1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Are you resurrection minded?

Most people – even professing Christians – are not. We live our lives daily thinking rarely of our own deaths. Some of us dread death. Others ignore death. Yet death is a part of life. Death seems unnatural to us, because God did not make us to die. When Adam did what God told him not to do, “the day that he ate thereof he surely died” (Genesis 2:17). God made everything perfect, but man made death. “By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, for all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). God manufactures life and peace. Man manufactures death and sin.

We must all die, unless, like Elijah of old, God takes us up into Heaven “by a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:11).

Death Should Not Frighten We Who Are Saved

Death should frighten the lost person, but it should not frighten the saved. In the Old Testament King Hezekiah (his name means “God has strengthened me”), the King of Judah was 25 years old when he began to reign. His father, Ahaz, was one of the worst kings Judah ever saw. When Hezekiah took over the kingdom he honored God, and removed idolatry from among the people. Hezekiah loved the Lord, and proved it by his works. One day God came to Hezekiah and said:

2 Kings 20:1 Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

Hezekiah “turned his face to the wall” and “wept sore” (2 Kings 20:2, 3). Because of his grieving the Lord said, “I will add unto thy days 15 years” (2 Kings 20:6). What happened during those added years? Hezekiah had the worst 15 years of his life. When Babylonian emissaries visited the kingdom, Hezekiah in pride showed off the national treasury. God told Hezekiah that his foolishness would cause all in his house, all his kingdom’s treasures, would be carried off to Babylon (2 Kings 20:14-18). Hezekiah also sired the most evil king, his son Manasseh. Manasseh would have Isaiah the Prophet killed. Hezekiah would be responsible for Judah as a nation falling into idolatry and sexual immorality.

It would have been better had Hezekiah left this earth when the Lord had him scheduled to go. We should not fear death, dear Christian, for

Romans 8:28 … all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God called Hezekiah for a purpose. He called you for a purpose. While we have the gift of physical life, we should live in the purpose of God. But when God calls us home we should not fear. We know something that Hezekiah did not know. We know and have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I Should Not Fear Death Because
Jesus Has Conquered Both Sin & Death

1 Corinthians 15:3 … For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and

The GOSPEL (Greek εὐαγγέλιον euangélion, {pronounced yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on} or “good tidings” or “good news” that God has given us is in two parts. The first part is “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”.

The Old Testament prophecies repeated sets God forth as a “Physical Savior of His people”.

King David often praised God for saving him from death:

2 Samuel 22:2-7 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 3 the God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. 4 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; 6 the sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me; 7 in my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

The Old Testament Saints saw God as Someone who “savest me from violence”. David praised God because the Lord “saved {Me} from mine enemies”. God is seen as a Savior from earthly enemies. God is seen as a Savior from harm, from loss of life. There are many passages that speak of great deliverance, where:

Psalm 106:21-22 … God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt; 22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

The idea of “God as Savior” under the Old Covenant is that of God saving from the things that sting, that bite, that harm, that oppress the joy of life on this earth. God is more of a PHYSICAL Savior. The Prophet said:

Isaiah 19:20 … they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

When God presented Himself as “Savior”, it was often as a PHYSICAL Savior. God told Israel,

Isaiah 43:3 … I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

God foretold of the time when He would send forth His Messiah, His Son Jesus. God foretold of salvation from sin in:

Isaiah 45:21-22 … there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

And a clear presentation of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53:3-6 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Though there are numerous passages that foretell the coming of Jesus Christ, the fact that:

Matthew 1:21 … JESUS .. shall SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS…

The Old Testament saints were more concerned with God SAVING THEM FROM PHYSICAL HARM than they were of God SAVING THEM FROM SIN. Even Isaiah the Prophet, when he looked into Heaven, cried out in dismay:

Isaiah 6:5 … Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

Sin under the Old Covenant was seen as something that you could take care of with an animal sacrifice.

The “Gospel” under the Old Covenant is that God could protect you PHYSICALLY, but SPIRITUAL safety was not first and foremost.

The Gospel under the New Covenant is that God has defeated BOTH sin and death. God saves us physically, AND God saves us spiritually. The GOOD NEWS that Paul delivers is:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 … For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and

Do you see the “and”? The Gospel teaches that Jesus …

Galatians 1:4 … gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world …

1 Corinthians 15:4 … and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Jesus did not just die for our sins. He saved us from sin. But Jesus also CONQUERED DEATH. The Bible says “he was buried”. He was done. There was no life left in him whatsoever. And yet “he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”. Jesus Christ died on Calvary “being the covering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). The Bible says:

Luke 24:46-47 Thus it is written, and thus it {was right for} Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Jesus Christ died, and rose again.
In His death He conquered sin.
In His resurrection He conquered death.

Many who profess to be New Covenant Christians are – sadly – Old Covenant Believers. Their fear of death proves this.

Prior to Jesus, there were SEVERAL who
were brought BACK FROM DEATH …
but NONE who were RESURRECTED.

The Prophet Elijah brought life back to a young boy (1 Kings 17:17-24).
The Prophet Elisha raises the son of a Gentile woman (2 Kings 4:32-37).
A dead man tossed into Elisha’s tomb comes to life (2 Kings 13:21).

Our Lord Jesus raised:

The widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11-17).
Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:49-56).
His friend Lazarus (John 11).

These were all raised from the dead – but eventually died again. They were resuscitated, NOT resurrected. But the Apostle tells us:

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

The Old Testament saint understood resuscitation of the dead. There were examples where people died, and were brought back to life. There were examples where people SHOULD have died, but God extended their lives. BUT NEVER HAD THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINT SEEN RESURRECTION. God spoke of an awakening from sleep in passages like:

Daniel 12:2 … many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

But the Old Covenant believer had no concept of resurrection. This is because Jesus Christ is the “first fruits of them that slept”. The “first fruits” was, to the Jew, the “first harvest of the field”. Jesus Christ is the prototype of the resurrection. We have the promise of God that “in Christ shall all be made alive”. You will NOT be RESUSCITATED. You will be “made alive”, just like Jesus is alive. There is coming a day when you will die. Yet beloved, this is but a bee sting. Why? Because “every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming”. When Jesus returns, you shall be made fully Heaven worthy. You shall be made like Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:5-8 {Jesus} was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Jesus Christ rose from the grave. He is the first fruit of resurrection. He was seen of many, touched and spoken to in His resurrection body. And as the first fruit, you who believe in Him will one day be as He is.

This Present Body Is Not Heaven Worthy

I received a gift from the United States Government the other day. They sent me a “intestinal lavage”. It’s for an upcoming procedure that the V.A. is going to do. Yippee!!!

We must all die, or be changed, if we are going to go to Heaven. You may, like an Old Testament Saint, pray that God extend your earthly life, and God may do so. God loves us enough to extend our lives. But Beloved, you cannot enter Heaven in your current bodies. Your souls can enter Heaven, because Jesus Christ paid for your sins. If you have believed in Him the Bible says:

John 3:16-18 … God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior you are “not condemned”. The Bible says because we are BORN AGAIN of God’s Spirit (John 3:3, 5, 7), that …

Romans 7:6 … NOW WE ARE delivered from the Law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit …

1 John 3:2 … now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Our SOULS are made Heaven worthy … but our BODIES are not. The Apostle describes this in detail:

1 Corinthians 15:35-44 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

The Apostle likens our bodies to the seed of a tree or a fruit. That which is sown, is sown into the soil a dead thing, but is raised through the power of God into something else. Our bodies are corrupted by an old sin nature. Sin is in our flesh. The Apostle said:

Romans 7:18 … I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

This present body must be exchanged for another. This present body is not Heaven worthy. This is why,

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (for we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The Apostle did not see physical death as a thing to be feared. He viewed his walk with God under the New Covenant, not under the Old Covenant. He knew that his current body – as is all our bodies – is not Heaven worthy. Our bodies must undergo change before they are allowed in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:44 … There is a NATURAL body, and there is a SPIRITUAL body …

The first body you were given (you neither earned nor deserved that body) by God’s Grace. It is an EARTHLY body. The next body you will be given, dear Christian, will be HEAVENLY. We read:

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

In Adam we have physical life, but in Adam that life is corrupted by sin. But in Christ we have right now spiritual life, and the promise of a Heavenly body in God’s own timing. Physical death for the believer is not a curse, but a blessing. When we physically die, we spiritually go to be with Jesus.

The Promise Of God Should Remove
Our Fear Of Death

Let us end with more of this precious text. The Apostle says:

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

In a 1972 Radio Message Billy Graham said:

“The death of a Christian is unlike the tragic passing of the unrighteous. Though the Christian has no immunity from death and no claim to perpetual life on this planet, death is to him a friend rather than a foe, the beginning rather than the end. … It is as if the Lord of the harvest says to every weary laborer, ‘You’ve been faithful in your task. Come and sit in the sheltered porch of my palace and rest from your labors. Enter now into the joy of your Lord.’ … Death to the Christian is the exchanging of a tent for a permanent palace. Here we are as pilgrims or gypsies living in a frail, flimsy home subject to disease, pain and peril. But at death we exchange this crumbling, disintegrating tent for a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

“Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). Let us not fear what is to come, dear Christian. Let us be New Covenant believers. If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, run to His embrace today. He loves you, and has promised to give you eternal life both now, and forever. Amen and Amen!