(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Song number 33. You can begin this morning's service by singing song number 33. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Christ the Lord is risen today. Can you name that? Let's turn to the song number 36. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The song number 36, Price of Withers. The attendances and salvations are only updated through the 24th and 21st, respectively. And then the March offerings are up to date and updated to change there. But if you're curious about that. Over on the right-hand side, of course, I have an Easter from me and mine to you and yours. And don't forget tonight we're going to have the Easter sundaes. So we'll have ice cream sundaes with all the toppings. Well, most of them tonight after the evening service. Also, don't forget next Sunday, April 7th, we'll be meeting here at 10 a.m. early for coffee and donuts in honor of those celebrated birthday in April. Again, just a couple of, nothing new on the back here. Just a couple of the same announcements regarding some events going on elsewhere up at 10 p.m. We had the Small Town Soul winning trip to Eloy on Saturday, April 13th. Thanks for finishing that. If you would like more details about that, please speak with me. We'll put you in on that. Below that, also, Fairview is having, Fairview Baptist Church of Sacramento, that is. It's hosting their, seems to be an annual event these days. Their youth conference, which is always great. If you want to make it out there, you have the gates. The details and reservations are available at Fairview Baptist Church. Just to clarify, the church, the faithful ward is not, they're not paying for room and board. They're not paying for any traveling expenses. Well, this one's on you. So if you want to go, that's where to find information. I highly encourage you, if you can, make it, to do so. It's a great event, great for our young people. And also, continue to pray for the expectant ladies in our church. These are the tent meetings, of course. Mrs. Lamb is expecting as well, so continue to pray for her. And that'll do it for announcements. We'll go ahead and sing one more song before we get into preaching. Preaching? Are we singing another song? Are we getting ready? Okay. We're going to do another song. We've got four songs on this one. The bonus song we'll be doing, song number 10, Dear the Cross. Song number 10. ["Dear the Cross"] ["Dear the Cross"] ["Dear the Cross"] ["Dear the Cross"] ["Dear the Cross"] Amen. This time we'll pass it over. As the play goes around, let's turn our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. That's 1 Corinthians 15. I believe the entire chapter. It's all alongside me. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, the beginning of verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare it to you, the gospel which I preach unto you, also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep, in memory what I preach unto you, unless ye have believeth in me. For I deliver unto you, first of all, that which I also receive, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Seacrest, then of the 12th. After that he was seen of above five hundred bread men at once, of whom greater, the greater part remain under this present, but as some are falling asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also, as one of the born out of due time, for I am the least of the apostles that I am not mean to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they are. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it were I or they, so be preached and so be believed. Now if Christ be preached, that he rose from the dead, I'll say so among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead, but if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preach in vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised us Christ, whom he raised not of. If so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins. Then they also, which are fallen asleep in Christ, have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all of men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. For every man in his own order cries the firstfruits, after where they better Christ at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom of God, even to the Father, even the Father when he shall put down all will and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him, that put all things under him. That God may be all in all. Alas, what shall they do, which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? Why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die gated. If after the manner of men I have fought the beast at Ephesus, what advantage it need, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame, but some men would 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. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not, that body that shall be, but bear grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain. But God giveth it a body, as it had pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, and another of 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, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, but one star different from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorrupting. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown in a natural body. It is raised in a spiritual body. 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 quickened spirit. Howbeit, that was not the first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward 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 of heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that the flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment in the twinkling of eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruption, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when the corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the same that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O great, 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 victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, so moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Brother Adam, can you pray for us? Our Heavenly Father, just thank you for today, Lord God. We thank you for your goodness and mercy. We thank you for opportunity to be in your house, Lord God. We thank you for your son that shed his blood for us. Not only did he die, but he rose again, Lord God. We always want to remember that. We acknowledge you today, Lord God, and thank you for all you do in our lives, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And again, welcome everybody to Faithful Word. It's good to see everybody out for Easter Sunday. Of course, we're celebrating the resurrection, and we've turned to really the quintessential chapter on the resurrection and the Word of God. Of course, the Bible and the New Testament particularly speaks a lot about the resurrection. There's a lot we could talk about this morning. And 1 Corinthians 15 really is just a great chapter to kind of focus in on, on a day in which we are celebrating the resurrection of Christ. And it covers several things about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection in general. And, you know, it talks about how, you know, what it's going to be like for us at the end, really, which is really, you know, a real fascinating part of the chapter. But if you want to start with me there, 1 Corinthians 15, but let's look over it again. It says in verse one, More of her brethren I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which you also have received where any stand, by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory and preach what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. So there again, Paul is alluding the fact that the resurrection of Christ is something that's been alluded to in the Old Testament. These are things that they were well aware of, things that when it came to pass, they were able to connect the dots and see the resurrection of Christ in the scriptures themselves. The other thing I'd point out here in this chapter is that we get a good definition of the gospel, right? I declare unto you the gospel, which by which you are also saved, there's some more good doctrine on salvation. What are you saved by? You're saved by the gospel. What is the gospel? How that Christ died for our sins, the end of verse three, according to scriptures, that he was buried, right? And then he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. That is the gospel. That's why the gospel literally means good news. You know, the good news of the gospel is that Christ has died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. And those are all, you know, essential elements in the gospel itself. And today we celebrate really one aspect of that, the resurrection of Christ. Okay, obviously without, you can't have the resurrection without Christ having first died. That's a whole other aspect that we can look at. But this morning we're to look at really just the resurrection of Christ itself. And not so much his death. That's what we tend to focus on on Easter Sunday. Moving on here, it says in verse five, and that he was seen of Cephas, right? Peter. Then of the twelve, after that, he was seen of five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained unto this present, which is the right time when Paul was writing it, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James, and of all the apostles, and the least of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of due time. So the other thing we can get out of this chapter, which is again really what's called the resurrection chapter in the New Testament, is that the resurrection itself was witnessed first hand by literally hundreds of people at that time. When it took place, hundreds of people, you know, at least here we have a number, right? We say exactly how many people. Well, we know five hundred and the twelve, so five hundred and twelve, and last of all Paul. So at least five hundred and thirteen people bore witness to the resurrection of Christ. Truth be told, there was probably many more other people that witnessed the resurrection of Christ that saw the resurrected Christ, because after his resurrection, we know that he did remain for forty days upon the earth, preaching and teaching and showing himself alive to his disciples, okay? So there's hundreds of people that we know of at that time that witnessed first hand the resurrection of Christ. The Bible here is telling us that it contains eye witness testimony of the resurrection. Now you have to think about what it is that we're professing on Easter Sunday when we're talking about the resurrection. We're talking about the most profound event in all of human history, the resurrection of Christ. You know, sometimes I think we lose sight of how truly profound it is that one has risen from the dead, okay? If that were something that were to take place today, it wouldn't just be, you know, a seven day news cycle. It's going to be something that would be talked about and spoken of for many, many centuries, right? Think about if someone just came back from the dead today at a time when we have the ability to just disseminate information across the globe in an instant where things could be recorded. I mean, you could have video of this. You could have audio of it. I mean, you get a first hand testimony that would be shared across the world in an instant, right? This would be a very profound event if it took place today. Well, here's the thing. It's no less profound just because of the fact that it took place, you know, 2,000 and some odd years later or earlier, correct? It's still just as profound then as it would be today. The difference is, is that obviously they didn't have the technology to have this just spread across the globe to where everyone's just going to go, oh yeah, of course Christ resurrected from the dead. I saw it with my own eyes, right? But Paul is here telling us that, hey, 500 people at a minimum saw the resurrection of Christ. He showed himself alive. There are eyewitnesses of this testimony. So that would be, because some people will doubt the resurrection. They'll try to, you know, say it was some kind of a conspiracy or something like that. That would mean like 500 people have to get in on that, right? There'd be a lot of, you know, there'd be a lot of coordinating, try to get people's stories to match, make sure everyone's saying the same thing, which is not easy to do, right? Even when you're trying to, you know, say something that's true, you know, try to get everybody on the same page is difficult. You know, if we recollected a story and experience that we all, you know, went through and told that story to different people, our stories, although true, would probably have some differences in them, wouldn't they? But here we have 500 people all agreeing we saw the resurrected Christ. Okay? So the Bible contains this eyewitness testimony of the resurrection. Now, the other thing I want to point out is that no evidence has been produced that would discount their eyewitness testimony, has there? So we say, well, how do you believe it? Well, we have the eyewitness testimony recorded in scripture. Say, oh, yeah, but that's just a book that somebody wrote. Well, of course you would write about it. Of course you would sit down and write about that. I mean, think about the things that people write about today, the things that people report today. They report just the most bizarre, strange, meaningless, vain things, don't they? I mean, people are just producing things and writing things that have really no value at all. And people, you know, by the thousands read it and take it in and believe it. Of course, if someone resurrected from the dead, someone's going to write it down. Okay? So we have the eyewitness testimony, and there's no evidence that exists to discount that testimony. I mean, if they had found a body in the grave, that would be pretty easy to dismiss, wouldn't it? You'd say, oh, there are a bunch of lies. No such body exists, right? And I know that, you know, people have tried to, you know, discount the resurrection by other means. Even when it happened, the Jews of those days, you know, paid the centurions to say that his disciples came and took him. They gave him great, you know, a large sum of money. They bribed them, you know, nothing new under the sun there. You know, they're bribing them to get them to, you know, discount the resurrection of Christ. Okay? And that is a saying that is popular even today. However, you know, we believe the Bible is the word of God. We believe the testimony of the resurrection. And therefore, we can read this chapter and glean some things out of it. Now, it's interesting that Paul here, when he kind of goes, the way he's kind of presenting this, right, this chapter is a very interesting chapter. He said, he's saying, hey, look, he was witnessed by 500 people. We have firsthand eyewitness testimony of Christ, right? He's like, it's indisputable. Right? We believe this. I saw him myself. Right? This is what Paul is saying. But it's interesting getting into verse 12 and onward that he then kind of makes an argument. He kind of puts forth this hypothetical situation, right, where he says, verse 12, now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no, that there is no resurrection of the dead? So there's people coming in saying, oh, there is no resurrection. Okay? And I really don't want to dive into that. I just want to dive into the argument or the point that Paul kind of puts forth here as a counterargument to these people. And this question, he says, but if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen, right? So he's kind of putting this forth and, hey, if there is no resurrection, consider this, okay? And that's kind of what the angle I'm going to take this morning on this passage is, if there be no resurrection, if there be no resurrection. You know, we shouldn't take the resurrection lightly. I think, you know, that's why it's a good thing to be in church. You know, if you're not someone who's regular in church, if you're not somebody who, you know, makes, has gotten in the habit of being church on a regular basis, maybe only visit church once in a blue moon, you know, Easter is a great day to do it because you're literally there acknowledging this very significant event in human history. And I think it's great that we have a day that the whole world recognizes as this very significant day, even if they try to, you know, whitewash it and make it about some stupid bunny rabbit, you know. Even if they, at least they're acknowledging that something happened on that day, right. And we're not, obviously we're not celebrating, you know, some rabbit laying eggs, right, leaving little candy droplings for your children to find or whatever, you know, jelly beans and things like that. We're celebrating, you know, and we're recognizing and acknowledging the resurrection of Christ this morning. It's a very significant thing. You say, and I'm just trying to make the point here is that, you know, I think some people, sometimes we lose track of how truly profound it is. And if that's us this morning, then we need to consider this. What if there be no resurrection? What if there is no resurrection? Because another angle that Paul takes on this chapter is that he's talking about the resurrection of Christ, but then he goes into our resurrection, right, because these people are saying, hey, the resurrection is passed already. Saying, well, if there be no resurrection, consider this, okay. He's saying if there be no resurrection of the dead, then it's Christ not risen. Right. If no, if there is no resurrection to come, then Christ must not have risen because he is the firstfruits of the resurrection. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is our preaching vain and your faith is vain also. Yea, we have found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead raise not, rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised. And if Christ be not raised and your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins, then they also which are falling asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most miserable. So he puts forth this argument, says, hey, consider this, if there be no resurrection, and then he follows up with several points. He says, if there be no resurrection, A, B, C, and D. So just quickly look at that. Very quickly here, he says, if there be no resurrection, one, our preaching is vain. Our preaching is vain. Think about it. We are going out there and preaching the resurrection of Christ. At least we ought to be. You know, we're out there. We're getting up on Easter Sunday and saying, hey, Christ is risen from the dead. Okay. We're going out there and preaching the gospel. One of those elements of the gospel that we just looked at at the beginning of the chapter is that Christ rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That's what we're going out and telling people. We're going out and telling people, hey, the good news of the gospel is that Christ is risen from the dead. But if Christ be not raised, then our preaching is pointless. There's no point to it. Paul says it's vain. It's empty. It's meaningless. It has no weight. It has no merit. It has no value. It's worthless to go out there and preach that because it's not true. And if Christ be not raised and our preaching is in vain, then we have nothing to offer this world. We have no hope to offer. None. And look, people, you know, they stress about death. They are in bondage of the fear of death all their life. Some people, you know, they or they try very hard to not think about it until they absolutely have to. They distract themselves with things. They put it off or they, you know, just try to live, you know, you know, they try to optimize their health and everything to live as long as they possibly can on this earth because they're terrified, even if it's on a subconscious level, of what awaits them in the next world unless they've done a really good job of convincing themselves of a lie, right, or they just swallowed the lies that others have told. Oh, when you die, nothing happens. You just go into nothing. You know, you turn into stardust. You know, that sounds real romantic and it sounds very poetic. You know, I'm going to go in, I'm just going to go back to the earth and I'm going to come back, you know, my body will decompose and I'll come back as a flower. Well, that doesn't, that's not really much of a consolation to me. You know, that doesn't really exactly, you know, put me at ease. Oh, when I die, you know, when I die, I just cease to exist. You know, I kind of like existing. You know, I like experiencing things. I like having a consciousness. I like interacting with other people. I like the fact that we can learn and understand and know things about the world and universe and we can grow in our knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like, I like that. The idea of me just ceasing to exist, that's no, you know, that's no consolation. It's better than hell. That's really what they're getting at because they know that's, you know, what the Bible teaches. When you die, you're going to go to heaven or go to hell, right? We ask people a lot of time, you know where you're going to go when you die? Well, I'm not sure. Heaven, I hope. And I'm always like, yeah, it beats the alternative, right? Because the alternative is hell. So people, you know, they don't want to believe in the resurrection. They think, oh, Christ be not risen. He isn't risen. There is no resurrection. That means that our preaching is vain. We have nothing to offer them. There is no hope. You know, they don't have any hope of the next life. You know, some foolish, stupid thing. So, again, I'm trying to get us to understand the magnitude, the importance of the resurrection and the impact that it has on our lives today, okay? If Christ be not risen, you know, the one way to make that emphasis on the resurrection is to consider if it weren't true, right? Because that's what Paul's doing in the chapter. Hey, if there be no resurrection, right? Consider this, that our preaching is vain. It's pointless. What are we doing? Verse, he goes on and says, uh, your, uh, Christ be not risen in verse 14, and if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain. Not only the preaching that you're doing, but what you believe yourself, your faith is also vain. You, you believed a lie. You're professing something that isn't true and you're also believing something that isn't true. Your faith is in vain. If Christ be not risen, not only does the world have no hope, we have nothing to offer them, but we ourselves have no hope. You know, Christ be not risen, it's not like we can just keep telling us the story, this myth of the resurrection just to make ourselves feel good, right? If you knew it wasn't true, you wouldn't believe it. If you were convinced that there is no resurrection, you know, not only would you not have anything to offer, you yourself would have no hope either. Your faith would be in vain. It'd be pointless to be meaningless to believe in the Bible, to believe in the resurrection. I mean, what comfort could you take from something that you knew wasn't true? None. You can't. We would know that, hey, we believed a lie. You know, we believed a lie. We perpetuated a lie. As he goes on and says here, he says, verse 15, yea, we are found false witnesses of God. We're false witnesses. If Christ be not raised, you know what? We're false witnesses. We have nothing to offer. We ourselves are hopeless, and we have perpetuated a lie. And not just us, but centuries of people, you know, of just thousands of people over the centuries that have come before us. Just think of the centuries worth, you know, the thousands of years of preaching that has taken place since the resurrection of Christ till today. Just how many times has somebody gotten up and preached on the resurrection of Christ? I mean, it's without number. Like, you couldn't even begin to count it. How many people just today alone? How many people are getting up behind a pulpit and are preaching, hey, Christ is risen, right? It's happening all across the country today. All across this world it's taking place. That would mean if Christ be not risen, that everyone's getting up preaching lies, and that's been going on for literally centuries of just meaningless, vain preaching, right? Worst of all, you know, that's bad enough, right? If Christ be not risen, we have no hope to offer. We have no hope ourselves. We've believed a lie, and we have perpetuated a lie through thousands of years of preaching the resurrection of Christ if it be not true. But worse than that is the fact that if Christ be not risen, ye are yet in your sins. Think about it. If there was no resurrection, what else has changed? Nothing, really. Would it change anything about human nature? Would it change anything about sin in the world? Nope. That's still there. We'd still have to find an explanation for why people are the way that they are. There would still be evil in the world. You know, it's not going to change the fact that the problem of evil still exists. It's still there, right? It's not like we would suddenly be in some utopia. We would still have to deal with sin, except we would have no way of dealing with it. And that's, you know, one of the profound things about the resurrection of Christ, is that in Christ, we have victory over death and the grave. We have victory over sin. But if Christ be not risen, you know, our faith is vain. We have no hope, and we still have our sin to deal with. That's what Paul says there in verse 17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. As we just explained, ye are yet in your sins. He's like, well, Christ be not raised, then, you know, don't worry about sin. It's like, no, you still have a problem called sin. You still have to find someone who still needs to atone for that sin. That doesn't change. If Christ be not risen, you know, we're false witnesses of God. God is still there. God still exists. God is still holy. God is still just. And you are still, we all have still fallen short of the glory of God. And we have to find somebody to atone for our sins. You are yet in your sins. The problem of evil still exists. You know, sin has to be explained and atoned for where God is not just. OK, now it goes on here and says, verse 18, then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. You know, that's it. They're gone. If there's no resurrection, all those people you're hoping to see in heaven, you won't. They're gone. They perished because they're still in their sins. They put their faith in something that didn't happen. Right. So hopefully this is kind of helping drive home the importance of the resurrection this morning when we think about what if it wasn't true? What if it hadn't happened? OK. You know, everybody that you love that got saved and died is perished because they believed a lie, a lie that we told them. Right. Verse 19, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. You know, if we just have the if we just have hope of Christ only in this life, we just you know, at least we know there's no resurrection, but at least we still have you know, some good moral teachings to help us get along on Earth. Right. At least you and I still know how to, you know, love thy neighbor as thyself, as Jesus said, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Right. At least we still have that. At least we still have the teachings of Christ, the moral teachings that Jesus taught. At least he's, you know, I know he didn't resurrect from the dead, you know, and his sacrifice and his atonement is meaningless and has no power. But at least we have the words that he said. Well, you know, Paul said if Christ be not risen, we're still miserable people. It doesn't matter how good we are. It doesn't matter, well, you know, at least Christ taught me how to be a better person. And look, the teachings of Christ, if you embrace them, will make you a better person. It's a fact, you know. But we're still of all men most miserable. Why? Because we still have the problem of sin to deal with. Because we still have to find somebody atone for our sin. Because we are still yet in our sins. We are of all men most miserable. You know, there's only self and sin to live for at that point. If Christ be not risen, if the resurrection is true, if our faith is vain, if our preaching is vain, if what we believe is not true, then we're miserable. Why would we go around perpetuating a lie? Why are we spending our time the way we're doing? Why are we here this morning? Why do we get up and read 1 Corinthians 15? Why are we praying? Why are we singing these songs? What are we doing? It's a waste of time if Christ be not risen. Because our faith is in vain. Isn't that what Paul's saying? If Christ be not risen, your faith is in vain. And you are of all men most miserable. We're the most miserable wretched creatures there are. That's what he's saying. That's kind of what he gets at in verse 32. If after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageeth it be? Well, you know, what's the point of me suffering for Christ if Christ be not risen? What does it advantage me if the dead rise not? You know, if I'm not going to have a resurrection, if Christ didn't have a resurrection, I'm not going to have a resurrection. You know, why would I put my neck on the line, you know, tangling with beasts at Ephesus if the dead rise not? He says, let us drink for tomorrow we die. Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Look, if Christ be not risen, you know, let's just throw in the towel and just go back into the world and just be like everybody else and just make our life about the flesh. That's what he's saying, right? Why suffer? Why go through with it? Why put ourselves out there? Why, you know, suffer the persecution that we suffer? We might not suffer to the degree that Paul is going to suffer, right? But we all suffer to some degree. You know, if we're trying to live for Christ, if we believe in the resurrection, we believe that Christ, as he said, behold I come quickly and my reward is with me. If we believe that and we labor to enter into that rest and be rewarded to hear those words, well done, good and faithful servant, you know, that's going to require sacrifice. That's going to require suffering to some degree. If we believe those things and we're going to mortify the flesh as we're taught, you know, if we're going to put off the old man and put on the new man, if we're going to walk in newness of life, you know, we're going to suffer. That's going to be a difficult thing to do. We're going to be at odds with the flesh every day of our life. Because these things are contrary one to another. You can't, you know, we can't walk in the flesh in the spirit at the same time. It's impossible. So Paul's saying, look, if Christ be not risen, let's not try to even fight that battle. Let's just give up. Let's just give into the flesh. Let's just be like everybody else because there's no point if there is no resurrection, if Christ be not raised. The only thing to live for is self and sin. And notice, I want to make this point, that Paul says if that's the case, if all you have to live for in this life is yourself and sin, you're miserable. That's an important point. If you sit there and think, oh, you know, it's going to be so great when I can just go out and indulge the flesh. When I can just, you know, get out of church, quit the church, get away from my parents and just go live like everybody else. Just drop all these standards and just go live a life of sin. Well, you're setting yourself up for a miserable life. And people get to say, oh, that's not true. I don't believe that. That's not true. Yeah, we'll see about that. Yeah, we will see. You know, and take it from some people that have been around long enough and understand and know what life's actually like and what it has to offer and the consequences of it and just trust them when they say that, hey, if you just make your life about yourself and about sin and not the things of God, it's going to be a miserable life. Well, it's like, well, that's not what I see when I look out there and I see all these people having such a good time. You don't see them behind closed doors. You don't see them, you know, when they're in their doctor's office with an STD. You don't see all the pills they have to take because they've contracted some disease. You know, Satan doesn't show you, oh, here's what it's like to die from being an alcoholic. Oh, here's what it's like to be a loser pothead. Oh, here's what it's like to just be some fornicating idiot. That's not what he shows you. He just paints a little picture, oh, sin's great, it's wonderful. And there's pleasure in sin for a season, but the wages of sin is death. And Paul's saying, look, if there's no resurrection, why suffer? Why try to live for Christ? Just throw in the towel. There's no point. Let's just be like everybody else. Let's just go eat and drink and be married, for tomorrow we die. And he says, and if that's the case, if that's where we're at, if that's the truth, that there is no resurrection, if Christ be not raised, and there's no point, if our faith is vain, if our preaching is in vain, let's just go live for the flesh. He says, then we are, all men, most miserable, because we have no hope. Now, so these verses 12 through 19 is kind of where he puts forth this idea of like, hey, consider the fact of Christ be not risen. And I'm trying to use that this morning as a springboard to emphasize how truly great the resurrection is. Sometimes you don't know what you got until it's gone. If we were to take away the resurrection this morning and say it came out, actually, you know what, it didn't happen. Like I say, you woke up on Easter morning and turned on the news and there was just indisputable evidence that had come out and said, yep, the resurrection turns out never happened. You know, how ironic it would be on Easter, right? But let's say that was what had happened this morning, where I got up and said, you know what, this morning I'm here to blow the lid off the resurrection. The resurrection debunked. That's Paul's argument here, kind of, if you look at it that way. If that had happened, you know, that would be bad news. We'd be miserable. That's kind of the argument he takes. But he goes on and he assures us in verse 20, right? But now the Christ is risen from the dead. But now is Christ risen from the dead? And become the first fruits of them that slept. So he's saying, hey, don't worry, Christ is risen from the dead. We've got 500 witnesses, as well as the disciples and myself. He is risen from the dead, and not only that, but he's become the first fruits, right? He's the first that resurrected from the dead. Now, some people will say, well, wait a minute. Didn't other people resurrect from the dead when Christ was crucified? Remember the story that the graves opened and the saints were seen in Jerusalem, that some people came back from the dead? Yeah, but they died again, right? The resurrection that Christ has, he's risen to die no more, right? He said, behold, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore and have the keys of hell and of death. And he's risen to die no more. That's what makes him the first fruits. You know, you say, how great it must have been at the crucifixion of Christ to be one of those people that raised from the dead. I don't know that it would have been that great. I'd be like, great, what? You know, I was in heaven, you know, now I'm back here again, it's like this again, right? And now I got to go. Now I got to go die again. Think about it. There's people that literally have died twice in this world. Isn't that weird? Well, not in this world, right? There's people that died. Christ was crucified. They rose again and then died again, right? I can't imagine dying is a very pleasurable experience, right? We're all going to do it. I'm just trying not to be there when it happens, okay? But we're all going to have to. And eventually, you know, but these poor folks, they had to do it twice, right? This again, right? But he's saying, look, if Christ is risen from the dead, he's become the firstfruits. The good news about Christ's resurrection is means that you have one too, right? We're celebrating Christ's resurrection because it's a great event. It's the most powerful event in human history. But what does that mean to us? It means that our faith is not in vain. It means that we are not of all men most miserable. It means that our preaching is not in vain. It means that we have hope in this life and that we are not of all men most miserable. It means that our preaching is not in vain. It means that we have hope in this life and that we have hope in this life of the resurrection because if Christ be risen, then we also shall be risen because he is the firstfruits. Meaning that there shall be secondfruits and thirds and fourths and fifths, right? There's more coming after him. There's more resurrections to come and those resurrections are our own, okay? He says now Christ is risen from the dead and he's become the firstfruits of them that slept. He is the first of many and we have the promise of eternal life because of the fact that Christ is risen from the dead. He goes on and says in verse 21, for since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, shall all be made alive. The good news of the resurrection is that we have an atonement for our sin. That we don't have to go find somebody else to pay for our sins. We don't have to go out. We are not yet in our sins, as he said, because remember that's the argument he made. If Christ be not risen, ye are yet in your sins. But he says, even as in Adam all die, right, by one man sin entered the world and death came upon all men, even so in Christ shall all be made alive because Christ is resurrected from the dead. Meaning we are not yet in our sins. Do you follow? We have the promise of the resurrection because of the fact that Christ raised from the dead, as it says in 1 Thessalonians 4. We have the hope that we and we do not mourn as others, right? Because we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also shall Jesus that which sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him. There will be another resurrection of those that sleep in Christ. All shall be made alive. We have been delivered from sin. And he goes on and talks about the fact how death itself has been defeated. And I think that's an important point to make. That death has been defeated because he spends you know some time talking about this. Excuse me. Verse 23 he says but every man in his own order Christ the firstfruits afterward they that are Christ in his coming. Then come at the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God even the father and he shall put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And I love the fact that he says death is an enemy. I think it's important to remember because we're living in a day and age where people again they romanticize death. They try to make it into something it's not because they have no hope because they don't believe in the resurrection. They try to minimize death right. They try you know they get Elton John you know to get up and say it's the circle of life right. You know from the Lion King in your Disney movies you got some queers singing to your kids. That's the only verse I remember from that. It's the circle of life. I don't know if I'm getting the harmony or any of the tune right at all I don't care. Right but that's they indoctrinate people. Oh death is just it's just part of life. It's just part of the big circle we all go through and yada yada yada. Bible says it's an enemy. You know death is a punishment. Death is something is a curse upon mankind. You know but people romanticize it because they have no hope because in their minds Christ be not risen. But for us Christ is risen. And we are not like them. We don't have that same viewpoint we are not of all men most miserable. We're not miserable like that we don't we don't we don't mourn as others which have no hope. For us we hear the rest resurrection and say well that means that been defeated the last enemy that shall be defeated is death. And for us Christ has already given us that victory that's what he goes on. Verse twenty seven for he has put all things under his feet but when he says all things are put under it is manifest that he's expected accepted which did put all things under him and when all things shall be subdued on him then shall the son of also himself be subject on him that pull all things under him that God may be all and all. This is alluding to at the end of millennium when Christ is going to deliver up the kingdom of the father. Look at verse fifty five. Oh death where is thy sting. Oh grave where is thy victory. It's not there. It doesn't exist. It's been taken away. 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. And how did he do that. Through the resurrection. Through the resurrection. Christ is risen. And he has conquered sin and death and hell and has that has transferred that to us if we be in Christ then we can say the same thing as Paul said in verse fifty five. Oh death where is thy sting. Oh grave where is thy victory. I mean think about the finality of death. Oh grave where is thy victory. When people die without Christ that's it. Death wins. You die without Christ next second you'll wake up in hell. That's what the Bible teaches. And that's a popular message and people want to convince themselves that's not the truth. And I've heard people say some strange things over the years to try to avoid that painful truth. But the fact is that if you die you know if you die death wins. You die without Christ death wins. And death is going to have a sting to it isn't it. We all know people that we probably love that have died without Christ. You know this is a very profound thing to sit there and think that someone you love has passed and gone into hell. You know I've experienced that. You know I experienced that very recently in fact. Last week my father died. And I tried to preach to him the gospel you know several times over the last few years. And he shut me down every time. And it's an interesting you know I don't want to say it's interesting but it's a very it makes an impact when you realize when you get that phone call hey he's gone. And you realize in all likelihood. In fact with almost 100 percent certainty. At that very moment he's in hell. In torments as the Bible says. You know but that and that has a sting to it doesn't it. To think that about people that there's people that we know and love that have died and gone to hell. But so how can you say oh death where is thy sting and it's not like Paul saying that through the resurrection the sting is just taken away completely. Right it just it doesn't have the same impact for us as it does when people die without Christ. Look we're all know it I'm not going to get up and say that death is a breeze for any of us. Right. I'm sure when we all get close to the end. If we see it coming. It's going to be if I have to imagine it's a fearful thing to die. Just that you know just on a physiological level. Just the idea of your body dying right. There's still going to be that sting but the sting that isn't going to be there is that when we die those of us that believe that Christ is risen from the dead when we die. There will be no sting because we'll wake up in heaven. We'll have victory. We'll say where is the sting of death it's gone. It's there for others it's for those for those that have died without Christ it's still there. But for me and you which have believed in the resurrection of Christ. And because the fact that Christ is risen it's not just our faith it's the fact that Christ is risen from the dead. It's not just our faith that save us but it's a faith that we have that it's something that actually happened. Because the Christ be without it be not risen then our faith is vain. It doesn't matter what we believe. But we have believed and Christ is risen from the dead and therefore there is no sting in death. It's gone. Yes there'll still be the pain of death the physical aspect of it the fear that comes through passing through into the next world I'm sure that's you know and it's something you have to experience for yourself to really know what it's like. And we all will. Right. But for us the sting will be gone in the sense that when we're in heaven and the glorified body which he kind of goes on to describe in this chapter will say. Where is the sting of death. Oh grave where is that victory. It's a it's a it's a it's a hypothetical question. It's not there there is no victory there is no sting. It's been taken away. Why. Because Christ is risen from the dead. What are we celebrating when we're celebrating the resurrection of Christ. Just the fact that Christ raised from the dead. Yes. What does it mean to us. Well what does it mean to us. Well one way to think about it to get a sense of what it means to us is to think well what if Christ be not risen from the dead. Our faith is vain. We're liars. We've believed lies. We have nothing to offer this world. We might as well just go live like the rest of the people and be miserable and then die and have no comfort in that death and everyone that's died that we love we don't well I don't know what happened. Christ be not risen I guess they're just you know gone. But the fact is is that Christ is risen what it should mean to us is that we have victory in Christ. We should let that settle in. He's given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Goes on and says you know I got to hurry up here I know it's Easter Sunday. You know I should probably just go as long as I want but. He goes on talks about the resurrection the resurrected body right. I mean I don't care if this is the you know the more you think about God and everything he's done the more true the saying becomes God is good. God is so good. Every good and perfect gift you know descendeth down from the father of lights right I mean every good gift comes from God. And the more you think about what God has done for us this is the better he gets. I mean if I were to die and end up and go and go to heaven. Right. Which will happen. Right. It's not an if. When I die and go to heaven. I don't care if I woke up there you know with the same body I have now. Which isn't a possibility. Because you know the body is is sinful right but let's just say like I went there and I didn't get a glorified body I'd still be pretty happy with that. I'd rather you know go there with this same body go to heaven than to have this glorified body go to hell. Right. But God is so good because not only has he taken the sting out of death and he's only given us victory through Christ Jesus and his resurrection has become our first. Not only has he done all that when we get to heaven we get the resurrected body like he had. So you could see why this is such a great chapter on the resurrection because Paul emphasizes the importance of the resurrection what it means to us and he kind of does it kind of a back you know a roundabout way by saying think about if it didn't happen. Right. But it did happen. We do have the victory and not only he explains that aspect of it but then he goes on and kind of emphasizes it again gives us the victory on the resurrection where he talks about a resurrected body. OK. And this is one of my favorite subjects. I love this chapter. He says in verse 35 and I'm gonna take the time real quick. OK. And I'll try to wrap this up in this last point. He said but some men will say how are the dead rice and with what body do they come. You know it's funny like when people start to wonder about these things like well how do they resurrect from the dead and with what body do they come. It's a supernatural thing like it doesn't it doesn't need some scientific explanation behind it. Right. Like people say well if you're cremated how is God going to resurrect that body. Well he made man out of the dust folks like he literally formed man out of the dust of the earth. Like let's not forget who we're dealing with here. Doesn't need some scientific process. In fact Paul when people start navel gazing about these things and just going on he calls them fools. Right. Verse 36 thou fool. Right. Don't sit there and have these foolish things. Thou sowest is not quick and except it die and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain it may be of chance of weed or some of the grain. He's saying you put a seed in the ground a plant dies its seed falls to the earth it doesn't it grows another fruit. Right. Doesn't grow another seed. It's changed. Right. Just the way so shall it be with us but God giveth it a body as it pleaseth him and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh but there's another kind of flesh of men another of beasts another of fishes 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. So celestial and terrestrial talking about heaven celestial and terrestrial earth. Earth you're thinking like the word terra like terra firma is a reference to literal physical dirt. Right the earth celestial you know celestial beings celestial bodies talking about heaven. Yeah that which is above. Right. And he's saying that there's a difference between our earthly bodies our terrestrial body just like there's a difference between our body and that of an animal. Right. He's saying there's a difference between our body here on earth and our body which shall be in heaven. OK. And I wish there was more detail on this. The Bible doesn't go into great depth on this because this is fascinating. But I guess this is kind of God it's kind of like Christmas morning. Right. You wonder what's in the package what's behind all that shiny you know wrapping paper what's underneath the bow that's this is kind of God's Christmas morning. There is a celestial body. I'm only going to tell you I'm going to give you a hint what it's like. I don't think we can really fathom what it's going to be like to be in heaven and to have this body. And he's saying there is a difference. And look you say why are you going into this because this is part of the resurrection this is what the resurrection means to us. This is what it ought to mean. OK. It's not about the Easter Bunny for us this morning. It's not about some egg hunt somewhere. It's about the resurrection of Christ and it's not just about the fact that Christ resurrected. It's that that hasn't has an impact on our lives. What it means to us. It means that our faith is not in vain. It means we have not believed in life. It means this actually happened. And it means that there is the sting of death is gone. The victory of the grave is gone. And it gets better. Wait there's more. Not only are we going to be resurrected in heaven have no sting have no victory. We're going to be defeated in those things but on top of that we're also going to have this resurrected body like Christ's body. It's going to be magnified. It's going to be glorified. And look that's great news. Right. I don't want to drag this stinking corpse up there. You know I'm hoping you know if I end up spending 80 or so years in this thing that's enough. Right. I'm already kind of despising it as it is right now. It gets sick. It doesn't look good. You know I'm done with this thing like this is this thing's got some he's getting some miles on it I'm ready to trade it in. Right. It's like you get that new vehicle it's exciting for the first little while but then it's like the all the all the you know debris gets on the floor you stop washing it and starts having problems you're like it's time for a new one. You know sometimes that's how we feel about our bodies. Just like. I don't want to go to heaven and spend eternity in this flesh. And we're not going to. And there's some theological reasons why we can't we're not going to go into that. But he's saying look the good news of the resurrection is that it's real it happened and this is what it means to you. You're going to have victory over the grave and God is going to give you a glorified body. There are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial. Verse 41 there is one glory of the sun and other glory of the moon and other glory of the stars for one star differ from another in glory. So also in the resurrection of the dead it is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption. You know it's sown in death it's sown in corruption it's a sinful body that goes into the ground. It's sinful flesh that is going to be buried one day. It's something has died just like a seed you know it has to die a plant has to die to give that that life. It is sown in dishonor but it is raised in glory. It's changed. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. Look in the resurrected body there will be no sin. One of the great truths about the resurrection is that we will have we will be resurrected and will be resurrected like Christ meaning that we will not have sinful flesh. It is raised in power. The resurrection when you have that resurrected body that sin you struggle with is gone. It won't even it won't even be on your radar. Those temptations will have no power over us because we'll have this resurrected body. It is sown a natural body is raised a spiritual body there is a natural body there and there is a spiritual body. So it's not it's going to be different the body that we have right now. And so it is the first Adam was made a living soul the last and was made a cooking spirit how be it that was not that which is first is spiritual that which is natural and afterward that which is spiritual saying we have to have this natural body. Then we get the spiritual one. We will be resurrected as Christ was in a glorified body. And it has to be this way because of verse 50. Now this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither does corruption inherit in corruption. This corrupt sinful flesh cannot go into a perfect incorruptible heaven. They don't mesh. It's oil and water. If you would I'll close on this thought. Go to Luke 24 Luke 24. When our old man is dead and we are raised in the new man completely right. Because we are a new man you know we are a new creature in Christ behold all things are made new. The new man is in us but it's a spiritual new man right. We're still in this sinful flesh. I don't see any glorified bodies out there this morning. No offense. We still have to deal with it. Why are we going to get a new body? Because corruption cannot inherit in corruption. The body of sin must be destroyed so that we can have that new body. So let's just very quickly look at its attributes. Just one of them because again you know I like this subject and it's part of the resurrection. It's resurrection Sunday. It's Easter. We're talking about it. And you know we don't get to see the full package but God does let us kind of pull back the wrapping paper a little bit and get a glimpse. You know let's just shake it and try to get an idea of what's in there right. You've all done it. You know I've got an uncle had an uncle he passed but he literally on there and when his first Christmas together with his wife after they got married one Christmas he sat down and he shook everything he guessed every single one of his presents. Correctly he had every last one of them right. What a bummer of a Christmas morning right and it takes all the thrill out of it just like I knew it you know. Tear it open like yes that's what I thought. You know I'm glad God doesn't tell us everything about our resurrected body right. He kind of he kind of gives us a taste. Does he want you know here's a glimpse at it. Here's what it's going to be a little bit like and we get to just kind of peel the paper back a little bit. Verse 24 this is of course after Christ resurrection. He says in verse thirty six and as they thus spake the disciples being gathered together. Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and saith unto them peace be unto you. Remember that and they they've locked the door right there they're assembled. They've locked the door and then Christ just appears in the midst of them. Right and he's in this glorified body now. He's resurrected to die no more. OK. So he's in his glorified form in the midst of them. Meaning he just he just in a moment appeared. Now is that something we're going to be able to do. I think so. And it makes sense when you go into the you know the millennium and start considering the millennial reign of Christ. That we will rule and reign with Christ. You know that as he said you know in his parables to to the good servants you know be thou over five cities be thou over ten that we shall rule and reign with and the Bible literally says that in the resurrection we shall judge angels. That we will be kings and priests unto our God. So we're going to be serving Christ in his millennial reign. We will be given authority. Right. And it might be that we're over cities. I don't know that I want to be over Tucson at that point you know. Maybe somewhere in Europe. I don't know. Right. Whatever. Whatever I get. You know. But here's Jerusalem. And I need to get down to whatever city I'm ruling over. I need to I can't take. I need to be able to get there right now because in the in in the millennial reign. It's instant justice. You know people aren't just going to get away with it there's not going to be some long drawn out legal problem. That's what the Bible says first John three verse two beloved. Now we are the sons of God. Are we the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be just like Paul saying in First Corinthians chapter fifteen. There is a body terrestrial and body celestial. Right. There's one glory of the sun the moon and the stars that they differ from these things. And John is backing it up says it does not appear what we shall be. Meaning we're we're one thing now but we're going to be changed. We're going to be just something different. It hasn't been. It does not fully appear we don't completely understand what it's going to be like but there will be a difference and it will be significant and it will be magnificent. But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him. Which is what Paul says in First Corinthians fifteen again. That in the moment the twinkling in my eye. You know we should all be changed. Right. When Christ comes and he receives you know the those that are dead in Christ and then they which we were alive remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Right. In that instant in that moment in that twinkling of an eye when Christ returns to me the resurrection and the rapture and in that moment we're going to change. That quickly in the twinkling of an eye we shall all be changed that's what he says. And again John's backing that up. We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and we're going to be hold God in his glory. This sinful flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We have to be changed and that's how quickly it's going to happen so that we can see him as he is. We have to be like he is we have to have that glorified body. Verse three and every man that hath this open hand purifies himself even as he is pure. So you know Paul takes the time in first Corinthians 15 to really dig down into the resurrection right and what it means to us and what it would mean if Christ be not risen. And he kind of ends with this reminder about hey if Christ be risen we're going to be changed. He's the first fruits and then us. We come after him. And part of that resurrection is that new body. Go back to first Corinthians 15 and I'm done and I'm done. And he says well what's the point of all that? Like what's the point of talking about it? What's the point of writing all that Paul? What's the point of getting up and preaching this? How does that that's great that's down the road but what does that mean to us here and now? What impact does that have on us this morning? What can we take out of that? It's like great yeah I believe that Christ is risen from the dead. I believe as as the Bible teaches as Paul has written this morning that one day you know we're going to be as he is. We shall see him as he is. I believe that there's a different body that we're going to see. There's a celestial body. There's this glory that's waiting for us. There's this victory that we have. That's great but you know that's kind of off in the future. You know I don't know about you but I'm in no rush to get that glorified body right. I've got some other things I'd like to accomplish in this life. There's some other things I'd like to do and experience. You know that so that's kind of these far it's this far off thing to us but what does that mean here and now? Well John said you know we're going to be as glorified by himself even as he is pure. You know just because we don't have a glorified body doesn't mean we can't start acting and living as if we do. And you know we don't like to do that because it means we have to put down the flesh. Right. Look if you're going to receive a sinless incorruptible body. Why not start acting like it? That's why he says if we live in the spirit let us also then walk in the spirit. Right. We're sealed by the spirit of the day of our redemption. Let's act like it. You might as well live like it. And that's kind of interesting because Paul kind of closes the chapter on that same type of thought. Verse 58 we all know this is a very famous verse. Therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast. Unmovable. Always abounding the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. What is the what does the resurrection mean to us this morning? What what you know what impact can it have in our lives here and now? You know Easter Sunday we're at the resurrection of Christ. We're looking back to Christ's resurrection and everything that it meant. But that that's a long way off. You know that that was some time ago. And you know First Corinthians 15 Paul goes on and talks about what what's going to happen. But that's also a long way off. I mean it's not as far off for some of us as others. Right. That resurrected body might be a little bit closer than than we'd like. I don't know. Right. And for any of us it could come at any moment. Right. But it's still we don't sit there and think well any minute now you know I'm gone. I mean that resurrected in our minds it's always way off in the distance. So what does it matter. Like what impact you have well in the meantime between those two events the resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection. Let's be steadfast. Let's let's not waver in our faith. Our faith is not in vain. Be steadfast in it. Be unmovable. Don't be don't be moved away from the faith. Don't be moved out of the Christian life. Don't be carried away with sin. And always be always abounding in the work of the Lord. You know if we have this hope you know let's purify ourselves and let's do the work of God. Let's work as if. Let's let's let's always abound the work of the Lord. As if Christ be risen from the dead because Christ is risen from the dead. And our faith is not in vain as he goes on and says for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain. Let's keep going out and preaching the resurrection keep going out and preaching the gospel. Let's go out and keep laboring for the gospel sake. Because our faith is not in vain because Christ is risen from the dead. Let's go and close the word of prayer. Lord again thank you for the resurrection the resurrection thank you for saving us from our sins thank you for the great sacrifice that was made thank you for sending your own son to die for us Lord that we might have the hope of the resurrection in our own lives. And Lord I pray help us to bring that same hope to a lost and dying world the people that are without Christ in this world. People that are of all men most miserable Lord help us to bring the truth. Of the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ to them. So that they can know as we know the power of the resurrection. In time to come we ask these things in Christ's name Amen. All right we'll go and sing one more song before we go. Let's open up our head and roll. Song number 66. Song number 66 half caliber. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66. Song number 66.