Welcome to the defender bible study. A weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is a ministry of Lifeline Children Services, where we believe that defending the fatherless begins by being rooted in God's word.

Alright. Welcome again to the Defender Bible Study. This is Rick Morton. Today is April 22nd 2024. Today, we're going to be in the latter part of chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians as we're coming to the close of our study.

And 1st Corinthians have one more one more chapter left in that. Last week, of course, we heard Blake as he taught about, the resurrection and and was, you know, helped us to to understand that, in fact, we have hope because of because of the resurrection of Christ. And so today, we're gonna we're gonna back up just a little bit beginning in verse 12, but we're gonna talk about this this idea of the resurrection of the dead that Paul delves into, and the major heresy in the church that he is speaking into here at the end of 1st Corinthians is this idea that, that people are saying that the resurrection isn't true. And so, as he begins to close out the book, he really begins to unpack all of the implications of if we believe that the resurrection is a myth, if we don't trust in the resurrection, then how our very faith falls apart, how the very story of the gospel falls apart, how essentially there is nothing for us to trust in if, if we if we fail to see and to believe in and to grasp the resurrection. And so verse 20 he says, Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ has been raised, and if not even Christ has been raised then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. Paul goes on to say that we are misrepresenting God if we've testified about God that He raised Jesus and He didn't. And so then Paul really introduces this idea about Jesus that, that in fact the resurrection of Jesus is, is what Paul calls the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. And I sort of think back to, I'm a city guy but was I married into a country family and so married into a family that had a small farm and every year I remember during planting season, my in laws would plant this enormous garden. It's funny to even call it a garden.

It was you know, it was just a huge plot of vegetables. And and I just I remember the pride that they had in the beginning of the season when when their their crops used to begin to produce the first of of just the incredible lusciousness that they would they would produce over the course of the summer. And so I remember seeing these, you know, like little bitty, sometimes almost worm eaten looking tomatoes and things that they would they would show off with pride. And and, the fact was that that their excitement about about that was not these little bitty tomatoes or these little tiny green beans or things that were that were coming from the garden, their excitement was that those were the first fruits and that they were only a sign of what was to come, the bounty that was gonna come out of that garden and how much we were gonna be able to enjoy that. And, you know, and that's that's what Paul is is telling us that that the resurrection of Jesus is, is that it is that it's the reminder to us that that only the beginning of what Christ has purchased in in his resurrection is that that this is only the beginning in in what we see, that, you know, that happened, that we celebrate on Easter, that Jesus getting up out of the grave is, it's it's that's the first fruits.

But that we have the promise that that ultimately death will hold none of us who are in Christ because of what Jesus has done, that that our, that our our loved ones that have gone on before us, that have, you know, that have died will live again, that they'll walk again, that everything that's been broken by the curse of sin that will be restored, everything that we walk in that's not as God intended it to be will be will will be made new. And and that as Sallie Lloyd Jones says in, the Jesus storybook bible that that all of the effects of the curse of sin will be made untrue. And so Paul just reminds us that, that through one man, through Adam, we begin this lineage of death and sin, but because of the God man, because of Jesus, we all who belong to Christ have the promise that God, can do what He says He can do, that He is who He says He is, and that Jesus has all authority to be able to rule and reign. Verse 27, it says, for God put all things in subjection under His feet, but when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that He accepted, who put all things under subjection, things in subjection under Him, when all things are subjected to Him then the Son Himself will be subjected to Him who put things in subjection under Him.

God may be all in all. And so then Paul says this really curious thing as we kind of round into today's passage in verse 29 it says, otherwise what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all then why are people baptized on their behalf? Now what Paul is not saying here is, is he's obviously not I think advocating for, is he's obviously not I think advocating for being baptized in for dead people. And he's not, he's not advocating for a practice of the baptism of the dead.

And I think the greatest evidence of that is the fact that nowhere else in the New Testament, does Paul teach that, does he write about that. And so I think what he, what he's speaking to is an error that was a part of the Corinthian church that was something that they were doing that in the grand scheme of things was pretty innocuous and it wasn't maybe that big a deal. Scholars they have variously sort of argued about what this might be about. But I think the most likely thing is it was people that were being baptized for those who had faith in Christ, but had had yet to be baptized and died. And so out of an abundance of caution, the church was was performing proxy baptism.

And, just as an aside, you know, I think this is, this is one of those things that we've seen in in doctrine that has been amplified as a heresy by those who are not true Christians. And so this is one of the things in in the Mormon church and the church of Jesus Christ of the Latter day Saints that is a that's become a core doctrine to them. That they practice proxy baptism and they're literally Mormon missionaries who are, who are supposed to be, you know, some of the most faithful of the faithful and the best of the best who, who their missionary service has actually served in the Mormon temple to be baptized on behalf of those who are not Mormons. You may know that ancestry.com, that the whole genealogy industry is really owned by the Mormon church. And the reason is, and the reason that they have such a, such a focus on this is because they believe that those who are not Mormons can be redeemed to be rescued from hell, rescued from eternity apart from their understanding of God if they're baptized after death.

And so, you know, this is about their way of trying to, sort of redeem the world. Now, what they believe is, is that those who are baptized by proxy don't have the ability to be able to, to ascend spiritually to the level that those who are true Mormons do. And they believe the only way you can be a true Mormon is to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ of the Latter day Saints and to be one who does good works. And and so, essentially, they're a faith that that does not believe the gospel. And and that's sort of been lost because they claim the name of Jesus Christ and they're really good moral people.

And, many of them we know and are in communities with, and know them to be good people. We know good politicians that are Mormons that we know take great moral stances. And and so there's been a lot of confusion, but but the truth is that Mormons are not Christian. And the reason that they're not Christian is because they don't believe, about the resurrection. They don't really believe about about Jesus, the Christ, as we see him presented in the new testament.

What they believe is is that that by obeying good works that they can earn their way to godhood. They believe that the the eternal destination is not life with Christ, life reigning with with God because of the work of Christ. What they believe is is that you can become the god of your own planet if you're good enough. And that's squarely not the gospel. And so it's funny that they take a passage of scripture that is intended to point to the essential nature of the resurrection, and they bend it all out of shape in order to point to a false doctrine that leads away from Christ that's built on good works.

Now, kind of return back to our topic, so you know Paul delves into this area about like people not believing the resurrection because it doesn't make sense. And he says, so how are the dead raised? What kind of body do they become? And He says, 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 that as He has chosen and to each, to each kind of seed its own body for not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, and another for animals, and 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 earth is another kind. In other words, what He is saying here is like in the natural mind, in the natural state of things understand the resurrection, we can't understand the miracle that's gonna happen in what we are going to be transformed to be as we reign with Christ, and as we are raised again as he says in verse 42, imperishable. And so he says, look we can't look at all this perishable stuff around us and understand the imperishable. That all of this is broken, in verse 43 says it's sown in dishonor, it's sown a natural body in verse 44, but ultimately that there's going to be a spiritual body that we're gonna be given, and this is because of the miracle in verse 45 that the first Adam became a living being.

That, and so this was all set in motion because God created Adam, but it was ultimately brought to culmination because the last the last Adam became a life giving spirit. In other words, because because Jesus was unique and because he because he he came to earth and because he lived in the midst of his creation. And so there's this incredible mystery that's created. And so he says 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.

So there's this day that we expect when Jesus is coming back and he's gonna reign again. And and the reason that we know that is because of the deposit that that God has made in the resurrection. And so Jesus has the power, to to ultimately reign and to institute finally His kingdom at in the last days. And the reason He doesn't and the reason He can is because He is who He said He is. And the evidence we have that he is who he said he is is the resurrection.

And so then we see this incredible quote that Paul kind of ends the passage with and he says, 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. And so sin and the law is not the final word. He says, Therefore my beloved and brethren be steadfast and moveable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

And so ultimately we keep doing what we're doing, we keep following Jesus, we keep being obedient, we keep caring for widows and orphans, we keep, we keep doing work that sometimes feels futile because sin seems overwhelming and the reason we do it is because we believe the resurrection. And we believe the resurrection because we believe Jesus and we trust that He's not only proven Himself in conquering death, but that He is who He says He is, that He is truly our God and our King.

So I hope you've been encouraged today by, the study in 1st Corinthians. We're gonna look forward to finish up next week in chapter 16, and then we're gonna be moving on to 2nd Corinthians. But, but today I hope that, that the truth of the resurrection will will help you, to endure in the midst of a world broken by sin and continue to press on to do those things that God has called us to do in order to put the gospel on display, in order to testify to the authenticity of who He is, and ultimately to point people to life that can only be found in Christ. I'm Rick Norder this has been the Defender Bible Study. We're thankful for your joining us and hope you'll join us back here again next week as we continue in our study of the book of 1st Corinthians.

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