Different Kinds Of Bodies

I Corinthians 15:35-42

Still on the subject of Resurrection, Paul now discusses different kinds of bodies:

But someone may ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?'

Here is an argument raised against Resurrection, assuming that what we see we have now will be the same when we are raised.

How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

It is silly to make such an assumption. Even what is planted will only grow after it is buried.

When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps wheat or something else.

Taking farming as an example, the farmer plants a seed in the ground, to grow wheat or some other crop.

But God gives it a body as He has determined, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body (or form).

When God created the Earth He set forth the laws of biology, with the DNA and all the inheritable traits we know about now, that everything reproduces after its own kind (Genesis 1:24): Apple trees will not produce peaches, wheat will not produce corn, and a dog won't have kittens.

All flesh is not the same:

All the material bodies God designed for all the different species are all different.

Men have one kind of flesh,

All men, of every race, are all descended from one man, Adam, and can produce children.

Animals have another,

We cannot naturally produce a human/animal hybrid.

Birds another, and fish another.

Men, animals, birds and fish are all incapable of producing any kind of hybrid at all, each kind reproduces only after its own kind. This is how God planned it all out, and it works.

When scientists today artificially insert animal genes into plant genomes, the product is not good or healthy, and animals won't eat it; if they do, they grow grotesque tumors and die. 

There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies;

We only are familiar with our earthly bodies, as we are of the Earth. But we know Heaven exists, and Angels don't have earthly bodies. We now know that they must have heavenly bodies.

But the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

God has put His beauty into all of His creation. Even on Earth, the different geographical regions each have a different beauty: The Arctic and the Desert; the mountains and the rainforest; the seashore and the fruited plain; and everywhere else on Earth, each with its own beauty. And people are beautiful, too.

The Sun has one kind of splendor, the Moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

Even in Space, every object is different from every other object. And we even know now that other planets in our own and in other solar systems are all different in their elemental make-up, with different elements in different proportions, all different from one another. No one has found another Earth anywhere that is suitable for our Human life except the one where God put us. Our bodies are made of this Earth, in the same elemental make-up in the same proportions of this Earth, and these bodies belong here.

So will it be with the Resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.

God is consistent. The body we have now is subject to death and destruction, and cannot last forever. The body we will be raised with will not be vulnerable to any of the maladies we suffer today, it will be indestructible.

So all the bodies, all the forms God made, are suitable for the environments in which He put them; and since He plans to take us out of this environment into another, He will also change these bodies into forms that are suited to the Heavenly realms we will live in forever.

God always does everything well.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Warn The Righteous And The Wicked

Ezekiel 3:16-21

At the end of seven days

The seven days here refer to the verse before this one, that tells us that Ezekiel went from the dazzling vision he had back to the people in exile, and sat among them for seven days--deeply distressed. 

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself (from accountability). 

Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them (to perhaps turn them around but they don't), they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live, because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself (from accountability)."


Now we see an instruction to Ezekiel that we can take as a principle that applies to our lives as Christians: We are also watchmen to our families and neighbors, to live our lives as examples of how God's ways work and bring strength, discernment, and prosperity in every way. When we are living these triumphant lives, others will ask us how we can do it, and we need to be prepared to answer them with the Gospel. We need to tell them God's Truth from His Word, whether to turn the wicked person from his ways or to remind the righteous person of that right way to continue to go.

God prepared Ezekiel for the hard message he was to deliver by having him "eat" or ingest the sorrow and heartbreak God felt for His people who Ezekiel was being sent to preach to. And we need also to realize how God's heart breaks for all the people who are muddling and stumbling through life, not knowing God or how much He loves each of us and has already met all our needs.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Some Are Ignorant Of God

I Corinthians 15:30-34

And as for us,

Paul is getting back to speaking about Christians again.

why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

It would only be reasonable to take a safe, easy road if this life is all we will ever have.

I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul is saying that just as the Corinthians know how proud Paul is about what God has done for the Christians in Corinth, they can be just as confidant in the knowledge that Paul's life is lived on the edge, in danger of some sort every day.

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

There is no point in trying to gain worldly renown by putting one's life in danger if he will not be alive to experience it, so we might as will take it easy and enjoy the pleasures of life, if we'll never rise.

Do not be misled:

Don't be fooled.

Bad company corrupts good character.

We need to be careful of who we listen to, to weigh the arguments and not be deluded into being deceived.

Come back to your senses,

Let's be reasonable here, sensible, using our brains logically.

as you ought,

It's the right thing to do.

and stop sinning;

Stop missing the mark with faulty thinking processes.

for there are some who are ignorant of God--

You have neighbors who have never been taught anything about the True God.

--I say this to your shame.

You have fallen short of the standards God has set for His people; we are to be an example to the World of how God's ways work, and bring success in life; and tell them why.

Every Christian is expected to do the work of an evangelist, whenever anyone asks us why we are the way we are: how we can handle the pressures of life, and overcome the trials and troubles that everyone faces. When we are the example of how God's ways work, others will notice and ask.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

"Baptized For The Dead"?

I Corinthians 15:29

Now if there is no Resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

This is a very confusing passage. After researching quite a few resources, I must agree with Wikipedia that, "The meaning of that phrase is an open question among scholars."

I think that the most reasonable explanation is that the city of Corinth was a major crossroads of many other regions and faiths, and the Greek that is used here translates as, "Why are they baptized for the dead?" referring to some other cult the Corinthians were familiar with. Baptizing for the dead has never been a Judeo-Christian concept at all, let alone a practice, considering the view of personal responsibility taught throughout Scripture. But even the Pagans that have this practice are relying on the fact of Resurrection, giving secular validity to this teaching.

So we will all rise after we die, either to stand before Christ's Seat of Judgment for rewards, or to face the Great White Throne Judgment to determine the depth of suffering to endure through eternity.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The All-In-All

I Corinthians 15:27-28

For He "Has put everything under His feet" (Psalm 8:6).

God the Father has made Jesus Lord over all the Creation, the whole Universe and the Angelic Host in Heaven and in Hell.

Now when it says that "everything" has been put under Him, it is clear that this does not include God Himself, Who put everything under Christ.

Obviously God the Father is not subject to Christ, Christ Jesus does the Father's will.

When He has done this, then, the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that God may be all in all.

God is everything: He thought and spoke all creation into existence, and we all "live and move and have our being" inside Him (Acts 17:28), as though we are His imagination, and if He wasn't thinking about us all the time, we would cease to exist! He will eventually show Himself to be everything, The All-In-All (Revelation 21 & 22, especially 21:22-23). And if we're not Resurrected, how could we partake and enjoy this eternity!?!

These two verses follow the ones about King Jesus' Millennial Reign on this Earth, and refer to the New Heaven and New Earth that will last forever.

After this, Paul goes back to his defense of the reasonableness and logic of Resurrection.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

God's Tough Love

Ezekiel 3:1-15

And He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat.
Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

God's Word is always a delight to me when I approach it with anticipation, as my Father's "love letter" to me; it tasted as sweet as honey to his taste. Even when God is revealing how His heart is breaking, with lament and mourning and woe, it is still sweet to consume and digest.

Then He said to me: "Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak My words to them."

Now that Ezekiel has consumed all the sorrow and heartbreak God has for His people, now he is ready to go speak to them. Not in anger or harshness, but in a spirit of compassion, inviting them into the right paths of thinking and acting, to turn around from the ways that have already resulted in capture, deportation and bondage.

"You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel--not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand."

God is not sending Ezekiel to the other national people in Babylon where he is, but only to his own Hebrew people, the family God chose to be His own.

"Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you."

These other nations did not have the advantages God gave to Israel, but even so, if Ezekiel had been sent to them, they would have been more open to listening to him and believing what he said.

"But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to Me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate."

God is saying that His people Israel have been jaded, having had God's word given to them so freely for so long, that they have become blind and deaf, unwilling to obey. They just figure that they've "been there, done that" already.

"But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people."

He will strengthen Ezekiel to be able to withstand all the attacks and mistreatment he will be facing, without giving in or giving up. (We need to also remember that "He Who is in us is greater than he that is in the world.")

And He said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."

God wants Ezekiel to be sure to get His message right, in both the words themselves, and the spirit in which they are given. All these people of God who have been carried off into exile in Babylon need this encouragement, even though they are still rebelling against what they consider God's unfairness to them. Apparently there were some who would listen, but they would be outnumbered by those who refuse to listen.

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing. It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.

As God and His retinue begin to depart, Ezekiel hears the noise of all the moving parts, and again it sounds like a troupe of motorcycles roaring down the street. (see my blog of 8/12/16) 

The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me.

Ezekiel now must go and carry out what he has been commissioned to do, knowing that it will be a "hard row to hoe." He is willing to do this, and must trust that God would do what He said He would do for him in withstanding the pressure he will face.

I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days--deeply distressed.

Ezekiel went to where the people were living and inserted himself among them, so they would see him and be aware of his presence. And he prepared himself to preach, knowing how negatively it will go.

This is a hard, difficult task that God gave Ezekiel to do. God's "tough love" for His people is shown in this message He will give His prophet to deliver.

I think about when my children were small, and I found it necessary to threaten capital punishment for their dangerous disobedience. I loved them too much to let them go their own foolish ways, and I wanted to direct them into better, more advantageous ways of reasoning, thinking and acting. I knew that if they didn't learn these better ways, then their adult lives would be hard, poor and unhealthy.

How much more does God love us, His own creation, and wants us to learn to do right, to do good to one another, and trust Him to direct us into the ways to cooperate with how He designed this World to work. Then He will be able to bless us with the results of our actions, in prosperity, good health and long life, with the ability to enjoy each day. And then to be given the authority to enjoy His own Presence for all eternity!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

God's Magnificence And Heartbreak

Ezekiel 1:25- 2:10

We continue our study of Ezekiel's vision:

(v.22) Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome.

Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli (a sapphire stone), and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

This is how Ezekiel tried to describe what he saw, something indescribable. He uses the words "looked like," "like," "appearance," "as if" and "likeness of." And he was overwhelmed with the enormity of the glory and magnificence of it all. But even though he collapsed physically, he could still hear.

He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." As He spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

When God's Spirit came into him, he was strengthened and steadied to stand on his feet, in respect for the Majesty speaking to him.

He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against Me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says.' And whether they listen or fail to listen--for they are a rebellious people--they will know that a prophet has been among them. 

God is letting His prophet know that He is aware of Israel's degenerate condition, but He still wants him to tell them His message anyway, knowing that most of them will not listen.

And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak My words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people;" 

God tells Ezekiel that he need not fear anything these people may throw at him, because they will not want to hear the Truth from him, and will oppose him. But do not succumb to their pressures, remain true to the God he knows will be with him.

"open your mouth and eat what I give you."

Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to  me. In it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

God wants Ezekiel to ingest the words, the concepts and attitudes, inscribed on this scroll, both inside and outside. These reveal how God's heart is breaking and has been breaking for all the lies and deceptions that have enslaved His chosen people who He loves. 

God wants His beloved people to know Him and His ways, to realize that He wants only good for them, and not just good, but the very best, that will benefit them and bless them and prosper them. All we need to do is to listen to what He says to us, believe that He speaks the Truth, and follow the Maker's directions and instructions. 

Whenever we think that we are smart and know better and don't want "anyone" to tell us "what to do" or "how to live our lives," that's when we're listening to our enemy, the devil, Satan. He hates us and twists God's wonderful Truth into grotesque and disgusting concepts that enslave us into addictions of thinking processes and actions that destroy us. We may think that we're "doing all right," but this is only a temporary pleasure that will eventually end in misery and death. 

These Israelites that God sent Ezekiel to preach to, have already, for many generations, rejected God, being sucked into worshiping the idols of the peoples around them and the peoples that they replaced in their own land. God destroyed those nations because of all their degrading practices, and gave the land to Israel. Only to have Israel fall into the same lifestyles that reject the good, healthy ways of the Lord. So God removed them from the land, also, sending them into exile in Babylon.

God had them completely destroy some of the cities; all the men, women, children, babies, and even all the animals. Why? Probably to keep the diseases their lifestyles promoted from also infecting His people. Some of their despicable practices involved their animals and their children, and they may all have been infected. 

God chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their families to be a Nation who would display to all the other Nations how God's ways were so much better in every way than all the other ways; the ways of the world, the devil, and our own fallen flesh-nature. Their example was to draw those of the rest of the world into following God and His ways. 

So now He is sending Ezekiel to preach to them, to make sure that they know what they have done and are doing, so they will have the choice to follow God or not. He always gives us that choice. And to even tell them the consequences of whichever choice they make, so that they can never claim ignorance.

Let's continue this study.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!