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Getting the Body You've Always Wanted
1 Corinthians 15:35-50
Skip Heitzig

1 Corinthians 15 (NKJV™)
35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?"
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain--perhaps wheat or some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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From the Edge of Eternity

I know I've gotten your attention with the title! This is one of our culture's driving goals--to look trimmer, healthier, younger and stronger than we are. The solution happens to be in the future with the resurrection of our bodies--it will be the body you've always wanted. Scripture gives some wonderful descriptions of the future strength, beauty and permanence of our resurrected body. Let's consider what the Bible says about how you'll look then.

What happens when a believer dies? What will heaven be like? What about infants and children who die? When do our bodies get resurrected? What will they be like? These questions and more occupy our thoughts from time to time. In this new series, From the Edge of Eternity, we will follow a believer from death into the different stages of eternity: the Intermediate State, the resurrection of the body, the Kingdom Age and the Eternal State. Since forever is a long time, it only makes sense that we both understand and prepare for this "ultimate journey".

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Outline

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I. Questions: How Will it Be? (Vs 35)

A. How Does it Work?

B. What Will the Form Be?


II. Illustrations: Seeds, Species & Stars (Vss 36-41)

A. Lessons from Agriculture

B. Lessons from Zoology

C. Lessons from Astronomy


III. Declarations--Four Contrasts (Vss 42-44)

A. Sown in Corruption/ Raised in Incorruption

B. Sown in Dishonor/ Raised in Glory

C. Sown in Weakness/ Raised in Power

D. Sown a Natural Body/ Raised a Spiritual Body


Think on These:
1.
What does Resurrection mean to you? How does your belief in it affect you now? How would your life and choices be different if you did not?


2. Why do you suppose the human body is so important to people; i.e. why such an emphasis on having a fit physique? Why does God want to resurrect our bodies?

Transcript

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Good evening. Would you open your Bibles tonight to I Corinthians chapter 15. We are doing a series on "from the edge of eternity" and we're looking at what happens to a Christian at death and in heaven and at the resurrection and all the way through those stages. We would like to welcome our radio audience from coast to coast. Would you please tell them hi. (applause, cheering) You guys are the best. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, it is exciting to serve you, it's wonderful to know you, it's absolutely wonderful to know the plan that you who love us have for our future. And as we're getting to peek beyond the veil, we're getting a little more understanding as to what will happen to the redeemed upon death and through all these various stages to resurrection to heaven the kingdom age to the eternal state. Lord, it's just, it gets more exciting every time we open the pages of the scripture. Help us to understand these things that Paul called the basic things, the elementary things, the resurrection from the dead, so Lord to have them firmly planted as a anchor of hope so that in those rough times we would look to the end and be encouraged. Lord thank you for those who have gathered tonight, your flock. You know the conditions we're in, you know the problems we're facing and we give them all to you tonight and pray that you'd minister to us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well I admit that the message title sort of sounds like an advertisement for a health spa, or one of those late-night exercise programs. The name of the message "Getting the Body You've Always Wanted." Most Americans want better bodies than they have now. I was reading USA Today last week and they had a little quip, you know those little fast facts that they have on the front page, Americans during the summer will consume seven billion hot dogs. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day seven billion hot dogs. That averages out to be eight hundred and eighteen hot dogs every second. You won't get the body you always wanted doing that. But in a poll Americans were asked, ‘if you could change one thing about your life what would it be? Amazingly, overwhelmingly, people said something having to do with their physical outward appearance. Not their character, their physique. Different hair, different face, different body type, different weight, different age, etcetera. It affects everyone, even the young. I heard a story about a mom trying to break little Johnny of sucking his thumb. No success. Finally one day she just thought, "I'll reason with him." "Johnny," she said, "What possible good is there in sucking your thumb?" And he looked up and said, "Well, it is non-fattening, Mom."
One day you will have the body you've always dreamed of. It will be a resurrected glorified body. This week I decided, "Okay, I'm going to go see the new Indiana Jones movie." And toward the beginning, there was a little line in the movie that got my attention. It's when (and I won't give it away, don't worry, if you haven't seen it) but it's when Indiana was having a conversation with the dean of the college, just as Indiana was about to leave for another adventure. And as they were looking at their age, the man said, "We have seemed to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking things away." We all notice that as we age, friends die, family members die, we start losing the vibrancy, we start losing the elasticity, we start losing strength and health. And we, as we mentioned last week, groan for something better.
I want to read something I found this week. It's really brilliant. Somebody gave this to me last week here in the church. It goes like this, "In my next life," that's what it's called, "My Next Life." The person said, "I want to live my next life backwards. I want to start out dead and get that out of the way right off the bat. Then I'll wake up in the nursing home and feel better every day. When I'm kicked out of the home for being too healthy, I'll spend several years enjoying my retirement collecting benefit checks. When I start work, I'll get a gold watch my very first day. I'll work forty years or so, getting younger every day until pretty soon I'll be too young to work, so then I'll go to high school, play sports, date and party. As I get younger, I'll become a kid again. I'll go to elementary school, play and have no responsibilities. In a few years I'll become a baby and everyone will run themselves ragged keeping me happy. I'll spend my last nine months floating peacefully in a luxury spa-like condition with central heating and room service on tap." Can you imagine that? Living it all in reverse. Can you imagine having a body that doesn't wear out. Can you imagine having a body that never gets tired, never gets exhausted, never weary. Can you imagine a body that is not susceptible to diseases, handicaps, atrophy. No ahces, no pains, no aspirin. Can you imagine a body that never gains weight, never loses hair, never wrinkles, never sags, never droops. One day that won't be an imagination. One daythat will be reality, that will beyour glorified resurrected body.
A few years ago, one of the hot shows in television was ABC's Extreme Makeover. This is before the Home Edition. This was the body edition. And they would spend thousands upon thousands of dollars taking some somewhat ordinary or sub-ordinary in our cultural view, and make them somebody just stellar, extreme makeover. All sorts of surgical procedures. One day you will be extremely made over but it will be permanent and it will be free, forever free.
Now the Bible teaches us and we hit on this last week, the scripture teaches that we are a spiritual and physical unity. Not just one or the other, we are both. And God has a plan even after we die to bring those together again, to reunify that which is made ununified at death. Remember Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, All the king's horses, all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. God has a plan to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, to resurrect the body and reunite it in a new fashion with the the soul or the spirit of the person. 
Tonight our second week in I Corinthians chapter 15, we're going to look beginning in verse 35 at this, this great paragraph of scripture on resurrection. And the paragraph, I've divided it up into three sections. There are questions, there are illustration, and there are declarations. Those three things: questions, illustration and declarations. Paul begins with two questions, Paul then goes into three illustrations to answer the question, and then four declarations of what the new body will be like.
Let's look at the question, the questions (plural) in verse 35, there are two of them, the how and the what. "But someone will say, ‘how are the dead raised up?' And with what body do they come? These are two very good questions, because frankly I've discovered just from teaching this, the resurrection of the body is a bewildering subject, even though we've gone into great depth and great strides in exogeting these texts, there are so many questions. It's hard to get our minds around it. There were a couple of guys last Saturday night sitting out in the amphitheater and one who's a friend of mine turned to his buddy who was with him and he goes, "Can you get your mind around all of this resurrection stuff?" And his friend said, "Look I have a hard time paying rent let alone trying to figure this out." It's bewildering. And so Paul actually introduces the question that was being asked. Now something about these two questions in verse 35: Paul introduces the questions because they seem to have already been questions that were being asked, not a friendly way but in a sarcastic way, in a mocking kind of a way. If I was to phrase it with the background of the Corinthian church as intended, it would sound something like this: someone will say, "How are dead raised up? Oh come on, how does that whole thing work? Dead people getting up again." A question of mockery. And with what body do they come?" Now this kind of sarcasm, this kind of disbelief stems from two places and you'll see they have a common root. Number one, Greek philosophy. I touched on this last week. Corinth was a Greek city, one of the foremost Greek cities. And the prevailing Greek philosophy is why would anyone want to come back in this body? Why would anyone think resurrection of the body is something desirable? After all said the Greeks, the body is nothing but a prison. The goal is to free yourself from the prison of the body and become pure spirit. They didn't get it, they didn't want it.
Number two there were problems in the church of Corinth itself. Yes there were Christians (so-called, they called themselves) that were called by a better name, Gnostics. Have you ever heard that term, gnosticism or Gnostics? G-N-O-S-T-I-C, Gnostic. It comes from the Greek word knowledge, we know more than everybody else. The Gnostics believed that the material world, all of it, was evil. And only the spiritual world was good. They taught that Jesus did not have a physical body, that he was immaterial but he looked like he had a material body, he was a phantom.
Now I don't know if you have followed much on this but National Geographic released a new documented series called The Gospel of Judas, they had written about it, anybody heard of that, the gospel of Judas? Now it's been around a long time but it's resurfacing and because they put it out in the way they did, they've been hammered because it lacks good scholarship, their article does. But the gospel of Judas is agnostic gospel. This will help if you're wondering about it, this is where it comes from. In the gospel of Judas, there's supposed conversations with Judas Iscariot. In that document he is called the thirteenth spirit appointed by God to liberate Jesus from his body because of the incarnation. So, says this Gnostic gospel, Judas was actually performing a service to Jesus by betraying him to those who would crucify him thus liberating him from his body and he could become pure spirit. In other words, Judas Iscariot is the real hero of the story. Now all of this reflects the Gnostic thinking, their antipathy toward physical resurrection, they didn't buy into it. And this horrible weird off-the-wall doctrine was filling the early church at Corinth. The Greeks did not accept bodily resurrection, Gnostics did not accept bodily resurrection. Sadducees a we said last week did not accept bodily resurrection. Now, today it's not much different. Honestly, most people do not buy into the idea of what we've been teaching, physical resurrection, the resurrection of the body. Most people either believe in annihilationism, we die and that's it, there's nothing left. Or they buy into spiritualism, we die and we just simply float around as a spirit forever doing whatever. Or, reincarnation, twenty-five percent of Americans believe in reincarnation, the transmigration of the soul into another form and you simply shed, you get rid of the old body, who would want it anyway? No such thing as resurrection.
So, the questions: how, why? Now we have the same questions today though for different reasons, same kind of questions though. Now if you remember last week, let me just quickly refresh you on the two major points. The Bible teaches that when Jesus comes back again there will be a resurrection of Christians. There's a one to one correspondence. It's not like you get a different body, you get this body, it's this body, this same body though renewed, refashioned, remade. Just as Jesus died and it was that body that got up again. And second we discussed that your renewed, resurrected, glorified body will have other world capabilities like Jesus had. Well this poses some problems, this brings up a whole new set of questions like: How is God going to raise the dead if like their molecules have been scattered over Mt. Everest, you know from an airplane, you know they got cremated and then scattered over miles, how's he going to do that? Or what if like the corpse was eaten by sharks in the ocean, they went like a hundred miles apart from each other. Or, they were blown up in a war. Or, what about if they were cremated and there are no remains? All of those questions suddenly come up. Or the question, what about amputees? Will they remain looking like that forever. Or somebody who had a stroke, will they be incapacitated forever?
Notice what Paul says in verse 36, "Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies." Now he goes from questions to illustrations and there's three of them, let's read on. "And what you sow you do not sow that body, that shall be but mere grain, perhaps wheat or some other grain). But God gives it a body as he pleases to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, there's one kind of flesh of men, another a flesh of animals, another of birds, there are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies (or the heavens and the earth). But the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial another. There is one glory, the sun; another of the moon and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection from the dead." So there's three illustrations he uses: he gets one from botany, one from zoology and one from astronomy. He looks at seeds, he looks at species of flesh, and he looks at the stars. Three illustrations. Now the first one is exceptionally helpful as he answers the question by saying, "Look at a seed that is planted," and so we want to consider that for just a moment. When you put a seed into the ground, you are planting something that dies, it deteriorates in the soil, it disintegrates in the soil, it decomposes in the ground. In other words, the seed ceases to exist in it present form. And then it brings life, then a plant grows from it.
Have you ever seen those time-lapse videos of seeds planted and plants growing? I decided to go on You Tube which has every kind of video on earth. And I was looking at seeds growing and I found this cool little clip of radish seeds, put in the ground, dead, they decompose. And then little shoots of roots come out below the surface and it's all time lapse so it looks very rapid. And little stems come out and then leaves come out, then the plant grows from it and these little radishes appear. Now the radish plant looks very different from the seed that was planted, I'm not saying you're all going to look at radishes in the resurrection but simply there is a change that occurs from the old to the new. Now this brings up three great truths with this illustration of the seed, that I want you to consider with me. Three great truths. Number one is mystery, number two is continuity and number three is improvement. Think of them with me. Mystery, continuity, and improvement. First of all, mystery. One of the great mysterious principles in scripture, it's one of the greatest truths of all times is that life comes form death. It's one of the great truths of scripture. Jesus even used this same illustration, did he not, in John chapter 12, speaking of his own death. He said, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone. But if it dies it produces much grain." You see before Jesus could ever offer salvation to the world he had to die. And then resurrect to new life. And in the same way, before we will ever see any glory of our unlimited resurrected bodies we too have to die. That's mystery.
Number two is continuity. The see houses the genetic blueprint for the plant. Same substance, different form. The genetic code for the oak tree is in the acorn. All those seed that you're going to spit over your fence, those watermelon seeds that you'll spit over your fence this summer; each of those seeds have to code that will be able to build, later after the seed dies, watermelon plants and fruit that will come from them. So just as there is continuity from seed to plant, so too there is continuity between the old you (this physical body) and the new you. 
Now I'll talk about the third, not mystery, not continuity but improvement. Which looks better, flowers or seeds? Flowers. This last Mother's Day did you buy a bouquet of flowers or did you give your wife or mother a handful of seeds? You gave her flowers. Vastly improved from the seed, right? Vastly improved. At a wedding, do you have seeds up front, or flowers? Is there a bouquet of seeds that the bride has? No she has flowers. Now at a funeral, it might be actually more appropriate to give seeds than flowers because of this illustration. But listen to this, I'm going to read the same passage that we read but in a fresher translation called The Message by Eugene Peterson. This is what he writes in translating it, "We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a dead seed. Soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between the seed and the plant, you could never guess what a tomato would be like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes form it will be dramatically different." Isn't that helpful? In other words, the difference between you now and you later on is like the difference between a sead, dead, shriveled, brown bulb and a bouquet of flowers. Very very helpful illustration.
Now he moves from botany, verse 39, to zoology. Look what he says, "All flesh is not the same flesh, there's different species. There's one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish and another of birds." It is absolutely impossible efor a caterpillar to ever imagine that he's going to be a butterfly. First of all, it's impossible probably for a caterpillar to imagine anything but let alone, "Yeah one day I'm going to be a butterfly." I heard about two caterpillars that were crawling through the grass together and they were looking at each other and overhead flew a beautiful butterfly. And one caterpillar turned to his buddy and pointed up and said, "You couldn't get me in one of those things for a million bucks." The truth is he'll be in one of those things, there'll be a transformation, a physical transformation. 
Then he goes to astronomy, verse 40, "There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies but the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another. There's the glory of the sun, the glory of the moon, another of the stars, one star differs from another star in glory. You look up and you see the moon on a goof nighy and you see the stars and you see planets. And if you even look at the stars, if you look through a telescope and sometimes even with the naked eye, you notice that the stars have different colors to them. They can go from reddish to yellowish to bluish, all depending on the temperature of those stars. So as you look up at the sky, they're all magnificent, they're all different, different kinds of glory. Now what does he mean by using that illustration? Well, he could be referring to different position that Christians will hold in the future. We'll get to that in another study, but we're going to be given rewards for eternity. Different positions in glory, not all the same. Maybe he's referring to that. Daniel chapter 12 sort of hints on this when it says, "Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." I'll tel lyou something, it is true, if you give your life to spread the gospel, you will never regret it. The more that you do for the kingdom of God, you will never live to regret it, here or in eternity. But I don't really think that's where he's going with this. I think what Paul is simply meaning is, just as there's different bodies on earth and different bodies in heaven; so too our resurrected bodies will different from these bodies. They're just going to be different. These are these bodies but when they're resurrected they'll be so glorious, certain characteristics of continuity but vastly different.
Listen to this, this is etched on Benjamin Franklin's tombstone: "The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, it's contents turned out, stripped of its lettering and gilding lies here, food for worms. It will be as he believed, appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, corrected and improved by its author." The same but corrected and improved and made glorious.
Now let's go to the four declarations and we'll close this out. He gives four declared truth of what this body will be like. Verse 42, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it's raised in incorruption." (That's one) It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. (That's two) It is sown in weakness, raised in power (that's three). It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. Look at the first one: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption. We're all subject to deterioration. Have you been noticing that? We all deteriorate. Even the healthiest people weaken over time. Have you seen Jack LaLane lately? No honestly, he's almost ninety-four, he looks amazing. He's called the Godfather of Fitness. Almost ninety-four, the guy is a stud, he looks amazing, like wow. But you know what? He looks good, he doesn't look as good as he used to look, and you can't do anything about that. Even the strongest healthiest people will weaken.
I remember visiting my parents, you will remember this too in your own experience. And when those visits became less frequent and there was more time between visits. I remember coming home one time and my brother was there and he turned to me and he goes, "Boy, Mom and Dad are getting old." Remember those epiphanal moments? You realize that. With your parents, you see it after time elapses. And then you look at one of your old pictures. And once you get over the "I can't believe I wore my hair like that," you notice how young you looked in the picture and how different you looked then. A friend of mine came last Saturday night was telling me a cute little story. He was picking up his daughters who were involved in a sports activity and he looked across the room at a group of kids and he saw what these group of young kids an older rounder man. And he thought, "Who is that old fat guy?" And he noticed that he was looking in a mirror. And he looked and he saw all those kids and he was standing, in the mirror he saw himself. Now, the body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. No one in glory will ever comment on your age (hallelujah). No one will ever talk about "My how the years are taking their toll." None of that, in fact twenty million years from now, you'll look better then than you do now. Much better.
Go over to verse 53, "For this corruptible must put on incorruption. This mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the same that is written, death is swallowed up and victory O death, where is your sting; O Hades, where is your victory?"
Look at the second declaration in those few verses. It is sown in dishonor (that is shame); it is raised in glory. There is nothing majestic about a dead body, at all. In fact, when a person dies we cover them with a sheet to cover dishonor, to cover the shame. I don't know how many dead bodies you've been around, but when a person dies they lose all muscle function. I mean ALL muscle function. It is the most embarrassing moment, if they were alive. Now we get embarrassed, you know when we go up, without makeup right, or "I don't want to wear these shorts, my legs are so white." You know, we're so body conscious, we're so embarrassed. When you die, they'll see it all, somebody will see it all. It is sown in dishonor or shame, it will be raised in glory. Your bodies weren't designed for this environment, fourteen pounds of pressure per square inch. You can't go in the water or in the sky unless you're in a pressurized cabin, you can't handle it. You are made for the environment of earth with 79:20 oxygen:nitrogen and one percent of assorted varying gasses. That's it. But not in glory. In glory I believe you'll have the freedom to travel, to explore, as we noted last week, to move vertically and horizontally very rapidly, explore new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem.
Look at the next one on the list, "It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power." Now our bodies are, can be, fairly strong and yet isn't it amazing that one microbe can kill you, one germ can completely destroy a person, flatten them. I was reading a little article this week about allergies. And the article noted that we are actually in our modern culture weakening the immune system of our own children, creating them to be more allergic to things. And it's because we keep them from germs, the article said. And the article said, to stop allergies expose your kids to pets and dirt early, because what it does, you're programming the immune system. The immune system in the early stages of develiopment gets programmed. And you program it not by keeping them away but introducing certain microbes. You know, please don't take this wrong, "He told me to have my kid eat that cockroach," it's not what I'm saying. It's simply to point out that these bodies can be very weak and we can actually weaken them. Your glorified body will not be vulnerable, it will not be susceptible to the toll of years or disease or weakness or deterioration. Jesus when he died was weakened, he was beaten. When he got up from the grave, he was raised in glory, it was a very different existence. And by the way when they took the stone away from the tomb, when the angel removed it, it wasn't to let Jesus out, it was to let the disciples in to show that Jesus was already out. He could just go right through the wall, right through the stone, no doubt he did.
Joni Earickson Tada was paralyzed at a pretty young age from the neck down. So you can imagine this godly Christian gal has been thinking and dreaming about her glorified body a long time. And she writes about it in a great book she wrote about heaven. And this is what Joni says, "One day, no more bulging middles or balding tops, no varicose veins, no crow's feet, no more cellulite or support hose, forget thunder thighs and highway hips. Just a quick leapfrog over the tombstone and it's the body you've always dreamed of, fit, trim, smooth, sleek. And let me just add, permanent and free (won't cost you anything).
Let's look at the fourth declaration, verse 44, "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." Be careful on that one, be careful how you interpret that. You want to know how some people misinterpret that? They focus on the adjective and not the noun, the say, "See, for the rest of your existence you'll be a spiritual entity." Well, that's because you're focusing on the adjective, you should focus on the noun which says body. Body, that denotes physicality. If it's a spiritual body, your body in glory will be a spiritual body just like we say the Bible is a spiritual book. It doesn't mean it's non-physical, it doesn't mean it's not really a real book, it's just spiritual-looking. It's real. It has a spiritual emphasis. Or if we say about a young woman, "She's a spiritual woman." We don't mean she's immaterial, non-corporeal, it just means she has an emphasis on spiritual matters. So, a better translation would be supernatural. It's sown natural, it'll be raised supernatural, that's the idea of spiritual body.
That'll be the body you've always dreamed of, it'll be yours one day. It will be the extreme makeover. (Heavenly botox, eternal liposuction, a forever physique made by God. A building not made with hands, II Corinthians 5. Now this poses a couple of problems I just want to briefly address. Okay, so what happens when an infant dies? Will and infant stay and infant forever? Will a handicapped person always be handicapped, will an elderly person be consigned ot that old body forever and ever? If you're missing a limb will you be like that forever. Well just think in your mind back to the creation, think of when Adam was made. When Adam was created by God, he was created with a parent age, so he was full-grown adult. Now a day after he was created, how old was her? He was one day old, technically, but he had all the apparent age of somebody in his prime, the perfect man. Same with Eve, she was a day old. Also, you are programmed, genetically your DNA to reach optimal development point and then it's downhill from there. That's how you're programmed, you have anabolic growth, then you have catabolic growth. You build up, you tear down, they say your optimum growth and optimum physique is somewhere between either twenties or thirties, I remember in school somebody told me it was 19, I was 19 at the time and they said, "It's all downhill from here, nineteen's the optimal age." But most think it's somewhere in your twenties and your thirties. I think that when we're resurrected, we're going to be resurrected in peak optimal form, as the genetic code would reach the perfect point, whether you're old, you won't look old, you'll look at the same physical perfection; if you're an infant, same, you won't always be an infant forever. Revelation 21 declares, "The old order of things has passed away." Another question that comes up when we talk about resurrection is, "What about cremation?" And this is a big question because thirty percent of Americans cremate their loved ones, for economic reasons, emotional reasons, environmental reasons, whatever. So they wonder about this. I'll never forget as I was at a funeral one time, well as we were burying in the ground the corpose, next to us was a crematorium that was in full operation, it was a very spooky eerie feeling. What happens to those bodies? Well, I will briefly say that the Old Testament and the New Testament seem to favor burial, after all you read in the Old Testament "they buried them, they buried them. In the New Testament, "they buried them." Right? That's sort of the norm. In fact, that is the illustration here. You put a seed in the ground, that's burial. So it seems to favor that and that's probably because it's a healthy worldview, it anticipates resurrection, it says I believe in resurrection. It was pantheism and paganism that decided to cremate their own. Now having said that, having said that, I want to say it's no problem at all for God nor will you get demerits from God, it's no problem at all for God to resurrect a cremated corpse, any more than one blown up by a plane accident, or in a war, or eaten by sharks, or scattered over the mountaintops. I mean think about it, if we can believe God created the heavens and the earth, if He's creator can't he be resurrector? Is it any harder for God to resurrect bodies than it is for him to make them in the first place? Not at all, if you can believe Genesis 1:1, the rest is easy. "In the beginning God created," no problem with resurrection. 
So Paul said to King Agrippa, in Acts chapter 26, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible for God to raise the dead?" Let's get over this, "Well what if the person's been eaten or been cremated?" This is God we're dealing with. It's not like flowers spilled on the ground, oh no sweep it up and throw it away. God can find every molecule and resurrect. By the way, every body, even embalmed disintegrates. I'm not saying go find out that but trust me. It does. Cremation will do in three hours what it takes nature thirty years to do, it's just a faster process.
I remember a year ago or so watching my mother deteriorate physically, she was on her deathbed. And the day before she went to heaven and her body was deteriorated and she was very gaunt and emaciated and she looked like, unlike, I'd ever seen her before. She couldn't communicate. And I' read scripture to her and I'd say, "Mom, you know, all of the boys, we're around your bed right now, we love you." She didn't respond. But said, "Mom, you know Jesus loves you." That was the time she responded, she mustered up enough strength to bow her head up and down in the affirmative pose like, "Yes I know that." And I couldn't help but think of resurrection, I'll never see her like that again, I don't want to see her like that again. I will see here in glory and I will see here with a peak optimal physique, extreme makeover like all of us.
So back to that, back to that poll that I mentioned at the beginning, "If you could change one thing about your ilfe, what would it be?" Your answer shouldn't be, "My hair." My body type. My weight. My age. My wrinkles, my face." I think the answer should be, "That I will invest in something that will outlast me." I will invest in something that will outlast me. We're Christians and it's time that we start living with that Christian worldview, this is temporary stuff. We're thinking and we should be thinking of eternal stuff.
And in closing tonight, all of these studies on the Christian dying and the Christian being buried and the Christian going to heaven and the Christian being resurrected and the Christian glorified body; you know there is a flipside to this. God will also resurrect the dead after the millennial kingdom, after the thousand-year reign on earth; and he'll give them bodies suitable to endure everlasting punishment forever. Real bodies that have the ability to endure, that's the flipside. So, invest in something that will outlast you. Short answer, give your life to Jesus Christ, ask him to be your savior, your Lord. Give him your life, he created you that you mightknow him, that you might live forever with him. That's his plan. Are you walking in that plan?
Heavenly Father, we pray that that would be the goal and the strategy of everyone who hears this message. As we've considered the questions as well as the apt illustrations by Paul and the declarations of how different these bodies are now from what they will be like in glory, in honor, supernatural ability. Lord I pray that here and now on this earth our hope would begin, and I pray for people who don't have the hope of heaven, don't have the hope of the resurrection, they're wandering through this life and all they're thinking about is how I'm going to make money and raise kids and go to school and live here, when this is just a vapor. I pray Father for people here to make decisions that will be an investment in something that will outlast them.

Additional Messages in this Series

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4/27/2008
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The Ultimate Journey
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
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What happens when a believer dies? What will heaven be like? What about infants and children who die? When do our bodies get resurrected? What will they be like? These questions and more occupy our thoughts from time to time. In this series, From the Edge of Eternity, we will follow a believer from death into the different stages of eternity: the Intermediate State, the resurrection of the body, the Kingdom Age and the Eternal State. Since forever is a long time, it only makes sense that we both understand and prepare for this "ultimate journey."
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5/4/2008
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View From Death's Door - Part 1
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, "A grave, wherever found, reaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul." He's right! Cemeteries remind us of our future on this earth--the only real estate we'll hold onto for awhile! But what happens to a believer after death? What about those who have died already? What are they doing now? Today and next week we will look at the experience of the death of the believer and what takes place afterwards.
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5/11/2008
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View from Death's Door - Part 2
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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How can mortal man penetrate beyond the grave and find assurance and peace for his own heart? Philosophers won't help--they've been for centuries discussing life and death without any resolve. Scientists don't want to tread into the area of wrestling with such questions. Paul solved the problem when he wrote, "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord." We don’t need to wonder or speculate. Why substitute human speculation when we have divine revelation?
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5/18/2008
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Groaning for Glory
2 Corinthians 5:1-8
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What sort of existence and experiences are departed believers enjoying right now? Is the heaven we go to when we die our final destination? Paul described it as "far better" (Phil. 1:23) but it's going to get even much better! Paul lightly touches on what happens when a Christian dies and awaits the resurrection, but it's enough to give us confidence. Let's consider today the "intermediate" or temporary transitional heaven before the resurrection of our bodies.
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5/25/2008
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Rise and Shine!
1 Corinthians 15:3-4;15:20-28
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My mom used to saunter into my room to wake me up in the morning with a sweet call to "rise and shine!" One day our Savior will give a call for all His children to do the same! This week and next week we will be considering the resurrection of our bodies. Why is resurrection even necessary? What will our resurrected bodies be like? What capabilities will they possess? Will babies always be babies and the elderly always remain elderly when resurrected? As we begin, know this: the idea of resurrection isn't just a New Testament idea; it began long, long ago!
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6/8/2008
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Jesus, Friend of Children
Matthew 19:13-15
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Today's subject is a tender one. The death of infants and children is the greatest fear of any parent. Does the Bible speak clearly about what happens when they die? It certainly does and it also gives great comfort to many who suffer the horrible loss of a little one. In this series on Eternity we must consider this subject since it affects so many and will also help us understand the fate of those who, like children, have diminished capacities.
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6/22/2008
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A Sneak-Peek Into What's Up There
Revelation 4:1-3
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In the early morning of his last day on earth, Dwight L. Moody, awoke suddenly and said, "Earth recedes; heaven opens before me." Those near him thought he was dreaming. "No, this is no dream, it is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go." After that sneak-peek of heaven, Mr. Moody entered his heavenly home. Today lets begin to consider our future home by glimpsing God’s heavenly Throne Room.
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6/29/2008
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What on Earth is Going On in Heaven?
Revelation 4-5
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The above title is more than just a play on words. Although there will be many activities going on in heaven, worship is one of the few things that we can do "down here" on earth that we will also do "up there" in heaven. That means that one of the ways you can get closer to heaven is to engage in biblical worship right now. Let's tag along with John for his extended tour of heaven.
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7/13/2008
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Gold, Silver, or Bronze?
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
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Next month, the eyes of the world will be on the Olympic Games in Beijing. Athletes from all over the world will compete, hoping to win the gold, silver or bronze medals that rank them as being some of the best on earth. This image of receiving an award from a judge on the raised platform of the Olympic Games is what Paul had in mind when he wrote about the future judgment of believers for their works on earth. Let’s see what this means.
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7/20/2008
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Heaven on Earth - Part 1
Revelation 20:1-3
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Mankind long ago gave up on the idea of a future Utopia. The idea of perpetual peace and undisturbed harmony became the stuff of fairy tale books. But that is precisely what God promised He will bring to this earth one day. And even though Satan has exercised a temporary authority over God's creation for several millennia, the story isn't over yet. Jesus Christ, who came two millennia ago as Savior, will return to rule as Sovereign for a thousand years. And no, this won't just be a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of His followers. This will be a literal dominion over a renewed earth. Let's explore this 1000 year phase of your eternal future.
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7/27/2008
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Heaven on Earth - Part 2: The Bad Guy is Bound
Revelation 20:1-3
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This world has been so tainted and marred with sin and Satanic deception that it's impossible for us to even imagine what it would be like with Him out of the way. Thankfully we have a clear description of what that will be like during the 1000 year reign of Christ in the Kingdom Age. Today we see the drama of Satan's arrest and incarceration, as the ultimate "bad guy" gets put away to make way for this future era of peace, prosperity and righteousness.
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8/10/2008
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Heaven on Earth - Part 3: When Politics are Perfect
Revelation 20:4-6
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It's the political season in our country and both sides are ramping up their platform to get as many votes as possible. The country is sharply divided on the two candidates but one thing is certain according to a recent poll: Americans consider both candidates to be risky if elected president. In Christ's Kingdom on earth, Christ will reign and all those who help Him administer will be in a glorified state, thereby minimizing any risk for shady politics. Get ready--you’re going to be part of the future political agenda of the King of Kings.
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8/17/2008
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Six Things That Will Surprise You About Heaven
Revelation 21:1-8
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I began this series talking about all the things I heard people say at funerals about the afterlife, from turning into angels when you die to having to answer Peter's questions at the gates of heaven. I have discovered that most people's (even Christians) ideas about what heaven will be like are vastly different that what Scripture reveals. We turn now to the Eternal State--after our initial experience of the Throne room of heaven, after our bodily resurrection at the Rapture, after the Millennial Reign of Christ. Here's a few things that might surprise you further:
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8/24/2008
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Future-Town - Part 1
Revelation 21:9-21
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Our English word town is related to the German word zaun (tuin in Dutch). The original idea behind the meaning referred to a space that a fence or wall would enclose. The town of the future described in this chapter, also enclosed by a wall, will be so magnificent that even John's depiction leaves us scratching our heads. This is God's revelation of the future Eternal dwelling of all believers. Let's do a walk-through today.
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9/7/2008
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Future-Town - Part 2
Revelation 21:22-22:5
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Today we will conduct a walk-through of your ultimate destination as a believer. We will walk with John as he describes what he saw as he was shown the New Jerusalem. It will be a social environment with such unique features, you'll have to bend and stretch your imagination just a bit. I will sum up this future cityscape by describing five conditions that will exist in God's Town
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9/14/2008
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Living Between Two Worlds
Philippians 1:19-26
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After studying about the believer's death, resurrection and heaven for four months now, maybe you can relate to these words by Puritan author, Thomas Watson, "Spiritual things satisfy; the more of heaven is in us, the less earth will content us." Knowing what we know now about the believer's future world, how can life be different in this present world?
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There are 16 additional messages in this series.
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