One danger we face when we think about the future\u2014Jesus\u2019s return and our resurrection\u2014is that we can get caught up in the details. We can fret about the specifics of when it will happen or how it will happen or what kind of bodies we\u2019ll have. Paul cautions us against that type of thinking because we cannot fully know what will happen until it actually happens. But he does offer some answers, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll unpack today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read 1 Corinthians 15:35\u201344. List the words Paul uses to describe our resurrected bodies.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 35<\/strong> But someone may ask, \u201cHow will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?\u201d 36<\/strong> What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn\u2019t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37<\/strong> And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38<\/strong> Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39<\/strong> Similarly there are different kinds of flesh\u2014one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 40<\/strong> There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41<\/strong> The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 42<\/strong> It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43<\/strong> Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44<\/strong> They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.<\/p>\n1 Corinthians 15 (NLT)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Paul describes our resurrected bodies as spiritual, or pneumatikos<\/em>. While pneumatikos <\/em>often refers to something being the opposite of physical\u2014 spirit, intangible, immaterial\u2014we shouldn\u2019t jump to the idea that our resurrected bodies will not be physical. Rather, Paul uses this word to talk about the difference between our fallen, earthly bodies and our renewed, sinless bodies that we\u2019ll carry into eternity. Those very physical bodies will be free from sin and death entirely.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n When we think about the resurrection of our bodies when Jesus returns, we sometimes picture some sort of translucent, ghost-like body that floats around with a harp in hand. But that\u2019s not at all what Paul\u2019s describing in this passage. He uses words like \u201cimperishable,\u201d \u201cpower,\u201d and \u201cspiritual.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n We will have real, tangible, physical bodies. Just look at the accounts of Jesus\u2019s resurrection for proof. He ate and walked. His disciples touched his hands and side. His resurrection body points to the kind of body we\u2019ll have in eternity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflect on the negative impact sin has on the body you have now. You get sick. You can lose control of your emotions. You can be mentally traumatized. Now, think about what you would feel in a body that never experienced those things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The physical resurrection of our bodies will come. We have so much hope. And the best part about that hope is that it\u2019s anchored in the promise of God and the resurrection of Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What gets you most excited about having that kind of body in the future? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and\/or share it as a comment below<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One danger we face when we think about the future\u2014Jesus\u2019s return and our resurrection\u2014is that we can get caught up in the details. We can fret about the specifics of when it will happen or how it will happen or what kind of bodies we\u2019ll have. Paul cautions us against that type of thinking because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n Welcome!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Welcome to the book of 1 Corinthians. As we study this letter, we\u2019ll step into ancient Corinth while reading the words Paul wrote to the fledgling church. We\u2019re going to see that, like all churches, the Corinthian church wasn\u2019t perfect. They had a problem. A big problem. And it grew to such an epic proportion that it poisoned the church in various ways. Paul wrote to provide the antidote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this study, we\u2019re going to explore Paul\u2019s solution to both the problems in Corinth and in us. Through his words, we\u2019ll learn more about Jesus\u2019s plan for a people who live radically different lives than the world around them. But we\u2019ll also take a hard look in the mirror and ask the Spirit to point out our own self-centered attitudes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading the Bible isn\u2019t just something we do to impress people or to check off on a to-do list. It\u2019s about getting to know God. It\u2019s about shaping every minute of our lives to reflect Jesus. It\u2019s about thinking differently in the power of the Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So as we approach each week, we\u2019ll focus on one main idea. That main idea will point us to change how we think, feel, and act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, we\u2019ll see that resolving relational disunity begins in our hearts because division is a symptom of self-focus. From this main idea, we have three goals: <\/p>\n\n\n\n First Corinthians will take us on a journey. We\u2019ll look at the struggles of one of the first local churches in all of history. We\u2019ll see that the Corinthians weren\u2019t much different from us. And we\u2019ll realize that Paul\u2019s words to them still ring true today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before we jump into 1 Corinthians, spend a few minutes writing out a short prayer to God. Ask him to use this study to change you. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Open up your Bible to 1 Corinthians. Go ahead and read the entire first chapter. As you read, ask yourself this question: What was the problem in the Corinthian church?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Corinthians 1:1\u201331 (ESV): <\/p> 1\u00a0Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, \u201cI will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.\u201d<\/p> 20\u00a0Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21\u00a0For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22\u00a0For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23\u00a0but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24\u00a0but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25\u00a0For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.<\/p> 26\u00a0For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27\u00a0But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28\u00a0God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29\u00a0so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30\u00a0And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31\u00a0so that, as it is written, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Corinthian church suffered from division. We\u2019ll see it all throughout the book. The struggling church fought over leadership, spiritual gifts, food, marriage, and theology. Since the theme of disunity runs throughout the letter, it\u2019s tempting to think that was the church\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t. Disunity was only a symptom of a far more insidious\u2014and common\u2014 disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you catch the real issue that was going on in Corinth? It was selfishness. They were so consumed with themselves that they tried to solve their problems their own way, held on to their culture, and, as a result, blasted chasms between them and other Christians.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one likes to admit to selfishness\u2014 especially people who claim to follow Jesus. But it often sneaks into our lives in ways we don\u2019t readily see. And then it spills over in ways we never expect. For the Corinthians, their selfishness led to severe divisions in the church. What is it for us? We\u2019ll spend the rest of the study unpacking that very question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we know the main problem Paul\u2019s tackling in 1 Corinthians, take a moment to be honest with God. Write down any fears or concerns you have about confronting the problem of selfishness. Ask God to use this study to turn your gaze to him.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1corinthians"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
2\u00a0To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3\u00a0Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4\u00a0I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5\u00a0that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge\u2014 6\u00a0even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you\u2014 7\u00a0so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8\u00a0who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9\u00a0God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10\u00a0I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11\u00a0For it has been reported to me by Chloe\u2019s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12\u00a0What I mean is that each one of you says, \u201cI follow Paul,\u201d or \u201cI follow Apollos,\u201d or \u201cI follow Cephas,\u201d or \u201cI follow Christ.\u201d 13\u00a0Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14\u00a0I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15\u00a0so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16\u00a0(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17\u00a0For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18\u00a0For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19\u00a0For it is written, <\/p>