St. Timothy's Church

The Day of the Resurrection – 2008

In the Name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a historical fact that Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead!  There has never been a time when the church catholic did not teach and preach that message. (1 Cor. 15.1-11)  Yes, there have been times when another gospel has been taught – and those teachings were in error. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the lynchpin of Christian faith.  Jesus is risen and God’s new world has begun – the world has been redeemed – and Jesus’ followers have been given a Great Commission and a new work to do!

Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates God’s redemptive move to colonize earth with the life of heaven – where His will and authority is on earth as it is in heaven.  Through Christ, God has set into motion the final overthrow of death itself and the redemption of the world.  In 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 Paul addresses the question head on and asserts that our hope in Christ is not just in His Second coming but also in joining with Him in a resurrection like His.  Christ was raised from the dead and therefore it follows that those in Christ will also be raised.

In Roman’s 6.3-4, Paul says, “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Phil. 3.20b-21, “And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” In faith through His word we believe that as Christ died and was raised bodily from the dead, we too will die and one day are raised bodily from the dead.

John 5.25-29, “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.  . . . for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

Some of us might be misinformed to think that when we die we become angels and spend eternity floating around heaven on clouds, playing harps, and watching what’s going on “down below”.  In fact the New Testament gives us little detail about what happens after we die – or what we sometimes call the in-between state - what we do know is important: The body rests – the spirit lives on and is one day joined back with the Resurrected body.

(I know we all have a hundred questions: But hang on – you’ll be disappointed to hear that what happens in between isn’t our concern this morning! I know you’ve heard things about LIMBO for babies; or purgatory.  Sorry. We don’t have time to go into any of these important topics.)

Let me say this much: In many funerals the passage from John is read which in part says, “There are many rooms in my Fathers house, I go to prepare one for you”. And from that we sometime hear that our loved one has gone to his/her room to be with Jesus, and from that maybe we’ve just assumed that means their FINAL place or room. The word for dwelling place is monai which means a temporary dwelling – it’s like stopping at a motel along a trip where you eventually end up at your final destination. When Jesus is dying on the cross He said to one of the thieves – today you will be with me in paradise.  We almost always understand that to mean “Heaven” – and again assume it means some permanent place.

The word translated “paradise” is seen to be most often used to mean a blissful garden – a stop over – a place of rest but not the final destination. When we die it appears that we have an in-between time and that time is blissful, a time of rest – and at some time, known to God only, the dead are raised from the grave. In Phil. 3 Paul says that Jesus will come from heaven to transform our perishable (humble) body into an imperishable (glorious) body. This will be done through the Holy Spirit which is making all things subject to Christ. Col. 3.4, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

KEEP THIS IN MIND THEN:  The RISEN JESUS IS THE MODEL FOR OUR RESURRECTION BODY AND THE MEANS (power) BY WHICH IT COMES ABOUT!

You see every Christian possesses some measure of the glory of Christ already. . . . when we are born anew in Christ by faith the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us. . . . we die to sin and self and are born again to Jesus. We then enter on a path of being made like Him – it’s called being made holy, sanctified – a life long process. When He appears – because He IS our life – we will appear with Him in glory! He who already dwells in us will enable us to burst forth from the grave in the fullness of Christ and be fully completed and visible!

Look at Romans 8.11, “. . . And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 1 John says that when Christ appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him for who He is. Jesus’ resurrection will be the model for ours! We shall appear as He is . . . . . this does not mean we shall look alike, stamped out of the press like the jockey underwear commercial. No, it means the power and fullness of God that IS Christ will dwell in us resurrected from the dead.

Paul says we’re buried perishable and raised imperishable; a seed planted sprouts something new – so too we will arise a new creation but from the seed (body) placed in the ground.

Song: Low in the Grave He Lay

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

That too will be our story – one day the graves over every cemetery will open and the dead will rise again. Our earthly bodies of today are subject to decay and disease; our resurrected bodies will be spiritual – that is incorruptible – not subject to disease or death because death will be completely swallowed up in victory. As someone said our resurrected bodies will be suited to a new earth – I would add that if you want to get some idea of what the new earth will look like, go to Genesis 1 & 2 and you’ll see.

What happens to us when we die? Rest and fellowship with God in some in-between state seems to be a good way to describe it.

Will everyone be resurrected?  Or only some? According to John: all will be raised from the dead, then face a final judgment where some will reign with Christ and some will be cast away.

What will we look like?  What will our bodies be made of? Paul says a seed doesn’t look like the fruit it produces, but it has to be planted to grow the fruit.

Years ago my father took a peach seed and planted it in the ground.  By time I was a teenager that seed had sprouted a tree and the tree had the most delicious peaches ever!  Our bodies will lie in the ground and come up again in the sweetness of Christ!  Hallelujah!

When will that occur?  God the Father will make that determination.

Where will we spend eternity? It’s the place where the new heaven and the new earth are joined - that rests on a transformed earth – where All things have been subjected to Christ – and He’s made all things new.

Lets pray. . . .

Prayer Requests

Click here to submit a prayer request online.