Studying 1 Corinthians 15 today and working on completing the 3rd IT IS FINISHED workbook: Identity.....
1 Cᴏʀɪɴᴛʜɪᴀɴs 15:56 sᴀʏs sɪɴ's ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ Lᴀᴡ.
The Law revealed sin… it revealed and empowered the false, distorted Adamic sense of identity that enslaved mankind.
Vᴇʀsᴇ 57 (Mɪʀʀᴏʀ Bɪʙʟᴇ): Yᴏᴜʀ ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀʏ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ᴀ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ; ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɢɴᴀɴɪᴍᴏᴜs ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴏғ Jᴇsᴜs Cʜʀɪsᴛ, ɪᴛ ɪs ᴀ ɢɪᴠᴇɴ! (Bᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴡ ɪɴ ᴀ sɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀɪᴏᴜs sᴛʀᴏᴋᴇ ᴏғ Lɪғᴇ, ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ—sɪɴ, ɢᴜɪʟᴛ, ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ—ᴀʀᴇ ɢᴏɴᴇ, ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪғᴛ ᴏғ ᴏᴜʀ Mᴀsᴛᴇʀ, Jᴇsᴜs Cʜʀɪsᴛ. Tʜᴀɴᴋ Gᴏᴅ! — Tʜᴇ Mᴇssᴀɢᴇ.)
ALL of it …. The Law, death, and sin died on the cross and stayed in the grave. ALL mankind rose up with Christ as a NEW creation…. with a NEW identity.
Paul begins 1 Corinthians 15 discussing the resurrection of Christ.
In verse 12 he says that some are saying there is no resurrection of the dead. And in verse 13 and 14 he says if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ is raised. And if Christ isn’t raised than our preaching AND your faith is futile.
And then he takes his argument farther saying in verse 15 that if that's true, then we are exposed as false witnesses. Why? Because we said that God raised Him from the dead, but He in fact did not raise Him IF there is no resurrection of the dead.
And in verse 17 he says IF Christ was not raised from the dead you are still in your sins and those who died in Christ have perished (v. 18). And finally he says in verse 19 if our hope for Christ is in this life alone we are to be pitied more than all men.
And just when they might start feeling like all is hopeless, he begins verse 20 with BUT!!! Don’t you just love those kind of good news verses! Paul says BUT Christ was indeed raised from the dead.
The rest of chapter 15 is difficult for us because we have been taught that there is to be a future resurrection. But is Paul saying that SOMEDAY we will be raised with Christ?
NO… ɪɴ Cᴏʟᴏssɪᴀɴs 3:1 ʜᴇ sᴀʏs SINCE ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʀᴀɪsᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ Cʜʀɪsᴛ. The verb raised is in the aorist indicative tense – meaning it was a FINISHED action at a specific point in time. When was that point in time? When He was raised we were raised! ONE glorious co-resurrection.
And so, in 1 Corinthians 15 they begin asking Paul what does a resurrected body look like?
Iɴ ᴠᴇʀsᴇs 47-49 Pᴀᴜʟ sᴀʏs: Tʜᴇ ғɪʀsᴛ ᴍᴀɴ ᴡᴀs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ, ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴅᴜsᴛ; ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ Mᴀɴ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ Lᴏʀᴅ ғʀᴏᴍ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ. 48 As ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏғ ᴅᴜsᴛ, sᴏ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴅᴜsᴛ; ᴀɴᴅ ᴀs ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴʟʏ Mᴀɴ, sᴏ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ᴀʀᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴʟʏ. 49 Aɴᴅ ᴀs ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴏʀɴᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏғ ᴅᴜsᴛ, ᴡᴇ sʜᴀʟʟ ᴀʟsᴏ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴛʜᴇ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴʟʏ Mᴀɴ.
What’s Paul saying? The co-resurrected man now bears the image of the heavenly Man! He’s telling them at one time they bore the image of the man of dust, Adam, but NO LONGER! They NOW bear the image of the Last Adam! All of the first Adam died at the cross. The heavenly man, the Last Adam rose up out of the grave, and ALL mankind rose up in that image and likeness.
Mankind no longer resembles the first Adam! We were co-resurrected with Christ Jesus as image and likeness of the Last Adam.
Cᴏʟᴏssɪᴀɴs 3:4, Pᴀᴜʟ sᴀʏs Wʜᴇɴ Cʜʀɪsᴛ, ᴡʜᴏ ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟɪғᴇ, ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀs, ᴛʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ Hɪᴍ ɪɴ ɢʟᴏʀʏ.
The word appear isn’t referring to a 2nd coming of Christ. It means to make manifest, to make known, to become graspable. The root is light. The same word is used in the last part of the verse we will also appear.
What’s Paul saying? Christ IS our life! When that becomes known or graspable to us, when the light of who He is as our life shines in us, THEN we are able to grasp and know who we are. We will grasp and know who we are IN glory… IN dokeo (the root of doxa). The light will go on in us and we will grasp and know who we are as the view and opinion of God (we are who He says we are!) as well as being the tangible manifestation of Him on the earth!
Paul says in Galatians 2 that his life now in the physical body IS the life of Christ. His life IN our physical body, is there anything more glorious!?! What is true of Him is equally true of us… sinless, full dominion over death, divine health, glorified, etc.
IT IS FINISHED!!
