Raised Imperishable
Nobody wants to lose. We all pursue victory. From sports to board games to life itself, victory is something we all crave. And today, we celebrate the victory that surpasses them all—the victory found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Here’s the reality that changes everything: The cross is bloody, the tomb is empty, and the throne is occupied. What Jesus did on the cross and through the empty grave ensures the victory that awaits us in heaven.
The resurrection of Jesus transforms us. (50-53)
Our body in its present physical form cannot inherit the heavenly reality. Think about an astronaut. They can’t just leave the space shuttle and go jump around on the moon. They need specialized suits that can withstand the pressures of their environment. This world is not our home. In Christ, we belong to another world. I’m not talking about the moon or Mars (Elon Musk). We are citizens of heaven.
Philippians 3:20-21 – 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
We would be like a fish out of water. Or a cat in water. We would be like a life size two dimensional stick figure interacting with us here. It just doesn’t work. We are prone to death and decay. And heaven is forever. Jesus said I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:3). We couldn’t be in God’s presence as we are now.
When Moses talked with God at the burning bush, “Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6). Later, God tells Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). In other words, truly seeing God as He is, in the fullness of His glory, is more than any mortal can tolerate (cf. Isaiah 6:5). Moses was allowed a glimpse of God’s glory, but, for his own protection, most of God’s glory was kept hidden from him (Exodus 33:21–23).
As we currently are we wouldn’t last in heaven. Heaven is eternal. We are perishable. That means that there is an expiration date. We are not the type of items that you collect for a food drive. We are nothing compared to twinkies.. We are subject to decay. We are the type of material that must be consumed within three days of opening. We must be changed before we are fitted for immortality.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Now that’s encouraging! This change will come at the trumpet sound. The sound of a trumpet notoriously marks the beginning of the end…or we should say the end of the beginning. There’s a rich Old Testament history to this. We see the trumpet sound in Jeremiah 51:27 to sound the last battle cry. In Joel 2:1 it warns of the approaching day of judgment. It announces the coming of the Lord in Zechariah 9:14. And in Isaiah 27:13 the trumpet blasts to summon the people of God from the four corners.
And after the trumpet sound the change comes immediately. Snap! In the twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet we will be changed. It’s the last trumpet because there’s no more chances. You can’t push off Christ indefinitely. There is coming a day of reckoning. Christ has paved the way with His resurrection, and belief in Christ is alone is what secures our resurrection.
Christ is our model. After His resurrection He was transformed, and He remains transformed. I love what C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity. Jesus was truly human and truly divine. Lewis said, “The Man in Christ rose again: not only the God.”[1] Think about that. When we back up in our text and look directly following the proofs of the resurrection, we see this in verse 20: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
Jesus ensures our resurrection. Though He is fully God, the fully man in Him was raised from the dead also, to ensure that this man (you and me) will be raised from the dead. He has gone before us, leading the way to victory!
He leads the way for us, and He is also a model for us. Once He was resurrected there was a semblance of who He was before, though He wasn’t always immediately recognized. And when the Apostle John sees a glimpse of Him in heaven, he describes Him as a Lamb standing as though it had been slain (Rev 5:6). Jesus bore the marks of His sacrifice on the cross after His resurrection. He still, I believe, bears them in heaven and will forevermore. Again, the cross is bloody, the tomb is empty, and the throne is occupied.
The resurrection of Jesus ensures death’s defeat. (54-57)
What a terrible opponent death has been. Death has prevailed against us each time he has faced us. Despite the fall of our loved ones, death still stands. Death has triumphed over our children, our friends, our parents, brothers, and sisters. It appears that we win a round or two sometimes. We had a remission as a result of effective treatment. The doctors were able to mend the artery. Although those around us were hit by enemy fire, we managed to survive our tour of duty. We have briefly avoided the blow that death threw at us. However, death will ultimately win, won’t it?
One commentator says, "Death is like a schoolyard bully before whom other children cowered until a stronger one came along and defeated him, giving all others freedom and hope. He's been a bully, but you need never fear him again. He has been defeated. There's freedom and hope for all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ."
Death has been defeated. It hasn’t only been defeated…it’s been utterly humiliated. It’s one thing to win. It’s another thing to taunt your opponent. Here, Paul taunts death. He’s referencing Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14.[2] Hear what Isaiah 25:8 says, written 700 years before Jesus walked the earth.
“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.”
We see in this Old Testament prophecy the future fulfillment of Revelation 21:4. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, heaven is secured for all those who bow their knee before Him. We did Easter baskets as a family yesterday, and we read the Easter story together beforehand. I read from the Jesus Storybook Bible, but my daughter Hopelyn found a little Easter book she wanted to read. The only thing is…she can’t read. So, she pretended by looking at the pictures. And she said something so profound. She was talking about people who celebrate Easter. She said, “We celebrate Easter every every every every Easter. Even when we go to heaven.” That’s completely right. We will celebrate Easter forever, even in heaven, because we will be in the presence of the resurrected Jesus forever!
Even though Paul taunts death and alludes to the future resurrection of believers, the victory is expressed in the present tense. It’s not death will be swallowed up in victory. It’s true now! Even amidst death, because Jesus is alive, death has no power over us! So, we can taunt death too! “Na na na boo boo, you can’t get me!” Ha!
And neither can the cause of death…sin.[3] Sin is the deadly poison that has led to death. “Death is not simply the result of decay through normal human processes. Rather, it is the result of the deadly poison, sin itself, which became all the more energized in our lives through acquaintance with the law.”[4]
The real sting of death isn’t the fact that we die, but it’s dying without our sins forgiven…standing before God without the covering of Christ’s sacrifice. Finally facing God, having lived a life without repentance and belief, we stand under the weight of divine law, the very law we've all broken. Instead of honoring our Creator, we exalted ourselves, chasing after success as if it were our ultimate idol. We misused the name of Jesus to harm others while seeking only personal glory. Sundays became just another opportunity for comfort and pleasure. We disrespected our parents, harbored hate, and nursed grudges. Lust consumed us, and our phones were filled with filth. Gossip spewed out of our mouths, and envy filled our hearts. Yet, we remained blind to the gravity of our sins in the eyes of a perfectly holy God, oblivious to the coming day when we must answer for every one of our actions.
Let me plead with you…Don’t wait until the trumpet sounds and it’s too late. You don’t want to feel the sting of sin.
“Death’s victory has been overcome by Christ’s victory; and death’s deadly sting has been detoxicated—indeed, the stinger itself has been plucked—through Christ’s resurrection. Death, therefore, is “powerless over the dead”; God’s people will be raised and changed into the likeness of Christ himself.”[5]
The resurrection of Jesus empowers us to live in victory. (57b-58)
Notice the “therefore” in verse 58. Any time you see a “therefore,” you need to stop and see what it’s there for. Since God gives us the victory through Jesus Christ…we can live in victory. Victory in the present begins when you can, like Paul, sing the taunt of death even now, in light of Christ’s resurrection. Paul moves from taunting our greatest foe to basking in the victory that is ours in Jesus. Because we have this victory doesn’t mean we just sit back and enjoy its benefits. No, it means we labor and strive, abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that God is working in us and through us.
We aren’t to sit back. Because the victory belongs to the risen Christ, we are to stand up and fight. But first we must bow our knees in allegiance. That Jesus is gloriously resurrected means that He is ruling and reigning right now in glory from on high.
The cross is bloody, the tomb is empty, and the throne is occupied.
We think of the resurrection as so far off and detached from us. That’s the opposite of what the resurrection is for though. Jesus was bodily resurrected precisely so we can be resurrected. It specifically impacts us even and especially right now.
[1] https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/reflections-december-2021
[2] Paul is utilizing a play on words in his usage of Hosea 13:14. He changes the Greek versions’ “punishment” (dike) to “victory” (nike).
[3] In reference to the power of sin being the law, see Romans 5:20-21; 7:5-25; 8:1-3.
[4] Fee, 807.
[5] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 804.
