tonight we continue our study in the book of first corinthians we conclude this great chapter chapter 15 and then next time we'll conclude the entire book i'm assuming chapter 16 but tonight i want to look at verses 50 through 58 of first corinthians chapter 15 first corinthians chapter 15 which is sort of a summary of everything that we have been considering in this great chapter that is found on page 1222 in your pew bible if you're looking for it this is verse 50 of first corinthians chapter 15 this is the word of the lord 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 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 oh death where is your victory oh 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 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 may the lord bless the hearing of his word well as we heard this morning there is a day a great day of darkness uh that is coming upon the whole earth and we had some kind of description given to us this morning in that ninth plague of exodus on what as to what that darkness will be like and what people will have to face so terrible will be that day that people will cry out all the nations of the earth for the rocks to fall on them and to hide them from the presence of the Lamb and His glory. A dreadful thought, if we think about it, something I don't like to think about a lot is just judgment and what will happen to people who don't believe. It brings us to the foot of the cross. It brings us to Christ and the resurrection to see how great the act is of His love that he would take that darkness upon himself so that we would never have to face that cursed day that way. I don't think, however, we give enough thought as to just what are the consequences that Jesus conquered. Sin, death, and the grave. What is the consequence of the fact that he became the curse for us so that we would never hear on that day, curse, depart from me, you cursed. I mean, think about what's been secured for you. Think about what he's done for you. One of the things the biblical writers wanted to do constantly was to teach the implications of all of this so that we would live in the joy and the comfort of all of this. This really is part two to this morning's message. So that you would understand what has been secured for you. What is yours in Christ having been joined to him by faith? union as we've considered jesus didn't go through this jesus didn't suffer these things jesus didn't take the darkness upon him just for us to stand back and say well he died for me he died for me he died for me the apostles want us to understand that when he died he rose and there are very amazing consequences to that for you blessings for you uh you should know what to expect you should know how to live in the interim and that's what we have tonight that's what paul's doing to conclude this paul's encouraging this church to tell them look let me explain for you let me summarize how this is all going to go and how you should live in the process how you should think in the process paul's concluding his teaching on the resurrection in verses 50 through 58 by providing a summary of everything that he's been saying that's important because we could get lost in all the details of this and miss as they say the the whole forest for the trees that really what we have here tonight is sort of a crescendo if you will it is a beautiful completion to this masterful chapter a glorious ending summarizing and explaining how everything is going to go for the children of the light how it's going to play out what's going to happen and that's important because i remember as a child growing up always wanting to know well what's going to go on what's going to go on and it seemed to me that very few would tell me it seemed to me that there was very little teaching on the end and how it would go and what must shortly come to pass and what i can expect while i'm expecting all these sort of things well tonight he encourages us and he has as the goal to motivate then how it should affect our thinking and living in light of what is shortly to come because if our hope is properly understood and if we live in the assurance of what the lord has accomplished for us, it will have a great effect on the present life and the things that I do and what I choose to do. So Paul is doing that tonight. He's explaining what we can expect while we are expecting. And if we put this in questions to the text, it would go something like this. When will this change occur? How can we be certain this change will occur? and what then should we do in the present when will this change occur how can we be certain and what should we do in the present you see that he begins a summary in verse 50 when he says now this i say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. He's been saying that. He drew a wonderful contrast last time in verse 42. And I thought verse 42 as we considered that last time was just so encouraging and glorious. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown perishable, what is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It's raised in power. It's sown in natural body. It's raised a spiritual body. The contrast that he's making there is with the body, not merely as it is creaturely in creation. I believe it's a mistake to only say that, by the way. The contrast is not just with the pre-fall Adam, man, and the resurrection man. Paul is being pastoral here, and he's explaining for us something that we all struggle with. Let me remind us what the context is here. Remember in Corinth, they were really wrestling with the Gnostic view of the body. And that what is wrong with the body is that it's the body itself, and all of its appetites and all of its desires are evil. and therefore the body is evil and we need to be set free from this cage, this prison house. We've got to get to pure spirit being. There are different variations of this. But Paul is presenting, by and large, a very positive view of the body, isn't he? A very positive view of the body. But he's explaining for them now what caused the problem for the body. Verse 56. sin he says it sin he is telling us what ultimately led the penalty for sin which ultimately led to the great problem that we're all dealing with right now and it is death yes the body was sown a natural body but as sin entered in by the first adam the corruption of the body due to sin is what has dominated man's life god's dealt inwardly by raising your souls you know that that's regeneration that's the new birth now in the body we're called to fight sins of the body sin in the body that's why we face corruption it's the same word that he chose in verse 42 there uh that he uses again in verse 50 to say what we know takes place in our bodies this corruption this corruptible process is because of sin that ultimately leads to death so when he says here at the beginning of verse 50 as he begins his conclusion and he says flesh and blood does not enter nor that which is corrupt can enter all he's saying is man in his present existence due to sin cannot inherit the kingdom of God. He can't enter into glory this way. We can't enter into glory like we are right now. It's absolutely impossible. Our present existence, our bodily existence because of sin makes that an impossibility. Verse 5, he wants to make sure, notice there in verse 50 and 56 and 57, he wants to make sure that we understand this you see here is how he answers their concern that basically said to paul okay paul you have this really high view of the body we're being told by all these teachers that the body itself is evil and paul is essentially saying it's not the body that's evil it's that sin has wrecked the body this is the problem sin has wrecked the body the corruption we're experiencing the problems we're experiencing is not because god made something evil god made everything good whatever you're experiencing in your bodies whatever frustrations whatever hardships whatever weakness whatever corruption whatever natural process of falling apart which we all know now is due to sin and you have to strive this is why the new man strives now to put to death the deeds of the what body romans 8 by the spirit if you mortify you kill the deeds of the body you'll live that that's the the striving to put off all these these lusts and things that are going on in our bodies the inward man has been renewed by the spirit we're struggling with the body because of sin the body of sin paul even calls it elsewhere and that's why we struggle think about it because of sin this is why we face sickness this is why you're weak in your bodies we looked at this last time this is why you struggle with ongoing sin in your bodies in other words it's because death is happening and because sin is brought and leading it to death all of the discouragements that accompany your bodily existence in the present form what paul says in verse 50 is is why you can't enter into glory just as you are just as you are can't happen so paul's been telling us that's why resurrection's needed paul's telling us that's why you need to be raised up you need to have a brand new body your body your very body he's been telling us that but it needs to be changed it needs to be fit for glory to enter into that glory you need to have a body that can handle and fit that eternal habitation that god has prepared for those who love him and paul said that elsewhere we in second corinthians um our habitation is from heaven we want to be further clothed that mortality may be swallowed up by life and god's prepared that for you god's prepared that for you and maybe that'll help you now a little bit with the heidelberg that's so encouraging when it says if christ is paid for our sin why must we still die we still have to die What is the answer of the Heidelberg? Because we're finally putting off forever sin. We're no longer ever going to have to sin. We put it away forever and we're entering into glory in a brand new resurrected body and that will be your eternal existence with no more of these problems. None. How exciting. How wonderful. The resurrection body will never again have the potential to no corruption it will be raised totally incorruptible it will be raised in sheer unending explosive explosive power he says it will be a spiritual body your body but a spiritual body fit for an eternal glory dwelling before the light forever and ever where there's no need of sun you know i've come to the conclusion as a pastor and pastor donovan and i have talked about this that the lord sometimes will put people in our midst that teach us things that test our hearts people with real trials people with real needs people with real infirmities and they test our attitudes and they test our hearts i hope i'm not out of line tonight but i'm going to mention one you know he sits in the hospital right now his body you know he goes through major struggles in his body that brother is so cheerful every morning you know he's the first one to greet me over there wants to shake my hand and say pastor how are you pastor blessings on your preaching today something they don't even know what's fully going on in his body right now he's broke something they're working to help him i don't have to speak too much about his struggles tonight can you imagine you get an idea of this can you imagine that brother raised an explosive unending power a body fit for eternal glory you have questions about that i have questions about that that's why it's harder for the healthy to to think about this that's why i said sometimes the lord tests us with people who have greater infirmities to show our own hearts what will it be like what will it be like when it happens it leads paul tonight to this beautiful exciting conclusion that is meant to stimulate our hope and reorient us to what we ought to be thinking a lot about and living for. That's what he's doing. So he says in verse 51, behold, I tell you a mystery. I've got something beautiful to say. I've got something to be revealed to you. This is for you. It's your time. I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and then the dead in Christ are going to rise and be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. I want everyone tonight to catch what your hope is for. You know why when these little kids write books and they say we went up into heaven and talked about all these things, you want to know why that's the biggest chicanery ever? Because that's not our hope. None of that. He's trying to describe things that Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11 and when he went up into third heaven, he wouldn't even talk about because it's not profitable. That's not the end story. Stay away from that junk. It's what it is. Somebody making a lot of money on people. Notice what he says. Where is our hope? What are we looking for? When your loved one dies in the Lord, some of you have had spouses die, sons, daughters die. Your hope is not what they call the intermediate state. You understand that? Your hope is not the intermediate state. Our hope, their hope, is not the intermediate state. That's right now. Yes, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Amen. But it's not a complete project. And our hope is not on an incomplete project. We need to be clear. When people die, they are not in heaven dancing with Jesus. They're with Jesus. But they are longing for something. They are wanting something more. They are saying, how much longer? And he says, well, I see I've got all these people who still need to come in yet. They don't have their eternal tent yet. Paul is saying to you tonight, your hope is the sound of the trumpet. Did you get that? That's your hope. That one day a sound is going to blow, a trumpet's going to blow, and everyone's going to hear it. There's no secret rapture of the church. There's nothing secret about it. Everyone's going to hear this trumpet. It comes right out of Jesus' mouth, of course, in Matthew 24, when He said, One day when we least expect it, there's going to be the sounding of a trumpet. Same trumpet, not different trumpets. Everyone is going to hear it. And listen to how the events will unfold. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, you're living in that tribulation, by the way. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened. There it is. The moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven. So the very time clocks, if you will, for days and seasons and months and years are now removed out of the place and you've entered into eternity. No need for that. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. He's riding on his glory cloud. He's coming down and everyone will see the sign of the Son of Man coming down on the clouds of heaven with great glory. And that is for non-believers. They are terrified at that moment. They're crying out for the rocks to fall on them and hide them because the one they spent their whole life hardening and rejecting has just shown his face. But then the New Testament writers want to make sure you understand what's going to happen to you. when He comes in all of this glory and fire and power, He's come to give you rest. That's 1 Thessalonians 1. And Jesus says He's going to send His angels to the four corners of the earth. They're going to go to Africa. They're going to go to China. They're going to go to Escondido. And they're going to gather together His elect from the four winds of heaven. The trumpet summons us. And Paul gives further detail when he says when it sounds all of the dead are going to be raised in Christ incorruptible. No more misery. Mortality has put on immortality. Their souls, those who've died, will come back with Jesus and He's going to pull their bodies. Whatever mess they've been in, remember, it's no problem for Him to reassemble. He created in the first place. No problem for Him to put back together. He's going to raise those very bodies out of the ground. Their souls are going to be reunited with their bodies. But something really glorious is said in the midst of this. But I've got something really exciting to tell you. Not all of you are going to have to go through that. Some of you are going to be alive when He comes. One generation will not have to die. And in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when that trumpet sounds, I can't snap. As good as I can do it. you're changed the word there so fascinating it's that it's the quickest moment of time ever possible changed done it's over you realize that could happen at any moment here's what paul wanted where he wanted to take us tonight here's his goal he wants us to understand that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has secured for you the greatest victory. When the trumpet sounds, the last enemy is swallowed up forever. You see, He dealt with your sin at the cross. He dealt with Satan. Yes, there's an ultimate crushing of Him. But in principle, Satan's dealt with. In principle, death's dealt with. But you know the one thing that we still struggle with is the fear of death. You know you go through that. I go through it. I'm not talking about fear of judgment beyond death. I do believe when people sin, it's easy to fall back into questioning, am I a child of God and is God going to judge me? And that is a struggle with belief. And you know what 1 John has told you to do. You should stop sinning and you should go to Him and you should ask Him for forgiveness and He's faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. That's what you do. Stop. That's what I'm talking about. Unless I'm one of those who is blessed to witness the second coming, my grandma told me my generation would be, so it must be true, right? Every generation's thought that their grandkids will see it, by the way. Unless I'm one of those that will be here, unless you are one of those that will be here, if you're not, you still have to die. You hate that thought. I hate that thought. It's a terrible enemy. Man, it's a terrible enemy. It's likely there will be no two deaths that are the same in this body, by the way. A million ways that great enemy can strike tonight. A million ways. It doesn't care about your age either. Did you know that? Somebody once wrote, there's a preacher of the old school, but he speaks boldly as ever. He's not popular though. He's not popular though this world is his parish. And he travels every part of the globe and speaks in every language. He visits the poor. He calls upon the rich. Preaches to people of every religion and no religion. And the subject of his sermon is always the same. He is an eloquent preacher. Often stirring feelings which no other preacher could. bringing tears to eyes that never weep. His arguments none are able to refute. You can't get mad. You can't stop this preacher. Nor is there any heart that has remained unmoved by the force of his appeals. He chapters life with his message. Most people hate him. Everyone fears him. His name? Death. Every tombstone is his pulpit. Every newspaper prints his text. And someday, every one of you will be his sermon. How does it make you feel? It should tick you off. It should make you angry. That that looms over your heads. You might not get up tomorrow. I've seen a healthy man go to sleep and never get up again in my ministry. I've seen him strike children. I've seen that preacher. He is relentless. How wonderful is the gospel of God. Amen? When Jesus comes, corruption's done. All mortality, all death is cast away forever. And our preacher, Jesus, casts down that preacher enemy forever. He kills him. One of the greatest joys that we cannot imagine is living every day of our existence away from the face of that enemy. You don't know how much that enemy troubles you. You don't know. Every night you go, lock your doors. There was a helicopter flying over this whole area the other day. And all I could hear was, come out of the ditch or we're releasing the canine. Darcy was panicked, of course. what do you think i'm doing walking my doors because in that could have been the enemy of death coming for me that night never again to know that never again to fear that never again an accident taking a two-year-old never again cancer stealing a loved one behold i create new heavens, said Isaiah, and a new earth. The former things shall not be remembered or come into mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy and her people to be gladness. No more miserable people. I will rejoice in Jerusalem. I will be glad in my people. No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not fill out his days for the young man shall die a hundred years old it's using here all this poetic language you describe it's never going to go on a sinner a hundred years old shall shall be accursed they shall build houses and inhabit them they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit they shall not build and another inhabit they shall not plant and another eat for like the days of a tree shall be the days of my people and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands they shall labor not labor in vain or bear children for calamity what a promise the Old Testament held out all the Old Testament prophets longing for the defeat of death in fact you notice what Paul cites there oh death where is your sting where is your victory do you know where that's taken Hosea. He's mocking. Listen to this. Listen to Hosea 13. I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. Oh, death, listen, I will be your plagues. Well, that takes on some meaning. Oh, grave, I will be your destruction. Pity is hidden from my eyes for you. That's his sermon to death. That's speaking to you, O Israel of God. You say, how do I know it's true? How do I know it will be? It's the Gospel you've always been taught. He says in v. 56, the sting of death was brought about by what? Sin. And that's what led to all the corruption. And God has steadily and carefully shown you through His law, that's why he published his law by the way God published his law the ultimate intention of the law was to show the strength of sin is the law the law shows you what's wrong with you and Paul said the law shows the exceeding sinfulness of sin I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said thou shall not covet the law opened all that up for you God taught you what the problem was sin reigned and look at what he's done the capstone of joy to this whole chapter is this it all comes down to this but sin reigned death reigned our bodies were full of corruption but thanks be to god we are so thankful to god says paul we've got a lot of thanksgiving to give to god says paul because he gave us a special gift of his grace he gave us something you know what he gave us out of the abundant storehouse of his goodness out of the wonderful good treasure of his good pleasure he gave you the victory he handed you the victory he didn't earn it you didn't merit it you didn't do anything to get it your life was not victorious he handed you a victorious life that's how the victorious life of jesus christ thanks be to god who gives us the victory in him in jesus and he handed you that as a gift that's your god what the law could not do what sin wrecked god did in his son and handed it to you breaking out of the tomb on the third day extending his hand of forgiveness to you giving you faith so that you would have a victorious christian life in him because it's his victorious life and you participate in that you share in that resurrection glory there remains an inheritance set apart for you the trumpet one day is going to sound and he's going to give you a body just like his so that you can be with him forever and ever that's your god that's how marvelous he's been to you. Sometimes I feel like I keep saying all these things. We keep rehearsing all these things. We keep preaching all these things. And I wonder, are we like a bunch of spoiled young people yet to appreciate what God's done? Sometimes I look at young people in the Christian church and I think everything's been handed to them. They've had everything. They've never had to work for anything. They've had everything in their life paid for, all their schooling, all this and that and everyone's worried about them. Everybody caters to them and we have all these servants, older people in their lives who care about them, who will do anything for them, who will provide for them, who will feed them, who will have outings for them, who have had endless youth groups for them and I'm wondering, have they ever stopped and said thank you? What more can he say than to you he has said? Then I think, have I stopped and said thank you to him? You should know him in the power of his resurrection. If you want to say thank you tonight, let me give it to you. Verse 58, you could memorize this week. It comes with a great therefore. If this is all true, You'll be raised gloriously in power. No more sin. It was all gift. No more sting of death because you enjoy the love of God. You want to say thank you? You really mean it? You want to go live a thankful life? Do you really mean it? Therefore, my beloved brethren, a church full of messes, Paul speaks like that. My brothers, verse 58, be steadfast. Immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I just love that verse. Your whole life of sanctification is just motivated by rooting it in the sure victory of Christ and the resurrection glory that set out for you because of your union with Jesus. How can you thank Him? Here's how. You can this week be steadfast. you can have your feet firmly planted in Him. You've heard of the ways of darkness. You've heard of drinking parties. You've heard of all the things that are of darkness and moral living. Patterns of thinking that are of the darkness. Joining with the world. Doing things with the world. You could continue to do those things, but then you're not really a thankful person at all. But if you're truly thankful, you could plant your feet strong. Be immovable. So that whatever you experience in life, whatever tests and temptations, whatever hardships, whatever false doctrines are coming at you that the Corinthians had to deal with, whatever struggles in your bodies that hit you this coming week, don't be tossed everywhere from them. You should be firm in your walk. You should be great conviction in your hearts because God's loved you this way. Showing you the light. You shouldn't be running around in doubt and despair. You shouldn't be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but you should remain strong in His grace because that's what He's held out to you. Always abounding in His work. Isn't that a great encouragement? You know, idle people fall prey to the devil. God's given you work. Truth doesn't make you lazy. It doesn't produce a carefree life of eat, drink, and be merry. You should be filling your hearts with doing His work and your lives. One pastor said, He has so abundantly overdone Himself for you who deserves nothing from Him. Who deserve nothing from Him. We should determine to overdo ourselves in His service to Him to whom we owe everything. Not for salvation, but just to be thankful. And then He encourages us by saying, I want you to know that when you're working, it's not in vain. I notice it. I see your good works. I'm watching them. What an encouragement. I know this. You're good work. We continue to press on knowing, as Paul says, we have not yet attained, but we press forward laying hold of that for which Christ has already laid hold of for us. I pray this encourages you tonight to keep your heart set on heavenly things. For soon, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in glory and He has promised you that He's going to transform your lowly bodies and make them just like His body to be with Him in glory forever. Ever before the glory of His light enjoying Him in eternity. Let's thank Him tonight. Gracious Heavenly Father, we confess that we are not very thankful at times for all that You've done. You handed us the victory. You secured for us the victory. Not our victorious Christian life because our lives have been a mess. But the victorious life of Jesus who fulfilled righteousness and took on that darkness and rose triumphant and handed us His victorious life so that we have this future mapped out sure and certain for us. We praise You and thank You tonight and ask that we would give serious thought to verse 58 of how we could be thankful in this life. To be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that whatever we do in Christ, in those good works prepared beforehand that we should walk in them are not in vain in the Lord. And in Your praise tonight and in thanksgiving, we pray all of these things. blessing you in your name for your wondrous love. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.