Theologian Erich
Sauer once wrote , The present age
is Easter time. It begins with the resurrection of the Redeemer and ends with
the resurrection of the redeemed. Between lies the spiritual resurrection of
those called into life through Christ. So
we live between two Easters, and in
the power of the first Easter we go to meet the last Easter.
A) That is such a great quote We live
between 2 Easters / waiting for the Resurrection. Of the REDEEMED!!!
B) Ch. 15 has been called the great Resurrection Chapter !!!!
C) We began looking at this last week first 19 verses where Paul establishes that the Resurrection is the cornerstone of the GOODNEWS
1) It is the very thing that we rest our faith upon
A) He supported this w/ the testimony of eyewitnesses, giving a list of those who saw Jesus alive after his death
1) And then Paul described what life would be like if the Resurrection didnt take place
Beginning w/ V. 20, we now
come to a section where the apostle's thoughts sweep across the centuries to declare the ultimate effects in
history of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ / Focus for tonight !!!! read v. 20-28
A) Paul goes from the Beg. Of time to the end of time in explaining the worldwide effects as well as the effects to the individual believer of Christ Resurrection
1st - The Resurrection of Jesus is the Guarantee of the bodily Resurrection of all of those who believe because our Resurrection is tied w/ His!!! V.20-22
The key to
that passage is the twice repeated word, "first
fruits."
A)
Paul
is referring here to the ritual that was given to Israel in the 23rd chapter of
the book of Leviticus.
B)
That
on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which followed the Passover, the day after
the Sabbath, there would be the offering of the first fruits of the barley
harvest.
C)
The
Jews were commanded to bring a sheaf of grain, the first of the harvest, to the
priest, who would wave it before the Lord.
1)
The
full HARVEST could not be made until the FIRST
FRUITS were offered
D) Here in we see the typology of the Lord - because the day that the first fruit were to
be offered is the exact morning of our
Lord's resurrection
A)
There,
in the feasts of Israel, we have a prediction that the resurrection of Jesus
would be the first fruits of the harvest.
So The
significance of the first fruits, was not only that they preceded the harvest
but that they were a first installment of the harvest.
A)
The
fact that Christ was the first fruits
therefore indicates that something else, namely the harvest of the rest of the
crop, is to follow
B) In other words, Christs resurrection is not in isolation from ours /
Because He rose from the dead
1)
we
who believe Can look forward to that hope because our Resurrection is tied w/
His
A)
Just
Like our Death is tied w/ Adam In Adam we all die / Adam sinned sinned
entered world death through sin. / Spiritual & Physical
1)
In
Fact we are in the Process of dying right now moment we are born we begin to
die
A)
Now
we can cover up the outward appearances for a while, the inward decay cannot be
stopped we are all headed for death.
1)
There
was an epitaph written on a tombstone once that said:
Remember, friend, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, soon you will be,
Prepare for death, and follow me.
Someone had written underneath it:
To follow you I'm not content,
Until I know which way you went.
A)
You
do not have to do anything; you do not have to work at it, /Let time take its
course and it will happen,
B) Now, with equal certainty, here is the good news. It is not up to you to
be
resurrected, but it will happen.
1)
Just
as surely as death is at work in us in
Adam, so life is at work in us in Christ,
if we are "in Christ."
A)
That
if is the Key - Some use text all die / all will live to suggest
UNIVERSALISM All saved
fallen man & Angels too.
1)
Universal
sin is true Linked to Adam in his sin sinful nature /
A)
but to suggest that this verse is teaching
universal salvation means you would have to ignore a general rule of Biblical
Interpretation
1)
Called analogia Scriptura.
A)
That principle teaches that no passage of
Scripture, properly interpreted, will contradict any other passage.
1)
The
Scriptures clearly teach that only those who have placed their faith in Jesus
Christ are redeemed & have the Hope of salvation.
So because Christ is the first fruits of the Resurrection harvest we too can look froward to w/ Certainty that we will be Resurrected.
A) When will it happen? Paul
answers that great question in Verse 23:
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
A) Christ was first - first
fruits first born - meaning order as
well as
importance
B) Now in Luke 16 Jesus tells the story of the rich man & Lazarus. / both die go to Hades / Hades is divided into 2 sections by a great gulf
1)
Righteous
& the unrighteous DEAD - ABE BOSSOM
A)
Father Abraham send
Lazarus. Give me a drink
..
1)
After Christ died we are
told in Ephesians 4 that Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth
SET THE CAPTIVES FREE
E) That was those who were in Abes Bosom - Ascended on high & took
them w/ Him.
1)
So that is the first
order
Now what about those who have died in Christ since the Resurrection ?
A)
Paul said that to
be absent from this body is to be present w/ the Lord so they are there
already
B) What About 1 Thessalonians 4 Dead in Christ will rise first ?
1) Time space continuum Gods time All Now !!! Those in heaven are living in that perspective
A) V. 23 at His coming is talking Rapture The Dead in Christ shall rise first they already have we who are alive & remain . Caught up .
C) V. 24 Then comes the end, ( 2nd coming 1000 yrs Millennium ) then
we read of another Resurrection
1) This is the Resurrection of the unrighteous Dead those who didnt know the Lord who are raised to stand before the Lord in JUDGEMENT
A) Known as the great white throne Judgment Rev. 20
So in v. 24 Paul
begins to describe that end times scenario when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to
all rule and all authority and power.
25 For He must reign till He has put all
enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is
death.
Now this is presented in the future tense but the truth of the matter is that Christ reigns now He is in control Satan allowed to roam
A) God waits so that more people can be saved
B) So what Paul is describing is the outward manifestation of the REIGN OF CHRIST displayed in the world .
C)
Time
where even death is eliminated
D)
Death during the Mill. Isaiah 65:20 20
"No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old
man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years
old,
E)
Basically
saying that there is going to be death but it is going to be radically
different
Isaiah. Other descriptions : Christ Reign all things subdued :
The wolf will
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf
and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also
the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the
lion will eat straw like the ox. And
the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will
put his hand on the vipers den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy
mountain. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
The wolf and
the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and
dust shall be the serpents food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy
mountain, says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:25)
The changes in the animal world will be paralleled by changes in
the earth and the solar system:
(Isaiah 24:23) 23 Then the LORD Almighty will mount his throne
on Mount Zion. He will rule gloriously in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the
leaders of his people. There will be such glory that the brightness of the sun
and moon will seem to fade away.
The light of
the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be
seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds
up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted. (Isaiah 30:26)
Now at the end of this 1000 yrs reign we know that Satan is let lose for a season deceives some ( those born )
A) Great white throne judgment Satan & all those w/ him are cast into the Lake of Fire.
B)
At the end of all that
Paul describes something interesting that takes place then in v. 27,28
For "He has put all things under His
feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is
evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
Now when
all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject
to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
From
the time of His incarnation until the time when He presents the kingdom to the
Father, Christ is in the role of a Servant, fulfilling His divine task as
assigned by His Father.
But when that final work is accomplished, He will assume His former,
full, glorious place in the perfect harmony of the Trinity.
C)
Christ came to earth
w/ a Divine mission Redeem man & the earth back
to God .
1)
Man had forfeited the
title deed to the earth into the hands of Satan.
A)
Jesus bought it back
w/ His life / REDEEMED BY HIS BLOOD
1)
He is yet to claim His
ownership -
When He was here Jesus humbled Himself left His place on the throne & concealed his glory - came to earth
A)
While here he lived in total submission to the Father / only did that which would please the Father
B)
After the Resurrection He ascended
on High took His place at the right hand of the Father where He waits until
His enemies become His footstool
C)
At the end of the Millennium
after that final Rebellion is over & Satan & those who are w/ him are
cast into the Lake of fire
1)
Christ will Present
that which He has redeemed to the Father
A)
Christ will continue to
reign, because His reign is eternal (Rev. 11:15),
1)
but He will reign with
the Father in trinitarian glory, subject to the
Trinity in that way eternally designed for Him
A) We will understand how that all works when we get there
So here Paul is describing how all things are going to be in subjection to Christ Because He is the RISEN ONE .
As we move into communion turn to Hebrews 2
5 For He has not put the world
to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.
6 But one testified in a
certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the
son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little
lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him
over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his
feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing
that is not put under him
The
writer of Hebrews is explaining how this world & all that is in it was
given into the care of man but man blew Sinned forfeited DEATH
So He says in the latter part of v. 8 But now we do not yet see all
things put under him.
A)
Man is not in Control
Chaos in animal kingdom / Violence & wars in the world / Aids Satan is
having a HEY DAY RIGHT NOW .
B) We dont see all things put under Man but v.9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the
suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God,
might taste death for everyone. 10 For
it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings.
We see Him who came to REDEEM RECONCILE /
We see the cross where He purchased our Salvation
Now here is the thing that I think the Lord would have us to consider tonight in coming before the table
A) We can read about the RAPTURE / 2ND COMING & THE MILLENIUM when Christ sets up His rule
B) That time when we will no longer have to endure
Politicians who are not honest & drug dealers / Perverts / kids being shot
/ & stuff like Aids
1)
We look forward to
that time but we dont see it now
A) Instead we see all the garbage we see the effects
of a world falling deeper & deeper into DARKNESS
1)
And if we dwell on
where we are headed it can get really discouraging
A)
BUT THIS TELLS US WHAT
WE NEED TO SEE SEE JESUS
1)
CROSS THAT reminds
us that of what He did
A) We need to see the empty tomb that reminds us of who
He is & the Promise He has made coming again to set this right
B) That because He is alive we have that hope that He is bringing many sons to glory !!!!!!