Rise and Shine! - Part B

Jesus rose from the dead. That doesn't mean once a year we get to talk about resurrection. It means that resurrection was just the first fruits.

We're the rest of the harvest. Easter time is not just a one-time event. It's an ongoing activity that will culminate in our physical resurrection. So theologian Eric Sauer put it this way, the present age is Easter time. It begins with the resurrection of the Redeemer, and it ends with the resurrection of the Redeemer. What events in life cause the most excitement?

We all remember the sleepless night before Christmas in anticipation of opening gifts the following morning. And as adults, weddings or the birth of a child are often among the most exhilarating. Well, if we take that feeling and magnify it a hundredfold, we'll get an idea of what the resurrection is going to feel like. Skip Heitzig examines this very topic with us today here in Connect with Skip weekend edition as he continues the message, Rise and Shine. But first, we have a great resource for you from Pastor Skip this month at connectwithskip.com. People everywhere have a deep, God-given need to be loved. But sadly, sometimes the people who need love the most are the most rejected.

Here's Skip Heitzig. We all crave love. We will do sometimes almost anything to get it, to know that we are loved by somebody else unconditionally. No one did that better than Jesus. He loved the worst of sinners.

He loved the best of saints. Jesus showed the love of God in human flesh. We want to give you a glimpse of God's relentless love for all people, including you, by sending you the Jesus Loves People four-booklet collection by Skip Heitzig. All four Jesus Loves People titles, including Jesus Loves the Broken, are our thanks for your gift of $25 or more today to help connect more people to God's love through His Word.

Visit connectwithskip.com slash offer to give online securely or call 800-922-1888. We'll continue today with our study in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. So grab your Bibles or Bible apps and join us as Skip Heitzig gets today's study underway. So what does Paul mean when he says Jesus rose first and now he's the first fruit? That's what he means.

Very simple. Although they raised from the dead first, their resurrection is completely different than his resurrection because they rose only to die again. They didn't get raised in glorified permanent bodies. They rose from the dead, lived a while, and had to do it all over again. So they were the exception to the rule that's appointed unto every man to die once and after this the judgment. They died twice.

That was the exception to the general rule. Jesus was different. He rose in a glorified body, not just in the same human body. It was His body but glorified and it was permanent.

It would be forever. Thus, He is the first fruits of that resurrection. Here's the point. When Jesus got out of the tomb on that Easter morning, when He conquered death by resurrection, it wasn't only to prove that He was the Messiah, that He was God in human flesh, that He was unique, etc., etc., though He did all that. But He was the first fruits, says Paul. So His resurrection, listen carefully, requires our resurrection. If He rose from the dead bodily, we also will rise from the dead bodily. I got a note this week. It's a great note.

It was so good I wanted to read it to you because it's a good question. Dear Pastor Skip, why does God want to resurrect our body if we will have a new body anyway? At the rapture, those who are dead in Christ, the decomposing bodies, the ashes, etc., and He says in parentheses, you hopefully get the idea. I do.

I can picture the decomposition quite well. He says God will resurrect that, pull back together from the four winds, so to speak. And then He says, why? What's up with that?

What is up with that? Why such an emphasis on the resurrection? Here's why. It completes our salvation. It completes our redemption.

Let me explain. I'm not saying that we can add anything to it. We can't. It's finished.

It's a done deal. Jesus accomplished our salvation on the cross, but you should know and you'll see in a moment that salvation has a past, present, and future aspect. We have been saved, past tense, from the penalty of sin forever.

You'll never stand in judgment. It's on Christ, Christ alone. We call that justification salvation.

That's one. Number two, we are being saved moment by moment from the power of sin. That's sanctification salvation.

It's an ongoing process. But one day in the future, we will be saved from the very presence of sin altogether. That's glorification salvation. Thus, the resurrection from the dead is a necessity because of original sin.

Man fell. And God said, in the day that you eat thereof, you will surely die. And so because God made us body and soul, He must restore both to bring us back to the original. In fact, resurrection of the body is so certain that when Paul writes about it, he writes about it as if it's a done deal, as if glorification is already done.

Listen to what he says. Romans 8, verse 30. And those he predestined, he also called. And those he called, he also justified.

And those he justified, he also glorified. One necessitates the other, and the first will follow up with glorification. It's so certain that he writes about it as if it's already a done deal. Because in the mind of God, it is a done deal.

It will happen. So Jesus rose from the dead. That doesn't mean once a year we get to talk about resurrection. It means that resurrection was just the first fruits.

We're the rest of the harvest. Easter time is not just a one-time event. It's an ongoing activity that will culminate in our physical resurrection.

So theologian Eric Sauer put it this way, the present age is Easter time. It begins with the resurrection of the Redeemer, and it ends with the resurrection of the redeemed. So as the Redeemer, so the redeemed.

As Christ, so the Christian. Okay, look at verse 23, because this is the really good part. It culminates with change. I want that, especially the older I get.

I want change. Verse 23, but each one in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterward those who are Christ's at his coming. Okay, let's peek ahead a little bit. Go to verse 49. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, that's Adam as explained previously, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man, that is Jesus Christ. We're going to look like Jesus Christ. Our bodies will be like him. Philippians 3 21, we mentioned that a couple weeks ago. Paul said he will transform our lowly bodies, that they may be like his own glorious body. First John chapter three, we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we will see him as he is. Now this answers the question.

And here's the question. What will our bodies be like when they rise from the dead? Answer, they will be like Jesus' body when it rose from the dead. Say, well, what was Jesus' body like when he rose from the dead? Glad you asked.

So here's the answers. Number one, first, our resurrection bodies will be our earthly bodies glorified. Won't be a different one, won't be a new one, it'll be this one. When Jesus rose from the dead, did he get raised from the dead in a wholly different body than the one he had? No, it was the same body, right?

The tomb was empty. It's not like his body was still there decomposing and he's running around as a phantom. His body that was buried was the body that came out of the grave. They didn't see a phantom or a hallucination or a ghost, it was him.

That's a very important point. There's a one to one correspondence with the body of Jesus that died and was buried and the one that was raised from the dead. It was him. It was that body glorified. Jesus predicted it. John chapter two, he said, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

John gives an editorial comment. This he spoke referring to his own body, his physical body. Now bring that up, it's very important because some Christians assume that God will create a new permanent body, ex nihilo, out of nothing and give it to them upon death. Now if that were so, then there's no need for the doctrine of the resurrection.

And you can rip 1 Corinthians 15 out of your Bibles because that's the whole premise. Our bodies will be resurrected from the dead. That's how Jesus described resurrection. Once again, listen to his words, all who are in the graves.

Now that's descriptive. That means dead people who get put down in the casket and lowered into the earth. All those who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out.

Nothing could be more graphic. It's their bodies resurrected. So it's better to refer to that future state not as your new body but as your glorified body because it's going to be your body glorified. So back to the question, why does God want to resurrect our body if we have a new one?

The answer is you won't have a new one. You'll have this one renewed, made new, resurrected, glorified. And that is full redemption. Romans 8 verse 22.

We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. That's when redemption is complete upon resurrection. So number one, our resurrection bodies will be our bodies glorified.

That was Jesus. Same body but glorified. Number two, our resurrection bodies will have advanced properties, shall we say?

Advanced properties. You know what I mean by that? Jesus had advanced properties, right? He had other world capabilities. I mean, it was his body, but it sure acted different after the resurrection than before, right? For instance, in John chapter 20 verse 19, he could pass through solid walls.

Won't that be fun? Disciples were in the upper room, made out of stone, everything in Jerusalem was. Doors were shut and locked for fear of the Jews and Jesus entered the room. Can you guys let me in? Jesus, behold, I stand at the door and knock.

He didn't have to do that. He just came in through the walls. Second, he could suddenly appear in one place and quickly go to another place from out of nowhere. He was on the road to Emmaus with the disciples.

They left. He parted and then suddenly showed up in a room where the disciples were gathered. And it says on that occasion, when they saw Jesus, they were terrified and they suppose they had seen a spirit. It's a ghost. And it says this, Jesus said to them, handle me.

Now listen to this, handle me. Here's his resurrection body. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones like you see that I have. Here's Jesus' body, glorified, resurrected, flesh and bones, physical, real, but with other world capabilities. Third, it seems that perhaps he was able to change his form because on three different occasions in the New Testament, those who knew him intimately didn't recognize him at first. And then they did recognize him when he revealed himself to them. Some suppose that's because of the marks left by the crucifixion. Others suppose, as I do, that it's Jesus, but in a glorified form, there is a resemblance, but they didn't at first recognize him.

And fourth, there's a cool part. Jesus' body after the resurrection could move vertically as well as horizontally, right? He did what? Ascended into heaven. Acts chapter one, verse nine. He's hanging out with the disciples. All of a sudden it's like his body going upward up into the clouds and the disciples were going like, that is so utterly cool. I want to do that.

And they will one day. That's what the angel said. Don't gaze up into heaven. That same Jesus who left will come back just like he left.

Same manner. Physical, down, touching on the Mount of Olives. Now that becomes important as later on I'm going to describe for you your ultimate destination, which is New Jerusalem.

And when I tell you how it's constructed, this idea of moving vertically has a lot of fun possibilities to it. So what will your body be like in the resurrection? Like Jesus' body?

Real, physical, with other world capabilities. Now Paul will describe more precisely what that is like in the verses that follow in 1 Corinthians 15. We'll save that for next week and answer questions next week like, well, now wait a minute. What if your body's handicapped now?

Or you lose a limb now? And what about that cremation idea and several subjects like that I hope will get cleared up? Let's finish up today with verses 24 through 28. Here's now the third aspect to resurrection. It will be appropriated.

This is future now because look what he says. Verse 24, then comes the end. Okay, then comes the end.

When Jesus comes back, resurrects the body. Verse 23, then comes the end. When he delivers the kingdom of God to the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power, he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet.

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For he has put all things under his feet, quoting Psalm 8. When he says all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him is accepted.

That is the Father. Now when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject to him, the Father who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. So here now is the culmination of everything. When Jesus turns over the restored world to the Father, the very reason that he was sent is to recover it. Because of the fall and the curse that came from Adam's sin, because of the judgment of the Tribulation period trashed by judgment, it will be renewed by Christ. So we can think ahead.

We don't have to turn to it. Revelation chapter 5 is a picture of Jesus the Lamb taking the scroll, the title deed of the earth, from the Father to take it back from Satan the usurper to recover the earth and present it back to the Father. How will he do that? Well, the Bible tells us exactly in the book of Revelation. There'll be a thousand year millennial peace on earth where there will be no rebellion tolerated. Jesus will rule with an iron rod.

But at the end of that period there will be a rebellion, a brief rebellion, the last insurrection that will be stopped, completely stopped. And then after that thousand year reign, it even gets weirder than that if you think it's weird so far, hang on, because there'll be a second resurrection. This time for unbelieving dead people. They'll be raised up, they'll stand before the white throne, great white throne judgment, and they'll be given the capability and the physical form to withstand eternal punishment forever and ever. That'll be their resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who goes through the first resurrection, the scripture says, the second death has no power over him. We who are raised, incorruptible, without the presence of sin, unable to fall, unable to sin, without the old nature, there is no second death. But their resurrection takes place a thousand years later. Now after all that's done, that comes the next phase, the eternal state. This earth is obliterated and so is heaven because God makes a new heaven and a new earth with its new city capital, new Jerusalem. I know we have New Mexico, but this is going to be even newer and better than that. It's going to be the eternal state.

Here's a point. We need resurrected body for two reasons. Number one, because of original sin, to reverse that, we already talked about that.

Number two, for the future. The future renewed resurrected millennial earth demands renewed resurrected physical bodies. The eternal state requires eternal bodies. So to complete our redemption and to fit us for the future demands resurrection.

Here's the point of the whole passage. Resurrection has been around a long time. It's been anticipated a long time and when Jesus rose again from the dead, according to the scripture, he set in motion an inexorable chain reaction that will include your physical resurrection. Your body raised, made glorified.

The first fruits were the harvest. Now let's suppose, let's suppose that everything that I've said this week and the last few weeks is all hooey. It's bunk. It's metaphysical nonsense. An unbeliever would listen to this and go, please.

Well, let's just suppose that's true. If there is no hereafter, if this is all there is, if there is no hereafter, then nothing matters. You can do anything you want, right?

Anything you want. Nothing matters. But if there is a hereafter, then nothing else matters.

Follow? There is a hereafter. If all of this happens to be true, nothing else matters. And now we understand that though death is no respecter of persons, everybody will die unless the Lord comes back first.

Resurrection is a respecter of persons because there's different resurrections, the evil and the just. There was a man who went to his doctor for a checkup and he called his doctor three days later and the doctor obviously had forgotten what he sounded like. And so the doctor said, you know, I'm so sorry, but I have, well, I've got bad news and worse news.

You don't expect to hear that. Maybe I've got good news and bad news. But the doctor said, I got bad news and worse news.

And here's the bad news. You have 24 hours to live. 24 hours to live, doc. That's not enough time to even get my affairs in order. What could possibly be worse than that?

And the doctor said, I was supposed to tell you yesterday, but I forgot. That would be worse. That would be worse. It's appointed for men to die once. And after this comes the judgment. Resurrection is a respecter of persons. And how you live and how you choose today to live will determine how you die, when you're resurrected and where you spend time in that resurrected state. That's the eternal truth of the gospel, the same message. There are some who believe that this life is all we get, so you might as well make the best of it. And while it's a good idea to enjoy this life as much as possible, isn't it comforting to know that there's so much more to come after this life is over? Well, it's only comforting if you believe in the gospel of Christ, because without that, future eternity is very bleak, indeed. That's just about all the time we have for today. But if you'd like a copy of today's message from Skip, stay with us, and we'll tell you how to order that in just a moment.

But first, here's an update from the Connect with Skip resource center. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus loves the devout and the doubters, priests and prostitutes, the diseased and the depressed. Jesus just loves people, all people, no matter what's their past or their present. Sadly, sometimes it's the people who need love the most, who feel the most rejected, even by the church.

But if Jesus loves all people, shouldn't we? We want to help you grasp God's relentless love for people by sending you the complete four-booklet Jesus Loves People collection by Skip Heitzig. These booklets look to scripture to demonstrate Jesus's love for people from every walk of life. Get all four Jesus Loves People titles, including Jesus Loves the Broken and Jesus Loves Addicts when you give a gift of $25 or more today to help expand this Bible teaching outreach. To give, call 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com. Now, if you'd like a copy of today's teaching, Rise and Shine, make sure you give us a call at 1-800-922-1888.

You could also get a copy of this entire series, Edge of Eternity, all 17 messages, only $39 plus shipping. Find out more at connectwithskip.com. People today spend millions of dollars trying to get the perfect body. But next time here in Connect with Skip Weekend Edition, we'll find out how we can get the perfect body for free. Connect with Skip Weekend Edition is a presentation of Connection Communications. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection, a connection, a connection. Connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.