Sermon 22-"Christ and His Benefits Forever"

Daniel 12

Psalm 16

1 Corinthians 15

Matthew 25:31-46

We have been singing Psalm 16 each week this month.

I know that the tune is new-and the style is probably different from what you are used to-

but I wanted us to sing the whole psalm,

and Nick Kozel's version enables us to do so in good English grammar.

Psalm 16 is a prayer for endurance.

David rejoices because he has confidence that God will indeed preserve him.

The last verse is especially significant:

"You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy;

"at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

David's eschatological vision is both future and present-it is already and not yet.

David dwells secure in the present because he is confident of his future.

"The path of life"-the way in which he must walk today-

is made clear to him because he sees by faith the promise of the resurrection.

Even for David, the resurrection was not simply something that would happen "someday."

The resurrection had immediate significance for how he lived today.

Today we turn to the final question in the first part of the catechism.

Remember that the first part of the catechism asks, what is man to believe concerning God.

The catechism is designed as a summary of what the scriptures principally teach in two areas:

First, what man is to believe concerning God,

And second, what duty God requires of man.

We started looking at who God is,

and then we turned to what God has done in history.

Questions 7-11 focused on God's work of creation and providence,

and then questions 12-19 turned to the history of creation and fall of man.

Questions 20-28 summarized the person and work of Christ in the history of salvation,

as he accomplished our redemption through his death and resurrection;

and now questions 29-38 are showing us how Christ's work is applied to us.

In other words,

the catechism starts with the history of salvation (historia salutis),

and then shows how the application of salvation (ordo salutis)

is grounded in our union with Christ.

Today we come-fittingly it seems to me-to the resurrection

Question 38 asks:

Q. 38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A. At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

Children,

what is the resurrection?

When you think of the resurrection, do you immediately think of Jesus?

I hope you do.

After all, it was on the first Easter Sunday that Jesus was raised from the dead.

And everything we will talk about today is rooted in Jesus' resurrection.

But did you know, children, that you will be resurrected as well?

Someday, you will die.

I know that's hard to think about when you are young,

but it is important for you to know this.

Because in order to live in the hope of the resurrection,

you have to first understand that the wages of sin is death.

And because we all sinned in Adam, we all are going to die.

But those who are in Christ have the hope of the resurrection.

That's what Paul was saying in the passage in 1 Corinthians that we just read.

Because he was created from the dust of the ground, Adam was the man of dust.

But because Jesus has been raised up to heaven, Jesus is the man of heaven.

And just as we die in Adam, so also we will be raised in Christ Jesus.

Notice how it's all about Christ.

Apart from our union with Jesus Christ,

we have nothing.

All of the benefits of redemption are rooted in Christ.

But watch where Paul goes with this.

Paul explains the resurrection in greater detail in 1 Corinthians 15

than any other passage in scripture.

Paul says that we shall be changed.

Ordinary flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

These mortal bodies cannot live forever.

We must be changed.

"This perishable body must put on the imperishable,

and this mortal body must put on immortality." (15:53)

What does an imperishable, immortal body look like?

It looks like Jesus.

"We shall also bear the image of the man of heaven" (15:49).

I can't tell you any more than that about what it looks like.

But it is a true, human body.

It does not say that we will exchange our mortal bodies for immortal bodies.

Paul says that we will be changed.

This corruptible body will be transformed into an incorruptible body.

How?

Well, is this part of the application of redemption?

Yes.

Then it must be through union with Christ!

Because Jesus has been raised to the heavenlies,

and sits at the right hand of the Father,

therefore, all who are in him will bear his image.

And if he has a spiritual body, then so will we.

Now, a spiritual body should not be contrasted with a physical body.

The Greek phrase for "natural body" is literally "soulish body."

There is a "soulish" body and there a "spiritual" body.

Both are physical-both are corporeal-they are both made of "stuff."

But the "soulish" body lacks the "spiritual"-the Spirit of God.

That is why it is translated, "natural body."

The natural body lacks the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, the first Adam became a "living soul," to use a literal translation,

but the second Adam became the Life-giving Spirit.

The first Adam had a soulish body-a natural body,

but he never inherited the promised Holy Spirit.

Jesus, the last Adam, also had a soulish-body-a natural body,

but because he was raised from the dead, and ascended to the Father,

he received the promised Holy Spirit,

and thus he became the Life-giving Spirit.

The work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit is so closely identified,

that Jesus can be called the Life-giving Spirit.

In his glorification the Holy Spirit declared him to be the Son of God with power

by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).

Or as Peter said on the day of Pentecost,

"Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God,

and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,

he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing." (Acts 2:33)

So when Paul calls Jesus the "man from heaven," (15:47)

he is not saying that Jesus' humanity came from heaven in the incarnation;

rather, he is saying that NOW, in his glorified humanity, Jesus is the man from heaven.

For the first time in human history,

a man actually sits at the right hand of God.

Adam was the son of God, it is true.

But Adam was never glorified to the right hand of God.

David's throne was figuratively said to be at the right hand of God (Psalm 2:6; 45:6; 110:1),

but no man had ever been raised from the dead,

and exalted to the right hand of God!

In the several resurrections of the OT (and in the resurrections performed by Jesus),

the people who raised from the dead lived for a few more years, and then died again.

Raising someone from the dead is a very impressive miracle,

and I don't mean to diminish it in the least;

but remember, they all died a second time!

Jesus was the first man to be raised from the dead, never to die again!

But Jesus was raised, as Paul said earlier,

as the ":firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (15:20)

And because Christ is called the "firstfruits" you know that the full harvest is coming.

And in that day of harvest:

"When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,

then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

'Death is swallowed up in victory.'

'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'" (15:54-55)

These two passages are taken from Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14.

By now you won't be surprised to hear that these passages were talking about the exile!

Isaiah 23-27 spoke of the destruction of the enemies of Israel, and the glory of Mount Zion,

when God restored the fortunes of his people.

Isaiah 25 declared that even death would be swallowed up forever

when God vindicated his people.

Hosea 13:14 declared God's judgment against Samaria-against the northern kingdom of Israel.

God would judge his people for their sins,

as verse 16 declared, "Samaria shall bear her guilt

because she has rebelled against her God."

This was the problem Israel faced throughout her history.

If God would always judge his people by the law,

then they would always bear their own guilt.

Death and exile would always be our lot.

After citing Hosea 13:14, though, Paul goes on to explain why he chose such a passage!

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (15:57)

Because Jesus has taken the penalty for our sin,

because he died for our sins,

and was raised for our justification,

we now have the victory.

We have the promise of the resurrection-death's sting has been removed.

And notice how Paul concludes the chapter.

He does not merely tell the Corinthians to think about how wonderful this will be.

Rather, he urges them to action.

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (15:58)

The hope of the resurrection ignites us to action.

It inflames us with confidence to labor diligently.

Because we know our work is not in vain!

What is our work?

What is "the work of the Lord"?

What did Jesus say?

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your heart, and with all your strength.

And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Because you share in Christ's life,

you are to look more and more like him.

As we have been united with Christ in his death, so will we be united with him in his resurrection.

As we have suffered with Christ, so also will we be glorified with Christ.

The imitation of Christ itself is rooted and grounded in our union with him.

Imitation is grounded in participation.

The hope of the resurrection impels us to live godly lives.

That is why the catechism tells us that we

"shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment."

What does this mean?

The Westminster Divines point us to Matthew 25:31-46 (read).

Jesus says that "as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

There, at the final judgment,

you will be openly acknowledged as a child of God.

There, at the throne of Christ,

you will be openly acquitted--declared righteous in him.

That's what Jesus says.

He says in verse 37, "then the righteous will answer him..."

These are not the self-righteous who are condemned throughout the gospels.

No, these are the truly righteous.

They are those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb,

and have had all their sins forgiven.

What do you call someone who has had all their sins forgiven?

Righteous.

The righteous are those who have been forgiven,

and therefore respond with joy, love-and yes, new obedience!

That's why the righteous are said to be those who fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger,

clothed the naked, visited the sick and imprisoned.

That's why James calls true religion, "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction,

and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27)

Because when you care for the "least of these my brethren"--

when you care for those who have been united with Christ,

you are caring for Jesus.

And if you've been united to Christ,

and you have been raised with him, and seated with him in the heavenlies,

then you simply can't be the person you used to be!

The resurrection changes our focus.

We realize that the pursuit of wealth, status, and prestige is hollow.

Jesus Christ is seated in glory, with the name that is above every name,

but he didn't get there by pursuing wealth, status and prestige.

He humbled himself, serving the poor, the widows, the orphans,

and even the tax collectors and prostitutes.

Because he knew that the only route to glory was through the Valley of Humility.

A resurrection ethic calls us to see the glory that shines through the midst of suffering and humility.

"When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,

then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

'Death is swallowed up in victory.'

'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'

The sting of death is sing, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."