0:00
Some of the vocabulary Paul uses in 1st
0:02
Corinthians 15 is drawn right out of
0:05
that discussion. So, his readers again
0:07
would have known that he's not talking
0:09
about believers becoming you know,
0:11
ethereal spirits that you know, float
0:13
around in the quantum world or something
0:16
>> You know, even though he went even
0:19
deities, divine beings in in these
0:21
religions outside the Bible had those
0:24
capacities to move beyond what we
0:26
thought were our boundaries, you know,
0:28
our physical boundaries, they could
0:31
But, they were still made of something
0:33
and that something could be corporeal.
0:36
>> Okay, and and again, as odd to our ears
0:38
as that seems, that's really what Paul
0:41
>> In 1st Corinthians chapter 15, [music]
0:43
Paul gives us a profound explanation of
0:45
the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our
0:47
own future resurrection as believers.
0:50
First, I want you to have Jesus's own
0:52
definition for what the gospel is in
0:54
your head because it'll be fundamental
0:56
for the discussion. Here's Mark 1:14
1:00
Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came
1:02
[music] into Galilee proclaiming the
1:04
gospel of God and saying, "The time is
1:07
fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at
1:09
hand. Repent and believe in the gospel."
1:12
So, Jesus defines the gospel as the
1:14
kingdom of God coming to earth. Keep
1:17
that in the back of your mind as we
1:19
Now, let's go ahead and read 1
1:20
Corinthians 15:12-19.
1:23
Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised
1:25
from the dead, how can some of you say
1:27
that there is no resurrection of the
1:28
dead? But, if there is no resurrection
1:30
of the dead, then not even Christ has
1:32
been raised. And if Christ has not been
1:34
raised, then our preaching is in vain
1:35
and your faith is in vain. We are even
1:38
found to be misrepresenting God because
1:40
we testified about God that he raised
1:42
Christ, whom he did not raise if it is
1:44
true that the dead are not raised. For
1:47
if the dead are not raised, not even
1:48
Christ has been raised. And if Christ
1:51
has not been raised, your faith is
1:52
futile and you are still in your sins.
1:55
Then, those also who have fallen asleep
1:57
in Christ have perished. If in Christ we
1:59
have hope in this life only, we are of
2:02
all people most to be pitied. So, here
2:04
Paul makes the case that resurrection in
2:06
and of itself is fundamental to the
2:08
gospel, and in fact, without Jesus'
2:10
resurrection, Christian faith completely
2:13
falls apart, and preaching and spreading
2:15
the gospel is completely futile.
2:17
And he continues in verses 20 through
2:20
>> But in fact, Christ has been raised from
2:23
the dead, the first fruits of those who
2:25
have fallen asleep. For as by a man came
2:27
death, by a man has come also the
2:30
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam
2:32
all die, so also in Christ all shall be
2:35
made alive. But each in his own order.
2:37
Christ is the first fruits, then at his
2:39
coming those who belong to Christ. Then
2:41
comes the end when he delivers the
2:43
kingdom to God the Father after
2:44
destroying every rule and every
2:46
authority and power. For he must reign
2:49
until he has put all his enemies under
2:50
his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed
2:53
is death. For God has put all things in
2:56
subjection under his feet. But when it
2:58
says all things are put in subjection,
3:00
it is plain that he is accepted who put
3:02
all things in subjection under him.
3:04
Here Paul tells us that bodily death is
3:07
inevitable for us because of the Genesis
3:09
3 scenario and its ongoing
3:11
repercussions. But Paul's also using
3:13
Adam as an anti-type of Christ here by
3:15
contrasting their effects on us. The sin
3:18
in the garden made death inevitable for
3:20
everyone, but the mighty work of Jesus
3:22
Christ being raised from the dead makes
3:24
resurrection inevitable for everyone who
3:26
believes. And every enemy will be put
3:29
under Jesus' feet with the final enemy
3:33
And here's where Paul tackles a
3:35
difficult concept, the idea of our
3:37
immortal spiritual bodies. Here's 1
3:40
Corinthians 15:35-57.
3:43
But someone will ask, "How are the dead
3:45
raised? With what kind of body do they
3:47
come?" You foolish person, what you sow
3:50
does not come to life unless it dies.
3:53
And what you sow is not the body that is
3:54
to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of
3:57
wheat or of some other grain. But God
3:59
gives it a body as he has chosen, and to
4:01
each kind of seed its own body. For not
4:03
all flesh is the same, but there is one
4:05
kind for humans and another for animals
4:07
and another for birds and another for
4:08
fish. There are heavenly bodies and
4:10
earthly bodies, but the glory of the
4:12
heavenly is of one kind, and the glory
4:14
of the earthly is of another. There is
4:16
one glory of the sun and another glory
4:18
of the moon and another glory of the
4:19
stars, for star differs from star in
4:22
glory. So is it with the resurrection of
4:25
the dead. What is sown is perishable,
4:27
what is raised is imperishable. It is
4:29
sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.
4:32
It is sown in weakness, it is raised in
4:34
power. It is sown a natural body, it is
4:37
raised a spiritual body. If there is a
4:39
natural body, there is also a spiritual
4:41
body. Thus it is written, the first man
4:44
Adam became a living being. The last
4:46
Adam became a life-giving spirit. But
4:49
it's not the spiritual that is first,
4:51
but the natural, and then the spiritual.
4:53
The first man was from the earth, a man
4:55
of dust. The second man is from heaven.
4:58
As was the man of dust, so are those who
5:00
are of the dust. And as is the man of
5:02
heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
5:04
Just as we have borne the image of the
5:06
man of dust, we shall also bear the
5:08
image of the man of heaven. I tell you
5:10
this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot
5:13
inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the
5:15
perishable inherit the imperishable.
5:17
Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall
5:19
not all sleep, but we shall all be
5:21
changed in a moment, in the twinkling of
5:23
an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
5:25
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be
5:27
raised imperishable, and we shall be
5:29
changed. For this perishable body must
5:31
put on the imperishable, and this mortal
5:34
body must put on immortality. When the
5:36
perishable puts on imperishable, and the
5:38
mortal puts on immortality, then shall
5:40
come to pass the saying that is written,
5:43
"Death is swallowed up in victory. O
5:45
death, where is your victory? O death,
5:48
where is your sting?"
5:50
The sting [snorts] of death is sin, and
5:51
the power of sin is the law. But thanks
5:54
be to God, who gives us the victory
5:56
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
5:59
Here Paul gives us a profound glimpse
6:01
into the afterlife and what our
6:02
resurrected bodies will be like.
6:05
Now, I want you to see this
6:06
thought-provoking clip of Dr. Michael
6:07
Heiser examining this passage because he
6:09
gives us some great insight into the
6:11
material our new bodies will be composed
6:13
of and what it's like to be apart from
6:15
our earthly bodies. Let's check it out.
6:18
>> There's a whole um lengthy discourse not
6:22
in material that we would either
6:24
consider biblical or you know, kind of
6:27
write up against you know, stuff that
6:29
links into the Bible but the whole
6:34
To them the the the phrase spiritual
6:37
body was not an oxymoron.
6:41
>> They believed that this this other body
6:43
and again, it's even hard to talk about
6:45
it but this this other body was actually
6:49
>> It it was made of stuff.
6:51
>> And that was celestial stuff. It wasn't
6:54
It wasn't human stuff. It was more than
6:58
And some of the vocabulary Paul uses in
7:00
1 Corinthians 15 is drawn right out of
7:04
that discussion. So, his readers again
7:05
would have known that he's not talking
7:07
about believers becoming you know,
7:10
ethereal spirits that you know, float
7:12
around in the quantum world or something
7:14
>> You know, even though he went even
7:18
deities, divine beings in in these
7:20
religions outside the Bible had those
7:23
capacities to move beyond what we
7:25
thought were our boundaries and our
7:27
physical boundaries, they could still do
7:29
But they were still made of something
7:32
and that something could be corporeal.
7:34
>> Okay, again, as odd to our ears as that
7:37
seems, that's really what Paul is
7:39
drawing on it. I I think even more
7:42
tellingly in biblical theology, if you
7:44
think again back to Eden,
7:46
okay, where did all this start?
7:48
This started as I talk about an unseen
7:53
God wanted to have a human family but
7:58
his purpose was to integrate the human
8:00
family with the divine family.
8:02
Uh Eden was where God lived. Eden was
8:04
God's headquarters, that sort of thing.
8:06
God wanted a blended family with one
8:10
And that was to serve him and make this
8:14
Eden was. You know, to spread his
8:16
goodness and his glory. And he tasks
8:18
them with, you know, the humans with
8:19
that task. He has divine beings that are
8:21
disembodied or could take on bodies
8:24
doing things in their own realm. But it
8:25
was supposed to be one family ultimately
8:29
even though not created like one of
8:32
them, you know, to like to be one of
8:33
them, would actually enter into that
8:38
They would actually become divine.
8:40
And of course they failed in Eden. But
8:43
what Paul's saying is, "Look, there's
8:44
going to come at some point." And and
8:46
the crucial point here is is the
8:47
resurrection of Jesus because Jesus did
8:50
get a body. Yeah, it was it was the same
8:52
Jesus. Yes, it's not a different Jesus.
8:56
But his flesh is now celestial flesh.
8:59
And that is going to be transmitted and
9:01
given to us so that we
9:03
just like we were intended to be, we
9:05
will be divinized. We will be made
9:07
divine. We will be integrated
9:10
into the divine family and have bodies
9:13
still, but something beyond human
9:15
bodies. So, it's another way of Paul
9:18
saying, "It's going to come full
9:20
It will come full circle just as what
9:22
you know, what was intended will come to
9:24
pass. And this is the linchpin event
9:26
that makes it possible.
9:27
>> Wow. That's that's awesome. So, what in
9:30
your view? There there's been a lot of
9:33
I think a lot of people
9:35
not to be insulting, but I think that
9:37
like just because the church has done
9:39
what it's done, I think a lot of
9:41
Christians have almost this cartoonish
9:43
version of what happens when you die.
9:46
You know, what what heaven is like or
9:47
what it's like to be with God.
9:51
and I know a lot of this is probably
9:52
going to be speculation, but you know,
9:54
we're drawing from things. In your
9:58
when you die, what happens?
10:00
>> Yeah, I think [clears throat] to be, you
10:02
know, to be absent from the body is to
10:03
be present with the Lord.
10:07
where we we have some sort of
10:10
embodied existence because of the way
10:12
the dead are talked about. I mean, they
10:13
see each other. I mean, you you got to
10:15
be something in front of you to see.
10:17
>> You know, and and it's difficult even
10:19
for scriptural writers because they're
10:20
they're talking about a realm and an
10:22
existence that is foreign, totally
10:24
foreign to their own.
10:26
Um and they have their they have to use
10:27
space-time language with, you know, of
10:29
latitude and longitude and, you know,
10:32
embodied existence to do it. So, it's a
10:35
But I I do think, you know, we're we're
10:37
with the Lord ultimately
10:39
whether we get a an upgrade, you know,
10:41
on on whatever that body is at the end
10:44
or not, I I don't necessarily know.
10:47
Um I I tend to think that
10:51
>> when we exist as glorified believers on
10:54
the new earth, okay, that might be
10:56
different just because heaven isn't the
10:58
new earth yet. I mean, they're obviously
11:01
it's like two things that are intimately
11:02
related, but they don't have to be
11:05
Uh you know, ultimately we are the ones
11:07
who displace and replace
11:10
the fallen gods of the nations. Okay,
11:12
this is you know, when
11:14
people, you know, when I get into this I
11:16
have to assume that they know a little
11:17
bit about the Deuteronomy 32 worldview
11:19
and cosmic geography and things like
11:22
>> Well, luckily we did a whole program
11:23
[clears throat] last time you were here
11:25
>> Yeah, that that's true. So, hopefully
11:27
people, you know, caught that, but
11:29
you know, the other nations were put
11:31
under other gods, and they they
11:33
rebelled. They're in rebellion. They
11:34
have to be judged. That's what Psalm 82
11:36
is about. And ultimately they will be
11:38
displaced. There's a reason why when
11:39
Paul talks about the resurrection, go
11:42
When Paul talks about the resurrection,
11:44
the way we hear it preached is, "Oh, I
11:46
get a new body." And that's true. Paul
11:48
does does talk about that. But there are
11:50
half dozen passages where Paul, in the
11:52
same breath as resurrection, talks about
11:55
either Jesus or us or both being exalted
11:58
above the principalities and powers.
12:01
>> That's not an accident.
12:03
Because in Paul's mind, the resurrection
12:05
is the thing that delegitimized
12:09
the gods of the nations so that the
12:10
Gentiles could could confidently
12:13
say, "We're We get to go back into the
12:15
family. We get to rejoin the people of
12:18
You know, that the strongholds are
12:19
broken. All all this sort of thing. And
12:22
he connects that with with their loss of
12:24
their populations through the gospel and
12:27
also ultimately their destruction in the
12:29
day of the Lord. Which is why Paul says,
12:32
"You know, hey, don't you know that
12:33
you're going to rule over angels?" You
12:35
know about the divine council hierarchy,
12:37
the three-tiered sons of God, the family
12:39
term is in the middle, you know, Moloch
12:41
is is a lower term. These are the ones
12:44
that occupy the nations or supposed to,
12:46
you know. Again, there's there's this
12:47
whole backdrop. But Paul says, "Don't
12:49
you know that you're going to judge
12:50
angels, you're going to rule over
12:51
angels?" John in in Revelation 2 and 3
12:53
says, "To him that overcomes, I will put
12:55
him over the nations."
12:58
>> It's not a throwaway line. It's saying,
13:02
are going to displace and replace the
13:05
fallen beings that are that have, you
13:07
know, charge of these nations now.
13:09
You're going to be not only in my
13:11
family, again, made part of the divine
13:13
family as originally intended, but you
13:15
get to occupy this this task role."
13:19
And you say, "Well, you know, what does
13:20
that mean?" Well, it means a whole lot
13:22
more than harps and floating on clouds
13:25
and singing eight 18 million choruses of
13:27
just as I am, okay? [laughter]
13:29
It means you're going to be busy. It
13:31
means that heaven is going to be like
13:33
Eden was what was and and the earth was
13:35
supposed to be. And there will be a lot
13:38
to to do there. There'll be a lot to
13:41
>> There'll be relationships between, you
13:43
know, God's, you know, risen imagers.
13:45
Uh you know, I I think to have a new
13:47
earth, you're going to have it
13:48
repopulated as Eden with animal life and
13:50
plant life and there's a reason why it's
13:52
described this way at the end.
13:54
You We're We're going to We're going to
13:56
serve God however he wants us to serve
13:58
and maintain this place and enjoy him
14:00
forever. That that that was that was the
14:02
original plan. So, everything goes full
14:05
circle and John has this throwaway line
14:07
in there, "There is no more sea."
14:09
>> Yeah, what's that all about?
14:10
>> Because [clears throat] the sea is a
14:13
>> There's no more chaos. There's no more
14:14
disruption. There is nothing left to
14:19
and be an affront to God.
14:21
Nothing is going to go wrong again.
14:26
it's very intentional. You know,
14:29
I I think we we kind of underestimate
14:34
>> you know, biblical writers actually were
14:36
because look at what they do. They're
14:38
repurposing Old Testament material all
14:41
>> Again, it's under inspiration and and
14:43
and God uses them as instruments to do
14:47
the thoughts are so interconnected where
14:48
if if you don't know parts of your Old
14:50
Testament and if if you divorce parts of
14:53
your Old Testament and your New
14:54
Testament from material that the writers
14:57
knew and and you know, used to help them
14:59
express a particular idea,
15:02
>> you're you're going to get glimpses of
15:04
what the text means. But you're never
15:06
going to be able to see it as the
15:08
writers wanted you to see it.
15:10
>> As God wanted you to see it. Because
15:12
he's the one that picked them to do this
15:14
job and providentially gave them the the
15:18
experience, the education, the exposure
15:20
to this, that, and the other thing. He's
15:21
the one that providentially set them up,
15:23
prepared them for that time and place
15:26
where he prompted them through the
15:27
spirit that says, "You better write this
15:30
You know, we we we we just get a a dim
15:32
glimpse of that without all of this
15:34
other material. So, it's important, you
15:36
know, to to try to get as much of that
15:38
in your head as you can
15:40
and read scripture, you know, through
15:41
the eyes of the biblical person who
15:46
>> Okay? We're just we're so disconnected
15:48
from that but you know, we just our our
15:52
you know, capture as much of that as we
15:53
can and take advantage of it.
15:55
>> Yeah, absolutely. It does It does fill
15:57
in a lot of blanks and it teaches us a
15:58
lot of things that we don't learn in the
16:01
Well, I do have just one more question.
16:03
Cuz you said something earlier that that
16:05
I really liked that you don't want to
16:07
protect people from their Bibles. And I
16:09
I think that that's really profound. Um
16:13
What would you want the viewer most to
16:15
take away from this program and from
16:17
your your new book and really just from
16:21
>> I [clears throat] I I really want people
16:24
be more interested in the text, the
16:29
than they are interested in perpetuating
16:32
a particular Christian subculture, even
16:35
if they really like it
16:36
>> and and it it floats their boat and they
16:38
enjoy it. That's all That's all good.
16:41
But your task as a member of the family
16:44
of God, as a as a redeemed person,
16:47
your task is to perpetuate not a
16:49
denomination, it's to perpetuate the
16:51
kingdom of God on this planet.
16:53
>> And and see the program through to its
16:55
ultimate, you know, end times end.
16:57
And and to basically, if I could quote
16:59
Bill Belichick here, just do your job.
17:02
>> Just do your job. And and you I think if
17:05
we're text-oriented,
17:07
if we're focused on scripture,
17:09
and what it can sustain,
17:13
we can be charitable toward people who,
17:15
you know, might take this or that
17:16
passage a different way. Okay, I can see
17:17
where you could get that. You're still
17:19
rooted in the text even though I have
17:20
some other position. But if we're all
17:22
about, oh, my tradition doesn't say
17:25
>> My pastor doesn't say that.
17:27
Okay, that That's just a distraction.
17:30
>> You know, what are you here for? Did
17:32
Jesus die for you to perpetuate your
17:36
>> or [laughter] did he die to take over
17:39
>> I mean, it really comes down to that.
17:41
So, you got to land somewhere, and I
17:43
hope you land, you know, at the latter.
17:46
>> You know, that's just biblical theology.
17:48
>> This was absolutely beautiful. While we
17:50
can't know for certain and more than
17:51
likely can't even explain with our
17:53
limited earthly vocabulary what our
17:55
bodies will be like when we pass away
17:57
from this worldly existence is an
17:59
interesting thought to consider. And
18:00
more importantly than that, we know that
18:02
we'll be in the direct presence of the
18:04
Father, which is guaranteed to be
18:06
glorious in and of itself. But I want to
18:08
remind you of a verse we've covered in
18:10
detail in previous videos, Hebrews 11:3.
18:13
We all know Hebrews 11 as the faith
18:15
chapter or the Hall of Faith. But we
18:17
find something very interesting at the
18:19
start of the chapter that gives us some
18:20
insight into the very fabric of our
18:22
reality. Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith we
18:26
understand that the universe was created
18:28
by the word of God, so that what is seen
18:30
is not made out of things that are
18:33
The author tells us here that our
18:35
physical reality is actually comprised
18:37
of something entirely unseen.
18:39
To me, this is more insight into what
18:41
our glorified bodies are made of,
18:43
something closer to the foundational
18:45
substance that makes up the world around
18:47
us. It's the raw material of Yahweh's
18:52
And this is part and parcel of the
18:53
cyclical patterns we find in the
18:55
scriptures. The end of the Bible is the
18:57
beginning, [music] and the end of our
18:58
life is the beginning of creation.
19:01
But at any rate, I pray that this video
19:03
has been a blessing to you. And if
19:04
you've made it this far, please like
19:05
this video, subscribe to Dance Like
19:07
David, and leave a comment that says,
19:09
"To be separated from the body is to be
19:11
present with God." As any interaction
19:14
with this video allows our content to
19:15
reach and help more people. And may God
19:18
shine his [music] face upon you, and
