How does this ... actually work?

It seems like Zombies have (hopefully) had their run in pop culture. For a little while, it seemed like they were everywhere in movies and tv shows. And sadly, this has set the limitations on our imagination of what it would look like to "come back to life." But God's plans for His people - and for what Resurrection really looks like - are far more glorious that some zombie flick. So this week, we're in 1 Cor 15:35-49. 

1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-36

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

• "SOMEONE WILL ASK" - Here Paul seems to deal with an objection to his logical arguments about the resurrection (from v 1-34). What seems to be the nature of this question?

• "YOU FOOLISH PERSON!" - So, Paul doesn't seem to treat this question as mere curiosity. Instead, what does Paul's response seem to indicate about why he's writing this next section?

• "UNLESS IT DIES" - Paul is dealing with death, but the next metaphor he's about to deploy isn't directly about human death. What is it about instead?

1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-38

35 With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

• "KIND OF BODY" - Paul is answering a particular question about the body that is raised to new life - "What kind of body is it?" What does his use of seed language help us think about here?

• "BODY TO BE" - If the body that goes to into the ground is the seed, the "bare kernel". What body does the "seed" then have? How does each "kind of seed" have its own "body"?

• (PAUSE HERE) - It seems that Paul's train of thought is designed to make us want to know more. What questions are in your head at this point?

1 CORINTHIANS 15:39-41

39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

• "ANOTHER AND ANOTHER" - Backing up Paul's point in verse 39, "not all flesh is the same." What are the creatures Paul contrasts in verse 39?

• "HEAVENLY vs EARTHLY" -  Consider Paul's contrast so far: something goes down (in burial) and raises up (in new life). How does that "lower vs upper" contrast show up here in these 3 verses?

1 CORINTHIANS 15:42-44

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

• "SO IT IS ..." - The analogies are done, now Paul's digging in on the "resurrection of the dead". What do you notice on your first reading of these 3 verses?

• "IT IS SOWN" -  Paul sets the first part of the contrast as what we're like pre-transformation. What words does he use to describe us in this state?

• "IT IS RAISED" -  Paul moves to the second part of the contrast as what we're like post-transformation. What words does he use to describe what we will be like in this state?

• (PAUSE HERE) - So - we've got more clarity ... but is this enough for you? What questions do you still have at this point?

1 CORINTHIANS 15:45-49

45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

• ANOTHER CONTRAST? - Paul enters one final contrast into the conversation - it's set up in verse 45 and then specified in verse 46. What is this final contrast?

• "FIRST MAN / SECOND MAN" -  Having connected us to the first Adam (from Genesis 2:7), we now have a second Adam/man. Who is this second Adam?

• "AS WAS ... SO ARE" -  In verse 48, Paul reminds us of a reality (that we already experience) Ito help us anticipate another future certainty (that we will experience). What are those two present and future experiences?

• "WE SHALL ALSO BEAR" - There are few more glorious promises in Scripture than verse 49. If you've got time this week, this would be a great one to memorize. What does the hope of this verse encourage you (even as we struggle under the weight of being "perishable, dishonorable, and weak" in our natural state)?

Fighting for faith with you,

Pastor Darren