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Now, 1 Corinthians 15. Reading and exposition begins at verse thirty five. This is the second part of the chapter. Last night we dealt broadly with the first part. 1 to thirty four, the facts of resurrection. Tonight, thirty to the end, to verse fifty eight, divides into two. Broadly again, verses thirty five to forty nine, the resurrection of the saints.
The resurrection of the saints. The second part, verses fifty to fifty eight, deals with the change, or if you like, the mystery of the change. I'll explain that expression later. The mystery of the change. So first of all, the resurrection of the saints. Verse thirty five. But someone will say, how are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.
That which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh. There is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of birds, fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. For one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spirit. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit. How be it, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. The resurrection of the saints. Now, fifty to fifty eight, the mystery of the change. It reads like this. Behold, I show 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 trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Now keep your Bibles handy, won't you, please? When you approach a passage like this, you must keep in mind certain things.
For instance, you must keep in mind the principle that is enunciated in Deuteronomy twenty nine, the last verse. It's easily remembered. It's Deuteronomy twenty nine, verse twenty nine. It says, the secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever. I know. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, so that there are limits to divine revelation. Now you must accept the limits.
But he says, the things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, and the things which are revealed is the fullness of divine revelation. So that means this, that we must not pry into what God has not revealed. We must not be too curious. On the other hand, we must find out to the fullest extent what God has revealed. Again, when you come to a passage like this, in relation to the resurrection of the body, you might well ask yourself the question, why must the body be raised?
Why can't we all be perfectly happy in heaven? Something like what the believers are now without a body up there. Why do inspired writers insist that as to our faith, we not only believe in the forgiveness of sins and in the life everlasting, we believe in the resurrection of the body? Now, the reason for that is this. When sin entered this world, it affected spirit, soul, and body. So that for redemption to be seen to be complete, then spirit, soul, and body must ultimately be brought together.
Clear? Now, there will be differences in relation to the body. That will be part of my business tonight to explain that to you. So we've got it. Now, in this first part, as we saw last night, we have brought before us the resurrection of Christ and the program of God. And we saw last night the importance of the resurrection of Christ. We saw, we saw certain things would be true if there was no resurrection of Christ. No resurrection, no atonement. No resurrection, no salvation. No resurrection, our loved ones are in hell.
No resurrection, the preaching lacks substance and validity. The faith that we placed in it is of little account. God has been maligned in that down through the centuries we have preached that God raised him from the dead if God didn't do it, there's no resurrection. Then we saw that the resurrection of Christ was necessary for the program of God, and we saw that he puts it in such a way that he mentions the rapture, and then he mentions Christ delivering up the kingdom to the Father at the border of the eternal state, and that whole prophetic program lies deeply based upon the fact that Christ is alive.
Now, in verse thirty five, someone is seen as saying, well, now that's all very well, Paul. You've proved it conclusively to us. All right then, we accept it. Now, Paul, tell us, how are the dead raised up? And if it is true that dead men rise, then with what body shall they be come or inhabit in the resurrection? Okay. Now, he deals with the question of the body first. Now, please drop your eye for a moment. The first section is thirty five to forty nine. Got that? Now, notice please, in verse thirty five to thirty— sorry, verses thirty five to forty one.
he's teaching from nature about the resurrection. Got that? He's teaching from nature. From verse forty two to around verse forty six, he is contrasting this body with the resurrection body. He's teaching by contrast. Got that? uh Thirty five to forty one, he's teaching from nature. Forty two to forty six, he's teaching by contrast. And then in verses forty seven to forty nine, he is contrasting Adam and Christ.
Got that? Contrast, yes, he contrast from nature, the contrast of the resurrection body, and the contrast between Adam and Christ. Come again. Now let's take the first part, thirty five to forty one. Got that? You have the questions in thirty five. In verses thirty six to thirty eight, he's teaching from the realm of botany. Got that? In verse thirty nine, he's teaching from the realm of zoology. And in verses forty and forty one, he's teaching from the realm of astronomy.
Got that? Thirty six to thirty eight from the realm of botany, thirty nine from the realm of zoology, forty and forty one from the realm of astronomy. And you'll notice all this teaching has in view the opening of verse forty two: So also is the resurrection of the dead. But you see, chapter six to forty is usually the passage that they pass by. Whereas that passage is essential, for he says, so also is the resurrection of the body. What he teaches you in these verses, you carry forward to the resurrection and gather up the teaching. Got that? Now, please.
Verses thirty six to thirty eight. Now, you will notice that he begins to answer the question. Got that? How are the dead raised up? What kind of body do they come? And in verses thirty six to thirty eight, he's dealing with identity with difference. Got that? Identity with difference. In verse thirty nine he's going to teach that the, the body will be suited to the realm to which we're going.
Then, verse thirty nine, the body suited to the realm. Verse forty, there will be a glory suited to the realm. And in verse forty one, there will be a glory suited to the body. Got that? Thirty nine, a body suited to the realm. Forty, a glory suited to the realm. Forty one, a glory suited to the body. Now back to thirty six to thirty eight, identity with difference. Now look now, please. Drop your eye, verse thirty eight. Thou foolish one, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. That's true. Whatever you put in, say, a potato, it dies before it produces fruit.
That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. Your knowledge of the seasons would have taught you that sort of thing. Again, verse, look now, verse thirty seven. That which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but bare grain. No matter what kind of seed it may be. What does it mean? Thou sowest not the body that shall be. What he means is this. When you sow seed, in process of time, up comes the flower and the plant. You never, you never sowed that. Thou sowest not the body that shall be.
Look again now, just keep your eye on the text, will you? But God giveth it a body. You didn't sow that body. You sowed the seed, the body came up, the plant or the flower. Well, who made it that? Well, you see, gardeners are better maybe amateur gardeners, are usually quite proud people, you know. They actually think they grow the stuff. Says the inspired writer, thou sawest not the body that shall be, but God giveth it a body, present tense, as it pleased him, aorist or point tense. What he's saying is this.
There was a time when God decreed the mechanics of the process, as it pleased him, and so now he gives bodies to seeds. Thou sowest not the body, but God constantly gives bodies, as he decreed. Now that's very interesting, but it's true. For instance, supposing you buy a seed packet of lettuce, is that right? In fact, over in our country, I expect it's the same here, you can see the lettuce in the front. That's what it, that's what it should be like, right? Now, you take the seed and you plant it, is that right?
In process of time, up comes a turner. Oh no. Oh no. Up comes a cabbage. Never. In pro- you sow seed, and in process of time up comes the lettuce. God giveth it a body as it pleased him. Got that? So also is the resurrection of the dead. Got that? Now listen to it. What he's teaching is this. There is a connection between the seed that goes down and the body that comes up. Connection between the seed and the lettuce. That's why you get lettuce. But that which has come up, comes up is different from what went down.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. This body will go down, another body will rise. Have you got it? There's a connection between the body that went down and the body that came up, but the one that comes up is different from the one that went down. That's always our problem. Identity with difference. Personality goes through to the other side, but the resurrection body shall differ from that body. Good, enough of that. Verse thirty nine. Thirty six to thirty eight, identity with difference. Verse thirty nine, He says once like these: All flesh is not the same flesh.
There is one kind of flesh of man, of beasts, of fish, of birds. Is that right? Different bodies. All, now listen carefully, all flesh is not the same flesh. In one short, concise statement, the inspired writer gives the death blow to this form of evolution, that you evolve from one kind of body to another. You didn't, you don't evolve from a monkey to a man. All flesh is not the same flesh.
There is no evolution from one kind of flesh to another. That's right, isn't it? The flesh of a man is not like the flesh of a beast, let me tell you. Certain beasts can hibernate for three, four, five months. You can't. Your body's not suited to it. You take the birds fly through the air. There they are. You couldn't do that. You couldn't soar up there. You haven't a body suited to it. If you want to go up there and fly around, you'll need to be in a pressurized cabinet like an airplane. Your body's not suited to the realm.
Is that right? You can't hibernate, your body's not suited to the realm. You can't fly like a bird, your body's not suited to the realm. But you take fish to go away down, and there they are away at the bed of the sea. You couldn't live down there. Why? Your body's not suited. But if you were in a pressurized cabinet like a submarine, you'd be all right. Have you got it? What he's teaching in thirty nine? a body suited to the realm. So that we'll see later on when we come to verse fifty. we can't go to heaven in the bodies we've got. There'll need to be a change. We'll need to have a body suited to their element. Now look at verse forty. He says there are celestial heavenly bodies and there are terrestrial earthly bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the earthly is another.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. There will be a glory suited to their element. Quickly now, verse forty one. A glory suited to the body. Now watch now, glory is manifestation. One glory of the sun, moon, stars. Isn't that right? That is, you go out in a clear day and you'll see the glory of the sun. Here it is shining in its strength. You go out in a clear night and you'll see the glory of the moon as it reflects the light of the sun. You go out in a still clearer night and you'll see the stars tangle sky, the glory of the stars. If you had an instrument suitable, you could, you would find that one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. There will be a glory peculiar to it, a glory suited to the body, just as the sun has its own glory, and the moon and the stars. Oh, and by the way, don't make the mistake they're all making. When he says one star differeth from another star in glory, he does not mean there will be degrees of glory to each of us. That's not the idea at all. What he's saying is this: as the glory of the sun differs from the glory of the moon, and as the glory of the moon differs from the glory of the stars, and as the glory of one star differs from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead.
The glory of the resurrection body will differ from the glory of this body. That's all he's showing, that there are different kinds of bodies. So when you look around creation and see all that, why should, when you see all these different kinds of bodies, why should there be any problem that there's another kind of body, a spiritual body, that God will give to us? Got it? Now, please, he starts now teaching, he leaves the teaching of nature, and he begins now to contrast the physical body with the spiritual body, this body with the next one. Now, those of you who were at Eglinton the night when I dealt with the close of chapter three, No, forty nine.
Eight, Avenue in the morning. He shall change this body of humiliation and fashion it like unto his body of glory. I touched on these verses forty two to forty four. so you good folks who are there, just have a little patience while we endeavor to enlighten the rest of the audience, will you? Watch now. In four vivid contrasts, he contrasts this body with the resurrection body. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
He doesn't say it's buried, he says it's sown. Now it was buried. That's the s- the scriptural way is burial, not burning. Burning's pagan in its origin. Scriptural idea is burial. The Lord was buried. Now watch. He says four times over, it is sown, it is sown, it is sown, it is sown. The idea is this, that when you lower that body into the earth, you're sowing. You're sowing in view of the harvest. You're sowing in view of the resurrection.
It's true that the tears might be flowing and your heart is breaking, but you're sowing in hope. That one day, in our country, we haven't got the mechanical thing to let the thing down, the the the casket down. They they have cords attached, and there are eight persons, and they lower it in. Many a time I've stood and watched them, waiting to speak, they've lowered it in. And I've been able to tell them, eight men put them down, one man will bring them up. Wonderful morning, the resurrection morning, when Christ raises the saints.
It is sown you're sowing. So two men are standing outside the cemetery. One is a Christian, the other is not. The unbeliever says they're burying so and so today. The Christian says, no, they're sowing. Got it? That's Bible language, you're sowing. You're sowing in view of the resurrection. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. The body that goes down will corrupt, it will disintegrate, it will decay, it will decompose. On that res- resurrection morning, when Christ handles it, he'll raise it in incorruption. Corruption is a moving away from an original condition.
That's corruption. When he raises it in incorruption, it will never lose its original primitive excellence as coming fresh from the hands of Christ. That body will never deteriorate, never grow old, never grow tired, never grow weary, never break down. As fresh a thousand light years at thereafter than now, that moment when Christ gives it, raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. Link it with this, with Philippians three. He shall change this vile body, this body of humiliation, fashion it like unto his body of glory.
Have you got it? Body of humiliation, Philippians three. Here, sown in dishonor. It was a body that was dishonored and shamed by the presence and practice of sin. Many a time it was humbled by it. Many a time the blood is mounted to your cheek when you've thought of what you've said and done in it. It's sown in dishonor, sown in shame, sown, sown, sown, he says. A body of humiliation. He shall raise it, raised in glory.
Change this vile body like unto his body of glory. So here's a body now in which there is absent what was found in this body. No dishonor, no shame, no humiliation, no sinful nature, no passions clamoring for satisfaction, no desire to do what's wrong. Raised in glory, bright and resplendent, attractive and beautiful. There it is in all its perfect symmetry, the handiwork of Christ, raised in glory.
Number three, sown in weakness, raised in power. Now don't you read it like this, sown in weakness, raised by power. As weakness marks this body, power will mark that body. After all, as I was telling them, he's a frail tenement of clay. How quickly the strongest of us are cut down in sickness. We've got to clothe it to save it from the elements. I think I told them that night. Just put, just put over, won't you? Just a little bit of cardboard, you know?
Fragile, handle the chair. Weak. Never so weak as in death. Raised in power. Sown in weakness, raised in power. As weakness marked that body, power shall mark this body. A body in sync with energy. A body marked by inherent power. A body that can move swift as the lightning's flash through God's wonderful creation, serving him. We shall see his face, we shall serve him. Then we shall run and not be weary, then shall we walk and not faint. Never shall we break down, no exhaustion of every kind, in a body that is fully and perfectly fitted.
We shall serve God unto the ages of ages. Please try and take in something of the wonder and glory of it. Please, you'll not always be sitting with crowns on your head singing. Through God's vast and wonderful world you'll go, and then you'll understand perfectly all about creation. Then you'll understand why all these planets are not inhabited. It's quite a problem. They're not inhabited. But that would raise a big theological problem when the Savior only died on this planet. Then what do they exist for?
Oh, well, I know. I know that creation was brought in as a platform upon which ultimately to display the glories of Christ. I know that. Will reveal to us in that day the reason for all that planetary system. Held together by the Son of God. Sown in weakness, raised in power. Sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. Your, your, um, margin will say sown a soulish body, it's governed by the soul. Raised a spiritual body governed by the spirit. Said to them, well now, how can it be a body and be spiritual?
No. When you read raised a spiritual body, it does not mean that the body is composed of spirit. What it means is that the body expresses spirit. The bo- the resurrection body will be as real and tangible as the body you know was there, nothing ethereal, nothing phantom-like. The body in which the Lord was here for forty days is the prototype. That's the body in which he went to heaven. He said to them, when they were frightened and thought they saw a ghost, he says, listen, handle, see, the spirit hasn't flesh and bone like this.
He was a real. Now, those forty days will allow you into the secret of the resurrection body, for instance. It's not a body governed by the laws that govern this body. A lot of laws govern this body. If you want to come in here legitimately, you come in through the door, legally. You come in through the door illegally, you'll come in through a window. You see... But Christ and his resurrection body could appear and disappear. Miraculous. Well, if you want, just not subject to the laws that govern us all.
Now, come now, please, will you? We're right now, by this time now, we are, we're right down at verse forty five. He tells us there's a natural body and there's a spiritual body. So he says, the first man became a living soul, the last Adam a quickening spirit, contrast between Adam and Christ. The first man became a living soul. His body existed before he did. But the last Adam, Christ in resurrection glory, is a life-giving spirit.
Adam receives life in his body. Christ gives life. Come again. Verse forty six, the principle is. There is that which is not spiritual, not first spiritual. That which is spiritual is not first, but that which is natural and afterwards that which is spiritual. Isn't that right? You had natural life before you got spiritual life. You have a natural body before you'll get a spiritual body. Natural first, spiritual second. Now he begins to contrast Adam and Christ. Verse forty seven, origin, the first man is of the earth made of dust, Adam.
The second man, the Lord out of heaven, origin. Verse forty eight, quality of life. As is the earthly one, such also are they that are earthly. As is the heavenly one, Christ, such also are they that are heavenly. Quality of life. Verse forty nine, Likeness. As we have borne the image of the earthly one Adam, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one Christ. So now he's talking, he's talking now about we've borne the image of the ethling, so we'll bear the image of the heavenly.
So now, we'll need now to deal with the question of recognition. We have seen the nature of the body. So the question arises now, here it is. We bore the image of the earthly, we shall bear the image of the heavenly. What would that mean? Well, well, we all bear the image of the earthly Adam. That is, we, we have bodies like Adam, and we have the life that Adam possessed. Yet we're all different. There are not two of us alike.
That's an amazing thing. This is creatorial glory. Look all around the hall tonight, we're all different. There might be a wee bit likeness here and there, but every now and on, even with twins, there'll be a, there'll be a difference. You take the whole world tonight, not two alike. You take the billions upon billions, trillions upon trillions of men and women from Adam right down, not two of us. Recognition. Yet, on the whole, God had only this to work on. He made us all different.
Mass production, that's what man- when man, when man wants anything, it's mass production. Everything must be the same. Is that right? But when God does a thing, he'll give you difference. Up yonder, we'll all have bodies like Christ. We'll all be living out the life of Christ, but we'll all be different. So that I'll recognize you and you'll recognize me. I want a few scriptures to help you. Before I give you them, let me say this.
It would be quite easy to accept that we won't be less intelligent up there than we are down here. We won't be faithless. Tell me, in Luke sixteen, didn't, didn't the rich man recognize Abram? On the other side? At the close of First Thessalonians two, Paul says, what is our hope, our, what is our joy, our hope, our crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? But how would Paul know they were there? Talk about them be- them being his crown and joy if he didn't know them.
They will be in the presence of the Lord Jesus. They'll be his hope and crown, for he led them to Christ and tended them. So quite clearly, he would know them. Again, now this is interesting. You take the, you take the Mount of Transfiguration. You know the story, you've read it. Now notice, please, according to the record, that, that Peter, James, and John recognized Moses and Elijah without introduction. Intuitive recognition. You'll recognize the folks we know, and it'll be intuitively revealed to us the ones we don't know.
Now, this raises another problem. You see, some brethren have been married more than once. Some sisters have been married more than once. Will there be embarrassment in heaven? Well, now listen. The Lord talked about this. Matthew chapter twenty two. The Sadducees who didn't believe in resurrection came to Christ with a question about resurrection. How do you, how do you make that out for an hypothesis, eh?
Now they said, listen, here was a woman. She married a man who became her husband, and he died. So the brother took her, see, to raise a family, what was known in earlier days as leverage marriage. However, the second husband died, so the third brother, there were seven brothers. So she took the first and he died, she, the second took her and he died, the third took her and he died, the fourth took her, he died, the fifth he died, the sixth he died, and the seventh took her and he died too. Right, and last of all, mercifully, she died.
The question. was, whose wife shall she be in the resurrection? As I, as I, as I told that to you, you might say, that's a, that's your answer, but it's too deep. Now watch. The Lord answered. Now he says, you Sadducees err on two grounds. The first ground you err on is this, that you don't know the scriptures. That's why he asked questions. Question number two, you don't know the power of God.
Any full light on that resurrection work? Whatever conditions obtain on the other side will be for our perfect, complete, final, and eternal happiness. You believe that? No matter what Christ says, it will be for our happiness. You might not have the spirituality as an ultimate life, it will be for our benefit and good. I said, listen, you. In that resurrection world, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. So the marriage estate doesn't go over to the other side. He says, they are as the angels of heaven, so that when we meet each other, there'll be no question of embarrassment.
How could there be? Now, I can't explain it all. You'll understand that. Because when you come to these things, because they are the things of God and of eternity, there's a mystery about them. Isn't that right? My, if you could reason it all out, you wouldn't need faith. So all that we want to know is not all revealed. There are limits. Enough. Verses. Now let's come to the second. The mystery of the change. Verse fifty, the need for the change.
That's basic. Verse fifty, the need for the change. Verses fifty one to fifty three, The description of the change. Verses fifty four to fifty seven, the celebration of the change. And finally, the last verse, fifty eight, the conclusion. Have you got that? The verse fifty, the need for the change. Fifty one to fifty three, the description of the change. m Fifty four to fifty seven, the celebration of the change.
And finally, verse fifty eight, the conclusion. May as well stop me, you're all watching now. Is that... the price to be paid for all good? Huh? Right.
That's it. Now he says here the need for the change. He informs us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. By that he means this, that you cannot go to heaven in the body of God. For perfect conditions on the other side, there are certain fitnesses demanded. First of all, there must be judicial fitness. Secondly, there must be physical fitness. Thirdly, there must be moral fitness. Judicial fitness you get by the blood of Christ.
Physical fitness you shall receive at the resurrection morning when you receive your resurrection body. Moral fitness means that we shall be perfectly like Christ. We'll have the life of Christ, we'll have the mind of Christ, don't forget that. We'll see things the way Christ sees them. That will answer all the questions about the judgment scene. And all these questions about loved ones that are lost. Understand? You'll have the mind of Christ, you'll see everything as he sees them, and everything will be seen to be right. Clear about these things?
So, yes, there must be a change. Now, verses fifty one to uh fifty three, he describes the change. Verse fifty one, the certainty of it, we shall all be changed. Verse fifty two, the rapidity of it, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Verse fifty three, the must of it. The certainty, the rapidity, the must. This corruptible must be found in corruption. Now, please, verse fifty one. Behold, I show you a mystery.
Two questions. Question number one, what is a mystery? Question number two, what is this mystery? Now, I show you a mystery. What is a mystery? Now, listen to me, because we'll need to learn that you cannot interpret your Bible with an English dictionary, for it was written in Greek. Now, these things sound very simple, don't they, when they're stated, but we need to know them. What is a mystery? A mystery. What is this mystery? Well, now the mystery here, you see, in English, a mystery is something that's obscure, something that's hidden, something that's secret.
When you come to your New Testament, a mystery is something that's revealed at the moment God chooses to reveal it. You will recall words like this that the inspired writer mentioned in Ephesians three when he said, how that by revelation God made known unto me the mystery. It's the mystery that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, fellow members, fellow partakers of the promise. He says, but this mystery was kept secret since the world began. You don't find it in your Old Testament. Until it was revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in that order.
Whenever you read apostles and prophets, the prophets are New Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets didn't know anything about it. So, a mystery in your New Testament is something that God kept secret until the moment he re- he wanted to reveal it. Good. What is this mystery? Now the expositors and commentators will tell you... Well, now, just drop your eye and we'll read. Verse fifty one: We shall not all sleep, we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. The trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
There's no mention of a rapture. You never leave the earth in first Corinthians 15. He's dealing with resurrection. You see, when you read a passage like that, and I'm not criticizing you, but I want you to understand. When you read a passage like that, you automatically link it with First Thessalonians four, for they both have to do with the rapture. What he's saying here about the change takes place at the rapture, but he's not dealing with the rapture, he's dealing with the change in the body. So you put both of them together. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, the son of God.
The dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain. He goes on to rapture. Paul here is dealing with the change that will take place. So the mystery is the mystery of the change at the rapture. Got that now? Clear? Now come again. So he says, yeah, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed. Whether living or dying. There must be a change. Got that? And we've been talking about it, sowing and reaping, you know, corruption, incorruption, the change that took place, the difference between the bodies.
We must all be changed, every believer. That's the death blow to partial rapture. It's true we won't all die, but we'll all need to be changed, whether living or dead. Now, he deals now in verse fifty two with the rapidity of it. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. Good, now let me explain. The word moment here is the word in which we get the word at. So, he says now, we shall all be changed in a moment. The rapidity of the change.
Now, a moment is the smallest possible divisible point of time. Repeat, a moment is the smallest possible divisible point of time. Let me illustrate. A year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, a second. The rapidity of the change. In the twinkling of an eye, in the casting of the eye, just as long as it takes your lip to drop.
At the last trump. Now, this is not the last of a series, for there weren't any before it. All right? No trumps during this day. It links up with, um, 1 Thessalonians four, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. I'll explain in a moment why he must shout. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God. The trump of God and the last trump are the same. The last trump. Well, now, now please, when I talk about these expositors and scholars and commentators, I'm not speaking Christian.
You see, they will tell us now, this is the Roman world as you possibly have seen, and they, they say, well, the first trump, you see, was quite tense. The second trump, they all got into the rows, they were lined up. The third trump was off very much, and the last trump, sure. Now, very simple. I believe the last trump is the last sound that we should hear it at. Oh, you say, just a minute, just a minute, just a minute.
You're not trying to tell us the trumpet is lifting. Well, I'm glad you're thinking. Well, you say, I've heard better than First Thessalonians four. I've heard better than First Corinthians and as a spiritual idol. Uh-oh. I'm not here to criticize my preaching, brother. You understand that, won't you? I'm only here to tell you what the passage means. Will the trumpet sound or not? Well, now listen, listen to it. Look here, he says, change in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump.
Come on now, come on. For the trumpet shall sound. You spiritualize as much as you like. You have a big job in front of you. That's what it says. It's not as quiet as you think. And yet, on the other hand, it might be like John twelve when it thundered and everybody wondered, but they didn't hear it. They heard, you know. The trumpet shall. The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Leave that for the moment. I'll deal with it just in a moment. Notice, please, that verse fifty three is before the change.
Verse fifty four is after the change. Verse fifty three, before the change, this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. Verse fifty four after the change, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, this mortal shall be put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory, quoting Isaiah uh twenty five verse eight. Then he's singing, O grave, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? And he's quoting broadly from Isaiah thirteen verse fourteen, taking up and applying these scriptures to the time that is then present.
And he's saying, here it is, thanks be unto God which giveth us. Oh no. Oh no. Thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory. But we never done anything. We haven't fought any battle. Christ has done it all. I'll show you the moment you don't do anything when it comes to resurrection. When he says, thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory. What does he mean? The victory's demonstrated in us. We are the people whom he's, in whom he's demonstrating it all. Isn't that right? Now, come now, please, very quickly.
How are the dead raised up? The Lord then fell still descend from heaven with a shout. Now, why does he shout? Why does he shout? Now, this is important. Speaking is the method which divine persons have chosen to express their energy. Strange to you? Speaking is the method which divine persons have chosen to express their energy.
When they want, when they, when they want to release energy, they speak. Remember creation, he spake and it was done. He commanded and it was done. Do you remember in creation, God said, let there be light, and when he spoke, he released his energy. What happened? And there was light. Very simple, isn't it? Always simple when God and Christ are doing. Now come over now, John five. There they're all lying there. The Lord looks at a man thirty eight years lying there. He says, will you be made whole? He says, how can I, Lord, or can you near? For the crowds. Rise, take up thy bed and walk.
And when Christ spoke, he released his energy. What happened? The man rose, took up his bed. Now directly forward to the end times. And Christ is coming to establish his kingdom. Revelation nineteen: out of his mouth went a sharp sword. The sword is for judgment, the mouth is for speaking. He'll never strike a blow. He'll speak and vanquish every foe. Now let's come to the rapture. You think of it, millions upon millions of Christians have died. Oh, never mind what's happened to their bodies. He'll reconstruct all of it. Millions upon millions of Christians in the time now present alive, like you and I.
The dead will need to be raised. The living will need to be changed. How will he do it? Come on. He'll do it by speaking. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and when he shouts, he'll release his energy. The dead will rise, the living will be changed, and will make the young. Let me illustrate. John chapter eleven. Lazarus is there, isn't that right? All right, let's roll away the stone, will you? Lazarus, hither come!
And the voice of Christ penetrated the spirit world and brought Lazarus back to the shore. The power that can raise one man can raise millions of men. It's the same power will operate at the same voice will speak. The same power that raises one can raise millions. That's logic. Sure. Number two. Lesson number two. Lazarus is four days dead. The processes of corruption have already begun to take place. Have you ever noticed in John's gospel that all the cases that Christ deals with are his own cases.
That's to magnify the power of the Son of God. If he, if he'll give a blind man sight in John's gospel, it's a man. It's a man that was born blind. It never was known for a man born blind to receive his sight. If he's going to raise the dead in John's gospel, it's not Jairus' daughter who's just died. It's not the young man of Nain on the way to the graveyard. It's Lazarus four days dead. Got that? And when Christ spoke that day and raised Lazarus, he reversed the processes of corruption and brought him back.
The Lord himself should have said for him from the shadow. Just a minute. Supposing he comes tonight. What then? Hm? Supposing he comes tonight. What then? Are you ready? Oh, you say just a minute. By the grace of God and the value of the blood of Jesus, I'm ready. I'm happy to hear that, but I never asked you that. I didn't ask you if the Lord came tonight. If he comes tonight, are you ready to go?
Come on now. Everything all right personally? Everything all right in the family? Everything all right in the business? Everything all right with your assembly? Come on now. You'd be happy to go tonight if you can. Have you been too worldly? Too material? You haven't cultivated this fellowship and sacrificial living that we've been talking about for two weeks. I want to ask you, if he comes tonight, are you ready? You won't be too keen to go to heaven if you've never learned to love heaven better than us.
Come on. How strong are the ties that bind you? You might not be too happy to go if you haven't learned to love Christ better than anybody else in life. Come on. Oh joy, oh delight. Should go and die. You've heard me say this. When we get up there, we'll begin to realize what we sung down here was only too true.
By and by, when I look on his face, beautiful face, hot shadow face. By and by, when I look on his face, I wish I had given him. By and by, when I kneel at his feet, beautiful feet, kneel fiercely. By and by, when I kneel at his feet, I wish I had given him more, so much more, more of my life than I bear.