Loved ones, would you turn with me in the Word of God to the New Testament epistle of 1 Corinthians. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and I will read beginning in verse 12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, But He did not raise Him, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through 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 his own turn. Christ the firstfruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come. When he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, 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. 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. 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. And if you would skip down to verse 50. I declare to you, brothers, 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. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 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. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? So far the reading of God's holy and infallible Word. May He bless it to our hearts by the power of His Spirit. Well, 1 Corinthians 15 is indeed one of the greatest chapters of the Bible. And if you're familiar with 1 Corinthians, you know that the Apostle Paul is writing to this church that he cares very much about, that he helped plant, and now he is fixing all sorts of problems. There was all sorts of things going wrong in this church. Immorality, licentiousness, abuse of the sacraments, abuse of spiritual gifts, on and on. And he writes chapter after chapter trying to fix these problems and set the Corinthians back on their course. And then he comes to chapter 15 and he really saves the most important thing for last. And it's this problem that many of the Corinthians had embraced, this false teaching. And the teaching was simply this. It was that you will not be resurrected from the dead in your body. The Corinthians believed in salvation. They believed that Christ had died for their sins and that through faith alone they would receive that righteousness. They would receive the grace that God had announced so clearly in Christ. But the idea for them that your soul would be reunited with a physical body was preposterous. And the reason for that was that in their minds, the false teachers that is, they had taught that everything that was physical and material was evil and everything that was immaterial and what they understood to be spiritual was good. And so the idea that your body, this physical thing, would be reunited with your soul, an immaterial thing, was ridiculous to them. And so Paul is writing to them to fix this problem and to teach them that we are indeed risen from the dead on the last day, that that is when our redemption is complete. Paul is arguing for the resurrection and showing that in the resurrection of Christ that death is defeated as body and soul are reunited forever. And so, think with me in this text of verses 20-28, which will be our text for this evening. Think with me in terms of the doom of death, the destruction of death, and finally, the dominion of God. Now, before we get to that, I'd like to add an extra point. You might want to pin this in if you're taking notes on your outline. And that would be the definition of death. I know there's all these D's. It just worked out that way. The definition of death. What is death? What is death exactly? When we think on death, that is not a pleasant subject. It's not something we generally like to talk about. And it's interesting because death is something that comes to us all. Unless the Lord comes for us first in all of His glory and splendor and we remain alive on that day, we will experience death. It's as certain as the day we were born. In fact, it's been said that when you're born, you begin a funeral march to your grave. And every day we live, we are one day closer to that day we depart this earth the day we die. Today when we woke up. We all were one day closer. Even now, we are one hour closer to that day when we die. And again, as we think on death, we are typically not very comfortable. Even as believers who know that we have been given eternal life by God, by His grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, nevertheless, the thought of death makes us feel very uneasy. Why is that? Again, what is death? Well, if we were to define it, we must first look at what death is not. And death is not that which the world commonly views it as. Just the cessation of existence. You know, the world typically thinks of death as just, well, that's the end and that's it, it's over. You know, you're born, you live, you go to school, you get a job, you try to succeed, you buy a house, you get married, and you enjoy your family, and then you die, and that's it. You just cease to exist. Well, that's not what death is. Nor is death the idea that it is the circle of life. You know, it's something that's part of life. It's inherent in life. And that when you die, well, you've just completed the circle. That's not what death is. That might make a nice song, but it's not what death is. What is death? Well, the Bible speaks often and openly about death. And it actually speaks of three types of death. The first death it speaks of is spiritual death. Spiritual death. That death that Adam experienced in the garden. When he sinned. When he disobeyed God. When he lost that communion that he enjoyed with God. Spiritual death. And all men have this spiritual death. And that is why Jesus said you must be born again. Now for the Christians, spiritual death has been overcome when we have been born again by God. When He regenerates us by His Spirit, He renews our hearts and gives us faith, and He opens our eyes to the Gospel, and unites us to Christ, we've been made alive together with Christ because of His resurrection. But the Bible also speaks of eternal death. The final state of eternal torment in which God's justice will forever be satisfied. That is what the Bible also calls the second death. Now that too, for the Christian, we have no fear of eternal death. For Christ has already suffered eternal death for us when He suffered it upon the cross. As our catechism puts it so nicely, that is what we mean when we say He descended into hell. that He experienced our hell for us as He experienced the wrath of God there as He hung upon the cross. Well, we have no need to fear eternal death for we won't face it. But the third type of death that the Bible speaks of is physical death. Now, surely physical death is something that all of us still must face. While we've been rescued from spiritual death and we will never face eternal death, Again, all of us will face physical death. And the Bible describes physical death simply like this. It's the separation of body and soul. The separation of body and soul. All men are made up of body and soul. When Adam sinned and died spiritually in the garden, he also began to die physically. And now physical death is part of the curse of sin. And physical death is something that is very hostile. It's very foreign to us. It is not something natural. It's something that we grieve over. And again, even as Christians, when we go to a funeral, it is right for us to cry. It is right for us to feel sadness. Even if the person is a believer and we know we will be reunited to them and we know that their soul immediately goes to be with the Lord in glory and splendor and they are free from all pain and sorrow and they will have a resurrected body on the last day, still it is very sad. And it's because physical death is something unnatural. It's not what God designed from the beginning. It's not how He intended man to live, to die, to be separated body and soul. Well, death is different, of course, for the believer because of the Gospel. And the glory of the Gospel is that Christ Jesus physically died a real human death and yet rose again from the dead in a body glorious and incorruptible. And because He did so, all those that are His shall do so as well. For we are united to Him. And His resurrection means our resurrection. As our catechism puts it nicely in question 45, there's three benefits of Christ's resurrection. And a third is that His resurrection is a sure pledge of our blessed resurrection. And so we face death differently than the world does. Sure, it's sad and it's hostile and we don't like it, yet we have hope, the hope of the resurrection. And so that is death defined. But notice that death has been doomed because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look in verses 20-23, where Paul points out, he says, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and He's become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. How is death doomed? Sentenced to death in Christ's work? Well, let's think about again, where did death come from? It came from the first Adam in paradise when he broke that covenant that he was in with God. When he disobeyed. And so now we have a second Adam. The last Adam. The Lord Jesus Christ. And He, Paul tells us, fulfilled that which the first Adam did not fulfill. You see Paul here, he's using an analogy. He's showing parallels between Adam and Christ. He's showing that condemnation and justification, those things are the direct fruits of the actions of Adam and Christ. There is representation taught here. Adam represented all of physical humanity. And when he fell, we fell. In Adam's fall, sinned we all, as the Puritans would say. But then when Christ fulfilled that which he was sent to do, well, he represented all of the church, all of those that are in him. Everyone who would ever believe on the Lord Jesus Christ has justification because of what Christ has done. They are federal heads, as we say in theology. Representatives of us. Christ is the head of His church, His bride. And this is important for us to understand, beloved. Important, because it shows that through the last Adam, we are no longer on probation. We are not on the starting line, as we spoke of this morning. When we are justified, it is a verdict and a declaration by God that we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And Christ crossed the finish line. And when He crossed the finish line, all of us who are in Him crossed the finish line as well. He passed the test that Adam failed. And we got what he got. Children, you might think of if you had to have someone take a test for you, and it was an important test, and maybe in order for you to pass your grade and go into the next grade with all of your friends, if someone was going to take that test, you'd want the best person taking that test for you, right? Especially if it was a test that you know you can't pass. You got an F on the test, and you're stuck with this horrible looking F. And then someone comes along and gets a perfect A, an A plus, 100%. And they give you that grade. It's yours because of what that person did. Well, that's kind of like what it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. He passed the test. He finished. He crossed the finish line with flying colors, got an A plus in everything in God's law. And He gives it to you simply through faith. And so we're not on probation. We're not waiting for God to smack us and to send us back to the finish line because Christ has completed these things for us. And He's become the first fruits, Paul says. The first fruits. Now what is that? Well, that's an imagery that Paul is using, of course, speaking of agriculture. You know, planting a crop. When you plant a crop, first there's no sign of life in that field, is there? It's just a field of dirt. And then come harvest time, there's the first few crops that pop up. And that's a representation of all the rest that are yet to come. It's a sure sign that the rest are coming. And that's what the Lord Jesus Christ is. The first fruits. In fact, Paul is also using this to refer to a feast. of first fruits that Israel kept in Leviticus chapter 23. There God commanded Israel to keep a feast that at harvest time when the first fruits popped up from the field, they were to take that first fruit, they were to give it to the priest, and the priest would go before God and he would wave it to be accepted on the people's behalf that he might bless the rest of the harvest. And that is what the Lord Jesus Christ is, the first fruits. He's come up, risen from the dead, defeated death in His resurrection. And it's a sure pledge, a sure sign that all the rest of the harvest will rise again from the dead as well, just as He did. What's even more amazing about that feast is the fact that the priest was to do it on the day after the Sabbath, on Sunday. And of course, it is Sunday when the Lord Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. And He was supposed to do it on the day after Passover Sabbath. And that is exactly when the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. On the Sunday after Passover Sabbath. And so He is the firstfruits. He was accepted by the Lord. And therefore, we are accepted. We is the harvest, His church. We are accepted and we shall rise again even as He did. Christ, the sheaf, the firstfruits, accepted as a pure offering and a perfect sacrifice and standing as a sure pledge of our acceptance and resurrection. And so we too, as the harvest, we will be risen from the dead, for we're connected to Him. We're united to Him. Therefore, because of that fact, because we know that death has been doomed and we shall rise again from the dead, well, we have hope as we approach death. Look at the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not dead. He's living. And He's in a real body. Seated at the right hand of the Father. Right now. He's in a real body. And loved one, you too will be in a real body. It's inevitable. You must be in a real body. Because the first fruits, the Lord Jesus Christ, is in a real body. You will experience that life as well. And so we can approach death, even in all of its sorrow, with great hope. With great hope. And we know that this is why Paul could say that to die is to gain. To depart and be with Christ is better. So we see the doom of death. That death is sentenced to be destroyed. But then notice also, on our third point, that death will be destroyed on the last day. Look in verse 24. He says, then comes the end. That is, after Christ, the firstfruits, comes back at His coming. Then comes the end when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power, for He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. Paul's point is that in the resurrection of Christ, God has set into motion a chain of events that must end, must culminate in the final destruction of death. There will be a time when there will be no more death. No more separation of body and soul. And that comes at the end. On the last day. The end of all human history. The end of all this world's drama since creation. the consummation of all things in a time when the world will then be resurrected in newness and in glory and it will mark the end of God's patient, long-suffering since the fall of man. And we look forward to that. We look forward to the end. Because for centuries, Christ's church has looked to that day when the Lord Jesus Christ will return and put an end to suffering and an end to this veil of tears. The church has struggled on century after century in a world and an age filled with evil influences, difficulties, evil principles, evil men, evil powers. The church has cried out, How long, O Lord? The saints have cried, Come quickly, Lord Jesus. It's perseverance in a world of pain and hate and hurt and bloodshed and murders and meanness and selfishness and all that is opposed to God as it's struggled along. All that is in the heart of every man and even the pain and sadness of the separation at death. Well, all these things will come to an end on the last day. All of these things will be brought to a close. And there will be no more sadness. There will be no more pain. No more tears. And this happens again when Christ returns for His bride. And His bride is resurrected and death is finally destroyed. And we are given glorious bodies. Real bodies. Fit for the glory of the age to come. When He returns to this earth that was once the scene of His torment and sorrow. But then will be the scene of His victory. that day when death will finally be destroyed and everything that has exalted itself against Him will be brought to an end. And no more, loved ones, will there be a grave for anyone. There will never be a tomb in sight. There will never be a whisper or a hint of decay or death. There will only be life and it will be abundant and beautiful and an awesome display of God's recreative power. And that is what we wait for. Now at this point, we might ask to ourselves, well, why is it that God has conquered spiritual death for us and eternal death for us, but we still have to face this physical death? We still have to walk through this door, so to speak, as we wait for that glorious end, that glorious age. And the reason for that is that we are awaiting for the redemption of the body and it has pleased God to allow things like sin and suffering and death to remain in this world as means of our sanctification. And even as we think on death, this most unpleasant subject, even as we perhaps approach death, as we draw nearer to death, or we have a loved one who is close to death, Well, what does that typically do? That causes us to think on Christ. At least it should, as His children. If you're in a situation where you start to think about the reality of death, what do you do? If you're in a plane and you hit some wild turbulence over a dark ocean, and the plane's going up and down and moving all around, and you start thinking, this could be it. Everyone's eyes start getting a little wider. people are buckling their seatbelts you know the feeling what do you typically do? do you claim your righteousness? I'm thankful that I've read my bible this week and I'm in God's favor because of that of course not what do you do at that moment you can confess only the righteousness of Christ and be thankful for his work his resurrection the fact that he rose from the dead and he's real now in a body, living and interceding for you. And that you may shortly go to be with Him. You are so thankful simply for what He has done. As we think on death, it causes us to rely on the Lord, to trust in Christ's merit. It is indeed a supreme test of our faith. And God uses it for our sanctification as we await that final day when death will be destroyed completely. On that last day, death will be destroyed, forever put away. And notice that Paul says God will have dominion. Look in verse 27. He says, For He has put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it is evident that He who put all things under Him is accepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, and then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him, who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. The chain of events that were set in motion by the resurrection of Christ conclude in this final destruction of death and God once again, as in eternity past, being all in all. God, of course, is the supreme and sovereign King and Ruler over all the universe that He has made. But we must be clear, there is a very strong sense in which He is not all in all. Because everything that He rules over is not in perfect submission to Him, is it? He has many rebellious subjects, many people who have their backs turned on Him, many people who rise themselves up against Him. Even us, as believers, we don't love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul. with all of our mind. And yet there will be a day, loved ones, when those things will be so. When there won't be a whisper of rebellion anywhere. When God will be all in all, everything to everyone. When we will love Him perfectly with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind. When God will be the one who has perfect dominion over everything. And again, what will this be like? Well, it will be a resurrected earth with resurrected heavens wherein only righteousness dwells. No sin, no Satan, no flesh, no wickedness to contend with and certainly not any death. And Christ, having accomplished all His work, all of His messianic reign that He is now reigning in, well, on that day when He brings all of human history to a close in this present evil age and ushers in the glorious new age of a resurrected world, well, then He's going to give everything back to the Father where His reign has been merged with the reign of the eternal Godhead. That's what Paul says here. Now, as eternal Son, Christ will still reign and rule with authority. But as the man, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and King. He's the leader of the new humanity. And He takes His place with us. That place that Adam would have taken had he remained obedient to that covenant God placed him in. What a wonderful thing. What a wonderful time. We have expectancy for that we will walk with the Lord Jesus in that day. And in that day, we will know that the ideal of psalm 8 will be fully realized we then will take up that song as we will be with our redeemer and his company and we will sing when i consider your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him for you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor you've made him to have dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under His feet, all sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth. On that day, man then will once again fully enjoy the status bestowed upon him as in the garden before the fall. On that day, we will never again have to worry about being separated, body and soul. We'll never again have to seize pain or sorrow or death for Christ has passed probation for us and then will lead us and He has put death to death. And we will be safe and secure forever. We're in a place where God is all in all and we will enjoy perfect dominion over all God's creation. All things then brought back to their alone beginning and end. And God will be everything to everyone. What a concept. Does that comfort you as you think on that? That death has been put to death and you look to a day when God will have perfect dominion and you will enjoy that with Him on a new earth? Does your heart leap when you ponder a world where God is all in all? Where there is no more wickedness, no more sorrow, no more sin to contend with? Do you look forward to this happening? Do you look with anticipation to what lies beyond the grave? Or do such thoughts terrify you? Our end might be closer than we realize, loved ones. God has appointed a day for every one of us. to depart this earth and to die. And we don't know when that day is. We should not cringe at the thought of death as some invading tyrant coming to get us. Rather, we should be comforted knowing that for the believer, death is doomed. And that death, eternal death, cannot touch us. For that sting has been removed. It's now like a snake with no venom. It cannot hurt us. For the wrath of God has forever been turned away from us because Christ has satisfied God's wrath in our place. We now may anticipate a day when death shall be no more. A day when there will be no more tears, no more sorrow. Oh, what anticipation we have as we look for such things. May we be comforted even now. Amen. Lord, we thank You for the Gospel. We thank You, O Lord, that death has been put to death and will finally be destroyed on the last day and a day when we will enjoy perfect dominion with You forever and always. Lord, may we be comforted as we persevere in this life and as we wait for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we be joined as the harvest to the firstfruits, the Lord Himself. Lord, we thank You that You have given us His righteousness because of His resurrection, that even now we are resurrected to new life and that we have this sure pledge of our blessed resurrection on the last day. Lord, comfort us, we pray, as we go forward this week to serve You. May You works of gratitude in our hearts and in our lives throughout this week, we pray, in response to this grace. We pray it in the name of Christ. Amen.