March 17, 2014

THE RESURRECTION GIVES LIFE OVER DEATH. IT MAKES MORTAL INTO IMMORTAL. IT GIVES US VICTORY OVER DEATH.

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Kelly Wright
Monday's Devo

March 17, 2014

Monday's Devo

March 17, 2014

Central Truth

It is only through the RESURRECTION body that we as believers have victory over death. God uses the uniqueness of His people to accomplish His perfect plan.

Key Verse | 1 Corinthians 15:56–58

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:56-58)

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 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 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; 1 15:45 Greek a living soul the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall 2 15:49 Some manuscripts let us also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55  “O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Footnotes

[1] 15:45 Greek a living soul
[2] 15:49 Some manuscripts let us

Dive Deeper | 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

In this passage, Paul writes about how believers overcome death and can have an everlasting life with God. Have you ever thought about how we are raised from the dead just like Jesus? In this passage Paul mentions that we are sown like seeds and must die before we can have life. As the seed is planted, it grows into a unique body by God's design. In verse 42, the body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 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.

How are you going to use your body to serve Him? I love the assurance Paul gives us in verse 58 to stand firm and let nothing move you, for your labor in the Lord will not be in vain. There is a song by Sidewalk Prophets that challenges us to live like that. You can play it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxWncNbaWoo.

"Live Like That"

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of us
Was my worship more than just a song

Chorus:
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

Am I proof
That You are who You say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed
When they see me, do they see You

Chorus

I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

Chorus

Discussion Questions

1. How will you use your earthly body to serve God?

2. What do people see when they see you?

3. What victories did God give you today?

4. Are you giving yourself fully to the work of the Lord?