Thursday, September 8, 2022

We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash

1 Corinthians 15:20-58

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 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. 

The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 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.

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"

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

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, 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.

Christ's resurrection is the guarantee that his followers, too, will be raised from death. But what kind of body will they have. The body which is raised will be better than the body which is buried. The old was physical, the new will be 'spiritual' (not an insubstantial spirit, but like Jesus himself) and immortal. It will as far outshine the old body as a full-grown plant outshines the shriveled seed from which it grows. In the end, when Jesus comes to rule, death itself will be defeated. With Paul, we can sing a victory song of praise and thanksgiving to God.

Why?

We have hope that we will be resurrection like Jesus. Our physical body will perish and we will raise with a spiritual body. We have hope for the future so we should work hard for the Lord because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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復活的意義:初熟的果子,以後會有大批成熟的果子。復活的次序:耶穌基督,基督再來時屬基督的,末期時表示神要掌權,復活代表神的權柄。

復活的身體:日月星晨有不同的形體,與地上的不同,我們復活的身體無法用現在的經驗去想像。復活的是不朽壞的,復活的是榮耀的,復活的是強壯的,復活的是靈性的身體,不要因為我們不明白就不會發生。

復活的時候,神權柄勝過死亡:這是神永恆的計劃,完全永遠的掌權。我們現在所做的與將來有關!

交待:務要堅固,不可搖動,常常竭力多做主工

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How?

Jesus is our future and example, Jesus's dead conquered the sin, and Jesus's resurrection conquered the dead. So all followers of Jesus have the hope that we will raise from the dead like Him.

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