Golden Text: – “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.” – 1 Cor. 15:20.

“MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS”

Then comes in our Golden Text, in which the Apostle reassures us that it is no fable, that Christ arose from the dead, that it was not only necessary to our salvation, but that it is a fact well attested. He proceeds in his argument to show that thus by the resurrection of Christ is ultimately to come the resurrection of the Church to full harmony with God, ultimately to be completely delivered from the power of sin and death – “As ALL in Adam die, so ALL in Christ shall be made alive” – a full release from death, which is the great enemy. He proceeds to say that ultimately, at his second advent, “Christ must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

With this view of the importance of the resurrection of Jesus, we cannot wonder that the Scriptures lay great stress upon that fact, and deduce various proofs and demonstrations intended to establish our faith in it. All four of the evangelists give the details respecting our Lord’s resurrection and manifestation to his apostles with great particularity. In the book of the Acts (1:3), the writer begins with this assurance, that Jesus “showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of his disciples [occasionally] during the space of forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”

When the Apostle would outline the great plan of God he shows the importance of the resurrection, not only for Jesus but also for all who ever shall be blessed through him as the Savior. He begins his dissertation on the subject by saying,

“I delivered to you first of all that which I also received [first of all]: 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 Cephas, then of the twelve, and after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

A VERY PREVALENT ERROR

Those who think of the dead as being alive and who still desire to apply in some manner the Scriptural teaching respecting the resurrection, have forced themselves to the thought that it is a resurrection of the body that is promised, which is a mistake. It is the being or soul that has the promise of a resurrection, and some beings or souls are to be resurrected to one plane of existence (a heavenly plane) and others to another plane (an earthly plane). For instance, the promise to the Church of Christ is a resurrection in a spirit (or heavenly) body.

The Apostle describes “THE“ resurrection of “THE” dead as the resurrection of the Church, born again to a new nature, a spiritual, a heavenly nature. He says of the being or soul of such, “It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown an animal (or human) body it is raised a spiritual body.”

Although not discussing particularly the resurrection for the remainder of the world, the Apostle intimates that not all will be raised celestial bodies, heavenly bodies, and he explains that there is a glory for the celestial and a glory also for the terrestrial (the earthly). He proceeds to contrast the first Adam, of the earth earthy, with the second Adam, the heavenly Lord, saying,

“The first was made a living soul [an animal being], the last was made a life-giving spirit.”

But it was not until our Lord’s resurrection that he became a life-giving spirit, for as the Apostle Peter declares elsewhere, “He was put to death in the flesh (an animal being, a human being), but quickened (made alive) in the spirit.”

These two Adams are samples or patterns of what mankind may attain to in the resurrection: the Church is to attain to the likeness of the second Adam, the world the likeness of the first Adam – “as is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.”

Only the Church of this Gospel age has been granted the opportunity of becoming spiritual children of God, joint-heirs with Christ their Lord. Theirs is the great blessing, the privilege of the first resurrection, concerning which the Scriptures declare,

“Blessed and holy are they who have part in the first resurrection; on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

It is this wonderful hope that God has set before us in the Gospel, the hope of participation with our Redeemer in the sufferings of this present time and also in the glories that shall follow, and our hope is attainable in and through and by the first resurrection, of which the Lord was the first fruits.

Subsequently will come the world’s opportunity for a resurrection. This is elsewhere described as restitution, a return to all that was lost in Adam – a return to the likeness of God in the flesh which Adam had before he transgressed, and which all of his children are yet to attain to if they will – through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus and during the period of his Millennial Kingdom. The world’s hope in Christ is a resurrection hope and a glorious one, but the hope of the Church excels in glory, honor and immortality.”

Continued with our next post.