and saying, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I want to sin. Think about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Do you know how old he is? He is 63 years old. His body looks great at 63! He achieved many worldly glories, such as fame, wealth, and love. But in an article published last week, he said that he is disgusted when he looks at his body in the mirror! And not everyone can have a body like him. But all those who believe in Jesus will have a body like Jesus. And although Jesus did not look like Schwarzengger, he was so much more power. Arnold never walked on water or fed five thousand with only five loaves and two fish! Even Apostle Peter walked on water! Jesus was already powerful before the resurrection. How glorious will our resurrection be fully led by the spirit in power! 

Look at verses 44b-49.

 If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

We know all of these bad elements of our current body. All are consequences of our sins. We can find this clearly in Genesis 1-3. As Paul says here, we currently bear the likeness of the earthly man, Adam. All people bear his likeness because we all came from him and we are all sinners too. 

Our bodies at the resurrection will not be based on Adam, the earthly man, but on Jesus, spiritual man who is from heaven. He is the model of our new life. We shall bear his likeness. Look again at verse 49. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

We will bear Jesus’ imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual likeness! Verses 44-49 mention one more important characteristic of Jesus: he is life-giving. Adam was a living-being who received life when God breathed into his nostrils. But Jesus is life-giving. 

As a life-giving spirit, Jesus is not needy. He gives life. This means that when we are made to be in his likeness, we too will not be needy and weak. He is self-sufficient and free. Our bodies as well will from God directly, not of the dust. And we will not be needy or weak or deteriorating, but will be like him--free and restored as children of God. This is the glorious nature of the resurrected life to come. We will be made in the likeness of Jesus. He shares with us his life-giving spirit, his glory and his power. He calls us as brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. He sets us free from the burden of our sin and this present body. This resurrection body and its likeness is truly glorious! It far outshines the glories of this world. 

Second, We will inherit the kingdom of God (50-58)

Look at verses 50-57. 

 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? 

   Where, O death, is your sting?”[ HYPERLINK "http://mobile.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20corinthians%2015:35-58&version=NIV1984#fen-NIV1984-28758d"d]

 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The resurrection is also glorious because we will inherit the kingdom of God! To inherit means that God will give it to us. And we cannot inherit the kingdom of God as we are now, but God will change us all! And with the suitable glorious body we will inherit his glorious kingdom as his children. He does it by his power and in his time. Then we will be clothed with the imperishable, with immortality. 

God is the living God. He was and is and is to come. Death is an enemy. And he has been 100% victorious over all people. So people came to say that death is just part of life. But death lost to one person, Jesus Christ. When we are all changed, finally death will be swallowed up in victory and will be gone forever! Then we can sing the victory song: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Death’s sting comes from sin. The wages of sin is death, just as God said in the beginning, in Genesis 3. And sin’s power is the law, for sin by definition is lawlessness. And by proof of all people dying, sin has been enjoying a victory for a long time. 

But look again at verse 57. “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus died and rose again to take our sin and so give us the victory, even over death! Now since we know the glorious life to come, this wonderful hope we have, we have to sow the seed we have been given now accordingly. How are you sowing the seed which is our current life that God has given us? What kind of fruits are we trying to bear? Is it for the life to come in the kingdom of God? Or for the life here only. Now is the time for us to labor for the Lord. He has given us the great promise of glory!

Look at verse 58. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Now we have to stand firm and let nothing move us. We must not let worldly glories and pleasures or fears move us from the kingdom of God. We have to remain on the path just like Christian in the Pilgrim’s Progress play. 

When we stand, it means that we give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord always. Not partially or half-heartedly or reluctantly. “always” and “fully”. It is because our labor is not in vain. What is the work of the Lord? It is to believe in the Lord. And he has given us the task of making disciples of all nations! The resurrection gives real meaning to our labor in the Lord. We must open our eyes and not be short sighted. He has already won the victory which we have to claim. Since we have such a glorious promise, we don’t need to spend all our labor to secure life here and get good things. 

The recent daily bread passages of Jesus’ crucifixion also displayed the power of the hope of resurrection. Jesus overcame the darkest hour. His disciples all betrayed him. His own people rejected him and sentenced him to death. The Gentiles did not even recognize him and also put him to death. It was the most lonely and dark hour anyone could be in. And then he was going to endure the pain of the cross. But in Matthew 26:64 he said, “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” He saw his resurrection and glory in this moment! It showed his faith in God the Father. When he looked ahead to the resurrection and its glory, he overcame the most difficult hour and "remained silent" and went to the cross.

We thank God for this passage which reminds us that our labor in the Lord is not in vain so that we can give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, braving the hardships, difficulties and sacrifices involved. These days many are participating in discipleship programs, studying important passages such as Genesis and John’s gospel. this is a truly worthy investment although many are giving up their Friday nights and Saturday mornings and spending much time to prepare study lessons and testimonies. It is sowing in the Lord. To come to his word is to find the path of life and salvation.

And let’s encourage each other in the fishing ministry at school and shepherd over the students through 1:1 bible study to faith in the Lord Jesus. We feel like we have so many things to do. But only one thing is not in vain, labor in the Lord. If we feel tired, then let's spend our tired body by laboring for the Lord, don't stop. If we are busy, let's be busy for the Lord. For all this work that we do for the Lord is not in vain because of the resurrection. But if we are busy for other things, such as good grades or financial security at the expense of serving the Lord, let's put those things aside because ultimately they are in vain if we do not serve the Lord. They are not the meaning of our lives. Jesus is the meaning of our lives and serving his the work we have been given. And thanks to God for he already won the victory in Jesus so that as we live by faith in him we can serve him always and fully. Let's say it together, always and fully! Thanks be to God for the hope of resurrection and the kingdom of God to come!