February 2011
Monthly Archive
Wed 23 Feb 2011
This week I am feeling scattered. There are several large projects (work and personal) in which I am the lead. I feel that any one of them is manageable but when I try to do one – the others start coming to mind, distracting from my focus. When this happens the secondary, not-even-important, small projects of things I could be doing also clutter my thinking.
I have tried various methods to manage this – like assigning specific days to specific projects. The idea being that I am trying to discipline myself to look only at the one for today with the assurance that the others will get their turn. The unfortunate thing is that my mind does not obey my intellect.
What am I to do? The amount of information and ways and methods of accomplishment are swirling around in my head causing a total inability to do ANY of the projects.
This all seems to come back to having too many interests and not enough life to devote to any.
Tue 22 Feb 2011
I’m playing single dad last night and tonight. Dinner, Dogs and Daughter. I decided to work from home today in order to maximize my total productivity during this day.
Yes, I have accomplished a lot – but then I haven’t. I can’t tell if there are fewer distractions or more as compared to sitting in my little cubicle. A nap also sounds kind of nice. Alas, there will be no such luxury. Now let’s see if I can keep my back from the same level of agony I end up with by the end of each workday. That alone would make the day sweet!
Fri 18 Feb 2011
1 Corinthians 16:1-24
“With Regards…”
Date: 20-Feb-11
Purpose (Why am I teaching this lesson? What effect did the writer expect it to have on the recipients?)
The purpose of this lesson is to understand the active responsibility of being a believer
Theme (What central idea does this passage communicate?)
Conclusionary exhortations
Introduction
Review & Homework:
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Outline
A. Salutations & Reminders (v1:1-1:9)
B. Divisions within the church (v1:10-4:21)
C. …of conduct unbecoming a believer (v5:1-13) {church discipline}
D. Dealing with offenses in The Body (v6:1-11)
E. The bondage of sexual sin (v6:12-20)
– Now For The Matters You Wrote About –
F. Marriage, Divorce & Singleness (v7:1-40)
G. Christian Liberty (v8:1-11:1)
H. Order in Worship (v11:2-14:40)
I. On Resurrection (v15:1-58)
Ü J. Conclusion (v16:1-24)
1. A collection for the poor (v1-4)
2. Paul’s plans to visit (v5-12)
3. Final Exhortations (v13-24)
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Homework
- Read 1 Corinthians 16
- Review your notes and come prepared to share how God used this study of 1 Corinthians to speak to you.
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Nine months ago I embarked on leading this study in the book of 1 Corinthians. You may not recall, but the first week I had planned to cover the first 9 verses of chapter 1. They were all salutary verses, obligatory in a letter. In 1½ hours we did not make it past verse 3. The reason?
We were trying to understand why Paul, with all sincerity of heart would call those in Corinth SAINTS. There is no doubt to any scholar that this letter was written to a bunch of misfits. They were divisive. They were selfish. They were greedy, immoral, self-righteous and proud. They brought the ways of their culture into their church. They abused the grace of God with all forms of license. The women flaunted their independence at God’s order. The men had no qualms about taking their fellow believers to court to get what was due them, or practicing the immoral ways of their culture. They were out for themselves.
Paul called them saints.
I could take the self-righteous approach and reproach them for things I would never do. But you know what? I have committed many of the exact offenses. I am in their class.
Positionally I am a saint. Functionally I am a sinner. A saint that sins. Not pretty but the truth of my identity is clear. My real issue in this life is to live up to my calling. It’s not where I’m at, it’s where I am going. Life is forward moving, not static, not backward motion. Time only moves in one direction and it never stops.
The Text
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Scripture
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Observation
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1 Corinthians 16:1-4
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A collection for the poor
1 Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.
2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.
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¿: Why is Paul advising to set some aside every week?
¿: If they used this method, who was going to be credited with the giving, the individuals or the church?
Ü ¿: How would this collection aid Paul’s thesis of the letter (cf. 1 Cor 1:10)
¿: In what cases do you think it would seem advisable that Paul to go with the gift?
¿: Who was the gift intended for? Why?
“God’s people” (read other xlations) = “the saints”
Read Romans 15:25-27
Ü ¿: Who was the collection for?
Ü The poor are called saints
Ü ¿: When Jews from all over the Roman empire were in Jerusalem at Pentecost who supported the thousands who came to the Lord?
“On the first day of every week” – giving was part of their worship
¿: How much were they to give?
Ü “in keeping with his income”, “not grudgingly or from compulsion” (cf. 2 Cor. 9:7), “give and it will be given to you..” (cf. Luke 6:38), “sow bountifully…” (2 Cor 9:6)
Ü The “tithe” was an Old Testament system of taxation of support for the temple/levites – and the nation. When you read all the taxes imposed regularly, at special times and over multi-year periods it amounted to about 23%.
Ü The Lord loves a cheerful and sacrificial giver, not one who gives of their excess OR one who gives because they are “supposed to.”
“If it seems advisable for me to go”
Ü Paul only wanted to go if the gift was generous, and not embarrassing?
Ü Paul only wanted to go if the funds collected were so much as to require his presence for added security?
¿: What does 1 John 3:17-18 say about our attitude toward a brother/sister in Christ?
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1 Corinthians 16:5-12
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Paul’s plans to visit
5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia.
6 Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go.
7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.
8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost,
9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
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Applicable truths present in these verses:
- Paul made plans for the future (didn’t live life haphazardly)
- His plans left room for God to alter them (our original understanding of the Lord’s will may not have been complete or even correct)
- Paul didn’t want to “just make an appearance,” he wanted to spend quality/quantity time (we should not take on a ministry without being willing to thoroughly prepare and work at it)
- Sensitivity to God’s independent call on other believers (Apollos did not feel it was God’s time after Paul’s urging)
“so that you can help me” – Paul was inviting himself to their help
Ü ¿: How would this be received today?
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10 If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.
11 No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
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¿: What would Timothy fear? [disrespect because of age cf. 1 Tim 4:12]
If the church did not pay full attention to Paul’s authority, how much less young Timothy’s?
¿: Compared to Paul and his mighty stature, how was Timothy to be treated?
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12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
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Paul wanted Apollos to go with Timothy, perhaps the maturity would be huge asset to Timothy. Paul respected Apollos even though he himself “strongly urged” Apollos to change his mind.
An important lesson: even though someone of Paul’s stature urges us – it’s the Lord’s prompting we should follow. Give weight, but always seek God’s wisdom.
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1 Corinthians 16:13-24
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Final Exhortations
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
14 Do everything in love.
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¿: What five admonitions does Paul give here?
Be on guard:
for subtleties of satan – cf. 1 Peter 5:8-9
for temptation – cf. Mark 14:38
against apathy – cf. Rev 3:1-3
for false teachers – cf. 2 Tim. 4:3-5
Stand firm:
To doctrine – cf. 1 Cor 15:1; 2 Thess. 2:15 – scripture is far more than a “commentary” on views how someone long ago lived.
Men of courage – “act like men” (NASB)
“Shall I come to you with a rod?” – 1 Cor. 4:21
Be strong:
Our strength comes from God. Spiritual strength comes from self-sacrifice, self-denial, & self discipline – Phil. 4:13
In Love:
Love keeps our firmness from becoming hardness
Love keeps our strength from becoming domineering
Love keeps our standing firm on doctrine from becoming dogmatism
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Achaia
uh-KEE-uh
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15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers,
16 to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.
17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.
18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
19 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
20 All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord!
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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These closing words are not simply niceties. These are God’s words recorded for a divine purpose. “All Scripture is profitable…” (2 Tim. 3:16)
In his conclusion to this letter, Paul intermingles his exhortations with all the ways love is exemplified:
- In his evangelism of Stephanas as the first convert in Achaia
- In the service of ministry for the saints
15b …that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints (KJV)
- In submission, not only to leaders but to all who faithfully labor in the Lord
- In true, refreshing, renewing companionship with fellow believers
- In recognition of God’s servants
- In hospitable love
- In affection
The main part of the letter would have been dictated to a scribe. Paul finished and signed the letter himself to establish the letter’s authenticity.
“a curse be on him.. Come, O Lord” – God come and remove them before they cause harm to the body. This can be taken as an admonition to submit the Christ before He returns and the chance is lost forever.
Paul ends the letter with the blessing of Grace and Love. He began the letter with Grace and Peace (v1:3)
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Conclusion
Personal Application:
Homework: Pass out outline
¿: How has God used this study in the letter to the church at Corinth to speak to you?
Fri 11 Feb 2011
1 Corinthians 15:35-58
The Nature of the Resurrected Body
Date: 13-Feb-11
Required Resources:
Purpose (Why am I teaching this lesson? What effect did the writer expect it to have on the recipients?)
The purpose of this lesson is to motivate today’s action based upon tomorrow’s promises
Theme (What central idea does this passage communicate?)
The nature of the resurrected body
Introduction
Review & Homework:
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Outline
A. Salutations & Reminders (v1:1-1:9)
B. Divisions within the church (v1:10-4:21)
C. …of conduct unbecoming a believer (v5:1-13) {church discipline}
D. Dealing with offenses in The Body (v6:1-11)
E. The bondage of sexual sin (v6:12-20)
– Now For The Matters You Wrote About –
F. Marriage, Divorce & Singleness (v7:1-40)
G. Christian Liberty (v8:1-11:1)
H. Order in Worship (v11:2-14:40)
I. On Resurrection (v15:1-58)
1. Resurrection of Christ (v1-11)
2. Resurrection of the Body (v12-34)
Ü 3. The Nature of the resurrected body (v35-58)
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Homework
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 and complete a page in your study booklet
- Bring a picture of yourself at a very early age
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WHITEBOARD: words randomly spirit, body, soul
¿: Name a phrase that uses these 3 words.
Note: that we tend to order as “body, soul, spirit” Scripture orders differently.
1 Thes. 5:23 – spirit, soul , body
Deut. 6:5 – heart, soul, strength
Ps. 84:2 – soul, heart, flesh
Matt. 22:37 – heart, soul, mind
Luke 10:27 – heart, soul strength
¿: What happened to our body at The Fall? [something visibly changed]
Ü Read Genesis 2:4-9; 15-25 (Man and woman created – no shame)
Ü Read Genesis 3:6-7 (a visible change?)
In the text a few key questions are anticipated:
How are the dead raised, (their bodies are decomposed and/or scattered)?
What kind of body will they have?
What about a body for those not dead when Christ comes?
REVIEW HOMEWORK
¿: What age will your resurrected body be?
The Text
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Scripture
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Observation
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1 Corinthians 15:35-41
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What kind of body will I have?
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.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
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“With what kind of body will they come?” – this is a foolish question which is beyond our understanding. We can’t even fully comprehend how a seed can produce a plant so unlike the seed itself. Even with our understanding of DNA leaves us wondering at the mystery of a change from one thing into another. The seed and the plant are directly related but vastly different.
“How foolish!” – Paul pulls no punches for those asking this question. He is likely addressing the Greek dualists who in an effort to scorn an eternal resurrected body are derisively saying, “So you believe in a resurrected body – well what’s it going to be like?”
God produces a body according to the seed that was sown. Each seed has it’s own type of plant. The specific characteristics of the plant are within the seed.
What will be the “seed” of our body?
Ü It will not be necessary for God to use every part of this body when he raises it from the grave. Such a thought is not taught in Scripture. In fact, it is scientifically true that the component parts of our bodies undergo periodic changes. We receive new bodies every seven years. We have not the same body today that we had seven years ago.
Ü Yet, there is an identity that we maintain all our lifetime, and yet there is not one cell in our bodies that was there seven years ago.
Ü In the resurrection the bodies of the saints will bear their individual identities. Ü The fact that after death our physical substance disintegrates and scatters, creates no difficulties for God
There will be glorious differences between our current body and our resurrected body but in all this we will be distinct.
¿: Will people recognize us in heaven?
ÜWhen David’s infant son died, David declared, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). David assumed that he would be able to recognize his son in heaven, despite the fact that he died as a baby.
ÜIn Luke 16:19-31, Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man were all recognizable after death.
ÜAt the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were recognizable (Matthew 17:3-4). In these examples, the Bible does seem to indicate that we will be recognizable after death.
ÜMany people recognized Jesus after His resurrection (John 20:16, 20; 21:12; 1 Corinthians 15:4-7). If Jesus was recognizable in His glorified body, we also will be recognizable in our glorified bodies.
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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.
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Notice how a series of contrasts are used to explain the unexplainable.
God is infinitely more creative than we can even comprehend.
Paul is saying, “There are obviously differences in what is created, don’t expect the resurrected body to be like the physical”
Ü Addresses the scoffers as well as answers the curious
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1 Corinthians 15:42-49
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The nature of the resurrected body
42 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;
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The “seed” of our future body is this corruptible shell we carry now. This will die and be raised to produce a glorious new body.
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44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 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.
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“it is raised a spiritual body” – this is not to say it is made out of spirit, rather that the future body will be adapted for a different kind of existence.
Ü Luke 24:38-40 Christ’s resurrected body was flesh and bones
Ü Phil. 3:20 – our bodies will be transformed
Ü 2 Cor. 5:1-5 – we are naked without a body
¿: Will our bodies be like Adam & Eve’s before the fall? [they had not eaten the tree of life]
Ü Gen. 2:7 – man made of dust of ground
Ü Gen. 2:9 – two trees ¿: Why?
Ü Gen. 2:25 – naked, no shame
Ü Gen. 3:7-8 – eyes were opened ¿: Why shame?
- It must have been more than an awareness of nakedness. Shouldn’t a husband and wife with perfect bodies be comfortable in their nakedness with each other?
- Could they have lost something more? A glory, perhaps? Something to physically be ashamed of.
Ü Gen 3:22 – eat and live forever (even in fallen state!)
Adam and Eve had perfect bodies, however there was something more the tree of life would have given them, the resurrection will bring us to that state.
The spiritual body is required to accommodate spiritual things. But since it is also physical it will have physical qualities.
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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.
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“we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” – Christ’s resurrected body is the prototype for ours
If Christ’s was prototype will we also have these characteristics?
Ü Luke 24:36 – Jesus “appeared and startled them”
Ü John 20:19 – Jesus appeared in a locked room
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1 Corinthians 15:50-57
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The victory of a transformed body
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?”
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.
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A short message about our bodies:
“There is a preacher of the old school, but he speaks as boldly as ever. He is not popular though the world is his parish, and he travels every part of the globe and speaks in every language. He visits the poor, 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 in bringing tears to eyes that never weep. His arguments none are able to refute, nor is there any heart that has remained unmoved by the force of his appeals. He shatters 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.” – David Cawston “Ready to Face the Music”
“I tell you a mystery” – a mystery is something that has not been previously revealed. The fact of the resurrection had been revealed in OT times…
¿: What is the mystery?
“We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed” – After all this talk of an incorruptible body for the dead, what about those living?
“perishable must clothe itself…” = could possibly refer to the dead whereas “the mortal…” could refer to the living.
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1 Corinthians 15:58
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So what?
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.
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The consequence of this discussion is the command to stand firm in the faith.
We will live forever in a new, resurrected body. Our works will be tested through fire. There are eternal rewards for what is lasting. What we do in the flesh has eternal consequences.
This word is alive for countless Christians who work and pray and give and suffer as little as they can! How can we be satisfied with the trivial, insignificant, short-lived things of the world! Our society today worships the idols of leisure and relaxation.
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Conclusion
Personal Application:
¿: Does it matter what I do with thins body since I’ll get a new one anyway?
Homework:
- Read 1 Corinthians 16
- Review the general outline of the letter and sum up Paul’s message to the church
Fri 4 Feb 2011
I Corinthians 15:12-34
“The Believer’s Resurrection”
Date: 6-Feb-11
Required Resources:
Purpose (Why am I teaching this lesson? What effect did the writer expect it to have on the recipients?)
The purpose of this lesson is to challenge to consider how we live out our beliefs
Theme (What central idea does this passage communicate?)
Believers will be resurrected
Introduction
Review & Homework:
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Outline
A. Salutations & Reminders (v1:1-1:9)
B. Divisions within the church (v1:10-4:21)
C. …of conduct unbecoming a believer (v5:1-13) {church discipline}
D. Dealing with offenses in The Body (v6:1-11)
E. The bondage of sexual sin (v6:12-20)
– Now For The Matters You Wrote About –
F. Marriage, Divorce & Singleness (v7:1-40)
G. Christian Liberty (v8:1-11:1)
H. Order in Worship (v11:2-14:40)
I. On Resurrection (v15:1-58)
1. Resurrection of Christ (v1-11)
Ü 2. Resurrection of the Body (v12-34)
3. The Nature of the resurrected body (v35-58)
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Homework
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 and complete a page in your study booklet
- Read Revelation 20. Make of list (to bring to class) of things you can determine about the resurrection of the dead from this passage.
- Come to class with a list of beliefs about what happens after death
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The first part of chapter 15 built a solid case for the resurrection of Christ. Paul now takes that proof to the next level by showing that the believer’s life in intermingled with Christ. Since Christ was resurrected we will be resurrected.
Homework review
Job’s view – Job 19:25-26
¿: What did Job believe about the afterlife? [In my flesh I will see God]
Christ’s promise to us – John 6:44
The Text
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Scripture
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Observation
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1 Corinthians 15:12-19
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Consequences of the denial of the bodily Resurrection
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?
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15 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.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
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¿: Based on this passage, what do you think is the underlying question behind chp. 15?
Ü Most Jews believed in the resurrection of the dead (cf. Daniel 12:1-2)
Ü The Greek culture generally believed the physical world, including the body was inherently evil – therefore to have a resurrected body was unthinkable. They felt that the soul contained all that was good in their destiny.
Paul had already gained their assent that Christ was raised (v1-11), so he uses that argument as a basis of proof that believers are raised.
To paraphrase Paul: “How can you agree to the resurrection of Christ and yet say there is no bodily resurrection, this argument does not hold water?”
The argument is developed with 6 “if’s”
Consequences of no believer’s resurrection:
- Christ was not raised (v14)
¿: Why would their faith be useless?
1) because Christ promised He was rise from dead on third day – if He didn’t he was lying or not God
2) proof indeed that His death was of greater value than any persons – only God could raise Himself
- The apostles are false witnesses of God (v15)
- Christ not raised either (v16)
- Faith did not cleanse them of sin (v17)
- Loved ones who died did not go to heaven (v18)
- The cross was foolishness (v19) (cf. v1:18)
v18-19 touch on the idea of immortality of the soul without a bodily resurrection. It is obvious that Paul believes that without a bodily resurrection there is no afterlife.
NOTICE: he does not even subscribe to the idea that the soul goes on with no body.
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1 Corinthians 15:20-28
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Theological implications of the Resurrection
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 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.
28 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.
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A believer’s destiny is intermingled with Christ. Paul spells out the consequences of Christ’s resurrection.
“firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” – Christ’s resurrection is our guarantee of resurrection. The firstfruits indicates there is more in store.
“death came through a man” see Romans 5:12-19
“in Christ all will be made alive”
¿: Does this mean that all will eventually be saved? [no, Adam and Christ are listed as the heads of those lines. One born of Adam will die, one born of Christ will live. Verse 23 clarifies the “who” of “in Christ all”]
“but each in his turn”
¿: When does the resurrection take place? [v23 & Revelation 20 (HOMEWORK)]
¿: What happens to us between the time we die and Christ returns?
Cf. 2 Cor 5:8 – away from body, with the Lord
¿: Do you see time intervals in v23-28?
4 stages – dependant on eschatology
1) Christ,
2) Rapture – those “in Him” up to that point in history (1 Thess. 4:16)
3) 2nd coming to reign – those who died during tribulation (Rev 20:4)
4) Wicked who died – for judgment (cf. Dan. 12:2, John 5:29, Rev 20:5)
When God is all in all the new creation will be consummated and the resurrected Christ and His church will share in that experience.
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1 Corinthians 15:29-34
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Living life based upon the Resurrection
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
31 I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
34 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.
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v29 – verse are up to 200 explanations of this verse!
Ü This verse may mean that there was a practice of baptizing for the dead by those who denied the resurrection – Paul holds this teaching up as useless.
That someone can be baptized for those that have gone ahead in dead. This teaching would contradict scripture.
1) Baptism is a sign – it has no redeeming quality
2) Scripture is clear that this life is where our salvation takes place
3) Scripture is clear that our belief in Christ must be personal
Ü This verse may be referring to the baptism that occurred for believers that had since passed away. The point being “why bother to baptize if the body itself would perish”
Ü This verse may refer to harsh persecution of the church. When a believer was baptized he was martyred; therefore someone getting baptized was taking the place of one who was dead.
Ü This verse may be simply saying “those who are baptized” (a sign of their faith) “for the dead” (because of those who have gone on before) – meaning “if there is no resurrection, what about those who are saved (baptized) because of the hope they have in being reunited with the friends and family that have gone on ahead of them to be with the Lord (their salvation could have been brought about by the death of these saints)”
v30 – Paul holds his own life up in contrast to this indeterminate practice that was being conducted.
Why would Paul subject himself to all the peril he did if this life were all that there was?
“fought wild beasts” – we do not know if Paul a Roman citizen was ever physically in the arena. (cf. 2 Cor. 1:8-11)
“bad company…” – Paul very clearly says, ”Don’t associate with these teachings, whoever they come from.”
A FAULTY WORLDVIEW LEADS TO UNGODLY BEHAVIOR.
“some who are ignorant of God”
¿: Is this speaking of those outside the church? Or to those within the church creating this argument on the resurrection?
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Conclusion
Personal Application:
¿: What positive kingdom impact has Christ’s resurrection had on you?
¿: How does your belief about an afterlife and bodily resurrection affect you life?
Homework:
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-58
Wed 2 Feb 2011
News that the Internet is out of addresses leaks out on the same day Punxutawney Phil sticks his head out of the ground? I smell a rat.
Ok, here are two “seemingly” unrelated news stories. You conspiracists should be all over this, but remember you heard it here first.
The top-level authority that governs such addresses will distribute the last batches on Thursday, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
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The current Internet address system, Internet Protocol version 4, has been in place since the 1980s. It allows for a theoretical maximum of 4.3 billion addresses in use, far beyond what was thought necessary for what was then mainly a network for academic use.
… On Wednesday, National Geographic gave us a giant lesson on Phil that totally buried the lead: “Romans also believed that conditions during the first days of February were good predictors of future weather, but the empire looked to hedgehogs for their forecasts.”
Hedgehogs? Hedgehogs?! We’ve been looking to the wrong animal all this time? Turns out when German settlers came to the United States, they couldn’t find any hedgehogs, so they settled on groundhogs instead. So that’s why we get 40 percent accuracy!
I knew it all along. We’ve become all too complacent that the Internet would be there. We’ve relied on it for our news, for our trivia and for communicating with one another. We take it for granted. Isn’t this the lesson of the groundhog? We’re lulled into believing life is moving forward, that everything is OK.
40% accuracy and we trust Phil. 4.3 billion addresses and we assume things won’t come to a grinding halt. It’s not mere coincidence these two news articles present themselves on the same day. The paths have crossed in the year the Mayan calendar ends. Think about it.
