Title: Those of Heaven
The heavenly one (1 Corinthians 15:42-58)
The text is talking about two kinds of people. One is an earthly person, that is, an earthly person, and the other is a heavenly person. The earthly person refers to Adam, and the heavenly person refers to Jesus. In other words, those who do not believe in Jesus today belong to the earth, and those who believe in Jesus and are regenerated to inherit the kingdom of heaven belong to heaven.
The Bible clearly teaches that there are 'three glory', 'three graces' and 'three divisions' that are given only to these "heavenly ones."
I. The Three Glory (verses 42-49)
1. The glory of the resurrection (verses 42-44)
The word ‘living again’, repeated four times, means resurrection. We need to think deeply about the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection in which believers participate. In the last days, when Jesus returns in the air with the sound of the trumpet of the archangel, those who died and were buried in the tombs who believed in Jesus will come to life. Even though the body has already decayed and became a handful of dust, it will be resurrected. Those who believe in this way do not end in death, but live again even if they die.
"Even if you die, will you still believe in Jesus?" This is the reason why we are not afraid of death and keep our faith even when we lay down our lives. At the second coming of Jesus, we have the glory of being raised from the grave and being taken up to participate in the wedding feast with the Lord in the air. There is the glory of this resurrection. We rejoice and rejoice because it is an honor given only to those who believe.
2. The glory of being born again (verses 45-46)
As believers, there is another glory called regeneration. To be born again means to receive life over and over again. All people in the world receive life from their parents and are born into the world. It is a one-time birth that both believers and non-believers enjoy equally. But we believers have one more birth. It's middle-aged.
When we receive physical life from Adam, we enter into Adam's genealogy. This is the genealogy of sins that violated God's command not to eat of the forbidden fruit. It is the genealogy of hell that leads to hell, and it is the genealogy of the devil inhabited by the devil. God selects and calls those who will be saved from among those in this genealogy. When God calls you, if you leave the genealogy of sin and come to God, God will give you a second life. The Holy Spirit, which is given by God who is the Spirit, is the spiritual life. Even though there are many shortcomings and transgressions and sins, by being born again, you become a child of God and enter the genealogy of God. The spirit of the first Adam, formed of dust, is a living spirit that came to life by giving it life, but the last Adam, Jesus, is a life-giving spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus is also the Spirit who gives life to our dead spirits. It is the glory of regeneration that those who belong to heaven through faith receive and enjoy.
3. The glory of the image (verses 48-49)
It is said that the image of the heavenly one is glorious. We take on two forms: the earthly one, the image of Adam, and the heavenly one, the image of Jesus. Unbelievers do not wear the image of Jesus. The image of Jesus, the glory enjoyed only by believers, is the image of the resurrected body. Even if the gate is locked, they come in, eat and drink, and appear here and there at the same time. It doesn't get sick at all. It doesn't even die. It is an incomparable glory and blessing to wear the image of the resurrected Jesus in a spiritual body without being limited by time and space.
II. The three graces (verses 50-54)
1. The grace of inheritance (verse 50)
It is that we cannot enter the kingdom of God with fleshly blood and a physical body. It is the kingdom of God that only those who belong to Adam, those who belong to the earth, and those who do not have the image of the flesh can inherit, and only those who have the image of Christ can inherit it. It is not a country that pays money to go, and it is not a country that builds up any merit. It is a kingdom that God has built and given to us as an inheritance without paying any price or any merit, it is a kingdom of grace, a free gift from God. To receive the kingdom of God as an inheritance is the greatest of graces.
If our lives were to end only with the life of this world, what would we look like without the hope of heaven? They will probably live a terrifying life regardless of any means. But we have an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven. We must set our hopes in heaven and live uprightly and brightly toward that goal.
2. The grace of change (verses 51-53)
It is the grace of change. Those who died while believing in Jesus and those who were buried in the tombs will all rise from the dead and be taken up to participate in the wedding supper of the Lamb when the Lord returns, but what will happen to those who remain alive until then? The story that the Apostle Paul responds to the Corinthian church members in a letter is that those who die in faith are resurrected with the sound of the archangel's trumpet and are raptured, and at the moment they are all transformed into a spiritual body.
It changes just like a person who has risen from the grave, that is, like the spiritual body of Jesus. It is not through training or education, nor by paying any price, but only through the grace of change given by God's unilateral power.
3. The grace of victory (verse 54)
'This will die' refers to a physical body. When we put on immortality, that is, when we are transformed into a spiritual body, that person has no death at all. Life has swallowed up death. Life has completely conquered death. It is the victory of the perfect life. This victory did not come from our struggles, but from God's grace. It is the triumphant grace given to us, those who belong to heaven, where death does not torment us, does not claim it, and has absolutely nothing to do with death.
III. The three duties (verses 55-58)
1. The duty of proclamation (verses 55-56)
What the Apostle Paul proclaims to all the world is that where is your (death) victory, where you can overcome, what you shoot with, and what you shoot at us, you can never win even if you run towards us.
Death was completely conquered. Death is no longer death. As the Bible expresses it, the death of a believer is like sleeping. I work hard all day and come back in the evening tired and exhausted and go to sleep. As dead as we are, we don't care. This is because in the morning you will regain your strength and know that you will rise again. In this way, the death of a believer is rest. We are only awakening anew day by day in the peace that the Lord has given us. As one who has received glory and grace, we must proclaim it. 'Where is death?' There is not.
2. The duty of thanksgiving (verse 57)
The apostle Paul is thankful for the church in Corinth.
Apostle Paul devotes himself to the Lord's work until he dies, thinking about the three-story heaven that God has shown him. I did not get married because it would become a stumbling block, and I gave up all of my status, authority, and honor as a member of the Sanhedrin, and instead went through various hardships and persecutions to immerse myself in missionary work in all parts of the world. I was able to do it because I had a heart of gratitude. It is the duty of our saints to look and give thanks to the heavenly kingdom given by grace.
3. The duty of service (v. 58)
As a member of heaven, we ought to take the lead in serving the Lord. Since we are heavenly, we must serve the Lord's work, for which our toil will never be in vain. It is worthwhile to work for the things of the world, but how much more will your labor for the Lord be in vain? As such, it is natural to strive for the Lord's precious and valuable work, but above all, we need to have the right mindset and attitude. If I do what I want to do, I will hurt others, hurt myself, and eventually fall.
We must always think of the Lord's will, respect others, and do the Lord's work with an attitude of humility. You must be a person who works hard in the Lord's work, regardless of whether it is painful or joyful, difficult or difficult. I knew that there is a glory enjoyed by those who belong to heaven, and that there is a special grace given to them. As a believer, after you have done your duty, I hope you will receive and enjoy all these things.