Mystery Of The Resurrection Of The Dead

Mystery Of The Resurrection Of The Dead

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:12-32
12 “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.”

SHORT PRAYER
LORD Jesus, as Your word says that “there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding” Job 32:8, I therefore submit myself for Your own usage unto Your own glory. As the thought of this message dropped in my spirit today, 19th June, 2014, inspire me O LORD to speak Your word with precision that whoever will come across it shall be blessed and be refined in their Christian work with You. Give me the understanding of Your word O LORD that it might convert the hearts of sinners unto You that will come across this message in Jesus name.
LORD, I bring myself under the control of the Holy Spirit. Let me not speak of myself O LORD but of Your mind towards us Your children. At the end, only Your name shall all praise, glory, honour and thanksgiving be giving to in Jesus Mighty name I have prayed. Amen. Praise the LORD! Hallelujah.

In our text above, Apostle Paul make it abundantly clear that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus did not rise after all, and that our faith is vain and we are still in our sins, and that the believers who died in Christ including himself (now dead) are perished forever 1 Corinthians 15:16-18. To the glory of God, Christ is risen indeed. Luke 24:33 “And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.”
This message by the help of the Holy Spirit is to bring our brethren who have a deceptive opinion and idea in relation to the state of the dead into the truth, as some of them believed that the dead are still in their graves waiting the day of judgment. Amen.

Again if you believed that the dead are still in their various graves, your position will counter and run contrary to the scriptures because, Jesus presented a story that speaks about a soul in heaven and a soul in the torments of hell fire, with a substantial evidence of Father Abraham, to prove the authenticity of the story. Also the reality of the resurrection was substantiated too. Who knows better than the KING of kings and LORD of lords?
Luke 16:19-31
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

When we are talking about resurrection, we are referring to ‘a revival of inactivity or disuse’. The dead that are buried already in their graves, or those swallowed up by whales in the ocean, those eaten by wild animals in the forest, those whose dead bodies were never located, those burnt on fire due to accidents and some due to strange beliefs in some climes, in fact every single dead human being irrespective of the nature or otherwise of their death are ALL IN INACTIVITY AND DISUSE state.
And for the fact that they were all created by God and they once lived on this earth before their death, there is surely going to be a resurrection for them all, whether they know and served God in their lifetime or not. They all will be resurrected either to the resurrection of LIFE, or to the resurrection of DAMNATION (DEATH). John 5:28 “Marvel not at this: for THE HOUR IS COMING, IN THE WHICH ALL THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE, 29 AND SHALL COME FORTH; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Hallelujah.

But let me quickly point out here that the dead in the graves already right now are there with their BODY (sand) ONLY Job 34:15. Their spirit which is the breathe of the Almighty God on the sand during the creation of man that transformed man into a LIVING SOUL Genesis 2:7, do live the body immediately at death Ecclesiastes 12:7. Only the body of man dies, the spirit never dies but will go into eternity either in heaven or in hell fire, to present the activities of the body to God for judgment Revelation 22:12.
With this understanding, you should be able to decide your place of eternity by the work(s) you are doing right here on earth with or on your body right now. This is why I pity the so called Christians that hold the doctrine of Satan with their continuous abuse of their body with all of devil’s work and claiming that God is only interested in their hearts. Unfortunately, the judgment of God either for your glorious eternity in heaven or for your vexatious damnation in hell fire is by what was done on your body. Your spirit which is the living being in the lifeless sand (body) you are proud of and carrying about always obey your instructions either to do good or to do bad. Therefore whatever (works) were done by your lifeless sand (body) which you moved your spirit to achieve is what is going to face judgment when you drop this sandy (body) property of yours in death Ecclesiastes 12:14. May the Holy Spirit give you understanding in Jesus name. Amen.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR BODY ABUSING CHRISTIANS
2 Corinthians 6:16 “And what agreement hath the temple of God (body) with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
12 “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. NOW THE BODY IS NOT FOR FORNICATION, BUT FOR THE LORD; AND THE LORD FOR THE BODY.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15 KNOW YE NOT THAT YOUR BODIES ARE THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; BUT HE THAT COMMITTETH FORNICATION SINNETH AGAINST HIS OWN BODY.
19 What? KNOW YE NOT THAT YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST WHICH IS IN YOU, WHICH YE HAVE OF GOD, AND YE ARE NOT YOUR OWN?
20 For ye are bought with a price: THEREFORE GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY, AND IN YOUR SPIRIT, WHICH ARE GOD'S.”

I encourage you to start taking stock of what you are doing on/with your body right now as you are still alive because, if you die without the proper use of your body, and without making reconciliation with God for the forgiveness of your sins before your death, YOU ARE SURELY GOING TO RECEIVE THE JUDGMENT OF DAMNATION from the presence of God Daniel 12:2. Therefore do away with your hair attachment, weavon, rings, makeup, jewelries, wearing trouser as a woman, bleaching, tattooing, perming, jerry curling, eye lashes, fake nails, nose rings, golden teeth, body exposing clothes etc. All these things you are corrupting your body with will surely damn your soul in hell fire. Your body is meant for the glory of God and not for idols. Repent now and stop the use of these rubbish devil’s properties on your body because time is no more 1 John 5:21. Praise the LORD.

AFTER JESUS RESURRECTED
To understand the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, let us consider the account of Jesus Christ when He appeared unto His disciples after His resurrection in Luke 24:36-43.
36 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
43 And he took it, and did eat before them.”

Here, the same disciples that Jesus told that He will resurrect after three days from the dead Mark 10:34, doubted Jesus who was PHYSICALLY present with them. To douse their doubts and unbelief, Jesus told them that a spirit have no flesh and bones as He was having right there. To further prove that He was the real same Jesus in another body and not a spirit as the disciples had alleged, He ate food with them, they touched and felt His body. Amen.
This is in addition to the fact that they had earlier doubted Him to be a spirit while He was not yet dead then Matthew 14:25-26. This is why a lot of people are being misled and deceived by the devil today, as he continue to present false images of dead people to them calling them spirits. May God have mercy on the deceived in Jesus name. Amen.
We can see that if Jesus had never resurrected and if it was His spirit that was hovering on the earth, no physical eyes would have been able to see Him talk less of Jesus eating with the living Acts 10:41. This would have then given some credibility to the people saying that they saw the spirit of a dead person but they can’t relate with them. Please, do not allow the devil to continue in deceiving you because no spirit of a dead person hangs around here on earth after his/her death, like as the Catholics are preaching purgatory to deceive their sinner members. The spirit can either go straight to heaven or to hell fire as a soul according to the things done on their body while on earth 2 Corinthians 5:10, which will also return to be resurrected , the saved ones at the rapture 1 Thessalonians 4:16, while the damned ones in the final judgment Revelation 20:12-13. Amen.

HOW DO THE DEAD RESURRECT AND WITH WHAT BODY?
We should know that before there will be any resurrection, there must be death first. We must also understand that to be resurrected from inactivity or disuse of the body, which by this time has become ordinary sand which it was originally taken from, it, will require another kind of body too.
John 5:28 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
1 Corinthians 15:35-58.
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; 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 was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

In the resurrection of the dead, the BODY is sown in corruption, and raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, and raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, and raised in power. It is sown a natural body, and raised a spiritual body. It is sown in mortality, and raised in immortality.
With this understanding of the body the resurrected souls do come forth, it is now clear why the disciples of Jesus Christ and others saw Him after His resurrection. And from this understanding, we can therefore confirm that both those who will be resurrecting to either LIFE in heaven or DEATH in hell fire will resurrect with another body which is not subject to anything this natural body of ours is subjected to Matthew 22:30-31. Amen.
Now as for how the dead will resurrect, the saints will hear the voice of Jesus Christ in their graves John 5:25 and resurrect to glory in heaven with the voice of the trumpet in rapture 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:52. And the sinners will resurrect to damnation in hell fire during the final judgment Revelation 20:12-13.

THE MYSTERY
Acts 24:14 "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men."
1 Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
The mystery of the resurrection of the dead is that both believers who died in Christ, and the sinners that died in their sins will resurrect. The souls of the saints who are in heaven right now, and the souls of the sinners in hell fire right now will all be resurrected.
The souls of the saints will leave heaven in the rapture and resurrect from wheresoever they were buried either in whole or in pieces, and then returned back to heaven with the LORD Jesus Christ together with the living saints at that time, for eternity. What a glory! LORD, help me to make it to heaven by your grace in Jesus name. Amen.
Likewise the souls of the sinners in hell fire right now will leave hell fire to wheresoever they were buried, and resurrect to face the final judgment, and then be casts back to their destination in hell fire for eternity. Please my brethren, hell fire was created for the devil and his angels ONLY Matthew 25:41. Please obey the word of God in its entirety, repent of your sins and amend your ways so that you can escape the damnation in hell fire. H-E-L- L IS R-E-A-L. Please don't go to hell.
This is a mystery indeed, and only the Christians with the TRUE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD WILL ASSIMILATE the depths of this mystery unfolded here. HaHallelujah.
However there are supposed Christians here, who may see this mystery as self inspired but I have presented it to you, and it is left for you to accept or reject it. The choice is yours. God bless you.

CONCLUSION
Should you desire to partake of the resurrection of life and not of death, you must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Jesus said “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.” Matthew 10:27. So if you care for the salvation of your soul in heaven, you have to believe the word of God, even as I have presented it to you here.
God bless you.

Shalom!